It is quite delightful, which is a nice change of pace from Limbo and the others. I played it last year with game pass and really enjoyed my short time with it.

You could buy the game on Steam, get the source code archive and then refund I guess. Or keep it anyway to play, I understand it’s quite good.

I will admit that Outward is something of an acquired taste. It’s not a looker for sure, and starts a bit harsh, difficulty-wise. However it has surprising depth and a true sense of discovery. It is very rewarding once you really get into it.

Plus it really shines in co-op play. It is the closest thing I know of, that can be compared to “Skyrim, but co-op”.

I stand by my recommendation as it is very much a “B game” and pretty unique.

Here are a few picks off the top of my head:

• Control: TPS, open-ish world, present day setting, solo only
• Deep Rock Galactic: FPS, mission-centric, sci-fi setting, solo & co-op
• Generation Zero: FPS, open world, sci-fi setting, solo & co-op
• Kena: Bridge of Spirits: Action-Adventure, open-ish world, fantasy setting, solo only
• Outward: RPG, open world, fantasy setting, solo & co-op
• Remnant: From the Ashes / Remnant 2: TPS, open-ish world, sci-fi & fantasy setting, solo & co-op

You can hear a more detailed explanation on VLC’s stance from the man himself (JB Kempf) in the FOSS pod S1E11 episode around 22:10.

Basically:

• Not that many threats become lawsuits
• Patent trolling is countered with publicly accessible prior art
• Having no money is also a good deterrent

I would say it is more of a practical consideration. Private trackers generally enforce upload/download ratios. This ensures the health of the sharing pool stays good.

There is a lot to learn from the comp.lang.c FAQ, and you don’t even need to pirate it.

Well if large streaming services are off the list, then you could act as one. For instance you could host a Jellyfin instance and make it available to your “someone who is not tech savvy”. On the client side, Jellyfin is very much click and watch. But you take on the burden of being the service host and provider of content.

I am not sure you can find “something that just works” reliably over time without ensuring that yourself.