Valve - money grabbing gits!

[autopilot]

yes, it is, which is why you return it to the shop for a refund at that point.

But by this point the seal is broken and th eshop won't refund. See what i mean?

[Stoo]

not for PC, though.

Tell that to CEX and Gamestation

[directhex]

Tell that to CEX and Gamestation

cex are the last ones to let a license get in teh way of a good sale.

and would YOU buy a pc game with cd key second hand? could you tell yourself that it hadn't been copied, and the cd key be in use when you try to play?

[autopilot]

and would YOU buy a pc game with cd key second hand?

Yes, if it ment saving a good few squid. As would thousands of people. I often do. Got Doom 3 for £15 the same week it came out. With steam it's even safer because as long as the key has been taken off the original owners account you know it should be safe. But maybe thats the point?

[Twigman]

yeah pirating used to be about cost, but more and more I get the impression its done due to ease. I know people who have legal copies of XP that came with prebuilt machines, but they format a lot due to rubbish and stuff, and you know you have to reactivate etc. They end up using a non activation coporate edition because it makes their lives easier. I dont blame them tbh.

[bertie]

I use a non activation XP CD when I format - so much easier.
On this subject - isn't half life 2 readily available to pirates now anyway? And I even saw you could play CS Source online on any server? So how useful has this anti-piracy "technology" really been?

[Agent]

So how useful has this anti-piracy "technology" really been?

It hasnt. The only people its "hurt" are the honest paying end-user.
The pirates got around HL2's "security" within days of release (some places even claim it was cracked before it hit the shelfs, but i dont know how true that is). So it really makes no difference what so ever to the people who are going to copy it.

[Stoo]

Yeah, there were steam emulators up within hours of the final code being available.

[SilentDeath]

Havent read the whole thread becuase its bloooooody loong, however you all argue it stops piracy, yet hl2 is avilable on the web and has been cracked so that it does not even need steam.

From this I aruge that the whole anti-piracy side of steam is pointless, however I would also argue that the updates are much better this way, even if steam is one of the most badly designed pieces of software in the last 10 years.

btw I do own hl2 retail which I bought using a freinds GAME staff discount :rock:

[poindextermatic]

It hasnt. The only people its "hurt" are the honest paying end-user.
The pirates got around HL2's "security" within days of release (some places even claim it was cracked before it hit the shelfs, but i dont know how true that is). So it really makes no difference what so ever to the people who are going to copy it.

I totally agree with this - ppl who downloaded the game had a much easier time getting it installed etc, hell patches were even on the net to fix bugs shortly after pirate release, none of this registration mucking around for the pirates!
Also, as far as I can tell, HL2 was easier then normal games to crack!
I think some marketing ppl panicked at the last minute coz they saw $$$ going down and demanded that all this online reg rubbish was to go ahead.... pity the persons without the net!
When are they going to learn that no game is 'uncrackable', and as long as it is in digital media it is possible to manipulate it.
Maybe they should concentrate on the overall quality of the package instead - the only games I buy and keep are the ones that are classic or good value...surely if they focus on this more ppl will buy into it.
How about including more things with the game - i.e maps, booklets, trinkets etc that may be vital to game play...? This is physical stuff that can't be copied or at least makes it harder / more expensive for the pirate...
End of my rant.

[Stoo]

maps and booklets get turned info pdf's and trinkets are largely a waste of time..

[poindextermatic]

maps and booklets get turned info pdf's and trinkets are largely a waste of time..

I don't mean just the norm books etc... somthing that is needed... maybe a physical puzzle, or chart that cannot be copied.... I don't know just 'somthing' besides somthing that can be made digital....???

[Zedmeister]

I don't mean just the norm books etc... somthing that is needed... maybe a physical puzzle, or chart that cannot be copied.... I don't know just 'somthing' besides somthing that can be made digital....???

Ahh the good (bad) old days when copy protection was a nightmare. I remember crystal maze for the acorn and you had to go through a bizare regieme to actually play the game. In the box was this colour chart, and you got a unique spinner with the game. You had to spin the spinner or some such and match up one spinner section with the colour chart to play the game.

Other old games also had copy protection mid-game. It stopped playing and required a code printed in the manual to continue!

They didn't do much to stop pirates and still won't. All you'd need is a decent photo or scan, post it on the web or distribute via P2P and viola. Only succeeds in frustrating the gamers. Sounds a bit like steam to be honest

[yamangman]

Worms for the Amiga had thousands of 6 digit numbers printed in glossy black, on a matt black background

[Stoo]

Yeah, and the entire code request function was bypassed.

Much like the Dongle on Robocop 3

[Mblaster]

That reminds me of one of the first PC games I ever had, called Lotus i think, a racing game on a 486DX You were given a code when you started up the game and that releated to a number and you had two circular pieces of paper that you slid around to get the correct code