I actually searched Emule (Emule doesn't need any 'meta-sites') for a collector's edition serial or keymaker but I couldn't find it. I couldn't get the collector's edition because I pre-ordered too late (after the gold date). But it turns out its not needed as I don't need the pretty box, just wanted the ship decorations and non-collectors serials were able to dowload the collectors-only ship parts. I searched Emule again last night for serials/keymakers and they are still not any there. Not needing the serial to install the game seems to have made the crackmaker groups unmotivated to make a keygen, but you need a serial to download updates, which would encourage a would-be pirate to buy the game.

BUT, you can download the update files from emule though, in addition to the game itself. I am a legal user of the game, but turned to Emule for a 'free' collectors edition upgrade that turned out to not be needed (unless you want a limited edition box and extra non-game bells and whistles).

Btw I buy most of my PC games but I download keygens (I loose my manuals almost all the time and CD cases a lot more than the CD itself) and NOCD cracks for every single one of them.

I only pirate games with serious availability problems (such as non-usa games that have to be imported such as championship manager) and games that I can't buy because a store decides to enforce a game's age restriction (M-Rating). I think if I were lower income I would pirate more games but I would at least buy what I could reasonably afford and If i could afford just two games per year, Galactic Civilizations II would be one of the two games (and Pir8 the other 6-10) that I would buy legally.

Should mention, we didn't attempt to protect 1.0X.  With all the headaches in meeting the retail demand, we didn't want to add to any frustration with any updating issues.

I think the real psychology is that every game you find in that store has a crack with its name on it. Alchohol 120% cracked CD-Image (if applicable), KeyGen, and NoCD Crack.

Its not that not having copy protection increases or decreases piracy. It is that it is futile. So the game/media companies, Legal and Not Legal users alike are spared inconvience by just not including copy protection. I feel more sympathetic for vendors who sell copy-protection-free, but most people don't give a damn. Piracy increases a little (not a lot because copy protection is futile), and that small increase is negated by people who really want to reward wicked-cool games, especilly if they are not packaged in safes (that are futile and crackable by 60% of the user base).

I don't want my DVDs stolen by the TSA or airline luggage handlers, but I can't afford everything I want (or replace what is stolen) either. And I lose serial numbers or scratch CDs. Or I am Just plain greedy or just don't want to get a job (if parents buy the hardware). I have money, but not every one does. I hate carrying CDs and I'm not ever carrying DVDs or portable electronics (only the DVDs got taken, fortunately) in my check-in luggage ever again. And even if in a case, I do play games on city busses and fiddling with DVDs/CDs are a drop-hazard for the machine.

Like Windows Genuine Advantage and GalCiv2, update files are pirated too. And if the patch updates start needing install-time serials, a keygen will be made for it. Though I think a GalCiv2 keygen will have a significant delay, especially if the game directory is direct-copy transplantable (like x-plane whos only protection is a easy to crack CD-dongle instead of a serial for updates), as the 'installed' directory will be rarred and shared and may make keygenmakers/crackmakers de-prioritize the game. If activation is needed, well activation cracks (with phone activation exploit or not) are everywhere too though often much more delayed. From a non-piracy perspective, I love toting games on my external hard drive. X-Plane is 65Gig installed with world-scenery and 3rd party goodies and it needs a drive all to itself. I'm a laptop person but a bet desktop hoppers probably would find external USB hard drive toting very convienient for reasons other than piracy.

A major motivator for piracy, especially in today's fast-paced small-medium sized workplace, which i think is more applicable to appz than gamez is time. Unless its an instant email with a serial number, you will almost certainly find and download to completion a copy of the application and any needed cracks before you can get your next-day email (uncommon now) or deal with the contracts, legal crap, and red tape to get a license and serial key (VERY common now). And you know you will always have at least 2 people wanting a given thing yesterday and Emule (BitTorrent is better if its wide-scale marketed) will serve your needs cheaper, and more importantly, faster than legal channels. You get your tool within and hour or two and the logistics can be turned over to the dedicated red-tape person for eventuall legalization (probably won't have time; money everywhere around you; time isn't quite so plentiful). With some software packages, dealing with the licensing is as bad as a doctor trying to get an HMO to pay them, but it is sitting right no Emule (This type of software is not as mainstream so it fares better on Emule than BitTorrent) ready to download within hours, image, crack and all.

I know all this belongs on a blog but my blog don't get no traffic, so i gotta troll the message boards. You can see my blog at http://www.greatinca.net/blog

I purchase a 1 to 2 dozen games a year while not a lot it does limit what I can buy, games with draconian copy protection are not one of them. I simply *CANNOT* repeat *CANNOT* play games with starforce simply for the reason they see my SCSI controllers/drives and inform me that I am running software to circumvent their copy protection. Boy was I pissed the first time I saw that. I can't remember which game it was now I had a couple back when it was new and the tech support for each told me it would not run on my system and to mail it back to them at my cost for a refund. I lost it. Despite store policy Walmart took the game back, I showed them the ticket number and e-mail response from the company. Yeah I loved X but both X2 and X3 are unplayable on my system, I had to return games I got at christmas because they had starforce on them or a similar copy protection that wouldn't work with my system (Dragonshard, Syberia II, Space Rangers 2). Yeah someone lost money on that deal, and companies that use starforce and similar schemes will continue to lose money from me.

I've got a folder on my computer that holds the latest update for a game and the cd-check crack. Wow imagine that I don't want to put my CD in everytime I feel like playing a game.

I have to Agree with Brad --- Copy protection is something really irritating thing and in my view, it is one of the major causes of gaming piracy ...

I have to say... This is so f***d up that I can't take it.

Even if it's to annoy Starfarce guys and, to no small amount, get a great game... There goes my order.
(from local shop, no CC to buy stuff through net so...)

I bought your game because you made a good product and didn't treat me like an asshole.

More to the point is that I can name about 5 recent releases that i have not purchased because they were starforced.

So, hey - guess what starforce? F U

- nox

Just the fact that you guys are providing free updates (as opposed to waiting for expansion packs or not updating the game at all) is becoming rare these days. That's sad.

There's a certain publisher out there (not naming names) whose name I loved as a kid. They were acquired not a terribly long time ago by another company that's nearly old as dirt. Their games tend to be pretty cutting-edge in technology... but getting a patch from them is about as likely as regrowing your bald spots.

Providing I can run it in some variant of WINE, you just sold another copy.

I buy few games, but when I hear someone making an argument for quality service being their top priority, as opposed to treating their customers like criminals, I feel the need to immediately go and purchase their product. Good show!

ufffffff. i just cant beleve that HOMM 5 will use this s**t....ufffff i was an huge fan of that serial and i just cant imagine that this will ocure...till now i evewn didnt know of that copy protection and now im reading and ......no commet


FUCK STARFORCE....please dont ban me for "the" word just couldnt not to say it



INTERNET WAS MEANT TO BE FREE!!!!!


BTW GREAT GAME PEOPLE...and KEEP ON ROCKING and dooing a great job

I read somewhere on www.r-force.org that Starforce tried to pressure Stardock to use Starforce technologies on Galactic Civilization II, Don't know if it true or not, but it rather fishy. Good on Stardock on making their point clear.

Link to the story

Link

Tycho at Penny Arcade has weighed in on the issue:

Link



In short, he basically says that while he personally loathes Starforce to the core of his being, he understands that game developers feel the need to protect their investments--even if they often go about it the wrong way.

I have to throw my hat into the ring of being one of those people where the most compelling argument for me to purchase GalCiv II was due to its lack of copy protection. I'm sick and tired of the whole RIAA, MPAA, and DRM hoopla that seems to be everywhere these days, that finding a software company that actually understands that it is better to reward good behavior (those who purchase the software) than it is to punish -everyone- which is exactly what many copy protection schemes do. I can only hope that GalCiv II's commercial success without copy protection schemes will trigger a rennaisance within the industry to do away with copy protection altogether. Then maybe, someday the other major industries will take notice and finally realize that the money they're spending fighting these legal battles in court, and purchasing DRM protection schemes for their CD's is only serving to cost them more money than they ever would have lost by piracy in the first place. Most pirates never have any intention of buying the DVD, software, or music they download in the first place. And sometimes those that download them like it enough to buy a legitimate copy. Taking a people to court over downloading a movie only leads to negative publicity and people boycotting your company's products.

I'm just sick and tired of everyone being treated like a pirate. I have no doubt that many people figure if they're going to be treated like a pirate, they might as well actually pirate the software. At the very least they'll install cracks to circumvent the protection on the software they purchased legitimately.

I salute Stardock for their stance, and appreciate the fact that I'm treated like a customer, and not a criminal. They have a dedicated customer in me.

wow....

Starforce are a bunch of morons

#262 by Martok Wednesday, March 15, 2006 7:52 PM In short, he basically says that while he personally loathes Starforce to the core of his being, he understands that game developers feel the need to protect their investments--even if they often go about it the wrong way.

Well, gamedevelopers could take their head out of their rearend and rethink their ideas like Stardock has done. I for one often may loan or even pirate copy of a new game. Why? Because after seeing how demos and reality rarely meet do not anymore trust demos of games. Demo can rock and game will still suck. If game is actually good, I will go and buy it. If I don't like it it is gone. That's what took place with GalCiv2. I saw, I tried, I liked and I bought.

Now if I only could control the ships during combat in tactical mode.

Instead of spending time and resources making copyprotections developers should come up with new and fresh ideas for good games. I for one love Total War series. And own it legally.

For creativity I have to get my hat off to Will Wright who is working on his Spore-project right now.

after interacting with recreational softs and seeing various copy protection schemes come and go, I am finally liking the sane copy protection here and there. I am fond of old school shareware, willingly paid my support of software that I liked, and deleted that which I didn't like. H... I even sent an Email to Tim Wiseman of VGA Planets fame two years ago, along with my paypal pointing out that I had supported his beta of Planets 1. (he refunded me half the price of planets 4 out of a sense of loyalty)

I swear the idiots in charge of the software corps (not you small guys) are incapable of figuring out such marketing tools as "Shareware" and working Demos.

-Colin Witz, gamer since the days of Ascii trek and Warmus

On a post script point, I do recall long ago spending hours coding in Warmus and HACK into the school's computer network by hand. all that time makes one appreciate those that do innovate much more. I recall when Microsoft made it it's mission to eleminate Basic programmers that were hobbists. There were pirates back then too, but the most damaging software to your average computer came from Norton or Microsoft....

Hello, I`m from Russia. As you know, that Starforce its a puty,but it is a Russian product.
At a long time the very many people of gamers in Russia is a brealing copy protection systems, like StarForce.
Thank you, that you tell to all of the world about your position about endusers.
Thank you,

I never played in your game, and I dont like games like this, but I`ll buy your game, thanks for your work and position
Best Regards,
Kapranov Anton

I've heard of the problems Starforce caused before, but as I haven't yet had the "privilege" of playing a game saddled with it before the issue has never been that big a deal to me. But after reading this thread and others on the Starforce forum and seeing the appallingly unprofessional attitudes exhibited by their staff it's now become more personal. I don't like what they do, I don't like the people that do it, and now that I'm better educated, from now on before I buy a game I'm going to make VERY sure it's not tainted by Starforce (or any of its ilk, like Securom, etc.)

It's sad that I'll have to miss out on HOMM5, but at least Bethesda had the sense to stay far away from them. Oblivion is one of the only games I could see as making my resolve waver...

I just thought I'd make a few interesting comments on game copy protection in general.

Generally speaking, I'm sure that everyone will agree that copy protection does almost nothing to prevent ilicit availability of release versions of games. Anyone who knows where to look will tell you that software and games are so readily available for illegal download that they almost download and burn THEMSELVES. This is completely regardless of any form of copy protection scheme employed.

The most common type of copy protection employed requires the user to keep a specific game disk in the disc drive at all times while playing. During play, this often results in the disc drive spinning up and reading to confirm the legitimacy of the disc. This means several things.

First, the user must keep large numbers of game discs by the computer to change out whenever the user wishes to play a different game. This creates desktop clutter, makes it more likely that play discs will be seperated from install discs (where the play disc is generally required to re-install as well) and results in scratched or damaged discs.

Second, it creates abnormal wear on the disc drive's mechanical components as well as the laser head. Disc drives are mechanical systems, and as such can only sustain constant use for so long before eventually reducing in performance and ultimately failing completely. A significant portion of games protected in this manner keep the disc constantly spun up and being read. As a result, the life expectancy of your disc drives shortens expotentially based on how much time you spend gaming. I know this first-hand, as there was a time when copy protection on games had me burning out a disc drive every 6 to 8 months. That was BEFORE the drives were cheaply available like they are now.

Third, when your disc drive is reduced to a state of significant wear it results in the copy protection from being able to readily identify that there's even a disc in the drive let alone check the protection. This creates both lag in games, as well as user inconvenience at being stuck with a barely functioning disc drive that was worn out early by the protected software.

That said, pirated versions simply do not keep up with legitimate copies of games. Cracks are game version specific, and typically not kept up to date with patches to games. Also, pirated games do not typically work for online play if that is an included feature of the game.

Here's the summary.

Pros of a legitimate protected copy: Guaranteed access to updates, support, and full software functionality
Cons of a legitimate protected copy: Hardware damage over prolonged use, significantly increased risk of damaged game discs, unable to make working backup copies of software in case of loss or damage and possible chance of buggy protection software rendering game unstable or unreadable.

Pros of an illegitimate copy: No hardware damage incurred from playing, no chance of copy protection interfering with game functionality.
Cons of an illegitimate copy: Stuck with outdated version, reduced funtionality, no support on game issues, still requires monetary investment in blank discs and burner drives, many hours required to find, download, burn and crack the illegitimate copy beyond what you would need to do otherwise.

This more or less means the copy protection the developers pay for does little more than prevent pirates from patching their games or connecting to the developer's online servers. At the same time, traditional CD copy protection inconveniences legitimate customers and creates unusual levels of wear and tear on their disc drives.

Now here's the interesting part. Stardock includes no CD protection at all, and merely requires users to register their copy to download game and content updates. This is no more inconvenient than visiting the Stardock web site to do, and is comparable in ease to downloading a patch on any protected game. You can make working backup copies, and can store all of your discs safely away where they won't be damaged.

Not only does Stardock's method achieve everything that protected games attempt to do, they do so without adding inconvenience to their customers and without having to pay third parties for copy protection licencing. As an added bonus, their customers have absolutely no chance of finding themselves saying "I only have 15 minutes to play, but I have no clue where that play disc is... Maybe I'll just go watch TV.". I sure know that increases MY enjoyment of the game and increases my customer loyalty.

All in all, I feel that the best copy protection is a reasonably priced product and quality updates to issues that crop up, merely requiring a legitimate copy of the game to get them. After all, who wants to waste all of their valuable free time trying to pirate something when they can just enjoy a hassle-free game?

Someone shold submit the story to Fark. Link I'm sure the highly active community there will jump on things.

It's very simple Pavlovian psychology: rewards are infinitely more effective than punishments. It works with pets and it works with people. You've provided a reward for legitimate buyers with no punishments involved. I think the effectiveness of this strategy have been made extremely clear both by this and other forums and by the amazing sales numbers that Galciv2 is showing. Congratulations Stardock, you've proven that the good guys can win.

I had been putting off a purchase of Gal Civ II because I'm waist-deep in a very popular MMO at the moment, but Stardock's attitude towards customers has convinced me to go out and purchase it tomorrow before work. I would have gotten around to it eventually anyway, but I feel a company that respects it's customers more than it fears pirates deserves to be encouraged.

Keep up the good work, guys.

Looking at the world's largest bit torrent site, I see that the most recent game with Starforce is being pirated at a higher rate than Gal Civ 2. Most of the games being pirated have copy protection. I can't believe companies pay for that crap since it obviously doesn't work. Anyone know much money they waste paying for ineffectual anti-piracy schemes?

With the popularity of laptops I can't believe game companies still expect you to use the CD for verification. How popular do you think the iPod would be if you still had to carry around all your CDs?

[From the list of starforce games:]

> UFO: Aftershock Cenega (forum inactive)
> X2: The Threat (only European versions) Deep Silver
> X3: Reunion (only European versions) Deep Silver

.... well, there go some potential sales from me. I was already VERY reluctant to buy anything with such an intrusive "protection", but this underhanded action hit the last straw. Bye bye games with SF.

Oh, and big compliments to Stardock for taking this bold move I hope your "customer support beats DRM" strategy (and your success!) sets a milestone in the current piracy discussion. For me, knowing that I wouldn't have to battle with my legal copy, having my system crippled, and treated like a thief was definetly a plus to go ahead and buy this game. And I'm very happy I did

On the positive side, this Starforce action is a lot of free publicity for Stardock, so it's not all that bad.