[stardock] So I made a mistake...

Contact [email protected]. You should be able to get a disc mailed for $5 in the US, or $10 internationally.

Do note that activation is required regardless if you patch the game; only the initial version on the discs is activation-free. If you have a particular complaint with SDC or the activation system, please do give us feedback so we could potentailly improve the system in the future, or help you if there is some error you're getting.

So the initial release of the game didn't have stardock and it was added later? I just want to be able to install this on my tablet and play it without having to mess with all this crap. I used to love MOOII and GalCiv1 but I thought this would be a rehash of old so I wasn't going to buy it. Seeing that you guys pretty much stand up against DRM laden material, I figured I'd buy the game and support you. Unfortunately, it seems I was wrong.

The retail discs specifically exclude activation so that they can be installed as easily as possible at any location.

Considering the amount of time, effort, and budget that goes into post-release updates, activation is required in order to use them. For most people this is not an issue--since they have internet to download the updates, they can activate easily, and in the case of updating via SDC, completely transparently (such that they don't ever have to do anything about it manually).

For those who wish to play with updates on non-internet connected computers, the game can be activated by email using the machine that was used to download the update, and the activation key can be transferred to the non-connected machine by the same means as the update was.

It's just more to the point that DRM interferes with the legal person's right to enjoy the content (game, movie, music, etc.) without having to go through all this crap. It really only upsets me the most since it says right in the post concerning piracy (on the front page of this site) in plain words: "Stardock and TotalGaming.net don't use DRM." But Stardock is DRM. Period. Mainly, that's my biggest gripe. False advertisement.

Well... technically it's really a program that lets you apply the patches that happens to require a login, not DRM .

What's with these morons who bitch and moan about SDC being DRM?? Listen, people, SDC is nothing more than a method to register your game and hence download updates. DRM is a software/method, either installed or through hardware configurations, that attempts to limit piracy by checking the "legality" of your system. SDC and stardock don't do that. All SDC does is allow you to register, and then download patches. It can do more, but that is all you can use it for. It doesn't run in the background, doesn't install rootkits, etc. Stardock has the right to limit patches to only those who are registered users. Stardock may not believe in overt DRM per se, but that doesn't mean they have to support pirates. So STFU already.

No, I found out when I copied the game over to my Tablet PC that it does indeed check the installation of windows for some key information and denies you the ability to run the game until it is unlocked. That is DRM.

If you want to find out for yourself, rename the sig.bin file and try to run your game. You will see the DRM in action. This is black and white. There is no grey area here. They stated that there is no DRM when there clearly is.

From the Wikipedia:"Digital Rights Management (DRM) is an umbrella term referring to technologies used by publishers or copyright owners to control access to or usage of digital data or hardware, and to restrictions associated with a specific instance of a digital work or device. The term is often confused with copy protection and technical protection measures, which refer to technologies that control or restrict the use and access of digital content on electronic devices with such technologies installed, acting as components of a DRM design."

So actually you can argue that the need to have a legal copy of the game (e.g. a serial#) to get additional content and bug fixes is a form of digital rights management. However that is not a form of copy protection. As was said. You can download version 1.0 of GC2 from whatever source and play it without owning it legally. Of course then you have to live with the bugs and without the many many improvements.

Stardock on the other side is one of only a few developers that earned the reputation of supporting their game still long after release (along with Bioware or Blizzard for instance). It is perfectly legitimate to ensure that only their customers (e.g. people that support them and their game through buying it legally) benefit from their support and furthermore of course it is a smart move against pirates. If pirates play GC2 v1.0 some might fall in love with it and then later on buy it legally to get all the new and improved content.

And wtf is the problem to connect your TabletPC to the internet for a minute to setup GC2? and of course there are ways to do it without internet access on your portable... assuming you actually have a valid serial...

Wrong. It is activation. You need to have a sig.bin file corresponding your windows installation. Unless I miss something, once you have activated the game you can:

- play it without being connected to Internet

- play without any CD in the drive

And you don't need to reactivate the game once it is done unless you are reinstalling windows.

As you have found yourself, you can copy the game on any PC or laptop you own. The only thing that you need is to delete the sig.bin file and launch the activation process only once per PC or laptop. You don't have any restriction about of number of time or the number of computers you can do that except that you can't play simultaneously the game on 2 different computers at the same time. It is hardly DRM.

It is hardly different from any software you buy that requires you to connect to the internet before 15 days after the installation to keep the functionnalities working.

Well, there is a small difference between games available on TGN: some may require a one-time activation (like GC2) while other don't. In any case, the following web page http://totalgaming.stardock.com/about.aspx states:

Maybe a small warning for games requiring one-time activation should be displayed on the associated game web page or in the TGN presentation web page.

Which he has considering that he has bought the download version of the game through TGN as told in the top post 

I have purchased the game. I've stated that and stand by it. I have a problem with them stating there is no DRM.

Think of it like this, the only difference between this and other forms of DRM is that we have no control over it's insertion. If you go out and buy a CD (a game) you can listen to it on any CD player you want where this game you can play it on any computer you want, but you have to "activate it". What if you had to connect to the internet every time you put your CD into another car?

You bought that CD, but you want to transfer it to another medium. Let's say you want to use that music (the game) on a portable device and since you already bought the music (game) you should have the right to transfer it to another device. You have a few options. You can rip the CD in MediaPlayer, iTunes, or whatever. The difference here is that you don't have to destroy your CD... When you do this, the music is then tagged with protection. The other difference here being that this Ripping process is what tags the music with the protection (DRM) where the game already comes with the protection when it's compiled. There is very little difference between these processes besides the fact that one is a game and the other is music. In fact, the game is actually harder to enjoy because I can't put it in any computer I have and play it at any time without having to "call home".

The other problem I have with this is, "What information are you gathering off my PC to create this key?" It's a violation of my privacy to pull information about me or my computer without prior consent. Where is the EULA? I seemed to have missed during the install where I explicitly gave the program permission to scour my PC for information and what is included in this hash value you are sending across the internet in what I can only assume is an unencrypted connection?

To put it quite honestly, I feel I was lied to and I feel even less secure knowing that I had to send some sort of system signature across email to activate my other PC. It's totally uncalled for and completely defies what was said. They stated that you can have your serial number sent to you at any time, but they never stated that you will have to send them a machine identifier. Define it any way you want, but it is DRM in the fact that my game will not work without them first activating it. If you want to distribute and control the distribution the game from this Stardock application I really have not problem with that, but when I have the game in my possession I should be able to transfer it to a portable PC without having to activate it. That to me _is_ DRM and I can't stress that enough. You are strictly in control of how and where I enjoy this game via this process. (In fact, going through all this, I'm not enjoying it very much.) From the wiki quote above: "Digital Rights Management (DRM) is an umbrella term referring to technologies used by publishers or copyright owners to control access to or usage of digital data or hardware, and to restrictions associated with a specific instance of a digital work or device." That to me is pretty clear in it's definition of how this game "protection" works and clearly defies what is stated on the front page of this site: "There's no DRM, digital license, net connection, etc. needed."

That's what I thought too. But since Sunday when I "upgraded" to Windows Vista I haven't been able to play the game I legally purchased online because I can no longer activate. It's not a question of being unable to patch, it's not being able to play. I have a support ticked in, but haven't heard anything yet.

It's not a huge deal: I've just been playing other games instead while I'm waiting. But I am definitely a victim of Stardock's DRM, and it shocked me because one of the reasons I've supported the GalCiv series has been their stance of up-until-now not treating me like a criminal.

Rifty, did you do a clean install and then install GalCiv2, or did you upgrade XP to vista without a clean install? If so, you should just have to delete the sig.bin file so that Stardock Central can re-activate GalCiv2.

 

Well, the exact wording should have been: "per windows installation". And upgrading XP to Vista changes the windows installation. As CariElf mentionned, you just need to delete the sig.bin file.

The information provided during activation comprises your machine ID (a unique identifier based on the install), the product ID, your email address, and your password or serial number. If your serial is valid but we have no record of a transaction, we may also ask you your first name, last name and where you found out about the product. Personal information is encrypted with 2048-bit public-key encryption before transmission.

Reactivation is necessary when the install changes - in particular, when upgrading to a new version of the OS - because the machine ID will change. We're not trying to mess you around, just to ensure that people can't use a stolen credit card to buy a copy and then post the details up for everyone to use. This is, unfortunately, a regular occurrence for most software companies.

If you purchase the retail version of GalCivII, you may install and play the game without ever registering the game. I don't have any issues with using Stardock Central to get software updates; its use is optional and does not run in the background while I play the game.

I have many years experience with computer security and have serious concerns over other companies approach to security. Leading computer security expert Bruce Schneier says, "Windows Vista includes an array of 'features' that you don't want. These features will make your computer less reliable and less secure. They'll make your computer less stable and run slower. They will cause technical support problems. They may even require you to upgrade some of your peripheral hardware and existing software. And these features won't do anything useful. In fact, they're working against you. They're digital rights management (DRM) features built into Vista at the behest of the entertainment industry. And you don't get to refuse them."

DRM in Windows Vista

Vista and More: Piecing Together Microsoft's DRM Puzzle

A Cost Analysis of Windows Vista Content Protection

I tried both ways. But there was an error with my ability to activate. Support was able to help me get back up to playing again this morning. Again, not a huge deal but it did shock me that it became an issue at all.

This is the first time I've had an issue with a Stardock game since I first installed GalCiv 1, and over the years I've been grateful for the ease of use of the SDC system and the ability to redownload and reinstall at any time using just my account information.

Stardock Central isn't DRM.

It doesn't prevent you from installing to all your computers in your house (for instance).  It simply requires an Internet connection to install.

My objection to what you're saying is that by labeling DRM so broadly you, in effect, diminish the differences out there.

The alternative to a secure Internet download would be copy protection on the CD combined with a lot fewer free updates. There's a reason why few games get significant updates after release.

So wait, if you don't have internet, you can't play it... how is that not DRM?

Wow. This post has gotten a lot of attention. I thought I'd throw my two cents in, too.   

Well, you do need to be able to download it in the first place. If you can't, then that line of argument is pretty moot, in my opinion.

As noted before, the retail discs don't require activation, and if you don't have internet, you'll never be able to get the patches (so activation never comes into the picture). But if you do have internet with which to get the patches (or download the entire game), then you can use the same internet access to activate.

If you don't have internet, as kryo pointed it out, you probably did not download it. If you did download it, then you probably should have bought a hardcopy for the sake of simplicity.

I own a physical copy of Dread Lords. I do not recall ever doing anything beyond typing in the serial number once -- and I barely even remember doing that. I have installed it on three computers. I have a copy of every update from 1.2 to 1.4. Mind you, I use all of the computers (different locations that I sometimes find myself).

Trust me, this is not DRM.

I find it interesting how people so frequently seem to want to become upset . . . .

You don't need the Internet to play GalCiv II. 

But what does the Internet have to do with DRM? That's like saying shareware is DRM because you need a net connection to download shareware.   Are websites DRM because you need an Internet connection to view them? Is Internet Explorer or Firefox DRM?

All Stardock Central is is a front end for downloading. That's it.  It's not "managing" rights or licenses or whatever.