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Arstechnica Review of Gaming on the Mac with GTX 285.

Golgatha

Golgatha

Lifer
http://arstechnica.com/hardwar...x-285-on-the-mac.ars/2

I also wanted to test at least one Mac game with this card, but I lost my Quake 4 disk in a move and when I tried to install it from a burned backup, the application barked at me about not having the original disk:

So now I have a legitimate serial number and no application. Meanwhile you can get a crack online for older versions of the Quake 4 Mac application. DRM is awesome.
Click to expand...

I just found this funny and felt I needed to share.

Paying customers inconvenienced by DRM = 1

Pirates inconvenienced by DRM = 0
 
Back in ~1999 my legit Half-Life key got nixed. No idea why. One day the DRM Valve used at the time (WoN?) refused my key. So I used a key generator and never had an issue lol
 
I'm actually writing a paper on how DRM shouldn't be used for a class. There are many other sources like this that point out it just burdens consumers.

Easy paper to write, especially since I can ignore music and movie DRM completely and just focus on PC games.
 
This is the general consensus on the AT forums.
DRM only punishes paying customers.
Everyone else gets the best of both worlds. They get the game for free, and they have the easiest time playing it.
 
Originally posted by: shortylickens
This is the general consensus on the AT forums.
DRM only punishes paying customers.
Everyone else gets the best of both worlds. They get the game for free, and they have the easiest time playing it.
Click to expand...
I'd agree with that. I fall into the "paying customers" category unfortunately.. 🙁

What I hope is that I can eventually turn that frown into a smile after publishers realize that DRM doesn't work. Nowadays I pass on many PC games due solely to the DRM the publishers chose to use. It's quite sad, but at least it allows me the time to catch up on some good older titles I haven't played yet.
 
Originally posted by: BFG10K
There was a patch for the PC version that removed the CD-check officially.
Click to expand...

It replaces the CD check with online authentication of the key. In fact, it wouldn't accept my key at all after I changed my video card at one point. I got the game with an earlier card, so I don't know if the key was somehow tied into that card or what.

I eventually found that it only does the check if an internet connection is available, and disabling the connection was the only way I could play the game. 😛
 
Originally posted by: Golgatha
http://arstechnica.com/hardwar...x-285-on-the-mac.ars/2

I also wanted to test at least one Mac game with this card, but I lost my Quake 4 disk in a move and when I tried to install it from a burned backup, the application barked at me about not having the original disk:

So now I have a legitimate serial number and no application. Meanwhile you can get a crack online for older versions of the Quake 4 Mac application. DRM is awesome.
Click to expand...

I just found this funny and felt I needed to share.

Paying customers inconvenienced by DRM = 1

Pirates inconvenienced by DRM = 0
Click to expand...

Wow, I'm glad someone is bringing this RDM...I mean MDR...err DRM, yeah, thats it...thing to light. It's good of you to bring this totally new problem to the masses so that we can all be aware of it. you know, maybe we should like boycott games with RDM, err i mean DRM (dang, this new fangled stuff is hard to remember) next. It would be like saying, "hey, we don't want this in our games" or something. Who wants to bet that EA will be a big proponent of DRM?
 
Originally posted by: mindcycle
Originally posted by: shortylickens
This is the general consensus on the AT forums.
DRM only punishes paying customers.
Everyone else gets the best of both worlds. They get the game for free, and they have the easiest time playing it.
Click to expand...
I'd agree with that. I fall into the "paying customers" category unfortunately.. 🙁

What I hope is that I can eventually turn that frown into a smile after publishers realize that DRM doesn't work. Nowadays I pass on many PC games due solely to the DRM the publishers chose to use. It's quite sad, but at least it allows me the time to catch up on some good older titles I haven't played yet.
Click to expand...

Meh. If I pay for a game, I'm not afraid to get it working by any means necessary. Once or twice, I've actually bought the game and then pirated it because I couldn't get it to work or some such nonsense.
 
Originally posted by: pontifex
Originally posted by: Golgatha
http://arstechnica.com/hardwar...x-285-on-the-mac.ars/2

I also wanted to test at least one Mac game with this card, but I lost my Quake 4 disk in a move and when I tried to install it from a burned backup, the application barked at me about not having the original disk:

So now I have a legitimate serial number and no application. Meanwhile you can get a crack online for older versions of the Quake 4 Mac application. DRM is awesome.
Click to expand...

I just found this funny and felt I needed to share.

Paying customers inconvenienced by DRM = 1

Pirates inconvenienced by DRM = 0
Click to expand...

Wow, I'm glad someone is bringing this RDM...I mean MDR...err DRM, yeah, thats it...thing to light. It's good of you to bring this totally new problem to the masses so that we can all be aware of it. you know, maybe we should like boycott games with RDM, err i mean DRM (dang, this new fangled stuff is hard to remember) next. It would be like saying, "hey, we don't want this in our games" or something. Who wants to bet that EA will be a big proponent of DRM?
Click to expand...


So being silent on the subject will make DRM magically go away? Maybe EA would forget about DRM in C&C 4, etc. if we'd all just shut our big collective freaking yappers.
 
Originally posted by: shortylickens
This is the general consensus on the AT forums.
DRM only punishes paying customers.
Everyone else gets the best of both worlds. They get the game for free, and they have the easiest time playing it.
Click to expand...

This is pretty much why I abandoned PC gaming and moved to consoles. With my PS3, I never have to enter complex CD keys, SecuROM is not going to FUBAR my system, and I don't have to be logged online to play. Don't get me wrong, I used to love PC gaming almost to fanboy status. I just never liked the concept of treating paying customers as if they were going to steal the game. As I said in the other thread about the death of PC gaming, it just reminds me too much of that film Minority Report. Punish them before they commit the crime. It would be something if it discouraged actual pirates. Given Spore's draconian DRM versus it being the most pirated game of 2008, I can say definitively that it does not. At least somebody finally sued EA over it, though I have no idea how that's panning out.

When I do buy PC games, I try to buy ones without DRM. It's one of the reasons I picked up Sins of a Solar Empire. Great game, sold vary well, won several game of the year awards, and defied what the rest of the industry though. They thought Stardock was nuts for releasing it DRM-free. Another top selling game that won many awards, Fallout 3, also shipped without DRM. It just uses a disc check. A lot of the smaller devs are smartening up. They're learning that you can capitalize big time off a customer friendly user experience, something the big three (EA, Activision, UBIsoft) are refusing to offer.

The industry does need to make some changes regarding DRM. Namely, if they do include it, it should say clearly right on the packaging exactly what the restrictions are. Not simply that it contains copy protection. This is what got EA in hot water over Spore, as they failed to disclose this information on the box, the manual, or in the EULA. Failure to disclose this information is a bait & switch tactic IMO.

Well, that's my DRM rant for the day.
 
Obviously this is not a platform-specific problem. The real trick is getting us to trade one form of DRM for another and think we're winning the fight. For example, I'm tempted to buy Mass Effect now that I can get it without SecuROM, but then I'm indefinitely tied to Steam. Is that better? In some ways, maybe; in other ways, not so much.
 
Originally posted by: Golgatha
Originally posted by: pontifex
Originally posted by: Golgatha
http://arstechnica.com/hardwar...x-285-on-the-mac.ars/2

I also wanted to test at least one Mac game with this card, but I lost my Quake 4 disk in a move and when I tried to install it from a burned backup, the application barked at me about not having the original disk:

So now I have a legitimate serial number and no application. Meanwhile you can get a crack online for older versions of the Quake 4 Mac application. DRM is awesome.
Click to expand...

I just found this funny and felt I needed to share.

Paying customers inconvenienced by DRM = 1

Pirates inconvenienced by DRM = 0
Click to expand...

Wow, I'm glad someone is bringing this RDM...I mean MDR...err DRM, yeah, thats it...thing to light. It's good of you to bring this totally new problem to the masses so that we can all be aware of it. you know, maybe we should like boycott games with RDM, err i mean DRM (dang, this new fangled stuff is hard to remember) next. It would be like saying, "hey, we don't want this in our games" or something. Who wants to bet that EA will be a big proponent of DRM?
Click to expand...


So being silent on the subject will make DRM magically go away? Maybe EA would forget about DRM in C&C 4, etc. if we'd all just shut our big collective freaking yappers.
Click to expand...

so totally over your head...
i'm complaining because every other fucking thread started in this forum is about DRM. Bitching about DRM here isn't going to do anything about it. Look at how long people have been bitching about DRM and companies are still using it. doing a lot of fucking good, isn't it?
 
Originally posted by: pontifex
so totally over your head...
i'm complaining because every other fucking thread started in this forum is about DRM. Bitching about DRM here isn't going to do anything about it. Look at how long people have been bitching about DRM and companies are still using it. doing a lot of fucking good, isn't it?
Click to expand...
EA dropped online activation based SecuROM from Sims 3 because of user complains over the DRM used in Spore. So it does help IMO.

Even if EA isn't reading this forum specifically, there is a chance that people (like me for example) will find info on this forum and then address their concerns directly to the publisher.
 
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