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IGN Blog: That's right, Sins has ZERO DVD copy protection

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IGN Blog: That's right, Sins has ZERO DVD copy protection

Gamers are basically honest

from Sins Forums

Like Stardock's other games, Sins of a Solar Empire ships with no copy protection on DVD.  Instead, Stardock/Ironclad are implementing a system to reward gamers for purchasing Sins of a Solar Empire.

No matter where in the world you buy a Stardock game, you can download the entire game or any update via Stardock Central.  The serial # that comes in the box takes care of everything as it's tied to each user.

And just like Stardock's other games, Sins of a Solar Empire will have a day 1 bonus update that includes new maps, modding tools, the forge editor, and more!

Read our blog on the issue of copy protection over at IGN.

View: Yes Virginia, there's no CD copy protection in Sins of a Solar Empire

41,015 views 40 replies
Reply #26 from Sins Forums Top
The only ones who dont care are the Pirates, since there is a small patch/file/crack for everything.

Sooooooooooo, Stardock makes it easy for those who buy their games and they even reward them.
End of quote


This is one of the reasons I love Stardock.

For the vast majority of my games, I end up using a crack to get around the copy protection bullshit because most copy protection systems out there don't like my DVD Player/Burner that came with my computer and its just easier to use a crack than to try and get my games to work otherwise.

Its nice to be treated as a customer for once, instead of as a thief.
Reply #27 from Sins Forums Top
Hi all I myself don’t post often but in this case it merits a post just
F.y.i IV have been a gamer for about 10-15 years now.
All copy protection that has ever been released has been cracked and relatively easily as well, copy protection is not the way forward as it is an ineffective archaic system and needs to be removed its only getting worse

Well done to stardock for the stand they made with galciv 2
And also now with soase this system is a far better alternative and treats the end consumer with respect.

And acknowledges the ineffectiveness of current copy protection systems even Microsoft agrees (windows update), even that has been cracked but its a pain to keep up with base rule get yourself a key, life is just easier that way.

Same with stardock I’m sure the crackers will eventually release the full game plus all updates at which point stardock releases new updates and you have to go and download the whole bloody thing again, not cool, but then again I think that’s the idea.
star dock has done a phenomenal job with its titles and it follows it up by monitoring the forums and listening to our complaints and problems and were it can it fixes them which really makes me feel like a valued customer as opposed to a cash cow to be fooled by marketing and I have a better feeling that bugs WILL be fixed unlike a certain other company u*(s&^t that releases a game then stops at patch 4b with a sorry you still got a broken game but budgets up hope the mod community fixes it (cheap b#$%&%$#)

The only concern I do have with the new system is that companies will start releasing beta software as non beta software and fixed after the fact as its EASY just update your game but I digress

Kudos to stardock and ironclad
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Reply #28 from Sins Forums Top

The only concern I do have with the new system is that companies will start releasing beta software as non beta software and fixed after the fact as its EASY just update your game but I digress
End of quote


Their already doing that -- thats another reason people like SD: When they release something, odds are its actually undergone some decent testing.
Reply #29 from Sins Forums Top


The only concern I do have with the new system is that companies will start releasing beta software as non beta software and fixed after the fact as its EASY just update your game but I digress


Their already doing that -- thats another reason people like SD: When they release something, odds are its actually undergone some decent testing.
End of quote


As well as additional resources or content added for that extra special warm fuzzy feeling.
Reply #30 from Sins Forums Top
I can't even begin to name the number of games over the years I've legitimately purchased, yet, still had to get a crack for just so I didn't need the disc in the drive, which is about as annoying as it gets.

Kudos for not treating your customers like criminals and using the reward system instead. I think the best way to do things is with extra features that make having a serial key valuable, like online play and additional downloads. Companies that don't have these extra's and rely on DRM often come off as too cold and corporate, and just too lazy to care about adding value to their products. You bought it, they have your money, now buzz off.
Reply #31 from Sins Forums Top
And i cant even begin to name the number of games i have legitimatley purchased, yet NOT gotten to work as advertised. And in the end nothing remains but a look on my face of utter dissapointment and a feeling of being robbed. Karma?
I can give some examples.

SunAge, i bought it because i wanted to support the devs for their awesome game, and to play multiplayer, as was advertised as working. Guess what, they didnt even have a proper lobby server yet, there was no way in hell anyone could find or join another someone online.
Do you get refunds when buying games online? No. Robbed.

Supreme Commander (before the expansion), again.. I played the beta and it was great. So i bought the game to support the devs. But guess what, something changed.. 98% of every online game ended up with you spending 2 hours to prepare, and then when the fun war was supposed to start, one or more players desynced, or the game simply crashed for you or someone else. 2 hours lost. This was never fixed except for when the expansion came..
Robbed again.

Sim City Societies. Again, bought it to support the devs.
Crashes all the time.. Freezes all the time, and i usually never ever have those kinds of problems, my computer is very well managed and in order.
Now, did it crash or freeze with the no-dvd crack? Of course not.
Robbed, again..

Company of Heroes + expansion.. Bought it because it was an amazing rts, and based on my love for the previous Dawn of War. The reason i bought it tough was because obviously i wanted to play online..
Did it work online? Of course it didnt.. Every single time i tried for several months there were just about 20 guys in the lobby-chat talking about how they couldnt join any games. And neither could i, and once i could, some idiot with a 56k modem turned it into a 6 hour game due to the lag..
Robbed, twice.

Crysis, bought it for the multiplayer again, because the beta was awesome! And worked great! Wierd huh? Same as with Supcom.
But what happens at release? And STILL today?
I'll tell you, about 20 people in the lobby-chat talking about how they cant join any game due to some server auth prob, which was supposed to be fixed?
I can however join any server, but how much fun is it when there are only 2 other people in that server? Or 0/32 people in every other server? Like a desert..
Robbed, yet again.

NO refunds for any of those games. Thanks $$-hungry publishers..
Thanks for making torrented-games be the easy way, your loss.

Sorry for the huge post, but its neccessary to bring stuff like this to the surface. All of the above problems are due to protection shit.. Either dvd-protection or server-protection.

I will buy Sins, but i honestly hope that i wont feel robbed again. PC gaming has gone downhill, and its up to pioneers like Stardock to realize that the only way to bring it back up is to treat customers as heroes, not like villans..
Reply #32 from Sins Forums Top
Baleur - I can assure you as a customer of StarDock since it was started, you will not feel cheated and the support given to titles is epic to say the least. Stardock sells more then titles, it sells a philosophy and backs it 110%.
Reply #33 from Sins Forums Top
Baleur,

SupCom doesn't have Desyncs now, or at least not many ppl have complained about it.

Also, SupCom did originally have protection, but later removed in the first patch.

Also I never had to take 2 hrs to prepare for battle :)

COH: They still got problems with the game, but you can join most games now.

Crysis: That game sucked anyway.
Reply #34 from Sins Forums Top
I can`t tell you how thrilled I am that you are going this route with Sins. It takes courage to buck trends - even stupid ones. As another poster said, thank you for treating us intelligently.

In my LAN group (now mostly and online group) it can be difficult to hook people on a new game. The main stumbling block is a copy of the game. Being able to try something before you make a full purchase, even if the thing is only meant for group play, is the primary stumbling block to the successful introduction of new pursuits. Sometimes demos don`t cut it, even good demos of good games, and even then those with full versions must endeavour to install/regress to the demo versions themselves which can be an annoyance/pain. This aspect of SoaSE will allow the cohorts to get a full taste of what I will soon be fully enjoying (!), *without* having to experiment with $40 of their bucks... per person.

And lets be honest - the less respect shown to customers by Company 'X', the more DESERVING they are of being screwed out of purchases by those customers. Laws of Reciprocation apply.

Thanks again Ironclad & Stardock. The more I know about how you do business, the more I like you.


(Will my group get into SoaSE? I don`t know, but at least they have that opportunity. And we are honest adherents - good product gets support.)
Reply #35 from Sins Forums Top

And i cant even begin to name the number of games i have legitimatley purchased, yet NOT gotten to work as advertised. And in the end nothing remains but a look on my face of utter dissapointment and a feeling of being robbed. Karma?
I can give some examples.

SunAge, i bought it because i wanted to support the devs for their awesome game, and to play multiplayer, as was advertised as working. Guess what, they didnt even have a proper lobby server yet, there was no way in hell anyone could find or join another someone online.
Do you get refunds when buying games online? No. Robbed.

Supreme Commander (before the expansion), again.. I played the beta and it was great. So i bought the game to support the devs. But guess what, something changed.. 98% of every online game ended up with you spending 2 hours to prepare, and then when the fun war was supposed to start, one or more players desynced, or the game simply crashed for you or someone else. 2 hours lost. This was never fixed except for when the expansion came..
Robbed again.

Sim City Societies. Again, bought it to support the devs.
Crashes all the time.. Freezes all the time, and i usually never ever have those kinds of problems, my computer is very well managed and in order.
Now, did it crash or freeze with the no-dvd crack? Of course not.
Robbed, again..

Company of Heroes + expansion.. Bought it because it was an amazing rts, and based on my love for the previous Dawn of War. The reason i bought it tough was because obviously i wanted to play online..
Did it work online? Of course it didnt.. Every single time i tried for several months there were just about 20 guys in the lobby-chat talking about how they couldnt join any games. And neither could i, and once i could, some idiot with a 56k modem turned it into a 6 hour game due to the lag..
Robbed, twice.

Crysis, bought it for the multiplayer again, because the beta was awesome! And worked great! Wierd huh? Same as with Supcom.
But what happens at release? And STILL today?
I'll tell you, about 20 people in the lobby-chat talking about how they cant join any game due to some server auth prob, which was supposed to be fixed?
I can however join any server, but how much fun is it when there are only 2 other people in that server? Or 0/32 people in every other server? Like a desert..
Robbed, yet again.

NO refunds for any of those games. Thanks $$-hungry publishers..
Thanks for making torrented-games be the easy way, your loss.

Sorry for the huge post, but its neccessary to bring stuff like this to the surface. All of the above problems are due to protection shit.. Either dvd-protection or server-protection.

I will buy Sins, but i honestly hope that i wont feel robbed again. PC gaming has gone downhill, and its up to pioneers like Stardock to realize that the only way to bring it back up is to treat customers as heroes, not like villans..
End of quote


Sins will rob you of valuable time you could be spending outdoors.

I could rob you of your money , and get myself a new computer <3

And EET could rob you of other things... :SURPRISED:
Reply #36 from Sins Forums Top
This is the type of thing that I LOVE to see from publishers (and of course the developers). I'm tired of seeing paying customers treated like criminals while being the more unscrupulous are able to enjoy games without usage restriction.

I just ordered the game for pickup from a nearby Best Buy, and am going to go pick it up as soon as traffic clears!
Reply #38 from Sins Forums Top

GET THE GAME IN EUROPE!!!!
End of quote


Start to hype the game on the Amazon sites in the EU if it is possible. That should go a long way in helping enticing EU based distributors.

Reply #39 from Sins Forums Top
yup. anyone that pirates the game, will have ZERO access to DLC.
Reply #40 from Sins Forums Top

Well, to Starforce's credit, it did do a very good job of stopping piracy of the games protected by it (other than unplugging your IDE drives when loading off the image, which is the only 'crack' of it I've seen while I paid attention). Of course, the side effect of it was that it also did a very good job of screwing up legit users, too
End of quote


StarForce is hard to crack because of the insane levels the developers went to obfuscate the code. They literrally inserted thousands if not hundreds of thousands of bogus instructions which serve no purpose other than to waste CPU cycles and make it hard to reserve engineer. It also does a lot of low level hardware tricks (such as using RDTSC instructions) that it really shouldn't be doing.

Not that StarForce does any good. My only physical DVD-RW drive is a SATA drive hooked up to a PCI Express SATA Controller card which Windows sees as a SCSI Controller. So all I have in my system are SCSI Drives to Windows.