Moon
-
Posts
10,042 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Posts posted by Moon
-
-
The point is, DRM problems are very bad PR, there has never been a DRM without problems, and there has never been a DRM that hasn't been cracked anyway. So, DRM:s mostly cause problems for paying customers, never to the pirates.
No, the point is that some people out there stick fingers in their ears and shut their eyes and then shout out their opinions as loud as they can.
-
Emphasis added: For mail delivery only versions...
-
A DRM that limits installations to 3 events is similar to one that limits installations to 4 events - they are similiar in that they limit installations. A DRM that limits installations to 3 events is more similar to one that limits installation events to 4 events than one that limits them to 10 events (because the numbers are closer in value) but all 3 share the similarity of limiting installations. If there is anyone else on this board who can't or won't understand what "similar" means, whether for rhetorical purposes or not I can't say, there isn't much else I can do to explain.
There is no need to explain this. I think everyone knows what you think. The problem is not with others but what you. What you think is factually incorrect. Our OAS does not limit installations to 3 or 4 or any other number. Installations are unlimited. What it limits is the number of additional activations you can do beyond the first 4 without contacting our support. And that limit is 1 per year.
Since everything else you you *think* is based on the same wrong assumption, it's equally incorrect.
Martin
-
Moon,
I hope you guys rethink this aspect of your DRM. Now that this is out, the first time someone starts experiencing erratic problems with the software whether real or imagined, they will blame the drm and BF. If your new DRM works well enough then putting stuff like this in your game isn't necessary and IMO is just asking for problems and bad PR .....
I can't stop people from blaming whoever they want for anything that they want. That won't make them any more right, though.
And no DRM works "well enough". Anything can be cracked. Our new OAS will ensure that paying customers get what they pay for, while others don't. That should make you, the paying customer, very happy I would think, seeing as one of the common complaints about copy protection in general is that pirates are better off (well, they aren't).
-
For instance, Arma 2 has something called FADE,
We are not using FADE (I don't know what it is to be honest), so whatever problems they have are not really relevant to us.
The whole DRM question is riddled with bad experiences by customers with other publishers and developers. I guess some really bad stuff is out there. But assuming the worst because of that is not a good approach, especially given our past track record of customer service. Sometimes I wonder if you guys wake up in the morning and completely forget the last 10 years of dealings with Battlefront
-
JSj, the problems will only affect people who play pirated copies. If you have a valid key and activate the game, there will be no "hidden" bugs. Doh!
-
You shouldn't have to re-purchase the game, simply contact our support at www.battlefront.com/helpdesk.
The dashes (if present, not all keys have them) do need to be entered.
-
Nice catch! It was also pointed out in the other thread... but updating systems every year or two is fairly common for enthusiasts, I did cpu's in both last year and will be rebuilding the desktop soon. That coupled with the potential for unforseen events leads me to think a revoke tool would be a welcome addition to the plan. Hopefully rootkits are not involved...
sfhand:
but updating systems every year or two is fairly common for enthusiasts,EXACTLY why we allow one additional activation per 365 day period! Plenty enough for the typical user, even the "enthusiast" who is updating "once every year or two".
And flamingknives is correct about how the system works. There is no total limit of activations. You can add one per year every year. Your key will never run out of activations. (He's also right about contacting support in emergencies)
And lastly, there is in-depth explanation about the new DRM system, you just have to bother to actually look:
-
The easiest solution to installation limits, as implimented by other game software developers, is to have a "deactivation tool" so the user doesn't go through their allotted activations.
It's funny you say that because we have been using just a system like that for 4 years now. Before most other developers had something like it.
Hmm, so for some reason we must think that the new one is better.
And here is why: What we know is that many people forget to "deactivate". Or lose their PC due to hard crashes before they can. Or something goes wrong with the deactivation. Or they have no online connection (required) to deactivate.
The end result is that we are resetting keys for people in this situation in our Helpdesk every day. Since you are allowed only 2 activations at the same time, you often only need to get into this situation once before you need support intervention.
Our new system is much better in this regard.
- Since you cannot unlicense, you cannot forget to unlicense. And it doesn't matter if your PC crashes hard or your HD fries before you can.
- Our new system comes with more activations upfront, so in most cases you can simple re-activate. Done.
- If you did use up your activations, then you can add more without having to wait for support.
- And if you have a real issue and need more than the 1 per year additional, you can always request support, explain what is going on, and we can add an activation to your key. That works the same as if you had forgotten to unlicense or had a crash in the first place.
And these are just a few reasons why the new system is better than the old one.
Martin
-
Well... it isn't fair at all. At its core it is a draconian measure. The problem of piracy is not licensed users installing, uninstalling, and reinstalling software. The only people who this will negatively affect are licensed users. Or, as another site, talking about another game with a similar situation put it:
"If you are a Pirate:
- BAD: You do have the same bugs that those with legal copies have, plus new ones depending on how the cracked copy was programmed.
- GOOD: Unlimited Activations!
- GOOD: No SecuROM to deal with
- GOOD & BAD: It’s free, but illegal
If you are a Legal Customer:
- BAD: Limited to 3 Activations
- BAD: Your computer is plaqued with SecuROM
- BAD: Game contains errors and bugs
- GOOD & BAD: You support Maxis by purchasing the game, but you are also supporting EA, and if you support them, you support SecuROM
Honestly…what looks better to you?"
I had actually expected better from BF on this issue.
As akd mentioned: "similar situation?"
There isn't anything similar about your quote and Battlefront. We do not use SecuROM. We allow more than 3 activations.
And there is one important thing missing: our new online activation system comes with new anti-hacking protection which will make people who play a pirated copy VERY unhappy. They will be surprised to find tanks missing, vehicles not being able to turn, game crashes etc. I don't want to into specifics, though.
Anyway, in a discussion about copy protection there is always the inevitable drift off to positions against it in general, and the mixing and matching of all the bad experiences, systems and failures of the past into the debate. I won't even comment on that anymore.
- BAD: You do have the same bugs that those with legal copies have, plus new ones depending on how the cracked copy was programmed.
-
I don't know if I'd use up 4 activations in 1 year - I haven't done with CMSF. But I know when I buy a product, I'd expect a guarantee and/or insure it. That way I have piece of mind that IF there were to be a problem, then I'm OK.
Four activations a year does not give me the confidence I need from this product.
Has there been any discussion as to why the accepted method (eLicence) has to change?
We are offering any guarantees, and never have, when you purchase a game. Our EULA (End User License Agreement) hasn't changed really since day one.
We do, however, make exceptions to the rules. We're doing it daily, in fact. If you really run up against the activation count, explain what happened in our Helpdesk, and we can give you an additional one.
eLicense needed to change because of an increasing amount of problems with anti-virus programs classifying it as a false positive, problems with Windows UAC, etc.
-
I do at least a Windows reinstall every 3 months. So for me it's 4 reinstalls for laptop and 4 for desktop per year.
Sorry to hear that. In this case you should consider buying more licenses. We offer discounts for that. Alternatively, consider NOT reformatting Windows every 3 months on the PC that you install the game on.
-
Erh, seems a bit of a nasty system really
Even Starforce is more lenient than that. 1 activation per year? That's really harsh. What was wrong with e-license? I liked that one better ...It's not 1 activation per year. It's one ADDITIONAL activation per year on top of the 4 you already. That is a big difference.
Edit: And what exactly is a "major" system change? A new CPU? Graphics card? Motherboard? Ram?Would you say that these are major system changes? The answer is: yes.
-
Do you have modules? A common error (not your fault, but how the system works) happens when you have CMSF and a module (or more). If you unlicense, and then install CMSF and try to relicense, you will run into the "11" error (meaning: all activations in use).
What you need to do in that case is to install CMSF and at least one module, and then use the module key to activate the game. This will activate the base game automatically.
-
IIRC Fraps captures only 3D rendered stuff.
-
Er, what happens if, say, a patch doesn't install right or something and we have to do a fresh install?
Nothing happens. Uninstalling does not erase your license status, i.e. if you activate the game, uninstall, then reinstall, then the game will simply work. You will not have to re-activate (and hence will not use up another activation).
To trigger a new activation you would have to make major changes to your PC and/or reformat the entire drive.
The beauty of elicense, for me, was that I could unlicense and then relicense without there being a finite number of licensing events available (other than the 2 allowed).There is no finite number of licensing events with our new system, either, since you can add activations. The "pace" at which you can do this is restricted, but the number of activations remains infinite.
This new system, presents some potential problems in the above scenario, depending on how many times I wish or need to fiddle with my computer. Generally I don't buy software that limits activations unless there is a way to deactivate that resets the activation counter.Then you must have a hard time finding companies that offer this, because other than eLicense there are not many systems out there that allow you to un-license and re-license a game.
So, the first, most obvious question I have is, will I still be licensed to install the software on 2 machines?Yes, our EULA does not change.
Second question, are you willing to be more flexible on the number of activations (4 seems rather sparse for 2 machines)?No.
Third question, are the yearly activations cumulative?I don't know what you mean.
Fourth question, are you willing to develop a deactivation tool to replenish the number of activations available to the software license holder?It's already there: You can add one activation per year yourself at www.battlefront.com/activate. This only works for games released after Jan 1, 2011.
Martin
-
-
Yup, false positive is what it is. Happens from time to time with encrypted files (such as our games that are protected against hackers) if you have "Heuristic" scanning enabled. "Heuristic" scanning essentially means "guessing" at unknown threats. This can be useful at times but also is prone to false positives, i.e. alerts that are not viruses. What you should do if you want to use Heuristics scanning is to make sure that the AV program does not automatically act (let alone delete a file etc.), but rather only notifies you, so that you know what is going on. Or you can turn off Heuristics, too, or set exemptions for specific files and folders.
Our new Online Activation System (that TOW3 comes with) is much less prone to this type of false positive than eLicense that we used so far, btw. In fact, no false positives have ever been reported to date.
Martin
-
You can find it in the store account even if you dont remember your login. Go to www.battlefront.com/lostpw and enter the email address you used for the purchase.
It will only work for orders placed after Oct 1, 2007. For earlier orders, go to www.battlefront.com/helpdesk and click on "Submit Ticket", We may be able to dig your key out of our legacy database. Make sure to state your full name, address, email address used for the purchase, (rough) date of purchase, and game title to help us identify your order.
-
Still working on it.
Martin
-
It would be nice in the scenario design to be able to designate weather effects.
Turns 0-8: overcast
Turns 9,10: strong winds from the West
Turns 11-15: deluge, strong winds continue
Turns 16-whatever: diminishing winds, overcast
Keep in mind that you are talking about MINUTES here. One turn equals 60 seconds in real life. Controlling weather effects down to the minute is insane.
(not to speak of the problem of controlling it for the entire map at once) -
Wicky, there are many good reasons to keep forum and main site access completely separate.
-
Just been readinf this post and I`m a bit confused as to what I need or have in order to buy Normandy when it comes out.
I have username and password for the Forum 9obviously) and for the main site ( which gives me access to the Repository)
The last item I bought was Shock Force when it came out (ie before Oct 2007) So what do I use,or do ,in order to buy something?
Again, purchases do not require any account or login at all. During a purchase, an account is created "on the fly". It's where your download info, license key etc. is saved. You do not need to register in order to buy anything.
However, an account has to have a unique email address. So if you already have an account (either because you purchased something after Oct 1, 2007, or because you manually registered for the Repository, for example), AND if you want to use the same email address during your purchase, you will have to login at some point during the checkout.
Martin
-
www.battlefront.com/lostpw (for the main site account only). All you need to know is what email address you used (and still have access to it).
Even Starforce is more lenient than that. 1 activation per year? That's really harsh. What was wrong with e-license? I liked that one better ...
E-License
in Combat Mission Battle for Normandy
Posted
I don't know what sfhand is trying to say in his post, to be honest. He's right in one thing though: no matter how you call it (activations, installations), there is no hard limit for either. Not 3 times, not 4 times, and not any other hard number after which the key would expire.
And yes, WillLight. Once activated, a game remains activated on that PC (even if you uninstall it). However, if you reformat your entire drive, or if you modify your PC in a major way, you will be forced to reactivate (same as it works with eLicense, btw). This is a necessary precaution to prevent pirates from copying activated games and sending them around, obviously.