In the time since GOG Galaxy has been out, I went from being a full-time Windows user, to hopping between Windows and Linux, to now being a full-time Linux user. Prior to going to Linux full-time...
In the time since GOG Galaxy has been out, I went from being a full-time Windows user, to hopping between Windows and Linux, to now being a full-time Linux user. Prior to going to Linux full-time I was a GOG devotee and used them as my primary gaming platform, but now that I no longer run Windows I threw my lot back in with Steam.
I was hoping Valve's Proton initiative would light a fire under GOG. After all, their main competitor was making Linux a priority, GOG had made a push to support Ubuntu years ago, and, as you pointed out, it's heavily requested on their site and has been for years. As such, it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility that they would eventually implement Linux support for Galaxy. Unfortunately, with this announcement, it's clear that Linux continues to be low priority for them, and I'll continue buying my games on Steam.
It's sad, because I really did love GOG, and I think they're an incredibly valuable platform to have in the PC space. I just can't justify continuing to buy from them when Steam's Linux support is so much better.
I think you also have to take into account that GOG is currently barely breaking even. They had a total profit of $7800 on $34.5M revenue last year. Linux development takes significant resources...
Linux development takes significant resources to support a tiny minority of users, and those users tend to be the source of an outsize number of issues because of all the different possible configurations. Yes, Linux support would be nice, but I can understand if it doesn't make the cut while they're living on the edge of their resources.
If they provided a Flatpak, they wouldn't need to think about the different possible configurations. Yes, it's a recent development in the linux world but it's definitely something they could do...
If they provided a Flatpak, they wouldn't need to think about the different possible configurations. Yes, it's a recent development in the linux world but it's definitely something they could do now.
Furthermore, from my knowledge their client is Electron so it wouldn't be hard to port it over, really.
I highly doubt it's that simple. It's not just a web app that interacts with a remote server, there are various functions that will need to interact with the local machine and/or other programs...
I highly doubt it's that simple. It's not just a web app that interacts with a remote server, there are various functions that will need to interact with the local machine and/or other programs running on it.
Well, if we only count basic functionality of "installing", "removing" and "updating", this should already be possible quite easily because of how GOG is built. For interaction with other...
Well, if we only count basic functionality of "installing", "removing" and "updating", this should already be possible quite easily because of how GOG is built.
For interaction with other programs, it's most probable that no application supports that on Linux already so they could implement it whatever way they need to.
It really doesn't seem that hard to do to have a functioning GOG Galaxy on Linux.
They do have linux versions of games in their store but they just don't us the galaxy client because... we don't know. It's been that way for like, 5years now and it's frustrating.
They do have linux versions of games in their store but they just don't us the galaxy client because... we don't know. It's been that way for like, 5years now and it's frustrating.
The worst of it is that Galaxy is required for most (all?) of the online multiplayer features of the games, so if you buy it for the Linux version you're most likely not getting the full product.
The worst of it is that Galaxy is required for most (all?) of the online multiplayer features of the games, so if you buy it for the Linux version you're most likely not getting the full product.
I don't think Discord can do much of this, can it? I thought it could only launch games that you've launched manually before, without any library importing or anything.
I don't think Discord can do much of this, can it? I thought it could only launch games that you've launched manually before, without any library importing or anything.
Still no Linux, despite it being one of the most requested features on their website. It's like they don't have Linux versions in their store.
In the time since GOG Galaxy has been out, I went from being a full-time Windows user, to hopping between Windows and Linux, to now being a full-time Linux user. Prior to going to Linux full-time I was a GOG devotee and used them as my primary gaming platform, but now that I no longer run Windows I threw my lot back in with Steam.
I was hoping Valve's Proton initiative would light a fire under GOG. After all, their main competitor was making Linux a priority, GOG had made a push to support Ubuntu years ago, and, as you pointed out, it's heavily requested on their site and has been for years. As such, it wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility that they would eventually implement Linux support for Galaxy. Unfortunately, with this announcement, it's clear that Linux continues to be low priority for them, and I'll continue buying my games on Steam.
It's sad, because I really did love GOG, and I think they're an incredibly valuable platform to have in the PC space. I just can't justify continuing to buy from them when Steam's Linux support is so much better.
I think you also have to take into account that GOG is currently barely breaking even. They had a total profit of $7800 on $34.5M revenue last year.
Linux development takes significant resources to support a tiny minority of users, and those users tend to be the source of an outsize number of issues because of all the different possible configurations. Yes, Linux support would be nice, but I can understand if it doesn't make the cut while they're living on the edge of their resources.
If they provided a Flatpak, they wouldn't need to think about the different possible configurations. Yes, it's a recent development in the linux world but it's definitely something they could do now.
Furthermore, from my knowledge their client is Electron so it wouldn't be hard to port it over, really.
I highly doubt it's that simple. It's not just a web app that interacts with a remote server, there are various functions that will need to interact with the local machine and/or other programs running on it.
Well, if we only count basic functionality of "installing", "removing" and "updating", this should already be possible quite easily because of how GOG is built.
For interaction with other programs, it's most probable that no application supports that on Linux already so they could implement it whatever way they need to.
It really doesn't seem that hard to do to have a functioning GOG Galaxy on Linux.
They do have linux versions of games in their store but they just don't us the galaxy client because... we don't know. It's been that way for like, 5years now and it's frustrating.
Yeah, even more frustrating since Galaxy is built using web technology that is pretty portable.
The worst of it is that Galaxy is required for most (all?) of the online multiplayer features of the games, so if you buy it for the Linux version you're most likely not getting the full product.
I find that really infuriating. MS Teams is similarly portable and yet no native linux client exists. Just the neutered web version.
I don't think Discord can do much of this, can it? I thought it could only launch games that you've launched manually before, without any library importing or anything.