Playing with friends under the same roof... Getting harder...

[Rub'Rum]

I find this totally unacceptable as a gamer. They have to find a way to let people who have multiple computers under the same roof play games together without having to buy multiple copies of games. I just can't believe that we've come to this. It's always been a little bit of a hassle to play with friends under the same roof, but you could just boot games and then swap the CDs around once you got past the CD check, some games had "spawn" versions only for multiplayer so that you only needed one copy per 4 players, for example. Now, no. With all the authentication processes, this is just gone.

Even with console games they sometimes go in the same direction, trying to get people to play alone in their houses with friends who are in another house. Grand Theft Auto 4, for instance, has multiplayer on consoles, but not on the same console (yeah I know there are examples like Left 4 Dead and Halo where you can play with friends under the same roof, but watch the greed of "selling 4 different copies of the game instead" take over in the next years).

So yes, unacceptable. Utterly unacceptable. I have Left 4 Dead on my computer, through Steam. If I want to play with my girlfriend in the living room with our computers, she has to buy Left 4 Dead too. I know that it's technically difficult to sort what computers are under the same roof and which aren't, but hey, it's not like they're ever going to try uh? ...

 

[GoodGame]

In the past there was no reason why a game owner starting a physical LAN couldn't do that. No clue why they don't other than profits.

 

[iamwlrs4]

What's so unacceptable about it? Game developers are trying to make money, not make everyone love them.

Try putting yourself in the shoes of a game developer. Say the game is $50. Would you rather make $200, or $50? You make 4x the money if customers have to buy 4x the amount of games (using your example with the four friends playing the same game under one roof). That money really starts to add up. So the reason they do it is because it brings the companies a significantly larger amount of money.

 

[Rub'Rum]

What's so unacceptable about it? Game developers are trying to make money, not make everyone love them.

Try putting yourself in the shoes of a game developer. Say the game is $50. Would you rather make $200, or $50? You make 4x the money if customers have to buy 4x the amount of games (using your example with the four friends playing the same game under one roof). That money really starts to add up. So the reason they do it is because it brings the companies a significantly larger amount of money.

Wow, that's very enlightening. I sure hadn't thought of this reasoning. Thanks.

Seriously, I don't have to pay for cable TV twice 'cos I'm watching it with friends. I don't have to pay double to rent a movie because I'm watching it with a friend. The only reason it happens with games is because the technology is there to screw us. I didn't wonder WHY it happened, I just wondered why some people (like you apparently) shrug it off and think it's acceptable.

PS: Some companies definitely sell themselves as DRM free and such, so I guess there is money in being at least relatively respectful of people.

 

[iamwlrs4]

I just wondered why some people (like you apparently) shrug it off and think it's acceptable.

I don't ever have friends bring over their laptops and play a game or something like that. I'll play it online with them. That's why I "shrug it off and think it's acceptable".

 

[Harbringer]

In the past there was no reason why a game owner starting a physical LAN couldn't do that. No clue why they don't other than profits.

Because I can emulate a physical LAN on my comp, and burn the game to an emulated drive, open it in C++ or whatever it happens to be written in, remove the CD check, get or make a cd genkey and then have a pirated copy of the game. At least thats why they initially stopped doing it....

 

[MrPopov]

Programs like Hamachi are very powerful and easy to use.

I agree it's annoying, but piracy is a big issue and what may seem like a small harmelss change can suddenly open your game up to widespread piracy.

 

[Maniacal]

The games are already widely pirated. DRM or no DRM. I know someone who priated Left 4 Dead, although what DRm has been achieving is preventing full access to online parts of games, the priatedL4D cannot be used to play multiplayer (unless someone sets up a cracked server). Which in L4D's case and any multipler game is knid of pointless, but it can still be pirated. TF2, multiplayer only, has been priated, and there are cracked servers.

 

[Rub'Rum]

The games are already widely pirated. DRM or no DRM. I know someone who priated Left 4 Dead, although what DRm has been achieving is preventing full access to online parts of games, the priatedL4D cannot be used to play multiplayer (unless someone sets up a cracked server). Which in L4D's case and any multipler game is knid of pointless, but it can still be pirated. TF2, multiplayer only, has been priated, and there are cracked servers.

Yup.

Besides, game companies seem to think that the 200,000 copies they "lost" to piracy would have been copies SOLD if they had fought piracy better. I'm sorry, but no. You'll be lucky if a few thousand of these 200,000 pirates would actually have bought the game in the first place.

 

[GoodGame]

Because I can emulate a physical LAN on my comp, and burn the game to an emulated drive, open it in C++ or whatever it happens to be written in, remove the CD check, get or make a cd genkey and then have a pirated copy of the game. At least thats why they initially stopped doing it....

I thought it might be something like that.

 

[MrPopov]

Nobody is claiming DRM solved piracy. It's a deterrent. Just like locking your car door is a deterrent, but not going to prevent auto theft.

 

[Maniacal]

Nobody is claiming DRM solved piracy. It's a deterrent. Just like locking your car door is a deterrent, but not going to prevent auto theft.

However it is rediculously easy to pirate most games, as someone will have it all set up for you, all you have to do is download and follow the instructions. People don't do that with cars.

 

[Harbringer]

My issue with DRM is proving that stolen copies equates to lost sales. The best example I ca give is of SPORE. I wasnt going to get it, when they initialy showed it I was, but as time went by and they dumbed it down, and turned it into a SIMs spinoff, I had lost all interest. When the reviews came out confirming what I already knew, it was definately never going to be a buy, not even bargain bin five years from now. But I always had this hope in the back of my head that it would be awesome, so, I illegaly pirated it. Played it and beat it in a day, and then uninstalled it, I can now say, with confidence, that I would have never ever paid for that game, it was borderline java script, there are games with more depth on those arcade websites.

 

[Rusted Armor]

I find this totally unacceptable as a gamer. They have to find a way to let people who have multiple computers under the same roof play games together without having to buy multiple copies of games. I just can't believe that we've come to this. It's always been a little bit of a hassle to play with friends under the same roof, but you could just boot games and then swap the CDs around once you got past the CD check, some games had "spawn" versions only for multiplayer so that you only needed one copy per 4 players, for example. Now, no. With all the authentication processes, this is just gone.

Even with console games they sometimes go in the same direction, trying to get people to play alone in their houses with friends who are in another house. Grand Theft Auto 4, for instance, has multiplayer on consoles, but not on the same console (yeah I know there are examples like Left 4 Dead and Halo where you can play with friends under the same roof, but watch the greed of "selling 4 different copies of the game instead" take over in the next years).

So yes, unacceptable. Utterly unacceptable. I have Left 4 Dead on my computer, through Steam. If I want to play with my girlfriend in the living room with our computers, she has to buy Left 4 Dead too. I know that it's technically difficult to sort what computers are under the same roof and which aren't, but hey, it's not like they're ever going to try uh? ...

L4D is not a great example. Someone made a mod for Split screen on PC, but I haven't tried it.

 

[Rub'Rum]

L4D is not a great example. Someone made a mod for Split screen on PC, but I haven't tried it.

It's not built for that. And while hot seat and split screen is alright, it's kindda rare on PC and it's not really what I was targeting in my rant.

 

[terjelin]

Read in a Norwegian newspaper today;
Blizzard is NOT including LAN-playing ability for Starcraft 2...

 

[Bolddrengen]

Read in a Norwegian newspaper today;
Blizzard is NOT including LAN-playing ability for Starcraft 2...

... !!

 

[Rub'Rum]

What appalls me about all this is that we used to have better conditions. Now they are slowly melting away with all this junk, and people either don't realize it or shrug and say "well they want to make money that's normal", as if the companies didn't have to make money 5 years ago.

Sure, they'll go as far as they can with this crap, but I'm really amazed at how far up their *(&/% gamers are willing to take it.

 

[Racsoviale]

Terjelin mentions something I think is way worse. Absence of LAN capabillity what is the point to that? I remember I bought hellgate because of the trailer, the setting and that some exdiablo people had developed it. I thought that it would be cool to play on LAN with some friends.
But no, it was without LAN feature, which I believe is also the ironically reason the game flopped.

But seriously to exclude a LAN feature is not gonna make them sell more copies, I think its gonna encourage more piracy.

 

[Rub'Rum]

Terjelin mentions something I think is way worse. Absence of LAN capabillity what is the point to that? I remember I bought hellgate because of the trailer, the setting and that some exdiablo people had developed it. I thought that it would be cool to play on LAN with some friends.
But no, it was without LAN feature, which I believe is also the ironically reason the game flopped.

But seriously to exclude a LAN feature is not gonna make them sell more copies, I think its gonna encourage more piracy.

It's in the same broad category of things that I was complaining about. Stopping people from playing together under the same roof, whether it's through LAN or just plain old internet, is something that *&(/&"+&/ me off.