the Steam delivery system doesn't work that way. you download the files in a ready-made state (with encryption, depending on the game and the conditions of the sale (pre-order)). you can, however, back up your entire Paradox game, move it elsewhere, etc.

i love this system because it means that any digital game doesn't occupy hard drive space TWICE (as a GOG game would, for example). the downloaded data and the installed data are one and the same on Steam.

oh, for Christ's sake, give me a break here!

You may zip your game files after they are downloaded, and unpack them on any computer you want, and it will work.
You may even pack them to *.exe file, if that's the only thing you call an DRM Free installer.

In short, you may copy your game wherever you want, delete steam entirely, and the game will work.

Whether this trick works with EU4 though is another thing altogether.

that's true, of course. it's an educated guess based on precedence, nothing more.

personally, i couldn't care less. it'll be a great game, no doubt, so i'll buy it.

Yeah, I am afraid they may add some achievements or some other crap to the game, sadly...

I don't think the use of Steamworks has ever directly prevented games from running outside of Steam. The use of CEG and checks for the Steamworks service are a separate entity within the Steamworks API. There have been quite a few games in the past that had Steamworks features such as achievements (Blackwell games and early versions of Skyrim come to mind) yet ran outside of Steam, albeit without the achievements of course.

In turn, there are plenty of other games that use precisely fuck-all in the way of Steamworks features and still use Steam's DRM.

I'll tell you.
Warlock: Master of the Arcane (published by Paradox) can't be played without the Steam client running in the background. Period.
What makes you so sure EU4 will be any different?

Then it is as good as GOG for me and absolutely DRM free. However having Steam only for these games seems a bit laborious for me. If Paradox really doesn't need Steam at all they can make the minimal effort to offer their game also in other places. That's a question of good service then.

So, is it confirmed by Paradox that they will keep EU 4 this way? And why can't they offer the installer somewhere else too? They abandom GG completely, their own child? I just don't understand the Steam exclusivity when the game is not dependent on Steam.

Warlock is no in-house production. Paradox only published it and, like Naval War, the game is a full SteamWorks title. Paradox' own productions, like Hearts of Iron 3 or Crusader Kings 2, are not SteamWorks titles.

i never said i was sure, in fact i stated plainly that it's a guess based on past practice on Paradox' part. it's entirely possible that Paradox will go full SteamWorks even with their own productions. already they've started selling third-party games in the form of Steam keys. i welcome this as it means i don't have to install half a dozen different copy protection drivers.

you're simplifying things. Steam is attractive for DLC distribution as well. Paradox do a lot of DLC. Crusader Kings 2 has its own system regarding the purchase and use of DLC. apparently, the effort wasn't profitable for Paradox, compared to the Steam edition, so it's not unlikely they'll scrap GamersGate editions for good and sell only SteamWorks keys. they've started doing that with third-party games already.

Since this is a singleplayer game which i tend to play when net is down etc, i anticipate i will end up pirating this game instead of buying it :o (my steam dont work when net is down)

a true PC gamer i see. i hope you work for free as well...

protipp: Steam has an offline mode. and yes, it works.

and is not even needed to play any downloaded Paradox game so far, ffs...

Nope, it's not confirmed yet.

The devs said this time they're going to utilize Steam network API. Maybe this time you need the client to run the game.

Probably earlier than that!

The problem I have with Steam, is that it is required. It is not air, it is not water, it is not food, and it is not on my machine.

Those that like it, great for them, but nothing is that great to me that would make me put up with what I consider to be an obnoxious intermediary.

Some of us do actually do pro bono work...