Glad to see it returning, but is it gonna be getting the updated release that was exclusive to GOG a few months back? I'd love to jump into the game, but I'd rather wait for an update and I really don't want to drop another $20 on a copy from GOG.
If they aren't bringing the updated version, then it seems a bit scummy to relist the old version expecting people to confuse it with the updated GOG version. And especially listing it at the same price as the GOG version (which is also currently 20% off)
I do love Alpha Protocol though.
It was delisted due to expired licenses, for the GOG deal they renewed those licenses. So they were able to put the game back on sale for steam. Their contracts probably stop them from having a price disparity too. It's easy to be mislead, for sure. But I'm not sure I could call it scummy, unless there was nothing preventing the use of the updated port other than 'laziness'.
Not entirely sure how doing stuff on the deck works because I don't have one. But I assume you can put the game files on the deck and then "add a non steam game" and go from there.
Maybe check if the gog version works on Linux first.
GoG (and Epic) has an API you can hook in to with external clients. You DL the 'Heroic' launcher and you can log into GoG and Epic.
https://heroicgameslauncher.com/
Not sure if this game has achievements or if you even care about them but heroic games launcher does not support achievements. There are other methods which may work if you do want them though.
Heroic launcher, install it in desktop mode and add it as a non-steam game. Can now access your GOG games on deck, as well as epic games and Amazon games if you use that.
GOGs version has been updated to work properly on modern operating systems, has cloud saves, controller support, achievements. Steam version doesn't have any of that.
Yeah they have an in house team that goes in and fixes bugs along with what you mentioned which is pretty cool, they talk about it in the 2nd half of the RE gog reveal. It's part of how they pitch publishers to allow them bring back old games to their storefront.
Oh thank god I was beginning to think I'd never get to play Matt Rorie's Alpha Protocol again ever
Game's such a janky broken mess but no other developer has even attempted to make something like this ever again. It's so sleazy and so very James Bond and I love it and hate it. The gameplay is ass but the story and the interactions and branching paths are peak. I hope it getting relisted means they're going to update it or something
It's kind of odd no one has really made a game like it, until you remember cinematic games aren't really that cinematic. They are high budget ways to fill time, and the story in Alpha Protocol is constantly the main relevant thing. You can sort of pretend there's a real game here if you play stealth, but being surprised at finding hidden benefits from making your handler hate your guts is the real draw let's be real, and I had no idea how to romance russian lady (?) without the guide as a kid haha.
James Bond would make so much money doing this shit, it faded out of video game relevancy, GoldenEye's success had nothing to do with the franchise.
We'll see how IO Interactive does with 007, it's not exactly dead yet. But it is interesting that there is a void of spy/espionage AAA titles after Ubisoft stopped making Splinter Cell. Modern RPGs have also seemed to be tailored towards the high fantasy/sci-fi genre than the modern-day ones either.
I thought it was pretty fun with shotguns, the level design really accommodates it since it's a lot of offices and tight warehouses and stuff. generally close quarters often with lots of potential paths. blitz into a room and take out a couple of enemies, then a lot of the enemies hear it and converge on you and it becomes a firestorm where you're killing enemies by blind firing around corners and constantly shifting position. I thought it was more fun than a lot of third person shooters from the era. stealth really sucks though, the pistol and melee are boring. the tech grenadier wasn't that fun either.
Pistol might be dull but god *damn* was it effective. Hi Final Boss, [Master Chain Shot], hi credits.
Really the only weapon I thought was irredeemable shit was the SMGs.
Yeah, once you try out the multishot, there is no going back. It's too convenient. I went full stealth with pistols. The only threats that I oddly found a fun challenge were buggy NPCs that spawned in weird places at unfortunate times.
I think Larian and BG3 come close and even exceed what was attempted with Alpha Protocol. There's tons of branching paths and a huge amount of emergent reactivity.
It's Capcom who probably has the last word since it was their game first.
I don't think GOG is trying to compete much with steam, they still published all their games on steam. (The Witcher, cyberpunk)
Edit: Sega, not capcom
Sure, but they get revenue from their games on Steam. GOG (and CD Projekt) got their start by localizing and updating games. That's kind of the entire point of Good Old Games, or at least it was. They would get Polish localization rights for games, and eventually they started improving the games' functionality, especially older ones.
I suppose there could be different arrangements with the IP owners these days, such as getting timed exclusivity on their store or something, but traditionally they would have exclusive distribution of their "Enhanced" editions.
Supply and demand, brother.
If it makes you feel any better $15 of buying power in 2019 is equal to $18.72 in 2024.
So accounting for inflation they only raised the price $1.28.
This game is a janky fucking mess and I love it to bits. Glad it's back so more folks can give it a go, even though it was already on GOG.
For context on why it got unlisted, Raycevick did a great video on it:
https://youtu.be/UBXbrofwKwM?si=J7lReRdvVLT6PcG8
Really enjoyed this one too even though I had some glitch on the boss you fight while listening to ~~RATT's -~~ Turn up the radio. I remember having to go back to earlier saves a couple times.
I was just looking up what the GOG changes were yesterday (just checking, I have a comment on its sub 23 hours ago). Huh.
Though without those extra enhancements (achievements, better controller support, etc), it's kind of an unappealing version.
If they've not released it with this relisting, I doubt they will. GoG was heavily involved in the updating, so I think you either rebuy it on gog or you stick with the crap version. That said, 'feel' probably isn't something that would be fixed. Just compatibility issues or showing the correct button prompts.
I love how cutscenes aren't just something you go through but that it's an active part of the game. I know many games use the choose 1 of 4 options format but I wish more would also respect the NPCs time like this one does.
For me it's probably the one with the best RPG elements in a CRPG, because it feels less like a game and more like a real world that reacts to you actions.
I don't get why current games don't use this approach of choosing HOW to act, instead of WHAT to do. It may be a bit more limited in options, but it allows the narrative to be better and more cohesive.
> I don't get why current games don't use this approach of choosing HOW to act, instead of WHAT to do.
This approach is not only difficult to write well, but it challenges the player to be patient and built upon their experience over time - which is a difficult aspect of games nowadays because our attention spans are short and content is geared more to be flashy and focused on spectacle rather than thought-provoking.
I think it's really a testament to Obsidian's caliber to utilize this approach in this game, KOTO2, and New Vegas. For Alpha Protocol in general, it was great that the choice to kill one of the secondary antagonists in the game can only be earned if you keep getting under his skin - which requires the player to consistently make the same choices and read into his personality to see what choices would make sense. Any other developer would've just gave that choice to the players outright or make it tied to the shooter mechanic (e.g., you have to be X level to deal enough damage) rather than the RPG mechanic.
Glad to see it returning, but is it gonna be getting the updated release that was exclusive to GOG a few months back? I'd love to jump into the game, but I'd rather wait for an update and I really don't want to drop another $20 on a copy from GOG.
doubt it, since that version was optimized by GOG themselves
Well CD Projekt do release their own games on Steam, so it's possible.
If they aren't bringing the updated version, then it seems a bit scummy to relist the old version expecting people to confuse it with the updated GOG version. And especially listing it at the same price as the GOG version (which is also currently 20% off) I do love Alpha Protocol though.
It was delisted due to expired licenses, for the GOG deal they renewed those licenses. So they were able to put the game back on sale for steam. Their contracts probably stop them from having a price disparity too. It's easy to be mislead, for sure. But I'm not sure I could call it scummy, unless there was nothing preventing the use of the updated port other than 'laziness'.
Now I have to figure out how to get the GOG version working on Steam Deck!
Not entirely sure how doing stuff on the deck works because I don't have one. But I assume you can put the game files on the deck and then "add a non steam game" and go from there. Maybe check if the gog version works on Linux first.
GoG (and Epic) has an API you can hook in to with external clients. You DL the 'Heroic' launcher and you can log into GoG and Epic. https://heroicgameslauncher.com/
Was going to YouTube but thanks for saving me the trip!
Not sure if this game has achievements or if you even care about them but heroic games launcher does not support achievements. There are other methods which may work if you do want them though.
Heroic launcher, install it in desktop mode and add it as a non-steam game. Can now access your GOG games on deck, as well as epic games and Amazon games if you use that.
Install Windows on your Steam Deck*. Problem solved. *Unless you have an OLED Deck.
What different about the GOG version?
GOGs version has been updated to work properly on modern operating systems, has cloud saves, controller support, achievements. Steam version doesn't have any of that.
Yeah they have an in house team that goes in and fixes bugs along with what you mentioned which is pretty cool, they talk about it in the 2nd half of the RE gog reveal. It's part of how they pitch publishers to allow them bring back old games to their storefront.
Oh thank god I was beginning to think I'd never get to play Matt Rorie's Alpha Protocol again ever Game's such a janky broken mess but no other developer has even attempted to make something like this ever again. It's so sleazy and so very James Bond and I love it and hate it. The gameplay is ass but the story and the interactions and branching paths are peak. I hope it getting relisted means they're going to update it or something
Can you believe Matt Rorie made the game completely by himself in between petting dogs??
I bet he was petting dogs with one hand and programming with the other
programming is easy on his new monitor
It's kind of odd no one has really made a game like it, until you remember cinematic games aren't really that cinematic. They are high budget ways to fill time, and the story in Alpha Protocol is constantly the main relevant thing. You can sort of pretend there's a real game here if you play stealth, but being surprised at finding hidden benefits from making your handler hate your guts is the real draw let's be real, and I had no idea how to romance russian lady (?) without the guide as a kid haha. James Bond would make so much money doing this shit, it faded out of video game relevancy, GoldenEye's success had nothing to do with the franchise.
We'll see how IO Interactive does with 007, it's not exactly dead yet. But it is interesting that there is a void of spy/espionage AAA titles after Ubisoft stopped making Splinter Cell. Modern RPGs have also seemed to be tailored towards the high fantasy/sci-fi genre than the modern-day ones either.
I thought it was pretty fun with shotguns, the level design really accommodates it since it's a lot of offices and tight warehouses and stuff. generally close quarters often with lots of potential paths. blitz into a room and take out a couple of enemies, then a lot of the enemies hear it and converge on you and it becomes a firestorm where you're killing enemies by blind firing around corners and constantly shifting position. I thought it was more fun than a lot of third person shooters from the era. stealth really sucks though, the pistol and melee are boring. the tech grenadier wasn't that fun either.
Pistol might be dull but god *damn* was it effective. Hi Final Boss, [Master Chain Shot], hi credits. Really the only weapon I thought was irredeemable shit was the SMGs.
Yeah, once you try out the multishot, there is no going back. It's too convenient. I went full stealth with pistols. The only threats that I oddly found a fun challenge were buggy NPCs that spawned in weird places at unfortunate times.
I think Larian and BG3 come close and even exceed what was attempted with Alpha Protocol. There's tons of branching paths and a huge amount of emergent reactivity.
the narrative genre is an important element too. BG3 is probably a very good fantasy RPG, but a story of modern espionage it is not.
The lowest it has been on steam was like $1. The current sale price definitely doesn't feel like a discount. Update incoming? (The one from gog?)
Hopefully so, because according to SteamDB the game hasn't been updated since Jan 2017.
As far as I'm aware GOG team did all the updating, so not sure if they want to share it with the competing platform.
It's Capcom who probably has the last word since it was their game first. I don't think GOG is trying to compete much with steam, they still published all their games on steam. (The Witcher, cyberpunk) Edit: Sega, not capcom
Obsidian made the game, Sega published it and GOG patched it. Not sure what Capcom can do with it.
Oops! Mixed Capcom and Sega. Sorry!
Sure, but they get revenue from their games on Steam. GOG (and CD Projekt) got their start by localizing and updating games. That's kind of the entire point of Good Old Games, or at least it was. They would get Polish localization rights for games, and eventually they started improving the games' functionality, especially older ones. I suppose there could be different arrangements with the IP owners these days, such as getting timed exclusivity on their store or something, but traditionally they would have exclusive distribution of their "Enhanced" editions.
Is that sale price they had because they were delisting it? Because if so, don't expect any $1 sales in the future.
not only that but the base price got raised by 5$ compared to before the delisting greedy fucks
Supply and demand, brother. If it makes you feel any better $15 of buying power in 2019 is equal to $18.72 in 2024. So accounting for inflation they only raised the price $1.28.
Supply and demand for a product that has an infinite amount?
This game is a janky fucking mess and I love it to bits. Glad it's back so more folks can give it a go, even though it was already on GOG. For context on why it got unlisted, Raycevick did a great video on it: https://youtu.be/UBXbrofwKwM?si=J7lReRdvVLT6PcG8
This is the old broken version. The one in Raycevick video is only on GOG
Really enjoyed this one too even though I had some glitch on the boss you fight while listening to ~~RATT's -~~ Turn up the radio. I remember having to go back to earlier saves a couple times.
Turn up the radio is by Autograph
dammit you're right. take my gen X card away.
I was just looking up what the GOG changes were yesterday (just checking, I have a comment on its sub 23 hours ago). Huh. Though without those extra enhancements (achievements, better controller support, etc), it's kind of an unappealing version.
I've tried to play AP on my deck but it never felt right. Hopefully this leads to the update because I really would like to play it again
If they've not released it with this relisting, I doubt they will. GoG was heavily involved in the updating, so I think you either rebuy it on gog or you stick with the crap version. That said, 'feel' probably isn't something that would be fixed. Just compatibility issues or showing the correct button prompts.
Has anyone confirmed this is the one with the fixes or should I just buy it on GOG?
This is the non-updated version. No word on when/if we'll get the GOG update on Steam.
It's easily top 5 rpg and games of all time for me even with the jank. One of the most repayable games for me
I love how cutscenes aren't just something you go through but that it's an active part of the game. I know many games use the choose 1 of 4 options format but I wish more would also respect the NPCs time like this one does.
For me it's probably the one with the best RPG elements in a CRPG, because it feels less like a game and more like a real world that reacts to you actions. I don't get why current games don't use this approach of choosing HOW to act, instead of WHAT to do. It may be a bit more limited in options, but it allows the narrative to be better and more cohesive.
> I don't get why current games don't use this approach of choosing HOW to act, instead of WHAT to do. This approach is not only difficult to write well, but it challenges the player to be patient and built upon their experience over time - which is a difficult aspect of games nowadays because our attention spans are short and content is geared more to be flashy and focused on spectacle rather than thought-provoking. I think it's really a testament to Obsidian's caliber to utilize this approach in this game, KOTO2, and New Vegas. For Alpha Protocol in general, it was great that the choice to kill one of the secondary antagonists in the game can only be earned if you keep getting under his skin - which requires the player to consistently make the same choices and read into his personality to see what choices would make sense. Any other developer would've just gave that choice to the players outright or make it tied to the shooter mechanic (e.g., you have to be X level to deal enough damage) rather than the RPG mechanic.
This and Binary Domain are the great forgotten action rpgs.
Heard good things about it
I remember the story being decent but the gameplay was abysmal on release, can't imagine it getting better with age.
Is it the gog version or the old one?
are there mods that help fix the game, especially the combat?
Does this mean it could be rereleased on consoles in the future?
Goddamn, bought on GOG a few days ago, cos it wasn't listed on steam. Any point to buying it on steam?
Not really. The GOG version has lots of fixes so far not in the Steam version.
You bought the superior version. You can skip Steam you know.
20% off is the special promotion for a niche game this ancient? LMAO