Actually, it was a very real problem, but affected only HP or Compaq users with AMD chips. This is because the OEM vendors used images of the OS that were configured for Intel chips. The update to SP3 would then result in BSODs for people that had AMD cihips in their machines. MS has since released an update to fix it, IIRC.
I actually feel bad for Obsidian. They were rushed by Lucas Arts for KotOR2 and they were rushed by Atari for NWN2. As a result, they released two games that were in an unfortunate state. LA wouldn't let them do much for KotOR2, but they're really doing a lot of patching and fixing for NWN2, which I think bodes well for them. I'm interested to see what their upcoming titles look like (The Aliens RPG and their spy-based game, Alpha Protocol). I think the proof of what they're really cap
Good point. However, it still makes be laugh. This 'copy protection' is invariably touted on publisher or developer websites as necessary 'to protect our product from piracy'. Yeah, that works.
I never personally minded being required to have the disc in the drive. Don't get me wrong, it's wonderful that you don't have to, but it was never a big sticking point for me. What I hate is bad DRM. Stardock's model is a prime example of good DRM that doesn't punish the customer, does not impose arbitrary and artificial limitations on your use of it, and actually gives people a reason to have a legit copy of the game. The DRM included on Mass Effect, on the other hand, is a
[quote]i think i will, but i just want spore so bad. [/quote] I feel the same way about Dragon Age (I'm hoping by the time it's released EA will have come to their senses, but I have my doubts) and I felt the same way about Mass Effect.
Yeah, it would be great if EA grabbed a clue from this, and I also hope 2K's sales figures rise as a result of this. If I didn't already own the game, I'd be tempted to buy it, although it still has the SecuROM crap with it, as Kryo noted. Of note: you still must activate the game when you first install it and you still need the disc in the drive. But yeah, huge step in the right direction.
Again, the privacy issue is not the main problem to me, just a part of the bigger picture. You seem to be dwelling on that. I, like you, want more information on it (but, sadly, EA is not very forthcoming when it comes to answering questions about it). And yes, if Stardock decided to put this type of DRM on their games, I'd stop buying them. Would I stop playing Sins? No, because it doesn't have this DRM. If it were somehow to be patched into Sins, I'd certainly stop patching.
PP, I've read a number of articles and studies that indicate our society on the whole is lacking in the proper amount of sleep. People are walking zombies for the most part.
[quote]Coelocanth - Could you please give us a link to this persons finding?[/quote] Sure, right here: [link="http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=631516&forum=125&sp=45"]WWW Link[/link]. The 4th post down by Sniper11 on page 4. [quote] To create a software and/or hardware key depends on quite a few factors and did this person verify this multiple times or was it triggered by something else? I would find it hard to swallow that its reading the product
[quote]The whining about Securom is getting very tiresome. Yes, DRM is a pain, but the fact is so long as it's transparent, if the product is worth it, I will tolerate it.[/quote] Problem is, it's not transparent. I've been closely following the Mass Effect situation and so far no one can tell what, exactly, will cost you an activation. Some people have burned all 3 of their activations and can't figure out exactly why. EA won't tell anyone exactly what hardware changes will trigger an
I can't speak from personal experience, but I've read on a couple other game forums that the demo [i]does[/i] have SecuROM attached to it. I'm personally wary of demos ever since I had StarForce installed on my machine after trying the King Kong demo a while back.
[quote]Will some please answer this for me.Do I have to buy the full creature creator or will it come with the game when it come out?[/quote] It comes with the game.
As noted, you're basically paying twice. I guess you could look at it as paying a fee to get the use of it early, and ultimately it's the consumer's decision on whether or not to pay that fee or wait the extra 3 months. But it does seem an underhanded practice. As a counterpoint to this practice, Obsidian released the NWN2 toolset for free 1 month before the game itself (if you had a pre-order code). You didn't have to pay extra for it, and it was the same toolset that came with the ga
[quote]One particular user by the name of riftguy has already used up all 3 of his activations, and E.A. is giving him a hard time with him and he's just frustrated trying to prove that he really does indeed OWN the copy of the game.[/quote] That guy's a saint, IMO. I'm amazed at the hoops EA 'support' has made him jump through so far and he's done all they asked, and he [i]still[/i] can't play his game (for those who don't know, he played the game for 2 days, left it for 10 days and wh
"so I can return [b]it[/b] if it's bad" I'd say just open it and have at it. Unless it completely trashes your computer, takes over your identity, has an affair with your cat, and blows up the neighbor's house, I'd say it will be worth the 5 bucks (no, I've never played it). I picked up the much-maligned MoO 3 for 5 bucks and felt it was well worth it.
I agree, GW. Hopefully the uproar with Mass Effect will have enough of an impact to get EA to back off with this DRM on their upcoming titles, but I'm not holding my breath. I was really looking forward to ME and Dragon Age (which is supposedly going to come out in Q4 this year), but with this DRM on it, I'm not buying.
So far there's been no indication that Spore will not come with the same DRM/'copy protection'. Vote with your wallets, people.
Mystik, I applaud your stance. I'm a little more tolerant, but I drew my line in the sand with the DRM they introduced with BioShock. Since Mass Effect came out with a similar scheme, I'm taking a pass on it (and I've made my opinion clear to BioWare) You have to draw the line somewhere. All I can say is it's a shame you'll miss out on NWN, as it's a great game and the sheer volume of community made modules available for it, as well as on-line servers, would keep you and your wife going for lite
It's ROGUE, dammit, [i]rogue[/i]!!! :( Just joking. :)
NWN 1 is a great game to play with a buddy/friend/wife. Unfortunately, you each need a separate copy to play. On the up side, you can get it cheap: 20 bucks for NWN and the two expansions (SoU and HotU), as well as 3 Premium Modules. To top it off, there are literally thousands of free fan-made modules to play, many of them of very good quality and a choice few that are better (IMO) than the stock campaigns. And there's also on-line multiplayer. Well worth the 40 dollar inves
The digital version has the same 'copy protection' that the retail version does, according to BioWare. Everything occurs in the background, but try to activate it more than three times and see what happens. As for them 'backing off', they did no such thing. All they did was drop the recurring 10 day authentication. You still have to activate the game on-online to play, you still get SecuROM with your install, and you're still limited to 3 activations before you have to ask EA to pretty
44, the same as a couple others here. Looks like us 'old dogs' are the majority in this thread at least. I should show this to my wife. She can't believe a grown man is into gaming on the PC (although she said she'd like us to get a Wii. For kids. Yeah, that's it... the kids. Heh).
Just take a look in any Future Shop or Best Buy. There are still plenty of PC games and lots of shelf space for them in those stores as well.
Could be good. However, I find most books based on games/movies/etc. are pretty poorly written and not worth the time to read them. If a good author would take up the project and come up with a decent story, I think there's some good material to work with though.
RPGs for me. Sins was my first kick at the Strategy can, and it's made a very good impression, so I picked up Gal Civ 2 and got a deal on Supreme Commander, so I bought that as well. Haven't yet played the latter two. Not a fan of FPS games, although I did make the mistake of buying BioShock (game was fun, the mistake was getting blindsided around by that ridiculous DRM on the game) and I got Far Cry free when I bought some hardware. I've not played Far Cry yet. But RPGs are nu
