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As most of you will probably know, it appears that Grand Prix Legends has now virtually disappeared from the retail marketplace.
(EDIT: Pete Gaimari has found some sources here https://srmz.racesimcentral.net/inde....2 but be careful about the price, as some of those links are charging over $80 plus shipping.)
Sold Out Software no longer appear to be listing the game in their on-line store, and as far as I am aware, no other retailer has taken over stocking the sim. At the moment, the only legitimate source for new GPL drivers seems to be E-Bay, and of course that has some difficulties, not least of which is that people know that this is a collectable game, and sometimes inflate the price.
Another alternative is to install the 2004 demo version of the game, and add to the tracks using the Alternative Track Database. However, it is not legal to distribute the original tracks which are missing from the demo, and so the player ends up having an incomplete sim.
I'm attempting to solve these problems by trying to persuade the "Good Old Games" website (GOG) to try to obtain rights to GPL, and make it available on their website. Although it's a long shot, there's no reason not to try it, you never know what might be possible! I emailed the support team at GOG, suggesting GPL should be added to their list, and received a nice (and quick) reply:
"Hello,
Thank you very much for your kind feedback, however I'm afraid that I can't comment on any upcoming deals and releases (or lack thereof). I can only assure you that we're doing everything possible to get our hands on the best content possible.
Unfortunately the process can be very complicated. There are many variables to take into account when trying to secure distribution rights from a publisher or developer, and it's not always possible to come to a compromise that satisfies all . This is especially true for GOG, as we want to uphold our core values (like no copy protection, or fair pricing), which do not always fit well into how the industry generally works. It gets even more complex with old content, esepecially games, whose rights are often in a state of “legal limbo”.
Check out this Q/A video, featuring one of my superiors - Marcin Iwinski, for a first-hand view of how it works:
Also, I strongly suggest checking out Community Wishlist - while this won't make us get rights for these titles all of a sudden, every vote counts!
https://www.gog.com/wishlist
Finally, please stay tuned and check out our news page every week for new release info.
Regards,
Natalia
GOG.com Support"
I checked the "community wishlist", and I managed to find a wish for GPL already there:
* * * * https://www.gog.com/w...nd_prix_legends. * * * *
(Apologies if the GOG site forces you to go through the hassle of registering before you can vote. I've bought stuff from their website before, so I already had an account.)
It currently has 349 votes, small compared to some requested titles, but a lot better than many others. I suggest that if you would like to see GPL available for download, please click on the link and add your vote! You can also add a comment there if you wish. I've added one which lets people know about SRMZ.NET, so that might help.
If anybody has any further advice or tips on how to obtain and install GPL legally, or would like to comment in any way, please feel free to add to this thread to make it easier for new players to get into our superb sim.
(Please, no links to other download sites or offers to provide .ISO images, or any other dodgy stuff. Although GPL now appears to be abandonware, it might still be possible for SRMZ and/or its members to get into trouble for being seen to support any type of piracy. Thanks for your understanding.)
Edited by Saiph, Nov 05 2015 - 10:02 AM.
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