speakk: I feel like GOG has been going downhill in the aspects that brought be to GOG and kept me engaged here:

- DRM free? You can certainly download games without a client (still, even though god damn those clients are being pushed hard), but there is no guarantee that the game is actually DRM free anymore. You always have to go read through the comments to find out if the game actually implements a DRM scheme or not, GOG often will not tell you.

- Update notifications? An awesome feature that literally kept me coming back every day. Well, after silently dropping them as a feature, indeed without letting anyone know, I found the huge community updated thread with new updates listed. The community is now responsible for doing the job of the platform. I can't even sort my library by last updated to be able to look up the changelogs myself.

- The client? At its current state the client is something I can ignore, but considering the slippery slope of more DRM games coming into GOG, I wouldn't be surprised if more and more functionality was moved onto the client. And no, I don't want a linux version of the client either, I can already type 'cd ~/games ; ls' and be done with it, or dl a game installer from the site.

- All platforms equal? Now this one is not black and white because I certainly don't have any hard data on this, but it certainly _feels_ like more and more Windows-only games are coming to this place. However, I won't put the blame of this completely on GOG, it's just something that has made me sad. Feel free to ignore this particular point if you wish. And btw I too have enjoyed some of the Windows games here via Wine, so I'm certainly not completely against it anyway.

All in all, GOG used to be a place I would, without reservations, recommend for everyone, telling them this is the only way not to let DRM become the only thing people know. Nowadays though, I'm starting to hope a viable alternative might pop up, because I'm certainly losing hope with GOG itself.

Discussion welcome, keep it civil and be nice to each other! :)

JakobFel: As a guy who doesn't have or particularly want a credit card, my only options are to use Paysafecard (which I've never used before and is only available in stores that are about a 30 minute drive away) or borrow a relative's credit card with their permission and reimburse them. Prepaid credit cards don't work because they are only permitted for US-based transactions. So really, the ONLY reason I still purchase most of my games on Steam is because of how difficult it is for me to purchase via GOG. If they got those prepaid cards like Steam has, I'd be using GOG almost exclusively.

JakobFel: Nobody's perfect but GOG is the greatest place to purchase games right now, IMO.

GlorFindel: GOG is pretty much a dead thing; in a few months/a year Galaxy will be the only way to download games from GOG.

GameRager: Not to pry or sound like i'm pushing, but what about bank debit cards(or even ones from a credit union that come with accounts)? One can use them here and they are decently secure/safe.

(Or one can even[if they have a bank account] use paypal here as well)

fronzelneekburm: Yeah, what else is new. ;P

JakobFel: No worries, I didn't take that as prying/pushing.

JakobFel: I could, theoretically, use one of those but I've always been a bit nervous using those cards, period. I've always been a guy who prefers one-off payment, whether it's via direct transfer of cash or through one-off prepaid cards. I get even more nervous with those cards when it comes to online shopping. I honestly despite all forms of online shopping but GOG is one of those sites that I like, simply because they do their best to make it feel more like classic retail and they maintain the classic spirit of physical retail. As for Paypal, as far as I'm aware, I'd have to tie that directly to my bank account as well and then I'd run into a similar issue.

GameRager: Thanks....and yeah I figured you might not see it that way, but some do so I usually try to make sure I don't cross any lines or offend when saying such things. :)

GameRager: All I know as per bank cards is that the info is usually very secure on sites like GOG, and even if one had a "suspicious charge" the bank or such will usually refund the money if you call them...that's been my experience, anyways.

Also no worries....you do as you see fit...I was just musing some other ideas that work for me that might work for you and others should you ever choose to use them. :)

JakobFel: If I did end up doing something like that, I'd really be locking my PC down every time I make a transaction lol, I'd probably use Avast's secure browser and everything. I hate dealing with that sort of thing even if I'm able to avoid suspicious charges and such. I mean, I just figure it'd be so much easier if they had those prepaid cards. Run down to the store, grab a card, give the cashier $20, run back home, scratch the stuff off the back, enter the code and I'd be good to go.. instead of having to deal with the hassle of banks and the worry of possibly losing my info somehow lol

GameRager: Cards would be nice but I dunno how many would use em....also they are plastic waste to add to the landfill.

Hmm, maybe if they allowed them to be reloaded with cash at various IRL stores.....that could work, and reduce plastic waste. :)

JakobFel: I know it sounds insensitive but I'm not all that concerned with plastic waste because I usually save my old ones anyways. Sometimes I'll turn them into guitar picks, sometimes I'll just use them as decoration or, most recently, I was able to use one to scrape old thermal paste off of my CPU when I got a new CPU cooler.

JakobFel: One thing I've noticed about the Steam cards as of late is that they've been more of this card stock material anyways, so it's less of a concern. Reloadable ones would be a nice option, no doubt. It'd all be so much simpler if these stupid prepaid credit cards weren't restricted to be used in the US only.

TheDudeLebowski: Please explain how this is DRM.

GameRager: You find new uses for stuff as well?

Smart man. :)

Now if only more were like that.....

GameRager: Yeah, dunno why a card with MC or Visa on it cannot be used in any country that accept such....seems dumb to me(well barring some exceptions like imports and exports that need to be controlled).

JakobFel: Yeah, I was raised to be creative and find new uses for things. It saves money and prevents excessive waste, so why not? Haha but yeah, it used to be that those cards were usable outside of the US. A couple years ago, though, all of them changed their policy and made it so you can't use them outside of the US, even if you register it, which is frustrating to say the least.