kohlrak: I've been told by a dev that it's more than just that. They actually have a process for rejection due to bugs, too. So, i'm guessing there is actually playtesting to some degree, but i'm not sure how involved it is.
timppu: So, what exactly did that dev tell you, what steps are there exactly? Or was he just that vague? And how fresh was his experience with GOG anyway, was it e.g. from years ago?
He was vague, but he was actively pushing to GOG at the time. Even now, I think he still probably has the freshest GOG experience.
Elsewhere it has been said that GOG has a process in place where a developer can upload updates to the Galaxy version on their own. Whether that is available only for selected developers at the moment, I don't know. The playtesting you mention is most probably related to only classic GOG games where GOG does part of the "development" (ie. making it run on modern systems). I have hard time believing GOG staff would make similar playtesting to e.g. in-dev indie games, like Startup Company.
What actually prompted me to ask was taking advantage of the heat of the moment: he said he was pushing an update to steam, but the GOG version would take a few days (and it did).
I'd really like to hear some concrete examples, not just vague whining from some developers. What exactly is GOG expecting the developer to do, why so many other developers don't seem to have similar problems but constantly release updates on the GOG versions, etc.?
Exactly. This guy, however, was actually praising gog, rather than condemning it.
The most concrete complaint I remember hearing here on the forum (quote from some developer) has been that GOG was slow responding to their messages. That naturally is something that GOG should fix then, if it was the real problem an update didn't appear on GOG.
Very likely. I imagine some devs don't want their games to land on that infamous list of games that treat GOG customers as second class citizens, just because an update is a few days behind Steam's, just because of GOG. I don't know how palatable that particular fear is, but i can easily imagine some devs, especially in bigger companies, get really, really upset if QA rejects an update, which i was told is indeed a thing.
They have been good to us so far
Just takes a little longer to get a build up because they check it first, but they only reject it if there is an obvious problem (which there was in the last one I uploaded)
And they do want us to do GOG galaxy achievements etc, which we will, but they werent threatening either
For context, I was directly talking to him about the rumors that games would get sidelined for not implementing galaxy. I took this response, from him, as basically "I don't think so, but since we're doing it anyway, I can't really say for sure." He was pushing major bugfixes at the time, nothing to do with Galaxy or anything.
Anyway, let's hope that some tangible confirmation is received about this (e.g. a tweet by the developer where he says that), so that game can be included in this list:
https://www.gog.com/mix/games_that_treat_gog_customers_as_second_class_citizens I always check that list when I am thinking of buying some new-ish game on GOG. Luckily that list doesn't change that often so I almost remember all the games in it by heart, and it is not like I care for all the "issues" either (like the GOG version not having German or Linux support, or missing multiplayer, is usually not an issue for me).
Yeah, i'm a bit worried about this random posting here like this. Why not the DEV?
kohlrak: I've been told by a dev that it's more than just that. They actually have a process for rejection due to bugs, too. So, i'm guessing there is actually playtesting to some degree, but i'm not sure how involved it is.
Crosmando: Even so, if you're going to release a game on GOG, you should be prepared to support it no matter what. In fact, it's bewildering that GOG do not have some kind of written legal contract with devs which says that when a dev puts a game on GOG, they must keep it updated.
I love when people make this argument. If steam did this, devs would stop publishing on steam. Guaranteeing constant support for any product, let alone a software product, is insane. I've even watched big companies crushed under the pressure of trying. Everyone wants that back door, and rightfully so. There's an old software adage that no software can be free of bugs, and everyone who devs knows this. Guranteed support contracts usually are't given, and when they are, it's directly dev to customer, not through a publisher.
jhovgaard: I hope this clear things out :-)
timppu: Thanks, it certainly did, and also ended those rumors suggesting in this thread (and elsewhere) that it is because it is "so hard to update a game on GOG".
I personally couldn't care less for achievements and cloud saves (and mod support... well it depends), so I probably would have been fine with the GOG version lacking those, as long as you would have provided updates to the GOG version.
Anyway, it is understandable you pull the game from GOG if some other GOG users consider them sooooo important. I personally feel they don't really deserve a refund unless the GOG gamecard lead them to believe GOG version would support those additional "features".
Beware, we have no way of knowing this is the actual dev. It does certainly seem to be, but let's be clear on this, just in case. Only when these comments become true will i believe.
