Is there any DRM involved with 1953 KGB Unleashed? I see that it's available for download on The Adventure Shop and Gamersgate.

I think all of The Adventure Shop games have some form of DRM, I couldn't imagine Gamersgate being any different.

Gamersgate has some DRM-free games, like ***this one***, but most of their games require activation. If their webpage for a game doesn't say "DRM: DRM Free" in or near the listed system requirements, it probably means the game requires some form of activation. But if you want to know for sure, email Gamersgate.

Its also available at the Just Adventure Store for download or a boxed copy. It say under DRM "Serial" don't know what that means and I also don't know if the boxed copy has any activation.

As I wrote in another part of the forum, my version of the game is DRM-free and I just double checked that I indeed bought it from Gamersgate. Be aware though that there's a trick to actually get full control over your games even when bought "DRM-free" from Gamersgate. They have their own scheme for preventing you to install the game from outside their own installer and it's really just as bad as any other DRM. But there's an easy workaround. If you don't know how to do it, I or someone else here will tell you how.

It would be nice to know about that workaround before I decided to buy it. Is that possible?

Here's how I do it.

After you've bought the game, click the install button and, when prompted, download (save as) the small file to your computer. Go to the folder containing that file and double click it. This will start the download process and automatically in that folder create a subfolder called something like “Gamersgate temporary files” and another folder inside that folder with a number as its name containing the downloaded game data.

When the download is finished the game’s installer will run automatically. When the installer starts, leave it alone without clicking next or anything. Instead, go to the folder containing the downloaded game (with the number as its name) and copy the install.exe or setup.exe or whatever the installer’s executable is named and save it outside of the game folder. Then you quit the installer and when asked you choose the option “keep temporary files on your hard drive” or something close to that. Then put the install.exe or setup.exe you just copied back to the folder containing the game data.

If you don’t do this you will only be left with a file called “launch” instead of the correct install or setup.exe in the game folder. This launch file can only be opened through Gamersgate’s own install application which needs to verify the game against the internet. Which, as I said, is just as bad as any other type of DRM.

Thanks for the info. I have several questions regarding this procedure.

Once you go through this procedure restoring the setup.exe file and installing the game, can you save this temp folder to another location for the purpose of reinstalling at a later time after you have uninstalled the original install? If this is possible, am I correct in assuming that you would not have to go through that part about copying and restoring the setup.exe file on subsequent installs?

Can this procedure be used on all Gamersgate games?

Yes, you can rename the folder and store the game anywhere you want to and install as many times as you like. You don’t have to go through the procedure more than one time. Also note that you don’t necessarily have to abort the automatic installation procedure either. Once you have copied the install executable, which is only “revealed” once the Gamersgate application have started the installation, you can go through with the installation and then use the correct setup.exe if you would like to install and play the game in the future.

You can use the procedure with DRM-protected games as well, although it will not be of much use since the game’s installer itself will require on-line activation. That’s the difference between DRM and non-DRM games at Gamersgate.

How do you tell which ones are DRM and which ones are non-DRM?

Look at the information under each game. Usually there is a special "DRM-line" that tells you which type of DRM that's being used or if the game is DRM free. They also have a special filter for "DRM-free" that, when applied, lets you browse only games that don't have DRM. At least the version of the site in my language has that filter option.

For some reason there's no DRM-info regarding 1953 and the game does not show if you use the "no DRM-filter", but at least the version I bought is DRM-free. A lot of the advunture games at Gamersgate are.

I did look at 1953 before I asked about how you can tell, and like you said, there was no mention of DRM on the 1953 page. After your last post I went back and looked at some others, and I did find some that said "other DRM", whatever that means.


If you don't abort the automatic installation procedure, and you go through with the installation, do you still get the option to save the temporary files?

Have you ever used this (or a similar) procedure on other game download sites?

Did you come up with this procedure on your own, or did you learn about it from somewhere else?

Uncle Reg,

The Gamersgate FAQ tells you about saving the temporary folder.

http://www.gamersgate.com/info/faq-10-381

What they don't tell you about is how to save the install executable, which only pops into view during the install, which is what Frazap told you.


Since the Gamersgate FAQ itself says you can save the temporary files folder, it sounds like you're prompted to save the temp folder whether you go through with the install or not. But I don't know for sure since I've never used the procedure.