Crysis Warhead crippled with DRM

[Raduque]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
You guys that are reformatting and installing the OS over and over need to look at making backup images.

I'm with this guy.

Also, anybody who uses "M$" to mean "Microsoft" should be shot.


As for the thread's primary topic, I'm not buying Crysis Warhead. I'd wish it never existed, rather than being published by EA.

Originally posted by: Crytek
* Will the Steam version have an activation limit?
The Steam version of Crysis Warhead has the same activation limit as the retail version of 5 activations. The Steam version of Crysis Wars will only require authentication upon installation just like the retail product.

This kind of shit shouldn't be allowed on Steam. It should be Steam's login system or nothing. This nonsense is ruining Steam's reputation. If they're afraid not having the activation on Steam means the retail will be cracked easier, then don't put it on Steam. But it doesn't matter, because the activation and other DRM nonsense was probably cracked before the game even hit the shelves.

Originally posted by: mindcycle
I just wonder if you'll be able to easily resell the game if you register it to download additional content and end up tying your serial number to a user name. Like what happens with Mass Effect if you want the "bring down the sky" addon. That's Bioware doing that though, so it might not apply to all games.

From what I understand, you can remove the keys from your Bioware account. That possibly means you can resell it later.

 

[sticks435]

Originally posted by: Raduque

Originally posted by: Modelworks
You guys that are reformatting and installing the OS over and over need to look at making backup images.

I'm with this guy.

Also, anybody who uses "M$" to mean "Microsoft" should be shot.


As for the thread's primary topic, I'm not buying Crysis Warhead. I'd wish it never existed, rather than being published by EA.

Originally posted by: Crytek
* Will the Steam version have an activation limit?
The Steam version of Crysis Warhead has the same activation limit as the retail version of 5 activations. The Steam version of Crysis Wars will only require authentication upon installation just like the retail product.

This kind of shit shouldn't be allowed on Steam. It should be Steam's login system or nothing. This nonsense is ruining Steam's reputation. If they're afraid not having the activation on Steam means the retail will be haxed easier, then don't put it on Steam. But it doesn't matter, because the activation and other DRM nonsense was probably haxed before the game even hit the shelves.

Originally posted by: mindcycle
I just wonder if you'll be able to easily resell the game if you register it to download additional content and end up tying your serial number to a user name. Like what happens with Mass Effect if you want the "bring down the sky" addon. That's Bioware doing that though, so it might not apply to all games.

From what I understand, you can remove the keys from your Bioware account. That possibly means you can resell it later.

Anybody who who uses haxed to mean hacked should be shot.

 

[Raduque]

Originally posted by: sticks435

Anybody who who uses haxed to mean hacked should be shot.

Happy? People who use "M$" should still be shot, though.

 

[marmasatt]

You know, I'm kind of pissed about the DRM, yeah. But do I want to play it. I was pretty much in agreement with all the hater threads and decided I wasn't going to buy it. But hey, it's $30. I bought it yesterday and I'm glad I did. I have no problem with the campaign to smear EA or to get the message across, or nasty threads and emails, etc. It's too bad they can't see it. It seems so obvious that you are only going to hinder the legitimate gaming platform and punish those who go about purchasing properly. And if they (EA) see it and don't care - That's even worse. I think *almost* as much at issue is the fact that some of these limits (5 installs, what have you) are to probably stop the flow of games to the secondary markets like the forums/ebay/used gaming sites, etc...

 

[Dkcode]

Originally posted by: drebo

Originally posted by: 911paramedic

Originally posted by: Anubis
lol i love how the 2nd post says 5 activations should last 2 years.... ive had to reformat more times then that in the past 8 months

QFT

You had to reformat? No, the only thing forcing you to reformat was your own stupidity. What, did you get a virus that you were too lazy to clean out? Spyware? The only reason you HAVE to reformat is because you screwed something up, and if you're doing that more than 5 times in 8 months, it might be time for you to ditch the computer, as you're obviously incapable of running the damn thing.

While I don't support DRM in computer games, you should not be blaming EA for your own stupidity.

The amount of times Anubis has to format his machine is irrelevant. Its likely he paid for all his components and assembled it all himself. Its his machine and he is free to install whatever he wants on it how ever many times he likes.

If he wants to format his PC 6 times a day or 6 times a year, it's up to him and he has the free will to do so.

For me, it is the true open nature of the PC platform that makes it rise above anything else. Game publishers using nasty DRM scheme's, with the magic word being 'restriction', contradicts this.

 

[Czar]

Dont know if this has been answered but

If I install the game and it activates then later I uninstall the game because I need the space. Later I install the game again, is that a new activation?

 

[NYHoustonman]

Originally posted by: Czar
Dont know if this has been answered but

If I install the game and it activates then later I uninstall the game because I need the space. Later I install the game again, is that a new activation?

As of right now, sadly, yes. I think I read somewhere that they're working on allowing 'deactivations' as with some other games.

Either way, this isn't a huge deal to me, I'll buy the game as soon as I finish The Witcher: EE. It sucks, sure, but it's not worth spamming websites about...

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: NYHoustonman

Originally posted by: Czar
Dont know if this has been answered but

If I install the game and it activates then later I uninstall the game because I need the space. Later I install the game again, is that a new activation?

As of right now, sadly, yes. I think I read somewhere that they're working on allowing 'deactivations' as with some other games.

Either way, this isn't a huge deal to me, I'll buy the game as soon as I finish The Witcher: EE. It sucks, sure, but it's not worth spamming websites about...

Any this is why they will keep putting in steadily more restrictive DRM. Whats next? A single activation per CD key? A time limit of 3 months before the game permanently deactivates itself?
There are better games out there, which none or limited DRM, buy those instead. Don't keep feeding EA.

 

[mindcycle]

For those of you who don't like the DRM and are "just buying the game because it's not a huge deal" or whatever. You do realize you are voting for the continued existence of DRM, don't you? EA listens to one thing, money. The only way for us to have an impact is to vote with our wallet. If you don't like DRM and actually want to see it go away then don't shoot yourself in the foot by supporting it. That's just stupidity.

 

[duragezic]

Originally posted by: Czar
Dont know if this has been answered but

If I install the game and it activates then later I uninstall the game because I need the space. Later I install the game again, is that a new activation?

No, it is not. See people think I'm pro-DRM, when in fact I'm just trying to get people to look at the facts instead of spamming 1 star reviews (most of these written by idiots) and spreading misinformation.

 

[coloumb]

Originally posted by: Czar
Dont know if this has been answered but

If I install the game and it activates then later I uninstall the game because I need the space. Later I install the game again, is that a new activation?

Straight from the horses [Crytek] mouth:

Re-Activation

"Again, you can INSTALL the game on your PC as often as you want, BUT if you do significant hardware changes you need to spend a new ACTIVATION on it (you got 5 in total). So if you re-isntall your OS or change hardware parts the de-authorization tool will help you to not lose any of your activations at all."

So [for those who like to tinker or format/re-install the OS 20,000,000 times a week] - once EA gets off their arses and releases the tool, run the de-authorization program - make your hardware changes, OS formats, or ring-around-the-rosey saving the sky from falling on everyone around you - then re-install the game without using any additional activations.

Unless you make a backup image of your OS install - This is basically the same crap you have to go through with Microsoft's OS - at a certain point, you're gonna have to call up MS and "re-authorize" the OS if you make too many changes or re-install the OS too many times.

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: mindcycle
For those of you who don't like the DRM and are "just buying the game because it's not a huge deal" or whatever. You do realize you are voting for the continued existence of DRM, don't you? EA listens to one thing, money. The only way for us to have an impact is to vote with our wallet. If you don't like DRM and actually want to see it go away then don't shoot yourself in the foot by supporting it. That's just stupidity.

Yeah they dont realise that at all, they are the casual gamer aka stupid gamer which is killing PC gaming. They dont mind when a corporation stamps on their face or when they get ripped off, theyre used to it by now. Since they arent smart enough to know how to work a virtual cd drive either they have no choice but to fund EA and fund the death of pc gaming.

Oh well theres always the consoles to fall back on...

EDIT: Oh and just to add to what colomb said above, in the future they will have to either phone up for new activations for some games and defintaley have to de authorise every single game installed on their PC due to DRM. Fine if you are a total cheapskate and only own 1 game, but what about the rest of us who have 10+ games installed?? What about that guy who has like 500 games installed on vista, AdamAK47 or something like that? Well for those of us far sighted enough to realise this... we would be fucked in that situation. DRM must be halted before more publishers and developers get the wrong idea.

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: ap0calypse
Steam is not secure enough for them? Or are they worried that everyone is going to share out their precious steam accounts with many purchased games, to all their 100 trusted friends so everyone can play in offline mode?

Steam is only as much DRM as you make your game use of it.
Company of Heroes, even if purchased through Steam, doesn't require Steam to be active/logged in/anything to be able to run. You can just open the .exe from the Steam directory and the game will run without needing Steam.
So yes, it may indeed be that Steam is not secure enough for them as Steam can be used as only a digital distribution program and nothing more.

 

[CottonRabbit]

Originally posted by: Maximilian

Originally posted by: mindcycle
For those of you who don't like the DRM and are "just buying the game because it's not a huge deal" or whatever. You do realize you are voting for the continued existence of DRM, don't you? EA listens to one thing, money. The only way for us to have an impact is to vote with our wallet. If you don't like DRM and actually want to see it go away then don't shoot yourself in the foot by supporting it. That's just stupidity.

Yeah they dont realise that at all, they are the casual gamer aka stupid gamer which is killing PC gaming. They dont mind when a corporation stamps on their face or when they get ripped off, theyre used to it by now. Since they arent smart enough to know how to work a virtual cd drive either they have no choice but to fund EA and fund the death of pc gaming.

Oh well theres always the consoles to fall back on...

So basically you're saying that everyone should pirate PC games with DRM, and those who actually buy the games are responsible for the death of PC gaming. Right...

If they get the deactivation feature working, Securom won't be a problem at all for me, and it's barely a hassle as it is right now.

 

[EvilComputer92]

Originally posted by: Maximilian

Originally posted by: mindcycle
For those of you who don't like the DRM and are "just buying the game because it's not a huge deal" or whatever. You do realize you are voting for the continued existence of DRM, don't you? EA listens to one thing, money. The only way for us to have an impact is to vote with our wallet. If you don't like DRM and actually want to see it go away then don't shoot yourself in the foot by supporting it. That's just stupidity.

Yeah they dont realise that at all, they are the casual gamer aka stupid gamer which is killing PC gaming. They dont mind when a corporation stamps on their face or when they get ripped off, theyre used to it by now. Since they arent smart enough to know how to work a virtual cd drive either they have no choice but to fund EA and fund the death of pc gaming.

Oh well theres always the consoles to fall back on...

Yeah, there's always consoles to fall back on. Take for example Xbox Live arcade, where as soon as you get a replacement console all your arcade games get changed to trial versions. Or where ads for various companies are plastered onto the front dashboard even though your paying $50 an year for online play. Or where online service is deactivated for old console games that aren't frequently played.

In terms of DRM, PCs are far superior to consoles. That was one of the reasons I got tired of my Xbox 360. It's unbeliveable how much they restrict being able to customize your console. At least you have the option of cracking the game on the pc.

Also boycotting games will make companies get rid of DRM in the best case scenario. More likely they will just abandon PC development altogether and shift to consoles which is far more profitable.

 

[JF060392]

Originally posted by: EvilComputer92

Originally posted by: Maximilian

Originally posted by: mindcycle
For those of you who don't like the DRM and are "just buying the game because it's not a huge deal" or whatever. You do realize you are voting for the continued existence of DRM, don't you? EA listens to one thing, money. The only way for us to have an impact is to vote with our wallet. If you don't like DRM and actually want to see it go away then don't shoot yourself in the foot by supporting it. That's just stupidity.

Yeah they dont realise that at all, they are the casual gamer aka stupid gamer which is killing PC gaming. They dont mind when a corporation stamps on their face or when they get ripped off, theyre used to it by now. Since they arent smart enough to know how to work a virtual cd drive either they have no choice but to fund EA and fund the death of pc gaming.

Oh well theres always the consoles to fall back on...

Yeah, there's always consoles to fall back on. Take for example Xbox Live arcade, where as soon as you get a replacement console all your arcade games get changed to trial versions. Or where ads for various companies are plastered onto the front dashboard even though your paying $50 an year for online play. Or where online service is deactivated for old console games that aren't frequently played.

In terms of DRM, PCs are far superior to consoles. That was one of the reasons I got tired of my Xbox 360. It's unbeliveable how much they restrict being able to customize your console. At least you have the option of cracking the game on the pc.

Also boycotting games will make companies get rid of DRM in the best case scenario. More likely they will just abandon PC development altogether and shift to consoles which is far more profitable.

EA Fail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:frown:

 

[Modelworks]

There is a new company on the DRM front and I don't like the direction it is heading.
http://www.metaforic.com/content/default.asp

This was done on lots of commercial software about 10 years ago and was stopped due to it causing performance issues.
It is not new tech, regardless of what their site suggest.
It basically puts in thousands of what programmers call JNP instructions. The instructions are randomly generated and have no set pattern so once a person trying to hack an exe has made it through the encryption they still have to deal with all the JNP.
It basically means the entire game is constantly doing DRM checks. You can't bypass just one of them to generate a cracked game, you have to bypass all of them, all thousand+ of them and due to the random nature you can't just write a program to do it for you.

It may sound like a brilliant way to protect something and it is , if that something does not require performance. That is the whole reason that it was stopped years ago. Now apparently they think cpu are fast enough that it won't impact performance. Cd checks are one thing, but I am not going back to the days of every other instruction my cpu processes is used for DRM.

 

[CP5670]

Securom already does that on a smaller scale, with many random checks placed throughout the game. This is why cracked exes of games often have faster loading times (aside from the initial check on startup) and sometimes even better framerates than the Securom exes.

 

[Modelworks]

Originally posted by: CP5670
Securom already does that on a smaller scale, with many random checks placed throughout the game. This is why cracked exes of games often have faster loading times (aside from the initial check on startup) and sometimes even better framerates than the Securom exes.

The main difference is Securom is based on the cmp instruction and that makes it easy to circumvent.

 

[Nemesis13]

I bought this game at my local gamestop, get start installation...Everything goes fine till i click the desktop icon. Then i get a window that says online release date check failed please connect to the internet. I thought ok after dialing up no go still says it. So i uninstall the game the reinstall while im connected. No Go. So i was thinking maybe broadband connection is required so i lug my Antec 900 to my gf's house uninstall go through the installation again. No Go. The same window on three installations of this game. Did some looking around alot of people having the same problem. So after 30mins of searching theres a patch to get around this.. My point why the hell should i have to do this for a game i actually purchased and the people that pirated it are having freee range. And they are its all over torrent sites already and the EA forums for Crysis are flooded with complaints. Is Any one else having this problem.

 

[KeithTalent]

Bump for Nemesis.

KT

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: Nemesis13
I bought this game at my local gamestop, get start installation...Everything goes fine till i click the desktop icon. Then i get a window that says online release date check failed please connect to the internet. I thought ok after dialing up no go still says it. So i uninstall the game the reinstall while im connected. No Go. So i was thinking maybe broadband connection is required so i lug my Antec 900 to my gf's house uninstall go through the installation again. No Go. The same window on three installations of this game. Did some looking around alot of people having the same problem. So after 30mins of searching theres a patch to get around this.. My point why the hell should i have to do this for a game i actually purchased and the people that pirated it are having freee range. And they are its all over torrent sites already and the EA forums for Crysis are flooded with complaints. Is Any one else having this problem.

Sorry for your problem, I initially couldn't activate b/c I had torrents running in the bg (my dvr crapped out last week and I had to dl all the shows I lost) I killed utorrent and then it activated.

Where do you live that you don't have broadband? Or do you just not want it? and why?

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: CottonRabbit

Originally posted by: Maximilian

Originally posted by: mindcycle
For those of you who don't like the DRM and are "just buying the game because it's not a huge deal" or whatever. You do realize you are voting for the continued existence of DRM, don't you? EA listens to one thing, money. The only way for us to have an impact is to vote with our wallet. If you don't like DRM and actually want to see it go away then don't shoot yourself in the foot by supporting it. That's just stupidity.

Yeah they dont realise that at all, they are the casual gamer aka stupid gamer which is killing PC gaming. They dont mind when a corporation stamps on their face or when they get ripped off, theyre used to it by now. Since they arent smart enough to know how to work a virtual cd drive either they have no choice but to fund EA and fund the death of pc gaming.

Oh well theres always the consoles to fall back on...

So basically you're saying that everyone should pirate PC games with DRM, and those who actually buy the games are responsible for the death of PC gaming. Right...

If they get the deactivation feature working, Securom won't be a problem at all for me, and it's barely a hassle as it is right now.

Yes, for those daft or short sighted enough to buy this crap are funding the death of pc gaming. Buy the game for a console or pirate it or dont play it at all.

Its lucky not everyone is like you, not everyone will happily lap up the shit EA shovels.

 

[jonks]

Originally posted by: Maximilian
Yes, for those daft or short sighted enough to buy this crap are funding the death of pc gaming. Buy the game for a console or pirate it or dont play it at all.

Its lucky not everyone is like you, not everyone will happily lap up the shit EA shovels.

So if absolutely NO ONE bought Warhead, and Crytek decided to go straight to console with Crysis 2, and made no more PC versions, how does that help PC gaming?

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: jonks

Originally posted by: Maximilian
Yes, for those daft or short sighted enough to buy this crap are funding the death of pc gaming. Buy the game for a console or pirate it or dont play it at all.

Its lucky not everyone is like you, not everyone will happily lap up the shit EA shovels.

So if absolutely NO ONE bought Warhead, and Crytek decided to go straight to console with Crysis 2, and made no more PC versions, how does that help PC gaming?

It sends a message that restrictive DRM will not be tolerated. Besides theres nothing wrong with consoles, im thinking of gaming as a whole, consoles, pc's whatever. PC gaming will never die, not with blizzard, valve etc around.