Game2 -> OFP2 maybe?

[simulacra 0]

I've got starforce on my computer through SCCT, and since then I've been running legal and illegal apps on my PC, aswell as daemon-tools etc.

NONE of my program have been behaving differently or badly...

[-RE-Warhawk 0]

My stepson recently bought Bet On Soldier and as you may or may not know it too comes with Starforce. Since it's installation even demo's, both those downloaded and those that come in a magazine, will not install. They consistantly error out. When he tries to run any of his other games the system crashes and restarts. All of this didn't occur until the virus, otherwise known as a copywrite protection tool, Starforce was installed. And yes everything he has is legal. I want to make Game2 my next "game" purchase but not if it has Starforce. To those that say "it's only pirates that have problems" you need to really rethink your stance. I recognize a company's right to protect their intellectual property. Without that protection we wouldn't have a lot of the nice things we do today. But not when it goes to this extreme.

Stout Hearts

|RE|Warhawk

[Heatseeker 0]

Maybe BIS could come up with their own efective copy protection software? If they can make OPF run on a xbox they can do anything .

I never bought SCCT or SHIII because i didnt want SF to infest my system, pirates can still use a workaround for it but many other people willing to buy the software simply wont because of what SF is and the risks involved..

[BennyBoy 0]

If starforce were to be deployed in the days of cassette tapes they would have had to employ a thug to come and live in your house and break the record button on any equipment you bought, would you put up with that?

[Longjocks 0]

I'm sure they would have had a budget for maybe just two thugs per country (possibly dependant on populace and customer base). So, by the time they travelled from town to town, 98% of the customers would still have intact record buttons. It'd be no different than today where 2% of us feel rather surly about the whole StarForce thing.

[Kev 0]

The best protection i know is allready used by BIS.

They use the USB-Key Protection on VBS1 that means,

if u buy VBS1 (The Bohemia Virtual Battlespace Simulator Program)

u get the Discs and a USB Stick that has a CD Key on his Chip.

So you dont need any protection on your harddrive, VBS1 only runs with the USB Stick inserted. i think thats the best protection ever, u cant download any cracked cd key, and u cant crack a USB Stick. so its the best. i hope BIS is using this for ArmA and for the maybe upcoming Game2 or should we say "Game3".

i have no probs to pay 4 bugs more on the normal cd price for that USB Stick Key.

Greetz, VenoM/Kev

[llauma 0]

The best protection i know is allready used by BIS.

They use the USB-Key Protection on VBS1 that means,

if u buy VBS1 (The Bohemia Virtual Battlespace Simulator Program)

u get the Discs and a USB Stick that has a CD Key on his Chip.

So you dont need any protection on your harddrive, VBS1 only runs with the USB Stick inserted. i think thats the best protection ever, u cant download any cracked cd key, and u cant crack a USB Stick. so its the best. i hope BIS is using this for ArmA and for the maybe upcoming Game2 or should we say "Game3".

i have no probs to pay 4 bugs more on the normal cd price for that USB Stick Key.

Greetz, VenoM/Kev

It would be cracked quite soon if they released it the same way as the CD check got cracked.

[ziiip 1]

I think FADE is pretty good protection, it messes up the game in a very short time, and it's very annoying then.

[Cifu 0]

Back to on-topic: the Codemasters looks like want to make a sequel of the OFP (dont forget - the rights in their hands). But the OFP2 are not to be created by BIS, thats for sure.

Senior Programmer recruitment at Hungary

The Codemasters are make an recruitment open day in Budapest, at 18th. March.

[tkokid 0]

Operation Flashpoint 2 - 1st January 2007 - PC.

Coming soon for the PC – Operation Flashpoint 2. Focusing on the US military in another important theatre of war, Operation Flashpoint 2 will continue the title’s reputation as the ultimate military gaming experience. ...

hmmmmmmmm

[Baphomet 0]

I just hope BIS doesn't royally screw over their customers by using something like steam or starforce. Both are evil, and I will not touch a program that requires either of them.

[FriketMonkey 0]

The best protection i know is allready used by BIS.

They use the USB-Key Protection on VBS1 that means,

if u buy VBS1 (The Bohemia Virtual Battlespace Simulator Program)

u get the Discs and a USB Stick that has a CD Key on his Chip.

So you dont need any protection on your harddrive, VBS1 only runs with the USB Stick inserted. i think thats the best protection ever, u cant download any cracked cd key, and u cant crack a USB Stick. so its the best. i hope BIS is using this for ArmA and for the maybe upcoming Game2 or should we say "Game3".

i have no probs to pay 4 bugs more on the normal cd price for that USB Stick Key.

Greetz, VenoM/Kev

I hope Arma won't use this kind of protection, because you then need two copies of the game to play over lan!

[sirex 0]

The best protection i know is allready used by BIS.

They use the USB-Key Protection on VBS1 that means,

if u buy VBS1 (The Bohemia Virtual Battlespace Simulator Program)

u get the Discs and a USB Stick that has a CD Key on his Chip.

So you dont need any protection on your harddrive, VBS1 only runs with the USB Stick inserted. i think thats the best protection ever, u cant download any cracked cd key, and u cant crack a USB Stick. so its the best. i hope BIS is using this for ArmA and for the maybe upcoming Game2 or should we say "Game3".

i have no probs to pay 4 bugs more on the normal cd price for that USB Stick Key.

Greetz, VenoM/Kev

many applications use this protection. and no, it dosn't work.

[DBR_ONIX 0]

So you dont need any protection on your harddrive, VBS1 only runs with the USB Stick inserted. i think thats the best protection ever, u cant download any cracked cd key, and u cant crack a USB Stick. so its the best

A lot of programs that use USB-based protection have been cracked.. And the game still needs just as much code on the software side to only work when that USB is plugged in..

It's no harder to crack than the use thing, it's just less common so people haven't worked out how to do it as quickly..

Not condoning/condeming cracking software, but all software-protection is (as admited by most game developers) to stop cracked versions appearing in the first few days after a release..

Really, the best anti-piracy option is just to make a decent game people want to buy..

Annyway, appologies for going of topic

- Ben

[Colossus 2]

[OT] Just a few weeks ago, Ubisoft officially dumps StarForce [/OT]

If you think purely PR I think Ubisoft has done a good job.

On the other hand I guess they are awfully expensive and has a bad reputation in terms of security.

[sirex 0]

Really, the best anti-piracy option is just to make a decent game people want to buy..

amen to that.

[sniper pilot 36]

why not starforce?...

Because Starforce has an increasingly nasty habit of "integrating" its self with your entire operating system.

I've heard reports of starforce disabling LEGAL copies of Nero (and other cd/dvd burning apps) because it/they could potentially be used to create pirate copies...

Quote[/b] ]The way StarForce and a couple of its cousins does this is one of the more disturbing developments in the videogame war on piracy. StarForce installs a hidden driver onto your machine along with the game itself, without any explicit warnings. This driver is required to play the game and is not uninstalled with the game. It also has a rather disturbing tendency to re-install itself after either manual removal or cleanup using a provided tool that has to be hunted for across the Internet.

Quote[/b] ]These new protection systems do not simply protect software from direct attempts to pirate it - they also proactively search out potential piracy threats on one's system and then prevent them from working. Programs such as Nero and Alcohol 120% are obvious targets here, though I have seen far more erratic and often times seemingly random tantrums taken by these systems. These range from disabling the recording device in Windows Media Player, to preventing access to the CD drive both on the software and hardware side.

Oh, and most importantly:

Quote[/b] ]Moreover, the Starforce drivers, installed on your system, grant ring 0 (system level) privileges to any code under the ring 3 (user level) privileges. Thus, any virus or trojan can potentially get OS privileges and totally control your system. Since Windows 2000, the Windows line security and stability got enhanced by separating those privileges, but with the Starforce drivers, the old system holes and instabilities are back and any program (or virus) can reach the core of your system by using the Starforce drivers as a backdoor.

well F**k that!