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General discussionIntroducing: GOG Galaxy, the DRM-Free online gaming platform(917 posts)(917 posts)
(917 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted June 06, 2014
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
Posted June 08, 2014
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Tirido: About second comment, DRM-free is the key feature of GOG. I love it and don't want GOG to give up on this. What I meant it should somehow make big publishers sell their newer games on GOG. Maybe not in day one but after 2-3 years later. I think old games = older generation of gamers and they are less than young / new generation of gamers so new generation are bigger potential customer.

In short what i want to say, if there is a way to increase GOG's library and customers, GOG should try it with Galaxy platform. I'm looking at business perspective. How GOG can increase customers so it can be more competitive, so it can be more powerful in front of publishers so it can add their games to GOG more easily so we can play more games on GOG with DRM-free. That's all.
Okay but how? I don't really see a method if the one thing that stops them from bringing games is the DRM-free rule which larger publishers don't accept?
Posted June 08, 2014
high rated
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skeecher: I'm always suspicious when Steam (spit!) gets mentioned in close proximity to GoG, but I suppose this might be a good idea for many players and it would attract alot more publishers to GoG.

But I've still got my suspicious eye on you. Always remember to spit after you say Steam (spit!), that would be more reassuring to me. I have this nightmare that Steam (spit!) might one day try and buy out GoG, y'see.

It would be the end of the world if that ever happened :(
XD - thanks, I like your way of approaching Steam (spit!).
Posted June 08, 2014
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JMich: ...
I think I've just been JMich'd :(

No, honestly... I really like how you get statistics out of everything. It's quite interesting, especially if some time passed since the event. But... Looking at your numbers and at what we had when GOG announced regional pricing: "One World, One Price" is more important to GOG users, than "DRM free"!? Because the reaction to regional pricing wasn't anything like 4:1 or 70/30 (at least perceived - please don't analyze those threads as well! I really don't want to make you waste/spend your time on re-reading all those old threads).
Posted June 08, 2014
When did GOG hire George Lopez to narrate their videos?
Posted June 08, 2014
I don't care about one world one price. It's pocketchange. What I do care about is that the games that I have bought are mine and not rented and can be taken from me without notice.

I have always looked at GOG as a niche business that caters to customers that don't like the business model of Steam, Origin and similar services. I am surprised that so many are prepared to compromise with DRM for the sake of being able to click 4 times instead of six.
Post edited June 08, 2014 by Diversion
Posted June 08, 2014
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real.geizterfahr: It's quite interesting, especially if some time passed since the event.
Good memory, slight OCPD that makes me read most threads and a fast reading speed do come in handy, though it usually means I have to go look for the exact thread.

As to the regional pricing debate, I think it had to do with discrimination, not with the price. We did have Americans (who pay the baseline) complain, we did have a few Russians (who pay less than the baseline) complain, and we obviously had Europeans and Australians complain.

GOG is a place where you are a gamer, and are respected as one, no matter what kind of gamer you identify yourself as. Regional pricing was seen as creating the distinction of "Rich Gamer" and "Poor Gamer", so that is why imho there was that reaction.

And I also wish to point out the difference between equality and equity, even if it is a bit off topic.
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Diversion: I am surprised that so many are prepared to compromise with DRM for the sake of being able to click 4 times instead of six.
What DRM? What compromise?
You wish to use a client to auto-update your games? Do so.
You hate clients? Don't use one, and update your games manually.
You like the client, but don't want to auto-update your games? Opt-out of automatic updates.
You don't have internet at home? Who cares, still have the same experience you had, play your games like you always did.
Attachments:
equality-and-equ.jpg (114 Kb)
Post edited June 08, 2014 by JMich
Posted June 08, 2014
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JMich: What DRM? What compromise?
You wish to use a client to auto-update your games? Do so.
You hate clients? Don't use one, and update your games manually.
You like the client, but don't want to auto-update your games? Opt-out of automatic updates.
You don't have internet at home? Who cares, still have the same experience you had, play your games like you always did.
This depends on GOG Galaxy matchmaking. If games with GOG Galaxy matchmaking are going to need you to use the client/account because 'if you play online, you're online anyway', then that encourages games with their multiplayer walled off behind client/accounts rather than true non-reliant options like cd-keys which are only checked for duplicates in matches with other people and the like (hardly ideal but at least an option that doesn't have you rely on an outside service)
Post edited June 08, 2014 by Pheace
Posted June 08, 2014
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Pheace: This depends on GOG Galaxy matchmaking.
You mean like Brutal Legend? Or like Planetary Annihilation? Or like ArmA 2?
Posted June 08, 2014
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Pheace: This depends on GOG Galaxy matchmaking.
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JMich: You mean like Brutal Legend? Or like Planetary Annihilation? Or like ArmA 2?
Do those use GOG Galaxy matchmaking? The only game I'm aware of currently is their new Witcher game.
Posted June 08, 2014
I for one am looking forward to a steam alternative, while I have and love steam, I also have this fear in the back of my mind that one day they just change the terms on me, and I can no longer access my games, the one thing I love and support on GOG, is the freedom of choice, I can go somewhere I have no internet, and play, or even somewhere no power if I bring a laptop, and play. So an option to play with others is just that an option, it takes nothing away from me only adds to what we already have. GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So thanks for keeping us FIRST in your decisions.
Posted June 08, 2014
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JMich: You mean like Brutal Legend? Or like Planetary Annihilation? Or like ArmA 2?
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Pheace: Do those use GOG Galaxy matchmaking? The only game I'm aware of currently is their new Witcher game.
Brutal Legend uses steamworks. Without using Steam, no online play.
Planetary Annihilation will have LAN and Direct Connect, and also an official server for matchmaking and "official" ladder. The official server will require an account.
ArmA 2 I think doesn't support LAN play, and for the server browser you had to rely on a 3rd party, though you could connect to a server directly if you knew its IP address.

So, we already have games that rely on 3rd party tools for multiplayer, and what I've seen and heard so far about GOG Galaxy leads me to believe that at worse it allows multiplayer only through it (Brutal Legend case), at best it allows another way of multiplaying (Planetary Annihilation case). Not to mention that it may allow multiplayer where the multiplayer servers have been taken offline (KKnD).
Posted June 08, 2014
Galaxy looks like a great-step for the future of GOG, but for me, any game client must have these three features:
- auto-updates
- cloud saves
- really easy installation process ("one click to download and stuff')

The auto-update feature has been announced, I can wait to view the install process, so, does the Galaxy client will support cloud saves? Last year, I reinstall a bunch of time Windows and Linux on my computers, and it really suck to check local saves.

Also, I would be pleased if the Galaxy client support the time-tracking, knowing how many time I play a game is the only achievement that count to me :]

Thank you.
Posted June 08, 2014
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real.geizterfahr: It's quite interesting, especially if some time passed since the event.
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JMich: Good memory, slight OCPD that makes me read most threads and a fast reading speed do come in handy, though it usually means I have to go look for the exact thread.

As to the regional pricing debate, I think it had to do with discrimination, not with the price. We did have Americans (who pay the baseline) complain, we did have a few Russians (who pay less than the baseline) complain, and we obviously had Europeans and Australians complain.

GOG is a place where you are a gamer, and are respected as one, no matter what kind of gamer you identify yourself as. Regional pricing was seen as creating the distinction of "Rich Gamer" and "Poor Gamer", so that is why imho there was that reaction.

And I also wish to point out the difference between equality and equity, even if it is a bit off topic.
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Diversion: I am surprised that so many are prepared to compromise with DRM for the sake of being able to click 4 times instead of six.
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JMich: What DRM? What compromise?
You wish to use a client to auto-update your games? Do so.
You hate clients? Don't use one, and update your games manually.
You like the client, but don't want to auto-update your games? Opt-out of automatic updates.
You don't have internet at home? Who cares, still have the same experience you had, play your games like you always did.
It is DRM if a game in its original form allowed you to host multiplayer without using additional software and that ability is removed so that you MUST use Galaxy for multiplayer. As I said if that ability wasn't in the game to begin with it's another matter.

I am not opposed to Galaxy per se as long as it is optional and games are not tampered with to decrease their original functionality. I am mainly talking about older games here that allowed you to host or connect directly to the hosts IP. Those games had no dedicated server it was p2p. Xwing vs Tie Fighter and Galactic Battlegrounds to name some examples even though they are not in GOGs catalogue.
Posted June 08, 2014
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JMich: So, we already have games that rely on 3rd party tools for multiplayer, and what I've seen and heard so far about GOG Galaxy leads me to believe that at worse it allows multiplayer only through it (Brutal Legend case), at best it allows another way of multiplaying (Planetary Annihilation case). Not to mention that it may allow multiplayer where the multiplayer servers have been taken offline (KKnD).
So, your point is that GOG's already allowing it with some games, so why complain if they get their own client and actively encourage development of games with that kind of multiplayer portals?

At the moment it sounds like Galaxy will be required for multiplayer under their design, which means that it'd be like GFWL and has the potential to go down in the future. While I personally don't have issues with that kind of system, I do know that this is quite counter to what a lot of people want out of DRM-free. It puts multiplayer behind a perishable service system. And while I realize there's only so many ways a system can be set up, and that GOG has been left out because of their stance on DRM, it's quite something else if they were suddenly going to be promoting building games around this kind of multiplayer service themselves. (Again, this is based on the notion that the Client/Account will be required, a question I asked earler and to which we have no confirmation yet, and I'm talking GALAXY Matchmaking, the games that'll be designed for it)
Post edited June 08, 2014 by Pheace
Posted June 08, 2014
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Diversion: It is DRM if a game in its original form allowed you to host multiplayer without using additional software and that ability is removed so that you MUST use Galaxy for multiplayer. As I said if that ability wasn't in the game to begin with it's another matter.
So it's a hypothetical DRM, assuming they decide to remove present functionality in place of their own. Or more or less
"Damn you GOG for requiring me to use the client to play my single player games".
From my understanding of their statements so far, any current functionality of a game will remain the same even after Galaxy is released. Any functionality Galaxy adds will be in addition to current ones.
It does beg the question of what happens if a developer decides to only use Galaxy for matchmaking, but that is no different from a game where the developer decides to only use Steamworks (or GFWL, or Gamespy) for matchmaking.

So from what I understand of the Galaxy, I am glad to have the option of using 4 clicks instead of 6, especially since I don't see any DRM entering the equations.
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Pheace: So, your point is that GOG's already allowing it with some games, so why complain if they get their own client and actively encourage development of games with that kind of multiplayer portals?
My point is that Galaxy is another matchmaking service, which the developer may choose to use or ignore. If a game is released with only Galaxy, it's no different from a game released only with GFWL, Gamespy or Steamworks functionality. If a game is released with Galaxy support, along with LAN, Direct Connect and Hot Seat support, it's (still) no different from a game released with LAN, Direct Connect, Hot Seat and Gamespy support.

Boycotting a game because it only uses Galaxy as network play is the same as boycotting one for only using Steamworks.

Or am I missing something in what you are trying to say?
Post edited June 08, 2014 by JMich
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Community
General discussionIntroducing: GOG Galaxy, the DRM-Free online gaming platform(917 posts)(917 posts)
(917 posts)