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Continue to provide offline installer executables
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evethewhiterabbit Visiting the site again I was rather alarmed to find that the offline installers are called 'backups' and put away into a drop-down menu. For me, at least, these are primaries, not backups; I have no intention of using Galaxy at any point.
K9 Offline installers is THE ENTIRE REASON I signed up and started buying here. Once I download, nobody can stop me from playing it.
If "buying" isn't ownership (e.g. steam, subscriptions), then piracy is legal, and that's what I'll be doing.
rw9hkj8uu For the record, downloading from GOG Galaxy does not remake your Windows regestry records or other information for a new PC nor it saves space by compressing the game files. Some games like "Heroes of Might and Magic III" do require special records to make it work, otherwise it'll complain. In total, offline installers are very important and GOG Galaxy is not an equal.
AmericanWithAGun Just call them installers, that's what they are! Also, how is downloading a game from the website any more of a backup than using GOG Galaxy? This is going to confuse less savy users.
PIPXIll they have been in the same place in the UI for at least a year. I make regular updates to my offline installers and they are always in the same place.
SufferInc i 100% agree. i quite like galaxy, but it's also about the principle :)
Lobo_Audaz I hope they never remove that option. It's what makes GOG different and unique, besides the DRM-free games.
Siwkann I started buying gog games a couple weeks ago. I thought drop down, almost hidden offline installer were the norm.
I came to gog for the drm free offline features. I hope they highlight offline installers more. They should be proud for offering them.
WickedKinetic Absolutely agree with OP & other users on this. If GOG ever removes a major key part of why they are in business in the first place than you can kiss them goodbye & any potential game from ever being released DRM-free forever goodbye too. Offline installers is a legacy format that should be preserved like everything else.
Let's not forget, if anyone else can even step up to the plate in case GOG goes under with this catalogue they have.
adiaek This internet thing is getting old, boring, annoying and frustrating. Not all people have internet, and NOT all people want to be connected when playing a game on the computer. Internet is internet, and gaming is gaming.
I want to play the bought games off line as they were originally intended, not to be connected on the internet. Why would one want to be connected to the internet if playing a non-multiplayer game online? Seriously?
Internet connectivity is nothing but tracking and preventing people from enjoying games.
Steam, and other internet and DRM based, when they will go offline, all your catalog and games you bought there will also go "bye-bye"
blahblah.149 Please don't remove offline installers and become like Steam, thank you
mccgoga1001967 is this an issue at gog?, please please please gog dont remove offline installers , aaaarrrggg!!!
Markjons2 I Do not think offline installers will disappear from the site, Otherwise I will huddle into a corner with what I've already downloaded before, and some story books from storiescastle.com/ and will never, ever look at GOG again.
gregus70 Me too, my pc game is not internet connected (personal choice) and if offline installer is deleted, GOG lost a customer.
Plaid_Gloves If offline installers ever disappear from the site, I will huddle into a corner with what I've already downloaded and never, ever look at GOG again.
I have a very atypical gaming setup that includes a PC which does not have internet access. This means I NEED to be able to download the installers on a different machine and transfer them to my main with an external drive.
I realize that specific situation probably doesn't apply to anyone but me, but whatever. The fact is that GOG is the only reason I am able to play any game from the last fifteen years.
drpetrov The great thing about GOG is that unlike Steam, you don't have to install the stupid client. So the offline installers are the main reason I am here.
Whoddunnit Why is this post here? Are they thinking about removing it? What the hell?!
AlfaEdelPils Stop making stuff up and scaring people, they are not being removed, wtf are you talking about?
alpha6613 WHy is this thread here, do they want to change this feature? And become a 2nd "steam" or what? :)) No idea, but ofc this is a main reason to buy and d/l games here. Steam now sux I do not like their client at all, their site is ok I guess. And I bought games (2nd hand cheaply but still) on DVD (eg EmpireTW and Shogun2TW) which also need steam. Total BS it say small on the back of the package needs steam to "activate" (LOL why would a still buy physical media when it needs some internet service to play also now it seems steam ends support for Win7)... so guess yes keep this for sure. Sorry for the "steam rant" :P
OdNanKenobi Most certainly. Don't think they'd ever remove this, as it is a main feature. I don't mind calling them backups.
n0phx If offline installers are gone, GOG is worthless, and I am definitely out. Do not remove offline installers, ever!
Paul.Ric92 These offline installers are essential because they allow us to keep safe backups of our games, so that we can install them without the need for an internet connection.
anarion321 Really don't care about a naming convention.
BenMcLean There is no problem with calling the offline backup installers backups or putting them behind a drop-down menu, as long as they're still there. I don't play CD Projekt Red's games but I strongly prefer buying other games on GOG because I want them to continue to work FOREVER. I want to show my grandkids when I'm in my 80s.
KordianTheViolet What's up with the bots?
vetra_gamer I had throw away $20 game I bought called 'counterstrike'. It required internet access to activate. After that, I found GOG. Even if the game has some form of data collection, It can't transfer any data if the internet is disconnected! Heh... DRM free is the way to be.
nuieo805798345 Errr the only reason I buy from GOG is the assurety of having to not being forced into updating to whatever patch is released for a game. Please retain major versions of games. Especially with regard moddability etc. I also don't want to have an online connection to play a game...
The games I have purchased on GoG are golden olds but recently I am repurchasing (SIGH*) some games I have in Steam that the development is taking strange turns and of course updates are enforced, there is no way around them which I find absolutely shameful. This is why I essentially stopped buying from Steamingpile.
Thanks for great games GOG! Keep them coming!
toroca As someone who does not currently have internet access on my home computer, without offline installers I would have made exactly zero purchases from GOG, because I generally download them to a flash drive at my local library. Additionally, the practice in recent years of many games requiring an internet connection at activation has kept me from purchasing games from other retailers, even for games I would LOVE to play, like any version of Civilization newer than IV. If I have to connect to activate and/or play a game, I will NOT purchase that game.
ElMoli some of you guys are just some nerdy paranoids... the backup feature is still there, gog galaxy is jsut a launcher and a very minimal one...
scottvf I don't like playing any games while other programs are running in the background. Also don't like achievements. (they are for children, kind of like getting a gold star in grade school) This is why I love buying my games from here. I don't use galaxy.
FirestormMk3 I can't see them getting rid of this feature unless they completely abandoned their status as the DRM-free store, but if they did that I think they'd fold quickly. GOG often lacks the sales and almost always lacks the developer interactivity and timely patches of Steam. The whole reason anyone buys on GOG is that they care about preservation and I think they know that. Without it they're just less-good Steam with a few niche old titles that aren't also on Steam. Like many others though that ability to preserve and archive is priceless to me and why I almost always buy here when I have the option.
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gagcom Galaxy is spyware.
ElektroSmokes If they ever get rid of the offline installers, I'm gone, and I won't ever come back. All I use are the offline installers. It makes me feel good to be able to archive MY games.
DaikonOcelot To me, offline installer is like a physical book. Even though there is an electronic book, physical book is still the choice of of many people. It is an irreplaceable piece of technology.
Zerginator Offline installers are already kind of dead.
Try to get an old installer from GOG support for a game that has been patched to death.
They will outright deny it with "legacy versions are not supported" please use GOG Galaxy rollback feature.
Shameless_W i don't think they have an intention to remove those installers. They know if they remove them, they lose the few people that actually care about their platform and it would lead them to eventually go bankrupt.
killerscv Why would I even bother with GOG without the ability to download games? If GOG got rid of that ability. That is an instant delete my account.
russ-at-gog Alas some territories are in a state of war. Allowing a PC to connect to the internet blurts out its location in a way that can be tracked by hostile forces. offline operation is a matter of life or death to some people.
Akka As others have said, it would be utterly idiotic for GOG to kill their own signature point. The debacle of Hitman should be a pretty clear warning.
But just for the record : the ONLY reason to use GOG and not Steam, IS the DRM-free access. Without offline installers, their is NO POINT in GOG. So yeah, GOG, never stop offering offline installers.
Serpent1989 I hope that this will never happen, yet the fact that some newer games on GOG now force you to have internet access or delete certain functions if you do not have an internet connection while playing those, seems to actually lead us into that false direction. And Galaxy is also no option to me, as it is actually just like another Steam and has nothing to do with what GOG once stood for. You know, I am also only here, since February 2016 by the way, because GOG offers mostly DRM free games and provides offline installers for those. It is vital to me, because only my notebook is having internet access and I carry the downloaded installation files via a USB stick from the notebook to my actual and now nine-years-old Windows 7 gaming computer, which has no internet at all and shall not receive it either. Of course, I have burned them on DVDs as well, just to make sure, but providing offline installers and no forcing of any internet connection is a must-have to me. If GOG should ever get rid of that, which I do not believe at the moment, yet there were already some strange steps been taken (Hitman, Dawn Of War II), then this will be the end between GOG and myself for sure. So, GOG, if anyone of your staff should read this: Please stick to your roots and provide DRM free offline installers, because this is what made you big in the first place and it will come crashing down on you, if you ever should take offline installers away from your customers!
CristianRonaldo Continuing to offer offline installer executables ensures users can access and install software without relying on an internet connection. This approach enhances flexibility and convenience, particularly in scenarios with limited or unreliable internet access. Users appreciate the reliability and convenience of offline installers, which empower them to install applications seamlessly, regardless of connectivity challenges.
sadnehs I really doubt they're phasing out their biggest selling point. But I wanted to comment just to add my stance. Gog's DRM-les backups are the reason I use the store. I appreciate they let me backup my own games locally. No offence to Gog, but Steam is the only store I can trust to stay operational for the rest of my life. Gog's trust in me is greatly appreciated. Plus I can install the game on multiple personal computers without installing some launcher on my other computers, I appreciate that too.
CybernetikFrozone I only use Gog Galaxy 2.0 because of the game timer and sorting function, with tags and co.
WildHorseFantasy Absolutely. I don't trust the Galaxies model. If others want to use it fine. But I prefer one I can install w/o it, for that matter, w/o even an internet connection. After the initial install most of my really old games I can just drag and drop whole to a backup and easily drag and drop whole back. They were invented before Windows Registry and therefore run w/o it (they just don't get added to the main menu. Not a bad thing as the menu can get real long w/ a lot of games!)
Slick_JMista The day this stops is the day i stop buying from gog.
BandanaBob The Very Reason of why i use GOG...
zalmox what made me switch to gog from steam is when they dropped winxp support. I like playing my older games on original hardware as they were intended to be played. The moment when offline installers disappear, i as a client will disappear too !
Sfinks07 I have no intention of using Galaxy at any point!!!
Sfinks07 For me GOG = Offline Installer
For me GOG = DRM Free
I always support this site and buy Games for GOG Offline Setup and DRM Free
NovHak This wish is almost a troll. I doubt GOG has such an intention, but should they do this, they can sugar-coat this however they want, I’m out for good.
75 comments about this wish