And what if 20 years down the road you want to play the game again for old times sake but can't because both Stardock and Steam are gone (or worse; the internet )?

I want an independent physical version for just that reason.

If you have a retro-gaming machine they are!

That's why I bought Windows98se in 2012 (no joke!)

Are you seriously nitpicking the little examples?  I think you got the idea of what he was trying to say even if the specific examples weren't the greatest.  I can list out several Kickstarter and Humble Bundle games that have both Steam and non-steam versions some smaller then Stardock others possibly bigger (I don't have in depth knowledge of these companies finances.)  Dragon Commander was already given as an example and I have no idea about how Larian Studios and Stardock compare but the games seem to be of similar quality to me.

What has Stardock released of GalCiv3?  Does that mean we shouldn't put much stock in what Stardock promises?  Chris Roberts isn't an unknown just stepping into the industry with no clue on what it involves.

Yes and it's not 2008 anymore. Technology has moved on.  I think some people forget the state of things in 2008 when it seemed like every freaking game coming out required a DVD in the drive and a pop up store thing that had to be running. It was very irritating.

The Gamer's Bill of Rights was not a suicide pact. It was a set of principles we hoped the industry would abide by. And for the most part, we are far better off today than we were in 2008 when games were installing root kits and every game had its own pop up store and DVD in the drive and would crash your computer even when it wasn't running because it had installed drivers and other junk without telling you.

Now people are complaining because...why? Because you to install your game on any computer you want you have to type in a user ID and PW? And you're complaining on this on a forum where you had to type a UserID and PW to post?

Valve is the only developer making a serious game platform for Windows games these days. Steamworks. It handles everything from in-game DLC, mods, multiplayer matchmaking, network conections, achievements, player stats, and so on.

We knew Steamworks was the key back in 2009 which is why we spent millions making Impulse::Reactor, a competing platform that would do its thing without requiring the client to be installed. But the market and the industry chose Steam over Impulse.  And while Impulse was immensely successful (Being #2 in a billion dollar industry is still pretty awesome) it wasn't worth the corresponding headaches of having it.

I had hoped GameStop would do something with it. But they didn't. And Microsoft abandoned its Games for Windows Live thing.  So Steamworks it is.

I spent millions of dollars putting my money where my  mouth was regarding the Gamers Bill of Rights.  And we still abide by it except in the case if someone decides to consider Steam a a violation of it in which case, ok, you got us. We're not abiding that part. 

Just putting this out there I'd prefer it from GOG...but I also use steam...why because it's one of the few ways we've got available...just like I use Origin for the very select few EA games I play BF3, ME2,ME3

I think the safe answer is always to say yes.  But I doubt it requires it.

Let me check:

..

Yea, just checked. You don't need Steam to run FE:LH. Just terminated Steam from the process list and it runs fine.

If only I had that kind of money, I'd make it a reality. Maybe you should give Chris Roberts a call?

Is there any chance you would consider a physical version (perhaps in the form of a Founders Super Elite pre-order) ?
I'd be more open to Steam if it was only the updates/dlc's that were Steam-exclusive.

It's the fear of not being able to play the games I paid for (should the internet go down or some such) that makes me dislike "digital-distribution-only" titles. I do admit though, I have a few of those and somewhat regret having done that (except for minecraft)

Meth - seriously, dude....you really gotta quit putting words in people's mouths.  I'm not attacking you, your feelings or your comments.  I'm really not.  I've been offering a counterpoint of my own opinions on the matter - just like you're asking us to let you do.  Minecraft and Star Citizen were given as an example of cases where non-steam integration worked when one was a completely different situation, and the other isn't out yet.  It's entirely possible that SC will end up with Steam - other games like Shadowrun weren't supposed to and ended up doing so because it worked better than the alternatives,just like what Brad was saying about the reasons he chose it - and it might not, given how big their budget is and how rebellious the designer is.   I don't consider either of these to be nit-picky, they are simply statements.

Take a deep breath, step back and calm down.  There is no reason to attack other people in the thread just because they don't agree with you.

Yeah, good point -  and there's a reason most forums keep politics threads separate from the respectable people

All I will say is...

It is time for people to join the rest of us in 2013 and soon to be 2014.

Can't wait to see GalCiv III along with all my other steam games in my list.  Never had issues with steam or with their software.  Those that do have issues, might I suggest you maybe look at your own machine as the cause of your issues?  

As for those that won't use it because it is "Evil"... well whoop dee doo...  You go you rebel.

Strange that these days no one has yet said something about a Kickstarter for a GoG (non Steam) version. Seems quite the popular idea.

You "only" need to pay for an achievements system that doesn't need Steamworks because apparently achievements are cool (in addition to some control/check features), multiplayer that doesn't use Steamworks and... what else? All the social mumbo jumbo? Altough you could require the player to have a Steam account (and the service) to use those features, you would still need to prepare the game to play without them. I'd be happy with a single player GalCiv III that lacks all that stuff. I don't mind having it (the more, the better?), I just wouldn't miss it.

But if you can start the game without starting Steam, that's perfect. Much like Impulse when it was still alive (Gamestop != Impulse).

I just bought Legendary Heroes ($10...too cheap to pass up) and tested it too. Yep...the LH executable will instantly call steam.exe (unlike my copy of FTL, which does not). 

Personally I don't care. On the surface I disagree with it, but I've been a Steam user since day 1 so I'm used to having a single place to install, patch, and launch my games. Yeah, convenience has corrupted me!

-HM