RA3 DRM Copy Protection Update

[Silverthorn 0]

Aww, come on. Not again with that crap and updated Securom. I got some alternatives which I fear EA may not take it, but it's best to take it. Here are my opinions and very harsh comments about them :

 

DRM and why we need it : Sure, you can protect your games, but DON'T use Securom as your permanent solution. Look at Spore! Installation limitation is one thing, but the stability of the Windows System is another! So get your Securom solution out of your head already!! I don't care if you want to protect your Intellectual Property, but do use another anti-piracy program to take care of it, Blizzard & Atari or other competitors are using other softwares to take care of their problem. But overall, it's all about the customers, NOT your products. Spore rated badly in Amazon is because they're hurt, NOT your product that is hurt (from piracy that is).

 

No disk required : Good feature, do apply this in the future.

 

Authorization limits : Shut up already! We hate it, just admit it! Look at your competitors, they don't complain at that. Let's say if Blizzard's upcoming Starcraft 2 applies that method, I'm sure Starcraft fans will go in an outrage to protest that, even the Korea fans are going to burst into flames a lot more intense than the rest of them in the world. Just get rid of it, it's not the product, we love your product, but we hate your customer manners, you treat us badly, we treat you badly. Think about it, think what happened to Spore & the ratings in Amazon. If you care less about us customers, your business will begin to fail, I can predict it maybe in the next decade.

 

Just give us a call... : Are you kidding? You think your toll-free call is free, isn't it? NOBODY is gonna call you since your call is always on-hold most of the time. Even I'm sure the calling to it is very very expensive. Is money all you care? You earn money every year, what's so difficult of spending some additional things? Don't be afraid of bankruptcy.

 

... Or do it yourself : I'm not sure, but it's best to get rid of this installation limitation. Look at your competitors, they don't apply the limitations. If they also apply it, the whole gaming industry will begin to fall apart like the US economy meltdowns. Applying that method doesn't make you "special", it only makes you more disgusting like sh*t. You already wasted your precious tons of times over that.

 

Looking Ahead : Oh no! Don't even think about it! Installation limitation or Securom is going to bring RA2 to the same path as well. So I say no thanks! If you do so, then say hello to people who get their pirated copies from anywhere they can find. You're beginning to fail anyways, I can't wait to see your company self-destructs.

 

Overall, Securom is NO GOOD like we all knew. EA, if you continue to use it, you're only making yourself ready to self-destruct like the Chernobyl nuclear reactors, Securom is a bad medicine or drug, the more you take it, BOOM!! The whole industry collapses and can never recover like Chernobyl today.

[Doctor Destiny 41]

Don't forget that Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2 used SecuROM... >_>

[Silverthorn 0]

Don't forget that Tiberian Sun and Red Alert 2 used SecuROM... >_>

 

These 2 games doesn't seem to affect my computer that much, perhaps Westwood stabilize everything I guess. EA must have taken it over the edge, look what Spore did. But I think I miss out one point, my computer crashed a few months later after a reformat and after I install C&C3 & KW, Securom-infected and definitely it also gone rogue and forced to reformat a second time.

 

EDIT : I just hope the de-authorization tool is available sooner. Uninstallation comes with de-authorization is easy, but when a crash happens and people forget to uninstall the game, then boom, no good. If only the Windows CD can help to de-authorize the game in the first place. If I were forced to reformat, I prefer the game to get de-authorized itself (by any means necessary, such as if Windows is getting reinstalled from the Windows CD) since reformatting will wipe out everything in the hard disk, so an uninstallation maybe optional.

Edited October 23, 2008 by Silverthorn

[recover 2]

The SecuROM used in the old days didn't install itself as a kernel mode driver and thus couldn't bring down the whole OS.

Newer SecuROM installs itself as a kernel mode driver since it's more difficult to trick, but instead it can bring down the whole OS if it's badly coded.

 

And I really agree that there SHOULD be info about DRM and what DRM is in the game in the manual! But I guess they won't put it in since it can decrease the sales.

[rEdaSbLood 1]

UH i was not aware that it could bring down the OS....thats really not cool !

[recover 2]

UH i was not aware that it could bring down the OS....thats really not cool !

That's the impression I've gotten on the latest SecuROM, but remember that I don't really know how they've implemented it in RA3.

[sith_wampa 6]

The SecuROM used in the old days didn't install itself as a kernel mode driver and thus couldn't bring down the whole OS.

Newer SecuROM installs itself as a kernel mode driver since it's more difficult to trick, but instead it can bring down the whole OS if it's badly coded.

 

And I really agree that there SHOULD be info about DRM and what DRM is in the game in the manual! But I guess they won't put it in since it can decrease the sales.

QFT.

[Gben 20]

off-rant-topic...

 

Can i have two active installations simultaneously?

ie. install on two comps for much vaunted co-op play???

 

I think I asked this in another topic, but I don't recall the answer...

[Sonic 296]

off-rant-topic...

 

Can i have two active installations simultaneously?

ie. install on two comps for much vaunted co-op play???

 

I think I asked this in another topic, but I don't recall the answer...

I think the old rules still apply. They will be using the same CD Key. There is nothing stopping you installing them on each PC, using up 2 installs/authorisations in the process and playing off-line. But you won't be able to play over LAN. But it could be different this time around.

[Gben 20]

It's what I'm expecting, but I was hoping that like previous game releases there was the software equivalent of two discs to allow lan play...

I won't hold my breath. But I'd be willing to sacrifice an installation key for it... especially with the uninstallation ability.

[Sonic 296]

The game comes on 1 DVD, and remember you won't need the disc in the drive to play it.