It all depends how exactly GOG will differentiate them on each download page (will it be consistent etc., always using the same terminology), and also taking into consideration that only some download pages will have these two different sets.

I have human AI, I can more easily e.g. tell that:

- If the download page does not have any "classic version" mentioned anywhere which by some description is Galaxy-free, either on the main download section or game goodies, then I presume the main downloads are Galaxy-free.

- If there are such separate Galaxy-free downloads, then I download those instead, and don't download the main installers.

So what would the automatic script look for? Descriptions like "galaxy-free" or "non-galaxy" or "classic"? Maybe all of them, but then there are also other "classic" versions which have nothing to do with Galaxy? What if the links themselves don't contain any specific description, but are put under a sub title, like in the case of Darksiders Warmastered Edition?

If the Galaxy-free versions are put into Game Goodies (Extras), will it contain also all the different language and OS versions, as IIRC the extras section does not care for the LANG and OS filters but is common for all? So the script search criteria would also try to locate the correct language and OS versions too somehow in that case, since it can't use the GOG filters. But of course it should look for specific language/OS descriptions only if there are other versions visible too (GOG doesn't normally describe something as "windows" or "english" version unless there are other OS/language alternatives listed too).

I guess it can't look (and omit) "galaxy" descriptions either as there are GOG games whose title includes "galaxy".

Weeding out the unwanted files is easy if you really intend to download (and maintain updates) to your games manually with a web browser, but much harder if you try to automate it in any way.

hey, this is quite a nice idea you have here ! sounds way more logical and less trouble

after all, mp3 players do detect that a "cover.jpg" exists in a mp3 folder to display it as being the default cover for files in there.. so why not detecting an additional "galaxy.bin" and react accordingly if it is found

I agree that this way of doing things is ineffecient, even without having to keep two sets of files - what, are they going to have to update ALL the game installers whenever there's an update to Galaxy? But reading between the lines of Destro's post, with all the mentions of how developers want and expect Galaxy features, I suspect it's actually the devs pushing this and not GOG themselves. Maybe there's some big AAA publisher they're trying to hook, but they've said something like "we won't bring our games to GOG unless you bundle Galaxy with the default installers". (I also strongly suspect that at least some people at GOG knew what the reaction would be, and tried to warn their managers, but were ignored. If so I can certainly sympathise, as I've been in that position myself before now.)

There may well be a rethink in a few months' time, and hopefully GOG will adopt one of the more efficient solutions proposed above. In the meantime, I'm just glad I can keep the 'classic' installers and re-wishlist the games I had de-wishlisted. :)

Always online DRM :p (requiring you to sign into your gog account)

Nope:
- Galaxy isn't required to play the game
- optional online features obviously need online login

well, ontil the galaxy free installers would get outdated and discontinued regarding crucial updates of games (i'm not talking about updates of games that bring new features but rather those patches that correct gamebreaking bugs)
if, or i'd rather say WHEN the ofline installers wont be updated at all or much slower and the message will be sent that "if you want your game updated, you better have galaxy to do it" then it will become quite mandatory
and a game that requires that for delivering what a customer can rightfully expect (a game that works decently single playerwise, without gamebreaking severe tech issues) is not strictly "always online DRM" but yet quite close to the shadow of it for me

Exactly for the same that you did here, if the script locate both "standard" (i.e. using Galaxy) and "classic" then it download the "classic" one, if there is no classic and only a single version of the installer then it download the standard version.

It's a basic IF with a couple of condition, nothing complicated.

That is what I thought before here, but nobody noticed :\
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/offline_installers_with_an_option_to_install_gog_galaxy/post967
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/a_short_history_of_my_relationship_with_gog/post15

Peoples said the same thing when Galaxy was first announced and yet the offline installer are still kept up to date regularly....

Please, remember about users of systems different than Windows. We have no choice, there is no Galaxy for us.

For us, Linux users, GOG was always a great place, because even if you do not provide us Linux installers, we're able to download pure game installer here, which makes it way simpler to install a game under Wine. I just hate multiple layers of Steam installations - game under Steam under Wine under PlayOnLinux under Linux. Small and simple GOG instaler lets me install and play without many issues faced You Know Where.

You initial announcement made me really scared, because I've realized I may lost a great place, where I can just download Ultima 2 in 2MB simple package and easily run it in 3 minutes under my DosBox.

Please, GOG, don't fool around, be always GOG.

By the way, I appreciate your efforts to provide GOG Galaxy to those who want it, but I was always afraid that you put a lot of effort there and probably you'll never be able to fully support the whole game library like it is on Steam. In other words - I'm afraid that competing with Steam client costs you a lot and it's simply impossible to win this fight regarding your scale. It's dead end IMHO.

It was a joke hence the :p. However it is still a step towards it.

I had to install galaxy the other day just to access the beta branch of a game that was otherwise broken because gog doesn't bother pressuring developers to release patches available from competitors (steam). Galaxy was a nightmare to install due to some old left over files from a much older installation. When I started another game I had not downloaded through galaxy (galaxy wasn't open, I killed the process) it started up galaxy, I found that pretty invasive for an optional client.

Galaxy just left beta stage and they are bundling it already into the downloads of offline installers like Adware or a Browser Toolbar.

The thing is, much better and easier to implement alternatives had been suggested; like bundling the installers with a downloader for Galaxy instead of galaxy itself, and even better: providing a simple link to Galaxy.

You(GOG, not Destro or other GOG personal) not even considering this convinces me that you simply aren't allowed to consider it. You are probably in the stinking middle of this pile just as the users are; this, in my opinion, came from way up high in the figurative food chain.

I am not disappointed and certainly not angry with GOG. I just wish common sense and a pair of balls still existed somewhere under the surface. When I first logged on to GOG all those years ago, the site was full of spirit and a few crazy sales here and there. I even remember the vote for indie and AAA games (even though I can't know if you'd accepted a negative outcome)

Now GOG seems to be increasingly by the numbers; and those numbers are slowly sliding in favor of other platforms.
I still like the site for letting me relive some of my childhood but, PLEASE, don't push it!

Well they are considering it (the downloader part) :

-

How does it have anything to do with whenever or not the classic offline installer will be kept updated or not ?

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