Maybe it's because I never used the original GOG Galaxy. Maybe it's because I've had absolute crap experiences with other platforms like Steam. Maybe it's because I'm against digital distribution but support GOG for trying to keep the best elements of physical distribution alive.

Whatever the reason is, I do not understand the hate that Galaxy 2.0 seems to be getting.

Sure, it has its bugs. I've made it clear that I don't feel like the client is ready for its full release yet, that it needs a bit more time in beta. However, those issues will be fixed in time. I also understand the complaints about certain features missing from 1.2 to 2.0, but those issues will also probably be fixed in time, as those features were clearly used by a niche of users rather than the majority.

All of that being said, why does it seem that so many are vehemently against using 2.0, insisting that GOG should continue to support their soon-to-be-outdated client? If it was a piece of software that didn't require continual maintenance (such as the Windows example of people still using Windows 7), I'd agree entirely and be right with them in requesting that the old client be left up but don't people realize that when it comes to something like this, it'd be akin to running two separate versions of an active site? For the sake of the security of all of us, as well as the company, they can't just leave 1.2 users alone without maintaining 1.2 alongside 2.0 and if they did that, they'd be spending an unnecessary amount of resources on 1.2's maintenance for a core group of people that are being stubborn in refusing to even try 2.0. Likewise, I see plenty of people complaining about the removal of the GOG Downloader, but a similar issue arises with the Downloader as did to Galaxy 1.2.

Galaxy 2.0 is the future of this client and, I believe, the future of gaming in our ridiculous digital age. It's an attempt to make digital distribution less painful than it currently is. Like I said before, I understand some of the criticisms but I've also seen so many who refuse to even try 2.0, stubbornly insisting that GOG cater to their demands to keep their soon-to-be-outdated client.

Why is it such a huge deal that you have to upgrade to the newest version? Why is it such a big deal that they shut down the Downloader? It's not like GOG removed the ability to download the game and its goodies separate from ANY launcher; if you're that stubborn and refuse to even try 2.0, you'd still have the ability to download your games directly from the site. I still do it myself, from time to time, due to a bug on my end (involving all of my security software) which sometimes screws up Galaxy's installation process.

To just conclude here, I'll reiterate on the title of this thread...

After nearly three months and hundreds of hours of using Galaxy 2.0, I don't understand the hate. I understand some of the criticisms about missing features and really do believe that GOG should hold off on the full release, as I don't feel like it's ready for that yet. However, there's really no reason for all the hate that I see for this client. GOG is about DRM-free gaming. If you don't like the client they give us, download the game and its goodies direct from the site. That's the option we're given. That's the option we've always been given. Nothing has changed except for the fact that they've redesigned their 100% optional client from the ground up. If you're upset about missing features, keep pressing for those features to be added. The thing is, as it stands, Galaxy 2.0 is a fully-functional client that can be used as a headquarters for all of your PC gaming activity so it's not like you can't use it while simultaneously pressing for desired features to be added.

Plus, at the end of the day, no one is forcing you to use this client. We are truly fortunate that GOG is a company that actually cares about the players' choice and lets us decide whether we want to use their client or not. That's not an option you get on any other major game distribution platform.

Personally, it causes me real pain and vision problems. Dark color schemes give me headaches and mess with my vision, the light text hangs around in my vision for minutes and makes focusing on things difficult. Other clients give me the option to switch colors or custom themes.

Do I hate Galaxy 2? No. Never used it. As to why? I don't use beta software. I've done enough beta testing in my time for work, and there are times when unexpected problems happen that are really bad. That's what the beta period is for.

Will I upgrade to Galaxy 2 if I'm no longer able to connect with Galaxy 1? Probably not. The reason is actually more due to what I see in the forums along with features I don't use. Connecting to multiple platforms using a 3rd party can introduce too many security/privacy issues. Will that happen? Probably not. As the old Survival Insurance commercial says, "I can't take that ride". Multiplayer or what other people are playing is also something that really doesn't interest me at all.

Feedback from GOG is another big thing. There's been a lack of presence on the boards for a long time. There have been promises from blues about interacting more, there have promises to fixing the forums... that's been years ago. Very little has been fixed (I can't think of what has been), and the presence has dropped even more, with a couple of Community Moderators being added. Those new mods only purpose seem to be removing spam posts. It doesn't seem like they care about community, just to run their business (and yes, it's their business not mine), but to me that matters.

So hate? Not from me. Their choice, your choice, my choice... it's all good. Me? I'm happy with LaunchBox, and happy that I can still use DRM free software.

You've had it explained to several times.

But for the benefit of those not involved in the conversation, here's the short version for why people are upset:

-First, even according to GOG, Galaxy 2.0 is still in Beta. Nevertheless people were forced to upgrade, without warning. Even people who explicitly opted out of beta products.

-Second, the current version of Galaxy 2.0 lacks many features available in 1.2. Sort by purchase date, ability to use tags from the site, easy access to the forums, etc.

-Third, many people are experiencing bugs with Galaxy 2.0. I myself have it frequently stop working for all purposes other than launching games (i.e. it will not download games or updates, it will not accurately track playtime, it will not recognize newly purchased games, etc.) Other people are experiencing worse bugs, like not having syncs work at all (making it pointless to launch games in the browser rather than just directly) or not even having any of their games show up.

-Fourth, many of the features of Galaxy 2.0 don't work properly. For example people say that you can use bookmarks in far more ways, including doing things like bookmarking the forum pages. But that doesn't work in the current version. More seriously many of the integrations are unstable at best (which makes sense, since all of them except the XBox Live integration are unofficial community projects).

-Finally, it doesn't make sense to say that it is necessary to switch everyone over to Galaxy 2.0 when these things show no signs of being fixed. Has Galaxy 2.0 even been updated at all in the last month? Certainly none of the issues discussed above have been fixed despite people complaining about them for weeks. If neither Galaxy 2.0 nor Galaxy 1.2 is currently being updated in any significant way, why not just let people use Galaxy 1.2 for the time being?

A lot of posts in the forums here say what's wrong with 2.0

First, the integrations with the other platforms some times don't work at all, or go offline or crash. Hell, I see games DISAPPEARING from lists. The Steam integration for me is offline for 3 weeks now, can't retrieve my data and new games from it, Humble Bundle crashes immediately when I launch Galaxy and I need to refresh it each time, Uplay wouldn't show my entire library unless I downloaded Uplay itself on my PC, and many more. And let's not forget all those intergrations are made by 3rd party people, not CDPR, so we need to rely on them. And the only OFFICIAL integration supported by CDPR is XBOX ONE, which boggles my mind. How many Steam users vs Xbox One users exist here? A major thing of Galaxy 2.0 is crumbled to dust. And that's the big thing about Galaxy 2.0: combine and port all your platforms and friends to one place, and yet it barely works.

Secondly, it looks barebones, colours aren't good, and overall presentation is lackluster.

How long it's been in BETA and yet we get nothing? They forced updates without fixing anything. How many perople are yelling for bugs, minor and major alike now? A lot.

This is like buying a car with one seat, one wheel, handbrakes, 3 wheels, one engine and exhaust pipe and everything else needs to be installed by Jerry, Jimmy and Garry from across the road. After a while, you can't rely on Jerry, Jimmy and Garry to do everything to keep the car functional. And then one sunny day, you are forced to change the car to a new car you never asked for, with less functions.

The fact I see Gwent on Steam, says a lot about their priorities. They never addressed the issues people point out, no announcements, no patches, nothing.

That's cool - you don't have to - but I'll assume you're happy to hear a quick breakdown of some personal grievances because you're asking yeah?

Ok - see the attached picture. I've taken the liberties of merging a few pop out menus to make it easier to show the functionality and ease of navigating Galaxy 1.2

In the bottom left, current downloads, when these complete you also get a magnifying glass link to go straight to the folder.

On the left you have an always accessible searchable games list with right click menu items allowing you to verify integrity, go the folders, extras, forums, etc etc. Really simple straight forward.

In the main section you have the permanent menus at the top that allow you to quickly navigate to the store, forums etc in your main view. Everything you want is right there accessible without being nested and needing to shift your entire view and you're never more than click away from where you need to be..

The biggest thing Galaxy needs to do well, is quick, easy, permanent access to your games.

1.2 does this perfectly.

2.0 buries it behind integration and social features.

You love 2.0 - awesome good for you - but I don't think you're on solid footing if you claim it is easier and more functional than the 1.2

Sort by purchase date is a big one for me. I really like it. 2.0 doesn't allow me to sort by purchase date--I refuse to upgrade until that feature is working in 2.0.

Looking over these posts, my suspicions are confirmed: people hate on it only because of bugs which can be fixed and missing features that can be added. As I said in the post, I don't mind constructive criticism as that's how this platform will be improved. However, a lot of the comments are overly negative and show a clear lack of concern for improvement along with a desire to stick with the old.

The problem you're missing here though is these features and bugs were brought up nearly 12 months ago when 2.0 went live and many of us diligently reported our concerns in 'the lets talk' thread.

A lot of the issues are not just missing features, but features that should have been part of 2.0 from the ground up, as they were already functional in 1.2

Well, I understand that but if they rewrote Galaxy entirely, I can understand why old features in 1.2 might not be ported over immediately. All I'm saying is that this hate is unnecessary. Constructive criticism is what will get GOG to add these features; even if they're not directly communicating, I have zero doubts that they're listening to our feedback. I have that on a personal experience I had with one of the 2.0 team members who hit me up on social media after seeing me mention the bugs that I encountered. They asked me what things I didn't like about 2.0 and they took the time to really listen to my feedback.

Then maybe use that avenue to tell them to hit people up in the forum that has been ignored for about 9 months. They're not doing themselves any favours ignoring their own platform and request for feedback in favour of social media.

The absence of communication for nearly 12 months, then launching 2.0 on everyone without comment or discussion after 12 months of feedback being ignored is really not a positive look and gives no-one any faith they're listening, despite your personal experience.

12 months.

"Not immediately."

Gee with all of the increased focus that they have for 2.0 now that everyone has been forced out of 1.2, they might even fix some of these issues in only 6 months.

That was just a one-off experience but I'm fairly certain they do check the forums. Just because they're not responding, that doesn't mean they're not watching. Most companies don't even respond to PMs on social media, let alone talk on their forums.

There's no doubt that they can do better, as there's always room for improvement, but all things considered, I find them ot be doing a great job.

It's not ready for release, I agree, but that doesn't justify the hate. It's a forced update because they really don't have any other option.