Game Activation Uproar

killer_uk · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:01

Tried&Tested said:
No, that's two. You'll be fine.

Read the post a few up....would like to know the source though.

Off the official forums

Darkwave · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:02

Dear 2K Elizabeth,

How does this discourage piracy?

Sincerely yours,
Ulfhedjinn.

ergonomics · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:06

Ulfhedjinn said:
Dear 2K Elizabeth,

How does this discourage piracy?

Sincerely yours,
Ulfhedjinn.

maybe they want to keep track of how many times the average game is installed/uninstalled?

Darkwave · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:07

ergonomics said:
maybe they want to keep track of how many times the average game is installed/uninstalled?

Then they should do a bloody survey.

mark_t50 · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:09

Well, that's my order cancelled

trying to register on the official forums to register my dissatisfaction, they seem a bit busy at the moment for some reason.

It's a real shame, was looking forward to this, trying to decide if I can be bothered with the 360 version now, kinda prefer these types of games on pc.

div0 · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:10

Nullvoid said:
Well how can you prove that an anti-piracy features has or hasn't had an effect? They probably think in the same way as your post, "if we're paying good money for these features then how can they possibly not work?"

I think you're misunderstanding my point completely

Why would anyone pay money for something without someone 'proving' to them that it will benefit them?

You ask how you can 'prove' that anti-piracy features work. My point is simple. If a company is prepared to spend a large amount of cash implementing these features then you have to assume that someone has 'proved' they will benefit the company. The particular 'proof' may be up for debate, but there must be sufficient 'evidence' that this sort of thing does work - otherwise companies wouldn't bother.

Most large software companies implement some form of anti-piracy measures. As much as we may not like them due to additional annoying steps during installation/activation - if it was as simple as 'they have no effect on piracy' - then companies would simply not waste money implementing them.

I agree with Ulf's comments, that most current anti-piracy features only affect genuine buyers, as pirated versions aren't affected by the annoyances of Activation etc. BUT these anti-piracy features must be doing something to put off some people from pirating the software in the first place. Any profit-making organisation is going to want to see evidence of a return for their investment before deciding to spend real money on something. That includes software companies and anti-piracy features. The debate as to how much of an effect anti-piracy features have on reducing piracy is open to debate, but I think you have to accept that there must be sufficient 'evidence' of some reduction, because software companies are prepared to spend real money on implementing it.

sid · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:11

I'm gonna wait and see what happens before I buy,

This is a last minute scandal tbh.

I might buy a retail from the shops next week then.

sid

TriedandTested · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:32

sid said:
This is a last minute scandal tbh.

A scandal?! You really think that?!

Tell me how the limit of 2 PCs affects you?

I think the scandal is the pirates forcing the devs to employ such measures. You should be moaning at them, not the software company.

SS-89 · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:33

Ok let me get this straight then, at any one time you can have two copies of Bioshock installed whether it be on another partition or pc. If you uninstall say one of the copies you can reinstall and activate it again on the same or another PC. If you uninstall both you can install it again on the same pc or 2 completely different ones...

Am I on the right path here?

If this is the case then Its certainly much better than I initially thought, I hasten to add I was never going to cancel my preorder if it was only 2 activations, would have simply used alternate measures

.

NightSt@lk3r · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:33

Tried&Tested said:
A scandal?! You really think that?!

Tell me how the limit of 2 PCs affects you?

I think the scandal is the pirates forcing the devs to employ such measures. You should be moaning at them, not the software company.

totally agree, some people on here are right old drama queens.

SS-89 said:
Ok let me get this straight then, at any one time you can have two copies of Bioshock installed whether it be on another partition or pc. If you uninstall say one of the copies you can reinstall and activate it again on the same or another PC. If you uninstall both you can install it again on the same pc or 2 completely different ones...

Am I on the right path here?

seems to be the jist of it yep, from what i gether you can have 2 coppy's activated at any 1 time, uninstall 1 and it gets deactivated.

killer_uk · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:34

SS-89 said:
Ok let me get this straight then, at any one time you can have two copies of Bioshock installed whether it be on another partition or pc. If you uninstall say one of the copies you can reinstall and activate it again on the same or another PC. If you uninstall both you can install it again on the same pc or 2 completely different ones...

Am I on the right path here?

Yes, correct.

I really can't see what the problem here is.

SS-89 · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:34

Yep definitely feeling much better. Roll on tommorow when my copy arrives.

Shamikebab · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:36

This thread highlights the perfect example of forum overreaction. Ok its not great news, but i cant see it affecting that many people. People saying they aren't going to get it because of this are hilarious. I laugh at them if they're actually going to miss out on this game because of this. And if they're going to pirate it instead then they are absolute scum, because games like this come along once in a blue moon and they should be supported.

killer_uk · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:36

Shamikebab said:
This thread highlights the perfect example of forum overreaction. Ok its not great news, but i cant see it affecting that many people. People saying they aren't going to get it because of this are hilarious. I laugh at them if they're actually going to miss out on this game because of this. And if they're going to pirate it instead then they are absolute scum, because games like this come along once in a blue moon and they should be supported.

Totally agree

TriedandTested · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:37

Shamikebab said:
This thread highlights the perfect example of forum overreaction. Ok its not great news, but i cant see it affecting that many people. People saying they aren't going to get it because of this are hilarious. I laugh at them if they're actually going to miss out on this game because of this. And if they're going to pirate it instead then they are absolute scum, because games like this come along once in a blue moon and they should be supported.

Bravo!

Well said. Some people do get their knickers in a twist sometimes.

clapton is god · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:39

Galactic Civilizations II, Copy Protection, and Piracy

http://forums.galciv2.com/index.aspx?forumid=161&aid=106741&c=1

Darkwave · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:43

clapton is god said:
http://forums.galciv2.com/index.aspx?forumid=161&aid=106741&c=1

Think that link sums up my entire point in this thread.

mark_t50 · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:45

Tried&Tested said:
Bravo! Well said. Some people do get their knickers in a twist sometimes.

Maybe, but if enough people get their knickers in a twist and sales are affected, then maybe it'll make then think twice about doing stuff like this.

I've cancelled my order and will post on their forums to let them know why. It comes down to personal opinion I guess, some people aren't bothered, some people are. I can't be bothered to have to remember to uninstall the game every time I rebuild my system, and imho shouldn't have to.

Still, it's only a game, if they want to implement measures like this and risk sales then it is up to them. It's not the end of the world for me if I don't get to play Bioshock.

Kipper67 · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:45

Tried&Tested said:
A scandal?! You really think that?!

Tell me how the limit of 2 PCs affects you?

I think the scandal is the pirates forcing the devs to employ such measures. You should be moaning at them, not the software company.

Hypothetically - I have a PC down stairs in the lounge hooked up to a plasma and surround system, I have another upstairs in my "office" room hooked up to a 24" monitor and i have a top of the range laptop that i use for gaming/surfing in bed.

Oh and they all dual boot xp and vista .

I make that 6 activations I need for a scenario thats not too far from the truth. (BTW my name is Spie

)

Can i just ask you something? When you use the term "pirate" are you refering to people who might be in the scenario i've outlined above or do you mean the dedicated cracking groups and the people who leech off them or do you make no distinction ?

I'm asking as you seem to be oblivious to the view others are trying to get across that these type of restrictions are not getting in the way of those determined to crack the game and distribute it for free but are a major inconvenience for people who are willing to buy the game but perhaps want a bit of license in how they use the product by being able to install it on more than a couple of machines. It seems as anti-piracy becomes heavier and heavier they are just alienating those who are willing to pay for something and makes no difference to those who were never gonna buy it anyway.

Chronictank · 22 Aug 2007 at 16:46

Shamikebab said:
This thread highlights the perfect example of forum overreaction. Ok its not great news, but i cant see it affecting that many people. People saying they aren't going to get it because of this are hilarious. I laugh at them if they're actually going to miss out on this game because of this. And if they're going to pirate it instead then they are absolute scum, because games like this come along once in a blue moon and they should be supported.

Actually it highlights how poorly this has been publicised, the fact of the matter remains it took a employee to post on forum which the vast majority of userbase will not read nor have signed up to to get a definitive answer.. which to be frank is quite pathetic.

I for one was not told about the activation limit when i pre-ordered, in which case i could have made a informed decision of whether or not i purchased the product.

The game itself is also irrelevant, and doesnt even come into the picture so your point is mute, the game could have been pacman legends for all it matters its about the way they are going about the product activation.

THE WHOLE POINT is that there shouldnt be a limit to how many pc's i can install the game on provided i only play on 1 using 1 liscence at any time (as i assume you need a cd this is pretty much by default), it is my media and i should be allowed to install it on as many, and whenever i feel like it.
I dont know the legal ins and out's of it, but doesnt this breach statuatory rights?
Its not this case that worries me, its the fact that other publishers will follow suite as this will set the precident and eventually we will be locked down to 1 copy on 1 piece of hardware