Bioware sold out

[~Di]

"Calling it "panic" is kind of condescending, in my view, and discounts the fact that the concern was a legitimate one to a heck of a lot of people."

 

condescending? maybe. but the concerns weren't really legit. scroll back up and see what cg said 'bout impact on Di. even the military folks were unlikely to install and then not turn on computer again for such a considerable time that they would get fuzzed by securom, but the folks who know created a fear 'mongst those who don't. is the fear that were real, not the reasons for the fear.

 

Panic? Panic is what I feel when my husband stops breathing. It is not what I feel when a game I was looking forward to puts invasive and onerous security protection on a game I would otherwise enjoy playing. The reasons for concern were very legitimate.

 

"if Di turns on her computer plays game and connect to internet 'bout once a week, chances are almost zero that she would ever run afoul o' securom. yeah, the folks that wanna resell ME in the near future may have issues, and casual pirates has concerns, but few others has concerns that is grounded, realistic and immediate. replay 3 years from now? honestly, if cracks is available within weeks for most popular games, how likely is it that securom is gonna remain an issue 3 years from now for those who wants to reload on a different computer?

 

I have decided that having a 10-day reauthentication process is too invasive for me to accept. BioWare rescinded that. I can live with the 3 authentication limit, given the fact that I will probably not live long enough for the infinite reinstalls on my present system to run out. I can't afford a "significant upgrade" annually. By the time that I ran out of activations, I'd probably be dead. If I wasn't, I'd have still enjoyed multiple playthroughs of Mass Effect, and my life would not be irreparably ruined.

 

 

look, Gromnir is an over-the-top libertarian when it comes to free speech and other fundamental rights. am not a fan o' big brother or paternalism, but this... this were nothing. go to a football game and get searched and have hand stamped with ink would be far more bothersome, invasive and evident.

 

Maybe, but I don't go to football games, and I'm not willing to accept the level of invasiveness that was originally proposed.

on our side? this were nothing, 'til some folks successful created a panic. yeah, a panic.

Di and Gromnir is old enough to recall the start of the AIDS culture and how much disinformation were spread back in the 80s and even the 90s. lack o' credible sources and non-education leads to panics created by some well-meaning and overzealous folks and some some malicious bastards too.

 

True. Has nothing to do with this since an overly invasive security program cannot legitimately be compared with HIV or AIDS.

 

 

 

no doubt part f the reason Di were concerned 'bout securom is 'cause every time she tried to get clarification, she got new and different information. who should she believe? if you can't be certain of any information, then why not ere on side of caution, eh? same mentality. different scale. most panics is a result of misinformation and fear. this securom panic is no different... but thankfully far more banal than the aids stuff.

 

Again, I was not "panicked". I was seeking information. Once I got it, I made a decision as to what I would and would not accept in a security program for a single player game. I drew a line in the sand. BioWare has removed the portion that I was unwilling to accept; therefore, aftrer a reasonabe research period after release, I now hope to purchase MEPC.

 

There is a significant difference between disappointment and "panic". I do not "panic" over games. I make an informed decision based upon the best information avaiilable at the tiime.

[Meshugger]

Hmm, i have been gone a couple of days. Bachelor's party and such take a toll on a person, i guess (no, i wasn't the "lucky" one).

 

Anyhoo, i find it interesting with the argument about 10 days "being nothing". Most people don't play their games that often, where there even could be up to a month between the computer at home being on or off, as in the laptop is for work related, and you have your stationary one for movies, music and games. Also, if someone is in the middle of a move, or have to change their ISP, which would also take up to 3-4 weeks. And since a new motherboard or a harddrive will require a fresh installment of windows, your computer will probably be ranked as "new" as well, leaving your copy locked after a couple of voluntary and nonvoluntary upgrades. And ofcourse the second-hand market will hate this. There's too many variables left unsolved in EA's and SecuROM's wonderful equation of anti-piracy measures. Also, getting a constant "online" ADSL or optic fibre is only a truth if you live in non-rural areas.

 

It seems like their focus groups and marketing segmentation studies have been focused on people living in major cities on the american west or east coast, which is a quite the narrow one indeed. But there's always the wonderful support line, those always work indeed-i-ooo.

 

Or one just buys the copy of ME and downloads the cracked binary and play. This leaves everyone happy

[Jediphile]

if Di turns on her computer plays game and connect to internet 'bout once a week, chances are almost zero that she would ever run afoul o' securom. yeah, the folks that wanna resell ME in the near future may have issues, and casual pirates has concerns, but few others has concerns that is grounded, realistic and immediate. replay 3 years from now? honestly, if cracks is available within weeks for most popular games, how likely is it that securom is gonna remain an issue 3 years from now for those who wants to reload on a different computer?

 

And how much is SecuROM going to care if people run into trouble with their games three years from now? How many people will it matter to, if someone wants to play Mass Effect on the pc and cannot three years after the game's release? Let me guess, those people will also be too few to matter, right?

 

I must confess that I find your position that this is a non-issue because it matters to few people disturbing. How many gamers do things like this have to be a problem for before it can be counted a legitimate problem in your eyes? Because society in general mostly works around the idea that it just takes one person getting screwed before it's a problem, and personally I tend to agree with that position.

 

Besides, this surveillance is a problem in principle. I'll concede the point that it is probably not a huge problem in practical terms. But it can and will be one for some, and that is enough to my eyes. And even if it isn't, it's still distasteful that customers are treated like suspects as a matter of course. People shouldn't have to accept that companies or governments or whomever trample all over their privacy just because to protect their own interests. What firms like SecuROM is basically doing is allowing only two classifications for gamers - pirates and potential pirates. Is it wrong of the customers to say they don't like being profiled as either?

 

Also, calling the naysayers "mob" and "rabble" is pretty low. I'm not going to argue that Bioware and similar companies don't have understandable concerns about piracy, but if they meet their potential customers with this level of suspicion and distrust, is it really so strange if the customers being to feel the same way and be suspicious of their motives? Distrust breeds distrust, and the customers did not start it in this case. So if Bioware is met with mistrust and suspcion here, they're really only reaping what they sowed.

[Amentep]

"Q: What happens if I want to play MEPC but do not have an internet connection?

 

A: You cannot play MEPC without an internet connection. MEPC must authenticate when it is initially run and every 10 days thereafter."

 

That's me out, then.

 

Keep reading. BioWare rescinded that requirement on Friday.

 

I may still be out. The computer I play on isn't set up to the internet. The one that is connected (that I'm using now) is an old model that still runs Win98.

 

Authorization codes bundled with the game have worked fine in the past, and I've never had a problem. Online authorization may be a problem for me, in my unique situation, if the program has to auth via the internet (as opposed to a person being able to manually auth it).

 

I was a console player for many years; I may just return to that (until consoles go all internet crazy and require every game to connect online for something or my internet connectivity changes).

[Nick_i_am]

This is just like the holocaust!! EA are Nazis!

 

Bioware can be Austria.

 

What? we already had AIDs comparisons.

[Moatilliatta]

Penny arcade beat you to the Nazi comparison, theirs was jus subtle.

[CoM_Solaufein]

I believe this thread has out lived any usefulness. Spamming topics and trolling members is against he guidelines of this wonderful forum. If this continues, those members responsible will be dealt with accordingly.