Easy on the DRM pretty please?

[Lord Lord]

I already lost one copy of BTS. I tinker with computers and hence frequently must reinstall. I bought BTS through a download service (D2D at IGN) but they don't make new CD keys anymore.

I think most people will abide by a simple protection that hinders casual copying, but anything complicated is an affront to us paying customers and apparently the most expensive and forceful anti piracy measures usually don't last more than hours past a launch date.

 

[Modiga-Disabled]

With Steam you can download the game as many times as you like onto as many computers as you like, well, you can as long as you don't forget your account information and everything that would allow you to retrieve it.

I should point out it's not known if Civ V will require Steam or whether that's just a purchase option.

 

[Sherlock]

If you loose a cd-key I don't think you have anyone but yourself to blame for your troubles. Yeah, it sucks, but there it is. I thought I lost my Caesar IV key once. Since then I've created a doc with ALL my keys, and it gets backed up on a separate hard-drive.

I will be VERY DISAPPOINTED if CIV V requires Steam. Maybe so disappointed I'll just skip it. I'm hopeful they won't go that route.

 

[LiDDiS]

(C)D(VD)-Key and a disc check at most are acceptable.

 

[Savoir10]

If you loose a cd-key I don't think you have anyone but yourself to blame for your troubles. Yeah, it sucks, but there it is. I thought I lost my Caesar IV key once. Since then I've created a doc with ALL my keys, and it gets backed up on a separate hard-drive.

I will be VERY DISAPPOINTED if CIV V requires Steam. Maybe so disappointed I'll just skip it. I'm hopeful they won't go that route.

If this only requires a one off steam activation, I'll be very happy. However I think it's going to be a lot worse than that.

 

[Grawss]

I generally buy a game, then download a pirated version to avoid all the nonsense DRM and having to have the CD in the drive while playing. If I didn't care about the company, I wouldn't spend a dime on games. And even now, I wish game companies would go independent so more of my money would go toward them rather than all the men in the middle. Throw a "I pirated this game, but here's $50" button on the main website and they'd make a ton of extra cash.

People pirate because it's easier than buying it, not even counting the money spent.

Why can't companies understand this? People don't want to be locked down by anything like DRM, Steam, or having to have the CD stuck in the drive all the time.

Blizzard, as far as I can tell, has made the furthest strides on ease of use. Their installer is less than a meg, yet downloads and installs the game at the same time. Their earlier games didn't have much DRM, yet almost nobody pirated them simply because online play was fun as hell and required a mandatory cd key check, which was quick and easy.

DRM has never worked, but it's likely going to be in this game. And it'll be cracked within hours as usual, doing absolutely nothing to the pirates yet annoying the userbase. I truly don't get why they keep trying.

 

[LiDDiS]

Cause it's really the stuffy old business men making the DRM decisions. They are obviously out of touch with the reality of the situation.

 

[Jecrell]

DRM has never worked, but it's likely going to be in this game. And it'll be cracked within hours as usual, doing absolutely nothing to the pirates yet annoying the userbase. I truly don't get why they keep trying.

I enjoy the thought that every time someone comes up with new ridiculous DRM, pirates give them a smack to the face by cracking said DRM almost immediately. Now companies like Ubisoft are even going so far as to make their games unplayable at points, and requiring online connections at all times to play offline games. It's downright inane.

 

[MatrixTheKitty]

and requiring online connections at all times to play offline games

And then their servers crash, making said games unplayable for anybody.

 

[Herrhals]

And then their servers crash, making said games unplayable for anybody.

.................

 

[DPyro]

AFAIK Civ IV doesn't have DRM, so why start in Civ V?

 

[wolfigor]

AFAIK Civ IV doesn't have DRM, so why start in Civ V?

You must have the original CD/DVD in the drive to start the game: this is a form of DRM.

I play Civilization often offline and on a laptop without a DVD drive (mostly I play while traveling): anything that forces me to go online or having a disk in the drive makes impossible for me to play the game.

In general all forms of DRM tend to create problems to honest users much more than to those who use pirated software.

Please Firaxis, have light touch when it comes to DRM.

 

[oynaz]

Civ had DRM - SafeDisc. It was removed with patch 3.19 - good decision.

DRM is a disease in the gaming industry. It has gotten to the point where I choose to pirate games with annoying DRM. I want to pay the developers, but not to the point where my computer is sabotaged.

 

[Perfxion]

While I agree DRMs suck, I see this thread being cleaned up and locked down real soon.

 

[tom2050]

Stardock made a statement and removed all DRM from it's software... only requiring you to put your key in to get software updates from their website.

But they ended up having to reverse this decision because a game Demigod they had released (2009 I believe) was getting 120,000 attempts to join online games, when only 18,000 were validated users on Release Day.

Although their new DRM is very 'light', pirates force these companies to do something... hopefully Civ 5 uses a method that is light and nonintrusive, while providing good protection for their software.

 

[Akka]

Anything that require Steam will be a no-buy for me, guaranteed.
I'm okay with a DVD-check, but I will totally refuse anything that tinker with my computer, require online connection or insert some kind of malware in my OS.

Remember people : piracy exists because it's more convenient. The more inconvenient the protection is, the more it will lead to the exact opposite than its intended goal.

 

[Modiga-Disabled]

I find Steam pretty convenient. Not everyone shares that sentiment, I know, but beyond the initial growing pains I've not had a problem with it.

 

[xcrissxcrossx]

Stardock made a statement and removed all DRM from it's software... only requiring you to put your key in to get software updates from their website.

But they ended up having to reverse this decision because a game Demigod they had released (2009 I believe) was getting 120,000 attempts to join online games, when only 18,000 were validated users on Release Day.

Although their new DRM is very 'light', pirates force these companies to do something... hopefully Civ 5 uses a method that is light and nonintrusive, while providing good protection for their software.

This really disappointed me. I was one of the people that bought demigod, and the online was clogged with people who didn't buy the game, and it is way too laggy to play online. I have to agree with this post. A light DRM is necessary, but I refuse to buy any Ubisoft games after Assassins Creed II.

 

[classical_hero]

Stardock made a statement and removed all DRM from it's software... only requiring you to put your key in to get software updates from their website.

But they ended up having to reverse this decision because a game Demigod they had released (2009 I believe) was getting 120,000 attempts to join online games, when only 18,000 were validated users on Release Day.

Although their new DRM is very 'light', pirates force these companies to do something... hopefully Civ 5 uses a method that is light and nonintrusive, while providing good protection for their software.

Yeah it is a shame that company went to great lengths to show trust in consumers and it got broken the first time they did it.

 

[Lord Lord]

Steam is great! Well mostly ... they will sometimes screw you on pricing, but hey ... anything is worth what the purchaser will pay for it right? I got 3 PCs and I can play all my games on any of them ... and if a friend is visiting he only logs on with his account and the games are already installed (we usually purchase the same multiplayer stuff). Same if I visit him, or if not, I have my laptop and just copy the stuff I need from the steamapps folder.

I wasn't clear earlier. I never "lost" my CD key. Direct2Drive issued a once use only activation key. After Direct2Drive stopped supporting BTS (I don't know why, but after 3rd reinstall they just refused to give me new activation code), I purchased CivIV complete on steam and I am a happy camper.

Thing is I love to build systems and overclock and stuff ... inevitably I destroy hardware once in a while and need to reinstall stuff. I don't "deserve" to loose games because of this! Also I expect to be able to play games even if the internet is down for some reason. That is all I am saying .