April 2, 2003, 07:25
|
#1
|
Apolyton CS Co-Founder
Local Time: 00:58
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Aug 1998
Location: Macedonia, Greece
Posts: 24,480
|
how stardock figths warez
from Brad on the official forum
Quote:
|
Actually I had code in the betas and gold that if the serial # isn't valid I delete the galaxy class (Which crashes the game). The warez serial # floating around can get by the intaller but not GalCiv itself. When we did the bonuspak I updated this to show a cut scene event with the text describing the player going to prison. Then I delete the galaxy class so that they know why it's crashing.
|
go Stardock, go!
|
|
|
|
April 2, 2003, 07:42
|
#2
|
King
Local Time: 00:58
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Bubblewrap
Posts: 2,032
|
That cutscene makes me wanna play the pirated version now.
__________________
<Kassiopeia> you don't keep the virgins in your lair at a sodomising distance from your beasts or male prisoners. If you devirginised them yourself, though, that's another story. If they devirginised each other, then, I hope you had that webcam running.
Play Bumps! No, wait, play Slings!
|
|
|
|
April 2, 2003, 09:00
|
#3
|
Born Again Optimist
Local Time: 18:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: This space reserved for Darkstar.
Posts: 5,667
|
LOL! Hilarious.
__________________
I've been on these boards for a long time and I still don't know what to think when it comes to you -- FrantzX, December 21, 2001
"Yin": Your friendly, neighborhood negative cosmic force.
|
|
|
|
April 2, 2003, 09:18
|
#4
|
Prince
Local Time: 22:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Deaf forever
Posts: 599
|
Ooooo, I guess no pirated version of GalCiv then....
|
|
|
|
April 2, 2003, 10:26
|
#5
|
King
Local Time: 22:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Birmingham, AL
Posts: 1,595
|
|
|
|
|
April 2, 2003, 11:34
|
#6
|
Warlord
Local Time: 14:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: of the Land of Rain
Posts: 213
|
Well, you should all know that I am very anti-pirate. But that being said, I am certain the pirates will find a way to cirumvent this. They have time and motivation on their side.
I echoed the call to release this cutscene so all can enjoy the fun!
M
__________________
"You are, what you do, when it counts."
President of the nation of Riis in W3's SimCountry.
|
|
|
|
April 2, 2003, 12:12
|
#7
|
Emperor
Local Time: 17:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: May 2001
Location: flying too low to the ground
Posts: 4,625
|
oh so thats why i haven't seen the... uhh... i mean... never mind.
__________________
"I've lived too long with pain. I won't know who I am without it. We have to leave this place, I am almost happy here."
- Ender, from Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
|
|
|
|
April 2, 2003, 12:53
|
#8
|
Prince
Local Time: 17:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: People's Republic of the East Village
Posts: 603
|
Does the cut scene feature a Drengin smoking a cigar in the cell, who says "Welcome to jail, honey ..."
__________________
- "A picture may be worth a thousand words, but it still ain't a part number." - Ron Reynolds
- I went to Zanarkand, and all I got was this lousy aeon!
- "... over 10 members raised complaints about you... and jerk was one of the nicer things they called you" - Ming
|
|
|
|
April 2, 2003, 15:18
|
#9
|
Local Time: 22:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 182
|
We did 3 updates yesterday on GalCiv. Are warez people going to work 24/7 to keep cracking it?
Their best case scenario is that they'll always be well behind legitimate players.
And it's unlikely they'll get all of them. It's not like there's one check in there, there's dozens of them scattered throughout the game. So even after playing 30 years, one might pop up.
I used to crack copy protection (I didn't distribute them, I just don't like copy protection) when I was younger so I'm pretty familiar with what's involved. I also used to write trainers for games.
Nothing is impossible to crack. But you can make it pretty darn inconvenient. And given that the game is only 40 bucks, to anyone who has a job, it's not worth jumping through very many hoops to get around paying 40 dollars.
|
|
|
|
April 2, 2003, 16:26
|
#10
|
Born Again Optimist
Local Time: 18:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: This space reserved for Darkstar.
Posts: 5,667
|
Brad: Genius! Love it!
You're right. I think most warez guys are happy to put some time into the occasional crack of a game, but to have to do to multiple times... The real issue will be with the stand-alone patches, but if you've got many checks in the game, that's cool!
__________________
I've been on these boards for a long time and I still don't know what to think when it comes to you -- FrantzX, December 21, 2001
"Yin": Your friendly, neighborhood negative cosmic force.
|
|
|
|
April 2, 2003, 18:08
|
#11
|
Firaxis Games Programmer/Designer
Local Time: 18:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Maryland
Posts: 9,567
|
Quote:
|
Originally posted by Tassadar5000
Actually, the game was too pricy for me. I had to return it to get my money back.
Not everyone has 40 bucks to just spend, you know
|
Did you even buy it to begin with?
|
|
|
|
April 2, 2003, 18:40
|
#12
|
Firaxis Games Programmer/Designer
Local Time: 18:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Maryland
Posts: 9,567
|
Quote:
|
Originally posted by Tassadar5000
Just more idiotic drivel from Trip. How surprising.
|
Idiodic drivel?
I'm glad I keep logs of everything you say.
|
|
|
|
April 2, 2003, 23:57
|
#13
|
Deity
Local Time: 10:58
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: That's DR WhereItsAt...
Posts: 10,157
|
Ingenious. I'll love to see how this works. Whether GalCiv turns up in the Filesharers will be some indication, I guess, and whether cracsk can actually be found. Of course, this is one of those situations where you can't prove something is uncrackable. It only takes one instance of a crack that one person keeps to themselves for it to lose that status.
We may never really know (or then again we might know really soon!), but nice job anyway. Much better than screwing with the CD itself and stopping it working on some peoples' CD-ROM drives.
I guess this doesn't affect peoples' ability to make a backup copy wither, seeing as it is with the same serial #. The more I think of this measure, the better it seems. Why didn't soemthing think of something like this before?!
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 00:31
|
#14
|
Chieftain
Local Time: 17:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Nov 2001
Posts: 48
|
Quote:
|
Actually, the game was too pricy for me. I had to return it to get my money back.
Not everyone has 40 bucks to just spend, you know
|
Which is it: you had "40 bucks to just spend" or "the game was too pricy for (you)"?
Go ahead, say it was both. Make my day, punk. You apologists for **** will say anything.
You've mastered the ridiculous re: people with $1,000 computers unable to afford $40 for a kid's game. What's your next project, comrade? Convincing GalCiv players of their dialectical materialism?
Trip, what a trip.
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 11:41
|
#15
|
Deity
Local Time: 06:58
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: May 1999
Location: The City State of Noosphere, CPA special envoy
Posts: 14,606
|
I would think the best way to fight pirates is to make your game worth the $.
__________________
(\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
(='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
(")_(") "Starting the fire from within."
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 11:58
|
#16
|
King
Local Time: 22:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Birmingham, AL
Posts: 1,595
|
Well, as proved by my eight hour oddessy last night in the face of an irate wife and numerous chores left undone, I'd say it's worth forty bucks.
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 11:59
|
#17
|
Apolyton CS Co-Founder
Local Time: 00:58
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Aug 1998
Location: Macedonia, Greece
Posts: 24,480
|
Quote:
|
Originally posted by Urban Ranger
I would think the best way to fight pirates is to make your game worth the $.
|
not enough for some people....
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 13:15
|
#18
|
Emperor
Local Time: 16:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: As cuddly as a cactus, as charming as an eel.
Posts: 8,196
|
Quote:
|
Originally posted by billybaruch1
You've mastered the ridiculous re: people with $1,000 computers unable to afford $40 for a kid's game.
|
Rediculous? hardly.
I have a $1200 computer, make over $70,000/year, and CAN'T afford to spend $40 on a kids game whenever I want...
See, there are these things called BILLS...on average I am able to buy 2-3 games/year.
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 13:19
|
#19
|
Official Civilization IV Strategy Guide Co-Author
Local Time: 17:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Not just another pretty face.
Posts: 1,516
|
Quote:
|
Originally posted by Urban Ranger
I would think the best way to fight pirates is to make your game worth the $.
|
Nope, this just means more of the scum who download warez will be attracted to it.
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 14:09
|
#20
|
Firaxis Games Programmer/Designer
Local Time: 18:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Maryland
Posts: 9,567
|
Quote:
|
Originally posted by Urban Ranger
I would think the best way to fight pirates is to make your game worth the $.
|
Just like the same logic that CEOs of big corporations will be completely honest because they have everything they could ever want.
Right.
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 14:11
|
#21
|
Firaxis Games Programmer/Designer
Local Time: 18:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Maryland
Posts: 9,567
|
Quote:
|
Originally posted by billybaruch1
Which is it: you had "40 bucks to just spend" or "the game was too pricy for (you)"?
Go ahead, say it was both. Make my day, punk. You apologists for **** will say anything.
You've mastered the ridiculous re: people with $1,000 computers unable to afford $40 for a kid's game. What's your next project, comrade? Convincing GalCiv players of their dialectical materialism?
Trip, what a trip.
|
Nice trap.
Right now I'm around 30 thousand dollars in debt, no job and make no money, and I could afford to sacrifice 40 bucks for a game I think will be enjoyable. I think other people can find the means to do so without stealing.
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 14:28
|
#22
|
Prince
Local Time: 18:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: West Michigan
Posts: 329
|
Awesome protection. Hope it really works.
I do have an interesting question though. There is a Babbages in town that actually allows you to return software for store credit within 7 days (I know, hard to believe now adays). Now if someone bought the game, installed it, with the serial number of course, then returns it and then the store sells the returned game to someone else, would they be able to use that serial number or is it labled as "compromised"?
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 19:43
|
#23
|
Chieftain
Local Time: 22:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 39
|
What is this person talking about? The pirated ISO has been available to the public since March 17th, and it will keep working into the infinite future. Why would people want to patch their pirated games inoperable if the original game wasn't too poorly written in the first place?
Should have stuck to SafeDisk and caused Fairlight to engage in a few moments of effort. (No matter how tiny a time it takes them to crack CD-Protections nowadays)
An ingenious solution to piracy? Why do you think that developers are opting to use expensive and sophisticated CD-Protection for their games? Sure, Deviance, Fairlight, Immersion, and Razor1911 seems to be cracking these protections with relative ease but the protection does stop individuals from making a dozen copies of his game with a simple CD burning application and an outdated CD burner.
With Galactic Civ, individuals can pop his copy into the drive and burn twelve fully functional copies for friends without the need for cracks. Serial number protections won't help the developer in this case as the serial number will be held in private, not available for the developer to spike for future patches.
Go team.
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 20:52
|
#24
|
Born Again Optimist
Local Time: 18:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: This space reserved for Darkstar.
Posts: 5,667
|
"Why would people want to patch their pirated games inoperable if the original game wasn't too poorly written in the first place?"
The game as released is more than playable, and this is a testament to Brad that the game was good out of the box ... or out of the warez scene. Now what Brad is doing in addition is releasing bonus packs, new morale decisions, new ships, significant AI updates, balances, etc. Warez folks will be out of luck.
Now, if you argue: "Why would they care about a few bonus packs, a new ship or two, and a bit better AI?"
Thieves wouldn't really care. They steal, play a few days, move on to the next stolen game. My guess is Brad could care less about that crowd in the first place, since his target audience is the one that will happily pay $40 for a game that is being given this much post-release TLC. And for the casual thief or 'full-demo tester,' Brad has given them an incredibly solid game to play and plenty of motivation to go out and buy a game that will keep them happy for many months to come.
__________________
I've been on these boards for a long time and I still don't know what to think when it comes to you -- FrantzX, December 21, 2001
"Yin": Your friendly, neighborhood negative cosmic force.
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 21:03
|
#25
|
Chieftain
Local Time: 22:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Nov 2000
Posts: 39
|
If he didn't care about the pirates, he woudn't have bothered himself with the protection that is in GalCiv. If your analysis of the game audience is true, no developer will bother with protections.
|
|
|
|
April 3, 2003, 21:09
|
#26
|
Born Again Optimist
Local Time: 18:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Apr 1999
Location: This space reserved for Darkstar.
Posts: 5,667
|
Read it again. He doesn't care about pirates in my view. He cares about the casual pirate and the full demo players who are looking to test a full version of a game before comitting to it.
__________________
I've been on these boards for a long time and I still don't know what to think when it comes to you -- FrantzX, December 21, 2001
"Yin": Your friendly, neighborhood negative cosmic force.
|
|
|
|
April 5, 2003, 09:35
|
#27
|
Deity
Local Time: 06:58
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: May 1999
Location: The City State of Noosphere, CPA special envoy
Posts: 14,606
|
Quote:
|
Originally posted by Trip
Just like the same logic that CEOs of big corporations will be completely honest because they have everything they could ever want.
|
Clearly two very different situations. If there are any similarities, let me know.
__________________
(\__/) 07/07/1937 - Never forget
(='.'=) "Claims demand evidence; extraordinary claims demand extraordinary evidence." -- Carl Sagan
(")_(") "Starting the fire from within."
|
|
|
|
April 5, 2003, 11:19
|
#28
|
Warlord
Local Time: 14:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: of the Land of Rain
Posts: 213
|
Quote:
|
Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Clearly two very different situations. If there are any similarities, let me know.
|
Both are criminals.
M
__________________
"You are, what you do, when it counts."
President of the nation of Riis in W3's SimCountry.
|
|
|
|
April 5, 2003, 12:16
|
#29
|
Emperor
Local Time: 22:58
Local Date: November 1, 2010
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Minion of the Dominion
Posts: 4,607
|
This isn't anything new, it won't stop piracy, and most people won't even care that they miss out on some lame 'bonus pack', or have to wait an extra week or two before being able to use it. Maxis does this all the time.
Frankly, I think it's just as much a pain in the ass for the legitimate customers to have to download new content every couple of days - just put it all in the from the start and stop trying to make people's lives difficult.
__________________
Rethink Refuse Reduce Reuse
Do It Ourselves
|
|
|
|
April 5, 2003, 14:19
|
#30
|
Apolyton CS Co-Founder
Local Time: 00:58
Local Date: November 2, 2010
Join Date: Aug 1998
Location: Macedonia, Greece
Posts: 24,480
|
Quote:
|
I think it's just as much a pain in the ass for the legitimate customers
|
yes, it's extremely annoying and time consuming to open the stardock central and click on an update button.....
Quote:
|
to have to download new content every couple of days
|
indeed, galciv refuses to open if it finds out that you havent updated....
|
|
|
|
Posting Rules
|
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts
HTML code is On
|
|
|
All times are GMT -4. The time now is 18:58.
|
|