Wowfunhappy
Member
GOG Galaxy—a Steam-like client that adds supplementary features to games purchased on GOG—has always been optional. When the client was first introduced, GOG spent almost half of their announcement video touting the fact that you'd never have to touch GOG Galaxy unless you wanted to. For the past several years, this system has worked perfectly: people who like achievements and automatic updates can download the well-advertised GOG Galaxy, and everyone else can keep downloading traditional installers via GOG's easy and straightforward web interface.
I am firmly in the second group of people. I don't like clients; I don't want my games to be connected to a social network, and I'd rather manage my software through plain-old Windows Explorer. Among GOG users, I'm not all that unusual—if you read through GOG's official forums, you'll see that a dislike of extraneous software is a common reason people choose GOG over Steam. So I'm a bit confused as to why GOG has seemingly decided to start tricking people into installing GOG Galaxy.
Let me back up. About a month ago, I purchased Rime on GOG. Here is what the download screen looked like:
Here is what that same download screen looks like today:
Did you spot the difference? I almost missed it. Pay attention to the fine print at the bottom. It says:
Once downloaded, these new installers look identical to the old ones...
But wait! You can still download clean installers that don't have Galaxy hidden inside of them! All you have to do (sarcasm) is:
Please GOG, cut this out. At the absolute minimum, there should be a prominent account-wide checkbox to toggle the use of "Galaxy Installers", and once unchecked that selection should remain unchecked permanently.
But I'd also question the fundamental purpose of these new installers. GOG Galaxy has been prominently featured on GOG.com for years. If someone isn't using GOG Galaxy by now, it isn't because they don't know about it. It's because they don't want to use Galaxy. And, quite frankly, because a majority of the people who do like clients are using Steam.
I really want to be able to cheer for GOG as the PC Gaming underdog who is always DRM-Free and always stands for user choice. GOG is making that very hard.
I am firmly in the second group of people. I don't like clients; I don't want my games to be connected to a social network, and I'd rather manage my software through plain-old Windows Explorer. Among GOG users, I'm not all that unusual—if you read through GOG's official forums, you'll see that a dislike of extraneous software is a common reason people choose GOG over Steam. So I'm a bit confused as to why GOG has seemingly decided to start tricking people into installing GOG Galaxy.
Let me back up. About a month ago, I purchased Rime on GOG. Here is what the download screen looked like:
Pretty simple, right? There's a big blue "TRY GOG GALAXY" button in the top left corner, so if you want to go the Galaxy route, it's pretty obvious where you need to click. For everyone else, the standard installers are conveniently divided into 4GB pieces.
Here is what that same download screen looks like today:
Did you spot the difference? I almost missed it. Pay attention to the fine print at the bottom. It says:
Once downloaded, these new installers look identical to the old ones...
...but if you click "Options", you'll see an unassuming checkbox which is enabled by default, and reads "Keep your game up to date with GOG Galaxy." If you don't click Options, you'll never know that anything has changed.
But wait! You can still download clean installers that don't have Galaxy hidden inside of them! All you have to do (sarcasm) is:
- Go to your downloads screen.
- Click the "More Button"
- Select "Classic Installers" from the Dropdown
Eureka! The fine print has changed! Now the downloads won't include GOG Galaxy! Simple and intuitive, right?
Please GOG, cut this out. At the absolute minimum, there should be a prominent account-wide checkbox to toggle the use of "Galaxy Installers", and once unchecked that selection should remain unchecked permanently.
But I'd also question the fundamental purpose of these new installers. GOG Galaxy has been prominently featured on GOG.com for years. If someone isn't using GOG Galaxy by now, it isn't because they don't know about it. It's because they don't want to use Galaxy. And, quite frankly, because a majority of the people who do like clients are using Steam.
I really want to be able to cheer for GOG as the PC Gaming underdog who is always DRM-Free and always stands for user choice. GOG is making that very hard.
_/¯