I ran out of time trying to update my games. Especially now that there is no notification, how do I know if anything got updated. You want me to check all my games against a list, then open each game and verify that something may have changed? It's ludicrous at this point. When I had 100 games, sure. When I had 200 games it was cumbersome. At over 500 games I just have to depend on GOGRepo. I have a job and wife and kids, and LIFE. Updating my library should not take all my time.

This "solution" is only going to create more needless and complex work for you guys. Not to mention I fear it will cause delays in getting more important bug fix updates to games, some of which already suffer update delays compared to their Steam versions. I really don't understand why you can't just stick to having a separate download for Galaxy like Steam does for its client. Seems to work fine for them.

I do that with a much bigger list but I also find archival work somewhat relaxing.

For me there's an important reason for manual patching: Compatibility.
New versions often break mod- and sometimes OS support.

Best example?
Diablo 2 - LoD
HD-mod compatible with v1.12, not later.
There are more games were such is the case.

Breaking WinXP support is also a big deal for me since it was my last Windows and when support for it suddenly breaks in a later version, the files are useless for me.

The same goes for bundling.
When GOG removed the option to install Gothic 2 without the expansion, they effectively removed the lower difficulty setting since the expansion makes the game a lot harder by upping skill-point costs etc... throughout the whole game.
Wizard balancing was totally botched with it.

And up until the "Armello - DRM-free edition" PR disaster happened, I would have agreed with you. I'd have made the case that gog should put more of an effort into getting devs to patch their games here, but overall I would have agreed.

However, that changed when they announced their "special" version of Armello. That sent a pretty clear signal: "Hey guise, not only are we powerless to stop devs and publishers from selling preposterously outdated games on our platform, we're actually ENCOURAGING them." And there have been numerous instances where games were released here and they were missing features from the get go and gog ADVERTISED those missing features on the games' pages.

And that really got me thinking: This is supposed to be a curated store and all, but they don't even seem to have ever played the games they sell, or at the very least seem blissfully unaware that the versions they're selling have had huge chunks of features ripped out.

So yeah, I definitely blame them for that. And unless they SIGNIFICANTLY step up their game in that regard, things like forcing Galaxy on users by means of bloatware standalone installers add insult to injury.

And yes, Vlambeer/Rami Ismail is a dipshit who should lay off the Twitter and patch his games here instead.

The impression I got over the last years here is the following:

GOG was a shop limiting itself to a certain niche (DRM-free, pro consumer, anti regional pricing) and selling to a niche audience.
That was a good thing!
As long as you calculate with the right sums and don't get overambitious something like that can go well for a long time.
Now we see all this corporate style dishonest PR talk and erosion of every principle which has finally reached the last one (DRM-free) because someone high-up (probably shareholders) came with their usual growth by all means necessary approach and the result is becoming more and more like a direct competitor to Steam leaving its own ground/niche and entering the ring where giants already reside and have hammered their mark into the ground everywhere.

GOG's parent company wants GOG to grow until it crushes under its own weight and direct competition, probably because shareholders are usually stupid idiots with too much money and too few clues about actual work and everything involved. Their only ideal is usually the only one they know: Maximizing profit far out of proportion.

This cannot end well, neither for the niche DRM-free audience that will have to tend to other hobbies than gaming or to other stores currently in development (FireFlower, Zoom) again, nor for GOG itself which can't ever hope to survive on Steam's own ground.

This needs some clarification.

Will Galaxy be operable offline, or will the installer require online because it's only a stub?

GOG, what kind of elevated minds are working for your company??? You can't even manage a problem introduced by yourselves???

You GOG are stumbling like a headless chicken!!!

PS: I'll put my PC in a "don't buy anything from GOG by now" state, till things settle down, and you clear your minds.

I present, the best outcome:
ITS A PRANK BRO, JUST A PRANK

indeed. i took this to mean 100% online only installers. like, the game will ONLY install once you've connected so the galaxy bootstrap installer can do its thing.

i really hope not gog. ive remained pretty chill about this whole thing but this comment gave me pause.

Is that so... hey, I have this deal for you, I call it Great Deal Classic! You give me all your money and I'm gonna send you a gift code for Jack Keane 2! How can you possibly say "no" to that kind of classic deal? Eh? Eh?

(post commenting initial announcement that I didn't think got posted and thus talked about the same thing below)

Many of those issues are decisions by the games' developers or publishers. Why do you blame GOG for them?

"Abandoned" games are a modern myth in most, if not all cases. Copyrights usually don't just vanish with the companies holding them, they are sold to or inherited by other companies like all the other assets.

I concur about the forums, though. Removing the infamous rating system would be the very least, followed by moderation worthy of the name. And still, you buy here from time to time. And still, you read and post in these forums. If I lose my trust in a vendor, I just leave. What keeps you here?

I also wish for an update notification. In the meantime, a comparatively easy way to check for updates is to go to your games list after logging in and change "MY COLLECTION" at the left side right above the games list to "UPDATED". There you see the recently updated games. But keep in mind that they seem to be removed from that list if you go to their download page, so either don't do that or download the updates right away.

In addition to that, I have made it a habit to check a game for updates when I am about to install it from my local storage.

edit: wording, typo

Edit

(Misunderstood the post I was replying to - sorry)

I agree with those who said that people who download the installers are usually not looking for Galaxy. Offering Galaxy as a default because all features advertised should be available through the user in the default installation flow is
not a very good reason. You, GOG, can push the Galaxy installer itself directly as you already do in the homepage and in the Library. Do you really expect many people to miss the Try GOG Galaxy and download the standalone executables? You shouldn't care to push for those in the offline installers at all, someone who downloaded them has probably made a conscious decision to have just the game and not the client. If you must push for Galaxy in the installer, why not just have a banner that links to https://www.gog.com/galaxy and keep having a single set of installers?

My concern is always how easily can the "classic" DRM-Free offline installers be downloaded and maintained. The investment in Galaxy is well and understandable (and I personally use it, too) but if GOG is to continue to be DRM-Free then the standalone "classic" installers should continue to be updated and streamlined. And speaking of which, I'll continue to hope that they can someday be as easy to download as they were with the GOG Downloader - like an option in the Library to one-click-download everything of a game (without installing it): the "Game Backup Copy" installer + "Game Extras" goodies + "Cloud Saves Backup Copy".

With all the numerous alternative suggestions that have been made in this thread and in some other threads, it is easy to see that the move to "advertise" Galaxy and provide a "convenient" way for users not very "savvy" in using/installing software as announced by GOG is more than just missing the target.

What makes me wonder, is the given premise really the reason for the move to put Galaxy into the offline installers?

PS Alien Isolation is creepy and not much has happened yet. I was moving though a hall with body bags, dark, a bit of light, moved up some stairs, carefully, heard a cat meow, moved on, switched the power on, heard the cat screeching loud ending abruptly - stopped playing. Damn the atmosphere is so awesome and mean at the same time. I can really recommend this game if you are into the Alien universe.