CD-Key Registration

[alanschu]

One thing I like about Bioware's website is that I can register my CD-Keys online. This would have been useful since I could not find my NWN manual...but I forgot to allow myself access to it on that page

 

 

In any case, I would appreciate it if Obsidian did something like this for their games, because sometimes the manual goes missing and it sucks to be unable to play a game because of that.

[I don't like usernames]

I second this, definately one of Bioware's better features and more importantly it shows they care about the community and their customers.

[Hydrogen]

I second this, definately one of Bioware's better features and more importantly it shows they care about the community and their customers.

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The idea of being able to access areas by registering your CD key has been discussed, and talked about before. The problem is that it costs time and money to be able to create the database to be able to authorize the CD keys. - so it is currently on the future project list.

 

Some companies will put the manuals up online after the game has been out for a length of time, like 6 months to a year. The other thing that I have seen companies do is to put the manual on the CD in addition to giving you a paper one.

[alanschu]

Yeah....I understand that there is cost requirements. Just something I'd like to see

 

I suppose I could just take better care of my manuals....but sometimes I'll find a really old game and want to play it, but the manual is who knows where.

 

If it's under consideration then that's all I can ask for. I have no access to the financial books, so I cannot tell

[mkreku]

If you think losing your manual is bad now, you should have been around when the Gold Box games where the hot item of the day. They came with a copy protection system that required you to have this weird spinning paper wheel that you had to turn to the right position. If you lost that wheel (or if it broke, it was only paper after all) you had no chance of playing the game anymore. It sucked!

[xanas3712]

And the funny thing is, they were still pirated. People found ways around it. One thing I wish is that all devs would just stick with cd keys. I hate searching for my stupid cds only to get them scratched. I want to install the game, patch the game, play and never need the cd again unless i want to reinstall.

 

I always get cracks as it is now, but it's annoying to patch and sometimes not have a crack out, then you have to wait and search for the stupid cds again (I'm not necessarily well organized).

 

CD Keys good, copy protection bad. Saving CD Keys online doubly good.

[Raiken3712]

yes agree big time with xanas3712; hate copy protection cd-keys are good enough besides copy protection is always gotten around eventually

 

its so annoying having a game not work because your cd-rw or whatever doesn't like the protection too thats just great; seeing as how I don't think the protection actually lessens pirating anyway its pointless...I really hope someday the game companies get this. Also if the company wants to invest in copy protection it costs money to implement it especially if they want to have some new ultra awesome copy protection to protect the game. Funny considering that even the new ones are all cracked soon after.

 

Don't understand why companies keep using the annoying stuff it costs money to implement and doesn't work well at all. Also it doesn't save them any money at all it more likely costs more to deal with then they save if they save anything at all with it.

[Feargus Urquhart]

Actually a lot of companies, including Bioware for Neverwinter (I'm pretty sure), have Gamespy create all the CD-Keys for their games. It costs some money, but it's pretty insignificant compared to the cost of the development and marketing of the game.

[xanas3712]

Actually a lot of companies, including Bioware for Neverwinter (I'm pretty sure), have Gamespy create all the CD-Keys for their games.  It costs some money, but it's pretty insignificant compared to the cost of the development and marketing of the game.

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I don't think he was referring so much to the cost of cd-key copy protection (which I am pretty much everyone I know is fine with) but the safedisk, securerom junk that is a bit annoying. I use cracks for games that I buy just because I don't like hunting for cds, and the whole scratch thing isn't cool either. In fact I put my NWN 1 copy on dvd along with warcraft 3 and frozen throne and I just load them up for installs, but after that I play them without use of any disk.

 

I didn't realize that Gamespy made the keys though, that's interesting. Makes sense though, since that is what the keys are really for is to make sure you are allowed to play online through their service.

[Weiser_Cain]

I like how microsoft game just have the cd key on the disk so that I don't have to worry about loseing the paper or entering it. If they did this plus didn't require the disk just for playing I'd be in heaven.

[alanschu]

As much as I may hate to say it, I think the SecureROM stuff actually does stop casual piracy pretty effectively. Most of my friends know how to burn from one CD to another, but few know how to find the appropriate files on the internet, then burn it to CD, then find the crack and any appropriate CD Key.

 

 

Of course I have never had a problem with my CDs failing their CD check....so I have never suffered, which certainly helps me hold to my conviction.

[xanas3712]

Maybe, but I don't think it's worth the hassle to customers. Sometimes it doesn't work for people, and sometimes it does. But either way I hate having to look for a cd (I have multiple games) to play something. Unreal 2004 took out the cd protection with the first patch, Unreal did the same thing. Why cannot other games do the same?

 

That way you stop the casual piracy from people who don't know how to download patches/etc, and still allow the people who bought the game to play without the cd. I think that's the best solution. Once someone knows how to update/search the net there is no game out that they can't get a crack for anyway. I just hate the 1-2 day wait for cracks after new patches are out. I know where to get them well enough.

[Piers]

Actually, SecROM works better with my disc emulation software than the actual disk (may have something to do with laptop CD drives). So after I install anything from Atari, the first thing I have to do is make an image and mount it.

[Sarjahurmaaja.]

What do you use for making, emulating and managing images? I used to use CloneCD for creating them and DaemonTools for emulation, but I switched to Alcohol 120% some time ago. Seems to be better at it, and has some nifty features to boot.

[rkc]

Secrom is very annoying. I have no problem with the owners securing intellectual property, but every time I put up the NWN server program and then try to log into the game as a player, I get blocked (It detects my CD copying software or something like that -- I'm at work, so I don't remember the exact phrase.) Of course, if I keep hitting it, eventually it gives up and lets me log in. (I'm just stubborn that way, I guess.)

 

I play almost exclusively online, so a crack does me no good with playing. And I'm *still* OK with that-- I just hope Obsidian doesn't pick something like Secrom because it is annoying to folks who aren't trying to rip them off.

[alanschu]

I'm pretty sure SecurROM is Atari's choice, not Obsidian's.

[rkc]

I'm pretty sure SecurROM is Atari's choice, not Obsidian's.

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I believe you are right. Still, if they have any input, my point remains.

[Child of Flame]

If you do choose to have some form of registration based on a key on a game, please make it one that's located inside the box?

[Kaftan Barlast]

Games are going to get pirated no matter how much time, money or effort you spend on countermeasures. Companies would probably save more money on not using these systems.

 

 

And I fail to see the good of having areas of your website only accessible to owners of the game.

[xanas3712]

Games are going to get pirated no matter how much time, money or effort you spend on countermeasures. Companies would probably save more money on not using these systems.

 

 

And I fail to see the good of having areas of your website only accessible to owners of the game.

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Actually, I can see it. There is a lot of flaming going on especially close to and after release of a game. You get a lot of people who come to boards just to say the game sucks or whatever even when they haven't bought it. You also get a lot of comparison posts. It's something that will happen anyway but will be limited if they make the forums postable only by owners. Obviously I think anyone should be able to read it and there should be a general section which anyone can use as well, but it will descend into a moderators nightmare you can be assured

[alanschu]

Games are going to get pirated no matter how much time, money or effort you spend on countermeasures. Companies would probably save more money on not using these systems.

 

 

And I fail to see the good of having areas of your website only accessible to owners of the game.

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Two reasons:

 

1) Limit spoiler access to only those that have the game

2) Provide an additional incentive to buy the game

[Volourn]

Of course, as shown at the BIO spoilers, even having CD key registration does little to stop spoilers from being posted in the wrong place. In fact, one of the reasons for BIO's repy as ebing evil Board Nazis is because of the heavy removal/lockdown of threads in the wrong forum. It ain't a pretty sight.

[Child of Flame]

I'd like it if once everyone has their own digital distribution methods, like first Stardock had, now Valve...Bio's working on their own now too. That it allowed you to download the full version of the game without paying, but after a set time, probably a couple of hours so you could judge whether it was worth you money or not; it would lock up, and you'd have to either pay for it to get a key code so you could install it; or uninstall it from you HDD. Shareware has been doing this for years, and it would eliminate people who download to try a game going through not only the risks incurred to their own systems via virii, but also legal problems.

[alanschu]

I think stuff like that can still be settled with appropriate demos however.

 

No need to make someone download a gig+ of data to find out they didn't like a game at all.

[Faelgon]

I recall that my old system had a horrible time with the NWN copy protection, as did many other peoples' systems. Atari really screwed up royally there.

 

I know that this has no chance of become reality, but the truth is that for a game like this where most of the experience is online, then a cd-key is plenty of protection, as opposed to an easily-breakable copy protection that stops legitimate buyers from using the game.