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General discussionIntroducing: GOG Galaxy, the DRM-Free online gaming platform(917 posts)(917 posts)
(917 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted June 06, 2014
Freedom of choice. Optional client. Cross-play. Coming soon to all gamers!

Earlier today (or was it yesterday for you?), during the [url=http://www.gog.com/news/cd_projekt_red_gogcom_summer_conference]CD Projekt RED and GOG.com’s Summer Conference we dropped the news about our next big step forward! GOG.com has always been home to more and more of the the best games in history (for Windows and Mac), both classic and new. Differing in shapes, flavors, and sizes they had one thing in common: they were mostly single-player, and our focus was mainly on the experience of a singular gamer. If that's your thing, nothing really will change. You can always enjoy your favorite games 100% DRM-free on GOG.com, with no need to activate your game online or remain connected to play your single-player title. Just like GOG.com has always been about.. But what if you want to play with your friends?

Today we are excited to announce GOG Galaxy, a truly gamer-friendly, 100% DRM-free online gaming platform that will finally provide the GOG.com community with the easy option to play together online. GOG Galaxy will allow you to share your achievements, stay in touch with your pals and get the updates for your games automatically. We've developed this technology to improve your GOG.com experience. We think GOG Galaxy really deserves your attention and we hope many of you will give it a try! But, here's the great thing: it is totally optional, so it's all up to you! If you do not want to play online, or use our optional client to access these features, then no worries, you will always be able to play the single-player mode 100% DRM-free, and download manually the latest updated version of your favorite title from our website. Now, for one more feature we call cross-play. We always believed in an open world for gamers, with no obligation to be tied to a specific platform or client; and this is why GOG Galaxy will allow gamers to play with their buddies who use Steam, without any need to use any 3rd party client or account, nothing, nada. We’re taking care of connecting GOG.com and Steam players, so just sit back, relax and give it a try.

See the outtake from the CD Projekt RED & GOG.com Summer Conference

Talking of which, we are proud to announce the soon-to-come launch of the beta phase for The Witcher Adventure Game, a faithful adaptation of the board game of the same title. It allows up to 4 players to play together, whether they use Steam or GOG.com. Cross-play at its finest! If you wanna get the chance to try it out, please visit and sign up to get in the queue for your beta access key. You can also simply take advantage of our amazing [url=http://www.gog.com/tw3]pre-order offer for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, which includes 2 beta access keys for he Witcher Aventure Game, delivered to you as soon as we start handing them out to public.

We believe GOG Galaxy has the power to provide the best of both worlds. Playing the single player mode of your favorite game, 100% DRM-free, while still having the OPTION to use our soon-to-come client for an enhanced experience (auto-patching, achievements, and much more) or play online with other GOG.com (and Steam) players if you so wish.

There will be more GOG Galaxy titles coming up this year, so stay tuned for more news and get the word around!
Post edited June 06, 2014 by G-Doc
Posted June 10, 2014
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HypersomniacLive: Still waiting for a clarification on this.
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JMich: Yes, that is one part that I also want clarification, thus I usually ignore it. Worse case scenario, a downloader using wget should be possible, with resumes supported, like the one Xyem had written so long ago. But I do trust Szulak and Fallen_Zen to keep said functionality, and I'll have to see who the Linux guy (or gal) will be.
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Maighstir: snip
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JMich: By parse here I meant identify what they are, and pass them to the other client, which recognizes them and passes to said game. A vpn solution may be doable, though it would probably require elevated permissions to create and modify the network adapter.
But there are multiple ways to do it, and I assume they all work the same independent of platform (Win, Mac, Linux).
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Diversion: The way they have worded them, it could be interpreted both ways.
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JMich: Yeap. Nothing changes means everything does.
what's all the worry about the downloader? given that a big part of the point of a client is to make downloading easier on the user, it's unlikely that the new client that they're spending resources on developing won't handle this function perfectly. when you consider that this new client will completely replace the old one, and any changes are like to be put under a microscope, and that this new client is very important, it's not likely that any changes won't be completely for the better.

I haven't used the gog downloader, but other than perhaps some UI differences, I can't imagine they'd make it so you were wanting for anything from the old downloader, especially given that they'll still be using binary packages.
Posted June 10, 2014
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johnnygoging: I haven't used the gog downloader, but other than perhaps some UI differences, I can't imagine they'd make it so you were wanting for anything from the old downloader, especially given that they'll still be using binary packages.
The question Hypersomniac and others are asking is if while using the GOG Galaxy client you will still be able to download installers. The confirmations so far have been that the installers will be available and that the client will be able to download and apply updates automatically.
I do believe that the GOG Galaxy client will be able to download installers as well as extracted game files, but a confirmation would be nice to have.
Posted June 10, 2014
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johnnygoging: I haven't used the gog downloader, but other than perhaps some UI differences, I can't imagine they'd make it so you were wanting for anything from the old downloader, especially given that they'll still be using binary packages.
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JMich: The question Hypersomniac and others are asking is if while using the GOG Galaxy client you will still be able to download installers. The confirmations so far have been that the installers will be available and that the client will be able to download and apply updates automatically.
I do believe that the GOG Galaxy client will be able to download installers as well as extracted game files, but a confirmation would be nice to have.
they already stated that you won't have to use the client. that means you can still hit up the website and download from the browser. pretty sure they already answered this. so the answer is yes.

if memory serves, what they said was that though the new installers will have Galaxy-related metadata in them, it will only be used by Galaxy. so, for the user, they should see the same nullsoft/innosetup you do now.
Post edited June 10, 2014 by johnnygoging
Posted June 10, 2014
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johnnygoging: they already stated that you won't have to use the client. that means you can still hit up the website and download from the browser. pretty sure they already answered this. so the answer is yes.
Problem with downloading from the browser is lack of pause/resume feature (at least not easily), and lack of hash checking. So if you do have a spotty connection, the browser isn't the best way to download larger files.

So the question isn't whether you can download installer files, is whether you can download them with pause/resume and hash checking, as the current downloader (and lgogdownloader) do.
Posted June 10, 2014
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johnnygoging: they already stated that you won't have to use the client. that means you can still hit up the website and download from the browser. pretty sure they already answered this. so the answer is yes.
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JMich: Problem with downloading from the browser is lack of pause/resume feature (at least not easily), and lack of hash checking. So if you do have a spotty connection, the browser isn't the best way to download larger files.

So the question isn't whether you can download installer files, is whether you can download them with pause/resume and hash checking, as the current downloader (and lgogdownloader) do.
oh I gotcha. given gog's ownership thing hinges on your ability to back things up, I find it unlikely that they wouldn't allow you to hold the installer packages in a directory somewhere at the minimum. and then you can do what you want with it. it doesn't seem logical that they would make the client, that's downloading the installer anyway, mandatorily delete it afterwards and the only way to get them is by going to the website.
Posted June 10, 2014
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johnnygoging: it doesn't seem logical that they would make the client, that's downloading the installer anyway, mandatorily delete it afterwards and the only way to get them is by going to the website.
True, but what about downloading the extracted game files at once, instead of the installer? That would have the benefit of only downloading changed files for patches, and using half the space for the game installation (game files vs game files + installer). More or less how steam handles game files.
Posted June 10, 2014
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johnnygoging: it doesn't seem logical that they would make the client, that's downloading the installer anyway, mandatorily delete it afterwards and the only way to get them is by going to the website.
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JMich: True, but what about downloading the extracted game files at once, instead of the installer? That would have the benefit of only downloading changed files for patches, and using half the space for the game installation (game files vs game files + installer). More or less how steam handles game files.
I get it, but then why bother with putting metadata in the installers to begin with? though you do bring up a good point. if you're downloading a game the first time, it all makes sense. but if it's a patch to a frequently-patched new release, then you have to choose between redownloading the whole thing each time, or maintaining more than one installer for each game, depending on the number of patches. that's a good point.

there are some different ways they could approach this. like for example they could maintain a blob of patched stuff, so there would be the original installer and the patch blob, and just have you redownload the patch blob each time. patches are generally small so it works fine for that. but on newer games, sometimes they aren't, so you'd still want to download only the files you need. it's a conundrum for sure. either you act wastefully and redownload a bunch of huge installers that have been patched, or they act wastefully and host a ton of little patch installers alongside the main one.

I think they might pick a compromise. I think what they might end up doing is just maintaining one giant installer for the game and update it with patches, and Galaxy will come with the option to do it like Steam. and it's up to you what you want.
Posted June 10, 2014
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johnnygoging: I get it, but then why bother with putting metadata in the installers to begin with?
So you can download the installer at your work place with the huge bandwidth and no data cap, but use the Galaxy stuff at home, with your lower bandwidth. Or in case you decide to use Galaxy after you finish the single player part of the game, and wish to see what the MP is all about.

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johnnygoging: though you do bring up a good point. if you're downloading a game the first time, it all makes sense. but if it's a patch to a frequently-patched new release, then you have to choose between redownloading the whole thing each time, or maintaining more than one installer for each game, depending on the number of patches. that's a good point.
Current method has installers and patches, with the patches updating from a specific installer version and above to the current one, while the installers are updated much less frequently. So there are usually only 2 things available to download, a recent installer and the current patch, with the patch sometimes optional (main installer up to date, patch available for earlier installers, or no patch at all). And I do think GOG does keep the older installers, in case someone needs them.

Personal way of handling that would be an option in the Galaxy client of
[ ]Download installer?
If the option is checked, the standalone installers are downloaded, if the option isn't checked, you download the files. But let's see how GOG handles it.
Posted June 10, 2014
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johnnygoging: I get it, but then why bother with putting metadata in the installers to begin with?
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JMich: So you can download the installer at your work place with the huge bandwidth and no data cap, but use the Galaxy stuff at home, with your lower bandwidth. Or in case you decide to use Galaxy after you finish the single player part of the game, and wish to see what the MP is all about.
hmm maybe. I think it more likely that the metadata might be there because the installer is what Galaxy downloads the first time and uses some of the metadata for version control in case it proceeds with files like Steam from that point on. but you could be right about this. don't know exactly what the Galaxy metadata in the installers is for.

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johnnygoging: though you do bring up a good point. if you're downloading a game the first time, it all makes sense. but if it's a patch to a frequently-patched new release, then you have to choose between redownloading the whole thing each time, or maintaining more than one installer for each game, depending on the number of patches. that's a good point.
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JMich: Current method has installers and patches, with the patches updating from a specific installer version and above to the current one, while the installers are updated much less frequently. So there are usually only 2 things available to download, a recent installer and the current patch, with the patch sometimes optional (main installer up to date, patch available for earlier installers, or no patch at all). And I do think GOG does keep the older installers, in case someone needs them.

Personal way of handling that would be an option in the Galaxy client of

[ ]Download installer?
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JMich: If the option is checked, the standalone installers are downloaded, if the option isn't checked, you download the files. But let's see how GOG handles it.
yeah that's what I was thinking, too. it'll probably want to work with files, for all the benefits, but there will always be an option to let you download the most recent all-in-one installer in case you want to have it to back it up or something.

and I didn't know about the installer patch packages. every game I've downloaded so far has just had the one installer or one set of installers if memory serves.
Post edited June 10, 2014 by johnnygoging
Posted June 10, 2014
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JMich: True. Heroes of Might and Magic is only worth it for the campaign, Master of Magic is a game that's not worth playing, Civilization is not worth playing either.[/sarcasm]
Most, if not all of the 4X genre do not rely on campaigns, but skirmishes against AI, yet they still manage to provide a great single player experience. And there are times when a campaign lessens the experience, though not that often.
Yeah, I guess those are bot matches. When I think of bot matches, I always think of Quake 3 Arena's bot match which is completely different from Quake 2.
Posted June 10, 2014
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VABlitz: Yeah, I guess those are bot matches. When I think of bot matches, I always think of Quake 3 Arena's bot match which is completely different from Quake 2.
Similar discussion in the followup survey thread with mrkgnao, who doesn't like games with "no story-based single-player campaign". But not having story-based single-player campaign doesn't mean the game isn't good, it just means that it has no story-based campaign.

And not sure I recall the Quake 2 single player. Is the situation with Q2 and Q3 something similar to Unreal compared to Unreal Tournament?
Posted June 10, 2014
Like a dream!
Keep the good work!
Posted June 10, 2014
Seriously... i never saw this many ungrateful people together. It's not even obliged, and people are still complaining.
It's an amazing thing, for the first time a store is giving a really good thing for gamers, the drm-free, online play, etc.
Posted June 10, 2014
I didnt read all the posts til here, but....

To me this looks like a step closer to control. And then, sometime in the far future, DRM is kicking our doors in, but not before RegionalPricing shouted through the hallway. Like in a police movie, you know....
And RegionalPricing has warned us, has´nt it?

To offer evidence: Does anyone really think they (GOG) pulled back with RegionalPricing because of our feelings?
They did it because they otherwise had lost the majority of the customers. Sure, some would´nt have been bothered, and there had been some new customers over time. But the main group would have been gone. Money is the focus here. And you cant blame them. They have lives, familys and all the stuff we have, too.

So they´re doing it slowly. They charm us. Show us just advantages over advantages.... And you would´nt go back :)
I think the Galaxy can do more than watch for our games, updates and multiplayer stuff. I think it will pretty much watch your hd, your web activity and all this littlelittle things that make PR more effective and advertising just the same.

But i´m here because of the freedom which gives me no other online shop.
The goal of this Galaxy-Thingy IS going to be Steam No2 or even more, no question. That is the goal.

And, like i said: you can´t blame GOG for that, it´s just business. But for feigning and shroud too much before our eyes i do blame them.
Post edited June 10, 2014 by Prian
Posted June 10, 2014
I don't like the name. It should be called «Parowy» ;)
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussionIntroducing: GOG Galaxy, the DRM-Free online gaming platform(917 posts)(917 posts)
(917 posts)