Those patches in the PATCHES folder *are* being applied, QFG4 is a bit unique in this regard. Those are mostly patches that fix timer bugs. I believe the majority of those *are* fan made, but are purely fix-patches, as QFG4 has some nightmare scenarios without them - and at the time they were created, DOSBox didn't exist. QFG3 also has a similar patch pre-applied. (Curiously, the only patch that ISN'T pre-applied is an *official* patch for QFG2 that fixes import issues, such as every class being imported as a Fighter, and I highly recommend applying this patch as this bug results in unexpected gameplay, like getting points for doing Fighter things instead of Magic User or Thief things)
There is a newer fanmade patch that is NOT pre-applied, for Quest for Glory 3, made by AshLancer - though it's more along the lines of a restoration patch, restoring unused content (like game overs, unused dialogue and scenes, and things to do) while also patching out potential loose ends and continuity errors (like describing a river as being "east" when it's actually in the west). That being said, it does ultimately change the game, so it's actually a good thing it's kept optional, and the speed-running community for this game considers using this patch to be its own category, separate from the main ones.
Also one of the more important things it does is it adds and changes score values so that each individual class can achieve 500 out of 500 points without having to rely on the paladin points glitch.
In addition, the version of QFG5 is a specially modified exe that fixes a bug that caused the game to crash whenever anything breathes fire.
AshLancer is also working on a patch for QFG4 that does the same things for that game that he did for QFG3. Again, however, this won't be pre-applied.
TL;DR: Older fix patches, whether official or unofficial, are applied, except for the patch that fixes the import bug in QFG2. The newer restoration fan patch by AshLancer is not pre-applied, as it's both newer than the GOG version and also ultimately a subjective choice.
Post edited December 21, 2020 by Zachski
