Pixley: Okay, so there are multiple components to this:
* We aren't putting out player-run servers, direct connect, or LAN play until the full release or soon after. This is for multiple reasons, but the most important are these: 1) we want everyone playing/testing on the current builds where we can see all the logging, and 2) taking the time to get the DU gameserver configurable by anyone not intimately familiar with the inner workings of the game code (read: us) would draw time and resources away from developing the game itself.
* We would very much like to not have Galaxy as a pre-req. Something we're looking into is allowing you guys to link your GOG accounts to accounts on our website, thus allowing you to sign into the launcher with your username and password from our site and removing the need for external software, such as Galaxy.
* There are not-yet-implemented meta-game features that we feel require some sort of authentication. These are things like achievements, tech trees, cosmetic unlocks, and other things that all ask the same question: "who are you?" Without an account system, we'd have to rely on your game clients to tell us what things you do and don't have, and that leaves a door wide open for all manner of exploitation.
* Other than the initial entry point of Galaxy saying "I am this person", our entire system for multiplayer is owned and operated wholly by us. This has two advantages: 1) If Descendent Studios were to go under, we could open-source our backend and make it available to everyone, so that someone else could pick up the mantle, and 2) we haven't exactly made it difficult to read the communications that occur between your game client and the backend, making reverse-engineering not very difficult.
As for the question "why not sell the Linux version on GOG with a remark 'currently only single player'?", that's because our single-player offerings at present aren't all that much. It's not that we aren't happy with, say, Survival, but it isn't exactly deep. We didn't feel that it was fair to Linux users to sell them such little content. Once we have account-linking in place, Galaxy is made available on Linux, or the single-player campaign is complete, then we'll make the Linux build available here.
For the time being, the game is available on descentunderground.com on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Thanks for the response, my concerns are less, erm, concerning as a result.
I do like the hopefully-more-than-a-possibility of the backend stuff being made openly available in the event of official servers and stuff falling off the face of the Earth.
Everything else makes logistical sense to me. Though I do wish less things required making additional accounts to get access to nowadays, I understand why it's so, especially if your multiplayer crowd is split between different platforms, which I presume is part of the reason to have multiplayer stuff on your end.