Get them now and download them before the change goes into effect?

Having a DRM-free Dragon Age is definitely worth it.

Yea I already agreed it can become an issue if you have a lot of games and I also think GOG can handle this better than just bundling it with the installer.

Ideally I think the concept is fine, the execution here is poor. They should:

1. Make it truly opt in and unchecked by default.

2. Point the installer to a CDN and allow the user to specify downloading/installing before installation of the game if they do want Galaxy rather than being bundled. If user has no internet and they check the box, then point them to where they can get Galaxy but allow the installation to continue.

Gone one further & it's now archived online.

I'd be okay with this. Slightly annoyed sure but not outright pissed.

Guys,does anybody remember when GOG tried to implement password protected RAR files,and then users complained like crazy and they pulled back rather quickly.It was just a taste of what's to come.Back then they used the excuse that "unexperienced" users poke around their installation files and would break something,and password protection is the way to go ;).The best part was when a blue said that they would find a better way to "improve" our GOG experience.... And here we are in 2017..... You get my point.Sorry guys,my time machine is getting worn out.*goes back to 2008 for full satisfaction*.Cheers

Yeah, I saw I got basically ninja'd in both of my comments.

Icons on the desktop: I already offered a solution. Instead of that Galaxy icon to pull up and look at your list of installed games, use a folder icon. That's how I handle it. I suspect it takes significantly less time to pull up the list, too.

Playtime doesn't work offline yet? So the only (current) purpose for bundling Galaxy in the installers is in anticipation of being online. Seems to defeat the purpose of bundling the thing with the installers.

Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't really see how they can make achievements function completely offline. The achievements would either have to connect to a server to get any achievements in owned games, or it would have to maintain a list of ALL achievements (file bloat, and all installers need an update every time a new game is added), or a version of Galaxy needs to be maintained for each game (yeah, THAT'S going to happen) so only the relevant achievements are downloaded.

Though I guess I'm preaching at another member of the choir.

Agreed. So much so in fact that I updated my post.

To link to another thread that sadly is quite relevant these days:
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/gog_wants_galaxy_to_stay_optional/post121 AMD reacted to the shitstorm by removing the crap, what will GOG do
and who actually came up with this terrible idea?

Well, there it is. I almost expected an announcement like this to rear its head at some point, yet I'm more angry than I ever anticipated to be.

I actually had Galaxy installed and even used it for a while recently, largely because the website's login wasn't working properly for me during that time. Admittedly, the only use I ever had for it was to download the "backup" installers, as I don't care at all about any of its advertised features. While I was slightly concerned about its overbearing implementation into the site, I didn't really mind it until now.
This news made me uninstall it immediately (and permanently, for that matter).

It appears like a blatant attempt to push this client onto people in an incredibly underhanded manner. You really should not be surprised that people are reacting to this move with a lot of suspicion, especially since it comes on top of many other, small attempts to shove Galaxy in your user's faces. At this point, it looks like you're just a few steps away from abandoning your DRM-free principle entirely in a desperate attempt to suck up to publishers and, possibly, users who have shunned you all this time.
On top of that, it reeks of condescension in every aspect.

I'll stick entirely with the offline-installers from now on, that is, until you decide that providing those is too much effort and doesn't fit in with your client-based "vision". You'll probably sugarcoat the decision to get rid of them with a similar announcement and lots of meaningless marketing jargon.

GOG, just like that, you have squandered the last bit of remaining trust I had in you and your integrity. I hope you're happy, for I, as a customer, certainly am not.

Considering the fact that there is literally NO ONE in this thread, who likes this move, GOG staff have to backpedal somehow.

There is also another way of looking at this... Steam has pretty much proven the theory that giving pirates a better experience can lead to more sales and less pirates. Many former pirates even admitted they stopped (or did so less) because Steam made the process so easy and provided more value.

We all know piracy is a fact of life, and GOG's installers get passed around a lot... by doing this they can 1. Advertise to people that may not be familiar with GOG and 2. Show people there is a greater value in being a legit customer. Sure not everyone cares about achievements and cloud saves, but some future feature they may care about. Even if a few people became more tempted to purchase rather than pirate that is a win for GOG.

This is a much better argument than the nonsense about "new users" being unable to use a checkbox, but the box should still be unchecked by default, which upon a second glance I see you mentioned a few posts above. Fair enough.

Firstly, I don't like the idea based on it should be opt in not opt out at download time. However I have a couple of questions for clarification....

(I always download through a browser btw - I don't have galaxy)

1) If I check opt out at download time does that mean I don't download the galaxy part? Or do I get it anyway, but when I click on the installer it just doesn't install galaxy? Meaning I have opted out, but still have it taking up space, and added download time?

If it is always downloaded, but not implemented at install time, then either a) have an addtional checkbox at the start of install that says I don't want it, and it is deleted from the install file, or b) have it as a separate download file, so that it can be ignored at download selection time, or deleted from the "downloads" folder prior to game installation.

I realise that if opting OUT doesn't include galaxy in the download, mu suggestions are not needed.

2) Um, if I still use XP (not supported by galaxy), and forget to opt out, what will happen to my install, game, PC, and and life?

A constructive factual answer at some point will help decide which games i panic download before Friday (aka doomsday).

If this is how you get new customers to notice GOG Galaxy, then your webpage is designed wrong.


As awful as the following suggestion is, I think most would agree it would be a far better option:

Everytime we go to download an offline installer, have a pop-up that says "Are you sure you want the offline installer? You can download the game using our easy to use GOG Galaxy Client instead."

GOG Galaxy allows automatic updates, etc.

Yes (Download Offline Installer) / No (Take me to GOG Galaxy)
[x] Never suggest GOG Galaxy again.

Exactly my problem with it, bloatware, what if you already have galaxy? It's a nice thought but I'd still want to download my installers without galaxy on it, and even for the "dumbest user possible" they only need to install Galaxy ONCE and not 100 of times with all their games.
I don't see it as a constant ramming down your throats, and while there were some things I disagree with GOG(think one of which was some kind of gifting restriction, first requiring you to spend money?) I am overall very happy with them, still thousands of times better than any DRM Client, but I do hope that they seriously listen to people.
I know of people who don't have a good internet connection, and think about those that only have a limited amount available per month(there are some parts of hte world that only have this offer), it would really hurt those.