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DRM for Stalker Clear Sky?

M

Martimus

Diamond Member
I am thinking about purchasing Stalker Clear Sky this weekend, and I would like to know if it has any intrusive DRM that I would need to worry about. I appologize about starting a new post, but I don't want to read through the main post because I am afraid of spoilers for the game.

I will probably buy the game through Steam, if I do buy it.

Edit: As stated below, it does have DRM. It uses TAGES DRM with a 5 activation limit, even through Steam. This bums me out ... 🙁
 
Originally posted by: Martimus
I am thinking about purchasing Stalker Clear Sky this weekend, and I would like to know if it has any intrusive DRM that I would need to worry about. I appologize about starting a new post, but I don't want to read through the main post because I am afraid of spoilers for the game.

I will probably buy the game through Steam, if I do buy it.
Click to expand...

Retail version uses Tages protection with cd-key for online play.

STEAM version apparently does not use any DRM other than STEAM.
 
Originally posted by: coloumb
Originally posted by: Martimus
I am thinking about purchasing Stalker Clear Sky this weekend, and I would like to know if it has any intrusive DRM that I would need to worry about. I appologize about starting a new post, but I don't want to read through the main post because I am afraid of spoilers for the game.

I will probably buy the game through Steam, if I do buy it.
Click to expand...

Retail version uses Tages protection with cd-key for online play.

STEAM version apparently does not use any DRM other than STEAM.
Click to expand...

STEAM version also uses a form of TAGES with an activation limit.
 
Originally posted by: FishTaco
Originally posted by: coloumb
Originally posted by: Martimus
I am thinking about purchasing Stalker Clear Sky this weekend, and I would like to know if it has any intrusive DRM that I would need to worry about. I appologize about starting a new post, but I don't want to read through the main post because I am afraid of spoilers for the game.

I will probably buy the game through Steam, if I do buy it.
Click to expand...

Retail version uses Tages protection with cd-key for online play.

STEAM version apparently does not use any DRM other than STEAM.
Click to expand...

STEAM version also uses a form of TAGES with an activation limit.
Click to expand...

An activation limit? That kind of sucks. Part of the reason I would get it through Steam, would be because I could install it at any time and not have to find CD's or whatnot. I have used Stardock Central to install games on a family members laptop while I am on vacation, so Steam would work that way too. But if I can only have a single copy installed, I don't see how that will work, especially since I will upgrade my computer pretty soon and this seems like it would be a game I would want to come back and play again in a few years.
 
Why would the Steam version have an activation limit when the retail version doesn't? My copy never restricted me in any way in that regard, no where is it mentioned in my manual that I have a number of activation limits. All it takes is a CD-Key for multi-player, and the CD-Key itself isn't even necessary for the game installation process, you can leave CD-Key box blank and click next and the game still installs, all I need to play it is the DVD in the drive.
 
that is really disappointing. iirc, shadow of chernobyl didn't have any drm. i know for a fact, in the process of playing and fixing the first game, i must have re-installed over a dozen times.
 
Damn... I actually was going to buy it too... until I noticed the 5 activation BS on steam last night. Honestly, DRM doesn't even bother me, what bothers me is they think that it's fair to limit how many machines I put my copy of the game on (1 copy per simultaneous use is, of course, fine... but not a limit on installs).

Seriously what is with this crap. I finally build a new PC (after 5 years) with the intention of doing some PC gaming (vs using my consoles), and DRM is utter shit. Shit, the game companies mise well put a chip in my arm that links me to the game. Honestly, I'd rather have that and unlimited installs...
 
Uh, does the retail box version have this crap to? If so looks like my copy will be heading back to the store.
 
Is this activation limit a sure thing, or just a rumor? This is the first time I heard about it for this game, while people are shouting it from the rooftops for Spore, Crysis Warhead, Mass Effect, and Bioshock.

edit: Sorry, I missed the link earlier that showed it is indeed a 5 activation limit. Grr.... I really wanted this game too. Now I have to decide whether it is worth it to buy anyway. I have installed the orginal Stalker at least 4 times, due to different issues, and the fact that I keep going back to it because it is fun and unique, so this may come to bite me in the future if I do buy it ...
 
Originally posted by: TheUnk
If you have to reinstall the game more than 5 times before you're done with it, you're a loser =p
Click to expand...

This illustrates the misperception. You have unlimited "installations", and limited "activations." You can install the game 1000 times if you want, and only need to "activate" it if you have some sort of hardware change, or if you sell it. And if you do actually somehow hit that limit, you can contact the company and they'll activate it again anyway.

Frankly the whole system is stupid and ineffectual at any form of deterrance anyway since pirates will just get the version that has no limits at all, but as you say in your post, realistically, what percentage of gamers are going to run up against a wall because of these limits? Yes, if you buy a game you should have full ownership rights and shouldn't have any limits, but really, not a big deal for all practical purposes.
 
Originally posted by: coloumb
5 activation limit seems to be a new trend in PC games... 🙁

Stalker Clear Sky Activation Limit
Click to expand...

If this is the new trend then I am done with PC games. Seriously. I'll just play old late 90s early 2000 classics, mods and maybe get a console. I'm not dealing with that shit. I have boycotted all games with the limit (including bioshock, which pained me greatly) and will continue too.
 
Well, I won't be buying this game now. I'm still working my way through the first STALKER and was going to move on to this in the future. Not anymore.

I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why game companies think that putting activation limits on legit copies will discourage piracy. Yeah, I realize it's a method to avoid used game sales, but it's not even effective for that. What's the point?
 
Well these people want to protect their IP. You can argue all you want about what the DRM does or does not do, but fact is they will not just stand there, look at various piracy figures, then say "naw we don't need any DRM". I agree the implementation is pretty awful and the piracy will remain. I think the main idea behind the activation limit is to prevent friends from passing discs around, and I think that is probably pretty common especially in say a college dorm. You could still share the game with several people!

Most of the DRM issues are blown out of proportion. I can understand spreading the word on the DRM but I see bogus 1 star reviews and forums filled with posts full of misinformation and some outright BS. And I'd really like to know how many of these people will honestly have a problem with the activation limit. I have a feeling that as this crap continues, publishers are just going to say screw the PC and release on console. That sucks for those of us who just enjoy playing PC games.
 
Originally posted by: duragezic
Well these people want to protect their IP. You can argue all you want about what the DRM does or does not do, but fact is they will not just stand there, look at various piracy figures, then say "naw we don't need any DRM". I agree the implementation is pretty awful and the piracy will remain. I think the main idea behind the activation limit is to prevent friends from passing discs around, and I think that is probably pretty common especially in say a college dorm. You could still share the game with several people!

Most of the DRM issues are blown out of proportion. I can understand spreading the word on the DRM but I see bogus 1 star reviews and forums filled with posts full of misinformation and some outright BS. And I'd really like to know how many of these people will honestly have a problem with the activation limit. I have a feeling that as this crap continues, publishers are just going to say screw the PC and release on console. That sucks for those of us who just enjoy playing PC games.
Click to expand...

Why don't you give us some figures of how many pirates these drms stop.
 
There is so much damn melodrama in these threads. I know I'm going to get flamed, but I'm going to say it anyway.

Game studios have a right to make money. That's their business. They make a game, you buy a game, everyone is happy. In the past, EULAs were typically written to forbid installation on multiple systems. People didn't adhere to this, so they started requiring the CD to be in the drive to play. People still didn't adhere to the rules, so now they have to take the next step. In short, you have no one to blame but yourselves.

I just took a look at the license for my original Baldur's Gate game. It specifically states that the game cannot be transferred or copied, in any way, except for archival purposes. What's this mean? It explicitly means you're not allowed to sell it and implicitly means that you're not allowed to install it on multiple computers. Those are the rules. Period. And most games have similar licenses.

People were not following the rules on their own, so now they have to force people to. The vast, vast majority of people will not have problems with the DRM on these games, nor will it keep them from playing the games and using the games for their intended purposes or the purposes most people have in mind. The normal gamer does NOT reformat his computer monthly, does NOT buy a new one every six months, and does NOT uninstall his games very often.

Will DRM stop hardcore pirates? No. It stops casual pirates. School kids to make copies of games to give or sell to friends. People who lend the game to a friend to install and play against them. Etc, etc.

To villify a game studio for protecting their business is just plain stupid. Would you prefer they stop making games for the PC? I know I sure wouldn't.
 
Hey - at least you can remove TAGES - the company offers an executable which allows you to remove it.

If the activation limit is the same as Crysis, then it won't matter how many times you install it on the SAME machine [which sounds like it's linked to the Operating System Serial #].
 
This is the reason why I bought UT2K4 today. I sensed a giant shit storm stirring in the PC world, and that shit storm is DRM.
 
Originally posted by: drebo
There is so much damn melodrama in these threads. I know I'm going to get flamed, but I'm going to say it anyway.

Game studios have a right to make money. That's their business. They make a game, you buy a game, everyone is happy. In the past, EULAs were typically written to forbid installation on multiple systems. People didn't adhere to this, so they started requiring the CD to be in the drive to play. People still didn't adhere to the rules, so now they have to take the next step. In short, you have no one to blame but yourselves.

I just took a look at the license for my original Baldur's Gate game. It specifically states that the game cannot be transferred or copied, in any way, except for archival purposes. What's this mean? It explicitly means you're not allowed to sell it and implicitly means that you're not allowed to install it on multiple computers. Those are the rules. Period. And most games have similar licenses.

People were not following the rules on their own, so now they have to force people to. The vast, vast majority of people will not have problems with the DRM on these games, nor will it keep them from playing the games and using the games for their intended purposes or the purposes most people have in mind. The normal gamer does NOT reformat his computer monthly, does NOT buy a new one every six months, and does NOT uninstall his games very often.

Will DRM stop hardcore pirates? No. It stops casual pirates. School kids to make copies of games to give or sell to friends. People who lend the game to a friend to install and play against them. Etc, etc.

To villify a game studio for protecting their business is just plain stupid. Would you prefer they stop making games for the PC? I know I sure wouldn't.
Click to expand...

If no one follows that part of the EULA, then that tells you that it isn't something that people are willing to do with their purchased product. It is really just unreasonably trying to push your product the way you want it to be used, when the market wants it in a different way. It will only hurt the publishers that do that in time, while entrepreneurs (such as Stardock) will look at what the Market wants and provide it in the way they want it, and prosper. The thing about the way DRM is being implemented will work its way out, since people don't like it enough that they just won't buy it, so sales will be affected. This will either force some publishers to abandon the marketplace (PC Sales), change the way they sell product (actually try to give the market what it wants), or fail (like so many have done recently.) New publishers will come forward, and the marketplace will evolve all on it's own. It is just frustrating to be a part of it now during the Chaos. There is money to be made here, but many publishers are starting to cut off their nose, just to spite their face.

I am frustrated about the activation limit, and I will not buy a game that is not transferrable. I am sorry if a publisher wants that, but I don't. It just means I won't buy a game from that publisher. It is pretty simple. It is supposed to be something that I play in my spare time, for enjoyment, but putting unnecessary restrictions on something that is supposed to be enjoyable is counterproductive, and after a point makes it no longer worth it. They are coming to that point with these actions.
 
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