Like InkPanther said, make it opt-in. If it's actually just a few extra megs I don't care if it's included, but having to make sure to uncheck a checkbox is underhanded.

"fictional"

next step : DRM
"connection required to play a game". lol

The plan is that instead of every time saying very loudly "I don't want Galaxy, no thanks!" you only have to say it once in a while now.

So somewhere there might be a possibility of downloading something that might run without Galaxy (for some time)... maybe.

So, are these "classic installers" already available? I want to use them. Where can I get them?

Not fictional at all.

Check the thread that linked you to, then [url=https://www.gog.com/forum/general/armello_will_be_removed_from_the_store_today]this thread. Notice that the official announcement of its removal was posted only in the game specific forum, unlike how game removals are announced.

I didn't realize I quoted you in my last message. My, sleepiness sure takes a toll on me.

Are people still debating this? Don't waste your time, the blues passed by long time ago.

t's not about offering the same prices, goodies, etc. It's about GOG's abandoned principles. DRM-free is basically all that's left from Good Old Games. And DRM-free is just as much a publisher choice as regional pricing, a 19.99 price tag for 10+ years old games or patches that don't come to GOG are their choice. You were the one who responded "Many of those issues are decisions by the games' developers or publishers. Why do you blame GOG for them?". Ask yourself the question what GOG should do. They dropped all their principles already. Except the DRM one (where we only have some borderline cases).

Care to elaborate? Again: read my post again:
If a publisher gives patches to Steam, but not to GOG, they abandoned the GOG version of the game. It's that simple. And Armello isn't a fictional example: https://www.gog.com/forum/general/armello_drmfree_edition_now_available_on_gog_2b6bf/page1 It got removed from GOG a month or so ago.

Look... I'm a customer. I don't exactly care whose fault it is, because for me the result stays the same: I end up with an abandoned game version. If I buy a game here, I expect that it gets patches, updates and DLC, just as on any other platform. I can NOT be sure about that on GOG anymore. I can't trust them with that, because there are quite a few examples of abandoned games. Is it GOG's fault? Is it a dev's fault? Is it a publisher's fault? Is it tinyE's fault? Who the f*ck cares?!? The game I paid for is outdated on GOG! That's all that matters to me. Buying games on GOG bares the risk to end up with an unpatched game.

Go, have a look at the Omerta forums. The dev's released a patch wich introduced a game breaking bug in one mission. Releasing a "fix" took them ages - and introduced a new game breaking bug after EVERY SINGLE MISSION! Someone asked the devs when they'll fix the new bug. Their answer was that they're a small team and that they can't support their old games forever. No more patches. GOG's fault? Nope. But not my effin' fault either. For me, the customer, there was one simple fact: The game was broken on GOG and perfectly functional on Steam. And that's the only thing that matters to me as a customer.

Missing patches, updates and DLC are the main reason why I don't buy stuff on GOG anymore. I love DRM free, but I love complete and patched games even more.

Only those installers are available currently, the "new" ones with Galaxy bundled should only appears in a couple of weeks once they manage to reduce Galaxy footprint.

It's possible that someone suggested something similar before me but this thread is too big to read it all.

I would have no problem with the following:


All installers would include a small downloader or a web browser (whichever selected by default) popup launch to download the latest galaxy client. You don't want the security risk for people to install an outdated one.

1. First check if a registry tag is set or something in an c:\Users\(Default or current username)\AppData\Local\gogfolder\settings.ini and read that file. If set to true/yes, Don't show the opted-in checkbox, don't do 2.1 or 2.2 and Install main game.
In linux it would be somewhere in /home/(username)/.config/gogfolder/settings (file can have an .conf ,no extension or .ini)
I don't know where it would be in OSX.

2.1 If you guys programmed the opted-in checkbox before installing the game;;
-Check if the galaxy is already installed, if yes goto Install main game.
-Ping checkifaliveorsomething.gog.com for ~3 seconds. Maybe show a line of checking internet connection during that time. if failed (Display a yes/no popup to never ask again in this machine, if yes, set the flag described in (1.) and goto Install main game. )
-Show the opted-in checkbox, if the user uncheck it (Display a yes/no popup to never ask again in this computer, if yes, set the flag described in (1.) and goto Install main game. ).
----If it was mistakingly unchecked and clicked yes on the popup and the user recheck it, show a popup to confirm remove the flag (or set to false) of (1.) . Anyway this should not stop someone to manually download and install galaxy afterwards.
-Launch the downloader/browser popup to install galaxy.
-Install main game


2.2 If you guys programmed the opted-in checkbox after installing the game;
((During the installation of the main game))
-Check if the galaxy is already installed, if yes goto end.
-Ping checkifaliveorsomething.gog.com for as long as you want, if failed (Display a yes/no popup to never ask again in this machine, if yes, set the flag described in (1.) ), skip the opted-in checkbox and goto end.
-Show the opted-in checkbox, if the user uncheck it (Display a yes/no popup to never ask again in this computer, if yes, set the flag described in (1.) and goto end. ).
----If it was mistakingly unchecked and clicked yes on the popup and the user recheck it, show a popup to confirm remove the flag (or set to false) of (1.) . Anyway this should not stop someone to manually download and install galaxy afterwards.
-After the game is installed, Launch the downloader/browser popup to install galaxy.
end


Note, --A yes/no popup could also work instead of an opted-in checkbox.
--There could be some mistakes so beware.

This solution I just posted is better for everyone in long term than the proposed two installer scheme.
Many open source applications on linux and distros works this way, on first launch it ask if you want to connect somewhere and if not, keep that setting somewhere and don't directly ask you again when you update.

Unlike Valve/Microsoft/Apple/Android, Gog still don't kick us in the head for more profits.
Ex: They don't force 2FA if we don't save credit card numbers or use gog wallet. We can still download and use the installers offline , aka really DRM-free for as long as we live.
Yup, I've read that some devs put a call home to ~galaxy.gog.com on their games but I can't blame gog for that unless it was mandatory which I didn't see it was.

There is something I wish to have though. Keep the latest winxp installer available on the game library page but semi-hidden, showing (unsupported) status of course.
Same thing for windows7 years from now.

Have the Friday installers been launched or delayed?

Delayed.
I *guess* all those updates till today are still Good Old Classic offline installers.

You didn't.

Okay, I think I can explain better where I'm coming from. You are correct that Galaxy is not DRM. However, my suspicion comes more from the angle of trying to figure out why this decision makes any goddamn sense. People who may have missed Galaxy could be better informed about it in other ways. People who are too technically inept to notice it and work with the installers normally would also be more likely to simply miss that there even is an opt-out checkbox and wind up with something they never wanted on their computer. The frontend is fine. The way it's pushed is obnoxious at best.

I suppose Hanlon's Razor is still the best policy in many ways. One point I would like to make, though, is that trusting a company is risky at best. Trusting people within the company, sure, I can do that. The company itself, eh, I've seen far too many cases where a CEO changes and the company immediately betrays all its former principles to do that. The other thing to note is that I posted the original message after having been glued to the thread, reading through it until far too late at night the previous night to even be called late anymore. So that could have taken a toll on my sense of charity. However, I am still more inclined to make use of that sense of charity for people than for jumped-up legal fictions (jumped-up at least here in the U.S., where apparently legal fictions can now be actual people with rights of their own).

Perhaps the final thing to note is this: Being that I'm in the U.S. and you're in Germany, corporations have much more influence in my society than yours, and a majority of that influence is detrimental. As such, I have absolutely every reason to be wary of them. You have consumer protections. I barely have the ability to fight those protections being stripped away, and can't do so very well. Many here take corporate profits to be nearly holy, so among Americans at least I actively have to fight against such things. And that may be the lynchpin of the trust/distrust axis. The Americans here seem the least likely to trust or immediately forgive, because we are too used to corporations taking too many liberties and buying politicians to prevent us from taking action against them when they do. So when something occurs that to many of us reeks of this beginning again with a new company, we react very harshly, in no small part because of the very real possibility that we don't have a real choice. You do, because your government still enforces consumer protections. And it may be this final point that is the source of the issues to begin with. GOG is not primarily made up of people who have dealt with this bullshit, so they may not realize how harshly we would react to even the suggestion of it. They think they have leeway. We are terrified, justifiably so at this point, of giving it to them, primarily because of other markets and because of competitors of theirs.