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General discussionGOG Galaxy Beta starts now(1170 posts)(1170 posts)
(1170 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted May 06, 2015
Try the DRM-free online gaming platform.

<span class="bold">GOG Galaxy</span>: our truly gamer-friendly, DRM-free online gaming platform. As we shared our vision with the world, we promised auto-patching, social functionality like chat, friends lists, and achievements. We promised our own multiplayer support and cross-play with Steam. Most importantly, we promised truly optional.



Today we deliver.
The <span class="bold">GOG Galaxy</span> client enters beta, open to anyone, with the most important functionality ready to try, test, enjoy (and break) at your leisure. We're proud to have gotten this far, and we know that we couldn't have done it without you all - that's everyone who spent months in alpha testing, that's those of you who talked to us about your needs and expectations, and it's every single one of you that has supported us since ever. So thanks, GOG Galaxy is for you!

With the <span class="bold">GOG Galaxy Beta</span>, you can install your games in one click and keep them up to date automatically, the beta currently supports this feature in all but a couple of titles available here. You can also perform backups easily by downloading a standalone installer through GOG Galaxy. The beta features a friends list, game time tracking, achievements, and chat. You can now talk to each other, connect with your group of friends, and see what everyone is playing. You can also try out our online multiplayer & matchmaking solution that, in select titles, includes cross-play: platform-independent multiplayer between gamers on GOG.com and Steam. If you download a patch that breaks something or if you just change your mind, the app will soon feature a unique rollback option to restore a previous version of your game.

Best of all, GOG Galaxy is optional. If you don't want to use any additional software, your experience with us won't change at all. If you only want to take advantage of select conveniences, you can toggle them on and off. It's all totally up to you.

You can sign up for the <span class="bold">GOG Galaxy Beta</span> and find out more on <span class="bold">gog.com/galaxy</span>, where we tell you about the features and answer many of the questions you may have. We'll be watching the forums carefully, so feel free to leave a comment if there is anything else that you'd like to know!
Posted May 10, 2015
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green.anger: The bigger concern I have is about inability to download DLC installer. There are installers, patches, but no DLC. If you want your DLC installed you'll have to install core game and then in the "Configure" sub-menu click checkboxes for needed DLC. What's more, for some games DLC are installed with the core game without your permission and you'll have to uninstall them later, if you don't need them. And as we know Galaxy doesn't download installers during installation. So the only option to get DLC installer is to go to the website. What is it, flawed design?
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skeletonbow: I think if the game comes from the publisher as a game installer/archive and separate DLC installer/archives, and in particular if the regular web based downloads provides the individual installers for them all, then it makes sense to offer that content as individual downloads within Galaxy also. I think some games come direct from the publisher as a single installer that includes all DLC directly integrated though, so the publisher would have to split things up in order for GOG to easily be able to offer it as optional separate downloads That is potentially doable if the publisher and GOG both think it's worth the effort to do though I suppose.
In that particular example I was talking about "Mark of the Ninja" which has separate installers for the core game and DLC on GOG.com. So there shouldn't be any additional effort to make it possible for the user to download them separately. They just need to add a link as they did for the base installer. I cannot understand such behaviour, hence the concern.
Post edited May 10, 2015 by green.anger
Posted May 11, 2015
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BKGaming: ...As far as Galaxy downloading DLC, have your tried going to library and click MORE -> Configure and see if you can uncheck DLC before download?
I'm not 100% sure, but I think I checked "Configure" sub-menu and as for any not installed game in the library it was disabled. Don't think it had anything regarding DLC. Looks like "Configure" sub-menu is meant to be for installed games only.
Posted May 11, 2015
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redrain85: It does seem to be a completely different procedure from the normal GOG installer. They're prioritizing install speed (not having to decompress) over increased download size.
My read is that they're prioritizing download size for updates over download size for the initial install.

If you're only going to have one strategy out the door, the one that avoids a 10 GB download with every The Witcher 3 patch seems like a better approach. ;)
Posted May 11, 2015
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ATimson: My read is that they're prioritizing download size for updates over download size for the initial install.

If you're only going to have one strategy out the door, the one that avoids a 10 GB download with every The Witcher 3 patch seems like a better approach. ;)
We've had smaller downloadable patches for a long time. The big difference now, is it's automated. Which, of course, is a good thing.
Post edited May 11, 2015 by redrain85
Posted May 11, 2015
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KthulhuX: Will GOG Galaxy ever support the movies that you can purchase on GOG.com ?
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skeletonbow: Good question. Depends on whether they want Galaxy to evolve into a general entertainment client I suppose but in theory it shouldn't be hard to add a simple player to the client using HTML5 technologies probably with the addition of an H.264 codec if it doesn't have one built in already. It's worth adding that suggestion to the Galaxy feature wishlist perhaps.

http://www.gog.com/wishlist
Or at the very least you could download the movies to view off the HDD.
Posted May 11, 2015
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skeletonbow: Good question. Depends on whether they want Galaxy to evolve into a general entertainment client I suppose but in theory it shouldn't be hard to add a simple player to the client using HTML5 technologies probably with the addition of an H.264 codec if it doesn't have one built in already. It's worth adding that suggestion to the Galaxy feature wishlist perhaps.

http://www.gog.com/wishlist
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KthulhuX: Or at the very least you could download the movies to view off the HDD.
And the very least the could have it were movies are downloaded with Galaxy and then when you click play, Galaxy could open your default video player (like VLC ect) to play the content.
Post edited May 11, 2015 by BKGaming
Posted May 11, 2015
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skeletonbow: Either way, it would be nice to hear clarification about this from a blue as there is definitely confusion about it, and some of the communication I've seen a few days ago was a little polarized rather than either observer being able to consider that both situations could be true in co-existence.

Having said that, if anyone has directly observed the installation of a _specific_ game to be Galaxy downloading a preinstalled version, or directly observed it downloading an installer and running it with commandline options to run in the background hidden and expand itself, if they could provide the raw data of their observations here that'd be nice too and take some of the speculation out of things.
If you click install, it always downloads game in pre-installed form on per-file basis. Yes, there is an ntallation script executed at the end which might look like our installer file name and can get big depending on redists included, but it cerainly isb't the standalone installer being downloaded and launched. If there is any exception to this, I'm not aware of it.

There is a compression planned to speed up initial installation as well as support for byte differential patching to speed up updates. No ETA.

In regaerd to question about archiving installations - said installation script will be in future included with game installation for games that require it. This way the installation will be backupable and upon resoting it on a fresh OS all it will take will be launching the script to have it working.
Post edited May 11, 2015 by Destro
Posted May 11, 2015
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Destro: If you click install, it always downloads game in pre-installed form on per-file basis. Yes, there is an ntallation script executed at the end which might look like our installer file name and can get big depending on redists included, but it cerainly isb't the standalone installer being downloaded and launched. If there is any exception to this, I'm not aware of it.

There is a compression planned to speed up initial installation as well as support for byte differential patching to speed up updates. No ETA.

In regaerd to question about archiving installations - said installation script will be in future included with game installation for games that require it. This way the installation will be backupable and upon resoting it on a fresh OS all it will take will be launching the script to have it working.
Awesome, thanks for the official clarification Destro, bookmarking your comment for use if it comes up again in the forums as duplication of confusion. Always nice to have official statements of clarification like this.
Posted May 11, 2015
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skeletonbow: Either way, it would be nice to hear clarification about this from a blue as there is definitely confusion about it, and some of the communication I've seen a few days ago was a little polarized rather than either observer being able to consider that both situations could be true in co-existence.

Having said that, if anyone has directly observed the installation of a _specific_ game to be Galaxy downloading a preinstalled version, or directly observed it downloading an installer and running it with commandline options to run in the background hidden and expand itself, if they could provide the raw data of their observations here that'd be nice too and take some of the speculation out of things.
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Destro: If you click install, it always downloads game in pre-installed form on per-file basis. Yes, there is an ntallation script executed at the end which might look like our installer file name and can get big depending on redists included, but it cerainly isb't the standalone installer being downloaded and launched. If there is any exception to this, I'm not aware of it.

There is a compression planned to speed up initial installation as well as support for byte differential patching to speed up updates. No ETA.

In regaerd to question about archiving installations - said installation script will be in future included with game installation for games that require it. This way the installation will be backupable and upon resoting it on a fresh OS all it will take will be launching the script to have it working.
Great info, thanks Destro.

So as far as the installation script that means we will be able to archive our Galaxy games, then say re-install by un-zipping our games and running the script which will create the registry entries ect. So with this we can create a archive that doesn't require Galaxy to be re-installed? If so that is what I was hoping for... :)
Posted May 11, 2015
I am seriously getting pissed at this thing breaking into my games to tell me I've lost my connection or I have a message or someone wants to friend me. Galaxy my ass, its more like my mom! :P
Post edited May 11, 2015 by tinyE
Posted May 11, 2015
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BKGaming: So as far as the installation script that means we will be able to archive our Galaxy games, then say re-install by un-zipping our games and running the script which will create the registry entries ect. So with this we can create a archive that doesn't require Galaxy to be re-installed? If so that is what I was hoping for... :)
If that's what we're getting, then that's great. Certainly sounds like it. Also, byte level patching (aka delta patching) would be a nice improvement. (Whenever it gets around to being implemented.)
Posted May 11, 2015
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BKGaming: So as far as the installation script that means we will be able to archive our Galaxy games, then say re-install by un-zipping our games and running the script which will create the registry entries ect. So with this we can create a archive that doesn't require Galaxy to be re-installed? If so that is what I was hoping for... :)
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redrain85: If that's what we're getting, then that's great. Certainly sounds like it. Also, byte level patching (aka delta patching) would be a nice improvement. (Whenever it gets around to being implemented.)
Would defiantly make these "Galaxy is DRM" arguments totally invalid. Would also make me feel better about not keeping a standalone installer as a backup. xD
Post edited May 11, 2015 by BKGaming
Posted May 11, 2015
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Destro: If you click install, it always downloads game in pre-installed form on per-file basis. Yes, there is an ntallation script executed at the end which might look like our installer file name and can get big depending on redists included, but it cerainly isb't the standalone installer being downloaded and launched. If there is any exception to this, I'm not aware of it.

There is a compression planned to speed up initial installation as well as support for byte differential patching to speed up updates. No ETA.

In regaerd to question about archiving installations - said installation script will be in future included with game installation for games that require it. This way the installation will be backupable and upon resoting it on a fresh OS all it will take will be launching the script to have it working.
So if I have downloaded a standalone installer and then I click on install in Galaxy it will download a pre-installed form again and not use the standalone installer? It will effectively download the game twice?

I would regard this as a bit of waste. Why not using at least the content of any existing standalone installer?

People who prefer to have the standalone installer would probably then have to install them using the standalone installer and never ever touch the install button in Galaxy but just add the games after install? Seems a bit cumbersome but still doable.
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BKGaming: Would defiantly make these "Galaxy is DRM" arguments totally invalid. Would also make me feel better about not keeping a standalone installer as a backup. xD
This is still only a possible future. I'm typically only convinced if something is really reality. So let's wait and hope for the best. But nobody really knows how nice GOG will be.
Post edited May 11, 2015 by Trilarion
Posted May 11, 2015
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Trilarion: So if I have downloaded a standalone installer and then I click on install in Galaxy it will download a pre-installed form again and not use the standalone installer? It will effectively download the game twice?

I would regard this as a bit of waste. Why not using at least the content of any existing standalone installer?

People who prefer to have the standalone installer would probably then have to install them using the standalone installer and never ever touch the install button in Galaxy but just add the games after install? Seems a bit cumbersome but still doable.
No if you download a standalone installer (assuming it be updated for Galaxy, and eventually all of them will be), and you install it manually then you won't have an install button in Galaxy... you will have a play button because they game will already be installed.

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Trilarion: This is still only a possible future. I'm typically only convinced if something is really reality. So let's wait and hope for the best. But nobody really knows how nice GOG will be.
That's the plan. ;)
Posted May 11, 2015
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BKGaming: No if you download a standalone installer (assuming it be updated for Galaxy, and eventually all of them will be), and you install it manually then you won't have an install button in Galaxy... you will have a play button because they game will already be installed ...
That's good. But then the install button could as well start my downloaded standalone installer (updated for Galaxy)? I hope it will.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionGOG Galaxy Beta starts now(1170 posts)(1170 posts)
(1170 posts)