Quoting: liamdawe

Quoting: PangaeaIt looks like the percentage calculus is a bit wonky. See the below picture.

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The percentage change is the same, but the amount of people is wildly different. It's the same for several other stats too, not just this one. It's just extra visible here due to so few variables.

It's correct, as it's comparing to the previous month, with the later month having less who answered.

Edit: I guess I can see why that's confusing, since I'm doing it directly against the previous percentage and not the actual percentage difference.

Update: I've now corrected that to be the actual percentage difference, not the plain change. Better?

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Thanks, yes that looks better. It was a bit confusing before.

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It looks like the percentage calculus is a bit wonky. See the below picture.



The percentage change is the same, but the amount of people is wildly different. It's the same for several other stats too, not just this one. It's just extra visible here due to so few variables.

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Quoting: vectorGiven the work GOG has often put into older games to ensure better compatibility "out of the box" than those games receive at other stores, its DRM-free stance, and its generally pro-gamer culture, I will continue to appreciate and buy from that store. That isn't the only store I buy from, but I value its existence.

Thankfully I don't believe GOG are in as serious trouble as has been claimed, but the landscape is changing, and that could affect them too. What you mentioned above is why I really appreciate them, despite some dodgy moves over the last years, and why I think it would be a big loss if they were to disappear. Hopefully that doesn't happen, and I think it's good for the industry to have one fairly big store doing things the right way, generally speaking.

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They are there, sort of. But you need to buy the inferior versions first for twice the price. So 20 dollars for a 20 year old game. Pretty damn nuts. If it at least was possible to buy the originals without forking out money to those hacks, it would be far less of a problem. Then people would have a choice. Now they don't.

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Quoting: Hamish

Quoting: PangaeaI hated when they removed Baldur's Gate and the like and replaced them with the inferior money-grab editions and doubled the price, but thankfully I had bought the 'real' versions years prior.

A bit of a funny thing to post on a Linux gaming website, considering that your "inferior money-grab editions" include among many other things full Linux support.

Beamdog have been consistently great in this regard.

Doesn't change the other facts I wrote, though, nor that the classic editions have been removed from sale, both on GOG and elsewhere. Fine and dandy that Linux support has been added, but that in no way would entice me to buy their moneygrab editions. They spat on the products and I will never, ever buy anything from them. People can dislike that all they want, but that is my view. For me it's not just about having Linux or not, but also about behaving in a somewhat ethical fashion, and Shitedog most certainly have not done that. Coincidentally, it's also why I dislike some of GOG's more recent moves. I love the fact I can get DRM Free games there, and that they finally started supporting Linux games (dragged their feet on it, though). I'm simply not going to give money to people or companies who behave in horrible ways. So I don't buy anything from/on Steam, nor anything from Beamdog. The way they tried to defend their moves at the time was also laughably unprofessional.

I'm just glad I bought all the original games years ago, so I still have them. People who didn't are up shit creek if they want the untainted versions.

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I haven't read the whole thread, but have to assume this has been pointed out already, and it bears repeating.

“We have been rearranging certain teams since October 2018, effecting in closing around a dozen of positions last week. At the same time, since the process started we have welcomed nearly twice as many new team members, and currently hold 20 open positions.”

To therefore frame this as GOG being in serious trouble is pretty dishonest. That could still be the case in fairness, but not based on them having laid off some staff when they have hired twice as many with another pack of open positions. Looks more like a company in growth than decline.

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As highlighted above, GOG has done some pretty dodgy things lately, and the frontpage is unusable now. "Accidentally" hover over a game, and some video starts playing. WTF? Hate stuff like that. Then they tried to remove the classic installers. They're still pretty well hidden and there is no way to set the classics as the default download -- unless you use the maGOG extension (community made), or at least I think so. But the thing is, they're still the best we've got. It's possible to get a wide range of games there, also some reasonably new ones, so coupled with being DRM Free and quasi-Linux support, it's why I still shop there.

I hated when they removed Baldur's Gate and the like and replaced them with the inferior money-grab editions and doubled the price, but thankfully I had bought the 'real' versions years prior. Probably not entirely GOG's fault, but it leaves a bad taste in the mouth, and the almost limitless trust I had in them before is certainly gone. But compared to other shops, it's still the best bet in my view. Therefore it would be a huge disappointment if they did go under (which I don't think they will).

Like in the Witcher games/novels, it's a case of choosing the lesser evil.

Then hope the community will be able to hold them in the ears next time GOG try to lower the bar.

Don't think they do it to the same degree any more, but I also like that you typically get a pile of "goodies" with games you purchase on GOG.

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Quoting: KlaasNo, Pangaea's point was that if there is no Galaxy for Linux, the offline installers cannot be tainted with crap like galaxy.dll with it's telemetry as the (officially non-Galaxy) Windows offline installers are.

Indeed. Plus, if GOG had Galaxy for all platform they support, why have separate installers at all? It has to be a headache for them internally. So they would have more reason to drop the promise of Galaxy being optional, and simply offer nothing but Galaxy-based installers.

I like to have control over what happens on my computer, and don't like all this telemetry and phone home BS, so I refuse to use Steam, and I refuse to use Galaxy. Given other GOG moves over the years, I'd be worried if they were to release Galaxy for Linux. It will probably happen one day, I just hope it's in the very distant future. And I'm using lgogdownloader to back up my games these days, in case something dodgy happens. Takes a bit of space, sure, but as long as the harddrives don't crash, that's not really a problem.

I don't think GOG are in very dire straits though. They are backed by CDPR, which will probably make another killing when the 2077 game is released. Unfortunately I don't expect Linux support there either, but I do think the game will do very well, if the quality in Witcher 3 is anything to go by. Apart from kickstarters and direct purchase from developers (like with Rimworld), GOG is the only place I buy games these days (if quite sporadic), so it would be a big disappointment if they go under. The bar has been lowered since 5 or so years ago, but they're still the best in the business for gamers who value their privacy and independence.

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Quoting: KlaasAt least the missing Linux version of Galaxy means that there are some clean installers.

This is why I hope Galaxy for Linux never materialises. At least as long as that doesn't exist, and they are trying to officially support Linux, they have a real reason to offer clean installers (although they have tried to put their filth in them too over the years, thankfully to big community opposition).

GOG isn't what they were years ago, and the only principle they really have left is the DRM Free one, which is the main reason I still buy my games there.

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Honestly, I seriously doubt GOG is in trouble. CDPR seems to be doing rather well, so if GOG were to lack funds, I'm sure the "mother company" would prefer to channel funds to GOG instead of shutting down the whole operation.

Galaxy is like having a spiky mace up one's rectum, so I prefer not to use it. The way I see it, it's the same deal as with Steam, and I refuse to run bloatware and "phone home" software like that. Pretty amazing to me that stuff like that exists at all, and that people are fine with it, but there we are. One of the reasons I run Linux, and Linux only, is to have control over my computer. If I need to do a little more legwork to get games to run (which is usually not needed, I might add), I'll happily do that.

Well, as for GOG, I think these reports are exaggerated and that they're not truly in trouble. Time will tell. If they do happen to keel over, at least we can run the games for all eternity anyway, and download them as independent installers. I like that. It takes a lot of space, sure, but it's not that big a problem in this day and age with cheap multiple-TB harddisks.

Anyway, despite some pretty questionable moves over the last few years (5?), I like GOG and it's the only place I buy games (after humble became a steam key reseller). Wish there were more options, with games that I want, but at least there is a decent chunk of independent games coming out, often with native Linux support, so there is always that. Kickstarter (and the like) isn't entirely dead either - although I was very sad to see Obsidian get eaten.

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