Each game that uses ScummVM gets its own ScummVM folder when you install it. The ScummVM folder is 74MB, which is not a huge amount. But when I have several dozens of games that use ScummVM, this adds up to several gigabytes of pure clutter. This especially matters on an old laptop which is filling up enough already. Wouldn't it be possible for GOG Galaxy to detect a ScummVM install somehow? Perhaps ask the user if and where ScummVM is installed. As it is, I am manually reconfiguring the executables in GOG Galaxy to point to my preferred install of ScummVM on my C drive, and reconfiguring the arguments to reflect the full path, instead of just "..\nameofinifile.ini".

I'd do the same for the Dosbox games, but that doesn't seem to work for some reason. Dosbox is only a 12 MB folder, however, so I can live with that.

It does seem like GOG Galaxy resets after a while, though, and greys out the play-button for me, even though I've made the new executable file the default (I can't edit File 1, for some reason - it would have been better if I could). And then it won't let me play until I've verified it again, which invariably reinstalls ScummVM. Maybe it will stop this funny business if I deselect automatic updates. But GOG's method of installation, as it is now, is a bit untidy.

The problem is, ScummVM needs to come with each game to get them to run "out of the box" but since different people will buy different games, it thus needs to come with all of them. What you could do is simply rip out the data files from each GOG game (required list is here) and add them to your own "central" copy of ScummVM. Eg, create a folder called C:\Games\ScummVM then add sub-folders with each game (with just the data files minus the GOG packaged ScummVM, etc). That way you can zip the lot up afterwards without ever needing to use GOG's "one ScummVM per game" installers in future. It does work with DOSBox, you just have to be careful to point to whatever specific .conf files GOG have used using the -conf command line switch instead of pointing to the game's .exe directly. I wrote about this the other day here:-
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/i_thought_i_was_purchasing_games_that_i_could_run_and_manage_myself/post8

Couldn't this be solved quite simply by attaching ScummVM to the install of GOG Galaxy, and thereby never attaching it to individual games at all? It actually doesn't, and I'll explain why with these two examples:

I have the Sierra games The Colonel's Bequest and Conquest of Camelot. Both are actually installed with ScummVM, but I prefer Dosbox. The new GOG Galaxy update allows me to configure alternative executables, which I have done. I have configured the necessary .conf files for each games as well, and it works perfectly. The original argument for Colonel's Bequest looked like this:

-conf "..\dosboxCB.conf" -conf "..\dosboxCB_single.conf" -noconsole -c "exit"

When I then tried to point the executable to the Dosbox folder on my C drive, and it didn't work, I first thought it was because the path needed fixing. So I changed the argument to the following:

-conf "d:\games\CB\dosboxCB.conf" -conf "d:\games\CB\dosboxCB_single.conf" -noconsole -c "exit"

That didn't work either. Dosbox just opened and immediately closed. So I changed the executable back to the folder within the CB folder, but did not change the argument back. This time it worked perfectly.

I thought maybe the issue was the Dosbox version, even though the one in the CB folder (which I had simply copied from a different Sierra game that comes with Dosbox) was the same version as the one on my C drive. So I tried to use the executable from the folder within the other game instead, Conquest of Camelot. The argument, however, still read:

-conf "d:\games\CB\dosboxCB.conf" -conf "d:\games\CB\dosboxCB_single.conf" -noconsole -c "exit"

So what happens? I click play, and Conquest of Camelot loads.

I tried following your instructions from the link, but Galaxy doesn't allow me to add arguments to the executable in the executable box, and given the peculiar error when it started up the wrong game, I don't know what it wants from me.

Many people don't use the optional Galaxy client though. Sorry, I don't use Galaxy. My instructions were tested only for the offline installers (plus a load of other non-GOG retail discs games that aren't sold "digitally" anywhere and have never came bundled with DOSBox in the first place). The other complication as mentioned is that for many GOG-bundled ScummVM games, GOG have unhelpfully decided to remove the game's original .exe's, taking away the option of running them under DOSBox.

Forget it, it's user error on my end. The path within the .conf file says:

mount c ".."

That explains everything (both games use the same named executable, SCIV.EXE).

Since the new update to GOG Galaxy, I've gotten quite fond of how it looks - I love how it uses original artwork for each game. I find it actually does influence my gaming mood.


I have heard of GOG's habit of not including executables for games that use ScummVM, but this goes back many years - and I think it's only a handful of them. I don't think it applies to any game that I own, and I own nearly all Sierras, at least.

What about the offline installers? Frankly, for just 72MB it's actually easier to just have it come with every game, for, you know, compartmentalization.

What you suggest will actually make it more complex than it have to be (especially when it comes to DOS inside a Windows environment).

I'm not judging others use of Galaxy, but to me it seems counter-intuitive to use Galaxy, which is meant as a straight and easy management for GOG's games, and you expect it to be more complex?

If you need more options to your liking when it comes to DOS games and still use a front-end, then perhaps a DOSBOX front-end like D-fend reloaded might be better, and create a link from Galaxy to that one? I use it and I've never looked back.

One of the major points of GOG is trying to ensure games work "right out of the box" (doesn't always work of course but they try). If separate scummvm installs help prevent the average person from having to tweak games (frustrating them and in some cases having them just go for a refund instead), then I understand GOG going with that. plus hard drive space is so cheap these days (or maybe covid-19 is upping prices currently, I dunno)

In what way is it more complex? If ScummVM (and Dosbox) are integrated to Galaxy, that is considerably less complex than to integrate it with each individual game.

As for D-fend reloaded, that's all good, but the thing about Galaxy is it actually makes me want to play older games. Like the old AD&D Krynn games, and the others of its series... a rather drab affair on their own. But their cover art was awesome, and when Galaxy uses that cover art, it actually does make me want to play them. I have owned those games for years, and it's been even longer since I've played them... until now.

This is true, but still solved with the same solution I mentioned earlier, whether installing through Galaxy or offline installers:

"Do you have ScummVM installed?"
If you reply "yes", you would then be prompted to guide the installer to your ScummVM folder. If not, the installer would offer to install it for you. This could then be your go-to install of ScummVM for all relevant games, or you could choose a different folder for each game you installed. ScummVM would thus be included with every installer of each game, but would not automatically unpack a new ScummVM folder.

As of 2012, the reason ScummVM rarely even received updates on GOG was compatibility concerns about the fixes applied by GOG to make the games run. I've quoted the bluetext comment below (an apparent glitch now attributes it to ##@@##@@ but I think it was TheEnigmaticT).

I usually install a GoG game, then copy the game content to my local ScummVM games folder - WITHOUT the GOG configuration, then uninstall it.

Then I add the game to my ScummVM library, change the sound setting (guys, get VirtualMIDISynth and some high quality sound font packs like ArachnoSound, it's really worth it for many many ScummVM and DOS games), pick the graphic option that in my opinion suits the game best.

Often I even remove unnecessary files (executables, drivers) which are not needed to make the game run, and were left in the game directory fo the GOG release. As far as I can tell, the guys at GOG don't have to change anything in ScummVM to make these games run.

I agree to the main topic and that's why I do what I do.
But there are many users who don't have any clue how to do these things. They need a installer which installs everything that's needed.


Btw. they DID update the ScummVM runtime for most of their games some time ago, we just can't expect them to do it for every new Subversion that comes out. I can understand it's too much work and not worth it.

For example: A game for example runs fine in ScummVM 2.0
Now ScummVM 2.1 comes out. If the game runs with v2.0, why change it? What is the gain? The effort to test the game again (because they will get tickets and refund requests if it doesn't) is too high just to show a new version number.