Please do NOT pirate Civ3!

[yin26]

As many of you might know, I have been both one of Civ3's greatest supporters and now one of its greatest doubters. However, I want to go on record as saying one thing:

DO NOT PIRATE CIV3!

Now let's go through some of the excuses people have been using:

• I don't have enough money: Too bad. Get a job. If you are too young to get a job, make a deal with your parents that you'll mow the lawn for 3 months or something. This is how I got my first miniature pac-man game back in the early 80's.
• There is no demo, so how can I test the game?: You don't. You rely on some trusted people to tell you what's up. Surely there are a few people you can trust. If not, write off this game and the people who don't release a demo.
• The release date is much later in my part of the world and I don't want to wait: If you have already placed your pre-order, I'm sure most people will look the other way. If you haven't, do NOT pirate Civ3.
• I have already pre-ordered and don't want to wait the few extra days: Again, not sure why you can't wait the few days considering the ripped version will be weak and buggy most likely...
• Firaxis has cheated me before...not this time!: Grow up. If you feel this way about Firaxis, simply walk away from them. Plenty of other games out there from great companies.
• IF THERE'S NO MP, THE GAME ISN'T COMPLETE!: Then wait for the MP to be released. If Infogrames makes it so you are forced to buy the original game and the x-pack, don't buy either. Walk away. Or, wait until they are in the bargain bin in a bundled version for $19.99. You can rest assured that at that price, the profit is very, very small.

I'm sure there are some that I missed, but the point is this: If you feel Civ3 is good enough (or potentially good enough) to pirate, it's good enough to pay for or to wait until it meets your price/feature level.

I for one am walking away from Civ3. I will re-evaluate it 6 months from now. Once the first few rounds of patches and the MP stuff is all sorted out, it might well be worth my money. Until then, even a pirated version would take something valuable from me...TIME! At this point, I don't think Civ3 even deserves my time, so I will be on other boards playing EU for a few months, occasionally peeking in here to see what's up.

Again, do NOT pirate Civ3. Even if you don't repect the result, please at least respect the people who make a living off the product enough NOT to steal it from them. Afterall, if a gaming company goes out of business, it should be because it didn't make the customer happy NOT because some lame customers have easy access to some downloads.

And anybody on these boards who admits to or supports pirating Civ3 should be given one warning then banned. As much as I hate companies trying to rip off the customer, I also hate fans trying to rip off companies.

[FrostyBoy]

you really need to relax and stop talking so much

your personality is very extreme on the internet

[saracen31]

Agreed, Yin. I used to be ambivalent about pirating, but since getting into software development myself, I can see where it really hits home. The game industry is in enough trouble right now - let's support Firaxis.

[yin26]

...let's support Firaxis

Or yourself by not spending money/time on something you feel doesn't deserve it. Firaxis has made its decisions, but no company deserves to have its worked pirated.

[Rasbelin]

Re: Please do NOT pirate Civ3!

Originally posted by yin26

Again, do NOT pirate Civ3.

I totally agree with you. It's really much more
fair to buy a copy, than travel to Tallinn or Vyborg.

"If you make even one illegal copy of
Civ III, I'll come and smash you like potatoe and
kick your ass, so that it will hurt a lot more than buying Civ III."

[Nenad]

I'm all against piracy, and I completely agree with you guys.
However, I just want to say that, without piracy, I would never get a chance to play even Civ I.
I'm afraid that this would be the same with Civ III.
I suppose (and I hope) that my case is just one of few.

[marcuspeddle]

I'm with Yin. What makes me even angrier than people ripping off software are friends who see your latest game and then say, "Hey, can I copy that CD?" I paid $50 for a game and they think I'm going to let them get it from me for free? I've pissed off some friends like that.

Snoopy,
Yin doesn't need to relax - he's got a valid point that needs to be expressed. Pirating software is a crime.

[Earthling7]

I have waited for CivIII since 1997. That's when I saw the first speculations on what it would become. Oh, the early days of the Internet.

I read both manuals for CivI and II, and as I'm interested in history, they were better than a hospital-romance. Especiallt the CivI manual.

Enough said. I'm buying this baby, LE and all!

[Skanky Burns]

Yin, I couldnt agree with you more

[Provost Harrison]

Don't get me wrong, I intend to buy Civ3 when it becomes available in this country, but if there is a considerable delay in getting hold of the game in this country, I will download and play the game until I can buy it. I have bought previous games from Firaxis and I intend to buy this one. But if there is a sizeable gap between release dates, I will download it to fill the gap, and you can spare me the sanctimonious claptrap...

[Urban Ranger]

Reviews have failed me, suckered me into buying horrible crap such as Majesty. I have lost piles of money on games I hardly play.

While it is very likely that I am going to buy Civ 3, I want to evaluate it first. If I like it, I'll pay for a full version.

I realise that we should not rip off software developers, but we should not be ripped off, either. What is fair is fair.

[Provost Harrison]

I think in this case UR at least the game has a decent pedigree. Chances are that it is going to be damn fine, despite the pessimism around here from some of the civ purists. God knows what they must have been like with CtP in development

[Adagio]

As it looks now I will surely get a pirated version of the game as soon as posible...BUT that's just to get the game as fast as posible as soon as I can buy the game (some months after the release in USA) I will buy the game, no doubt about that, unless ofcause the game sux bug tiime, which I just can't imagine about a Civ game

[redstar1]

I fully intend to download it. I'll get my hands on a CD image beofre it even hits the shops in the US. I'll download it, burn it. Then report back here on how it plays, what it looks like etc. I do this with a lot of games. In fact almost every big name release. Have to say though that if I play the game to the point of liking it I will more than likely purchase as cracked games are difficult to patch, and as we all know, patches come soon after release. I use this method as a way of 'testing' the game. Demo's are crap. I want to see what happens later in the game. I want to experience the full game before I hand over cash. It is impossible to do this with computer games. We get the chance to test drive cars, bikes, listen to albums etc. £30 isn't much for me since I have a good job, but thats not the point. I've been playing Maddens 2002 for 3 weeks and I intend to but it when it is released. It is quality.

I'm sorry if this hurts the developers but it is up to the publishers and the game stores to provide potential customers with the ability to try out the software first. Magazine/Internet reviews are great but I do not regard them as a fair way to guage the quality of a game. Obviously with a game like CIV 3 which is massive, will have a lot of fans before it has been released, and will more than likely be fantastic, games magazines may review through rose tinted glasses. I don't want to know how good the graphics are, how good the sound is. I want to know what gaming experience this offers me, why I should buy CIV3, why i should play it instead of CTP3 or Age of Empires. I can only judge this by playing the game, and I can only test the game by 'stealing' it.

Dave

[Aco]

Yawn.. how about stating the obvious

Why are 'we' even bothering to say the obvious?

Stealing is illegal.. and it doesn't matter whether we're talking about a game/music cd/book/whatever.

Reward the people who create things.. just pay for their efforts.

There really isn't a different way.. unless you want to be a criminal.


Thats all there is..

Aco