Spore to be DRM-free via steam

[Grant A.]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10128408-52.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

We've won. :guitar:

[Matthewthegreat]

but it still has steam's DRM, right?

[doorknob60]

I noticed this on the Steam store too, pretty nice, I might actually consider buying it now. I consider Steam's DRM to be totally fair and better than most other systems in use for PC games right now, so Steam FTW.

[earthpigg]

<--- is doing a victory dance

[MikeTheC]

*goes to official Spore web site*

Dude, that's just... weird...

*goes back to playing Solitare*

[billgoldberg]

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10128408-52.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-5

We've won. :guitar:

Yeah right, I don't use steam anymore on windows.

I'm sick and tired of the $1=€1. (http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=770231)

[Cresho]

I thought steam has drm.

[billgoldberg]

I thought steam has drm.

Steam drm is the best kind of drm you can have.

You can install your game 50 million times if you want.

You can install it on any pc you want.

The game is linked to your steam account.

So you can only play it on one pc at the time.

[CrazyArcher]

Don't get all the anti-DRM craze. Some people have rights for intellectual property and want to protect it, if it's digital - then the protection measures are digital. Of course, there are cases where DRM systems are buggy and damaging for the legit users, but that's another issue.

[Sand & Mercury]

Steam drm is the best kind of drm you can have.

You can install your game 50 million times if you want.

You can install it on any pc you want.

The game is linked to your steam account.

So you can only play it on one pc at the time.
Yeah, I think steam does the job fine for it. One of the few schemes that actually works, though if you're cut off from internet access you can't play your games.

I think purchasing accounts for games instead of the digital media itself could be the way of the future, because it still affords you all the rights you want about transporting it, and it's backed up for you on their servers. It makes good sense to me.

I'm glad though, that I don't buy the newer games. Half-Life 2 was the last game I paid for, back in 2005. I feel I've bowed out of the scene just before it started to get really cruddy for consumers.

[Matthewthegreat]

The only thing I find unfair about steam's DRM is that if they go out of business your game can't be played any more. If I buy a computer and HP goes belly-up I can still use my computer, I don't see why it should be any different with my games.

I do agree that if they feel they must have a DRM, Steam's DRM is the best kind of DRM you can have. I love the freedom it gives you to install on any computer without the CD. I also like that if your computer dies and/or you lose the CD you can just re-download it.

Of course, this is way, way better then the DRM spore had. The only DRM that could be worse then the DRM spore had, would be a DRM that didn't allow you to install it on your computer. "Yay, we totally stopped pirating on our game! ... Why is no one buying it?" :lolflag:

[Grant A.]

Don't get all the anti-DRM craze. Some people have rights for intellectual property and want to protect it, if it's digital - then the protection measures are digital. Of course, there are cases where DRM systems are buggy and damaging for the legit users, but that's another issue.

The SecuROM DRM used on spore broke optical drives, due to checks, would install itself even if you declined the license agreement, and stopped Windows Explorer from being able to delete 16-bit files. So, 16-bit viruses could have a field day on your computer.

This lead to several class-action lawsuits against Electronic Arts, due to failing to advertise that these changes/damages could occur, and due to the install upon declining/accepting, it was a direct violation of the Internet Security Act of 1988 in the United States, and also violated anti-trust laws when the creature creator could not be completely removed. It would also fail to install if any popular DVD/CD burning applications were installed on your computer.

In good hands, like Valve's, DRM is a great way to protect your IP. However, in bad hands, like Electronic Arts' and Sony's, its sole purpose is to remove all culture, except its own.

Since Sony made SecuROM, I hope that Electronic Arts and Sony are punished to the full extent of the law.

I truly think that if you break Anti-Trust/Computer Security laws more than once, your company should be broken up, the CEO put in jail, and/or the company's assets frozen.

[Changturkey]

Crap, I just bought Spore from EB Games. Anyone playing?

[CJ Master]

Did that class-action lawsuit ever win?

[Grant A.]

Did that class-action lawsuit ever win?

It's still awaiting a court date. EA has deep pockets, unfortunately it will probably get delayed for eternity. :(

[samjh]

I thought steam has drm.

It's a form of DRM, but a fairly reasonable one.


Don't get all the anti-DRM craze. Some people have rights for intellectual property and want to protect it, if it's digital - then the protection measures are digital. Of course, there are cases where DRM systems are buggy and damaging for the legit users, but that's another issue.
Not all DRM is bad. Intellectual property should be protected, but not at the expense of consumer rights.

Steam does a fair job as a DRM platform. Once you've bought a game and installed it via Steam, you can play it to your heart's content; remove and install it unlimited number of times and move it to other machines; and it is not prone to creating inconveniences from false-positive detection of "pirate copies".

On the other end of the spectrum, some DRM platforms limit the machine you can use the product on just one machine (or even worse, one brand); disable components - or entirety - of your machine or OS if it detects an illegitimate copy; are prone to false-positive detections of illegitimate copies; and act as insidious spyware.

[shadowdude1794]

Steam's DRM software is far less draconian than the EA alternative.

[Polygon]

The only thing I find unfair about steam's DRM is that if they go out of business your game can't be played any more. If I buy a computer and HP goes belly-up I can still use my computer, I don't see why it should be any different with my games.



valve has said in the past that if they go out of business (highly unlikely. counter strike 1.6 and counter strike source are some of the most played online games. ever. ) that they would release one last update to make the games work without the authentication servers. You would still have to use steam but it would not connect to anything

of course this is just their word, if they actually would follow through with it, who knows, but point is, they are very well off and are in no danger of going out of business

[Methuselah]

I may be more anti-DRM than others because I believe it is fundamentally wrong headed.

It is trying to apply the laws of property/material to things that are not.

Why, because everybody wants to own (monetize) 'things', even if, by their very nature, they escape into the ether and become available to the community.

So most DRM amounts to the 'owners' wanting to have their cakes and eat them at the same time. They want to sell it to you for money, yet retain ownership.

Intel doesn't have this problem selling their CPUs.
NVidia doesn't have this problem selling their GPUS.
Because the ownership paradigm is supported by the laws of physics.
GPUs and CPUs are not infinitely duplicable, without input, by anybody that owns one specimen.
However, words, ideas, knowledge, algorithms, procedure, are by their very natures exactly so.

So in trying to enforce a rather artificial ownership definition in the above cases, vendors resort to various technological schemes which ultimately inconvenience the intended market and can always be circumvented by those determined enough.

It's a dead end.

[Grant A.]

You're a bit off there, if you buy a CPU, you don't readily or easily have the know-how or tools to redistribute it, it is much easier to copy and redistribute data. Under the United States' Constitution it says that the United States must protect the rights of inventors to their inventions. How is a video game no different than a light bulb? When you buy a CPU you don't buy the rights to copy and distribute it, no, you infact just buy the rights to use it and resell it. Without copyright laws the GPL would not even be able to exist, and there would be no point in selling something because anyone could take what you are selling and mark down the prices and drive you out of business. Innovation would die, and so would invention. The very basis of Western Civilization relies on Intellectual Property so that the market economies don't collapse. If the economies collapse, then the government as a whole collapses, and the whole country goes into anarchy, which is a very bad thing. Look at Somalia, years of anarchy have driven its money useless, and have made it controlled by multiple gangs. It's in a sense, the butterfly effect.

Also, don't circumvent DRM, that is the whole reason why we are in this mess in the first place. People think they are great heroes for Free culture when they break DRM so that they can redistribute something, when infact they make things much worse because stronger and stricter DRM must be put in the cracked DRM's place. So thank you, software crackers, for screwing it up for the rest of us.

[Mistrblank]

We've won. :guitar:

Too little too late.

[MasterNetra]

You're a bit off there, if you buy a CPU, you don't readily or easily have the know-how or tools to redistribute it, it is much easier to copy and redistribute data. Under the United States' Constitution it says that the United States must protect the rights of inventors to their inventions. How is a video game no different than a light bulb? When you buy a CPU you don't buy the rights to copy and distribute it, no, you infact just buy the rights to use it and resell it. Without copyright laws the GPL would not even be able to exist, and there would be no point in selling something because anyone could take what you are selling and mark down the prices and drive you out of business. Innovation would die, and so would invention. The very basis of Western Civilization relies on Intellectual Property so that the market economies don't collapse. If the economies collapse, then the government as a whole collapses, and the whole country goes into anarchy, which is a very bad thing. Look at Somalia, years of anarchy have driven its money useless, and have made it controlled by multiple gangs. It's in a sense, the butterfly effect.

Also, don't circumvent DRM, that is the whole reason why we are in this mess in the first place. People think they are great heroes for Free culture when they break DRM so that they can redistribute something, when infact they make things much worse because stronger and stricter DRM must be put in the cracked DRM's place. So thank you, software crackers, for screwing it up for the rest of us.

Thats really over-dramatic. Economies won't fail because of pirate software. Its fails when the government officals try to manlipulate the economy while have little to no clue on how it works and/or whats currently going on. -.-

[Grant A.]

Thats really over-dramatic. Economies won't fail because of pirate software. Its fails when the government officals try to manlipulate the economy while have little to no clue on how it works and/or whats currently going on. -.-

Actually, yes, yes it would. If no one has any Intellectual Property, then ownership of an item cannot exist, stealing and vandalism would become legal, and society as a whole would quickly crumble. And thanks to people cracking software, we have stricter DRMs in place. They can blame no one but themselves.

[Cresho]

I think DRM is fine as long as they release the code, game, rights after the company goes belly up. I wonder if steam will still have your game 30 years down the road?

I don't think it's worth supporting and like property, can you give these rights to your son?

[mips]

Btw, they currently have a holiday sale ending Jan 2, 10-75% off everything in store.
http://store.steampowered.com/holidaysale/

I'm thinking COD5 or COD4?

[Polygon]

i personally got like...what 8 games through that holiday sale?

bejeweled: 99 cents
cod 4: 28 dollars
darwinia and multiwinia: 7 dollars
doom: 99 cents
doom 2: 99 cents
opposing force: 99 cents
blue shift: 99 cents
indigo prophecy: 7 dollars

total: 57 dollars

i still dont like how call of duty 4 is worth so much a good year (and more...) after its been out. Even in retail stores, even on BLACK FRIDAY it was still 50 dollars...so i finally caved in at 38. But still, this should keep me occupied for a while =P (i have never played doom, and i can never get it working through emulators either)

but anyway, back on topic. spore is now 38 dollars if anyone wants it =)

[earthpigg]

Also, don't circumvent DRM, that is the whole reason why we are in this mess in the first place. People think they are great heroes for Free culture when they break DRM so that they can redistribute something, when infact they make things much worse because stronger and stricter DRM must be put in the cracked DRM's place. So thank you, software crackers, for screwing it up for the rest of us.

you are holding a few high school teenagers responsible for the actions of a multi-billion dollar international industry? :confused:

hey, while we are at it... lets blame World War One on the half dozen dudes that killed Archduke Ferdinand.

the tens of millions of deaths where clearly their fault, everything else was perfect.

[Grant A.]

you are holding a few high school teenagers responsible for the actions of a multi-billion dollar international industry? :confused:

hey, while we are at it... lets blame World War One on the half dozen dudes that killed Archduke Ferdinand.

the tens of millions of deaths where clearly their fault, everything else was perfect.

If you pirate music, you are violating the Intellectual Property rights of the copyright holder, and therefore you should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. I agree that the royalties sought were ridiculous, especially since most were just middle class kids and RIAA wanted hundreds of thousands of dollars from one person. Pirating music is just like breaking the GPL, a violation of someone's Intellectual Property.

[abb124]

how "do" you get spore on ubuntu?#-o Its SO confusing.:(

[CJ Master]

What is with all the necromancing! Please, make a new topic...

Abb, you have to get a pirated version with no DRM. Then just google for a guide.

Edit: Legal stuff: I am in no way insinuating that you should in any way illegally get the game. That is just what you have to do to play it on Linux. I have no responsibility of you pirate the game.

[CharmyBee]

or just buy it on Steam, which comes with none of the guilt of what you are suggesting. :roll:

[CJ Master]

or just buy it on Steam, which comes with none of the guilt of what you are suggesting. :roll:

That would work if there was a steam client for Linux. :p

[CharmyBee]

That would work if there was a steam client for Linux. :p

yeah well, there's no spore client for linux either. It'll end up wine'd anyway so why argue about that?

[Newuser1111]

though if you're cut off from internet access you can't play your games.There's an Offline Mode.