Apparently the content can be unlocked without the need to go online by making changes directly to user.gls, a file the game creates upon first run.

I haven't bought the game so I can't confirm it works, and in any case it's by no means an acceptable solution to this problem anyway, but it's probably worth mentioning because it illustrates that the only thing accomplished with this decision (as well as the lack of preload without Galaxy) was to antagonize GOG's most loyal customer base.

Eventually, everybody so inclined is or will be able to unlock the stuff one way or another, and people who didn't want to use Galaxy still won't use it. So in the end it's just a message for those of us who thought highly of GOG due to the self-professed condemnation of DRM to p*** off. Duly noted.

Even if it is a portent of bad things to come re: GOG and CDPR, I ask: what (major) change comes about from others acting in such overly dramatic manners every time something happens? Will it cause them to change course?

I myself used to post complaints(milder ones of course) about various things I disliked about how GOG handled things on the forums and with the company, and I saw it wasn't solving anything & was mainly just making me focus on the issues more(which would cause me to get a bit more bothered by said issues). After awhile I realized it wasn't working, and that it was a better idea to vote with my wallet and buy elsewhere while advising others to do the same(while voicing my opinion every now and then when I felt it appropriate, such as to inform people of things GOG has done).

As such, I don't mind if people voice their concerns to a reasonable degree(and encourage people to do so)....I just disagree with them on how it's best to try and effect change re: GOG and other companies.

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(Preface: I am not saying the following to be condescending or etc....I am just musing a bit on how I see things....so I am sorry if this comes off the wrong way)

In life, some people will react differently(to differing degrees, etc) to different things. It doesn't usually mean that such people are trying to disrespect other's stances by stating their own and/or reacting to a different degree to various things.

As such, it's best to just let people have their own opinions on various topics and not take what's said personally or as an insult or some sort.

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Just wanted to point out: Higher version numbers don't necessarily mean a better experience....in fact, iirc sometimes newer patches have BROKEN games in various ways or done other bad things to the games.

Not to derail, but to go along with my last post(and to point it out so people can go there and read/post about what's going on)....this is the sort of thing more gamers here and elsewhere should be complaining about(in my humble opinion):

WHAT? Why I have not herd of any news article talk about this yet? This is a huge problem!

Forcing the use of an online service to access exclusive content is literally DRM. GOG is literally breaking its DRM-free promise right now and should immediately remove the game from its store until patched without DRM.

What's wrong with CD Projekt these days? 3 big controversies in a week! Ridiculous! They're losing my trust real fast here...

You seem to think that this is an isolated thing. There are other cases, even more blatant. At the very least "Absolver" and "No Man's Sky" do the same and worse. You might want to look here:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/drm_on_gog_list_of_singleplayer_games_with_drm/post1

If you persist in further attempts to derail this thread, I will report it forthwith.

Quoted to preserve your post and reported.

(Sorry to everyone else...won't say anything else offtopic after this)

I had no idea. thanks for sharing! I'm bookmarking that thread for future reference!

So now I can't trust GOG for purchases anymore. This is very, very sad.

This is fair to point out; but please assume in my original point I was referring to games that are actually improved in updates. Such as Deus Ex Mankind Divided which iirc released here with the DLC requiring Galaxy, until the game and DLC were updated. There are just too many of these kind of accidents and oversights happening for my liking.

What I meant was the (imo flawed) idea in general that higher version number seemingly somehow automatically means the game is better and that people who don't get the higher version numbers are somehow missing out every time.

Btw, I like that galaxy users get to (in a way) "test" the newest versions first. That means they can pick through any potential bugs in said versions before we get them. :)

It's not condescending to disagree on what's upsetting in this world. If you just mean the way I write, well... my style is my style, some people see it that way. No personal insult is intended. However I'll point out that usually any stance on DRM that doesn't fit perfectly into the extreme stances some take on here tends to be treated as insane heresy, which might not be the nicest thing in the world either.

When people are passionate about things they tend to convert that into rage, judgment, hate, etc. Just look at our political discussions right now in the West. I always try and take a pragmatic and middle-ground view, that's just who I am. I don't see clients as DRM, in fact I'd go so far as to say clients are objectively not DRM on their own, but since I like to compromise I'll agree some come here to avoid clients and it's a shame GOG is pushing Galaxy more and more. I just don't personally care, and you can't make me care, ya know?

Why wouldn't it? Soon™ish even offline installers will be downloadable only through Galaxy! Will there even be offline installers until the end of 2021.?

Oh I fully believe they're genuinely upset, trust me.

I have given your long post a tl;dr as a quote. You'll probably say that's not at all what you meant to sound like, but it is exactly how it was received by your fellow forum-goers.

Post modded: please do not misquote other users.