Crysis Warhead activation limit

[snowdog]

On popular games multi-player has never really been cracked due to the need to connect to remote servers to play, you'll always end up getting banned if you use a crack on the online version of games.

Can you use an example please, while I know some games that can't have multiplayer if cracked ( simply because even before you get to an option that lets you select lan, you need to log in on an account that needs a legal cd key, like in MoH:Airbourne), I have yet to be banned from using a crack online...

And in fact, except in supreme commander, I have yet to find any game check over your .exe before coming online.

I am not yet confident enough to say you're saying something you don't know for sure, but I've never heard of anyone being banned for using a crack or banned myself. And I would have noticed since I try most games before buying, also online if possible...

But what about ze multiplayer?

What about it? In all but a few games it works.

 

[Goldfingers]

My point is ... say EA release BF3 this year. Now if you played BF2 you'll know it needed to log onto an account etc, so couldn't be played on normal servers if it was cracked.

So you have all the problems with activation limits and there is nowt you can do about it as a crack gimps your gameplay.

I suppose the point I'am trying to make is drm is worse than your making out snowdog, and a crack is only really an option for pure singleplayer games - though personally it has not bothered me a great deal, especially with more and more games coming to steam.

 

[snowdog]

My point is ... say EA release BF3 this year. Now if you played BF2 you'll know it needed to log onto an account etc, so couldn't be played on normal servers if it was cracked.

Now you're saying something you don't know about.
You CAN create an account regardless if you have a legit copy or not, I have been playing bf2 with a non legit copy for ages. ( now I have a legit copy of bf2, could make a pic if you don't believe me). The only thing you needed to do is find a server that has the cd check removed (which is easy enough), that aside you get the exact same features as a retail copy, just without the cd check... BF2 is one of the easiest games to play mp on with a cracked copy actually.

Finally, I have grown bored with the battlefield genre, I don't even know if I would download it simply because every ea game in the past 2 years I have tries was a disappointment.

So you have all the problems with activation limits and there is nowt you can do about it as a crack gimps your gameplay.

No it doesn't.

I suppose the point I'am trying to make is drm is worse than your making out snowdog, and a crack is only really an option for pure singleplayer games - though personally it has not bothered me a great deal, especially with more and more games coming to steam.

It's an option for anything that has annoying DRM for me. But you have a point, I have got more legit games on steam than retail, simple because I can't even be arsed even cracking my games/disabling drm.

 

[Goldfingers]

Yes I shot myself in the foot there, as i rememberd after posting I had been playing with a friends copy of BF2 for aaaages before I bought it, i hoped you wouldn't have been knowledgeable enough to know and just accepted my point

However my point still stands, I mean what about Red alert 2 (ok it was pap, but lets pretend I love it) that surely checks everytime you play online? It would really gimp the game if you had to use a crack.

Edit: Right I know this for sure, Diablo 2 is impossible to play on online (on normal servers) with a crack, lets pretend EA released a similar game to this (entirely possible, I mean EA seem to release everything big these days) then there really would be no way of playing it with a crack - so it's not really a solution.

 

[snowdog]

RA2 only checks the cd key afaik (not 100% sure).
Diablo 2 I don't know, I never really play any mmo's.

If ea'd do that it wouldn't change much, the last game I played from them was indeed bf2, and even that became boring. In fact I haven't played any EA games online except 1942, bf2, mohaa and mohaa:spearhead.

But there's an alternative to cracks I'm sure you know, if a crack would not work online I'd simply resort to Mini-images. And although modern securom blacklists cd emulation, there are (quite simple) ways to go past that. And I'm pretty 99.9% sure no game ever checks much more than the cd key and .exe, once you're past the initial cd check (through means I can't name here) with a mini image you're good...

What I'm trying to come to is, whatever devs do to annoy me, I will try to filter it out as long as possible by any means necessary, I don't accept wasting 20 minutes for every game if I swap my cpu over... That aside I can accept drm most of the times, provided it's not an idiot that designed it. I have yet to crck my gta iv as it simply doesn't annoy me too much, the disc is always in my dvd drive and I don't have to think about it. If gta iv would have whined when I swapped my cpu's I would be the first one to crack the game...

Finally, some people seem to try to make people think, that DRM actually works, and that non genuine copy's are nerfed, without having even the tiniest bit of experience with pirating things... I am simple asking for explanation and examples, because afaik, they are saying stuff that simply isn't true, and it annoys me. The thread originally was about activation in warhead with it's limit and whining about hardware changes, people are trying to think it actually helps with piracy, but it doesn't help any more than the most basic cd key protection, it only keeps people of official servers... Therefore I am against a system like in Warhead, as afaik, it doesn't help a nickle with preventing piracy and is simply an annoyance for legit buyers, and it prolly even costs profit from EA, as they have to spend money on people answering the phone for new activation requests, they have to pay securom for rubbish that is just as easily circumvented as older protection software, and any experienced pirate will simply stay one... A change of strategy is needed, they need to make legit copy's more attractive, not try to make piracy less attractive, as that simply doesn't work.

 

[Goldfingers]

Well ok, GTA 4 is a great game, yet has DRM. I have no idea how you'd go about playing online normally with a crack. I mean even on the torrents it says "you can't play online " etc

I do have experience, i download games crack them etc but i was always under the impression you couldn't play cracked games online. I gotta be honest the only games i really play online are valve one tbh.

Ps. you obviously know some stuff, though are a little pretentious (not that that really matters) however your argument about BF2 was along the lines of "it's crap so I don't care", well surely that's just ignorance? People have racked up 1000's or hours on it! It was undoubtable a great game for many, many people.

 

[snowdog]

Well ok, GTA 4 is a great game, yet has DRM. I have no idea how you'd go about playing online normally with a crack. I mean even on the torrents it says "you can't play online " etc

I do have experience, i download games crack them etc but i was always under the impression you couldn't play cracked games online. I gotta be honest the only games i really play online are valve one tbh.

Ps. you obviously know some stuff, though are a little pretentious (not that that really matters) however your argument about BF2 was along the lines of "it's crap so I don't care", well surely that's just ignorance? People have racked up 1000's or hours on it! It was undoubtable a great game for many, many people.

In gta iv? Normally, because you can't play online on a downloaded copy because of not being able to make a Rockstar social club or live account, don't know wich one of the 2 but iirc either of the 2 ask for the cd key (or gives an error if you don't have a legit one) and that's the reason you can't play gta iv online, not because of the crack .

I never said BF is crap, I loved it, still think it's an okay game, I just got bored of it but most other EA games aren't too good imo . But in this day of games BF2 has it's fundamental problems ( a solid not destructible world being one of them, you broke your tank by driving into a wooden shed or over sandbags...).

 

[Goldfingers]

Ah well then, as you've shown a crack is not a "cover-all" solution as it dosen't work for GTA 4 it's pretty likely most new EA games will use a similar system where a crack isn't a solution.