Atari - DRM

[ArchAngel777]

I purchased this game through Atari.com (Digital River) and installed it on my main computer and on my HTPC. Everything was great until I had to reinstall. I formatted the drive on my HTPC to install Vista with a fresh clean copy and went to activate the game, it said I had to many activations. Mind you, this had been 6 months later. I had to call Digital River and read off a huge long code (I think it was 32 characters) and was able to get it activated. I was rather of irritated because 1) The number of contact was not an 800 number and 2) This is only the third installation!

So another 18 months later I rebuilt a new HTPC and prepared myself last night to have to call them to get it activated. To my surprise, it activated just fine without having to call them.

I am guessing that Atari wipes out the activations made after a certain amount of time. Similar to the once a year iTunes authorization wipe.

This thread is more for informational purposes. Feel free to comment.

 

[mindcycle]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
I am guessing that Atari wipes out the activations made after a certain amount of time. Similar to the once a year iTunes authorization wipe.

That or they gave you more than one extra install, or their DRM system is broken. Back when the Chronicles of Riddick - Dark Athena DRM debate was going on, a few different of people tested the 3 install limit. Some were able to install more than 3 times on more than 3 different machines. Thus suggesting that the 3 install limit system didn't work.

It's funny though, because while the online activation DRM they used may have stopped piracy for a period of time, I never quite understood the install limits. The online portion was what was hindering pirates, but the install limit was not, and never will. It's more in place as a failed idea that some companies just decided to stick with. It's more of an annoyance to paying customers than anything else.

At least most publishers are moving away from install limits after realizing they don't provide any benefit for either themselves or their customers.

 

[Golgatha]

I've never understood install limits either. It's kind of like Microsoft's WGA program. All it does is annoy me and it doesn't stop one bit of piracy. WGA is a bit worse, because I can't exactly uninstall Windows before I reinstall and reactivate it. However, it's slightly better than the Riddick AODA 3 install limit with no revocation, because I have much more confidence in Microsoft still being around in 10 years to call for a reactivation than I do for ATARI.

 

[duragezic]

I thought the install limits were there to stop pirating between groups of friends or family. The person who buys a game with a 3 install limit isn't as likely to then give the disc to a couple of friends as a game with no such limits.

Not that I like these limits, but that is probably one reason for them. Though I think the couple of games I have with an install limit (Crysis Warhead, Mass Effect) also have removal tools so I have no problem with them even if I did end up hitting the limit.

My second least favorite type of DRM is the dang CD checks!

edit: WGA was a concern when it came out but I don't think it ended up being not as bad or they relaxed it. I've installed my copy of XP about 4 times on different hardware over the past few years and no problems yet. It may look at the frequency and hardware of the machine rather than a fixed number.

 

[Q]

Fun game, my first 1000 pt achievement game on 360. Played the hell out of it. Hope they make a sequel.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: duragezic
I thought the install limits were there to stop pirating between groups of friends or family. The person who buys a game with a 3 install limit isn't as likely to then give the disc to a couple of friends as a game with no such limits.

Not that I like these limits, but that is probably one reason for them. Though I think the couple of games I have with an install limit (Crysis Warhead, Mass Effect) also have removal tools so I have no problem with them even if I did end up hitting the limit.

My second least favorite type of DRM is the dang CD checks!

edit: WGA was a concern when it came out but I don't think it ended up being not as bad or they relaxed it. I've installed my copy of XP about 4 times on different hardware over the past few years and no problems yet. It may look at the frequency and hardware of the machine rather than a fixed number.

Yeah, I've never had a problem using the Internet or phone support for WGA. It's just been annoying more than once to have to "phone home" because I changed out a hard drive or motherboard (or once by just adding a virtual DVD drive to the system).

On a side note, Vista seems very resilient to motherboard swaps, as long as you stay with the same chipset. I've gone through a 975x, P45, and current X58 without any troubles on my main system.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Just look forward to when all companies do this, and you'll have to call like 10 different companies begging to play their games whenever you reformat.

 

[apoppin]

Most of the games have an "uninstall option"
- you uninstall the game while connected to the Internet and one of your activation limits is revoked for you to use again

i did this with FC2 after wiping my HD a couple of times and reaching my limit. Just uninstall the game and make sure you get the message before formatting

i haven't checked recently to see if they removed the activation limits along with the disk check in the latest patch.

 

[NYHoustonman]

Probably put more time into this game than most any other save WoW.

But it was also the only game I've ever had DRM issues with. It seems like whenever I update video drivers or anything of that sort the thing requires me to reactivate, and I ended up against the limit - couldn't play. It took me forever going through Atari's support (three weeks, to be more specific, and they have no direct phone numbers) to have them tell me that they couldn't do anything, I had to go through Digital River as I had the downloaded version. One phone call fixed this.

What fun -.-
Great game, though.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: NYHoustonman
Probably put more time into this game than most any other save WoW.

But it was also the only game I've ever had DRM issues with. It seems like whenever I update video drivers or anything of that sort the thing requires me to reactivate, and I ended up against the limit - couldn't play. It took me forever going through Atari's support (three weeks, to be more specific, and they have no direct phone numbers) to have them tell me that they couldn't do anything, I had to go through Digital River as I had the downloaded version. One phone call fixed this.

What fun -.-
Great game, though.

It sure is... I remember back when we got the game like 2 years and 3 months ago. We never were able to find each other in the game because Atari didn't implement the online features fully - in fact, I am not sure they even have yet. The whole 'club' thing or whatever. You would always see people driving with you, but actually finding a 'friend' in the game wasn't possible when it was released.

They came out with a car pack, but none of the cars on the pack really interest me much. There may be a couple, but nothing to justify a $20 purchase. I will stick with my favorate car the Ferrari 430 Spider Tuned to L3. I drove that car over 1,000 miles in game.

I hope TDU 2 comes out at some point... I would love to have it someplace in Chicago or NYC... Be a blast.

 

[NYHoustonman]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777

Originally posted by: NYHoustonman
Probably put more time into this game than most any other save WoW.

But it was also the only game I've ever had DRM issues with. It seems like whenever I update video drivers or anything of that sort the thing requires me to reactivate, and I ended up against the limit - couldn't play. It took me forever going through Atari's support (three weeks, to be more specific, and they have no direct phone numbers) to have them tell me that they couldn't do anything, I had to go through Digital River as I had the downloaded version. One phone call fixed this.

What fun -.-
Great game, though.

It sure is... I remember back when we got the game like 2 years and 3 months ago. We never were able to find each other in the game because Atari didn't implement the online features fully - in fact, I am not sure they even have yet. The whole 'club' thing or whatever. You would always see people driving with you, but actually finding a 'friend' in the game wasn't possible when it was released.

They came out with a car pack, but none of the cars on the pack really interest me much. There may be a couple, but nothing to justify a $20 purchase. I will stick with my favorate car the Ferrari 430 Spider Tuned to L3. I drove that car over 1,000 miles in game.

I hope TDU 2 comes out at some point... I would love to have it someplace in Chicago or NYC... Be a blast.

I've seen screenshots - supposedly from TDU 2 - floating around the official boards. Was hoping to see some official footage at E3... It's definitely in development, though, and I think enough of their following was on PC that they won't abandon it.

I've put somewhere around 1.6K on the McLaren F1 XD. This game has one of the most faithful adaptations of that car - from the sounds, to the interior, to the modeling - that I've seen in a video game (granted it hasn't been in all that many). I also found the megapack worth it, and downloaded it the first day, although I don't remember all of the cars that it included (Ferrari F40, Viper SRT-10 coupe, Dodge Challenger/Super Bee stand out).

 

[shortylickens]

Originally posted by: Quintox
Fun game, my first 1000 pt achievement game on 360. Played the hell out of it. Hope they make a sequel.

The sequel has been official for a while now, but I dont think the release date is official.
http://www.the-magicbox.com/0903/game090301b.shtml
Looks like they dont mess up the interface too badly. It would seem the vehicles are basically the same only a little better. Thats good. The game is great the way it is and doesnt need to be "improved" too much.
According to this:
http://www.gamercenteronline.n...est-drive-unlimited-2/
Its been going since April of last year.


As for the OP's issue: I dunno. I use the DVD version and it installs without problem.
You can try the STEAM version for 10 bucks I think.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: shortylickens

Originally posted by: Quintox
Fun game, my first 1000 pt achievement game on 360. Played the hell out of it. Hope they make a sequel.

The sequel has been official for a while now, but I dont think the release date is official.
http://www.the-magicbox.com/0903/game090301b.shtml
Looks like they dont mess up the interface too badly. It would seem the vehicles are basically the same only a little better. Thats good. The game is great the way it is and doesnt need to be "improved" too much.
According to this:
http://www.gamercenteronline.n...est-drive-unlimited-2/
Its been going since April of last year.


As for the OP's issue: I dunno. I use the DVD version and it installs without problem.
You can try the STEAM version for 10 bucks I think.

Thanks for the links. I had heard that they have no plans to release it for 2009. So were still at the very least a good six months away from release. The 360 version always comes out first, with the PC following several months behind. If I am a betting man, I would say we are still at least 1 year away from TDU:2. I hope I am wrong...

As for STEAM. I just went to www.steampowered.com and did a search for 'TDU' and 'Test Drive' and nothing came up. Not that I need to buy it again anyway. D2D and Atari.com has it, though. They still want $20 for it, and then another $20 for the Mega Car Pack.

 

[4537256]

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
I purchased this game through Atari.com (Digital River) and installed it on my main computer and on my HTPC. Everything was great until I had to reinstall. I formatted the drive on my HTPC to install Vista with a fresh clean copy and went to activate the game, it said I had to many activations. Mind you, this had been 6 months later. I had to call Digital River and read off a huge long code (I think it was 32 characters) and was able to get it activated. I was rather of irritated because 1) The number of contact was not an 800 number and 2) This is only the third installation!

.

go console then.
problem solved.

 

[ArchAngel777]

Originally posted by: 4537256

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
I purchased this game through Atari.com (Digital River) and installed it on my main computer and on my HTPC. Everything was great until I had to reinstall. I formatted the drive on my HTPC to install Vista with a fresh clean copy and went to activate the game, it said I had to many activations. Mind you, this had been 6 months later. I had to call Digital River and read off a huge long code (I think it was 32 characters) and was able to get it activated. I was rather of irritated because 1) The number of contact was not an 800 number and 2) This is only the third installation!

.

go console then.
problem solved.

I have a 360, but I refuse to buy any game that will come out for the PC. Being able to Apply AA, especially on a large display (50" Plasma) makes a world of difference. I compared the demo for TDU on 360 to the PC version with AA, Transparency Super Sampling enabled and it was no contest. 360 is a great console, but when the same title comes out for PC, assuming a semi decent port, I will always take the PC version.

Thanks for playing though.

Edit ** After reading your reply more thoroughly, it became obvious you only read the first part of my origonal post. This would make me inclined to believe that you are trolling.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Originally posted by: mindcycle

Originally posted by: ArchAngel777
I am guessing that Atari wipes out the activations made after a certain amount of time. Similar to the once a year iTunes authorization wipe.

That or they gave you more than one extra install, or their DRM system is broken. Back when the Chronicles of Riddick - Dark Athena DRM debate was going on, a few different of people tested the 3 install limit. Some were able to install more than 3 times on more than 3 different machines. Thus suggesting that the 3 install limit system didn't work.

It's funny though, because while the online activation DRM they used may have stopped piracy for a period of time, I never quite understood the install limits. The online portion was what was hindering pirates, but the install limit was not, and never will. It's more in place as a failed idea that some companies just decided to stick with. It's more of an annoyance to paying customers than anything else.

At least most publishers are moving away from install limits after realizing they don't provide any benefit for either themselves or their customers.

I think it kills the second hand market, which means more people buying new copies, which the developers get money for...

 

[Golgatha]

Recently reinstalled this game and went searching to see if they ever removed the Tages DRM as promised at "some point in the future".

Apparently it will never be removed.

From an admin on the site only 7 days ago - "Unfortunately at this time we have no plans on removing the DRM from this title. If you need additional activations you have to contact Tages, as they host the activation servers."

http://forums.atari.com/showthread.php?t=3900

It's a simple process to get it running though. You have 3 choices. I imagine a year or so from now you'll have one choice since a $3.99 game isn't going to receive support forever. Never, ever trust a company to do anything consumer friendly when they act consumer unfriendly from the start.


1) Download the crack, which has been available since about 1month post release.

2)The TAGES online activation support can be contacted directly by e-mail to T@GES Activation Support. In your e-mail to us please provide the following information:

1. The name of the game.
2. The first 10 letters of your serial number (not your purchasing number).
3. Your IP address (this is needed to check the activation server log). Your external IP will be shown by websites like http://www.whatismyip.com/
4. The type of error or problem you have encountered - please quote the complete error message.
5. If relevant (depending on the kind of error), the name of your browser/proxy/firewall/pop-up blocker: we regularly test them and may have advice regarding their configuration.

3) Buy another copy (way to rally your paying customers against you Atari).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832198066


At least now it's priced accordingly...like a short-term rental.

 

[Piotrsama]

3) Buy another copy (way to rally your paying customers against you Atari).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832198066

Funny that 2 of the 3 displayed reviews complain about the DRM

 

[Golgatha]

Funny that 2 of the 3 displayed reviews complain about the DRM

Yea, you think that's bad; go check Amazon.com's reviews for the PC version.

 

[you2]

I have nothing good to say about atari; and they are a company which is likely to go out of business and screw over customers if they do. Their support sucks, their attitude sucks, they are beyond anal (just look what happened with nwn/nwn2).