Hi. I have a question for you as a community.

If gog add games like Age of Empires I-III, Age of Mythology, C&C, Red Alert in original / boxed versions - no new textures, no high resolutions. Game versions at release, only compatible with new systems.
All these games are available on steam in enhanced versions.
This would be the only way to add these games on gog. Would you like such versions? Please share your opinion.

There is not a single answer for this. It really depends on how the remaster is done. Some games with a lot with a modernized version (for example, Grim Fandango), for others it's not worth (an extreme example is Simon the Sorcerer Anniversary Edition).

For the Age of Empires series, my worry would not be the new resolutions, HD textures or QOL improvements. It would be the new expansions that are just amateur-quality mods (nothing against mods, but I have a higher standard for this saga). Hopefully they'd be optional..

The best option would be to add both versions. :) This is already the case in titles such as Baldur's Gate, Planescape Torment, Neverwinter Nights etc. You get redeem the originals by buying the Enhanced Editions. Some people would probably prefer the option to buy those separately, but it's good that the originals are bundled with the Enhanced Editions at all. It's a rare case though. Usually the remasters fully replace the original versions. If we'll see the mentioned games on GOG, it'll be a remastered version most likely.

Unfortunately there are several examples now of us only getting the "remaster," like with Doom 3 and Deus Ex HR. This is unfortunate because in many cases, like those two, there are real reasons to prefer the originals.

Other times we do get the originals, so really it's a crapshoot.

The virtues of the remastered titles in the OP ar evident. They are not just reskins or High res patches. What they made with, for example, Age of empires series under the original engine is notable and technically advanced, considering that the base core are the original games.

Indeed the ideal could be have both versions here but considering that those games probably have its DRM systems I do not see them here in the short term.

And also the originals have been abandoned by the developers in favor of the remasters. Probably they want them buried deeply.

Therefore I have not faith in seeing any of them, originals or remasters, arriving here soon. It is not exactly the question of the OP but well, specifically about the question the consensus would be having both of them. I am sure.
The advantage of have DRM Free versions of the remasters available and rereleases of the original games. It would be a win-win

old_el_paso_why_not_both.gif

Personally I would be most interested in vanilla versions, and if the choice is old vanilla or nothing, I would gladly grab what I can, no questions asked. And that would help establish GOG as a store with Good Old Games exclusives, like it used to be.

It really depends on how competently done the new versions are.

For example, I wouldn't suggest Majora's Mask 3D to someone, but I'd fully suggest Ocarina Of Time 3D to someone over the OG.

Realistically, it would be the other way around. Quite a few games don't have their original versions here. Some examples I can remember are:

Day of the Tentacle
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
Disney Classic Games: Aladdin & Lion King
Doom 3
Forsaken
Full Throttle
Grim Fandango
Shadow Man
Turok
Turok 2: Seeds of Evil

My preference is for the original versions over the "remasters" which too often are censored or have bits missing. For example, Crysis Remastered originally launched with a level missing, and Mass Effect Trilogy isn't true to the original artistic vision, with censored camera angles and the like. Most of the time, the only advantages (such as higher resolution textures and widescreen support) can be put in with third party patches.

Given a choice, I'd buy and play the original version any time.

If there was only one option, I would prefer the original and just being able to run it on modern OS. I like to play games as close to the original design/intent/balance as possible. But the best way of course is to have both. Absolutely do not remove the original version if a remaster just released.

Even better would be getting the 1.0 versions of everything (or as close to it as possible) and all the post-launch patches being optional, like it used to be when buying boxed games. Some games, especially RPGs and RTSes could suffer a lot from the later patches that screwed up the balance, broke some things, changed things for the sake of multiplayer that died 2 years later, etc. My main example of this would be the first Battle for Middle Earth game, where I run just the 1.02 patch, because the later patches screwed up the faction and campaign balance way too much because of multiplayer. Digital distribution usually forces you into only the latest version or close to it. Titan Quest is another one for the list. A ton of stuff was changed in the Anniversary Edition and not always for the better. Really glad I still have the Gold version in a box.

And there are more games stuck in limbo because a "superior" version is available. Games like Unreal Tournament 2003 or Worms 3D and Worms 4: Mayhem will probably never see the light of day again besides hunting down a retail version.

If possible, I'd rather have all versions of a game DRM free, even if it means having to purchase each version separately.