It's not that I'm in the know, because of course I am, but how do I explain to a friend of mine that's little slow what GOG downloader was and how the removal of it will affect us?

Edit: Looked it up, I tried to use it a couple of months ago but gave up since it didn't work.

I wasn't using downloader either, but I wouldn't be surprised if that software was more more competent at it was meant to do than the forum software :-P.

It is kind of sad to see the downloader go, I was actually using it whenever I downloaded games from my library.

To be honest, I liked how it automatically downloaded all installer files with a single click, something which has to be done manually per installer part through the browser.

@GOG staff: I hope Galaxy goes well. Could you look into the possibility of making its backup feature "smarter"? As in checking the versions of existing files and only download if newer versions are found. Just my two cents.

(I know there is gogrepo which does all that (great tool indeed!), I have used it for some time, but I would like a more "official" way of backing up my purchased games that does not require the whole python and plugins setup.)

^ this! Really need GOG downloader. Surely it is worth keeping customers happy by keeping it:)

I remember official downloader from when gog was still very new, and I never understood it's value. I'd have to go to GOG website, click each individual game to queue it in downloader. As opposed to having to go to GOG website, and just download the file through browser... Maybe good to download game you are about to play, but absolutely inadequate to backup your collection (at least once you get to 100+ titles). I don't think it will be missed THAT much, as long as standalone installers are maintained.

I've grown lazy to a point that I don't even download installers anymore. Well, lazy and I'd have to buy bigger disk before doing that - my last backup is something like 3 or 4 years old, and that was using lgogdownloader (which I think is already ported to using galaxy API).

Very sad (and pissed off) to hear this announcement but knew the writing was on the wall. I will miss GOG Downloader as it offered an easy and bloat free way of downloading offline installers with just one click.

I don't understand why it's being retired as it's not been updated for years but still works perfectly. Guess it's GOG's way to push users to Galaxy :(

Tbh I haven't used the Downloader in years now... mostly gogrepy.py or Galaxy for single games. So no great loss for me.

I (and others) REFUSE to use the "optional" Galaxy, so it's a bummer that one of the two non-Galaxy options was removed. I don't understand the explanation at all. What specifically changed now as opposed to 6 years ago? To the user, clearly Downloader was working generally fine and not hurting anything.

I can't help but feel this is designed to drive more people towards the "optional" Galaxy's conveeeeenience, since the browser downloads do not offer the one-click style that the Downloader did. Regardless, I will be sticking with my browser downloads no matter how many clicks it takes.

Downloader put Galaxy to shame as a "DRM-free delivery system".

Goodbye downloader!

Umm.. I can only take myy educated guess, so take it as you want but... Keeping a six year old piece of software running means you need to upkeep six year old APIs, in worst case scenarios it can mean you are totally cut off from updates or improvements to the system, since you need to maintain the old download system, or are unable to switch server systems. It's not always that easy to carry a huge backpack of software functions that blow up your source code and keep you form switching.

As long as the website offers the installer downloads I am fine. There is software to collect those links, to get all at once, but on the other hand clicking four times wont hurt.

Personally I don't care about losing GOG Downloader as I never used it, but I do care that this is setting a diabolical precedent.

Like for example, how GOG is probably going to do the same thing to pre-2.0 versions of GOG Galaxy, even though the Galaxy 2.0 interface is absolutely terrible and radically different from the great interface in earlier versions.

It's going be a very bad thing if/when GOG forces everyone either to use Galaxy 2.0 (or later versions than 2.0) or no Galaxy at all.

Good riddance.

I'm surprised GOG kept that totally obsolete client alive this far, it just doesn't make any logical sense that GOG would have used resources keeping it up, when there are so much better ways to download one's games from GOG.

For now I use gogrepo.py and occasionally my web browser to download my games, they serve their purposes much better. On top of them, I have hard time understanding why I would want to use the old Downloader anymore.

GOG Downloader is not "another method". It is just one more additional client to download the offline installers, on top of Galaxy, web browsers and the existing third-party tools (like gogrepo.py and lgogdownloader).

People who cry they want to download their games "without clients"... GOG Downloader is not the solution because it is a client, after all. The existence of the GOG Downloader has nothing to do with "freedom of choice". It doesn't serve any real purpose anymore, obsolete is obsolete.

thus far, less wailing and gnashing of teeth than I expected.

Fine by me. I would be interested in the business decision behind this though; like was Support getting too many complaints about people confused about what those Downloader links were?