View Full Version : Interesting observation
SMS Goeben
15 May 08, 21:43
I have been on and off these forums quite a bit over the past few days. We are told that we are niche community, but I have noticed that everytime I select DG from the full list of forum available, it always has the most participants, sometimes 2 or 3 x the number. Most of them have 0, and you will see the occasional 1-5 on a minority of the remaining, but I have yet to see DG with less than 10 members on the forum and as many as 27. Check it yourself when you navigate to this forum. I find that quite interesting. It says to me that, perhaps, people interested in this subject are bit more devoted than the others. :cool:
I can think of 2 reasons.
#1. There is no other Distant Guns Forum that I am aware of. Many of these other games have forums all over the web.
#2. This has grown into a community with mature, informative discussions, offering much more than cheat codes and AI exploits.
I always wonder how people manage to find this forum.
There are NO links at SES site.
I managed to find it only by very lucky google click.
As Don Maddox said once that a lot of these viewers are nothing more than the "bots" indexing for the search engines. Also these numbers tend to not update rapidly, and may show multiple visits from the same people.
Not the case, as 'bots' seems to be attracted only to DG section. :)
I always wonder how people manage to find this forum.
There are NO links at SES site.
I managed to find it only by very lucky google click.
I also searched by google.
I thought by myself, there MUST be some forum about it!
Most of the guests are bots... they are active in the more active forums. If there isn't any traffic, they don't visit.
SMS Goeben
17 May 08, 07:50
Most of the guests are bots... they are active in the more active forums. If there isn't any traffic, they don't visit.
Well............thats interesting, but if true, it still indicates that the DG forum is most active forum for actual visitors, right? Same thing it seems to me.
I also found this forum by Googling. Yes, you would think that SES would have a link.
Hi there, i´m a bot following this Forum almost since it was established so i have no clue how i landed here in the first place. Might be followed a link from marinesims.de. So finally i overcame my lazyness and signed up. I think i discovered DG about a year before it was released and then followed it until the demo came out and quickly bought it afterwards.
DG currently idles on a partition of my HDD since i reinstalled XP 4-5 Months ago. Haven´t not reactivated it yet since i also moved places and the activation code is obviously still packed away. I hope i find the printout someday, i know its somewhere. :)
Geez, i always have to overcome the habit of writing extra long sentences in english (comes with being German). Oh, and i´m not really a bot in case you wondered. ;)
Bloodstar
25 May 08, 10:31
I have been on and off these forums quite a bit over the past few days. We are told that we are niche community, but I have noticed that everytime I select DG from the full list of forum available, it always has the most participants, sometimes 2 or 3 x the number. Most of them have 0, and you will see the occasional 1-5 on a minority of the remaining, but I have yet to see DG with less than 10 members on the forum and as many as 27. Check it yourself when you navigate to this forum. I find that quite interesting. It says to me that, perhaps, people interested in this subject are bit more devoted than the others. :cool:
I have also asked my self about this because I am active in TOAW forum as well.
I have seen 60 people active on MTW 2 forums so 27 etc... doesn't sound bad at all for Distant Guns :p
BTW, some anti DRM crusaders like Eddy Sterckx etc... :p are taking links from here and showing it on Usenet wargaming group.
He was banned at Battlefront.com forums and basically among some other people elsewhere and on Usenet have that madness anti DRM zeal and when they grab something they don't let it out like a dog. :clown:
Of course some of them buy Bioshock game with DRM but their definite goal is to see SES or Battlefront.com out of business and they will get their "orgasm" then.
So some "bots" are in fact "them" :D. Hi Eddy :clown:
Mario
...but their definite goal is to see SES or Battlefront.com out of business and they will get their "orgasm" then.
Mario
Well that certainly isn't going to happen anytime soon! ;)
Madmatt
********************************
www.Battlefront.com
Home of Superior War and Strategy Games
Bullethead
27 May 08, 19:59
Madmatt
********************************
www.Battlefront.com
Home of Superior War and Strategy Games
Welcome aboard, Madmatt! New guy buys the drinks :toast:
Long time, no see, buddy. I ain't seen you since we were working on CMBB together. Hope all is well with you and the rest of the BTS crew.
Ah yes, of all the CM games (there are 4 now with new expansions coming soon), that was my personal favorite. Something poetic about the utilitarian bulk and sheer power of Russian armor pitted against the utter sexiness of German tanks that still stirs my soul.
Working on that game about killed me but it was also the most rewarding time for many reasons I have spent in this industry.
But anyway, enough about the past. I remember that guy mentioned above all too well. Hate to break it to you people but companies have a right to defend their intellectual property as best they can and for every loud mouthed zealot that claims otherwise there are tens or hundreds of thousands of paying customers that don't really care what protection system a game employs, just that it works and is unintrusive.
By the way, we havent been called BTS (Big Time Software) since technically BEFORE CMBB. ;)
That was the name of Charle's little one man company from right around the time of CMBO and before. Ever since then, everything we do is under the Battlefront.com name.
Now, since its my round, who is up for Jaegerbombs? :D
Madmatt
********************************
www.Battlefront.com
Home of Superior War and Strategy Games
Don Maddox
28 May 08, 00:25
Ah yes, of all the CM games, that was my personal favorite. Something poetic about the utilitarian bulk and sheer power of Russian armor pitted against the utter sexiness of German tanks that still stirs my soul.
A man after my own heart.
Long time no see, MadMatt. I haven't been to the Battlefront forums in ages, but it's nice to see you around these parts.
Bullethead
28 May 08, 00:57
Working on that game about killed me but it was also the most rewarding time for many reasons I have spent in this industry.
It about killed me, too. That was a LOT of work. But worth it, IMHO :).
By the way, we havent been called BTS (Big Time Software) since technically BEFORE CMBB. ;)
I know. I was there, remember? But I still call ex-girlfriends by their maiden names, even if they're married to other people now :D.
Bloodstar
28 May 08, 04:59
Well that certainly isn't going to happen anytime soon! ;)
Madmatt
********************************
www.Battlefront.com (http://www.Battlefront.com)
Home of Superior War and Strategy Games
Hahaha! Welcome Matt!
:D
Mario
SMS Goeben
28 May 08, 13:19
Hate to break it to you people but companies have a right to defend their intellectual property as best they can and for every loud mouthed zealot that claims otherwise there are tens or hundreds of thousands of paying customers that don't really care what protection system a game employs, just that it works and is unintrusive. I think you are oversimplifying this subject and ignoring legitimate complaints that customers are expressing to the producer they have paid money too. It’s always nice and easy to paste a label like “loud mouthed zealots” over the heads of people you don’t agree with. Nobody here has ever questioned that companies have the right to protect their property. just that it works and is unintrusive. Well, hey, I hate to break this to you, but the protection system this game employs is NOT unintrusive and that is the very basis of many of these complaints.
Now, since its my round, who is up for Jaegerbombs? Make mine an Irish car bomb, please.
I think you are oversimplifying this subject and ignoring legitimate complaints that customers are expressing to the producer they have paid money too. It’s always nice and easy to paste a label like “loud mouthed zealots” over the heads of people you don’t agree with. Nobody here has ever questioned that companies have the right to protect their property. Well, hey, I hate to break this to you, but the protection system this game employs is NOT unobtrusive and that is the very basis of many of these complaints.
Make mine an Irish car bomb, please.
SMS Goeben, point taken. I was speaking only from the point of view of our DRM system (eLicense) which has been both to date uncrackable (always nice to have in a expensive DRM scheme although usually just preventing causual users from pirating is enough) and to the vast majority of our customers virtually transparent. Does that mean that 100% of our customers are thrilled with ELicense, of course not, but I will say that when faced with a problem, I have a 100% track record of getting the matter resolved, whether that meant resetting some license activation remotely, or giving them steps to perform on their computer to allow the licensing system to launch or get through a firewall or perform what we call an offline activation or what have you.
I do not have personal experience with the system that SES uses with DG other than as a potential customer that played the demo for the 30 days of allotted time. I have seen systems that work *similar* to DG, but I never really looked deeper into the scheme they used to see which one it was (there are many all with pros and cons).
But speaking only as a guy that picked up the demo to see what this game was like (and not as a game developer) I will say that I had no problems with it.
Digitally distributed media has changed the landscape of licensing and its been a long hard struggle for consumers to grasp the concept that they are not buying the media content itself, but rather a LICENSE to use said content in a very fixed and hopefully well defined way. How many people do you think ever READ a standard EULA? Not many, but they should because its supposed to all be spelled out there.
Again, that's not to say that many people don't have legitimate issues with systems like StarForce or SecuROM or even eLicense or what have you. But the market sets the pace and the truth of the matter is that your *average* customer, doesn't really concern themselves with a given games DRM scheme or if it even has one or not when they are looking to buy a game.
Obviously, a DRM needs to work first and foremost and not KEEP people from legitimately playing the game. Believe me, that's a helluva lot harder to do than you would think. We researched every DRM we could get our hands on for over 3 years before we settled on the one we adopted for our entire game catalogue. This is probably one of the biggest decisions a company has to make these days when they release a new game and the debate over which DRM is best, or to use one or not, is a battle that's far from over.
But look, this isn't one of my game forums so I don't want to step on any toes or track in any unwanted dirt. I am usually here just to get more info about the upcoming Jutland game,as a fan of the era of big floating steel. I just came in out of stealth mode (have been lurking here for a bit) when I saw my companies name and (that nutcase banned user from our forums) mentioned together.
Madmatt
****************
www.Battlefront.com
Home of Superior War and Strategy Games
SMS Goeben
28 May 08, 16:31
SMS Goeben, point taken. I was speaking only from the point of view of our DRM system (eLicense) which has been both to date uncrackable (always nice to have in a expensive DRM scheme although usually just preventing causual users from pirating is enough) and to the vast majority of our customers virtually transparent. Does that mean that 100% of our customers are thrilled with ELicense, of course not, but I will say that when faced with a problem, I have a 100% track record of getting the matter resolved, whether that meant resetting some license activation remotely, or giving them steps to perform on their computer to allow the licensing system to launch or get through a firewall or perform what we call an offline activation or what have you.
I do not have personal experience with the system that SES uses with DG other than as a potential customer that played the demo for the 30 days of allotted time. I have seen systems that work *similar* to DG, but I never really looked deeper into the scheme they used to see which one it was (there are many all with pros and cons).
But speaking only as a guy that picked up the demo to see what this game was like (and not as a game developer) I will say that I had no problems with it.
Digitally distributed media has changed the landscape of licensing and its been a long hard struggle for consumers to grasp the concept that they are not buying the media content itself, but rather a LICENSE to use said content in a very fixed and hopefully well defined way. How many people do you think ever READ a standard EULA? Not many, but they should because its supposed to all be spelled out there.
Again, that's not to say that many people don't have legitimate issues with systems like StarForce or SecuROM or even eLicense or what have you. But the market sets the pace and the truth of the matter is that your *average* customer, doesn't really concern themselves with a given games DRM scheme or if it even has one or not when they are looking to buy a game.
Obviously, a DRM needs to work first and foremost and not KEEP people from legitimately playing the game. Believe me, that's a helluva lot harder to do than you would think. We researched every DRM we could get our hands on for over 3 years before we settled on the one we adopted for our entire game catalogue. This is probably one of the biggest decisions a company has to make these days when they release a new game and the debate over which DRM is best, or to use one or not, is a battle that's far from over.
But look, this isn't one of my game forums so I don't want to step on any toes or track in any unwanted dirt. I am usually here just to get more info about the upcoming Jutland game,as a fan of the era of big floating steel. I just came in out of stealth mode (have been lurking here for a bit) when I saw my companies name and (that nutcase banned user from our forums) mentioned together.
Madmatt Rgr that Madmatt. I completely understand where you are coming from. I assumed by your comments that you had followed a couple of the other threads on this forum regarding the subject of the eLicense. Your use of the label "loud mouthed zealot" somewhat echoed something said on one of those posts and is really what brought about my response. I'm not going to rehash why some of us have the problems with this particular license that we do, as those dead horses are still there to be read. I've never joined a forum before to complain about such a thing, so, to me, this issue is an extraordinary one.
I DO realize that your task is difficult and I really feel that most intelligent, thinking users.................ah, crap, I just reduced the number of users that qualify to a small fraction, didn't I. :( Well............anyway........there are a lot.....ok, there are some of your customers who are aware how difficult it is these days to produce software and not end up having it ripped off. As has been mentioned on other threads, it is a balancing act for you guys. Yes, you have the right, and need, to protect your work. But on the other end of the stick is the question of how, as you said yourself, intrusive the protection software is. In the end the customer will make the decision whether a game is successful or not, not the producer of the game. A lot of people talk to others or read reviews about games before they buy them. If there are a lot of complaints from existing customers, then it will impact sales. Obviously, the ultimate protection software that cannot be broken, and yet is so much of a pain in the butt that noone buys it, is of no use to either the producer or the customer. The decision as to where the company draws the line is not an easy one, I admit, but you have to do everything possible to make that software as invisible as it can be.
ultimate protection software that cannot be broken
That is fiction.
Does DG use eLicense as its licensing system? I certainly didn't think so as it didn't look at all familiar with the eLicense package we use, but maybe it does. As I said I never really had a reason to dig into it any deeper than as a casual user.
On your other points, we are very much in agreement. A flawed or even slightly problematic DRM solution CAN cause serious ramifications for a company if people begin to get vocal about it online. This is made that much more extreme with niche wargames like RJW or some of our titles because they don't attract as much mainstream media. Niche wargames (or niche titles in general) depend much more on word of mouth, or more aptly "word of forum" recommendations than a game like Call of Duty 4 or Bioshock.
I mentioned those two games specifically because each uses a DRM technique that is easy to find cracks for (cracks for both were out before the games were even officially launched) and that many people have had severe issues with in licensing. However, both games set sales records. It's the nature of this industry that its driven more by a publishers perception of those types of big ticket games and the DRM schemes and their acceptance by the masses, than by what a small game like what BFC or SES has to deal with.
Anyway, as I said, this whole DRM issue is a mess, but currently its a necessary one. This was really proved to me when i found that pitated copies of our earlier, non DRM'd games were on sale in bazaars and street markets in places like Libya, Syria, Saudi Arabia, China and other vacation hotspots. With the system we have now, that's not a problem, although getting partner publishers and distributors to adopt our same system hasn't been so easy...but that's another topic altogether.
I should really write a "Tell All' industry type book diving into the seedy underbelly of game design and publishing. It would be like all the other best seller "tell all" books, except without all the sex or general interest...or plot... or marketability, or sales potential. ;)
Madmatt
********************************
www.Battlefront.com
Home of Superior War and Strategy Games
That is fiction.
I guess that would depend on what your definition of a *perfect* DRM solution would be. Any scheme is just like a bank vault. With enough time patience and aptitude, any system can be cracked (although I still have not seen a crack for an elicense game in years!). But this misses the real point of a DRM system.
A DRM system is not meant to stop ALL pirate activity, that is as i said above, impossible for the most part, but a good system will deter the casual user from trying to run off a dozen copies for his buddies or other similar activity.
No one is ever going to stop the 16 year old geek genius from the Netherlands that works for a big multi-national cracking group from hacking into the source code of a hot new game, BUT we can stop Joe Average Computer Game Player Guy by using DRM systems that simply aren't worth his time to try and circumvent as well as putting pressure on sites that host cracks, hacks, no CD exe's and similar so that they remove such material. And that's what most companies try and do.
One small advantage to the niche gaming market is that occasionally our titles get overlooked by the big name pirating groups which prefer to spend their time with more big ticket games since that whole cracking sub-culture is based on ego, meaning that the praise and prestige (such that it is) goes to the group that cracks the new games first, not a niche market game.
Of course, I said that occasionally we slip under the radar...not always...
Madmatt
********************************
www.Battlefront.com
Home of Superior War and Strategy Games
I guess that would depend on what your definition of a *perfect* DRMA DRM system is not meant to stop ALL pirate activity, that is as i said above, impossible for the most part, but a good system will deter the casual user from trying to run off a dozen copies for his buddies or other similar activity.
No one is ever going to stop the 16 year old geek genius from the Netherlands that works for a big multi-national cracking group from hacking into the source code of a hot new game, BUT we can stop Joe Average Computer Game Player Guy by using DRM systems that simply aren't worth his time to try and circumvent as well as putting pressure on sites that host cracks, hacks, no CD exe's and similar so that they remove such material. And that's what most companies try and do.
One small advantage to the niche gaming market is that occasionally our titles get overlooked by the big name pirating groups which prefer to spend their time with more big ticket games since that whole cracking sub-culture is based on ego, meaning that the praise and prestige (such that it is) goes to the group that cracks the new games first, not a niche market game.
Of course, I said that occasionally we slip under the radar...not always...
Madmatt
********************************
www.Battlefront.com
Home of Superior War and Strategy Games
Well, it is a reasonable approach.
But i'm not sure alot of people will buy the gamy only because of DRM restriction.
Especially if game is quite pricey.
IMHO free updates + online services/multiplayer for legal user is much more appealing.
Still, for me, as long as DRM is not pain in the ass it can go.
As long as i myself can freely use the software.
If DRM restrict ME - that DRM is bad.
If i must wait several weeks (or even days) for support to reactivate it if something broke - its a utter frustration.
Another point:
For example i have 2 OS at my home machine and a notebook.
I use game offline, and only by myself.
How do you feel DRM must work in that situation?
I must buy 1, 2 or 3 copies of the same game? 70 140 or 210$?
Or must i restrict myself to one OS and one computer?
Im interested in your opinion.
Again, let me reiterate that this is a forum for the discussion of Distant Guns and Jutland and is really SES's forum, its not my pulpit to monopolize so if the moderators wish for me to just keep my piehole shut, I totally understand!
I am just a visitor here and my opinions are just that, MY opinions, but I realize that since my career is as a game developer for Battlefront, I have a lot of experience with this particular issue.
With regards to the specific issue put forth above, I guess it would depend on the licensing agreement itself. Every company does things their own way. From what I have seen so far (yeah I guess I need to just buy this game since I am talking so much about it lately) is seems that the limitation for Distant Guns is a single *use* (or seat) license that allows the game to be played on one system at a time but with ability to transfer the license between other computers. That sounds fine to me.
For the games we sell, we give people two concurrent activations although the game can be installed on as many machines as someone wants, it can only be activated (and therefore played) on two systems simultaneously. This allows you to have a game installed, but not licensed which can save time. We did this for one very simple reason, up until the time that we did implement a DRM technology, our standard licensing agreement (that's the long message displayed by most games that people simply click the AGREE button on to continue with the install) allowed for a person to make one playable BACKUP copy of the game they bought in addition to the original version.
So, we decide to allow for two concurrent activations with our new system since we didn't want people to loose the same ability to make a single backup that they once had. Yes, we realize that many people simply install a game on two systems at the same time (usually a desktop at home and then maybe a work laptop) and we are fine with that because its not in violation of our license agreement. We are even okay if a customer uses the license on a copy for his computer and gives the other *activation* to his buddy. We would prefer that said *buddy* were to BUY his own copy of the game, but what can I say, we are cool like that.
If SES's license agreement says you get one install, well then that's what you get.
This isn't an argument over what is or isn't fair. It's about WHAT the license statement which you agree to when you install a new game SAYS.
I own Steel Beasts Pro PE and that game uses a USB thumb-drive (made by Codemaster as I recall) that must be inserted into my computer in order for the game to play. This means that even if I were to install the game on one of my other work PC's, the game will only ever work on ONE system at a time. That's more restrictive than the license system the games I help make use but I have no problem with this because it was clear from the EULA (End User License Agreement) that this is how the system works.
From looking at SES's website, its not hard to find the DG FAQ that clearly defines how their license system works. So, assuming people have read this document where everything is spelled out, whats the beef here?
Every company decides on this DRM stuff in their own way and I am certain SES choose their system for very valid reasons. You asked above how much another license would cost. Well, ask SES but after reading their FAQ it seems clear that their license system allows you to have the game licensed on one system at a time, so there is your answer, as much as I could discern from the provided info on the SES website.
Madmatt
I got your idea.
Thanks for sharing. :)
Bullethead
29 May 08, 18:53
Again, let me reiterate that this is a forum for the discussion of Distant Guns and Jutland and is really SES's forum, its not my pulpit to monopolize so if the moderators wish for me to just keep my piehole shut, I totally understand!
This is Gamesquad's forum, or Mr. Maddox's forum, if there's any real difference between the 2. We at SES are just squatters here. I don't think any SES employee has any editorial control over anything outside their own posts.
So rave on all you want. It's not us you need to worry about.
Thanks BH. It's just professional courtesy to takes ones hat off when your in another man's house, even if that house is rented. ;)
Madmatt
Bullethead
29 May 08, 19:13
It's just professional courtesy to takes ones hat off when your in another man's house, even if that house is rented. ;)
Just don't take your skivvies off :D But otherwise, laissez le bons temps rouler.
BattleFront's DRM vs Storm Eagles Studio's DRM
Let me say first, I'm not a fan of DRM in games, music, or movies. The DRM system should not limit me the customer in any way, installing, upgrading, or selling/transfer the product. I bought it and as long it's only used on one machine (licensed) and/or by one user who cares.
I own two of BattleFront products that contain their new DMR I have moved both, first to a new hard drive and then to another computer. I've had no issues and didn't have to contact BattleFront's support.
It seems to me BattleFront's license system is better automated. When you uninstall a product it does it's thing and frees the license from the current install, so there are no issues when you later reinstall it. I don't think the licensing system is even used during software upgrades. As far as I know, you can also sell your copy of the software, there are copies of CMSF on Ebay.
The method used by SES is more manual and limited. The license is not automatically freed up by just uninstalling the software. This manual license system, I think has led to more problems then there should be and required the user to contact SES directly which raises other issues. You also can't sell or transfer your license, this reduces the value of the software because of it's limited use. The DG license system is used during software upgrades and to limit the number of plays of the demo. Why a license system should limit a single scenario demo is beyond me. No other demo in the industry has ever done this, for good reason one would think. If I want to sell or give away my copy, I the paying customer should be allowed to do so. I hope in Jutland and future SES products, the license system is better automated, eliminating the need to contact SES support and remove the limitation of what I can do with a product once purchased.
This pretty much hits the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned. DRM is not necessarily evil. So long as it's unobtrusive and does not overly inconvenience honest paying customers (inputing a license string is about as far as I would want to go if asked to define "inconvenience") I'm OK with it.
I just installed Mass Effect on my machine, which is supposed to have some serious DRM in there. Didn't even notice it. I understand that I have something like 5 reactivations (done automatically) before I need to phone up tech support and explain myself. Again, that seems reasonable. Here are the "Key Points" from their web site:
This system allows you to authenticate your game on three different computers with the purchase of one disc. EA Customer Service is on hand to supply any additional authorizations that are warranted. This will be done on a case-by-case basis by contacting Customer Support.
Games are authorized to your machine when you first install and launch the game.
We’ve all had those times when the discs get lost or scratched and you can’t play a game you’ve bought because you need a working disc in the drive. With this new system, players will no longer need the disc to play the game, but can instead simply retain the disc as back up for re-installation.
To me, this trade off is well worth not having to keep the damned disk in the drive all the time.
If SES could come up with something like this, I don't think they'd have quite as many big mouthed zealots running around trying to put them out of business.
JD
Our system didn't originally automatically unlicense itself when a game was uninstalled . That was something I figured out how to code into my installation programs (I know write the code for all our game, demo, patch installers). Technically, it doesn't automatically unlicense a game, but it does prompt you to and by clicking on the YES button, the license program itself is launched allowing you to unlicense the game. You can actually do this without uninstalling the game as well. With all new installers I have been making for about the last 6 months or so I am also adding a new special "unlicense" shortcut link within a games Program Group that does the same thing.
From what I have seen in DG though, this unlicense thing really sounds the same as their Shift-F12 functionality. Maybe all they have to do is get their code to prompt you to do this before a game is fully uninstalled.
Making an unlicense system automated or not, we still have occasionally have to do things manually when for example I get an email from a customer saying that they lost both of their computers which had our games licensed on them and they ask us what they can do so they can re-license the games on their new replacements PC's.
In cases like this, we have decided to trust our customers and assume they aren't trying to abuse the system and release the active licenses (sometimes we can only release one activation though) for them BUT we do have a finite amount of times we will do this and our licensing system allows us to see how many times a given license code has been unlicensed, licensed as well as show us some other info and that allows us to monitor issues that seem suspect.
This does take some effort and accounts for a portion of my daily work, but we have it pretty much down to a science and many times I can take care of customers license issues within moments of getting their email. Anyone that has ever sent me a support email knows how quickly we normally respond. We PRIDE ourselves on having the absolutely fastest customer support in the industry. That more than anything has seemed to help win people over to seeing our way of doing things with regards to DRM licensing.
Obviously, not every company is as lucky as Battlefront to have an obsessive compulsive on staff like me that simply HATES unanswered emails sitting in his inbox and as we add more and more games to our catalogue it gets harder and harder for me to do my daily workload AND keep up with the added support that comes with it.... and run beta teams, work on marketing, keep the servers running, monitor all of our other infrastructure systems oh yeah, and help with the new development of the upcoming games we have planned plus a million other things, but then if you can't handle the heat... ;)
Madmatt
It would be nice if the user could see the end user licence agreement before they buy. At the moment the Storm Eagle Studios web page says the user should read it before purchasing, then the link doesn't work.
SMS Goeben
02 Jun 08, 17:25
I just installed Mass Effect on my machine, which is supposed to have some serious DRM in there. Didn't even notice it. I understand that I have something like 5 reactivations (done automatically) before I need to phone up tech support and explain myself. Again, that seems reasonable.
JD
Interesting comment, JD. I was just going to post that I had decided to not buy Mass Effect due to the complaints I had read regarding their DRM. Although this method still doesn't negate many of the negative things about DRMs in general, you have made me rethink my decision. In fact, it seems to me that EA has recently made some further consessions on this issue, due to the number of complaints and people who had cancelled their pre-ordered games. I understand Mass Effect is a great game, so I may be willing to bite the bullet. After all, as said before, it's a question of "is it worth the trouble." As a customer, my choice will be avoid DRMs if at all possible in the future and, failing that, to become very selective about what I do allow myself to buy.
Madmatt, thanks for your inner market insights and opinions. I have found your posts to be very interesting and informative. I only hope the software producers can find a better way, at some point, to protect their product. You have given me a better understanding of DRMs and why they are used, but, that hasn't eased my unhappiness with this system.
Mobeer makes an incredibly valid and thought-provoking comment and observation. The kind of thing that makes a person stop, think for a second and then slap their head in embarrassing realization since I can't seem to recall if even we have an easy to find copy of the EULA statement on our website! I think I will have to remedy that here shortly. :)
SMS Goeben, Mass Effect is incredible! It's a nice and deep epic space opera told from a unashamedly adult point of view. I played it (and the small expansion mission that came out a month or so ago) on my Xbox 360 though so I can't really comment on how the PC version would play or its DRM issues. As a game though, it was well worth the money and time. I actually was able to get it about 4 days earlier than the official release date. I went to a local Meijers store when i heard that some stores had unintentionally broken the release date and the lady at the electronics counter didn't realize that it was not supposed to be on sale until later that week! Lucky me! ;)
Madmatt
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