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GOG's Preservation Program Is the DRM-Free Store Refocusing on the Classics

(arstechnica.com)
161 points m463 | 4 comments | 14 Nov 24 06:30 UTC | HN request time: 2.195s | source
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mlindner ◴[14 Nov 24 09:43 UTC] No.42134543[source]▶
I used to like GOG until they tried to force you to launch games through their own launcher instead of them being their own standalone applications.
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1. izacus ◴[14 Nov 24 10:33 UTC] No.42134848[source]▶
That's not true at all - the games are still downloadable from the website and every single one of them is a standalone app.

Which game are you talking about?

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2. anilakar ◴[14 Nov 24 12:02 UTC] No.42135394[source]▶
Not forcing but aggressively pushing it. At one point in time the offline installers were quite well hidden; nowadays they can be easily found under the "install with GOG Galaxy" button.
3. Wowfunhappy ◴[14 Nov 24 12:33 UTC] No.42135599[source]▶
There was a period when GOG was using what can only be described as dark patterns to trick people into installing Galaxy.

I made a post about it on Neogaf at the time. Mostly to my surprise, it looks like the post is still there complete with my screenshots: https://www.neogaf.com/threads/gog-is-now-using-adware-esque...

However, this was in 2017. Today, it is very easy to download your GOG purchases without ever touching Galaxy, and I am very appreciative.

4. robrtsql ◴[14 Nov 24 15:07 UTC] No.42136861[source]▶
That's basically true. One recent 'exception' that happened to me is that, shortly after Baldur's Gate 3 was released, the offline installer would give you a different, older version than what you would get if you installed the game through GOG Galaxy, which led to some difficulty and confusion when trying to play with friends.