Is there any other way to fix the crash on startup problem than to remove or rename the Galaxy.dll file?

Did you block network access for the game at startup, or is it possible that your firewall did so automatically? If so, that may be causing the crash since the galaxy.dll uses local loopback.

Of course I did and I'm pretty sure that is the reason for the crash.

However, no program should simply crash because it fails to aquire a resource. At best it should run without the resource (and since Galaxy is optional that is exactly what the program should do) and at worst it should exit gracefully stating the reason in a humanly understandable form.

The programmers probably didn't expect people to block it from acquiring the resource. Either way, the solution is to grant it network access or add a custom firewall rule that gives it local loopback access.

Please see my post in the Changelog thread.

It is deeply disturbing that this kind of functionality is being checked for when the game, a single-player title, is being sold on a storefront that prides itself on being DRM free. My suggestion is to contact technical support, explain the situation, and ask for a refund. This sort of thing should not be happening and there is neither good reason nor excuse for it being the case: especially after the latest changelog.

Omerta: City of Gangsters and, now, Ziggurat are serious problems for GOG.