raf_kichu

Actually the most "funny" things about copy protection is that this just prevents joe average user from making a backup copy or 'making a copy for an unaware friend' piracy. Those who want to pirate software will find and or do it. No need to explain this, I think. The bad thing is that the copy-protection campaign is getting more and more intrusive in terms of controlling the user. Its either freedom and trust or just control. There ain't such a thing as "I trust you and control you". Nice article showing where we could get in the near future: http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/article/1765/ Enjoy! ;)

(EDITED) [...] Also, considering the game has only just gone gold yesterday and has not actually been released yet, would you care to take a guess as to how the pirates got hold of it? Considering what their community is like news of any leak would have hit the forums very quickly. I dont know if and how pirates got hold of it. You might want to try get those files to see if they are fake or not. I dont care. I want the original but with no or with the protection that don't affect my playing and Windows system. I dont consider Star Force being that kind of protection. And speaking about games leaking to the pirates... you dont have to look very far. I recently got a game called Dangerous Waters (modern naval sim). Was happy to pay for the original with printed manual etc. etc. Recently when browing one of DWaters forums I spotted the message written by one of the Sonalysts (game author) representative, that the pirates got the game somehow before it was officialy released. When looking at all of this... one starts to think of software piracy as one of the world oldest jobs (next to spies and prostitotion...). Sigh... And speaking general... I just dont like the tendency... the software companies put copy protection mechanisms that are tha pain for the users... and the users say its for their own good. It is as someone put you into the prison because somebody else is stealing something... A non-sense... If the users (and customers) went and said... no we dont buy the game if its going to harras our computers usability... the developer/publisher would have to rethink something. Take a look at 'The Sims 2' case... the people were complaining and the company had to remove some protections. My 0.02

As a legitimate software user I want to use the software with the same ease as if it had not any software protection at all. Which means that it should be completely transparent for me and shouldn't affect ANY other fuctionality of my computer. Other concepts are just broken by design I think. First they treat the legitimate users as a potential pirate, they force him to do things that the pirate doesn't have to do (despite he pays for the software) and sometimes this gets the legitimate user with troubles the pirate doesn't have. I want to be okay, I pay... and they get me troubles instead of trouble-free software. I this case I won't get the illegal copy, but I dont think I buy the original either.

... and you can see SH3 cd images being distributed via one of the point to point networks. Im just wondering what's the point of getting that kind of piracy protection, which can be broken and is pain in the ass to the many of legitimate users (StarForce). As a legitimate software user I want to use the software with the same ease as if it had not any software protection at all. Which means that it should be completely transparent for me and shouldn't affect ANY other fuctionality of my computer. Other concepts are just broken by design I think. First they treat the legitimate users as a pirate, they force him to do things that the pirate doesn't have to do (despite he pays for the software) and sometimes this gets the legitimate user with troubles the pirate doesn't have. I want to be okay, I pay... and they get me troubles instead of trouble-free software. I this case I won't get the illegal copy, but I dont think I buy the original either.