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Backup and Restore Games Feature
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jack748lim In regions with poor internet connections,re-downloading a game on a new computer or laptop is really annoying.I hope a user could easily backup his games on his desktop and restore it back on his laptop or another PC as he wish.
cgiAlexis I am wondering why there isn't a simple item in the right-click menu of Galaxy2.0's game tiles to only download the installers, sometimes I want the installer not the game installed.
Danny LyriCa This wpuld be super useful, and would also incentify using gog galaxy alot. I have a hard drive with all my games backed up; including the gog games. If galaxy can back them up on zip or tar or w.e compression or archival format, that would be a huge win for me since i wont have to do it myself.
ArcnHowwwl Yeah GOG devs...
This would be a key feature requirement for a client that is supposed to act as a singular gaming HUB (like GOG was advertised).
In my specific situation, I intent to download a game at work as the internet is faster and not intermittent like my home internet. Yes, there is the logical conclusion, 'just take your personal PC to work', but that is not an option.
I'd love to see this feature added. It'd make the idea of purchasing games via GOG more appealing to me personally.
... and to those spouting GOG is useless, your comment contributes to nothing but your own vapid nature. How about you make a gaming client, given that you're so knowledgable, or just keep your opinion to yourself if it has no value.
FriendlyBeast Okay, after seeing backup solution created for Epic Launcher, I got an idea and found the work around for this problem!!
1. Before Uninstall GOG Galaxy, copy and paste desire game folders under GOG Galaxy/Game/ to somewhere else.
2. After reinstall of GOG Galaxy, initiate download of the games you want to restore. after 2,3% is completed. close GOG. (Make sure you quit from taskbar as well.)
3. locate new GOG Galaxy/Game/ copy the backup games to the folder and overwrite everything.
4. restart GOG Galaxy then boom! you are good to go!
Zemfear I, too, support the inclusion of this feature. I live in a very rural area and am still using the old rj-11 wall connector for DSL.
It can easily take a whole day, sometimes two, to download a game like DOOM 2016. My connection also suffers frequent packet loss and so I often have to reverify and download each game several times.
I finally can afford some storage space and am in the proccess of downloading and backing up all of my games. STEAM makes this very simple but it appears that GOG does not support this feature?! Please include this it is essential for customers like me thank you.
WeirdoTorpedo Please add this feature. Its basically the primary reason why i dont purchase games in the store often versus steam
smuggly Galaxy 2.0 is a FAILURE period. It's worst than Epic game store
Fisticuffs_Krabb If anyone is still posting on this tab, i've got a question about restoring games on my GOG. Long story short, about a year ago i encountered a problem with my PC, so I had to completely reset it. it's fine now, and everything is back to normal, accept I do not have the GOG game that I had before I reset it. What i mean is that it is showing up as a played game of mine, AND an owned game, but there is nothing I can do with it accept look at my hours played and info about the game. So all I am wondering is if GOG has anything that would help me re install the game without having to pay for it all over again, or if they are planning on making an option like that. Because so far, I am not able to find anything remotely useful or helpful to my situation with the game. But really, if anyone is still posting on this than let me know anything you know, or if I can do anything about ti.
castipo in 2020 still not have this feature?
BejamminR Can't believe I'm only learning about this limitation now, in GOG Galaxy 2.0. This, and multiple separate library locations, are absolutely vital.
3tagebart Wow, this really sucks. Please incorporate a backup feature for games , esp. >50 Gigs!
AdrianLusvep It especially sucks since now you need to download patches separetely and you can't just backup the working copy.
It's very frustrating, this feature is one of my absolute favourite things about Steam.
Zwetsche Well, I compressed the gamefolders with another program and when I wanted to play the game, I decompressed it, copied it into the "games"-folder and clicked "Install". GOG found the gamedata and finished the download almost instantly.
Q-Marine And this is why Steam is No. 1. Sad.
Bundy714 Are you kidding me? In a month it will be 2019 and GOG Galaxy still does not let you back up an already installed game. Instead it wants to download a backup. Have you guys heard of data caps? I already downloaded and installed the game. Why can't I now make a compressed backup of it for my archives (My SSD can't hold all my games, so I rotate them out) like the Steam client has been doing for years? At the very least, make it clear to people that why they tell Galaxy to Backup a game, it's not just compressing what is on your hard drive, it's downloading a whole new copy of the game. IT is RIDICULOUS. I may have just gone over my data cap because I thought it worked like Steam.
Cedup Still not added, what a BS.
dewcansam Sorry, after re-reading this, there seems to be some confusion as to a 'Backup Games' and a 'Backup Saved Games'.
I personally download the 'Game Backup Copy' and THEN click 'Install'. It's more work but at least I always have the hard copy on a ext drive.
dewcansam While there are varying degrees and ways to backup / restore, It needs to be organized and simplified better.
Under "Manage installation >" there should be:
"Backup {export} Saved Games" (this would compile all saves and zip them for easier management)
"Backup {export} Game Settings" (would also be cool)
"Import Saved Games" & "Import Game Settings".
While a cloud based system would be cool, I think that it is overkill on some games like "RollerCoaster Tycoon" or "SimCity 2000" *shrug* JMO. And keeping a local copy is always a good idea.
Darkangel13 GOG has now a excellent restore function with can easily restore your previously installed and updated games.
Before reinstalling the System or GOG Galaxy simply copy the folder where you have all your GAMES and paste it somewhere safe. Once you have completed your re installation start the new GOG Galaxy to see if it works. Exit GOG Galaxy. Copy or move your backed up games folder back to your desired location.
Start the GOG Galaxy again. Go to library, choose the game you wish to restore Click the MORE button go to Manage and Import folder. Choose the game directory and let it do its thing.
To restore Witcher 3, 32 gig including updates it only took 250 MB of internet tragic.
Thank you GOG, we love you.
P.S. As far as I am aware GOG doesn't have could save function. So make sure you will back up your saves properly when you are backing up the game as well.
Layarion i hate that installing and downloading a game doesn't automatically keep a backup, instead i have to download a serperate file which is BS
Manaflower This already exists with the download option. Restore works with simply installing the game from that downloaded executable, Galaxy recognizes the new installation fine. Only thing that this doesn't cover is backing up your saves and such tho, but you can do that manually.
MGsubbie Agreed. Most internet options in my country come with data caps. Please add this feature.
kjfisher64 I download my games to have an archive copy. I want the install process to read these downloaded files instead of downloading again.
RED.Misfit To be tested, but there is an "import" folder option (at least for Witcher 3) so GoG Galaxy can retrieve a game.
Of course i haven't tested it from a copy/paste, it was installed outside galaxy first and i've added the game with the import function.
Need to be tested from a copy/paste after an uninstall of a game or fresh windows install.
propolis12 yes ,I miss this function too.
CarnageDark Agreed, I also rreally need this function.
genopsyde Currently if you install the game, you have to RE-download the entire game again just to get a backup copy via "more -> get backup & extras"
It should be able to take the locally installed files and put them into a self-contained backup similar to Steam. I live in rural Canada and get my speed reduced if I go over my limits in a month.
If the answer is similar to Origin client, then you just have to take the installation folder and put it in an ISO or ZIP on your own, then import and verify the files in the client.. just like Origin.
ThePyramidHead Agreed, I can't believe this isn't standard and I will not use the client til this is added.
cdnred It would be nice to be able to install the backups (.exes on windows) from within galaxy.
jimsee84 and restore function
jimsee84 Please give us the backup function!!
phogan I would love a Steam style back up that didn't require a separate download. At very least the client should offer to put the finished Galaxy download in an archive that can be used to restore the game without the need for a second download of exe installer version.
DanielRuf It would be great if there is just a backup feature (download just the games and all extras) without the install step so I can backup all games to my big external harddrive and later move them to my PC, which has a much smaller harddrive, when I want to install a game.
MisterFibble The ability to back up either via steam directly or just copy pasting a game into storage is something that's sorely lacking from other big brand launchers like uplay.
Keeping installed files would be a preferable option as that would reduce the need for reacquiring patches.
Having only a 2mb connection plays a big factor in how I buy the bigger budget games. Console titles are disc only although I do get faced with the likes of being forced into an 18gig patch for halo collection because I waited for it to be £20.
Ikarugamesh Yes please! For people with slow connections like me it'd be really useful.
It'd be also nice if the backup could be made into a GOG installer which you can indepently use or load with Galaxy, and it kept all the preferences, languages and mods.
byayoi Yes, GOG Galaxy Alpha does download the installer files to a separate folder, BUT that file is erased after the game is set up to play.
I think that be able to keep that installer file would be wonderful.
ytsejam91 it'd be extremely cool if the backup feature would actually compress the games into their classic gog installer form, and that the Galaxy client would be able to see gog installers as restorable backups.
Llurch I noticed two issues with the backup feature in particular -
1) When I set the backup folder to the folder with all my previously downloaded GoG install files, it wiped the entire folder clean - this was after choosing "manage all folders manually". That was a 166 GB of install files, most of which were up-to-date based on the browser-based library. Does the Galaxy client not attempt to recognize valid install files first?
2) Installation of the games from the internet worked perfectly and ran at my usual download rate of 400-500kb. Now as I start to download the backup install files (which had been wiped), I'm barely getting 100-200kb. Is this just a consequence of the servers currently being strained or is less priority given to these files?
For reference - I stay in South Africa and have a 4MB line.
Gamer668 It would be very nice if the function to import game files recognize in which language the backup was make. At example at System Shock. I downloaded the English Version and change the language to German. But whether I have a backup of the German Version of the game, the Downloader will download the English Version. I wish that I could change the languafe before the download; so that i could use my german backup without downloading the whole game again.
JK1974 Sorry for my last comment. I refered to the phenomenon that "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter" has not been detected correctly and thus I completely had to re-download it even if a certain file was wrong or missing.
Concerning the transportation on another system: Simply copy your gog games installation folder to the new PC, reselect it the Galaxy settings of the new PC, then press the "+" button and select "Scan and import folders". All your games should be there again and playable.
JK1974 Maybe you can adopt the MultiPar technology, downloading just some checksum files with just the percentage of the original file size for checking and fixing already downloaded files.
BKGaming And preferably I'd like to see the backup be a self extracting installer or something were it's not needed to have Galaxy for a backup to be installed. In the unlikely event we leave Galaxy or something happens to GOG/Galaxy.
nahka I think GOG Galaxy Alpha already does this by downloading the installer files to a separate folder.
42 comments about this wish