SCPM: Well, we don't know how GOG's DevPortal looks like beyond
this, but GOG should allow all devs to upload to the 'Beta' branch of Galaxy whenever they want, and allow customers to directly access that branch with the caveat that if it breaks something, the customer could rollback the update or switch to the 'officially supported' branch of updates. Anytime a dev uploads something, GOG themselves should have a way of seeing what was added / changed at a glance, then they can run the tests themselves for pushing to the 'official' branch / offline installers. It's quite a simplification based on limited knowledge, but I hope you get the idea. My understanding is that itch.io has the easiest upload solution of all the platforms, though I don't know if that only pertains to smaller games, or if updating 40+ GB games is just as easy there.
I think if they have access, they can push it the release or beta branch without any testing by GOG. Why do I think this? Because I've seen plenty of updates roll out on Galaxy (for newer games) on late Fridays / weekends where not many people would be at GOG to actually test it or approve it (which is why there is nearly always delay for standalone installers during the weekend in addition to having to package them). So that would suggest they used the dev portal since the updates appeared at around the same time as the Steam updates... other bits of info I've seen also suggest this. So I'm pretty sure GOG doesn't worry about testing Galaxy updates because it's easy to rollback broken updates. Would be nice if GOG would confirm this or not, or give us any info how the dev portal works.
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Anyway....
Found another dev that didn't know about the new dev portal... GOG really needs to do a better job at reaching out to devs about this new system. We would all benefit by making patching easier for devs, regardless if you use Galaxy or not (because that means GOG will get more updated builds that they then can package into standalone installers).
https://www.reddit.com/r/ftlgame/comments/7qt6ue/is_the_new_update_available_on_gog/dssinyd/
BKGaming: Now the dev responded saying this:
Jesus Christ will somebody from GOG reach out to them and get this shit sorted...
Spectre: Let's have trash updates from devs wanting to mess their customers around because it's become the norm with steam. Or how about we don't.
Trash update can slip through with or without testing. What we are are talking about here is easier access. GOG has a patching problem which leads to us not getting updates because of two main reasons. Patching is more difficult on GOG (or it was before Galaxy) which gave devs less control and GOG has a smaller userbase so devs tend to prioritize Steam. The first part GOG can fix and has taken steps to do so.
If you don't use Galaxy, all your updates will still be tested because standalone installer builds are tested just like they have been after GOG grabs the updated build from Galaxy (if the dev sent the patch via the dev portal). So it's no big deal for non Galaxy users.
If you do use Galaxy, GOG has a rollback feature in the event a trash update is released. It is the main reason GOG added the feature.