Greetings everyone.

This is my first post, so bear with me.

I have had only limited interaction with GOG in the past. I own all three witcher games through their service (I got a free copy of TW3 with my GPU purchase last year, and shortly after purchased TW2 as well).

Right now my question is in regard to the updates for games on GOG. I just pre-ordered No Man's Sky today, after trying to decide between the GOG version and the Steam version. I chose GOG due to the non-DRM system (Doesn't everyone? :D ). After I preordered, I was doing some reading and it seems that there have been issues in the past with games on GOG not getting updates as quickly as games on Steam.

How much of a problem is this? Is it something that I need to worry about? I am used to the Steam system where updates are available pretty much whenever they come out. NMS devs are promising quite large updates in the future, and I don't really want to lag behind.

Thanks in advance!

NONE...
No Man Sky will release all updates for all platforms at same time.

The crazies are coming out of the wood work to attack the game... when clearly all that would have to do is go to youtube and watch game play video for example. now on topic...

Now in general... there is some games updated here but not at steam.
You didn't worry about those did you?

Updates on steam and gog depend on when the developer gives it to the companies.
Most respectable companies though do update all at same time.

I really hope this is true, because like I said, I don't fancy the idea of having to wait before the game is updated. I just wondered if there was much of a track record of update delays for games, or if that has improved in the recent times to where it is no longer an issue. Yes, I have seen this. I've also watched footage and listened to opinions, so I'm pretty comfortable with what I'm getting into. I have no question that I'll probably love the game, it was just a question of where to order it from. The main concern for me being the update issue.

If you use Galaxy, it will likely be at the same time as Steam. Most of the newer games are using GOG's new patching system, which is basically the same as Steam's. Dev's can upload patches directly and GOG does not have to act as the middleman (except for standalone installers).

NMS is a big release for GOG, so I expect it will use all of Galaxy's latest features... if there are any issues with patching it would likely be on the dev's side which would not be GOG's fault.

Normally games are updated on GOG at or near the same time, however it is largely dependent on what the publisher/developer decides to do or not do. There are a number of games on GOG to which the publisher/developer has chosen to not update their games at all, or to do so very infrequently and lagging significantly behind the patching they do on Steam for example. There is a thread in the forums named "Games that treat GOG like second class citizens" you can follow to get a complete list of games that do this or have other negative anti-consumer behaviour as to how they treat their customers on GOG.com.

It remains to be seen whether this game will be updated regularly in sync with Steam or lag behind like some games do because the game isn't released yet and there's no way to reliably predict the future or estimate without a past history of the developer to gauge. Having said that, since most games do keep themselves updated reasonably I would assume that will be the case with No Man's Sky also. If anyone is concerned about it though, they could simply hold off from buying the game and wait to see how well it gets updated here and how synchronized with Steam the updates are.

Whether it's something for you to need to worry about really is up to you to decide based on your own decision making factors though. I personally wouldn't worry about it unless the publisher or developer has a past history of not updating their games here and is on the "second class citizens" shitlist here in the forums.

I really only plan to run Galaxy when I need to do something like update the game. Though I'm used to steam, it is especially convenient when I don't have to run another piece of software to access the game, which is something that GOG is excellent for.

Thank you for setting my worries at ease though. It helps to know that it will most likely be instant. Now the only question will be how the game handles online/offline, especially if I want to install it on a couple of different computers (like my laptop. And yes, I know about the System Requirements being fairly high :) )

When you say this: Does that mean that the patch installer that you can download directly from the website might be somewhat delayed? (I note on games like TW3, the patches are separate .zips available for download)

Which you can do for sure. But due note you may need it running for achievements, etc. Not sure about online play. I do know it is using the Galaxy api, so a possibility that you may need Galaxy for online play. But there is very little online interaction in NMS, it's primarily a single player experience. Yes. GOG manually test and packages these. So if a patch was to release Friday or over the weekend, you can expect a few day before they are updated for sure.

It's not even tagged as MP ^_^ (well since the game isn't released, the gamecard should be taken with a little caution)

Thanks guys! You all have been super helpful! Obviously if you have anything further to add I would love to hear it, but I've decided to just keep my preorder.

Thanks!

GoG has its issues but you will either accept them or wont. but welcome to the forums and welcome to GOG!
AND WELCOME TO THE LOVE FEST.

You can install No Man's Sky on as many PCs as you can technically. The only thing stopping you from installing it on every PC in the world (regardless of specs or system) is the GOG agreement, which states you can install a game on as many PCs as you can in your household.

On the matter of updates, it depends on the developer/publisher. Most will be happy to update. Some will need a reminder to update it here, but won't refuse. Some will outright refuse updating the copy here and tell you to ask for a refund or give you a Steam key (which misses the point of buying on GOG).

Like someone above recommended, you better check the GOGmix/thread listed above. It's an EXTREMELY USEFUL LIST, in all capitals, and it helps you to avoid any game with developers that just don't care about you.

https://www.gog.com/forum/general/suggestions_wanted_for_gog_mix_games_that_treat_gog_customers_as_second_class_citizens