More copy protection BS

[Mr. Natural]

I came across this thread (http://rage3d.net/board/showthread.php?threadid=33763491). There is a program called Starforce which gets installed with ToCA2 and creates entries in device manager. Follow the thread for a removal tool.

[Rafal Dudek]

starforce is the worst thing ever. Few games have it already and it sucks. Its like "sorry, but we have to take over your system so you cant pirate this game" =[

[Tavo]

What!?
This program is a load of BS!!! And I have it installed on my system!!!
Crap... Now how am I gonna take it out...
Anyways... Star-Force doesn't seem to achieve it's objective.

[Ravanor]

Kill them all. Developers of spyware. Let the game companies that use such tools burn.

Anyway, wonder if there is a listing of games that use this Starforce spawn of damnation, that way I won't happen to buy any of them. :D

[Gaim Mastr]

Unbelieveable !! :wtf2:

And I completely agree that it's these sneaky, intrusive, problem causing protection schemes that are turning more and more honest game buyers into warez downloaders.

Purchased game = crap installed on your system without your knowledge, doesn't uninstall with the game, causes problems with various other software and hardware.

Warez = clean system, no CD swapping needed, free, no problems with other software or hardware.

I look at what's going on and it sure appears that the ONLY people suffering problems are those of us who purchase games legitimately. The people who steal games suffer no problems at all, and they get their bliss for free.

Even those who pay for their games are sometimes forced to download hacks & cracks just to play it on their systems.

Seems to me that these game publishers use these crappy copy protection utilities primarily to satisfy worried/ignorant stock holders and financial backers.

I'd say that game companies are quickly becoming their own worst enemies in the battle against piracy. It's their actions that are causing more and more once honest game buyers to turn to free warez games. Not because it's free, but because warez copies are becoming more reliable and safer to use & uninstall than fully paid for retail copies.

[Rattlesnake8]

A few years ago id have never guessed that downloading warez games would be better for your system than buying the game at full retail price.. doesn't mach much sense. Bloody spyware. I can't stand it, i understand that free software you download has it.. but to put it in with games which you pay top dollar for is just wrong.

[DanTheManPR]

At the heart of the issue: copy protection doesn't work. It serves only to piss-off people.

I would never support an organization like warez. But when the publishers are using under-handed, sneaky buissness tactics, I refuse to support them either.

[Cap'n]

I've already had it out with Starforce before, and I will never again buy any game with it.

A month or so back I put up a thread here about Broken Sword 3 using Starforce as it's copy protection. That thing totaly screwed up my pc forcing me to do a complete reinstall. Almost none of my other games would play after installing that junk, and Broken Sword 3 would only run occasionally itself. That stuff is bad news. You should read the offical forums for Broken Sword 3, the forums are flooded with complaints and what not. The publisher, The Adventure Company, are being real dinks about it too.

Worst thing is, you won't know till you buy the game if it uses starforce or not. Makes you want to priate games, doesn't it?

[Cronus]

Nope, but I'll never buy a game from any publisher or developer who uses it ever again. And neither will lots of people. They remember logos on the sides of boxes and associate them with pain and suffering, especially as you can't really return pc games these days.

[Ravanor]

Damnit, I got that off a Aura Demo!! Only noticed when I started it just before and saw "The Adventure Company". The Spyware Company more like it.

[Gaim Mastr]

Interesting that you have to personally contact their company and request their own removal software to get their crap off of your system.

Begs the obvious question..... how many casual users would EVER know enough to look for, identify and proceed to contact the appropriate company of that trashware ??

:face4:

[Mr. Natural]

I decided to write a letter to the corporate heads at Dreamcatcher and I encourage anyone else to do the same.
Here is what I wrote:
I am a community forum manager for one of the more popular gaming sites on the internet. I wanted to let you know that I really wanted to purchase Painkiller, but after learning that the game includes the Starforce program I have decided that I will not be purchasing the game. Word is out in the gaming community that Starforce will wreck havoc on a computer and I refuse to purchase and install any software on my computers which may cause problems with my systems.
I understand the concern of piracy of software, but putting copy protection programs such as Starforce can be easily bypassed by hackers and pirates and only cause grief and problems for the average computer user who legally purchase and support the game and software community.
Remove Starforce from your game and I will gladly support the company efforts by purchasing the game and informing all my fellow gamers.
You can contact Dreamcatcher executives here. (http://www.dreamcatchergames.com/dci/corporate/index.html)

[Bruenor]

I decided to write a letter to the corporate heads at Dreamcatcher and I encourage anyone else to do the same.
Here is what I wrote:

You can contact Dreamcatcher executives here. (http://www.dreamcatchergames.com/dci/corporate/index.html)

I can see they're response:

"Well, Mr. N, we're glad that you will be purchasing Painkiller as the North American version does not use Starforce. We do however use the latest version of SafeDisc. Enjoy your purchase."

I understand your letter, but demanding they remove a product that they don't use seems a little like wasting time. I will write to them, but instead I will ask them stop supporting anti-pirating measures that do nothing to prevent piracy, and everything to make gaming a frustrating experience for individuals who actually abide by the law and purchase the game.

[Mr. Natural]

Got my threads mixed up. Oh well.

[Mr. Natural]

Here is the response I received from Dreamcatcher:
---- Christos Andrikakis <christos@dreamcatchergames.com> wrote:
>
> Dear Valued Customer,
>
> Thank you for contacting DreamCatcher Interactive with your concerns.
>
> So that I may better assist you in this matter, I would need to verify
> some of the statements that you had included in your e-mail.
> Specifically, please indicate how you have concluded that Painkiller
> uses Starforce copy protection. Also, have you encountered a technical
> problem that is Starforce-related or are your statements based on
> unverified hearsay found on the internet?
>
> Please let me know if you have any questions regarding this matter.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Chris Andrikakis
> Technical Support Supervisor
> DreamCatcher Interactive Inc.

At which point I corrected myself in the follow up letter:
I was mistaken in stating that Painkiller uses Starforce copy protection, when in
fact Painkiller uses Safedisk.
There is much discussion going on in our community about copy protection programs
and your game is not the only one in which fellow gamers are having problems with
the copy protection programs. I confused the technologies being used with your product
and another because of the multiple issues being discussed at our community.
The issue first came to light when reading a recent issue of Computer Games magazine
in which the editor was unable to play the game Painkiller because of the Safedisk
program included with Painkiller. I posted a copy of my original letter to you on
our forums and one of our members informed me that I had the two technologies confused.
So I have been set straight as far as a technologies used.
The problem still remains however. Whatever technology used it is still a burden
to us paying gamers and does not deter hackers and piracy.
I hope to hear sometime that Safedisk has been removed from Painkiller. I think
I would enjoy the game. As it stands now however I will not purchase any game with
copy protection which may cause problems with my computers.
Thank you for your time, and response.

[Jenko]

Well i went out and bought far cry for £30 on the day it came out only to find out i could not have clone cd or alcohol 120% installed if i wanted to play the game.
So i was forced to get a no-cd patch for it thanks ubisoft i was a great fan of you stuff.

[MarkN]

Kill them all. Developers of spyware. Let the game companies that use such tools burn.

Anyway, wonder if there is a listing of games that use this Starforce spawn of damnation, that way I won't happen to buy any of them. :D

There is, on http://www.makeabackup.com (Make A Backup.com). To find the list (cuz for some reason its exact URL location isn't posted here the few times I've tried it) first search for Starforce on the right and then click Protection Database, below where it says:

... more

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[Burningmace]

I generally hate copy protection. Some forms of it do work, and I see why the companies use it (being a software developer myself). It's a pain in the arse to code too, as you have to stop programs like SoftICE from ripping your code. A lot of copy protection (such as EXESecure and AntiTheft) hook the explorer.exe and some services to look for illegitimate copying. This actually slows your computer down drastically and can do a lot of damage. I tend to stay away from those. If gaming companies are going to use copy protection, they should make it unbreakable and safe. The company Waves (www.waves.com) use extremely complex anti-pirate code to stop "l337 h4x0rz" warezing/cracking their software. The software gives you a message of 14 random words and you have to respond to it in a textbox, with no format given. To get the response you must pay for the software online and enter the message. I don't see why companies don't do that! It doesn't cause any annoyance to the user or damage to the computer.