Yes indeed, while I don't consider myself a zealot when it comes to linux, I do 100% stay away from companies that take away one's freedom, but that's a different topic I don't need to hash out here. I'm happy you have your "easy" platform, and I'm here to make it easier for people who want/decide to game on linux.
Just to throw it out there, but if anyone actually knows the answer, I'd appreciate it. I've run through a few searches on the forums here and the topic has come up before, but no answers or coherent guesses have been given.

==== Oh weird, it munged two of my posts together... ====

Why does GOG insist on an installer? I _do_ understand that it reduces the support requirements and maybe it phones home with statistical data? Though if a ZIP option was given, then people on Linux/Mac wouldn't have to jump through another hoop to get things rolling. Why not track the downloads of zip files if statistical information is required?

If the installer simply provides a way to reduce support requests, then I can assume that making sure DRM free games aren't being distributed by pirates, if it _does_ track, then I can see the logic behind it.

Hmm, maybe I'll tcpdump it and see if it does...

PS. Yes, I'm aware that business can decide to do whatever they wish, yes I can understand that there are contractual agreements with publishers, but I'd like to know _why_ if at all the installer would be an issue apart from support requests.

Mojosetup would work just as nicely, it works on all three "major" platforms. Win/Mac/Linux, why not use that?

People have mentioned what the installer is, there's an unpacker for it so you should be able to just grab the files if that's what you're looking for. It's often better to use Google's site:gog.com search than the forums search as the latter kind of blows:)

You are mostly correct sir. It seems that yes Unreal was made to work in the UT engine, then released by Tux Games etc. Though now it also seems (well, only from what I've read) that the oldunreal version is native. Correct me if I'm wrong, I'll test it one day, when I get it on GOG, though I do have the Anthology and I'll test that release with the oldunreal binary.

Thanks for the heads-up.

I'm torn, should I include games that actually work natively on linux and one has no hope of actually getting the binary because either a. it's no longer distribuited, or b. you need to buy it somewhere else? I'm leaning on the side of No. Which means I have to pull Shadowgrounds off... If Yes, I have to throw another 5 or 6 others on there.

Though it is a list for the GOG gamer to decide on which games are able to run on his/her linux machine, so I don't know what to include.

Thoughts?

Which list would be the most useful to the average person? Do that.

Yeah difficult call, I may end up doing two, maybe after the wine compatibility list.

Didn't Shadowgrounds have its source released during the Humble Frozen Bundle? If there's no publicly available Linux binary surely someone could fix that.

Running old native linux binaries is not for the feint of heart. As such you might as well include all games possible. I'd just put a note in the comments that it's no longer distributed or you have to buy it somewhere else.

Yeah you're right, the source is now open, though I can't seem to find anything about a port out there. I also think you're right, I will put 'em all up with relevant notes.

As an aside, what happened to the large linux gogmix palepind was managing?

I have the game, but not under Linux. Never had either. I do remember the original JA2 was available for Linux and AmigaOS.

A quick search reveals the following:
According to the homepage the only JA with available for Linux was the original JA2.
According to the JA2 wikipedia article the 1.13 mod is also available under Linux.

Definitely only include games that work on a modern OS. Relevance is more important than exhaustiveness. The point of your list is to make it easy, no?

You should add QFG, as it's in the same boat as the other Sierra titles that run under SCUMMVM. At least the first 3 are listed as working on the SCUMMVM compatibility page. QFG4 isn't mentioned, but maybe it works too.
www.gog.com/gamecard/quest_for_glory

You might also add these, though I have no idea how to get them running if purchased via gog (i.e. must be purchased via Steam or developers site to get the native binaries):
www.gog.com/gamecard/the_book_of_unwritten_tales_critter_chronicles
www.gog.com/gamecard/the_book_of_unwritten_tales
www.gog.com/gamecard/machinarium_collectors_edition

It's also possible to play AGS games (such as www.gog.com/catalogue?search=Wadjet+Eye+Games ) natively by loading the data files into a Linux build (much like ScummVM). However, this gets complicated because AGS data files are tied to specific AGS versions. You can't just run the data files in the latest build of AGS. They're probably much easier to run under Wine (indeed, gog's mac versions of Wadjet Eye titles all use Wineskin).

Sorry to bump an old post but still seemed the best way to share this info.