CharmCityCrab
Chieftain
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2009
- Messages
- 7
[EDIT: I kept the original post here intact so that this thread would still make sense and people would understand what the replies are all about, but it turns out I was mistaken about some things, in part due to errors in the game's documentation on the auto-run file. Please see post 9 in this thread for details.]
I bought "Civilization 4: Complete" because it was advertised as DRM-free. The case for the game itself, when it arrived, even made a point of mentioning that the game was DRM-free.
This game is not DRM-free. For one thing, it requires that the DVD be present in the drive in order to play. For another, it seems to hide the installed game files so that they aren't viewable in the file system viewer.
I bought ever Civilization game that was made beginning with the original Civilization. When I bought the regular old Civilization 4 years ago, which in that case at least was honest and did not make the claim to be free of DRM, I said that would be the last DRM game I'd buy, because a bad patch forced me to reinstall from the CD, which was scratched, and I basically lost my money on the thing. I blame Firaxis and Take-Two for that, because I would have backed the game up to an external hard drive and so on and so forth had their DRM not prevented me from doing so and required a CD to be in the drive.
I decided that if I could back up my music, my video files, my word processing files, and so and on and so forth, and even some simple computer games I enjoy, there is no excuse for me not to be allowed to backup a game as expensive as Civilization 4 (At least expensive for me, someone who doesn't have a lot of money and usually plays old DOS games or simple modern open-source free games).
So, when I saw "Civilization 4: Complete" was claiming to be DRM-free, I rejoiced. I could buy the latest edition in my favorite game series one more time and keep it forever, just like I still have the original Civilization from 1991.
It turns out, the makers of the game lied. It's false advertising. I am now trying to decide whether it is worth my while to try to get my money back from the website that sold it to me. One thing is for sure, though -- I will never buy from Firaxis or Take-Two again. Civilization 4 is the end of the line for me as far as the Civilization series goes.
It's a shame, because I love Civilization. I'm essentially a non-gamer who is so enthusiastic about that particular game that I have all four of them, plus the two "Call To Power" spin-offs and a couple of other titles. But that's it for me. I hate DRM on principle, because it means I don't really own the game I pay for, but I hate being lied to even more. I was blatantly sold something on a false premise. It's beyond sleazy.
I bought "Civilization 4: Complete" because it was advertised as DRM-free. The case for the game itself, when it arrived, even made a point of mentioning that the game was DRM-free.
This game is not DRM-free. For one thing, it requires that the DVD be present in the drive in order to play. For another, it seems to hide the installed game files so that they aren't viewable in the file system viewer.
I bought ever Civilization game that was made beginning with the original Civilization. When I bought the regular old Civilization 4 years ago, which in that case at least was honest and did not make the claim to be free of DRM, I said that would be the last DRM game I'd buy, because a bad patch forced me to reinstall from the CD, which was scratched, and I basically lost my money on the thing. I blame Firaxis and Take-Two for that, because I would have backed the game up to an external hard drive and so on and so forth had their DRM not prevented me from doing so and required a CD to be in the drive.
I decided that if I could back up my music, my video files, my word processing files, and so and on and so forth, and even some simple computer games I enjoy, there is no excuse for me not to be allowed to backup a game as expensive as Civilization 4 (At least expensive for me, someone who doesn't have a lot of money and usually plays old DOS games or simple modern open-source free games).
So, when I saw "Civilization 4: Complete" was claiming to be DRM-free, I rejoiced. I could buy the latest edition in my favorite game series one more time and keep it forever, just like I still have the original Civilization from 1991.
It turns out, the makers of the game lied. It's false advertising. I am now trying to decide whether it is worth my while to try to get my money back from the website that sold it to me. One thing is for sure, though -- I will never buy from Firaxis or Take-Two again. Civilization 4 is the end of the line for me as far as the Civilization series goes.
It's a shame, because I love Civilization. I'm essentially a non-gamer who is so enthusiastic about that particular game that I have all four of them, plus the two "Call To Power" spin-offs and a couple of other titles. But that's it for me. I hate DRM on principle, because it means I don't really own the game I pay for, but I hate being lied to even more. I was blatantly sold something on a false premise. It's beyond sleazy.
