Isn't there a better copy protection?

[ghen]

Originally posted by TheHateMale


u thik ur so smrt.

rofl yeah, luckly I took a class in school on l33t

[andyp1964]

Hi,
I like the Galactic Civ copy-protection model. I don't think the CD had any copy protection on it, perhaps a CD key entered during install. After that the CD is never required. What they did was to have you register for game updates/patches etc. You could easily pirate the game since there is no real protection, but you never get the patches or updates. They made it more inticing in that thier updates usually added game enhancements, user requested features and the like. Very nice model in my opinion, they seem to really like their customers! So I know I will by their next release sight unseen, just on reputation.

ap

[Dubhghlas]

Of the total number of people who purchase the game, probably in excess of 95% never bother with attempting to circumvent the need to start the game with the CD. Trust me that if there was a monetary advantage to using a different method, it would be used.

At least they don't use the REALLY stupid old methods, like the one the Mac version of Jack Nicklaus' golf game used, where you had to tell the game which hole from a sheet of holes that came with the game was being displayed. The kicker was that the sheet was dark red, with black lines barely visible on it, so that you couldn't copy it. Drove you nuts, and then you would lose the sheet and that was the end of playing the game.

[Aileron]

Originally posted by ghen
No, the only thing that keeps 'kiddies' from getting into pirated games is their lack of understanding of the english language.. That keeps them from being able to post intelligent questions and read the instructions correctly. :P

Uh, are you taking a shot at me? I'm no kiddie. I would just like the option of playing the game without the CD.

[kobo1d]

Originally posted by Dubhghlas
Of the total number of people who purchase the game, probably in excess of 95% never bother with attempting to circumvent the need to start the game with the CD. Trust me that if there was a monetary advantage to using a different method, it would be used.

At least they don't use the REALLY stupid old methods, like the one the Mac version of Jack Nicklaus' golf game used, where you had to tell the game which hole from a sheet of holes that came with the game was being displayed. The kicker was that the sheet was dark red, with black lines barely visible on it, so that you couldn't copy it. Drove you nuts, and then you would lose the sheet and that was the end of playing the game.

Hahaha! Similarly, I remember older RPGs would be like "Please enter Word 4 on Line 7 of Page 31 in your Manual!"

As if people wouldn't just make a text file???

Getting Civ4 to run No-CD is quite easy if you know what your doing. Just like pretty much any other game out there.

Forced online Registration (the Halflife2/CSS/etc, "Steam model") seems to be the most secure method, though that only pisses off the people with a slow connection.

with copy protection!

[Mujadaddy]

Originally posted by CyberShy
The good should never suffer because of the evil.

Welcome to the world, pal...

[RalphTrickey]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


IMO, they are all taking the wrong approach by treating customers like thieves.

In the end, this will never deter professional bootleggers, only causal users.

Brad Wardell

I think that will become more and more apparent as more people start using laptops. Carrying around all the CDs will become very cumbersome.

I agree with another poster that something like the GalCiv model might be the wave of the future for many PC games. Take one game, and upgrade it many times in response to user input. GalCiv is very similar to Civ 4 in terms of gameplay and audience too.

The force against the GalCiv model is the console market that by necessity uses the release and ignore model.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by RalphTrickey
The force against the GalCiv model is the console market that by necessity uses the release and ignore model.

I don't see why consoles can't use the Gal Civ model.

Originally posted by RalphTrickey
<scratches head trying to remember who wrote GalCiv>

That's Brad Wardell

BTW if you want to use the angular brackets you need to use &lt; (<) and &gt; (>) otherwise the program will treat anything in between as HTML tags.

[ghen]

sorry to bring back an old thread but Aileron needs to turn on his PM's pretty please

[gilfan]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


IMO, they are all taking the wrong approach by treating customers like thieves.

In the end, this will never deter professional bootleggers, only causal users.

Brad Wardell

"Casual users" can be thieves, too. When someone loans or borrows a game, then installs it and uses a no-cd crack, that's stealing too. Game companies don't expect to stop hackers, but they do expect to stop the average person from making copies for his friends without paying for it.

[SirSebastian]

Originally posted by gilfan

"Casual users" can be thieves, too. When someone loans or borrows a game, then installs it and uses a no-cd crack, that's stealing too.

So in your opinion, from whom is such a person stealing?

[gilfan]

from the company that made the game. if you borrow a friend's game, make a copy, and use a no cd crack so you can play it without buying it, you're a thief.

[CrapFactory]

I have a program (legal? I dunno) that lets me take out the CD for any game at any time. It is still needed for startup though.

[rogerbacon]

How can you take the disk out after the game starts? I thought it needed to pull the Wonder movies and other things from the disk during play.

Roger Bacon

[Bhruic]

Originally posted by gilfan

"Casual users" can be thieves, too. When someone loans or borrows a game, then installs it and uses a no-cd crack, that's stealing too. Game companies don't expect to stop hackers, but they do expect to stop the average person from making copies for his friends without paying for it.

At which point what's the point of having the copy protection to begin with? If you aren't even stopping 'casual users', all you are doing is annoying the customers who don't want to (or don't know how to) resort to no-cd cracks.

Bh