Crysis Warhead - Activation Disabled - Can not play

[IEC]

Originally posted by: Pugnate
Bullshit.

I do NOT believe the OP here. Obviously some propaganda spewing pirate.

I don't understand why a lot of people these days don't take the "innocent until proven guilty" approach - even if you have suspicions, why insult him and insult yourself by posting like this?

This is a common issue for many people unaware of install limits. It happened with Bioshock, it happened with Mass Effect, and it happened with Spore. You'd be surprised how often installs don't work correctly... damn DRM effed up my CoH install TWICE before I could get it working... then I had to install about 8 different patches and spend 2 hours before I could even play.

 

[CP5670]

Besides, why would pirates complain about this anyway? They don't need to deal with it at all.

 

[coloumb]

Originally posted by: Spartan Niner

Originally posted by: Pugnate
Bullshit.

I do NOT believe the OP here. Obviously some propaganda spewing pirate.

I don't understand why a lot of people these days don't take the "innocent until proven guilty" approach - even if you have suspicions, why insult him and insult yourself by posting like this?

This is a common issue for many people unaware of install limits. It happened with Bioshock, it happened with Mass Effect, and it happened with Spore. You'd be surprised how often installs don't work correctly... damn DRM effed up my CoH install TWICE before I could get it working... then I had to install about 8 different patches and spend 2 hours before I could even play.

According to the OP:

Game was installed [1 activation used].
Motherboard died, motherboard replaced, re-install Vista = 1 significant change.
OP tried to install the game again and received the DRM message [which means the 4 remaining activations were used]

What happened to the other 4 activations? According to Crymod developers, Warhead has a 5 activation limit on DIFFERENT hardware configurations.

Maybe the OP left out a few details as to how the other 4 activations were used up...

 

[HDTVfan]

Yea, wink - like it's my fault the software I paid for was disabled remotely. Turn it around on me. Do you work for EA? You want details - I had problems with my bios on my Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L and upgraded to a GA-EP45-DS3R - also upgraded a 2900 pro to a 4850, upgraded xp to vista, and upgraded 6400 to e8400. Did you ever go through computer upgrades? You are trying to divert attention to counting the number of "tries" I had instead of focusing on the core issue that the software that I paid good money for was disabled. You are trying to make it look like I installed it on other computers - which is not true. Shame on you! Well say what you will but I know I won't buy a product that has that DRM on it again. And I am sure there are plenty of other folks out there that upgrade their computers on a regular basis that will reach the same conclusion.

 

[Oakenfold]

Originally posted by: coloumb

Originally posted by: Spartan Niner

Originally posted by: Pugnate
Bullshit.

I do NOT believe the OP here. Obviously some propaganda spewing pirate.

I don't understand why a lot of people these days don't take the "innocent until proven guilty" approach - even if you have suspicions, why insult him and insult yourself by posting like this?

This is a common issue for many people unaware of install limits. It happened with Bioshock, it happened with Mass Effect, and it happened with Spore. You'd be surprised how often installs don't work correctly... damn DRM effed up my CoH install TWICE before I could get it working... then I had to install about 8 different patches and spend 2 hours before I could even play.

According to the OP:

Game was installed [1 activation used].
Motherboard died, motherboard replaced, re-install Vista = 1 significant change.
OP tried to install the game again and received the DRM message [which means the 4 remaining activations were used]

What happened to the other 4 activations? According to Crymod developers, Warhead has a 5 activation limit on DIFFERENT hardware configurations.

Maybe the OP left out a few details as to how the other 4 activations were used up...

Or since none of us really know with 100% certainty it could also be that their activation tracking system is totally borked?

I agree something is amiss, unless we had the activation logs I doubt we'd ever know and even then well who knows.

OP I'd be contacting the DEV / PUB for support if you still have your receipt.

 

[HDTVfan]

Bottom line is that I made major changes to my system and Crysis Warhead was remotely deactivated as a result. All of my other programs worked fine. Can you imagine what it would have been like if all of my other programs had this type of DRM? All of my programs with their own DRM calling out to software companies to deactivate me because my hardware had changed - what, 2x? 3x? 5x? If I had to call each and every other manufacturer to get activated? This is madness. This type of DRM is insidious - it installs without warning, harms the innocent consumer, does not even prevent the piracy it was created to thwart.

 

[dguy6789]

You should pirate the game.

 

[CVSiN]

Well Windows does the exact same thing.. and yet noone complains... whats the problem with a company protecting its investments.
I'm a Network Administrator/Desktop Support Manager and We have to call MS on a constant basis when we rebuild servers or move licenses.
Its part of the game.
I dont blame them one bit for this kind of activation limit.

if youre legit there is nothing to complain about. A 5 minute call to MS or whomever and youre back up and running.

 

[Canai]

Originally posted by: CVSiN
Well Windows does the exact same thing.. and yet noone complains... whats the problem with a company protecting its investments.
I'm a Network Administrator/Desktop Support Manager and We have to call MS on a constant basis when we rebuild servers or move licenses.
Its part of the game.
I dont blame them one bit for this kind of activation limit.

if youre legit there is nothing to complain about. A 5 minute call to MS or whomever and youre back up and running.

Yeah, but I'd rather just crack the game than deal with that bullshit. Why the fuck should I tell the PUBLISHER of the game whenever I make a hardware change? EA wants people to call ahead before they make hardware changes - once again, that's none of their fucking business.

If the dev's wanted to implement something like that to track hardware changes, they could do it in a non-invasive way like Valve did.


Mk so as of right now, I have 5 EA games installed and about a dozen other games, and let's say that EA's nutbag DRM actually gets picked up by all the publishers. Say I buy a new video card, swap it out, have to call 17 times to get the 17 games reactivated, and then when I get into a 3D app, the video card fails. So I have to swap out cards x number of times, having to reactivate 17 games each time. That sounds like a real blast!

I think we're going to see a LOT more piracy because of shit like this. That, and people who actually buy the game are going to crack it and use fake keys so they can avoid the whole bullshit deal from the get-go.

edit: and also, Windows doesn't need a reactivation after swapping out video cards.

 

[Larries]

Originally posted by: CVSiN
Well Windows does the exact same thing.. and yet noone complains... whats the problem with a company protecting its investments.
I'm a Network Administrator/Desktop Support Manager and We have to call MS on a constant basis when we rebuild servers or move licenses.
Its part of the game.
I dont blame them one bit for this kind of activation limit.

if youre legit there is nothing to complain about. A 5 minute call to MS or whomever and youre back up and running.

Seriously, I don't understand why people defend this type of activation crap.

Imagine you not just need to call Microsoft whenever your server motherboard fails, but also need to call every single vendor with a piece of software installed in the server (could be Oracle, SAP, IBM, Norton, etc). Imagine the additional amount of work you need to do. At least, in the software industry (including game industry), the big players are buying out the small players so you have less vendor to call in the future!

 

[Oyeve]

Whoa, so if I bought this game, installed it and changed my video card, or added memory those change count as reactivations? Please clarify as this thread is confusing.

 

[CVSiN]

Originally posted by: Canai

Originally posted by: CVSiN
Well Windows does the exact same thing.. and yet noone complains... whats the problem with a company protecting its investments.
I'm a Network Administrator/Desktop Support Manager and We have to call MS on a constant basis when we rebuild servers or move licenses.
Its part of the game.
I dont blame them one bit for this kind of activation limit.

if youre legit there is nothing to complain about. A 5 minute call to MS or whomever and youre back up and running.

Yeah, but I'd rather just crack the game than deal with that bullshit. Why the fuck should I tell the PUBLISHER of the game whenever I make a hardware change? EA wants people to call ahead before they make hardware changes - once again, that's none of their fucking business.

If the dev's wanted to implement something like that to track hardware changes, they could do it in a non-invasive way like Valve did.


Mk so as of right now, I have 5 EA games installed and about a dozen other games, and let's say that EA's nutbag DRM actually gets picked up by all the publishers. Say I buy a new video card, swap it out, have to call 17 times to get the 17 games reactivated, and then when I get into a 3D app, the video card fails. So I have to swap out cards x number of times, having to reactivate 17 games each time. That sounds like a real blast!

I think we're going to see a LOT more piracy because of shit like this. That, and people who actually buy the game are going to crack it and use fake keys so they can avoid the whole bullshit deal from the get-go.

edit: and also, Windows doesn't need a reactivation after swapping out video cards.

Becasue a hardware change is the same to the program as installing on another PC.. hence pirating.

the only people that would complain over something like this are the very ones its designed to fvck over..

in other words quite pirating software and support companies.
I have zero sympathy for anyone that complains over software DRM.

Its there to protect those that made the software from you giving your copy to someone else.
thereby screwing over the company that made the game.

I update my system just like everyone else.
I make the call and reactivate and I'm back playing.
whats the big deal?

myabe its just that I work with a company that makes software and this is exactly the kind of protection we need on our software to prevent people from giving it away.

 

[Oakenfold]

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: Canai

Originally posted by: CVSiN
Well Windows does the exact same thing.. and yet noone complains... whats the problem with a company protecting its investments.
I'm a Network Administrator/Desktop Support Manager and We have to call MS on a constant basis when we rebuild servers or move licenses.
Its part of the game.
I dont blame them one bit for this kind of activation limit.

if youre legit there is nothing to complain about. A 5 minute call to MS or whomever and youre back up and running.

Yeah, but I'd rather just crack the game than deal with that bullshit. Why the fuck should I tell the PUBLISHER of the game whenever I make a hardware change? EA wants people to call ahead before they make hardware changes - once again, that's none of their fucking business.

If the dev's wanted to implement something like that to track hardware changes, they could do it in a non-invasive way like Valve did.


Mk so as of right now, I have 5 EA games installed and about a dozen other games, and let's say that EA's nutbag DRM actually gets picked up by all the publishers. Say I buy a new video card, swap it out, have to call 17 times to get the 17 games reactivated, and then when I get into a 3D app, the video card fails. So I have to swap out cards x number of times, having to reactivate 17 games each time. That sounds like a real blast!

I think we're going to see a LOT more piracy because of shit like this. That, and people who actually buy the game are going to crack it and use fake keys so they can avoid the whole bullshit deal from the get-go.

edit: and also, Windows doesn't need a reactivation after swapping out video cards.

Becasue a hardware change is the same to the program as installing on another PC.. hence pirating.

the only people that would complain over something like this are the very ones its designed to fvck over..

in other words quite pirating software and support companies.
I have zero sympathy for anyone that complains over software DRM.

Its there to protect those that made the software from you giving your copy to someone else.
thereby screwing over the company that made the game.

I update my system just like everyone else.
I make the call and reactivate and I'm back playing.
whats the big deal?

myabe its just that I work with a company that makes software and this is exactly the kind of protection we need on our software to prevent people from giving it away.

I understand what you are saying and agree that DRM is designed to be a preventive control to "keep the honest, honest" but let's face it. DRM is an epic failure, whether we are talking about games or applications. Well, for mainstream stuff anyhow.

I'm not a pirate, and I don't like being treated like one. If you have two companies with similar applications, one with DRM and one without DRM I would like to see statistics on which is actually pirated more. That would be food for thought.

 

[NoSoup4You]

With all the hardware upgrades and OS installs you're doing, it sounds like you're a computer enthusiast. How'd you miss out on hearing about all the DRM included with Warhead?

 

[KeypoX]

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
Things like this make people go onto torrent websites.... good job EA.

and teaches the ins and outs of pirating... good job EA

 

[coloumb]

Originally posted by: Oyeve
Whoa, so if I bought this game, installed it and changed my video card, or added memory those change count as reactivations? Please clarify as this thread is confusing.

lol... I'd suggest heading over the crymod forums where the EXPERTS can answer your question rather than people just throwing guesses and accusations..

Crysis Warhead DRM FAQ

 

[HDTVfan]

LOL indeed. Let me quote from that very FAQ
"Q: Do I have to re-authenticate after the first time my game is launched?
A: Re-authentication is required only if you make significant changes to your PC's hardware, reformat your hard drive, or in some cases, upgrade your Operating System. Multiple installations of the game on the same computer that has not gone through significant changes will not count against the number of computers the game can be installed on. " Or in other words, you do have to re-authenticate after the first game is launched if you make signifcant changes to your PC's hardware, reformat your hard drive, or in some cases upgrade your Operating system. Those of you who make regular upgrades to their computers as technology changes (and who doesn't) will have a hassle with each and every piece of software with this type of DRM and will always be worried whether you made a "significant" upgrade that triggered the DRM hiding insidiously in your files. It's outrageous...

 

[Canai]

Originally posted by: CVSiN

Originally posted by: Canai

Originally posted by: CVSiN
Well Windows does the exact same thing.. and yet noone complains... whats the problem with a company protecting its investments.
I'm a Network Administrator/Desktop Support Manager and We have to call MS on a constant basis when we rebuild servers or move licenses.
Its part of the game.
I dont blame them one bit for this kind of activation limit.

if youre legit there is nothing to complain about. A 5 minute call to MS or whomever and youre back up and running.

Yeah, but I'd rather just crack the game than deal with that bullshit. Why the fuck should I tell the PUBLISHER of the game whenever I make a hardware change? EA wants people to call ahead before they make hardware changes - once again, that's none of their fucking business.

If the dev's wanted to implement something like that to track hardware changes, they could do it in a non-invasive way like Valve did.


Mk so as of right now, I have 5 EA games installed and about a dozen other games, and let's say that EA's nutbag DRM actually gets picked up by all the publishers. Say I buy a new video card, swap it out, have to call 17 times to get the 17 games reactivated, and then when I get into a 3D app, the video card fails. So I have to swap out cards x number of times, having to reactivate 17 games each time. That sounds like a real blast!

I think we're going to see a LOT more piracy because of shit like this. That, and people who actually buy the game are going to crack it and use fake keys so they can avoid the whole bullshit deal from the get-go.

edit: and also, Windows doesn't need a reactivation after swapping out video cards.

Becasue a hardware change is the same to the program as installing on another PC.. hence pirating.

the only people that would complain over something like this are the very ones its designed to fvck over..

in other words quite pirating software and support companies.
I have zero sympathy for anyone that complains over software DRM.

Its there to protect those that made the software from you giving your copy to someone else.
thereby screwing over the company that made the game.

I update my system just like everyone else.
I make the call and reactivate and I'm back playing.
whats the big deal?

myabe its just that I work with a company that makes software and this is exactly the kind of protection we need on our software to prevent people from giving it away.

Pirates don't have to deal with DRM. At all. Ever. EVER. The DRM is removed, by the actual pirates, before the software is released to the public.

I seriously don't understand people defending DRM. Is it that hard to understand that DRM only hurts those who legitimately purchase the software?

Originally posted by: HDTVfan
LOL indeed. Let me quote from that very FAQ
"Q: Do I have to re-authenticate after the first time my game is launched?
A: Re-authentication is required only if you make significant changes to your PC's hardware, reformat your hard drive, or in some cases, upgrade your Operating System. Multiple installations of the game on the same computer that has not gone through significant changes will not count against the number of computers the game can be installed on. " Or in other words, you do have to re-authenticate after the first game is launched if you make signifcant changes to your PC's hardware, reformat your hard drive, or in some cases upgrade your Operating system. Those of you who make regular upgrades to their computers as technology changes (and who doesn't) will have a hassle with each and every piece of software with this type of DRM and will always be worried whether you made a "significant" upgrade that triggered the DRM hiding insidiously in your files. It's outrageous...

And that also means that even after you uninstall Warhead, the DRM stays on your machine. You have no option to remove it.

 

[james1701]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yO913DuRwA

This says it all.

Crytek is working on a revoke tool, but its not out yet. I think Warheads securom is at least way better than what was in Bioshock. When it was released, it only had 3 reinstalls before calling 2k.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: CrazyLazy

Originally posted by: HDTVfan
Actually I don't know the way aound it. But I guess I'll have to find out if I want to use the game that I paid for. It's ironic that guys like me that purchase the game retail are locked out and forced to look for ways around the protection that I'm sure are are commonly known to those who don't buy it in the first place.

The way around it starts with "c" and ends in "rack".

Google gamecopyworld and download 7-Zip (a file compression/decompression program much like WinZip or WinRAR) if you don't already have it. I'm not direct linking from here for obvious reasons.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: CVSiN

why even bother with cracks etc if you bought it.

Because you get a better user experience with each of your games for 1-2 minutes taken out of your day to download the files? BTW gamecopyworld's banners are totally NSFW.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: jonks

Originally posted by: BladeVenom

Originally posted by: HDTVfan
They told me that all of the game companies were going to adopt this.

Well EA isn't very honest. Plenty of companies don't use DRM, use a simple disk check, or other noninvasive methods of copy protection.

Yeah but not on major releases, just small time unhyped games like Fallout 3.

Which will sell like hotcakes and make it immediately into my collection due to the lack of DRM.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: CP5670
Besides, why would pirates complain about this anyway? They don't need to deal with it at all.

This.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: HDTVfan
Yea, wink - like it's my fault the software I paid for was disabled remotely. Turn it around on me. Do you work for EA? You want details - I had problems with my bios on my Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L and upgraded to a GA-EP45-DS3R - also upgraded a 2900 pro to a 4850, upgraded xp to vista, and upgraded 6400 to e8400. Did you ever go through computer upgrades? You are trying to divert attention to counting the number of "tries" I had instead of focusing on the core issue that the software that I paid good money for was disabled. You are trying to make it look like I installed it on other computers - which is not true. Shame on you! Well say what you will but I know I won't buy a product that has that DRM on it again. And I am sure there are plenty of other folks out there that upgrade their computers on a regular basis that will reach the same conclusion.

That vaporware activation revocation tool can't come quick enough can it?

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: CVSiN
Well Windows does the exact same thing.. and yet noone complains... whats the problem with a company protecting its investments.
I'm a Network Administrator/Desktop Support Manager and We have to call MS on a constant basis when we rebuild servers or move licenses.
Its part of the game.
I dont blame them one bit for this kind of activation limit.

if youre legit there is nothing to complain about. A 5 minute call to MS or whomever and youre back up and running.

A 5 minute call to an automated system would be great, but this is EA tech support we're talking about here and not Microsoft. Apples and bloated, stinking oranges my friend.