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Sad news, it seems GOG Galaxy won't actually be released for Linux any time soon. They may eventually get to it, but it's "not a priority".
For those that don't know, GOG now have their own Steam-like client called Galaxy. It offers things like Cloud Saves, an in-game overlay, bandwidth limiting, capturing screenshots, desktop notifications and more.
While optional, a fair few games have begun depending on it and therefore they end up not releasing Linux versions on GOG. A problem that has increased recently with a few titles.
All discussion on it, can be found in this post on the GOG forum. I would link to stuff directly, but it appears their links to specific posts don't actually do anything.
Here's one that caught my attention when sent it earlier:
They continued in another post:
And another:
It's a real shame for those who don't like Steam for various reasons and prefer GOG, this is a bit of a let down really. Especially considering this is the first solid reply we've had since Galaxy was announced in 2014. It feels like we've been waiting all this time for something, when it wasn't even being planned for yet. If you go to the official GOG Galaxy page and you're quick enough, it will flash text below the download button which includes "and soon for Linux".
Personally, I really hope more developers put their games on itch.io. They offer a good service, their site is nice, their open source client is also pretty slick. Not saying GOG are bad or evil (I'm very fond of GOG's work to bring classics back to life with DOSBox), but it's good to have alternatives.
It should go without saying, but when speaking to developers, it pays to remain as polite as possible. Also remember, this person likely isn't the one making the decisions on this. Don't shoot the messenger. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
For those that don't know, GOG now have their own Steam-like client called Galaxy. It offers things like Cloud Saves, an in-game overlay, bandwidth limiting, capturing screenshots, desktop notifications and more.
While optional, a fair few games have begun depending on it and therefore they end up not releasing Linux versions on GOG. A problem that has increased recently with a few titles.
All discussion on it, can be found in this post on the GOG forum. I would link to stuff directly, but it appears their links to specific posts don't actually do anything.
Here's one that caught my attention when sent it earlier:
QuoteWe're not posting any news, as we have no news on GOG Galaxy for Linux. As we stated before we'll eventually bring it to Linux, but currently it's not a priority for us, and we don't have any estimated date to share at this moment.
They continued in another post:
QuoteI'm not saying we're not able to, or we don't know how. But building and maintaining a Linux build will cost us resources, which as in every company are limited. Currently we're not able to spend the time required considering our internal roadmap.
And another:
QuoteGOG Galaxy was made with cross platform compatibility in mind, but each platform is a constant cost (dev, qa) . With our roadmap we don't currently have the resources to maintain the Linux version.
It's a real shame for those who don't like Steam for various reasons and prefer GOG, this is a bit of a let down really. Especially considering this is the first solid reply we've had since Galaxy was announced in 2014. It feels like we've been waiting all this time for something, when it wasn't even being planned for yet. If you go to the official GOG Galaxy page and you're quick enough, it will flash text below the download button which includes "and soon for Linux".
Personally, I really hope more developers put their games on itch.io. They offer a good service, their site is nice, their open source client is also pretty slick. Not saying GOG are bad or evil (I'm very fond of GOG's work to bring classics back to life with DOSBox), but it's good to have alternatives.
It should go without saying, but when speaking to developers, it pays to remain as polite as possible. Also remember, this person likely isn't the one making the decisions on this. Don't shoot the messenger. Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
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You are right and most of the Linux DOSBox wraps are mostly easy byproducts and not direct porting effort, but them porting is not really necessary. However it just shows a point that they do not do much else apart from providing bandwith and link with Linux game someone else made. That is their extent of Linux support, they let other people sell for this platform too.
That's what distributors are supposed to do. But they got into this whole idea of added value through providing multiplayer backend, matchmaking, cloud saves and what not. And that requires dedicated effort for each OS they target.
Because Steam provides it. The comfort is indisputable, no matter how much you or some other people don't care about convinient clients, auto-updates and all that noise.
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Because Steam provides it. The comfort is indisputable, no matter how much you or some other people don't care about convinient clients, auto-updates and all that noise.
I'm not against them making clients, I just won't use them if they are closed source. The problem is that it became a hard requirement for some games, and they simply don't come out DRM-free for Linux, since Galaxy for Linux wasn't yet made.
Last edited by Shmerl on 18 August 2017 at 9:50 pm UTC
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Stop GOG advertising, they are NOT Linux friendly.My GOG account has over 200 Linux games that would say otherwise.
I don't want their client, so I don't really care if they ever make it for Linux, so long as they continue to sell Linux games.
That does not really say anything about GOG being Linux friendly though, <snip>
How so? Do they sell and support Linux games? Yes. Sounds pretty Linux friendly to me. Sure GOG could be doing more to support Linux. But you have to remember, they could also be doing less.
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While optional, a fair few games have begun depending on it and therefore they end up not releasing Linux versions on GOG. A problem that has increased recently with a few titles.
Depending on GoG Galaxy means, it's using a form of DRM essentially, right?
So this would be against the reason to buy through GoG in the first place, right?
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Depending on GoG Galaxy means, it's using a form of DRM essentially, right?
No, it means developers simply didn't care to code their game with ifdef or stubs, that compile against Galaxy APIs, but don't do anything, and fail gracefully.
I.e. if you put a hard requirement "compile only if Galaxy headers are present" and "don't release if platform doesn't support cloud saves and multiplayer", then it doesn't mean they insist on DRM, but means they made some features mandatory, which they didn't have to, and are dropping the whole release for Linux because of it. I.e. GOG don't stop developers from not providing Galaxy features in their Linux versions. But it's extra work which developers might not want to do.
Last edited by Shmerl on 18 August 2017 at 10:02 pm UTC
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Kimyrielle Aug 18, 2017
Depending on GoG Galaxy means, it's using a form of DRM essentially, right?
Not as long as it isn't tied to a specific account using that platform. As long as the game doesn't care who's using the platform and the platform can be distributed freely, it's not DRM - as there no restrictions being enforced. It's essentially just a launcher in this case. Nobody would call Feral's launcher a DRM scheme either. :D
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Stop GOG advertising, they are NOT Linux friendly.My GOG account has over 200 Linux games that would say otherwise.
I don't want their client, so I don't really care if they ever make it for Linux, so long as they continue to sell Linux games.
That does not really say anything about GOG being Linux friendly though, <snip>
How so? Do they sell and support Linux games? Yes. Sounds pretty Linux friendly to me. Sure GOG could be doing more to support Linux. But you have to remember, they could also be doing less.
I guess my definition of "friendly" is slightly different. They do minimum to say they support Linux and from this article it seems like that's enough for them, does not seem really that friendly. Or maybe I am just spoiled by Valve approach. I really find it funny when someone called Valve here "indiscriminate vultures" because they provide Steam for Linux with their DRM evil efforts. Elegantly ignoring the fact that Valve pours money into Linux ecosystem itself and basically breathe life in this whole Linux gaming renaissance.
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In a related story, I have completely stopped buying games from GOG a long time ago.
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ElectricPrism Aug 18, 2017
Thats okay, they will suffer the loss.
Theres no defining characteristics to them now so they will become irrelevant and loose lots of money.
Poor decision making not taking into account behavioral pshycology on spending and developing cult loyal followers like they could have had.
Theres no defining characteristics to them now so they will become irrelevant and loose lots of money.
Poor decision making not taking into account behavioral pshycology on spending and developing cult loyal followers like they could have had.
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It's a real shame, but you can hopefully still change that with a very simple way.
If you have a GOG account, please vote on this community wishlist. If it get enough votes to be on the top they might reconsider that. It is in no way a guarantee, but it is worth at least trying.
If you have a GOG account, please vote on this community wishlist. If it get enough votes to be on the top they might reconsider that. It is in no way a guarantee, but it is worth at least trying.
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Comandante Ñoñardo Aug 18, 2017
I will keep buying games on GOG since I don't care about the Galaxy client...
I just like their anti-DRM policy... They trust me, and for that, I trust them.
Even on my Windows 7 machine I don't use Galaxy.
Is Valve the one that doesn't trust me, because they force me to have their client installed and running in the background..
Their incursion on Linux wasn't because they love the penguin, it was just because they want a plan B against the idea of Microsoft about closing the Windows ecosystem more and more (like what happen in Windows 10 S)
GOG, eventually, will be forced to adopt a plan B with Linux, just like Valve did, and for the same reasons (the windows store exclusivity). And then, a Linux version of the Galaxy client will be a mandatory move for GOG...But, for now, they don't need Linux.
No one is the owner of the truth here, just different points of view.
I just like their anti-DRM policy... They trust me, and for that, I trust them.
Even on my Windows 7 machine I don't use Galaxy.
Is Valve the one that doesn't trust me, because they force me to have their client installed and running in the background..
Their incursion on Linux wasn't because they love the penguin, it was just because they want a plan B against the idea of Microsoft about closing the Windows ecosystem more and more (like what happen in Windows 10 S)
GOG, eventually, will be forced to adopt a plan B with Linux, just like Valve did, and for the same reasons (the windows store exclusivity). And then, a Linux version of the Galaxy client will be a mandatory move for GOG...But, for now, they don't need Linux.
No one is the owner of the truth here, just different points of view.
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The longer the Linux client was delayed the less I felt inclined to purchase games from GoG. I had wanted an alternative to Steam that was DRM free and provided achievements (I use them as a means to track if I've really explored all of a game or missed something.)
On the plus side, the lack of a GoG client led me to other services like Game Jolt so in a way, I'm thankful the client never happened while at the same time sad and not surprised that it won't happen.
Either way, I have no hard feeling for GoG, they have a business to run and at best the Linux community as thought CD Projeck Red to be wary of it after Witcher II.
On the plus side, the lack of a GoG client led me to other services like Game Jolt so in a way, I'm thankful the client never happened while at the same time sad and not surprised that it won't happen.
Either way, I have no hard feeling for GoG, they have a business to run and at best the Linux community as thought CD Projeck Red to be wary of it after Witcher II.
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Sincerely, Liam, thank you very much for this huge clarification.
That's actually very nice to GOG to give us such a clear and honnest answer. Even if it was obvious for a very long time.
We can't blame GOG for not considering Linux. After all they do what they want with their store. But making custumers expect something "soon" for more than 2 years while it was not even a priority is a complete and undeniable disrespect to all of us and a clear statement that we are not welcome there.
Of course they don't say that they will never do it but we should keep in mind that this is also true for every publisher/dev. If the Linux market reach 10% of shares, then obviously they will do it, as would every PC publisher/dev.
That's actually very nice to GOG to give us such a clear and honnest answer. Even if it was obvious for a very long time.
We can't blame GOG for not considering Linux. After all they do what they want with their store. But making custumers expect something "soon" for more than 2 years while it was not even a priority is a complete and undeniable disrespect to all of us and a clear statement that we are not welcome there.
Of course they don't say that they will never do it but we should keep in mind that this is also true for every publisher/dev. If the Linux market reach 10% of shares, then obviously they will do it, as would every PC publisher/dev.
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It's a real shame, but you can hopefully still change that with a very simple way.
If you have a GOG account, please vote on this community wishlist. If it get enough votes to be on the top they might reconsider that. It is in no way a guarantee, but it is worth at least trying.
This feature is one of the most voted one for a very Long time, it won't change their mind. Only one thing chan : large increase in Linux shares. But even if so, would you trust a company that kept saying it was soon and in progress but was not?
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HollowSoldier Aug 19, 2017
Less market segmentation is good for the customer. Keep buying from existing places. It's not like GOG is full of GOG-exclusive titles.
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Avehicle7887 Aug 19, 2017
don't shoot the messenger
I won't and I don't even have to, GOG are shooting themselves anyway. As long as they keep going this route, more and more great games will be missing the Linux version from their store.
Tooth and Tail, Sudden Strike 4, Serious Sam's Bogus Detour. How many more will be lost because Linux Galaxy is "not a priority"? Game devs will not wait forever till GOG decides to wake up, they will move on to a new project and then might be too late to implement Galaxy in their older title, if and when it arrives.
On a plus side, each Linux game GOG sells is well packaged and I never had any issues with them, so why fall short at the very end of the journey? It doesn't make sense to me.
I pretty much gave up on hoping for a Witcher 3 native port, but Galaxy for Linux and not a priority? I'm disappointed that GOG has fallen so low to not care about their Linux user base (which btw, it's not much less than their Mac one and apparently Mac is on their list of priorities for them.
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There you have it, the reason why I buy everything on Steam.
Valve is not perfect, far from it, but they do care about Linux.
CDProjekt simply doesn't.
They're just like EA (Origin), Blizzard (Battle.net) and Ubisoft (UPlay): ready to be eaten alive by the microsoft store. And seeing as they do nothing about it: they fully deserve it.
Valve is not perfect, far from it, but they do care about Linux.
CDProjekt simply doesn't.
They're just like EA (Origin), Blizzard (Battle.net) and Ubisoft (UPlay): ready to be eaten alive by the microsoft store. And seeing as they do nothing about it: they fully deserve it.
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Well, I was going to say "their loss", because I'd rather buy on GoG than Steam, if Galaxy was available. However... it's not that simple.
Here's my Steam purchase list since the start of July (yeah, it's been a pretty crazy 6 weeks - this isn't really normal, but it helps paint the picture actually):
I was going to say "Hah! GoG missed out on £82.35 in the last 6 weeks alone, from just one Linux gamer, because they don't have Galaxy". And it's kind of true.
But I can't. Because it turns out that Tacoma and Full Throttle are the only games on that list that are actually available from GoG!
I kind of assumed that there would be most/nearly all. Sure, Ballistic Overkill probably uses Steam net code? Maybe? And probably Dawn of War III... although that title is more likely a simple DRM issue. But the rest are all prime candidates, I'd have thought.
Anyway, in summary, I don't buy anything from GoG because they don't have Galaxy. And until that changes, that's pretty much my position.
Here's my Steam purchase list since the start of July (yeah, it's been a pretty crazy 6 weeks - this isn't really normal, but it helps paint the picture actually):
19 Aug, 2017 Dawn of War III 29.99
3 Aug, 2017 Near Death 3.62
2 Aug, 2017 Tacoma 14.99
2 Aug, 2017 Cloudbase Prime 6.99
31 Jul, 2017 Solar Gun 0.99
29 Jul, 2017 Full Throttle Remastered 7.36
19 Jul, 2017 Downward 5.24
4 Jul, 2017 Dragon's Lair 3.49
4 Jul, 2017 Fumiko! 2.49
3 Jul, 2017 Ballistic Overkill 7.19I was going to say "Hah! GoG missed out on £82.35 in the last 6 weeks alone, from just one Linux gamer, because they don't have Galaxy". And it's kind of true.
But I can't. Because it turns out that Tacoma and Full Throttle are the only games on that list that are actually available from GoG!
I kind of assumed that there would be most/nearly all. Sure, Ballistic Overkill probably uses Steam net code? Maybe? And probably Dawn of War III... although that title is more likely a simple DRM issue. But the rest are all prime candidates, I'd have thought.
Anyway, in summary, I don't buy anything from GoG because they don't have Galaxy. And until that changes, that's pretty much my position.
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I also (foolishly) decided to try out the GOG Piñata Lucky Dip and see what they'd give me. It turned out to be a Windows game, despite accessing their website from a browser on Linux (identifiable from User Agent info sent by my browser). Anyway, no big deal - just a bit of harmless fun, and the game probably works via WINE. Put me off trying any more Lucky Dips though.
Giving my take on this news and Linux gaming:
GOG obviously do help Linux gaming. They sell Linux titles on their store. Also they follow a DRM-free philosophy which also sits well with many Linux users. They don't force a proprietary closed-source game client onto their users. I have a decent selection of Linux games bought on GOG and I'm happy to buy more from them, in spite of this latest news. However, I am a little less encouraged to buy more games from them with the less effort they give in the direction of Linux (compared to Steam, itch.io).
Steam do plenty to help Linux gaming. No need to go into detail, because we've all heard it before. Even though the Steam client is proprietary closed-source, you don't really need to live with it - I'll explain: You can download your games from Steam using Valve's tool SteamCMD instead of installing the Steam Client. Then, once downloaded any Linux Titles that the game developers have released as DRM-free / not relying on Steam client, will happily run on their own. It is the Developer who is to blame if a game is using DRM, it isn't Steam. Also whichever client you use to download your game files, you can back them up and copy them to a different folder and use without the client - if they are DRM-free games not reliant on Steam back-end.
For people going on about Steam client being proprietary closed source... well the GOG Galaxy client for Windows is the same. Also what is your issue with Game Clients being Closed Source, when the Games themselves which you want to install and play are closed source. I'm directing this at Shmerl's position. Surely if you need to run open source everywhere, then that should also include the Game code itself?
GOG store, Steam store, Humble store, and itch.io store are all GREAT for selling and providing Linux game titles. The true enemies (to Linux gaming) are Apple Store and Windows Store and Game Console Stores, which are attempting to lock gamers into their single platforms, as well as control what the developers can and can't do. However at least there is healthy competition in the Gaming Market (Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Apple, Steam, Linux) giving people the opportunity to jump ship if they don't like what is going on, in a specific platform.
Also, as someone else was mentioning, GOG could be severely understaffed and struggling, and that could be more of a reason for not releasing and supporting Linux GOG Galaxy client, rather than ignoring Linux. At least it is good to get a reply on the subject, and it isn't a reply leading us up the garden path for another few more years.
Giving my take on this news and Linux gaming:
GOG obviously do help Linux gaming. They sell Linux titles on their store. Also they follow a DRM-free philosophy which also sits well with many Linux users. They don't force a proprietary closed-source game client onto their users. I have a decent selection of Linux games bought on GOG and I'm happy to buy more from them, in spite of this latest news. However, I am a little less encouraged to buy more games from them with the less effort they give in the direction of Linux (compared to Steam, itch.io).
Steam do plenty to help Linux gaming. No need to go into detail, because we've all heard it before. Even though the Steam client is proprietary closed-source, you don't really need to live with it - I'll explain: You can download your games from Steam using Valve's tool SteamCMD instead of installing the Steam Client. Then, once downloaded any Linux Titles that the game developers have released as DRM-free / not relying on Steam client, will happily run on their own. It is the Developer who is to blame if a game is using DRM, it isn't Steam. Also whichever client you use to download your game files, you can back them up and copy them to a different folder and use without the client - if they are DRM-free games not reliant on Steam back-end.
For people going on about Steam client being proprietary closed source... well the GOG Galaxy client for Windows is the same. Also what is your issue with Game Clients being Closed Source, when the Games themselves which you want to install and play are closed source. I'm directing this at Shmerl's position. Surely if you need to run open source everywhere, then that should also include the Game code itself?
GOG store, Steam store, Humble store, and itch.io store are all GREAT for selling and providing Linux game titles. The true enemies (to Linux gaming) are Apple Store and Windows Store and Game Console Stores, which are attempting to lock gamers into their single platforms, as well as control what the developers can and can't do. However at least there is healthy competition in the Gaming Market (Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, Apple, Steam, Linux) giving people the opportunity to jump ship if they don't like what is going on, in a specific platform.
Also, as someone else was mentioning, GOG could be severely understaffed and struggling, and that could be more of a reason for not releasing and supporting Linux GOG Galaxy client, rather than ignoring Linux. At least it is good to get a reply on the subject, and it isn't a reply leading us up the garden path for another few more years.
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