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Freedom of choice. Optional client. Cross-play. Coming soon to all gamers!

Earlier today (or was it yesterday for you?), during the [url=http://www.gog.com/news/cd_projekt_red_gogcom_summer_conference]CD Projekt RED and GOG.com’s Summer Conference we dropped the news about our next big step forward! GOG.com has always been home to more and more of the the best games in history (for Windows and Mac), both classic and new. Differing in shapes, flavors, and sizes they had one thing in common: they were mostly single-player, and our focus was mainly on the experience of a singular gamer. If that's your thing, nothing really will change. You can always enjoy your favorite games 100% DRM-free on GOG.com, with no need to activate your game online or remain connected to play your single-player title. Just like GOG.com has always been about.. But what if you want to play with your friends?

Today we are excited to announce GOG Galaxy, a truly gamer-friendly, 100% DRM-free online gaming platform that will finally provide the GOG.com community with the easy option to play together online. GOG Galaxy will allow you to share your achievements, stay in touch with your pals and get the updates for your games automatically. We've developed this technology to improve your GOG.com experience. We think GOG Galaxy really deserves your attention and we hope many of you will give it a try! But, here's the great thing: it is totally optional, so it's all up to you! If you do not want to play online, or use our optional client to access these features, then no worries, you will always be able to play the single-player mode 100% DRM-free, and download manually the latest updated version of your favorite title from our website. Now, for one more feature we call cross-play. We always believed in an open world for gamers, with no obligation to be tied to a specific platform or client; and this is why GOG Galaxy will allow gamers to play with their buddies who use Steam, without any need to use any 3rd party client or account, nothing, nada. We’re taking care of connecting GOG.com and Steam players, so just sit back, relax and give it a try.

See the outtake from the CD Projekt RED & GOG.com Summer Conference

Talking of which, we are proud to announce the soon-to-come launch of the beta phase for The Witcher Adventure Game, a faithful adaptation of the board game of the same title. It allows up to 4 players to play together, whether they use Steam or GOG.com. Cross-play at its finest! If you wanna get the chance to try it out, please visit and sign up to get in the queue for your beta access key. You can also simply take advantage of our amazing [url=http://www.gog.com/tw3]pre-order offer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which includes 2 beta access keys for he Witcher Aventure Game, delivered to you as soon as we start handing them out to public.

We believe GOG Galaxy has the power to provide the best of both worlds. Playing the single player mode of your favorite game, 100% DRM-free, while still having the OPTION to use our soon-to-come client for an enhanced experience (auto-patching, achievements, and much more) or play online with other GOG.com (and Steam) players if you so wish.

There will be more GOG Galaxy titles coming up this year, so stay tuned for more news and get the word around!
Post edited June 06, 2014 by G-Doc
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skeecher: I have this nightmare that Steam (spit!) might one day try and buy out GoG, y'see.
i have this reoccurring suspicion that Steam was behind Gamestops purchase of (or rather- perversion of) Stardocks Impulse client. It became a mini-me of steam. The opposite of what Impulse previously was. Impulse gave options to those gamers who did not approve of Steams Term of Service, Privacy Policy, method, market influence, etc. When Gamestop got Impulse, the service stopped being a serious game-changing competitor to Steam, because it did things near the same way as Steam.

i liked how games could be bought, downloaded and installed using stardorks Impulse, and Then could entirely delete the Impulse client with absolutely No disruption in our ability to play these games - Owned. That client only ran when the User told it so - Pwned ! That is just how i like it !! -the client is pwned by User, rather than user getting pwned by client.

user control

.
- i hope that Gog Galaxy will fulfill the bought-out promise of Stardorks::Impulse. The king is dead. Long Live The King!
Post edited June 06, 2014 by WhiteElk
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JudasIscariot: As I said earlier, I think there will be settings that will allow you to customize Galaxy to your liking :)
I know. :) I just wanted to support the voice and the part about sorting additional content (patches, bonuses, etc.) in directories. That's something I would really appreciate having as one of possible default configurations.
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DrearierSpider: His opinion is illogical. Why would you "-1" when they're only giving you more options, you don't have to use Galaxy or any of the new features. I get not liking Galaxy, but it won't even affect him in that case.
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Smannesman: Am I the 'his' in this situation?
Your post is not very clear.
I love how the 'amazing' community that everyone always mentions is A) unable to recognize a bad joke when they see it and B) immediately downrate anybody that has an opinion they don't like.
The very first post made said +1 because they liked the idea and yet it's impossible to rate an official post, so since I'm not excited about the idea I jokingly said -1.
Yes, you were the original person that I was referring to. How was I supposed to recognize that you were being sarcastic/making a bad joke from plain text? And I'm fine with people having opinions that aren't my own, as long as they can be logically argued. I don't think anybody has any logical reason to complain about Galaxy, as it's entirely optional and won't change GOG for you at all if you don't want it. I apologize for the confusion though, I didn't realize you were joking.
If GOG Galaxy uses ownership check it's not DRM free, because ownership check = DRM.
They say it's optional unless you want to play multiplayer.
To me it's nearly the same than saying that Steam DRM is optional unless you want to play the game.
The Guy in the video says, that players have to be online to play multiplayer anyway, but the need of internet to play a game isn't DRM.
The need of a service, checking if you are authorized to play the game (or parts of it) is.
The reason I want to play DRM-free games is not that I have a poor internet connection or services like Steam are spying at me.
It's because I want to own the (whole) games I buy.

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inc09nito: We can't stay in middle ages forever. We want more games on GOG and it often means: new games with multiplayer.
If the guys from GOG think DRM-free multiplayer is a relic of the middle ages, they should say so.
But instead of doing so, they claim that GOG Galaxy is “a truly gamer-friendly, 100% DRM-free online gaming platform”.
If they want to drop their principles of being DRM-free they should say so, but instead they claim the opposite.
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Shendue: Eh. I hope things like this were just the byproduct of anxiety. I've seen way worse things made in the name of profict.
See - this is the problem. I rarely mind WHAT people think, most of the time it is HOW they think that irks me.
When I see something new, my gut instinct isn't to suspect it to be catastrophic. I encourage you to drop the doomsaying.

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Shendue: We are talking about the same company that not so far in the past pulled off a Microsoft and decided to throw away their own fair price policy just to take it back in a few days due to the huge negative reaction.
That's what I call "listening to customer feedback". Do you know what the difference is? People were reacting to REALITY, not imaginary scenarios that could have occured further down the line.
Furthermore, and this is as much of a conjecture as what you have said explicitly and otherwise, I believe even in that very instance they were trying to act with our best interest in mind.
Ultimately - we have very little control over how other people act. All we can rely on is the respect they have for us and trust we have in them. Hypothetically - your wife could stab you do death in your sleep, but you probably neither consider nor make plans to save yourself from such a scenario. Hell - lacking this basic form of trust would mean living as if everyone around us was pretty much a zombie infectee that could turn against us at any point. Society cannot function like that.

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Shendue: Everyone is entitled to their opinion and, as far as i know, a internet forum is something you can reply in. If people's opinions annoy you, just don't read them.
That's not what I was making fun of. I mostly meant to underline the contradictory fact that people kept going on and on about how they "don't care" about multiplayer, achievements, and such... When you don't care about things, you're not usually vocal about them. There's a plethora of things that people don't care about, more than the ones they do. Similarly - there's a lot more things that DO NOT exist than things that do. Mentioning the things you don't care about, if at all possible, serves very little purpose. Having a very particular set of things one very much doesn't care about... is paradoxical.
high rated
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Libelsema: If GOG Galaxy uses ownership check it's not DRM free, because ownership check = DRM.
They say it's optional unless you want to play multiplayer.
To me it's nearly the same than saying that Steam DRM is optional unless you want to play the game.
The Guy in the video says, that players have to be online to play multiplayer anyway, but the need of internet to play a game isn't DRM.
The need of a service, checking if you are authorized to play the game (or parts of it) is.
The reason I want to play DRM-free games is not that I have a poor internet connection or services like Steam are spying at me.
It's because I want to own the (whole) games I buy.

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inc09nito: We can't stay in middle ages forever. We want more games on GOG and it often means: new games with multiplayer.
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Libelsema: If the guys from GOG think DRM-free multiplayer is a relic of the middle ages, they should say so.
But instead of doing so, they claim that GOG Galaxy is “a truly gamer-friendly, 100% DRM-free online gaming platform”.
If they want to drop their principles of being DRM-free they should say so, but instead they claim the opposite.
So by offering everyone from GOG the chance to play with their friends regardless of the service their friends use is DRM now? We aren't restricting you from playing a game nor are we taking any control from you nor will we be spying on you, in case you are wondering.

As for ownership checks, well, you have to log into your GOG account to purchase and download a game so is that DRM as well?
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Vestin: See - this is the problem. I rarely mind WHAT people think, most of the time it is HOW they think that irks me.
When I see something new, my gut instinct isn't to suspect it to be catastrophic. I encourage you to drop the doomsaying.
I rarely judge by my guts. I judge things by my experience. Which i've learnt to be more reliable then my guts, by, uh, my experience.

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Vestin: That's what I call "listening to customer feedback". Do you know what the difference is? People were reacting to REALITY, not imaginary scenarios that could have occured further down the line.
Furthermore, and this is as much of a conjecture as what you have said explicitly and otherwise, I believe even in that very instance they were trying to act with our best interest in mind.
Ultimately - we have very little control over how other people act. All we can rely on is the respect they have for us and trust we have in them. Hypothetically - your wife could stab you do death in your sleep, but you probably neither consider nor make plans to save yourself from such a scenario. Hell - lacking this basic form of trust would mean living as if everyone around us was pretty much a zombie infectee that could turn against us at any point. Society cannot function like that.
Being overly dramatic won't deny the simple truth that being CAREFUL (not paranoid, mind, careful) is the only reason the whole human genre didn't vanish in the belly of T-Rexes long ago. I think you are reading too much into my previous comments. I never said the service is gonna be bad. I just wrote i'll suspend my judgement before actually seeing how that will turn out, which doesn't strike me as much different than what you suggested as an optimal reaction. The only difference between you and me is that i've learnt, the hard way, not to be too optimistic about companies (that do what they do for PROFIT, in case you didn't know, they aren't charity associations) when they claim they are doing things "with my best interest" in mind. Therefore, i preventively express my doubts before anything bad may happen. I'm pretty sure that giving feedback to a company about what i won't like to see is much more constructive and smart then having to whine about it after it occurs. I like prevention over reaction.
And the fact that people have very little control over other people's actions never convinced me. I respect your opinion, but i think there's a bazillion cases that proves the opposite. Just to stay in tune with the topic, as i wrote earlier, the "fair price" thing on GOG and the Microsoft Xbox One "no used games, always online" policies, that were changed purposedly BECAUSE PEOPLE COMPLAINED. Take that, "no control over other people's actions"!

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Vestin: That's not what I was making fun of. I mostly meant to underline the contradictory fact that people kept going on and on about how they "don't care" about multiplayer, achievements, and such... When you don't care about things, you're not usually vocal about them. There's a plethora of things that people don't care about, more than the ones they do. Similarly - there's a lot more things that DO NOT exist than things that do. Mentioning the things you don't care about, if at all possible, serves very little purpose. Having a very particular set of things one very much doesn't care about... is paradoxical.
Your reasoning is very stretched and forced at best.
First of all, grouping my own thought to those of other people, generalizing them, isn't nice nor smart. You don't know me and you don't know how i normally express my thoughts, so your generalization it's just pointless if not outright offensive.
Second, fact is, i DO am vocal about things i don't like. Everytime. I actively protest for small things or more important matters. I think expressing your discontempt about something when you don't like it is not only your right, buy your DUTY. If people accept everything without ever complaining they are just mindless sheeps. Should i only be vocal about things i like? That wouldn't make any sense. If i create a product and the customers' feedback is all "yeah, i like this, yeah, i like that", i won't ever be able to tell if something is wrong with it or if there are some aspects i SHOULDN'T implement in future because those will displease my customers. Expressing what you DON'T like, what DOES NOT work, is much more important than the opposite. Expressing what you like may be a suggestion or just a compliment, but not criticism. And it's criticism that make things better, not compliments.
Post edited June 06, 2014 by Shendue
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Libelsema: They say it's optional unless you want to play multiplayer.
...
I want to own the (whole) games I buy.
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JudasIscariot: As for ownership checks, well, you have to log into your GOG account to purchase and download a game so is that DRM as well?
If I purchase and download a game from GOG.com, is there a possibility that I will be locked out from using any part of it at a possible future date?
Post edited June 07, 2014 by skirtish
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Shendue: not to be too optimistic about companies (that do what they do for PROFIT, in case you didn't know, they aren't charity associations) when they claim they are doing things "with my best interest" in mind.
There doesn't have to be a single reason behind every single action. It does make things simpler when one suffers for what is right, since then the motive of self-interest can more easily be ruled out, but it's not unreasonable to assume that we can want good things that are also good for us. By analogy - companies do need to be profitable to exist, but don't necessarily do EVERYTHING just because they're after money, and they don't have to do things ONLY because they are after money.
Some artists like to create art while also getting paid for it. This doesn't mean they are only doing it for the money, nor does it mean they are only doing it for their own enjoyment, or for art itself...
Again - I mislike simple and singular motive attribution.

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Shendue: Second, fact is, i DO am vocal about things i don't like.
There is a very sharp difference between things one DOESN'T LIKE and things one doesn't CARE ABOUT.
Hell - that was pretty much my point. It's not like people "don't care about" the things they so relentlessly mention...
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Libelsema: If GOG Galaxy uses ownership check it's not DRM free, because ownership check = DRM.
What if checking ownership status is not a function of Galaxy, but of each game (which is the case with multiplayer for several games currently on GOG)?
Post edited June 06, 2014 by Maighstir
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Libelsema: If GOG Galaxy uses ownership check it's not DRM free, because ownership check = DRM.
They say it's optional unless you want to play multiplayer.
To me it's nearly the same than saying that Steam DRM is optional unless you want to play the game.
The Guy in the video says, that players have to be online to play multiplayer anyway, but the need of internet to play a game isn't DRM.
The need of a service, checking if you are authorized to play the game (or parts of it) is.
The reason I want to play DRM-free games is not that I have a poor internet connection or services like Steam are spying at me.
It's because I want to own the (whole) games I buy.

If the guys from GOG think DRM-free multiplayer is a relic of the middle ages, they should say so.
But instead of doing so, they claim that GOG Galaxy is “a truly gamer-friendly, 100% DRM-free online gaming platform”.
If they want to drop their principles of being DRM-free they should say so, but instead they claim the opposite.
avatar
JudasIscariot: So by offering everyone from GOG the chance to play with their friends regardless of the service their friends use is DRM now? We aren't restricting you from playing a game nor are we taking any control from you nor will we be spying on you, in case you are wondering.

As for ownership checks, well, you have to log into your GOG account to purchase and download a game so is that DRM as well?
Well to me it's a difference, if the Game checks the Ownership or the site where I download the game does. It's clear to me that in our word digital distribution without any kind of DRM wouldn't work. And it's also clear, that it's difficult to ensure that all multiplayer games on GOG run without any authorization (except for downloading the game). But I think that GOG Galaxy is hardly more DRM-free than Steam, Origin or U-Play. Sure you still can download the game and play it singleplayer without any client, but I don't consider this as part of GOG Galaxy (correct me if I'm wrong).
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Libelsema: If GOG Galaxy uses ownership check it's not DRM free, because ownership check = DRM.
They say it's optional unless you want to play multiplayer.
To me it's nearly the same than saying that Steam DRM is optional unless you want to play the game.
The Guy in the video says, that players have to be online to play multiplayer anyway, but the need of internet to play a game isn't DRM.
The need of a service, checking if you are authorized to play the game (or parts of it) is.
The reason I want to play DRM-free games is not that I have a poor internet connection or services like Steam are spying at me.
It's because I want to own the (whole) games I buy.
I'm curious, could you please elaborate? Tell us what kind of client GOG needs to deliver so that it adheres to being DRM-free.
Post edited June 06, 2014 by JohnnyDollar
Are you guys going to incorporate achievements for the older games that normally have no achievements (for instance pretty much those DOS games)?
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Smannesman: Am I the 'his' in this situation?
Your post is not very clear.
I love how the 'amazing' community that everyone always mentions is A) unable to recognize a bad joke when they see it and B) immediately downrate anybody that has an opinion they don't like.
The very first post made said +1 because they liked the idea and yet it's impossible to rate an official post, so since I'm not excited about the idea I jokingly said -1.
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DrearierSpider: Yes, you were the original person that I was referring to. How was I supposed to recognize that you were being sarcastic/making a bad joke from plain text? And I'm fine with people having opinions that aren't my own, as long as they can be logically argued. I don't think anybody has any logical reason to complain about Galaxy, as it's entirely optional and won't change GOG for you at all if you don't want it. I apologize for the confusion though, I didn't realize you were joking.
Here is a logical reason to not like Galaxy: it takes company resources away from other areas of the business. Even if you don't like or use Galaxy, by buying games from GOG you in fact paying for Galaxy because your payments are funneled into the development of that project. Think outside the box. For the record, I love the idea of Galaxy and I can't wait to try it out. I'm just playing devil's advocate.
Just dropping by to say I'm very pleased to see a GOG client on the horizon. Looking forward to using it in the near future!