Question for people who use GOG (Good Old Games)...

[Rath Darkblade]

...just a quick one (as Leisure Suit Larry said to just about every woman he ever met).

I am interested in a game that, as far as I'm aware, is only available on GOG, i.e. CivCity: Rome. I have been looking for this game, on and off, for several years and have not been able to find it except on GOG.

Is there anything I need to know about GOG? I can see from GOG's FAQ that my game needs to appear in my "library", so does that mean that I need need to download a client (like I do with Steam)?

Or, if I don't, then do I simply download an installer file, run it, and proceed from there (as I've done with countless other games, e.g. Sierra games, LucasArts games, etc. etc.)?

I have seen here that I can use GOG Galaxy, GOG Downloader, or download it manually. Which do you use? Which would you recommend? I've noticed, personally, that Steam tends to be very stable and downloads don't get interrupted. Would you recommend any of the GOG tools? (Or would these GOGs act as gremlins?)

Thank you for helping a GOG newbie.

[Tawmis]

...just a quick one (as Leisure Suit Larry said to just about every woman he ever met).
I am interested in a game that, as far as I'm aware, is only available on GOG, i.e. CivCity: Rome. I have been looking for this game, on and off, for several years and have not been able to find it except on GOG.
Is there anything I need to know about GOG? I can see from GOG's FAQ that my game needs to appear in my "library", so does that mean that I need need to download a client (like I do with Steam)?
Or, if I don't, then do I simply download an installer file, run it, and proceed from there (as I've done with countless other games, e.g. Sierra games, LucasArts games, etc. etc.)?
I have seen here that I can use GOG Galaxy, GOG Downloader, or download it manually. Which do you use? Which would you recommend? I've noticed, personally, that Steam tends to be very stable and downloads don't get interrupted. Would you recommend any of the GOG tools? (Or would these GOGs act as gremlins?)
Thank you for helping a GOG newbie.

As someone who has spent countless money on GoG... let me tell you how easy it is.

First you create an account.

Once you have an account, find the game you want on GoG and pay for it.

Once that's done - from the login screen (after you've logged in, or if you're already logged in)...

Click on your name and you will see a menu appears...

Then go to which ever game you want (it will show all of your games; and any that have recently had the installers updated, or something added - like you can see of my 186 games, 7 of them have something updated)...

Click on the drop down arrow of the game you're looking to download... and select View Downloads...

You will see a "Download and Install Now" - which uses the GoG Galaxy installer (and helps keep your game up to date). Me, personally, I just use the Download Offline Backup Game Installers... And that's it. Either GoG Galaxy Installer (which keeps the game up to date, keep track of achievements if the game has it, and other fun, useless stuff) - or just straight up download the game, with no GoG Galaxy and play away!

I can't praise GoG enough for their ease. If I have a choice between GoG and Steam, I always pick GoG as my preference.

[Semi-Happy Partygoer]

GoG is also DRM free.

I've never used the client, I tend to dislike those things. Just give me the individual files and let me go from there. No online requirement to play or anything.

[adeyke]

GOG Galaxy is basically like the Steam client. It's an all-in-one thing, where you can browse the store for games to buy, browse your library for games to install, or browse your list of installed games for games to play. If you're used to how things work on Steam, GOG Galaxy is pretty much the same thing.

The alternative is to use the Web site. That also has the store as well as a page for your personal library of games. Once you've bought a game and added it to your library, you can just download it and run the installer. The GOG Downloader is just a utility that helps with the downloading. You can queue up multiple games and it'll let you pause and resume the downloads. For small games, this might not be relevant, but if you have a slow connection and the game's installer is really big, this might be a more convenient option than downloading it via the browser. But regardless of whether you use the Downloader or your browser, you then just run the installer the same way as any other downloaded game.

Personally, I like to have an offline archive of all the GOG installers, and I use the GOG Downloader to get them.

Just as a point of fact, CivCity: Rome is available on Steam. That doesn't change the fact that there are a lot of games that are on GOG but not Steam; it's just mainly older ones.

[Rath Darkblade]

Just as a point of fact, CivCity: Rome is available on Steam. That doesn't change the fact that there are a lot of games that are on GOG but not Steam; it's just mainly older ones.

It is??? I tried searching for it on Steam before, but could never find it. *clicks on adeyke's link* Oh. It says ... it's "not available in my region". Er, what? Any idea what that means?

Moving on ... all right, so if I pick GOG Galaxy, I obviously have to be online to download the game. Do I have to be online to play it? From Tawm's post, it looks like I do ... and I'd rather play off-line, if I can.

If I use GOG's website - well, obviously I have to be online to play a game, but I'd rather not (if possible).

Like adeyke, I like to play offline. Playing online has too many variables that I can't control: what if a GOG server crashes? What if a cable somewhere is disconnected? What if, what if, what if. Whereas if I pay for my own installer, I can install - or uninstall - a game as many times as I like ... and if I have problems? Well, that's my own damn fault for being stupid!

[adeyke]

Huh. Certain games just aren't sold in certain countries. Living in Germany, I see a lot of that. Apparently, CivCity: Rome is only sold in certain countries on Steam, and I have no idea why Australia is excluded. Maybe some sort of licensing issue.

While the GOG Galaxy client does need an Internet connection for most of its functionality (it should be obvious why), that requirement doesn't carry over to the games. Regardless of which of the three methods (Galaxy, Downloader, or your browser) you used to get the game, you can always play it offline.

[Tawmis]

If I use GOG's website - well, obviously I have to be online to play a game, but I'd rather not (if possible).

For GoG Galaxy, to have it's benefits - you need to be online. However, you can still play the games if you're offline (even with GoG Galaxy - I just don't use it, and download the offline file versions, just because it's less crap in my STARTUP).

[MusicallyInspired]

Even if you use GOG Galaxy to download and install your games, you still don't need to use it to play those games after you installed. GOG's whole purpose is anti-DRM. No game on GOG will ever have DRM. Ever. GOG Galaxy is simply for people who enjoy the convenience of a client. It's not required in any way (except for a couple games for online multiplayer, that's all). And there's zero online requirement (other than downloading). Games being "in your library" just means you can download them from your account at any time.

I don't mind saying it's rather frustrating to see some people out there speaking against GOG as if it's something like Steam. Not saying you are, by the way. Clearly you're not one of them. It's also frustrating to see those people that do dissuade people who don't know any better and cause them to assume that GOG is a DRM-fest when in fact it is the exact opposite and everything you want if you dislike Steam and DRM.

[Lynda]

I love GOG! Have bought a number of games there and have had no issues.

[Semi-Happy Partygoer]

I love that GOG is all about being DRM free. It's the main reason I use it as much as I do.

My main quibble (and this is probably not their fault, but maybe licensing issues with IP holders) is that they only tend to offer the "main" version of a game. For example, if a title received both a floppy disk and "talkie" CD re-release, they'll only include the CD version. Obviously, that's the version most people would want, but having additional releases available as supplements would be a nice option...especially if other releases contain significant differences/improvements. I know a lot of people would like the floppy disk version of "Loom" to be offered, as many dialogue changes were made for CD.

I also wish they wouldn't do away with their old installers after making updates, especially if said updates involve switching from DOSBox to ScummVM. I know GOG is all about making these games as accessible and user-friendly as possible, but making both options available might be a good idea.

These are minor complaints, however, and overall I'm thrilled that they offer a way to obtain so many old titles legally.

[Tawmis]

I also wish they wouldn't do away with their old installers after making updates, especially if said updates involve switching from DOSBox to ScummVM. I know GOG is all about making these games as accessible and user-friendly as possible, but making both options available might be a good idea.

I agree and brought this up on their forum not too long ago (inspired by you telling me the ScummVM save games are not compatible in most cases); and someone replied with a good idea. That if they do use ScummVM installers, why not still include all the original files, so if someone wants the option of using DOSBox themselves, that it'd still be a valid option.

[Collector]

Hey Lynda! Nice to see you around here. You should stick around.

[Collector]

I also wish they wouldn't do away with their old installers after making updates, especially if said updates involve switching from DOSBox to ScummVM. I know GOG is all about making these games as accessible and user-friendly as possible, but making both options available might be a good idea.

It would be nothing for them to include both and given how large many of their games are the added size of including both DOSBox and SVM would be rather trivial. While my preference leans heavily in favor of DOSBox, sometimes SVM can be the best answer. I include both SVM and DOSBox with my KQ6 installer and use DOSBox for the DOS version and SVM for the Windows version for the high-res dialog portraits. Games where there essentially no differences between the two I see little need for anything other than DOSBox.

[notbobsmith]

My main quibble (and this is probably not their fault, but maybe licensing issues with IP holders) is that they only tend to offer the "main" version of a game. For example, if a title received both a floppy disk and "talkie" CD re-release, they'll only include the CD version.

In some cases they do provide both versions. Willy Beamish and Freddy Pharkas have both the floppy and CD versions included. I agree that it would be nice to have a floppy version of Loom.

[Semi-Happy Partygoer]

In some cases they do provide both versions. Willy Beamish and Freddy Pharkas have both the floppy and CD versions included. I agree that it would be nice to have a floppy version of Loom.

I thought I'd heard about a few examples where they had both. Thanks for the clarification. I hope some day they're able to add more floppy versions to their existing games.