No-CD (Piracy) Rule?

[Base the Bass]

Oh I see..hmm ok.Is it positive that there isn't a Nocd patch for later versions?


Moderator Action: Split out of the Quick Answers thread in Civ3-General Discussion. Discussion of the rules is more appropriate in SF. --Padma

 

[Lord Emsworth]

As far as this forum goes I think there aren't any no-CD patches at all.

 

[MAS]

Oh I see..hmm ok.Is it positive that there isn't a Nocd patch for later versions?

Positive!
The Disk-in-drive DRM is sometimes removed by some game developers, but this is, unfortunately, not the case for Civ3!

The 3th party no-disk hacks are against the License conditions and discussing them is against the rules of this forum.

 

[Base the Bass]

Oh I see.Ok.Thought it was legal if you purchased the game.Thanks anyway.

 

[Abegweit]

The 3th party no-disk hacks are against the License conditions and discussing them is against the rules of this forum.

I've always been curious about that. Certainly the 3rd party hackers claim that they're legal and the publishers don't bother them. Where exactly does it violate the agreement?

Edit: And is discussing it against the rules. I know that naming them is.

 

[sercer88]

Zero tolerance on piracy.
Posting links to warez sites and program cracks (including no-CD crack) are not allowed on the forum. Anyone found guilty of participating in piracy activity on the forum will be punished.

That's all the forum rules have listed. However, I'm pretty sure mods here will crack down on posters who even post about NO-CD cracks.
Does that answer your question, Abegweit?

 

[Abegweit]

No. It doesn't at all. This is Thunderfall's site and what he says goes. I understand the rules and, AFAIK, I haven't broken them. I didn't give any links.

I was asking about the justification. I honestly don't understand why this is supposed to violate the license agreement. I have never heard of any publisher going after these sites, which makes me think that it doesn't violate them.

If I'm wrong, then point out why. If Thunderfall doesn't even want questions asked about the reasoning behind his policy then I would say that's a bit heavy-handed but I'll accept that too. This is his property and I appreciate him putting it together for all of us.

 

[MAS]

I've always been curious about that. Certainly the 3rd party hackers claim that they're legal and the publishers don't bother them. Where exactly does it violate the agreement?

To answer your question:

You agree not to:

• Make copies of the Program or any part thereofor make copies of the materials accompanying the Program.

• Reverse engineer,derive source code,modify,decompile,or disassemble the Program,in whole or in part.

This covers the functioning of the afore mentioned hacks.

I personally don't really care actually. That darn "agreement" can say so much!

I'm merely noting that it is against the rules of this forum to tell other people how to do it and where to get it, and to ask for this information.
And I can understand why this forum has this rule.

And is discussing it against the rules. I know that naming them is.

We are getting a bit off-topic though, and its an issue that attracts "hot debate" It may be better to let it rest.

 

[anaxagoras]

I honestly don't understand why this is supposed to violate the license agreement.

It violates the license agreement because it enables you to copy and play the game without having made a valid purchase. I doubt the publisher would bother you if you hacked it and used it in the privacy of your own home so that you had the convenience of not needing the disk to play. But posting the hack on the web lets people who never had a valid copy of the game play, too, and that potentially hurts game sales and the legitimate revenue stream of the publisher.

I wish they didn't require the CD, too, because I'm afraid I'm going to damage it. I hope, when the revenue stream slows to a trickle and they stop pressing new disks, they post an official patch to remove this condition and let us grognards keep playing. But the publisher gets to decide that.

 

[Marsden]

I remember when came on floppies and we had document protection. I think it asked what advance gave you a certain improvement or unit. After you got to know the game you wouldn't even need to look it up.

The guy in the store said it was better to have document protection instead of disk protection because if your disk died you couldn't play the game. But that was back in the 5 ¹/₄" floppy days when your discs could die from just looking at them funny. CDs are a bit better, although I've had weird failures from them as well.

 

[MarineCorps]

IIRC CFC reported on a no cd patch that came with a German gaming magazine maybe two years back.

 

[Bill3000]

Doesn't CFC hold a no-CD patch of some sort of one of the earlier Civ games, or am I hallucinating?

 

[Ginger_Ale]

Doesn't CFC hold a no-CD patch of some sort of one of the earlier Civ games, or am I hallucinating?

Yeah...hmm...

I think one was released for Conquests (officially or somewhat), but I'm not positive.

 

[MarineCorps]

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showpost.php?p=4898780&postcount=52

However the front page link no longer works.

 

[IglooDame]

*wonders whether to drop a dime on Weasel Op and the others in that thread*

 

[Lozzy_Ozzy]

Doesn't CFC hold a no-CD patch of some sort of one of the earlier Civ games, or am I hallucinating?

For Civ2.

Oh and Marsden, I remember that too .
I had a game, FOG, that you had to put in a word from a certain line on a certain page in the manual.
Only one day I lost the manual, that was a major bummer!

 

[Thunderfall]

If I'm wrong, then point out why. If Thunderfall doesn't even want questions asked about the reasoning behind his policy then I would say that's a bit heavy-handed but I'll accept that too. This is his property and I appreciate him putting it together for all of us.

If you purchased the game and download the no-CD for your own convenience, then there is certainly nothing illegal about that.

The problem with allowing no-CD posts on the forum is we have no way of verifying a poster purchased the game or not, and also info posted on the forum is available to everyone, even those who pirated the game.

 

[.Shane.]

The problem with allowing no-CD posts on the forum is we have no way of verifying a poster purchased the game or not, and also info posted on the forum is available to everyone, even those who pirated the game.

Since this is a more philosophical discussion....

Why would that matter? If someone has a hacked version then they probably don't care about a no-CD crack. Also, one could argue, you are already facilitating their enjoyment of the game by all the other things you do w/ this fine website. Do you verify if someone has a legal copy before you allow them to download custom content? To join the forum?

The problem w/ DRM (like requiring a CD to play) is that it only punishes the people who are trying be legal and play by the rules. For example, I'm very worried that if my kids get ahold of my C4W disc again I'll be SOL because they've nearly scratched the living sh** out of it. So, if that happens and I call the publisher to ask for them to swap me discs (I'll send them my disc for a new one so they can verify I'm not a thief) would they do that? Or would they say "control your kids and buy a new game."

So, IMVHO, by banning the discussion and facilitation of no-CDs cracks you're doing a disservice to people who legally own and play the game and those who are illegally playing could care less. The irony is, by banning the discussion from a legit place like this, legitimate owners (like me) are then driven to more illicit sites.

I'd wager the real motivation, and I totally understand this, is that you don't want to jeopardize your special and well-earned relationship with the developers. I'd just admit this upfront. Its much more logical and very understandable given the high level of service and content this website provides to this game and the community.

 

[MarineCorps]

*wonders whether to drop a dime on Weasel Op and the others in that thread*

You would have to drop the dime on about 90% of the people on that thread. I assume that would be a lot of paperwork.

The no cd crack for c3c is the only way to get the little patches that were put out by that guy. At least partial relaxation of the no CD patch would be nice for the C&C forum. The ai no raze patch is something that most of the mod makers droll over. However since most of the players don't have or know where to get a no cd patch that means the no raze patch is useless. On the site I run where SOE and el justos mods are being tested along side a few others we have an exe which is distributed among the private forums and used in closed beta testing that has the no cd patch installed alongside the no raze patch. However since the CFC C&C forum is our primary target group and the rules here prohibit the posting of links to no cd cracks the mod makers who use it in testing can't include it with the final release of their mod.

 

[Bill3000]

Adding to that, if someone has downloaded the game illegally, more than likely the No-CD patch is included with the pirated game.