Why All The Hate?

[BunnyWunny]

I'm the sort of person who shops in real-world stores and who pays in cash. It's the mandatory Internet activation that I absolutely hate, particularly since I'm not a(n Internet) multiplayer guy. in my hand a CD/DVD that I have paid for, I should be able to use its contents in full without having to expose myself to the World Wide Web, even for a moment.

You got it Pontiac!!!

Today, I got a new (used) PC, quad core, etc, etc. so I can now play Civ 5. So...I go to install old copies of Civ 4 (bought on Direct to Drive now Gamefly) and the activation does not work. All you get is some sorry statement about you not being connected to the internet. Hello? If I am unable to connect to the internet how come I can access your sorry excuse for a website?

I am sorry I ever bought the Civ 4 collection online. A deal is a deal, sure, I got a good value...trouble is it DON"T WORK NOW.

They posted some message saying the issue was resolved today. Surrrrrre it was.

Next time I'll buy a box.

But now what eh? Is there some crack or whatever so I can play the games I own and bought legally without having to access their crummy activation server?

And yes, why the hell do we have to access the internet at all if we're not interested in online play? Why do we have to use an ONLINE activation code? Why not just the old fashioned way embedded into the software. Or hell, why have an activation code at all? Do they think for one second I could not get a pirated copy online for free?

This sucks big time.

 

[Maniacal]

Your fault for buying from a website that was owned by IGN.com, D2D was always kind of crappy and patches were often late (if available at all). There have also been numerous conflicts with expansions/dlc/mods.

Civ4 Complete via box retail doesn't have any DRM though, but you're really not missing very much as it wasn't very good.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

Unlike Blizzard, Valve seems interested in keeping the customers who don't have good or reliable internet.

Just from personal experience, the only things you lose when you play Starcraft 2 offline are achievements and, obviously, multiplayer. However, I did have one experience where a friend played the free to play limited version of the game on my computer, and then when I tried to play the game online, I was unable to do so.

I haven't personally encountered the 'need to log in once a month' thing, but if I did, I would find that extremely frustrating.

Overall, I'm of the opinion that Blizzard is rapidly sliding down the slippery slope into pure evil. On the plus side, the plot of Wings of Liberty was so inane that it helped a lot in reducing my investment in later installments of the Starcraft franchise.

Relating to the main topic, the other weekend I was unable to play Civ 5 because it insisted on installing an update, but was unable to do so because I was away from the internet.

I suppose that sort of pointless denial of the ability to play a game is the biggest problem here.

 

[Maniacal]

Diablo 3 has no offline mode though.

 

[Lord_Iggy]

I have nothing really to say about D3 as a player, as I haven't played anything in the franchise, but the complaints I've seen seem indicative of the state of Blizzard as a company.