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Don't think I've ever had any issues with DRM or things that make me wish I had pirated it.
Maybe I'm lucky
I'm with you on that one. Never had any problems. /touch wood
'Shoulda pirated it': when the consumer gets screwed - your experiences.
- Thread starter Omaeka
- Start date
I'm with you on that one. Never had any problems. /touch wood
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You've never lived
First game:
Chronicles of Riddick: Uses TAGES with limited number of activations. One week just after I got this, I was having problems with hardware, and had to reinstall windows from an image several times speread over that week. After each reinstall, I started up Riddick (having to reactivate it through steam) and started to play. The last time, it wouldn't activate - I had run out of activations.
There's no de-activation tool, and I contacted Steam, who directed me to Atari, who directed me to TAGES who said they don't undo deactivations and sent me back to Atari, who sent me back to TAGES, etc.
Atari's poor support was pretty well known on their boards.
The riddick game now has a note on the steam page that activations are restored after 30 days, that wasn't there then but i picked it up in the forums. And waited. After a month, no new activations. Two months, no new activations. I contacted atari and tages again, got the run around again, and gave up on it.
Maybe a year later, something reminded me of it and tried again, and I was able to install it. I haven't played it though, have lost interest.
Titan Quest/Immortal throne: Bought through steam. There's a big community fan pack that improves the game. Every time I install this, it runs exactly once. After that run, steam updates the game (even with update disabled) and the fan patch is disabled.
The only way I found to fix this was to copy the files to another folder, and use a No CD Key.
---
Game 3:
Burnout Paradise: this game was incompatible with my sound card. The game itself worked fine, but something in the game's initial loading screen didn't work. If i switched sound off, the game loaded - but that was useless. It was a well known problem - lots of people posted fixes, all of which involved bypassing the loading screen.
I tried various methods, the only one that worked for me was a No CD Patch.
Game 4:
Ghost Master
A cheap strategy game on steam,
Game 5: Crysis
This SECUROM game originally came with 5 activations, and no way to extend that. There was a de-authorization tool, so you could remove the current activation - but I only found out about this after I ran out of activations. No good to me then. (This was one of the first games I had problems with, so I wasn;t aware of the de-authorization tools, etc. I still think they are stupid: if all games did this and I have, say, 20 games and want to move to a new rig, I have to hunt down deauthorization tools for 20 different games?)
I loved the game enough that I bought it and Warhead steam in a pack (for about £5), but both had the 5 activation limit problem.
Fortunately around the time of Crysis 2 coming out, they upped the allowed activations for these games to 50. That should keep me going for a while.
Game 6: Dirt 2 (more specifically, the ever-loved GFWL).
My first GFWL game. When i tried to install it, it told em it was installing GFWL, and would now shut down. I then waited for it to finish, and started the game up again - and it gave a message saying an update for GFWL needed to be installed. It seemed to install and shut down. So I started it up again], and... another install needed?
It turned out it wasn't installing the update, but just kept trying. The solution was to close the game down, use a browser to go to the GFWL site, download the update and install it manually. THEN the game would start.
Game 7: Batman Arkham Asylum (and GFWL)
Some months later - I run BAA for the first time, and am told, GFWL needs to install an update. I let it proceed, start the game up again, and get the same message.
I finally remember what happened last time (admittedly, after much swearing and retries), and do it manually outside of the game. And now it works.
Games 8: Numerous games, Steam Offline Mode
I'm one of those for whom steam offline mode rarely works when needed. Yes, if I remember to manually switch steam into offline mode first, then start it up again, it usually works. But I went through a period where my internet connection was flaky, and would often drop me offline. This lasted for several months.
In this instance, steam would politely inform me that offline mode code not be started because steam couldn't detect an internet connection.
None of the fixes posted online worked for me, and I got so frustrated, i came close to giving up on steam and and commercial games, and going back to pirating all my games.
Then my ISP fixed the connection, and that dark temptation passed
Those are the ones I remember off the top of my head.
All of those problems either would not have happened with the pirate version (no GFWL or activation limit, no need to check steam servers) or needed 'pirate' solutions to solve.
Chronicles of Riddick: Uses TAGES with limited number of activations. One week just after I got this, I was having problems with hardware, and had to reinstall windows from an image several times speread over that week. After each reinstall, I started up Riddick (having to reactivate it through steam) and started to play. The last time, it wouldn't activate - I had run out of activations.
There's no de-activation tool, and I contacted Steam, who directed me to Atari, who directed me to TAGES who said they don't undo deactivations and sent me back to Atari, who sent me back to TAGES, etc.
Atari's poor support was pretty well known on their boards.
The riddick game now has a note on the steam page that activations are restored after 30 days, that wasn't there then but i picked it up in the forums. And waited. After a month, no new activations. Two months, no new activations. I contacted atari and tages again, got the run around again, and gave up on it.
Maybe a year later, something reminded me of it and tried again, and I was able to install it. I haven't played it though, have lost interest.
Titan Quest/Immortal throne: Bought through steam. There's a big community fan pack that improves the game. Every time I install this, it runs exactly once. After that run, steam updates the game (even with update disabled) and the fan patch is disabled.
The only way I found to fix this was to copy the files to another folder, and use a No CD Key.
---
Game 3:
Burnout Paradise: this game was incompatible with my sound card. The game itself worked fine, but something in the game's initial loading screen didn't work. If i switched sound off, the game loaded - but that was useless. It was a well known problem - lots of people posted fixes, all of which involved bypassing the loading screen.
I tried various methods, the only one that worked for me was a No CD Patch.
Game 4:
Ghost Master
A cheap strategy game on steam,
Game 5: Crysis
This SECUROM game originally came with 5 activations, and no way to extend that. There was a de-authorization tool, so you could remove the current activation - but I only found out about this after I ran out of activations. No good to me then. (This was one of the first games I had problems with, so I wasn;t aware of the de-authorization tools, etc. I still think they are stupid: if all games did this and I have, say, 20 games and want to move to a new rig, I have to hunt down deauthorization tools for 20 different games?)
I loved the game enough that I bought it and Warhead steam in a pack (for about £5), but both had the 5 activation limit problem.
Fortunately around the time of Crysis 2 coming out, they upped the allowed activations for these games to 50. That should keep me going for a while.
Game 6: Dirt 2 (more specifically, the ever-loved GFWL).
My first GFWL game. When i tried to install it, it told em it was installing GFWL, and would now shut down. I then waited for it to finish, and started the game up again - and it gave a message saying an update for GFWL needed to be installed. It seemed to install and shut down. So I started it up again], and... another install needed?
It turned out it wasn't installing the update, but just kept trying. The solution was to close the game down, use a browser to go to the GFWL site, download the update and install it manually. THEN the game would start.
Game 7: Batman Arkham Asylum (and GFWL)
Some months later - I run BAA for the first time, and am told, GFWL needs to install an update. I let it proceed, start the game up again, and get the same message.
I finally remember what happened last time (admittedly, after much swearing and retries), and do it manually outside of the game. And now it works.
Games 8: Numerous games, Steam Offline Mode
I'm one of those for whom steam offline mode rarely works when needed. Yes, if I remember to manually switch steam into offline mode first, then start it up again, it usually works. But I went through a period where my internet connection was flaky, and would often drop me offline. This lasted for several months.
In this instance, steam would politely inform me that offline mode code not be started because steam couldn't detect an internet connection.
None of the fixes posted online worked for me, and I got so frustrated, i came close to giving up on steam and and commercial games, and going back to pirating all my games.
Then my ISP fixed the connection, and that dark temptation passed
Those are the ones I remember off the top of my head.
All of those problems either would not have happened with the pirate version (no GFWL or activation limit, no need to check steam servers) or needed 'pirate' solutions to solve.
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You've never lived
+1
Heroes of Might & Magic V - Bought game on Friday night, couldn't play until Monday morning because the activation servers were down all weekend for 'maintenance'.
Of course, GFWL on any game that it's packaged with - numerous slow updates, constant restarts, poor connection, horrible piece of nasty bull**** software that makes me want to cry. Loved Arkham Asylum, can't get motivated to play City because of how long it took to finally get into the game - played about 10 mins and haven't touched it since.
Of course, GFWL on any game that it's packaged with - numerous slow updates, constant restarts, poor connection, horrible piece of nasty bull**** software that makes me want to cry. Loved Arkham Asylum, can't get motivated to play City because of how long it took to finally get into the game - played about 10 mins and haven't touched it since.
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ok smarty pants, name me 10 non-sequels games that are mainstream in the last 10 years, that are original and have changed the face of gaming and improved the field.
My copy of Batman AA no longer works because it says I have gone over my activations; only ever installed it on 1 PC.
Cannot play Burnout Paradise because Origin says the key has already been used; it has, by me.
Could not play Anno 2070 retail for 36 hours after purchase because the Ubi activation servers were down.
DRM is a joke where the paying customer is concerned. Interesting that most of the companies run by non-suits have no DRM or DRM that works (basic Steam or one-time online activation).
Cannot play Burnout Paradise because Origin says the key has already been used; it has, by me.
Could not play Anno 2070 retail for 36 hours after purchase because the Ubi activation servers were down.
DRM is a joke where the paying customer is concerned. Interesting that most of the companies run by non-suits have no DRM or DRM that works (basic Steam or one-time online activation).
Demon's Souls - showed there is still a huge market for gamers who don't want their hand held.
Resident Evil 4 - A sequel yes, but it was a total reboot and overhaul for gameplay, it changed gaming forever, showing that a radical change in gameplay can still hold over into a sequel.
Dead Rising - showed us that extreme, graphical things can be done, even on a console.
BLACK - modernized the ADS/semi-sim FPS genre and paved the way for Modern Warfare to bring it back to the limelight, showed people exactly how to squeeze every last drop of power from a console.
Crysis - introduced the concept and application of SSAO, showed the world what PC's can truly do, and opened a lot of console owners eyes. The biggest advancement in video game graphics, in history, period.
Mass Effect - first game with a first morality system that reached critical success.
Halo - first mainstream game to introduce a limit on weapons carried, also opened the door for games like Battlefield 3 with seamless melee/vehicle/gunplay combat.
Gears of War - Modernized the concept of cover & health regeneration.
Devil May Cry - one of the first, if not the first to show that an interesting and unique art style can launch a game into mass appraisal before the juicy gameplay is even considered.
Uncharted/Assassins Creed - ushered the way in for parkour and general climbing systems into video games.
Mirror's Edge - didn't reach the acclaim it deserved, but it showed that a first person shooter can be immensely enjoyable without ever even firing a gun.
Grand Theft Auto 3 - see Resident Evil 4. Bought open world and free roaming truly to the masses.
Operation Flashpoint - Bought the War Sim genre from a niché into a genre.
ArmA - Showed what is possible when you make an engine accessible and modable, even online.
Half-Life 2 - evolved the Source engine into the flexible masterpiece it is today, Valve dared to create a story driven, single player game in a genre that was almost exclusively multiplayer and they succeeded.
World of Warcraft - Too much to put into words.
DOTA - May of been a mod, but look what it's done. Most influental video game mod of all time second only to Counter Strike.
Portal/Left 4 Dead/Counter-Strike: Condition Zero - These showed how to use a game engine properly without breaking it or becoming stale.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - again, not a sequel, but a gameplay reboot, the rest is self explanatory.
Those are just the ones I can think of, although tbh in an industry that's almost 50 years old, expecting completely unique and brand new concepts to spring up regularly is incredibly unrealistic. To say gaming is rubbish now is ridiculous, this has been the best generation of gaming, ever. The new generation is almost here, how can you not be excited?
Just sounds like you're too old for video games tbh, and should find a new hobby, either that or move on with the times.
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Never had any real problems with DRM. I've never gone over any activation limits (and really don't see how some people can go over 5 activations, 3 perhaps but 5?!) and even uplay and gfwl havent really given me any problems. Perhaps I am just lucky.
Soldato
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This
Depends how often you reformat, it takes less than an hour to reformat Windows 7 and get it back up and running with drivers and essentials, my HDD has been reformatted 5 times in the last 6 months.
Formatting is as essential part of software maintenance IMO.
Sorry Oxy you just got owned.
dont have this problem, I pirate every game
kidding. But in all honesty I have started to pirate more not buy as many games as I used to. My Pre-2006 games library numbers in the hundreds.
My post 2006 library numbers below 20. Partly because I think games nowadays lack any depth or content like older games used to and partly because of all the unbelievable limitations that are placed on valid, authentically purchased games (i.e. DRM, Ubiplay, etc)
Vote with your cash.
kidding. But in all honesty I have started to pirate more not buy as many games as I used to. My Pre-2006 games library numbers in the hundreds.
My post 2006 library numbers below 20. Partly because I think games nowadays lack any depth or content like older games used to and partly because of all the unbelievable limitations that are placed on valid, authentically purchased games (i.e. DRM, Ubiplay, etc)
Vote with your cash.
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If gaming sucks, then why are you wasting your time in a gaming forum? I would suggest diverting your attention elsewhere.
I remember the game in your signature, and I tell you even through nostalgia rose tinted glasses it sucked. Hipster attitudes regarding the quality of today's gaming industry compared to the one of old is tiresome and generally inaccurate.
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Well aren't you clever.
Idiot trying to justify not spending money i.e. in reality you want to keep your cake and eat it.
Suprised nobodys mentioned starforce, the single worst drm ever.
I have boxed originals that i won't install because i know it's on the disk.
Colin mcrea 2005 is a real bugbear of mine, gog had it SF free before they withdrew it, unfortunatley i missed it, so im stuck fudged with the original i want to play but never will.
Only other instance where drm has got in the way would be elite frontier, i got my boxed original but not having to type a key word from the manual when docked at station with the bbs cracked release was easier
I have boxed originals that i won't install because i know it's on the disk.
Colin mcrea 2005 is a real bugbear of mine, gog had it SF free before they withdrew it, unfortunatley i missed it, so im stuck fudged with the original i want to play but never will.
Only other instance where drm has got in the way would be elite frontier, i got my boxed original but not having to type a key word from the manual when docked at station with the bbs cracked release was easier
didn't so much screw me over but where something used for piracy was useful!
going back to the days of BF2, I remember when I first got it.... couldn't put it down! It had a verification to start up the game where it would check there was a legit CD in the drive.... every time!!!! I mean, after the start you could remove the disc but for that load up, no disc...no play....
this is fine... but when you have it in the drive basically 24/7, it takes its toll on the disc.
stress marks started to propagate from the central hole and soon enough cracks started to appear. so In fear of losing the disc i had a look for a no-cd patch. and there was one! now my copy was 100% legit, still have the case and cd (tho pretty badly cracked) but this piracy tool was very handy to preserve the life of the disc should i ever need to instal again.
Now ofc it's built in with the end patch to not need a disc.
I can't really think of any other games I've had issues with in DRM sense. just no-cd's as discs get broken for what ever reasons.... why should I have to buy the game again when I have a legit copy.
going back to the days of BF2, I remember when I first got it.... couldn't put it down! It had a verification to start up the game where it would check there was a legit CD in the drive.... every time!!!! I mean, after the start you could remove the disc but for that load up, no disc...no play....
this is fine... but when you have it in the drive basically 24/7, it takes its toll on the disc.
stress marks started to propagate from the central hole and soon enough cracks started to appear. so In fear of losing the disc i had a look for a no-cd patch. and there was one! now my copy was 100% legit, still have the case and cd (tho pretty badly cracked) but this piracy tool was very handy to preserve the life of the disc should i ever need to instal again.
Now ofc it's built in with the end patch to not need a disc.
I can't really think of any other games I've had issues with in DRM sense. just no-cd's as discs get broken for what ever reasons.... why should I have to buy the game again when I have a legit copy.
It would do you good to take a step back and try to understand what is being said before getting gung-ho about a point you so clearly missed.
The topic of this thread is about the relative obstacles and/or difficulties facing purchasers of authentic games versus the relative ease and convenience of having gone with a pirated version of the same game. Hence the OP's gripe.
In relation to this, I was making a point that I don't buy as many games anymore compared to how much I used to because of such security measures, as well as generally what I perceive to be a lack of quality. If you are going to quote me, I'd appreciate it if you'd quote the entire paragraph so as to maintain its context.
And while I have admited to pirating more games now, I still don't pirate and KEEP any game which I like. I will buy a game immediately if I like it and hence my current collection has about 20 or so recent games. The rest get DELETED forever. Not that this is the point or even concerns you.
Needless to say I don't appreciate being called an idiot for expressing an opinion, certainly not by someone who by the sound of it still belongs in a classroom.
Take care
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Tages have reset mine twice now without a single issue with Riddick.