I'm going to return PTW to Firaxis

[thestonesfan]

Mine didn't work for the life of me until I downloaded the no-cd crack. Now it's fine. My CD-ROM drive couldn't get past the copy-protection on the CD for some reason.

 

[MummyMan]

Sorry for the language, i see people use bleeped vulgarities, i didn't think it was wrong. Won't do it again. And i wasn't trying to troll, but i'll refrain from passionate posting too.

 

[Sirp]

Indeed, there is no official copy-protection patch for PTW. The only way around it is to use a no-cd crack, which is possibly a DMCA violation, and might violate other laws. Very silly.

-Sirp.

 

[Padma]

[color=600f0f]"Might violate other laws"?!?! It most certainly does! Piracy violates basic copyright laws everywhere in the world. So we will, of course, refrain from discussing where/how to get it.

That said, I agree that it seems rather silly for Infogrames not to have a PTW no-cd patch, given the problems that the Copy Protection system seems to cause for some people.
[/color]

 

[Gainy]

the no cd patch isnt illegal as long as you are the person who bought the game, and are the only one using it

 

[Padma]

The "official" no-cd patch is legal in those circumstances, with the added stipulation that you must request the no-cd patch from Infogrames, yourself. If you get it from someone else, it's technically piracy.

But since there isn't an official no-cd patch for PTW, any no-cd crack is illegal.

 

[Moulton]

I had a problem on first imstalling PTW. It reported that the autostart would not run.... I removed and re-installed Civ III, and then had no more problems. It does hang for a minute or more sometimes... I'll try increasing memory... there are 22 Civs for it to handle...

 

[thestonesfan]

I specifically requested a no-CD patch, since that's what I thought the problem was, but the help guy insisted it was something else.

 

[WildFire]

My game was awful with the non patch through 1.14. Hotseat sucked (stayed on chieftan) and multiplay was crappy because of the lag even though I have cable. The 1.21 patch is great and hotseat and online games work very well, and single player has yet to crash on me in any version!

 

[Sirp]

Originally posted by Padma
[color=600f0f]"Might violate other laws"?!?! It most certainly does! Piracy violates basic copyright laws everywhere in the world. So we will, of course, refrain from discussing where/how to get it.
[/color]

I'm sorry? How is using a no-CD crack when one has a legal copy of the game 'piracy'?

'Piracy' is the act of making illegal copies of copyrighted works (ok actually 'piracy' is the act of attacking ships on the high seas, typically raping, pillaging, and murdering as you go, a term hijacked by corporates who benefit from painting copyright infringement in as bad a light as possible, but I digress).

This that is being discussed involves making no illegal copies of anything. It involves only getting what you paid for to work. I'm not sure if this is illegal at all, although it might be under the (incredibly stupid) DMCA. It is certainly NOT 'piracy' though.

-Sirp.

 

[Padma]

Sirp, I won't argue with you about the DMCA. I think we would find ourselves in agreement.

But - a no-cd "crack" is piracy, whether you own a legal copy of the game or not. The only time this would not be true is if you requested, and received, it from Infogrames/Firaxis. If you are having trouble with your legal game, and you solve the problem by downloading a no-cd crack from anyone else, you are aiding and abetting piracy. It may seem silly, but that's the way the legal aspects work.

 

[Laughing Gull]

I have never experienced any problems with PTW 1.21 on 3 different computers, including a laptop.

then again, I dont really install much else, except for Blizzard games and MS office. The more junk you install on your PC, the more likely you are to have problems. those of you who are having problems, try formatting your HD, and going clean install.... i'll bet one of my testicles that your problems go away....

 

[SewerStarFish]

I use a "crashproof" program and it has occassionally activated for PTW 1.21. I haven't really paid attention to when it occurs but I've noticed it happens a little more often than 1.14.

Try Ontrack's Crashproof,it's been pretty good at all but BSD crashes.

 

[Sirp]

Originally posted by Padma
But - a no-cd "crack" is piracy, whether you own a legal copy of the game or not.

This is untrue. 'Piracy' is the act of making an illegal copy of a copyrighted work. If no illegal copy of a copyrighted work is made, then it is, by definition, not 'piracy'.

If you are having trouble with your legal game, and you solve the problem by downloading a no-cd crack from anyone else, you are aiding and abetting piracy. It may seem silly, but that's the way the legal aspects work.

If you download the official no-cd patch from someone else, without Infogrames' permission, then it is indeed copyright infringement, since you're obtaining a copy of a copyrighted work without the owner's permission.

If you download a no-CD 'crack' that the writer of the crack allows you to have, then you are, by definition, not copying any work without permission of the author, and thus by definition, are not committing 'piracy'.

It could be argued that you are violating the DMCA or some other similiarly silly law by circumventing a copy protection device, but this is legally untested. The one test case there has been, in Norway IIRC, with the guy who cracked the DVD copy protection scheme, found that what he did wasn't illegal. (Although that case is now under appeal).

However, I am confused by this comment,

Sirp, I won't argue with you about the DMCA. I think we would find ourselves in agreement.

What is it you don't like about the DMCA? I don't like the DMCA because it appears to say that it's not legal to circumvent copy protection to use a product that you have paid for. What is it you don't like about it?

-Sirp.

 

[GamesMan]

Laughing Gull; you owe me a "test" (but you can keep it, thanks). Reformating your ENTIRE hard drive is an insane and huge chore just to make Civ3 work Multiplayer. By chance, we did reformat a drive at work (on computer #5 that we tried to get this game to work on) and it STILL did'nt work. As I stated above, my 3 computers are built for games, period. There is NOTHING else on them except the program to get onto the internet (on one of them). Reformating a hard drive to get PTW to work is like taking the engine out of your car to get your radio to work; it would not be worth it even if it did work...........

 

[JoseM]

Originally posted by RedwoodTree
for the 50th time, after 3 patches, the game continually crashes. If necessary, I'll contact consul to prosecute this. Maybe if we all return it, they will get the idea?

My PTW game crashed after installing it for the first time, but i fixed it by RE-INSTALLING the game. After that it havent crashed anymore.

 

[platty]

The case in Norway is not a good test for the DMCA since the last time I checked Norway did not come under US federal law

Of course Sirp is 100% correct about piracy. Using a crack to run a game for yourself that you own may be illegal but it sure ain't piracy!

Andy.

 

[Padma]

I discussed the "piracy" issue with Sirp off-line, to keep this discussion on-track. If you want to continue to discuss piracy, please open a thread on it in Off Topic.