Starforce DRM returns to pc gaming

[Modelworks]

This is terrible news. Starforce says they are back in the DRM market with a new product. Can't wait to lose another dvd burner.

snippet below, rest at link
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-b..._index.php?story=24035

Gamasutra caught up with oft-maligned Russian PC game copy protection firm StarForce as it attempts to make a comeback with Western firms -- but has it changed its approach? We find out.]

If you?ve heard of StarForce before, odds are it wasn?t in favorable circumstances. The Russian anti-piracy software company found itself in the spotlight early in 2006 when several websites and PC users criticized StarForce?s copy-protection measures, even stating that the software damaged computers.

StarForce?s response was a public-relations train wreck: the company threatened to sue one website, and a StarForce representative, hoping to show the importance of copy-protection, later posted links to pirate sites offering downloads of Galactic Civilizations 2. The backlash against StarForce was unflattering, to put it delicately.

StarForce laid relatively low in the Western market for years, but the company recently emerged with a new version of its anti-piracy software and perhaps a new approach to assuaging customer complaints. To see just how the company might re-establish itself, we threw some questions at Dmitry Guseff, Deputy Marketing Director at StarForce Technologies.

 

[Bateluer]

Who'd be dumb enough to use Starforce in their product? Atari? EA?

 

[Red Irish]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Who'd be dumb enough to use Starforce in their product? Atari? EA?

Atari, EA...

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Who'd be dumb enough to use Starforce in their product? Atari? EA?

Dont forget Ubisoft, they were one of the original ones that had problems with it IIRC.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Great, yet another reason to avoid PC gaming like the plague.

It gets tiring have to investigate every game you might possibly want to buy to see what kind of intrusive DRM it contains.

 

[ShawnD1]

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
Great, yet another reason to avoid PC gaming like the plague.

It gets tiring have to investigate every game you might possibly want to buy to see what kind of intrusive DRM it contains.

I research games the same way I research everything else. Do a google search for "<product> sucks" and see what the results are. You'd be surprised how well this works.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
Great, yet another reason to avoid PC gaming like the plague.

It gets tiring have to investigate every game you might possibly want to buy to see what kind of intrusive DRM it contains.

I research games the same way I research everything else. Do a google search for "<product> sucks" and see what the results are. You'd be surprised how well this works.

You research the DRM schemes and system requirements of console games?

 

[Red Irish]

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
Great, yet another reason to avoid PC gaming like the plague.

It gets tiring have to investigate every game you might possibly want to buy to see what kind of intrusive DRM it contains.

I research games the same way I research everything else. Do a google search for "<product> sucks" and see what the results are. You'd be surprised how well this works.

You research the DRM schemes and system requirements of console games?

Ryan, given that Shawn was agreeing with your original statement, is there any need?

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Originally posted by: Red Irish

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
Great, yet another reason to avoid PC gaming like the plague.

It gets tiring have to investigate every game you might possibly want to buy to see what kind of intrusive DRM it contains.

I research games the same way I research everything else. Do a google search for "<product> sucks" and see what the results are. You'd be surprised how well this works.

You research the DRM schemes and system requirements of console games?

Ryan, given that Shawn was agreeing with your original statement, is there any need?

If he was, then I will edit my post. Sarcasm is difficult to pick up sometimes with plain text.

 

[ZzZGuy]

Simple solution to this, stop buying game with hostile DRM now and when this new starforce comes out. Send a email to the developers as well stating the DRM is the reason you are not buying their game.

They can call you a mere "hardcore gamer" but when Joe father of two checks what DRM a game has before he allows it onto his PC they may get the hint.

 

[tk149]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
Great, yet another reason to avoid PC gaming like the plague.

It gets tiring have to investigate every game you might possibly want to buy to see what kind of intrusive DRM it contains.

I research games the same way I research everything else. Do a google search for "<product> sucks" and see what the results are. You'd be surprised how well this works.

I agree with RyanPaulShaffer. And I'm going to try ShawnD1's suggestion as well. thumbsup;

Note: Do not search for Vin Diesel's "XXX sucks" at work.

 

[Barfo]

Originally posted by: Modelworks
This is terrible news. Starforce says they are back in the DRM market with a new product. Can't wait to lose another dvd burner.

CD burner for me, Starfuckingforce is what got me into anti DRM...how I hate those fuckers :thumbsdown:

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
Who'd be dumb enough to use Starforce in their product? Atari? EA?

EA is cozy with Sony's SecuROM, my money is on Ubisoft trying to slip it in, again.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer
Great, yet another reason to avoid PC gaming like the plague.

It gets tiring have to investigate every game you might possibly want to buy to see what kind of intrusive DRM it contains.

I research games the same way I research everything else. Do a google search for "<product> sucks" and see what the results are. You'd be surprised how well this works.

Yes, or "<product> DRM and/or Steam" works pretty well too.

 

[Golgatha]

BTW, this news flash simply means they finally got off their asses and wrote 64-bit binaries for the Starforce malware...err drivers. Starforce has been included in many European releases of many games we enjoy here sans Starforce (replaced with SecuROM typically).

I had a boycott Starforce link in my sig for a couple of years, and I'm inclined to reinstate it if any company is stupid enough to try and use it again.

On a side note, I was glad that Good Old Games has TOCA Race Driver 3 sans DRM long enough for me to buy it there. It was a Starforce game I wanted to play back in the day (2005) and it's still pretty fun. Too back for Codemasters. They could've had ~$40 at release instead of $5.99 4 years after the fact if they'd not used Starforce on that game.

 

[BladeVenom]

SecuROM is no better.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
SecuROM is no better.

No, at least SecuROM doesn't install Ring 0, kernel mode drivers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ring_(computer_security)


Just a FYI of the primary companies everyone needs to look out for.

Clients - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StarForce

CDV, Ubisoft, Digital Jesters (now defunct), JoWooD, Egosoft, Codemasters, Eagle Dynamics, Midway Games, and Bohemia Interactive Studio have used StarForce 3.0 on some of their products.

However, Ubisoft and JoWooD announced in 2006 that the North American version of their games would no longer use StarForce, citing "problems with StarForce's software". CDV also announced that they were dropping StarForce for all future games in May 2006 in favor of the TAGES copy prevention system, citing customer complaints.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
SecuROM is no better.

I'll say this much. There are a few games I've been willing to install that have SecuROM. However, there will never (I don't use the word never unless I absolutely mean it) be a game worth putting Starforce on my computer. I don't care if it's freaking Diablo 3. I would boycott it too if they're stupid enough to use Starforce. Here, have some Russian Mafia made malware with your game...umm, no thanks!!

Seriously, the word Starforce should make every red-blooded PC gamers blood boil.:|:|:|:|:|:|:|:|:|

 

[ArchAngel777]

If this Russian firm is smart, they would rename the product. No one wants to be associated with that POS.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

Originally posted by: Golgatha

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
SecuROM is no better.

I'll say this much. There are a few games I've been willing to install that have SecuROM. However, there will never (I don't use the word never unless I absolutely mean it) be a game worth putting Starforce on my computer. I don't care if it's freaking Diablo 3. I would boycott it too if they're stupid enough to use Starforce. Here, have some Russian Mafia made malware with your game...umm, no thanks!!

Seriously, the word Starforce should make every red-blooded PC gamers blood boil.:|:|:|:|:|:|:|:|:|

As far as I'm concerned, both are very bad news, and I avoid games that contain either of them.

 

[ShawnD1]

Originally posted by: RyanPaulShaffer

Originally posted by: Golgatha

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
SecuROM is no better.

I'll say this much. There are a few games I've been willing to install that have SecuROM. However, there will never (I don't use the word never unless I absolutely mean it) be a game worth putting Starforce on my computer. I don't care if it's freaking Diablo 3. I would boycott it too if they're stupid enough to use Starforce. Here, have some Russian Mafia made malware with your game...umm, no thanks!!

Seriously, the word Starforce should make every red-blooded PC gamers blood boil.:|:|:|:|:|:|:|:|:|

As far as I'm concerned, both are very bad news, and I avoid games that contain either of them.

I think from now on I'll only buy games that are on Steam. They still have the drm, but I'm tired of fucking around with boxed games just to get them to work. Here's a video of the bullshit Gears of War pulls when you try running a legal copy of the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ2u8R4w3n8

If I'm not mistaken, GoW's copy protection is called "SafeDisc"

 

[shortylickens]

I have to agree that at this point the best DRM is STEAM. Everything else is likely to screw up your system or make your games unplayable. Steam is the least intrusive and it makes games relatively easy to play.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: shortylickens
I have to agree that at this point the best DRM is STEAM. Everything else is likely to screw up your system or make your games unplayable. Steam is the least intrusive and it makes games relatively easy to play.

"best DRM" = highly polished turd

 

[tk149]

Originally posted by: ShawnD1
I think from now on I'll only buy games that are on Steam. They still have the drm, but I'm tired of fucking around with boxed games just to get them to work. Here's a video of the bullshit Gears of War pulls when you try running a legal copy of the game:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJ2u8R4w3n8

If I'm not mistaken, GoW's copy protection is called "SafeDisc"

IIRC Unfortunately, some Steam games ALSO install non-Steam DRM, although I can't remember if it was SecuROM or Starforce. Talk about having the worst of all worlds.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Starforce is a fiendishly genius plan to turn everyone on earth into a pirate: F**k up the retail versions so badly that anyone that wants to play the game has to turn to a cracked release.