The thing is, you are not really comparing Apples with Apples.

When you download the Offline Installer files from GOG, you get a backup you can archive, as well as install from at your leisure. So that is two processes ... download and install.

When you get the game from Steam, it is one process, just as it is if you use that similar option with Galaxy.

The parts (files) are streamed directly to your install location. There is no download and then extraction. Extraction from heavily compressed files takes time.

GOG if you use them correctly, is all about DRM-Free backups. You are trying to use GOG like you use Steam, which is possible if you use Galaxy, but not of course with Linux.

So clearly you are not concerned about DRM-Free, so I suggest GOG is not the right place for you.

What you see as a flaw, is actually a benefit. But then you need to be using GOG properly to see it that way.

Compare the size of your Steam install folder, to the size of the Offline Installers from GOG. The Offline Installers are very much smaller, which is great for backing up, archiving.

With Steam, you rent, with GOG you don't ... providing of course, you get the Offline Installers.

Since I would not be able to fetch any game from Steam even if I created an account there, the comparison is very quickly done for me.

Obviously I do not use Galaxy or any similar malware.

You're wlecome to your opinion, but it took you FIFTEEN YEARS and one download to reach it? - When you own 42 games here (presumably all freebies?).

I smell fish.

The time it takes to unzip games can vary depending on the specific game. I’ve experienced some Steam games taking almost 30 minutes unzip using 7z on an SSD, even slower on HDD. When the games themselves are not even 100 GB. The duration largely depends on the number of files that need to be unzipped. Notes: this is only some games I came across.

For GOG installers, I can't really say much because I seen some smaller games take longer to install, than larger games. .

Either way you are supporting a devil.. and i speak from experience.

Name checks out?

GOG WAS MY IDEA, NOT MY PROJECT.
let me tell you i am still dealing with the reality pondsmith cooked in my skull so yeah...

These type of threads have been appearing lately. They always attract the usual people who like to complain about GOG daily. Haha.

They often seem to repeat themselves. I notice some users in this thread posting almost similar replies in other threads.

Apart from the fact that it can't work any other way if you charge for the games. Otherwise, everyone will download them.

Next, someone will argue that logging the IP address in the server log for free games is also DRM, because it can be used to prove that the game was used (as the download). :D

My two cents:
It's only rights management if it can be used to restrict use, and that's simply not the case with GOG. The offline installation files are DRM-free. Most people know that, and I've never understood why some people define DRM in such an unrealistic way. But I don't want to start a discussion now (not again).

That doesn't seem to be the case for me. A few days ago, my almost 36 GB of free space on C: wasn't enough to install Robocop or Everspace 2. But I haven't had time to investigate whether that's actually the problem.

Those other games are much smaller compared to BG3, so the ridiculous slowness of the installer didn't bother me before. My point still stands even if you think that I am not 'loyal enough' for this store.

Been defaulting to just buying from Steam for years. Thought I'd try for once getting a DRM free copy from GOG and it turned out to be a big annoyance. GOG should fix their installers, they're ridiculously slow.

There may be issues with that installer. I installed Shadow of War, which is 100 GB, and it didn’t even take 45 minutes to install. The God of War installer actually had similar issues. Where it took way to long to install.

So you admit you barely use GOG? You tried from once to get a DRM-free copy, and it was an annoyance for you. To me, that sounds like you never actually used or cared about GOG.

While the installers are not particularly fastest and there aren't many other stores with installers to compare them to—aside from itch.io, which lacks many big games I've found that ZP installers are just as slow as GOG's. Honestly, I have never experienced an installation taking as long as the OP claimed, even with some of my larger games. Often, I install multiple games simultaneously using these installers, and I've never had a game take 45 minutes to install, except for God of War, which seems to be broken.

Yeah I'm all for GOG improving the installers. But right now they get the job done for me.

Edit: I installed Horizon, a 72.2GB game, in less than 17 minutes on my older SSD. This might not seem fast for the usual people here. But It makes me wonder if there could be an issue with the BG3 offline installer.

AI Wars 2 also had installation problems where it took a long time to install, even though it was a small game. However, after some updates, the installation speed for that game improved significantly compared to earlier versions.

Maybe report this to GOG.

Yes I barely used GOG for a long while now. I am not trying to keep that a secret. I do like the principle behind GOG. Just unhappy with the jank that requires a 3rd party program to fix. I'll be using Heroic Launcher to get around this issue in the future if I feel like playing any of my old GOG games again. GOG should try to improve things for customers who want to use the installers however.

Well, that's the one and only selling point that GOG still (partially) has, after having abandoned all others.If having a DRM-free version of a game isn't important to you, you are better off using Steam. For me, having to use a client is a no-go. But if you are comfortable with using clients and having DRM-ed games, then why even consider GOG? They have a way smaller selection of games, have an inferior client and an inferior infrastructure. Apart from selling most of their games DRM-free, there is nothing that GOG does better than their bigger competitors.

...and even the promise of DRM-free isn't kept on all games anymore.
...
Yes, they really should do that. They used to have the GOG downloader, which was a nice, small and relatively fast program for downloading the offline installers. No unnecessary junk slowing things down. But they abandoned it in an attempt to push the use of Galaxy. There are also more and more games which require Galaxy, if you want the full content. So GOG is very much in the process of abolishing the only reason to buy on GOG.

I agree, nothing wrong with improving it.
If this happens, I might stop buying new games. I can’t rely on Goldberg as a foolproof solution for DRM free. Recently, three of my Steam games received updates that stopped Goldberg from working. Now, the only way to bypass the DRM is to find cracks online, if there’s one available for the latest versions. I refunded one.