I don’t do much PC gaming, so I’ve been out of the loop on the worst of the SecuRom mess. Now I’m scared to buy any PC games…I really wanted a few of the Sims 2 expansion packs though.
Have they changed it yet so that you can keep cd/dvd emulation software installed at the same time? That was one of the main problems last time I read about it.
I think that’s still an issue, but most emulation software (Daemon and Alchohol at least) hides itself pretty well nowdays.
Oh yeah, there’s ways round it. Doesn’t change the fact that they think they have the right to tell me what programs I can and can’t use.
Exactly.
What if your copy of Microsoft Access detected the presence of MySQL on your computer, and refused to work in response? Or if Outlook would not load until you removed Thunderbird?
Point taken, and well put. However, I think the comment you were responding to was something I wrote after I’d asked if a USB key to play a game would be acceptable, and I think I was told that it would emphatically not be OK. I may be wrong, and there was some back and forth that got weird, but my impression at the time was that really no “check” device was acceptable to some participants in the thread. If someone cares to arbitrate my impression, that would be fine, but that was what I came away with: a USB key is NOT okay, an internet check is NOT ok, and anything more was emphatically “no way!!” Thanks for a reality check if you have one.
I had a game that required a reregistration after any of my hardware changed. After three automatic registrations I had to call in and talk to somebody to generate a code. This happened to me by the second day. I took out a memory and reinstalled it back in. Three registrations were used up. This took on average 15 minutes on the phone to get a code. The game was good, but never took off, because of the protection. Every site was loaded with comments on what a pain in the ass the software was to run. I think the longest I ever got it to run without a reactivation never reached a month. After a couple years of not really being able to play when I went to use it again, I finally downloaded a cracked executable. You shouldn’t have to resort to that when the damn game cost you $50 to buy.
Well, I can’t read other people’s minds. But for me, the main problems are ones of a lack of trust in the companies involved, and a lack of belief in the necessity & worth of the precautions being taken. I don’t trust them to come out with protection that actually protects the software from being pirated; I don’t trust them to come up with protections that don’t damage my computer or make the game not worth playing; and I don’t believe that piracy is as bad a problem as they claim, or that these onerous security measures are the solution if it is.
I also think that once I buy the damned thing it’s mine; I should be able to make a backup copy if I want, reinstall it as many times as I like, and so on. And telling me that I could go get a cracked copy somewhere isn’t any consolation; I haven’t the slightest idea how to do that. I’m one of the honest customers who gets screwed by things like this because I don’t use pirated software.
Personally I have thought for a while that a USB hardware dongle that has the program on it instead of a CD or DVD would be a good solution.
That sounds brilliant, providing it doesn’t increase the cost of the game. It would certainly save time installing the game, it would basically be like a console game, plug it in and go (bar a few settings to accomodate different hardware.
I bought my husband a game for his birthday a few months ago that had a CD-key activation. Except when he was installing it, turns out the CD-key was bad. A search confirmed that there was a run of bad keys on that game, and the only legal solution was to send the disc in to prove you owned it and wait for a working key. They screwed up, and the customer was the one who had to pay for it. Because god knows they weren’t going to risk losing a dime to potential pirates by giving out keys (I mean, why not accept a photo of the disc or the bad key as proof? Sure, you’ll get some people who trick you, but most people would just be legitimate customers who want what they paid for.)
So I took a deep breath and snuck into the back alleys of the Internet, managing to find a working key generator that didn’t also add a virus onto my machine (easier said than done). That’s the route I had to take to get a legitimately-purchased game working. That’s what anti-piracy measures end up doing to their customers. It would’ve been less difficult if I’d stolen it.
I disagree here, CD Keys are a great means of protection, generally easy with little consumer burden. Sure, they get cracked via keygens pretty fast, btu as you said for an average user the whole “find a keygenw ithout a virus” thing is easier said than done. That specific incident you mentioned was a run of bad luclk, 9 times out of 10 CD Keys are a really nice means of protection.
I recently got an old game (CRC 2005) from D2D; turns out it has to check in with Starforce every 7 days.
The spyware issue is why I’m passing on it even when it’s being given away. Some free gifts are too expensive – especiallly since I have a suspicion that part of the motive for the giveaway is to get the spyware distributed more widely.
As a wise man once said, “Normally I’d say we learned that suspicion and paranoia are bad, except that’s what saved us.”
“Make piracy socially unacceptable” should be easy – “I paid for mine; why the hell should you get it free?” is a very natural reaction. Even the Tea Party people are able to figure that out and harness it to their ends.
The fact that industry heavy-handedness managed to screw this up is pretty damning.
Not sure if this is posted (I was skimming through the thread), but EA has decided to change it only requiring authentication when downloading new content for the game.
Perhaps for Mass Effect 3 I will be getting a Steam copy. Wonder how will Steam deal with this?
Wait, wait, people are still claiming that Steam is “spyware”? It’s not 2008 anymore, guys. Yes, it’s a DRM tool, no, it’s NOT SPYWARE. It doesn’t run without you knowing it (unless, you know, you don’t know what the icon in the corner means.). It even contains an option to not run at all except when you start a game that requires it. It doesn’t collect information about your system and send it to big brother. It’s not malware, spyware, a virus, or any of the other derogatory terms people throw at it.
Are there issues with it that some people may find unacceptable? Yes, certainly - it’s the selfsame “I want to really own this game” argument. Valve probably won’t be around forever to maintain Steam servers. Some horrible corporate juggernaut could buy them out tomorrow and wreak all kinds of havoc. These are real concerns, but they don’t make the software “spyware” any more than World of Warcraft is spyware.
Let’s keep this discussion intelligent. There are real, solid points on both sides, and there’s no need to start pulling what are essentially ad hominem attacks on the software. 
:p:p:p:D:D:D:p:p:p
Just a quick note here: Hacks that generate usable CD keys for online games have an extra layer of ethical considerations attached to them. The way such hacks are usually made is, they snoop the CD keys from a lot of people who did pay for the game, make a big list, and distribute that list as the keygen hack. When you run it, it just keeps trying those keys until it finds one that isn’t already in use by someone else (and, of course, if one of the key-donors tries to log on while you’re already on, then they’re the one who can’t get on). So by using such a workaround, you’re not just hurting the game company, you’re also hurting other players.