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Time4Tea: To me, it seems stranger that GOG's website is so bad, given how much bigger a business they are and the fact they are backed by a relatively large public corporation.
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Magnitus: I'm not a UX expert (I'm the guy who takes the output from UX people and can do everything else), but what's wrong with GOG's website?

Beyond the very occasional glitch (ex: Last one I remember is not being able to logout on Firefox two weeks ago), it seems very user-friendly... definitely a professional job with a dedicated frontend and UX team behind it.
Off topic here, but just very quickly, news at the bottom, with no text showing and vanishing from the front page completely very quickly, wasted/empty space, the waste of space that the "featured" area is, lots of running scripts and moving things that uselessly use system resources and just make things confusing, lack of filters including removal of some that used to exist or just the removal from the UI of some that still do exist if you add them to the URL, all the slew of problems the forum has, the removal of the support activity page, on the game pages having requirements below description instead of on the side, below or even above features...
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malikhis: If you "did research" you would have links. You have none therefore you did not do research.

If it was legal to sell DukeNukem I, II, or III then steam would have them, unless Zoom-platform is like Epic and is paying for exclusivity deals.

3D realms has no rights to DukeNukem and their website even lists it as unavailiable.
https://3drealms.com/catalog/

So if there was a legitimate connection (not just a blurb on wikipedia) why doesn't 3D realms advertise that you can buy the game from a 3rd party?
Sorry dude but you are making a huge ASSumption there. I did my research a while ago. Why would I have kept links?
Nice try, but you are gonna have to do your own PROPER research.

And really, that ASSumption of yours says it all about you and what you have said ... not worth a pinch.
Post edited January 10, 2021 by Timboli
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Time4Tea: I don't think it seems strange at all that ZP's website is fairly simplistic, given they are a small store that is struggling to gain traction and get off the ground. They don't have the resources to invest a lot of time/effort in their website.
So you don't think it strange that after all this time, they haven't made it better, in an attempt to increase their pie. That kind of thinking means they will be trying to get off the ground for all eternity ... or until they go broke.

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Time4Tea: To me, it seems stranger that GOG's website is so bad, given how much bigger a business they are and the fact they are backed by a relatively large public corporation.
While GOG could do with some major renovations, what they have is still very workable and a ton sight better than what the ZOOM Platform are using ... bloat aside. You only have to be here during a sale and trying to download any game purchases afterward, to realize something must be working to make them so busy ... don't think you would ever experience that with the ZOOM Platform as they are, and that says it all really ... many would be flocking to them if they did some much needed improvements.

Unless the Polish government is CDPR then GOG are a private not public corporation ... and size is relative, and being backed is relative. CDPR might be largish, but GOG themself don't seem very big to me ... always seem understaffed and lacking in all sorts of areas.
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Timboli: So you don't think it strange that after all this time, they haven't made it better, in an attempt to increase their pie. That kind of thinking means they will be trying to get off the ground for all eternity ... or until they go broke.
Highly doubt that the store is a major, or even a relevant, revenue stream for the company, so if it goes nowhere it's unlikely to make them go broke... As long as they also don't spend much of anything on it of course, which is just what we're seeing.
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Timboli: Unless the Polish government is CDPR then GOG are a private not public corporation ...
Just a small comment: depending on what part of the world you live in, "public corporation" can mean both owned by the government or a private corporation where anyone can acquire shares: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/public-corporation

In my country it means the former, but when people bring this up this in the forum I think they are referring to the later.
Post edited January 10, 2021 by ConsulCaesar
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Time4Tea: I don't think it seems strange at all that ZP's website is fairly simplistic, given they are a small store that is struggling to gain traction and get off the ground. They don't have the resources to invest a lot of time/effort in their website.
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Timboli: So you don't think it strange that after all this time, they haven't made it better, in an attempt to increase their pie. That kind of thinking means they will be trying to get off the ground for all eternity ... or until they go broke.

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Time4Tea: To me, it seems stranger that GOG's website is so bad, given how much bigger a business they are and the fact they are backed by a relatively large public corporation.
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Timboli: While GOG could do with some major renovations, what they have is still very workable and a ton sight better than what the ZOOM Platform are using ... bloat aside. You only have to be here during a sale and trying to download any game purchases afterward, to realize something must be working to make them so busy ... don't think you would ever experience that with the ZOOM Platform as they are, and that says it all really ... many would be flocking to them if they did some much needed improvements.

Unless the Polish government is CDPR then GOG are a private not public corporation ... and size is relative, and being backed is relative. CDPR might be largish, but GOG themself don't seem very big to me ... always seem understaffed and lacking in all sorts of areas.
The current website that is there is only temporary, they are currently working on a website overhaul which looks a lot better. I remember a while ago they posted a mockup screenshot which is far better looking.(I might find it if you are interested to see it that is). They are a small team kind of like a startup so it might take a while, although I heard they hired a few more people late last year. I expect this year for things to ramp up a bit and they will be known more than currently for sure.
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Magnitus: I'm not a UX expert (I'm the guy who takes the output from UX people and can do everything else), but what's wrong with GOG's website?

Beyond the very occasional glitch (ex: Last one I remember is not being able to logout on Firefox two weeks ago), it seems very user-friendly... definitely a professional job with a dedicated frontend and UX team behind it.
For one thing, if you hover off the menu tabs (like say your hand slips or you have shaky hands) it closes those tabs/windows.

Also sometimes the login box takes up to a minute to display(it shows the rotating circle).

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Posts by Timboli:
(so everyone knows who I am quoting)
So you don't think it strange that after all this time, they haven't made it better, in an attempt to increase their pie. That kind of thinking means they will be trying to get off the ground for all eternity ... or until they go broke.
Speculation: Maybe they are staying bare bones to save on costs somehow and for some reason?

Or maybe they're working on adding features bit by bit, and/or focusing on other things(Like adding more games) first?
CDPR might be largish, but GOG themself don't seem very big to me ... always seem understaffed and lacking in all sorts of areas.
Agreed
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ConsulCaesar: In my country it means the former, but when people bring this up this in the forum I think they are referring to the later.
Yes, in some countries like mine, public companies(or publicly traded companies) are ones where people can buy shares.

Also "going public" is the term(iirc) for companies starting to sell shares for people to buy.

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Truth007: The current website that is there is only temporary, they are currently working on a website overhaul which looks a lot better. I remember a while ago they posted a mockup screenshot which is far better looking.(I might find it if you are interested to see it that is).
Lay that mockup/pic on us, friend. :)
Post edited January 10, 2021 by GamezRanker
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Time4Tea: To me, it seems stranger that GOG's website is so bad, given how much bigger a business they are and the fact they are backed by a relatively large public corporation.
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Magnitus: I'm not a UX expert (I'm the guy who takes the output from UX people and can do everything else), but what's wrong with GOG's website?
Beside what others have already mentioned, the front page is the only part of the site that ever seems to change. As far as I am aware, no other parts of the website have been changed or upgraded in literally years. The forum is pretty poor - it's badly-structured and the search function is terrible. There is a lack of basic functionality with game reviews, for example, there is no way to view reviews you have made or manage/edit them. There are many other site-related features/improvements on the community wishlist that people have been asking for for years, that never get addressed.

It seems like a poor show to me. Given they are an online store, you would think the functionality of the website would be a higher priority.

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Timboli: Unless the Polish government is CDPR then GOG are a private not public corporation ...
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ConsulCaesar: Just a small comment: depending on what part of the world you live in, "public corporation" can mean both owned by the government or a private corporation where anyone can acquire shares: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/public-corporation

In my country it means the former, but when people bring this up this in the forum I think they are referring to the later.
Yes, I had meant 'public' in the sense that anyone can buy shares, not government-owned.

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Timboli: While GOG could do with some major renovations, what they have is still very workable and a ton sight better than what the ZOOM Platform are using ... bloat aside. You only have to be here during a sale and trying to download any game purchases afterward, to realize something must be working to make them so busy ... don't think you would ever experience that with the ZOOM Platform as they are, and that says it all really ... many would be flocking to them if they did some much needed improvements.
I don't think the comparison is very reasonable, given the huge disparity in the sizes of the respective businesses/teams. If GOG are busy, that just strengthens my point - that they should be able to afford to assign more resources to improving the website. As Truth007 says, it sound like ZP are working on a new and improved site. Perhaps you will be less suspicious once they roll it out.

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Truth007: The current website that is there is only temporary, they are currently working on a website overhaul which looks a lot better. I remember a while ago they posted a mockup screenshot which is far better looking.(I might find it if you are interested to see it that is). They are a small team kind of like a startup so it might take a while, although I heard they hired a few more people late last year. I expect this year for things to ramp up a bit and they will be known more than currently for sure.
This is good to hear. I find it exciting to be getting on the ground floor of a new DRM-free site that is ramping up. I will be able to cheer for my old faves getting released there all over again :-)
Post edited January 11, 2021 by Time4Tea
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Bought Deponia 1 on ZP yesterday. Game seems to run great in Wine out of the box. Looks like a fun game :-)
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Time4Tea: Bought Deponia 1 on ZP yesterday. Game seems to run great in Wine out of the box. Looks like a fun game :-)
It is....2 and 3 are as well.
(didn't play 4 yet)
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Time4Tea: Bought Deponia 1 on ZP yesterday. Game seems to run great in Wine out of the box. Looks like a fun game :-)
If you grab Duke Nukem 1 and 2, they run out of the box, plus you can run the fan patches to add some content, change Duke and fix a few of the frame rate issues tied to the game.

It's pretty handy
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Cavalary: Highly doubt that the store is a major, or even a relevant, revenue stream for the company, so if it goes nowhere it's unlikely to make them go broke... As long as they also don't spend much of anything on it of course, which is just what we're seeing.
Yes, you may be right, and they can just exist whether they make much profit or not, especially if their main focus is elsewhere. They mention selling boxed games as well.

Something else to note, is no promotion of DRM-Free. It's not mentioned on their main page or About page or on their Services page. That of course, leaves them free to change their mind any time, due to no promises about DRM-Free.

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ConsulCaesar: Just a small comment: depending on what part of the world you live in, "public corporation" can mean both owned by the government or a private corporation where anyone can acquire shares: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/public-corporation

In my country it means the former, but when people bring this up this in the forum I think they are referring to the later.
Fair enough. My country also sees it as the former.
Alas the complexities of inter-country communications.

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Truth007: The current website that is there is only temporary, they are currently working on a website overhaul which looks a lot better. I remember a while ago they posted a mockup screenshot which is far better looking.(I might find it if you are interested to see it that is). They are a small team kind of like a startup so it might take a while, although I heard they hired a few more people late last year. I expect this year for things to ramp up a bit and they will be known more than currently for sure.
Okay, that sounds promising.

One could also conjecture that the word is out in certain circles that GOG aren't doing so well financially, so maybe they are positioning themselves to benefit if GOG go belly up. But maybe we shouldn't be that cynical ... ha ha ha.

So who knows really, and I will continue to buy from them when the games and prices are right.
I'm not so wedded to GOG that I wouldn't support another DRM-Free store if they deserve it.
Post edited January 18, 2021 by Timboli
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Time4Tea: Yes, I had meant 'public' in the sense that anyone can buy shares, not government-owned.
Fair enough, my mistake.

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Time4Tea: I don't think the comparison is very reasonable, given the huge disparity in the sizes of the respective businesses/teams. If GOG are busy, that just strengthens my point - that they should be able to afford to assign more resources to improving the website. As Truth007 says, it sound like ZP are working on a new and improved site. Perhaps you will be less suspicious once they roll it out.
I am afraid that doesn't make sense to me. If GOG are too busy, which they always seem to be, then what do they have to allocate resources.

On the other hand, if ZOOM Platform aren't very busy, then even one person could be making a difference. Their only page that isn't static, is their Home/News page which doesn't show much change really. Other than that, there appears to be no upkeep going on with their game pages. Each game page has a small and often too basic description of the game and a youTube clip and the Requirements are listed ... that's it. How hard would it be to provide links to the many game review sites or Wikipedia etc.

I really do hope they improve, especially if they get DRM-Free games that GOG don't.
Due to their lack of declaration about DRM-Free though, that is probably not something to bank on. At any time they could start selling DRM games as well.

As I have said, my vague suspicions may not be well founded and I have not acted upon them.
I discovered another game to buy from them, my fifth, not available at GOG - Gun Metal

And once again, the download verified okay with my GOGPlus Download Checker program.

All so far seem to be installers created with InnoSetup, which is what GOG uses.
Post edited January 19, 2021 by Timboli
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Post 293 - Due to their lack of declaration about DRM-Free though, that is probably not something to bank on. At any time they could start selling DRM games as well.
Fair point....still, GOG has a DRM free motto/page, and it still tied game portions(MP) to galaxy & allowed some DRM/"drm" bits in a few games.

But we will see what we will see....given time.
Post 294 -
All so far seem to be installers created with InnoSetup.
Yeah, the installers are nice and seem more efficient than the GOG ones....yet they work similarly. I like em.
Post edited January 18, 2021 by GamezRanker