Posted March 23, 2022
low rated

I can answer the OP's question, but merely sorting out the issue with DRMed singleplayer elements won't make me content. It's the latest and, seeing as it marks the formal collapse of GOG's final remaining pillar, the most serious offense, but I'll only be content if GOG will return to its initial mission statement, of changing the industry or at least carving a path and providing a haven for those refusing to tolerate the rotten practices of the gaming industry, the clear, specific, ones that were stated being both DRM, in any way, shape or form, for singleplayer, and regional price hikes, plus what they initially called "customer love", marked by things making actually purchasing a game feel like it's worth it when seeing the "pirated" version, not any other store, as the competitor, such as the extra "goodies", excellent support going above and beyond and a feeling of community that the staff is also actively involved in. And then there are also the problems that popped up after GOG stopped being Good Old Games, and then after Galaxy appeared, with games missing patches or Galaxy users being favored, those also needing to be fixed before I'll actually be content.
But, strictly on the DRM front, I fully recognize that GOG never was fully DRM-free except for singleplayer, and while at first DRMed multiplayer meant having to enter a CD key available in your library, for me there are no "flavors" of DRM that can be acceptable, so whether it's that key or needing to be fully on-line and install a separate client, DRM is DRM and intolerable, but GOG's original mission statement referred only to eliminating it from purely singleplayer content. So any DRM on any element that's not strictly singleplayer and local, which includes on-line multiplayer but also things like public achievements, leaderboards, timed challenges and so on, is outside the scope of GOG's original mission statement and I can't oppose it on those grounds.
But when it comes to singleplayer, local content, any sort of restriction or requirement for any element whatsoever, no matter how "irrelevant to the actual gameplay" it's deemed to be, is completely intolerable, and this also applies to restrictions caused by bugs, such as the games that work if the computer's not connected to the Internet but refuse to start if a connection is present but they're blocked by the firewall from connecting, or to those supposedly "inactive leftovers" of DRM components that a few games may still install. Any game on GOG must have the full singleplayer content, no matter how "irrelevant", as well as any extras whose usability isn't limited to multiplayer or some other on-line activity, directly and fully available without any connection, whether the computer's disconnected or a firewall is used to block, without requiring a client or other similar software, whether Galaxy or anything else, to ever be used, and without the use of any other site or service or having any account other than the one you need to have on GOG strictly in order to purchase or redeem and then download the game.
That said, rather than wanting games removed, the first thing I'd want is guarantees that no games that fail that check will be accepted from now on... Which is the opposite of what the recent announcement spelled out, formally. And then I'd also want those that are already on the store to be fixed in order to pass said check, by GOG if the problem is on their end or the developer or publisher can't be bothered but they allow them to implement a fix or by the developer or publisher if they can do it on their own. If the developer or publisher refuse to either implement a fix or allow GOG to do so after multiple attempts to press them into doing so, only then should those games be removed. Also, in case a game is removed due to violating the no singleplayer DRM policy, all those who purchased it should have a certain window of time during which they'll eligible for a refund, regardless of how long ago they purchased it or how long they played it, the understanding being that anyone purchasing a game on GOG may have the reasonable expectation for that game to be fully DRM free on singleplayer and if that's not the case then it can be assumed to be a bug that will be fixed, failure to do so being seen as the game not being properly functional and therefore falling under the refund policy.
As for GOG possibly not surviving unless making these concessions, I'll keep saying what I kept saying since the great betrayal of 2014: From where I'm standing, the only reason for GOG to exist is to be the banner bearers for those striving to change this rotten industry, in all the ways stated in their original mission statement. And they should just strive to survive while sticking stalwartly to those values and working only with the developers and publishers willing to at least accept, if not actually support, them, and catering to the customers who demand them, however niche that audience may be. But note that by surviving I mean exactly that, just somehow making ends meet, not meeting growth goals, providing value for shareholders, grabbing for AAA or 0-day releases, and most definitely not funding CDP's development work or providing services or support for them or working on things like Galaxy, unless it can be undeniably proven that the profits generated in this manner exceed the costs, including in terms of manpower, enough to allow significantly more resources to be poured into the core mission, definitely never threatening to take anything away from that.
If, and only if, GOG truly wouldn't have been able to survive in any way, according to that definition of survival, while sticking to its original mission, then yes, it is, and would have been all along, better to admit that defeat and close up shop, possibly clearing the way for someone else to try to pick up that banner and try again, instead of continuing to take up that space despite having moved away from nearly everything that gave them the right to do so.

I even made a Wishlist entry about that; for what little (nothing) it's worth!
https://www.gog.com/wishlist/galaxy/abolish_gog_galaxy_entirely
And, since I know that sadly CD Project and GOG had put too much of (our) money in that Abomination and they will sooner close GOG than abandon GOG Galaxy, I am no longer buying games here; other than a few remaining true Good Old Games that are unavailable anywhere else, when and if they release. So, basically, one game or less per year!
Post edited March 23, 2022 by rjbuffchix