Quoting DeadlyShoe,
reply 1
Kha, you're the one throwing around descriptors like 'uncivilized and 'uneducated' and 'brainwashed since birth' then demanding 'respect'. Respect is a two way street, yez?
Additionally, it's apparent that you never read the multiple Stardock posts on this thread:
Kha, page 11: The version on my purchased SOASE DVD is 1.05, the latest one is 1.16.nn. After ten years from now, if there is no Stardock nor Impulse auth servers, i will be unable to patch a new installation from 1.05 to 1.16.nn
Zubaz, Stardock avatar, page 2: Brad has stated many times in the forums over the years that if ever a time comes when Stardock has to close down there will be a patch sent out that will unlock the need to authenticate. At that point, Stardock has nothing to lose, so why not?
Hi DeadlyShoe, your reply was the most reasonable one, thank you, but i think what you say about a standalone patch disabling the authentication is a very optimistic aproach.
If Stardock goes bankrupt, they would be in no position to invest more money in a "disable authentication update". I would trust on Stardock, but i have seen many companies rapping customers yet. Do you really trust on promisses from companies when they got your money yet?
I hope Stardock being honest and you having reason.
And what happens if Stardock has already made the patch, and all that requires is a line of code or something to customise it to the latest patch? Stardock has officially, publicly promised this patch, to not do so would be a very bad move. Yes, Stardock may go under, but the people who work for Stardock still have a reputation. i have a feeling that if the people who work for Stardock ruin their reputation by making Sins impossible to play after Stardock, they will lose a very large portion of their fanbase.
you said Stardock wont have the money to invest in making the code, like i said, if they have made it already and have it sitting on the shelf waiting, then no harm no foul.
and, last of all, i have this thing at the back of my mind i keep remembering. I have a TBS game called M.A.X. by Interplay. A fantastic game, made to run on Windows 95/98... i tried installing it on XP, and the game would not run. tried running it on Vista, would not run. those OS were simply too advanced for such an old game. in 20-30 years, which is the time frame you are talking about, im sure the technology will advance, and maybe (unfortuantely) it will advance to the stage where you will physically not be able to run Sins on your computer, and thats not Impulse or Stardocks fault.
Quoting Unknown924,
reply 3
What happens when your disc is worn/damaged so it can't be read? That would both prevent you from reinstalling and from playing your current install(s).
You could get a no-CD crack, but that would be similar to downloading the latest version of a Stardock game from a torrent.
I keep all my CDs/DVD in the closet. I never have lost any manual, DVD, etc. I keep all my patches/updates in DVDs and the very important information and my jobs in a RAID 5 NAS. I never have had any CDs/DVDs scratches in 20 years. When it is possible i make a backup copy of the game media and keep the original safe and sound.
I would prefer be able to play due to my responsability to keep the game media in good shape and not due to the use of a third party server -or developper/publisher server- out of my control.
Impulse is a good idea as alternate medium, as option, to cover cases like the yours, but not mandatory.
I think many of you are thinking you are buying a service when you buy games, but not, you are buying a product, exceptions are online games as World of Warcraft or Eve Online.
Let me make an explanation. When i say i want the full product for my money i mean the right to play whatever time i want, i am not refering me to the intelectual property. I know i'm buying only the right to play, but not when the publisher wants or for the time the publisher wants or where the publisher wants.
There is another problem with online authenticated games, the second hand sales. It is no my case, i never have sold any second hand game, but i think you have perfect rigth to sell your games if you want. You are not selling the IP, you are selling only the right to play and there is no right without the game media -CD/DVD-. There is a misconception with this. Many publisher are saying you have not permission to sell the IP, this is true, but when you are selling second hand, you are not selling the IP, you are selling the right to play.
okay, so, you are 41 (as you say) and have the experience and patience to take such good care of your game media... most people who play games are young kids who either by stupidity or by mistake, break or lose a game dvd etc. i mean, you said you keep all your stuff in a closet... what happens if someone comes in and steal it all (including your computer)? or you have a party and someone gets drunk and breaks it all by accident? wouldnt you love a way to get the game back? yes, you could insure it, but i can imagine most people not having the kind of money needed to ensure every piece of game media they have for long periods of time (like you are saying, 20-30 years). Impulse is a great, FREE way to save your skin if you happen to lose the disk. I can attest, last year i was travelling and didnt want to take all my cds wherever i took my laptop, the ease of being able to re-download Sins without the disk from anywhere in the world was amazing (and i was participating in the Entrenchment beta at the time, so i was re-downloading ALOT)
however. you say you would like to be able to play (im assuming at your leisure) due to your ability to keep the disks in good shape etc.... Impulse does not preclude you from doing that. AT ALL. Impulse does not preclude or prevent your from playing in America, Australia, Brazil or Russia, it does not stop you from playing whenever you want, not even when the servers are down, and it certainly does not limit the time you can play it for. Im talking about SP here, but even MP, Stardock pays money (REAL money, being 41, im sure you can appreciate that) for you to be able to play online. it maintains a server for MP games to be played from. you, on the other hand, pay nothing other than buying the game itself. now, when Stardock decides to shut down the server, its their right. after all is said and done, they are still a business, and once Sins stops bringing in sufficient revenue, they will begin to cut support (patches, MP support etc) in this way, yes, Stardock does limit for how long you can play MP for, but that is not Impulses fault, nor is it something designed to cheat you from what you paid for, it is simply a fact of life.
lastly, it is not your right to sell the game. you bought the game from stardock, and now you are selling the game to someone else. unless you charge the amount you payed originally or LESS, you are actually making a profit from Stardocks work. This Is Illegal. sure, no one will police it, after all, you maybe make $10 or whatever, but its still strictly speaking illegal. thats why game shops always sell second hand games at a lower price. aside from the fact its second hand, to sell the game at the original price would be winning the game shop a profit, at the expense of the developer.
all that aside, if you want to sell your game fine. Sell the disk. but it is not your responsibility nor your right to sell a fully upgraded and patched program. It is also not Stardocks responsibility to make it easy for you to sell your second hand game, especially when its so easy to abuse, and, like i mentioned above, so easy for you to make a profit off Stardocks back.
