The small game store I bought this from (well actually, I traded two games in exchange for SoaSE and another game) has a policy of not taking used copies of games that use DRM methods like SoaSE does. They obviously won't take anything by Valve since they, like everyone else, know what the deal is with Steam. But how the fuck are they supposed to be aware of every single DRM-crippled game in existence? The packaging of SoaSE has no description of its DRM system, no warning that a used copy is as useless as a bucket of diarrhea. If Ironclad and Stardock want to fuck over people who buy used games they could at least have the fucking decency of warning them about it. I'm pretty sure I'll get a refund from the store, but what if I didn't? Maybe the developers and publishers have houses built of gold bricks and the flesh of illegal immigrants, but I sure as fuck do not.

I keep hearing that SoaSE doesn't use DRM, but that's obviously a bold-faced lie, or perhaps some kind of myth, sort of like how people still keep claiming that you can't play Crysis without a $5000 PC, or that we only use 10% our brains. It's all obvious bullshit, yet people keep buying into it. I guess when you tell someone that SoaSE has no DRM you're supposed to wink at fellow players in a knowing, conspiratorial way. SoaSE has as much DRM as any game from EA or Ubisoft, but at least you won't hear people claim that Spore has no DRM. I feel like I'm watching the emperor in his new clothes, except I'm the only one who can see he's naked.

The thing about traditional copy protection is that if I sell the game I can't play the installation anymore, and I can forget about reinstallations. Kind of like how if I sell my bicycle I can't ride it anymore. That's fair and makes sense. But with SoaSE I can sell the physical copy without any loss of functionality whatsoever! Shit, I can even download it again and again free of charge. That's pretty fucked up because even as you're using crippling DRM that renders used copies inert, you also encourage people to sell their physical copies because there's no disadvantage to doing so.

These DRM scams are just pure fucking greed. Not only do you want to keep doing business as usual by selling physical copies in stores, but you also want to prevent people from reselling those copies so you get even more money, or at least get to gleefully fuck over the unwashed lower classes who aren't rolling around in money. What's more, it's all tied to some program that controls access and/or updates to the game, just in case people forget that they aren't allowed to really own anything, only their corporate masters are. Newsflash: Steam is a warning, not an example to be followed.

PC gaming is quickly becoming unbearable, and the additional cost of console games is more than enough to compensate for their lack of DRM bullshit. Piracy is the only thing that can save PC gaming, because only piracy seems to send the message that people are fed up with DRM and "licensing" games rather than buying them. If SoaSE is supposed to be the great hope of PC gaming (yes, people really seem to think this way) then I assure you that PC gaming is well and truly fucked. I'll probably get SoaSE from The Pirate Bay, since it's the only reasonable choice given to me, and I'm not going to purchase anything from Stardock et al in the future.

Think a bit before you post. I believe stardock has a very light protection (CD key only) while others screw you over with tons of protectionprograms.

Also you can perfectly install and update the game without! CD key (just not to the maximum) and even play it. The only thing it prevents is online play.

It's how I got this game, loaned it from a friend and isntalled it. Enjoyed it so much I decided to buy it from the store to support a company that doesn't screw over it's customers with security programs.

online sorta is the only satisfying thing in soase,  i gotta do it online..   nobody in the neighborehood (did i spell that wright?? )

so i'd be pretty screwed if i wasnt able to play online,   i love the fact that soase is DRM free,  but im confused about why were unable to transfer rights,

if you dont like a product you should be allowed to exchange it, either from where u bought it or with someone else,   apparently i gotta give epiclulz some support,  cuase maybe peopel who earn from this policy are planning to build ice-hotels in the Saharah, but we certainly arent,  and i fully understand peopel being upset about the fact they bought something with the thought "hell  if i dont like it, i got a guy who desperatly wants something like this" only to find out they'd have to fully share their accounts etc to do so.

it's just as big a scam as not being able to read the EULA or manual b4 buying.....

so a word to whoever is responsible,  you dont put such inportant information as "Impulse distribution system required to get pathces in technical data,  NOBODY bothers looking there, unless u have a damn good reason to,   and even if we did read it, it'd be to late,  cuase we already bought it,   i would've forgiven you would it have been highlited on the site b4 the release... but it wasnt....

yeah ofc it was ON the site,  but u cant expect us to go look for some data we dont know even exists

As a general rule, anyone who buys a used PC game these days should be fully aware that it might not come with a CD key or at least one that hasn't been registered and thus that they might not be able to play online or get updates.  This is why I am very leery of purchasing used PC games and have been for years; this is old news.

Nothing is preventing you from playing the game.  You can install sins on over 9000 computers if you wanted to.  You just can't get the patches which is rightly so. 

Why would I play a game that I can't update and can't play online? And why is it "rightly so" that I can't update a game that I've legally purchased?

Preventing people from purchasing used copies of the game in order to maximize profit is greed, and there is no way you can argue against that. Being able to buy, sell and trade items without hassle is normal with everything else, so what the fuck makes game developers so unique that their high and mighty video games cannot possibly be sold and traded by us lowly consumers? Society is not and should not be based on maximizing the profit margins of corporations. Consumers have rights too, and corporations can't just do whatever the fuck they want because they don't like losing money.

Except I already bought a license. It came with the game.

No, you bought the physical disc that contained the game data.

If the disc is not required to play the game I could theoretically install and update the game for myself, and then "sell" the game to a friend and he could install and update the game and then "sell" the game to yet a third party and the cycle continues.  Are you going to tell me that this is an excellent business model to ensure that the game deveolpers receive payment for their work?  Again I must point out that nothing is preventing you from playing the game "as is" from the disk that you have purchased.  Many warranties do not transfer to second owners of a variety of products.  Additional support in the form of patches is not available to a purchaser of a used game for the fact that it can never be verified that you in fact did purchase it and didn't just get a cd key from a friend or by other means.  If you could install the game and patch it, and then sell it to another there would be no need of a CD key in the first place. 

This issue is nothing new in the history of PC games.  Move on and buy another copy and get your money back from your friend if playing the most recent patch is so important.  Many EULA's are not transferrable to a second party.  This isn't some new scheme to hurt you as the consumer.   If there was no cd-key required to update you can be sure that this game would have had far less sales which makes it more difficult for the developer to make patches and expansions and sequels further down the line.  Stardock and Ironclad are not trying to cheat you out of your used purchase.  You can play 1.05 to your hearts content.  Some used games won't let you play them at all so perhaps you should consider yourself as fortunate. 

You have all the rights you need to run the software contained on the disk.  You bought the media but not the license.   There is no instance of DRM software which prevents you from installing the fully functioning program on every PC you run into.  The question is, how bad do you want v1.12?  Bad enough to buy a license for the game? 

I smell a communist

plz give an example of just 1 produkt WORLD WIDE that retains it's value 100% lol you are a joke, QQ i want the same as ppl that paid x2 of what i did, take a breath and listen to yourself

this is not a game made for your enjoyment, it's a game made by a privat company to make a profit, saying you want all services without paying said company a cent is just fail on so many levels that this post will most likely be quoted for lul's for years to come

This is fantastic/ I love being right! Let me quote myself

you say(and I quote you)

Let me quote you again to respond to that

Now it might just be me, but I think you have deteriorated so far that you are beyond help. My last bit of advice to you.

Sell your PC, lock your door and then the only one you didnt use GFYS

Your friend had the game

Your friend had access to the EULA contained within

Your friend is the greedy asshole who ripped you off