Mass Effect

Spore

Shitstorm.

(On page 19, one of the BioWare mods forgets that she's still tagged as a moderator on foreign forums. Whoopsie.)

Mostly, I'm concerned (no, wait - furious) because these games are very severely not futureproof. I still play Creatures (1996 release), FFS. If I really like a game, it's going to stick with me for years - or, er, not. If we don't run out of activations, then EA will eventually pull the server and prevent us from playing (and I've seen this before, with Docking Station when Creature Labs went under). Then there's the privacy breaches, the invasion - oh, yes, and the fact that anyone from the Sims community already knows EA can't be trusted, since TS2 attempts to phone home even when auto-update is turned off.

So, hey. Maybe it's time I stop cracking my games and start pirating them properly. At least then I'll still be able to play them in ten years' time.

Questrions, comments, requests for addresses to send the flaming bags of poo to?

It seems that to the bigger (ok to EA mostly) companies the end users are not only not important, but also a criminal and a fool to be exploited.
Thier current strategy seems to be to release a really good looking game based (a lot) on false or inaccurate rumours and unfull filled promises as to content. After that the enduser is treated as a criminal with security measures, followed by daft monitering systems like the aformentioned spore with its 10 day internet access requirement (it also assumes that everyone has an internet connection).

This is not the view held by all and this statment by another company is interesting reading : http://forums.sinsofasolarempire.com/303517
upshot is the customer is not a criminal.

Add to this the theory that if they make good quality and lasting games that people will stop buying them and just play the old classics. Which to me is a load of rubbish - but to them means that they can make 2 games in teh space of 1 game and flog that onto the consumer.

Biggest problem with going against this is firstly the fact that companies like EA control so much of the PC gaming market and secondly the fact that your average casual player (who are quickly becomming the majority) does not care that the game is not going to last 10 years or more of fun. I hate that a game could run out of effectiveness, though in the past good old single player has always been there to sooth though the loss of multiplayer servers.
However many games these days are overlooking the singleplayer aspect entirly - some ship without skirmish (ok you can setup multiplayer against and ai, but why should you have to - and how many non-keen player are going toknow this)

bah I say we burn ea to the ground

[/rant]
[revolution]

SecuROM Must Be Destroyed! has opened its doors. Spread the word!

although this is a bad way to attempt to stop pirating i don't think it is a large concern for us. all of these 'advanced' security systems like Windows Genuine Advantage, Starforce, even dongles have all been made near redundant quickly after release. unless the majority of the Info-Security community is in support, it will be rendered useless fast.
IMO we don't need to actively oppose this stuff, the mechanisms are in place to fight it already and on public opinion we have already won so lets sit back and watch EA lose the war.

moderatly good news
http://www.gamershell.com/news_50300.html

EA admits defeat, LOL.

Not on SuckuRom as a whole, mind you. First post (6 June 2008); fanbrat's solution - replace the EXE with another. EA's solution to this being discussed - sure, let it live.

Supporting cracking their own game :P

I'm laughing so, so hard.

(Scroll down to 4 June to see even more lulz from EA regarding SuckuROM.)