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the state of computer gaming, copy protection, etc...


toms

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There is a cool article from the developer of galactic civilizations here: http://www.joeuser.com/index.asp?c=1&AID=21895&u=0

 

He talks about software piracy, publishers, royalites, cd checks and unfinished games.

 

I have to say that i agree with him. I have about 20 games installed on my pc, and so i end up having about 20 cds littered around my desk. I can never find the one i want, i rarely get around to putting them away properly so they are all getting covered in dust and scratched. I was sorely tempted last night to look for some no-cd patches for them... and when you do that it can be hard not to be tempted when you see free versions of the games you pay for on the same sites.

 

I do like their solution to that particular issue... a cd check that only works for a month or so...

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Yeah, the copy protection - how many people does it actually prevent from copying it if they really want to? As far as I can tell, it's just an annoying feature that costs me CDs due to scratching them up. I've never downloaded games - I realize that doing so is straight up stealing. I know a lot you think so too, and would preferentially buy the game, so 'copy protection' translates to 'user irritation'. :(

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Well, you can get things called CD skins, they are thin plastic skins that go on your cd to protect them, even when playing :D.

 

But they are pricey, 10 for like $6. :-\

 

HELL! I DON'T EVEN HAVE JO or JA! Cause my JO got to scratched up.

But today I am much more carefull.

UT 2003 and my copy of CoD doesn't need its cd in. And I like it that way.

CoD is cause a patch I got for it got rid of the requirement to have the disc in. :) Its now safley sitting in my drawer.

 

TiE

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I think three things:

- Stealing is bad. If it isn't yours, and you don't have express permission of the owner (not licensee) to take it, then taking it is stealing ... and therefore bad.

 

- Copy protection is the wrong answer to the wrong question. It punishes those most who are the legal owners of the game. By the time it is available for download, all copy protection has been thwarted.

 

- I have used no-CD patches in the past (in 1999 to play JK & MotS on my Toshiba Portege while traveling ... the JK one was 'official', but the MotS one was not) and am using them now. I now have a Dell Latitude 400, it has no CD drive, and the external weighs almost as much as the system. At my desk, who cares, but I like to carry it with me. The system cannot play 'modern' games, but is perfect for Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and the like. So I have gotten no-cd patches for those.

 

I support the right of people who put out games to get paid for *every* copy, but I do not support the need to have a CD in the tray just to prove you have the CD, nor the awful copy protection schemes in place.

 

Mike

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Originally posted by txa1265

I think three things:

- Stealing is bad. If it isn't yours, and you don't have express permission of the owner (not licensee) to take it, then taking it is stealing ... and therefore bad.

 

- Copy protection is the wrong answer to the wrong question. It punishes those most who are the legal owners of the game. By the time it is available for download, all copy protection has been thwarted.

 

- I have used no-CD patches in the past (in 1999 to play JK & MotS on my Toshiba Portege while traveling ... the JK one was 'official', but the MotS one was not) and am using them now. I now have a Dell Latitude 400, it has no CD drive, and the external weighs almost as much as the system. At my desk, who cares, but I like to carry it with me. The system cannot play 'modern' games, but is perfect for Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and the like. So I have gotten no-cd patches for those.

 

I support the right of people who put out games to get paid for *every* copy, but I do not support the need to have a CD in the tray just to prove you have the CD, nor the awful copy protection schemes in place.

 

Mike

 

I occasionally may have a parrot on me shoulder and an eye patch, but I agree with Mike, especially the point about copy protection....

 

mtfbwya

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