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World of Goo 2: now available (worldofgoo2.com)
71 points by theolivenbaum 688 days ago
8 comments

If anyone might be interested:

Yes, concerning stores World of Goo 2 will be Epic exclusive for a while most likely because Epic was a major investor while developing the game.

On the other hand 2DBoy gets 100% of all Epic Store profit during a limited period.

If you are not happy about that you can get it DRM free from the website or wait for the inevitable Steam launch.

Hope this helps :)

And in fact you can buy a DRM-free version right on their website, with no obligation to use any store - neither Steam nor Epic.
>If you are not happy about that you can get it DRM free from the website

It's surprising this and GOG is always such an unpopular option. Most of these stores really dig their claws into the game and force you to launch it through their own shells with all kinds of nagging and network traffic.

I've become convinced most consumers really just aren't capable of "shopping" for software.

> wait for the inevitable Steam launch

I pick that one.

Or you could buy it directly off the world of goo website, DRM free.
The Steam release will also be DRM free, and then it's in my Steam library forever and I don't need to keep track of how to download it in the future.
Isn't Steam itself also DRM?
No. Game devs can & frequently do distribute just plain binaries through Steam.
the vast majority of games distributed via steam use (at least) steam DRM? there's an auto-cracker but that's not "DRM-free"?
They can do, but that's up to devs. I have no idea why the World of Goo 2 devs would use that if they are also shipping a DRM free version themselves.
there are advantages to using Steam
there are disadvantages to using Steam
Such as?
Happy that they went with Epic. Steam needs more legit competition.
Perhaps Epic should focus more on actually making their platform not hot-garbage (aka actually making a better competing product) instead of holding games hostage and forcing users into their beyond subpar platform, they've had plenty of time and people still go to the steam forums for an epic exclusive to ask questions and make guides about the game. Steam is simply the better product and the only way Epic can stay alive is by employing anti-competitive business practices.
Exactly. In theory, I have no problems with a Steam competitor, but the extras Steam gives, plus its support for linux is just unmatched. Input binding, support for non-standard controllers (huge for accessibility), Proton, streaming, remote play, etc. The list goes on and on. Epic... is just a glorified downloader and friend list basically where you are stuck on windows.
Store exclusives don't seem like too much of an issue to me. There's a bit of added hassle in the same way there is for games with their own launcher/account system, but for the most part you're still able to get any game (and I believe even add it as an external game to your Steam library, if that's the UI you prefer) without significant cost/barrier to switching like there is for platform exclusives.

In exchange, it can add some much-needed competition on the developer side - with multiple stores competing to give a better deal. I don't think it's particuarly healthy to have pretty much just one store, sitting on a large cut and not doing much in the way of funding new games.

I do wish Epic would also improve in areas of Linux support/input binding/etc. though.

Competition implies that both offer the same service. If the product is not available in both stores they are not competing.
Say a developer wants to create and sell a game:

* Store 1 offers them 70% of profit and no funding

* Store 2 then offers them 90% of profit and significant developement funding, on the condition of exclusivity

The existence of competition (including a potential counteroffer by store 1) gives the developer a better deal, and possibly results in a better game or ability to produce games that wouldn't otherwise exist.

It's admittedly a little bit of a hassle for consumers to use multiple stores, same as with games that have their own launcher/account system, but there's no buy-in like with streaming services or console platforms. I think it's probably worth it for a form of competition that has been lacking.

There's also tons of stuff only on Steam, so...
What games have exclusive contracts with Valve, other than those published by Valve?
I don't know off-hand; I just know that, whatever the reason, tons of stuff is available only on Steam.
What games does Valve fund the development of? (And then let developers keep 100% of the profit?)
which ones??
There are tons, but off the top of my head, Elden Ring and Bravely Default.
The original World of Goo game was quite a phenomenon back in 2008, I remember it being talked about a lot amongst peers in school. Cool to see a real sequel!
Anyone know what engine this is made in? The original used Open Dynamics Engine for physics simulation. [1]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Dynamics_Engine

There was this tech [1] making rounds on HN a while back. Made a big impression on me and it's by the company that co-created the World of Goo 2. I wonder if it was used to make the game.

[1] https://tomorrowcorporation.com/posts/how-we-make-games-at-t...

Ah, that will be fun to get back to!

Only pity is it's not available for mobile - the first game was perfect on an iPad with touch as the input method.

It is out for Switch at least, so you can play on the go that way. And given how their games go, I assume it'll be out for iPad eventually.
Interestingly, it looks pretty much the same as the original. That's not a complaint, the original still looks great.
I enjoyed it, but I was slightly underwhelmed. Some sequels, like Portal 2, expand on the concept so well that they basically replace the original. But in this case, I sometimes felt like level design took a step back, and WoG 1 was overall better game.
No way!! I used to play the original one on my Nokia phone (E61i - I was called a dork for using such a chonky device back then, but I needed that sweet WiFi!) for hours! It was this and another game from iDreams that were my favorites.
I eagerly await being able to play it on Steam and iOS/Play. =)