Starforce Activation Blight

[subjugator]

I will start by saying that I am a huge fan of the remade King's Bounty series, owning King's Bounty Legend, King's Bounty Armored Princess and King's Bounty Crosswords GOTY (just got it today, imported it into Canada from the US)

The games are amazing, but the online Starforce activation is not. Come on guys, you should know better than to penalize legitimate users with limited number of activation/deactivations, whereas pirated versions are free from any such hassles. Having installed the legitimate copy of the game I had to resort to downloading SKIDROW no-cd patch and copying it over my "legitimate" executable as I will not stand for limited number of install/uninstalls attempt in a product I have legitimately purchased.

1C/Katauri - being from Russia (as I originally am) you guys should know that these stupid Starforce schemes do squat all to protect your game from being pirated but upset and penalize legitimate users who actually paid for it. Take a good look at Heroes of Might and Magic Tribes of the East release that came with no copy protection AT ALL! Did it fail to sell? - No! Did most of the fans not buy it and pirate it instead (myself included) - No ! So what gives?

I really wanted to support the company and its wonderful games and I made a point of buying all the boxed originals, but these shitfaced activation schemes will make me think twice in the future.

Please - rethink your strategy going forward.

[Nareim]

I have to agree, 200%. I bought KBL on a whim, I like these type of games (and FPS games) so I gave it a try, I was hooked and completed it in a month or so. I then saw a sequel was made or being made so as soon as I saw I could BUY it I did, and I completed that one too. I had no trouble with the install but before I finished KB:AP my hard drive went out. I bought a new hard drive and installed KB:AP but really didn't want to start all over again so I found a program that allowed me to recover 99.8% of the files on my old game drive C. I found all my saved games and was able to pickup where I left off. Then I saw Crossroads was out or coming out and I BOUGHT that one too, it came yesterday and much to my dismay I saw the idiotic message saying I had " 2 activations left" WHAT!!!!!! I just spent all that money on a game only to be limited to the times I can replay it, I DON'T THINK SO BUBBA!!!! I plan on building a new system in the next few months using the intel i7 2600 processor and clocking it up, I hear it can go over 5gig, but that's another story. My problem is, I rebuild my hard drive every 12-18 months and with a new system I'll be using 1 activation and if something unforeseen happens I may end up using up all those things before I even finish the game, what do I do then, I'll be forced to to find a means of getting it another way because I darned well am not going to buy it again, it's almost like your telling people to hack the game by doing this. If you have to use it then at least give the honest buyers enough activations to overcome unforeseen circumstances, like 10 or 12. The other thing is, if we play it, and due to problems, use up all 2 (or 3) activations then we can no longer ever resale it because no one else will be able to activate it, this is almost as bad as Steam even. I no longer buy games using Steam because once it's installed, that's it, you can never install the game again. I BOUGHT COD:MW but rebuilt the HD before I finished it and when I tried to install it again I got the message saying I cannot because it was already installed on another system, I though WHAT, it's going on the same system, I only rebuilt the drive, I contacted the company and they told me (in so many words) TOUGH! It can only be used on the original system with the original configuration and I'd have to buy the game again. The message I got was that I couldn't even upgrade a video card. I checked their forums and I Was Not Alone, a lot of others had the same thing happen to them. Now, with your use of this activation thing, I'm going to get burnt again maybe. I see no future in buying games when the company putting it out punishes the person BUYING it, all your telling people is "if you buy our game we will screw you". The people that hack these things are going to do it no matter what protection you use because THAT'S WHAT THEY DO, it's a challenge to them and they ALWAYS find a way to crack the protection. The people like myself that choose to Pay You Money for your game, end up getting burned in the end. I hope you come out with another sequel, I like the game and I'll get that one too, but I'm paying for a game to be entertained, not burned, you figure it out.

:mad::evil:

[ckdamascus]

If you know you are going to build a new machine, you can de-activate it before you re-activate it. This saves you a permanent activation, so you can still run it on 2 machines.

You can only de-activate maybe 10 times?

[Nareim]

whatever

[jake21]

The hardest part is knowing which games have to be "deactivated" before you reformat the disk.

If you know you are going to build a new machine, you can de-activate it before you re-activate it. This saves you a permanent activation, so you can still run it on 2 machines.

You can only de-activate maybe 10 times?

[ckdamascus]

The hardest part is knowing which games have to be "deactivated" before you reformat the disk.

Yeah, it is terribly annoying. Nowadays, I have a solid backup system though, so I never really need to do that, but most people do not. Reinstallations are common.

When I did not have a backup system, I usually try to avoid wiping out the original disk too. Just good computing policy.

It is a shame that such anti-piracy methods cause such grief to legitimate users though.

[AstralWanderer]

Having played (and enjoyed) both King's Bounty and Armored Princess, I was both surprised and angry to find Crossworlds requiring online activation.

Given that 1C are offering the original King's Bounty DRM-free on GOG (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/king’s_bounty_the_legend) (retail version used a media check) and released a DRM-free DVD of Armored Princess, I can only assume that their release manager is a manic-depressive sociopath on probation from a Moscow asylum. :(

I have never knowingly purchased software using this obnoxious form of user-control since, as a paying customer, I insist on being able to use/install my purchases as and when I please - including on a system that never has been (and never will be) connected to the Internet. This also includes boycotting all digital distributors (Steam, GamersGate, Impulse) aside from GOG and a few indies, since they inflict similar restrictions (or worse in Steam's case). Anyone unfamiliar with the problems inherent in such systems should review Shamus Young's Authorization Servers (http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?p=1680) article.

My response? I'm returning my copy (unactivated and unplayed) to Amazon for a refund (since their webpage didn't mention activation) and have left a negative review to warn others.

[cobranvidia]

It's unfortunate that they went this route - one of my reasons for buying this game was that Armored Princess did not have online DRM the requires me to rely on a company staying in business. I will not make the same mistake again.

I'll probably hold onto the game (it cost me less than 20 bucks) but if I will not buy from them again unless they remove the DRM (including removing it for this game).

[Csimbi]

I did not buy the game yet for this very reason.
I might when I see a patch that fixes the open issues (reported in other threads but not fixed) and removes the copy protection.
Until then, I play at the neighbor as I always do. He is a rich kid, he does not mind - his pocket money is four figures, unlike mine...

Eventually support is going to end because at some point it's going to cost more to maintain the online activation database/service than the possible losses due to piracy.
This is especially true when piracy is a factor during the first 3-6 months during the entire lifetime of the product - which is the case most of the time.
Why? Because game-junkies can't even wait 1 month when it comes to a new game - they have to brag about their achievements, they must have tried the newest titles, etc. Lacking the money, they download it from a shady web site, or, just buy it on the street from a shady character.
If they can keep their game protected for 6 months, the copy protection did its job and can be removed (patched out). Problem is, most copy protections fail on day 1 already, and as such, the game makers "forget" to remove it because they assume everyone is using the cracked software.
I've been nagging to another company's support about this. Guess what. They told me to use the cracked software. They cannot give it to me, they cannot officially recommend it to me, they cannot post it in their forums but still, they tell me to use it anyway.
Even if you try doing the right thing, you need a crack to make it work. What's up with that? I'll tell you what. You already paid for the game, and that's where your contribution ends. If you ask for support, you cost money for the company. So, instead of investigating and fixing your problem, they refer you to a cracked software. There you are, lots of money saved - which you already paid BTW as the price of the game includes support. Which, ultimately means that they rob you of your right to have the problems fixed with the product. They can do this only in the software business. In all other industries the company would be prosecuted... Such is the capitalist legal system. Give me your money, and I won't sue you for using the cracked software... Sad, but true.

[Mygaffer]

If you know you are going to build a new machine, you can de-activate it before you re-activate it. This saves you a permanent activation, so you can still run it on 2 machines.

You can only de-activate maybe 10 times?

And what happens when your drive dies? I work as a computer technician, I see a few dead drives every week.

There is no reason we should have to put up with ANY limited install BS. We are the people paying for the damn game. If you go look at the usual suspects torrent sites AP and Crossworlds are readily available and those people who pay nothing, who steal the game, will have NO activation limits to put up with. It is like 1C is saying, hey, if you actually pay us we will give you an inferior product.