Limited installs?

[dvolk 10]

Can someone confirm/deny that the digital download version of the game has limited installs? There's a chap in the troubleshooting forums who's apparently gotten his key locked by reinstalling too often.

If it is, BIS has lost me as its customer. I seem to have paid 40 EUR for the privilege of downloading an unplayable mess with the promise that it'll be fixed at some point in the future. Now it turns out that I can only install it X amount of times before I get locked out?

[mcvittees 0]

As long as you unistall before re-installing you won't use up activations. I think..

[maddogx 13]

If you want to avoid online activations, download versions are the wrong way to go mate. If they had added online activation to the DVD version I would have been pretty pissed off too, but the download distributors don't have many other choices. It sucks, but it's not exactly unexpected.

Btw. since you already bought the game, how exactly have they lost you as a customer? ;)

[zoog 18]

This is what I got back from 505 games a few days ago:

"I think this may be referring to the number of times the cd key may be used. If so, then I believe there will be a limit to the number of installations when using the same key but the typical user should not find this a problem.

Thanks,"

[xclusiv8 10]

I would not have bought the game if they would have put that kind of "protection" on the DVD. I honestly cant see what there is to gain from such a thing. We buy the software, who are they to tell us how many times we can install it. I bet if they wrote with big letters on the front you can only install this game 5 times that nobody would buy it.

[maddogx 13]

I would not have bought the game if they would have put that kind of "protection" on the DVD. I honestly cant see what there is to gain from such a thing. We buy the software, who are they to tell us how many times we can install it. I bet if they wrote with big letters on the front you can only install this game 5 times that nobody would buy it.

Very true. That's exactly why there was such an outcry over games like Bioshock.

[jonneymendoza 10]

shit if i knew this before i most probably would not have pre ordered it

[mr_centipede 31]

according to BIS track record, they will remove the DRM in a patch... give or take one year later. I think in ARMA1 they remove it in patch v1.14 i think.... rest assured ppl, the future is not as bleak as it seems

[maddogx 13]

shit if i knew this before i most probably would not have pre ordered it

Just cancel the pre-order and get a DVD version, then you will be fine.

[Litos 10]

oh god, not securom....

[MulleDK19 21]

according to BIS track record, they will remove the DRM in a patch... give or take one year later. I think in ARMA1 they remove it in patch v1.14 i think.... rest assured ppl, the future is not as bleak as it seems

Funny... Mine was gone around 1.08.

Securom, that is.

[{SAS}Silentkiller 0]

oh god, not securom....

I'm pretty sure it's not that.

[Nev1571 0]

It is securom. Whether or not it has an activation limit though, I don't know. There's nothing that tells you it does, but it's possible it could keep that stuff hidden. Note that ArmA had securom too, so it's not necessarily a bad thing. There are essentially two versions of securom, one that plays quite nice and only does a cd check, and one that I can't describe without being banned for profanity. :)

[mr_centipede 31]

Funny... Mine was gone around 1.08.

Securom, that is.

Maybe it was 1.08. I cant remember any longer... thank you for the correction

[kRush 10]

Download version has an activation limit of 3, no way to deactivate an installation.

Gamesplanet/Metaboli says just contact customer support if you hit the limit, but no idea how pain free that really works.

You can read up on what triggers an activation and what not on the Securom page (it's a weird scoring system).

Personally I would prefer the activation thingy over dvd-check every time I want to play IF there was a way to deactivate so one doesn't run out and has to face the uncertainty of not being able to play the game in the future.

[fabrizio_t 58]

Download version has an activation limit of 3, no way to deactivate an installation.

As a customer, i really miss the point of such a policy.

[maddogx 13]

As a customer, i really miss the point of such a policy.

You're not alone on that one ;). Many publishers are starting to see sense too, so they're cutting back on it. See The Sims 3 as a good example from EA.

[volkov956 0]

well the company has to waste money and staff time on Telephone Activation support

[fabrizio_t 58]

well the company has to waste money and staff time on Telephone Activation support

Yes and they waste MY money ;)

[galzohar 31]

well the company has to waste money and staff time on Telephone Activation support

You should look at Microsoft when reinstalling windows:

Me: "I need to install windows again."

MS support: "Have you reformatted your hard drive, replaced your computer, etc etc?"

Me: "Yes."

MS support: "OK, use this key: ..."

Or something like that...

Anyway, we still don't have an answer regarding whether or not the Steam version will have an installation limit or not.

[ben54321 10]

Hello everyone.

My friend got his 505 DVD copy (UK) of Arma2 in the post today. I'd like to install it on my PC tonight to see if my graphics card will cope, before I buy it.

Will this "use up" one of his activations, or is this not a problem with a DVD copy?

I'm too impatient to wait till next week for the demo

[zoog 18]

Gamesplanet/Metaboli says just contact customer support if you hit the limit, but no idea how pain free that really works.

Maybe it's possible to contact them even if you are not at the limit? Simply sent 3 emails a day requesting new installation limits because you used all installs again. That will teach them.

Will this "use up" one of his activations, or is this not a problem with a DVD copy?

Uhh, probably. It's called an activation/installation limit for a reason ;)

[ben54321 10]

Uhh, probably. It's called an activation/installation limit for a reason ;)

I didn't know for sure if there's a DRM-enforced install limit on the DVD copy.

[twisted 127]

i really enjoy arma2.

i do not enjoy the install limits which are a shit way of treating customers who pay money for the game.

Hope BIS remedies this like they did once they make loads of sales. but the irony is that install limits end up limiting sales as well.

[maddogx 13]

I didn't know for sure if there's a DRM-enforced install limit on the DVD copy.

The only complaints about activation limits so far are from the digital download version, so I guess you're good. The Morphicon version, for example, is just DVD check.