pp03
join:2002-06-13
Minneapolis, MN
| Spore to require online validation...every 10 days
All the more reason to get a console, with each new generation of PC games the copy protection is getting worse for legit buyers. This is not going to affect people pirating...at all, cracks will be out within hours of release, yet now if I go on a trip or don't have access for whatever reason I can't even play single player...
»www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52547
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The History Channel rocks! ... you know it! |
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Mchart
Super Joe
join:2004-01-21
Gurnee, IL
 ·AT&T Yahoo
 ·RoadRunner Cable
1 edit | Why is this all the more reason to get a console? What kind of person with a PC this day in age does not have internet access. It is the same way with every ultra-successful Valve game on Steam. I think this is great. Of course this will be easily hacked anyways, but still. |
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mrchris
We don't miss you Bush
Premium
join:2002-10-01
North Babylon, NY | reply to pp03
lol validation....but this is going too far...every 10 days?? |
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davidcb13
join:2004-02-06
Branchville, NJ | well it depends how obtrusive the validation is....as someone said before with steam you cant play at all without an internet connection.... |
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bruce48
join:2001-05-07
Saugerties, NY
| You can play any steam game without being connected.
You need a net connection to validate the game but once that is done all you need to do is log onto steam and play in the off line mode.
It is necessary to validate every Steam game online before it can be launched, although an offline mode is available. There are no alternate methods of activation such as via telephone or fax, which causes the system to deny access to those without Internet connections.
By default, to play a game offline, Steam and the game itself must be fully updated. When Steam starts online, the system checks to see if there are updates available. Steam can be set to stay offline and not attempt a connection, but this offline mode has its own restrictions and limitations, including preventing games which have not been updated from running in offline mode. |
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Dandy
join:2001-12-30
Brooklyn, NY
clubs: | reply to pp03
why do they keep trying to come up with these ways to block hackers! They ALWAYS find a way to hack it. |
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LaZ3R
Premium
join:2003-01-17
·Rogers Hi-Speed
| reply to pp03
Wow What the FUCK?
That's absolutely retarded. The game is a single player game, yet requires a visible connection every 10 days otherwise the ability to play the game is lost until validated. Brilliant... This is what the dumb shits over at EA must have delayed the game for a year and a half or more for. Now it all makes sense. 
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Life is a game of blackjack. You keep playing until you bust. |
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Kearnstd
Elf Wizard
Premium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ | reply to pp03
im sure the pirate bay will have nice drm free cracks available.
buy the game, crack the EXE and you remain legal because you bought the game.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports |
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Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·AT&T Midwest
 ·Site5.com
·Comcast
| reply to pp03
I feel like doing a Lewis Black impression right now where he runs around the stage and cries out "Holy Crap! We are all gonna die!" because thats the impression I am getting out of the posts here so far.
Validation every 10 days? I say, who cares. If I bought the thing, if it silently validates behind the scenes, I don't give a crap. Now if the validation is obtrusive, thats another story all together. I guess we will wait and see what happens. My gut is telling me it will be an unobtrusive system where it will check your cd key to a server and make sure the same key isn't used more than once.
Oh, and while it may be a single player game, it downloads content over the internet. Other races that people make will automatically download to your system. So really, its a single player game with multiplayer content.
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My domain - Nightfall.net |
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quanta
Premium
join:2002-05-07
Toronto, ON | reply to pp03
It's a slippery slope, Nightfall. This DRM treats legitimate customers like criminals, which is unfair.
Besides, not everyone in the world has constant Internet access. |
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Mtav80
Premium
join:2002-12-28
Loveland, CO
| reply to pp03
Only a matter of time until you have to be online EVERY time you play, even a single player game.
Will get to the point is will have to talk to a master server all the time kinda like MMO with out the monthly MMO fee.
I'm not surprised, its beyond easy to Pirate a PC game. So easy in fact I see more companies going Console first then PC ports. So easy to steal a game these days if I was in the business I wouldn't make a PC only game anymore. |
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Somnambul33t
L33t.
Premium
join:2002-12-05
Mullica Hill, NJ
clubs:
·Comcast
| reply to pp03
i enjoy steam a lot. it has great copyright protection. other games use SecureROM and are a HUGE PITA. SecureROM sometimes requires a legit owner to uninstall (not just exit/deactivate) all virtual-drive programs, such as Daemon-Tools, and run the original game DVD just to play single player. i had to do with this WiC, except i used a no-cd crack just to bypass the damned securerom BS and to keep daemon tools.
mainly it's all the major publishers that arent valve...
god i love steam
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Somnambulator - t3h 5133pw41k3r
SEyE TF2 Server
~Choosy moms choose Jif~ |
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Airwolf
Don't be shy now. Come on, catch a ride
Premium
join:2001-10-30
Windsor, ON
clubs:
·Cogeco Cable
| reply to quanta
said by quanta  :It's a slippery slope, Nightfall. This DRM treats legitimate customers like criminals, which is unfair. So I suppose metal detectors are insulting as well? |
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Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·AT&T Midwest
·Site5.com
·Comcast
| reply to quanta
said by quanta :It's a slippery slope, Nightfall. This DRM treats legitimate customers like criminals, which is unfair. Besides, not everyone in the world has constant Internet access. You are speculating what the DRM is like though. Heck, everytime you play online, your CD key is checked. Is that considered intrusive?
Point is, if something is going on behind the scenes that checks for a valid cd key every 10 days, its no big deal so long as I don't have to hastle with it. Now, if its something that pops up on the screen every 10 days, I have to click through windows to get it to validate, then thats another issue.
How about we wait before we draw conclusions. Every game we play online on the PC has some form of check and balance when it comes to checking the CD key. |
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Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·AT&T Midwest
·Site5.com
·Comcast
| reply to Mtav80
said by Mtav80 :Only a matter of time until you have to be online EVERY time you play, even a single player game. Will get to the point is will have to talk to a master server all the time kinda like MMO with out the monthly MMO fee. I'm not surprised, its beyond easy to Pirate a PC game. So easy in fact I see more companies going Console first then PC ports. So easy to steal a game these days if I was in the business I wouldn't make a PC only game anymore. I agree here.
As much as I love PC Games, consoles are where the money is which is why gaming companies are moving to that platform. Pirating games on consoles is done much less than PCs because it requres a mod chip. The PS3 hasn't even been hacked yet. Then, even if you do hack your Xbox 360, you can't play online with it unless you switch the modchip off and buy a legal copy of the game. Lastly, you make 1 copy of the game that works on every PS3 or Xbox 360 out there. Unlike PC games where the developers have to constantly bring out new drivers and patches for new hardware combinations and so on. |
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Kearnstd
Elf Wizard
Premium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ
| reply to pp03
this is exactly why consoles will beat the PC for day to day non MMO gaming. there is no frickin drivers to make sure you have up to date. if a game needs an update it applies it or connects to the net and gets it. but you never have a game not run on your console because you dont have the right sub version of directx or geforce drivers.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports |
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Somnambul33t
L33t.
Premium
join:2002-12-05
Mullica Hill, NJ
clubs:
·Comcast
| said by Kearnstd :this is exactly why consoles will beat the PC for day to day non MMO gaming. there is no frickin drivers to make sure you have up to date. if a game needs an update it applies it or connects to the net and gets it. but you never have a game not run on your console because you dont have the right sub version of directx or geforce drivers. it also means your gfx will never get better or faster without those newer driver updates.
cd key verifying isnt that bad itself, but the SecureROM program most newer games use is the most intrusive and inconvenient form of authentication currently available on the PC. |
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IamGimli
join:2004-02-28
Canada
 ·Primus Talkbroadband
·B2B2C High-Speed I..
| reply to quanta
said by quanta :It's a slippery slope, Nightfall. This DRM treats legitimate customers like criminals, which is unfair. Vote with your wallet. I haven't paid for a poor EA or Ubisoft console port riddled with useless DRM in over five years. If I'm gonna do the time regardless I'm damn well not gonna pay for it. |
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salzan
Experienced Optimist
Premium
join:2004-01-08
WA State
| reply to Nightfall
said by Nightfall :You are speculating what the DRM is like though. Heck, everytime you play online, your CD key is checked. Is that considered intrusive? You seem to be forgetting that this is EA.
I'm seeing a nightmare for some when their game suddenly won't validate and they maybe even lose their profile...
Ever dealt with EA's support? |
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Nightfall
My Goal Is To Deny Yours
Premium,MVM
join:2001-08-03
Grand Rapids, MI
·AT&T Midwest
·Site5.com
·Comcast
1 edit | said by salzan :said by Nightfall :You are speculating what the DRM is like though. Heck, everytime you play online, your CD key is checked. Is that considered intrusive? You seem to be forgetting that this is EA. I'm seeing a nightmare for some when their game suddenly won't validate and they maybe even lose their profile... Ever dealt with EA's support? I have dealt with support from EA, Valve, Microsoft, etc and I haven't been happy with any of them.
That being said, Battlefield 2 is an EA game with a cd key checking utility and that isn't intrusive at all. I am not saying that it won't be intrusive, I just choose to wait and see what happens.
You and others on this site, on the other hand, choose to see a nightmare in the making. Some people even choosing to see the "Chicken Little" aspect of things by crying out "The sky is falling!"
I guess our questions will be answered in the coming months.
Oh, and I don't subscribe to the pessimist view of this checking mechanism. We are talking about a form of copy protection that hasn't been released yet. There is a ton of speculation out there on how it is going to work with some people, even Karl our very own news guy jumping on the bandwagon.
When I read reactions like this, it reminds me of fearmongering on Fox News. It reminds me of the Amber alerts that are so easily tossed around saying to "be aware" of what is going on because the terrorists could attack at any moment.
If this DRM screws up peoples computers or makes them click through windows over and over again every 10 days to reactivate, then I won't be buying the product. However, if its something I don't even notice because every 10 days it checks the cd key online like Battlefield 2 or just about any other game out there, then I may buy it depending on how good the game is.
There is nothing wrong with a concerned stance on this issue though. I am taking that stance, but I won't subscribe to "The sky is falling!" |
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