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StarForce in focus again


Slaughter

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On related copy protection news:

Elder Scroll IV: Oblivion has no copy protection on the DVD. It does however have a simple CD check.

 

This means you can make backups of the disk, or use a disk image with something like Game Drive or similar and the game will still run. :D This will ensure your DVD will be safe from scratches in years to come.

 

I'm liking Bethesda more and more... first they create a good game... and then they do this.

THANK YOU BETHESDA!!!

 

Link to the elder scrolls forum posts about copy protection: https://www.elderscrolls.com/forums/index.p...ic=278496&st=20

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I like the idea of serials only and the attitude of Stardock as a company. However it got some obvious flaws, but finding a perfect solution is probably far away at the moment.

 

I got a copy of GalCiv 2 here myself, it's a great game and I really enjoy it. Especially after some of the updates that are available. But the thing is..it's my friends copy.

 

How? He simply gave me the cd, and as soon as there's a new patch, he downloads and sends it to me. You don't have to be a genious to figure out that 'solution' to the problem, it was the easiest "crack"-job ever. Sharing without boundaries.

 

..but for the first time ever, I actually felt bad about it. Strange..isn't it? How something all of a sudden is bad when there's no object in the way, as if stealing from the bank is right, but stealing from a helpless senior is wrong.

 

I ended up buying the game yesterday, and this is hopefully what more 'pirates' like me will start doing.

 

Cheers to Stardock

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  • 4 weeks later...

I think Starforce has turned into something that will be considered bad by gaming communities and developers - just by rumour.

 

No matter how hard they might prove that they've improved or optimized their methods people will still be screaming.

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Of course now the question is... will the replacement copy protection software Ubi-soft use be any better.

It certainly can't be any worse. No other copy protection scheme on this planet can boast of screwing up your computer! :mad:

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  • 1 month later...

Does starforce provide protection against piracy? Hell no. It's just a matter of how badly people want the game to be cracked as to whether a particular game gets cracked or not. If you want a game with copy protection that wont be cracked make a game that doesn't appeal to the technical savy like barbie wonderland or something.

 

The fact that information is easy to reproduce is a two way streak. Sure you can get rich making a video game because the variable costs are very small. Because a video game is nothing but information. But thats exactly what makes it so easy to steal. If it wasn't for music being able to be broken down into information and freely distributed, then musicians would ALL still be making poor wages serving those few people they could without such technology, ie the people who could hear their voice without any sound systems. What we are seeing today is that musicians want to be able to serve the entire planet by singing a song once, yet want to charge the same amount to every person served as if they were back in the village tavern. This is an abhorration of capitolism.

 

Eventually what we are going to have to do is rethink concepts like intellectual property. It is mutually exclusive with capitolism anyways- which depends on a free flow of information to work correctly. It may be harder to understand this regarding video games and music, but take pension plans for example. Lets say you figure out how to best make employment at your company competitive (such that you attract better people) while making the best use of your limited resources. But you go to implement the system and get a cease and desist letter from some financial services company claiming copywright infringement. They patented the system or mathematical formula that drives the system you discovered!

 

Now good people don't want to work for you unless you pay these people whatever they demand to use this superior pension system. Maybe you can't afford it even though your company will eventually fail without it... which means higher bars to entry, which means less competition. It means more of the consumers dollars are being misdirected into the pockets of this financial services company who weren't even necessarily the first to discover this technique but rather the first to patent it. More uneven distribution of wealth.

 

Sure I could have used a simpler example like someone patenting gravity and sueing anyone who didn't pay royalties on things that fall. But this example is realistic.

 

I think the model that will eventually be used is a services based model like stardock. IE you could make your own pension plan, but the financial services company is better at it than you and can come set it up at your company easier than you could. If they charge you less than what it would cost you in time and money to do it yourself then it is worth it.

 

It is really the same thing with music and video games. It is human nature which makes a particular song fun to listen to, and the singer didn't invent human nature. It is only because there are so many different songs that can be made that are fun to listen to that it hasn't become obvious that intellectual property is a problematic concept.

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Ah the Smartmeister is back :P

 

Loved this response to Mr Smart on this thread: https://www.star-force.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=765&st=0

 

(James @ Mar 17 2006, 04:41 PM)

Watch out, he's got a Ph. D and he's not afraid to use it!

 

Цитата(DSmart*3000AD* @ Mar 17 2006, 02:41 PM) *

I use Starforce in my two latest products. NONE of install base have ever reported a problem with it.

 

 

Given how badly designed your games are, Starforce is the least of your install base's worries.

 

:P

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To slightly paraphrase what the StarForce moderator said later in that thread:

Don't listen to the nasty peope Dayrock PHD, we still wub you for blindly supporting our product!

 

I dunno, I'm leaning towards the Starforce folks' point of view here. I think we need a "We wub Dayrock" thread... whaddya think? :P

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