de-rez: The Final Days of the Man Responsible for SecuROM
- Thread starter de-rez
- Start date
LMAO
That was quality, nice and long. I still wanna see the next part of Daniel's Story though, that was some funny stuff.
That was quality, nice and long. I still wanna see the next part of Daniel's Story though, that was some funny stuff.
A) I am not certain, but if your memory was completely wiped out, you would no longer count as an install, and so you could re-installbroadband said:
B) Even if for some reason it still remembered that install, you either de-authorize that computer, or send an E-Mail to EA. They'd be fine with it, since you're just trying to install to an already authorized computer
C) On a side note, it's harder to take you seriously when you don't capitalize your words or use apostrophes. The nice thing about a forum is that, unlike a chatroom, you don't have to type really fast, and so you can take time to proofread your post. I'm not saying this as an insult (since the argument you made was fine), but it's just something to think about.
I don't think it's simultaneous installs that they limit. It's any install. Any installation counts against your total, and while emailing EA secures you a maximum of one more install (sometimes they reject even that), after installing the game so many times, you have to buy a new license, for the game's full cost, to be able to install the game again.Dramus said:
A) It does still count as being installed. They way it works is by creating a registry entry, and then checking if that entry is there. Reformatting your computer or cleaning the registry (which is just good practice for keeping your PC running smoothly) after un-installing the game deletes that entry. Every new registry entry it makes counts as a new install. Even if that entry is still present, if you change something in your system it still sees it as a new computer.Dramus said:
B) Up until recently, you couldn't de-authorise installs, and the average time for getting a reply from EA is 3-4 business days. Even when you do get a reply, there's still a very good chance they'll refuse you.
Besides that, Securom installs itself at the same level as hardware drivers, meaning that a hacker only has to use one of the numerous security holes in Securom to gain full control over your computer. Then there's also the way it's installed without your knowing and can stop your game from working if it detects certain programs installed on your computer.
Sounds like its similar to Ford filling the chassis of their cars with lead shot so no-one would buy em second hand, but not telling you, so you don't know why you're getting such lousy gas mileage all of a sudden.
I'm looking at this from a point of ignorance when it comes to piracy, but surely a pirated game has all this DRM stuff stripped out doesn't it?
Therefore making a pirated version of a game both free and better? Illegal and damaging to the industry , sure, but selling a worse version at full price just doesn't sound like good business practice to me.
I'm looking at this from a point of ignorance when it comes to piracy, but surely a pirated game has all this DRM stuff stripped out doesn't it?
Therefore making a pirated version of a game both free and better? Illegal and damaging to the industry , sure, but selling a worse version at full price just doesn't sound like good business practice to me.
I thoroughly enjoyed this (enough to get stares in the office from the laughing), and I can tolerate waiting for Daniel 3 if this is the quality of work I'll be seeing while I wait.
And now every Friday too, I hope the tighter timescales don't cause the quality to drop!
And finally, have a gold star for the line about needing 10,000 rounds of ammunition if you work for EA. Nice work Mr. Slack, nice work.
And now every Friday too, I hope the tighter timescales don't cause the quality to drop!
And finally, have a gold star for the line about needing 10,000 rounds of ammunition if you work for EA. Nice work Mr. Slack, nice work.
IMO DRM methods are a necessary evil to allow content producers to make a profit, and hence stay in business and continue to produce content. Some DRM methods are better than others, but honest paying customers shouldn't really mind using a 'good' DRM method. Of course, some people will always argue that DRM is bad and reduces your freedom/rights/etc/etc - what they really mean to say is "I pirate content, so please make it easy for me to do so".
I don't mind DRM if it can guarantee me three things:the_geordie said:
- I don't have to have the CD in the drive.
- I don't have a limit on how many times I can install the game I PAYED FOR!
- I don't have to deal with some kind of root program bullshit that logs information about what I do on my computer.
Unless I'm mistaken most games are cracked the day after the official release. If that's all DRM can do then it's more about inconveniencing your paying customers than preventing piracy. : P
i) Why wouldnt you want the CD in the drive? - you have bought the CD, and you have a Drive!!Dectilon said:
ii) An original CD based DRM would allow you to install it many times, as long as you don't object to (i).
iii) These programs are not designed to 'snoop any personal data' so why should you object?
No content producer would implement a DRM to "inconvenience a paying customer". DRM's sole purpose is to try and reduce piracy - a noble cause IMO. (BTW, I'm a paying customer, not a content producer!).
I still think that anyone against DRM is condoning piracy - why else would you be against it?
Any DRM system involving online activation inherently has an external point of failure -- if the server is down/overloaded, you can't install/play your game. If the company goes out of business, you can't install/play your game. If the company just decides to stop supporting it (and don't say it won't happen -- look at what's happened with music DRM), you can't install/play your game. If someone at the company takes a dislike to you (eg. something you said on a forum somewhere), you can't install/play your game. If you forget to run (or can't, due to system failure) the deauth tool before you reformat/upgrade (which will take HOURS once lots of games start using these), then you're one step closer to not being able to install/play your game. See the pattern yet?
This is ok if you go into it as a subscription/rental model (eg. GameTap, MMOs) where you know up-front that you're paying some small amount repeatedly for continued access, and the access is tied to a specific online account. But paying full retail price for a rental? Nobody in their right mind would want to do that.
I don't mind the systems that require the disc to be in the drive, but I can understand the viewpoint of those who do -- if you have a laptop, it's more of an inconvenience to lug around the discs for the games you might want to play, especially when no actual game data gets loaded from the disc and it's being used purely as a "key". I don't mind the systems that require you to enter a complicated key (provided with the game, entirely offline). I do mind it when they start to say "you can't run that program before playing the game" (eg. many versions of SecuROM object to Process Explorer, which is simply a better Task Manager, made by Microsoft, and not a hacking tool at all). I do mind it when they use online authentication, because that changes the basis of the purchase as mentioned above, essentially turning it into a very expensive rental.
And given that cracks often come out at or before release (SPORE was cracked at least two days before its US release), the only thing that DRM does do is to inconvenience paying customers and try to deny them resale rights (killing the second-hand game market). Is that a "noble cause"?
This is ok if you go into it as a subscription/rental model (eg. GameTap, MMOs) where you know up-front that you're paying some small amount repeatedly for continued access, and the access is tied to a specific online account. But paying full retail price for a rental? Nobody in their right mind would want to do that.
I don't mind the systems that require the disc to be in the drive, but I can understand the viewpoint of those who do -- if you have a laptop, it's more of an inconvenience to lug around the discs for the games you might want to play, especially when no actual game data gets loaded from the disc and it's being used purely as a "key". I don't mind the systems that require you to enter a complicated key (provided with the game, entirely offline). I do mind it when they start to say "you can't run that program before playing the game" (eg. many versions of SecuROM object to Process Explorer, which is simply a better Task Manager, made by Microsoft, and not a hacking tool at all). I do mind it when they use online authentication, because that changes the basis of the purchase as mentioned above, essentially turning it into a very expensive rental.
And given that cracks often come out at or before release (SPORE was cracked at least two days before its US release), the only thing that DRM does do is to inconvenience paying customers and try to deny them resale rights (killing the second-hand game market). Is that a "noble cause"?
