They're offline installers because they're not requiring an internet connection during installation, not because some of in-game features are intentionally limited.

I realise that, but quoting from the website: "These installers don't support auto-updating, nor on-line features." Sounds to me like when I use those installers I cannot use the online features of the games in quesiton.

Those installers have never had said features. It's just a reminder from PR team that Galaxy is better at online stuff, like auto-updating, achievements, social features and what not, so you feel compelled to get the client. Looks like it's working as intended. ;)

You can't use Galaxy features without Galaxy. Most online features require Galaxy whether it is multiplayer or not. There are old games that have online multiplayer not requiring a client but I doubt there will be new (new developed, not new added to the store) games that will have client-free online multiplayer.

Wait.. this look like actual good news, not Good News™
Am I dreaming?

I'm personally pleased with the new change, but I think a smaller download button would be appropriate.


I guess this is due to the web installers being packed with UPX, which is known to trigger false positives in some security suites. I thought that the web installers being digitally signed would avoid this, but apparently it's not the case.

For example, this is the VirusTotal scan for the Sunless Sea web installer.

These new web installers do not allow the users to choose which version number of the game they want to download right? I just checked, and they didn't seem to offer that option.

If they do not, then they have a big problem, and the Galaxy client also has the same one. I was going to make another thread about that but every time I try to do so I get a "Please wait, processing..." message and then the thread never actually posts.

As an alternative, I'll just copy and paste that post here, since it's also relevant to these new "web installers" too.

I just discovered a major problem with GOG's infrastructure.

When I try to download a backup copy of a game, it only offers me the option to download a backup with the latest patch already preinstalled into it.

However, that latest patch introduced a new bug into the game that makes enjoying it impossible. This bug will likely never be patched.

The solution is to play an earlier version which doesn't have that bug present in it. A workaround can be used for playing the game without that bug. Namely, downloading the latest bug-filled version with Galaxy, and then rolling it back to an earlier version.

But that doesn't do anything to help solve the problem of acquiring a bug-free backup version. There is no way to rollback the backup copy. And there is also no way to choose an earlier version of it (before the new bug was created by the devs) in the first place.

So in effect, when this problem occurs, it turns GOG into a DRM system which is as bad as the Steam DRM, since if the customer ever loses the ability to log into their GOG account & Galaxy client, and then needs to reinstall the game from the bugged backup copy, then that customer will no longer be able to play the game without the jarring bug wrecking their enjoyment of it.

Likewise, customers who do not use Galaxy will have no choice but to use the bugged version, since it’s the only option which the GUIs offer to them.

IMO what GOG needs to do to solve this problem is to let the customer download the original release version of the game, and then subsequently choose for themselves which patches they want to apply, or not. This needs to be an option that is built directly into GUIs of the website and the Galaxy client.

Clearly, the assumption that the latest version of a game is the best one isn't always correct. So GOG ought not to force that faulty assumption onto its customers by denying them access to earlier versions.

This isn't any different than it ever was. We never had the option of different versions before and could only do a rollback through Galaxy. Nothing's changed.

*edit* Don't get me wrong, I agree that if they have older versions available (and they must if they can roll back through Galaxy), it would be great if they allowed us to access them in a non-client fashion as well.

It's never going to happen, for two main reasons:

1) Most of the gaming audience (and most of GOG's audience) today expects an automated patching system when they download a game. Installing 5 or 10 patches one after another (because installing only the last one can often be glitchy) like people did 15 years ago "in the good old days" is a hassle (or a choice, from your legitimate point of view) that the majority of people (like 99% of them) would not accept. That's the most important reason of Galaxy's existence. Building an entire infrastructure for the 1% of your audience is not efficient, it's costly and requires a lot of work.

2) Giving too many options can be confusing for the most casual players, the forums would be flooded with threads like "which version should I download?", "does this mod work with the latest patch?" etc. People would also mess their games by installing the patches in the wrong order, or simply skipping some of them. Too risky.

Was about time a reasonable approach was taken... better late than never, I guess. Pleased that the standalone installers are no longer hidden away as if they were something GOG's ashamed of.

As for the new big fat Galaxy button, it is ridiculously oversized. Thankfully there's AF that prevents it from showing at all, plus I also did away with it via uBlock Origin just to be on the safe side.



Reminded me of an article I had read about facebook and the way they presented their updated privacy settings to users - they made all the sharing options big buttons, and the options to review and change one's settings links in tiny font.



I never quite understood this line of argument - why is having the rollback option (to more than just the previous version, from what has been discussed) not confusing, but having the same options when it comes to the standalone installers is?

Because people rollback to previous versions only when they face issues with the game, and the rollback automatically gives you a working version of the game. Giving people the possibility to manually handle all their patches is dangerous, because a lot of people are not used to that anymore, thanks to Steam, Android, iOS and all of that stuff with automated-oneclick-updates. You would see people installing the wrong patches, skipping them, installing them in the wrong order... You should always think about the lowest common denominator, not the hardcore pc gamer.

I think it would be confusing if they were all just stuck in a list together, but if you added a drop down for version number next to the language and OS ones I don't think that would confuse too much.
Or hid them away so they were there but not obvious.

Let's face it, as they offer it through Galaxy all the various files must exist somewhere. Unless the way Galaxy handles rolebacks is completely incompatible with regular installers I don't think it would be a huge amount of effort.

It did not work that way for me. I wanted to try it so I I downloaded an offline installer for Starbound and ran it. The game installed successfully but was not added to GOG Galaxy and would not manually import. I uninstalled it and ran the web installer, but that gives me the message installation failed with only the option to repair (which fails again) or uninstall which doesn't work either.

Translation: If you just want to download games using your browser's native downloader click DOWNLOAD OFFLINE BACKUP INSTALLERS. The name of the game should appear below this. Proceed as per any other file you would download using your web browser's downloader.

Something like this is what I had in mind when I suggested it back then.