I'm sure this has been asked before but here goes:

Seeing how so many people here have such a strong opinion on Impulse and on IC using any kind of DRM on their software, what would these same people do instead?  What would THEY do to protect their game?

A genuine question - very interested to know the answer.  With regards to accessing previous versions of the game, the first thing that strikes me is SUPPORT.  How do we expect IC to cope with the logistics of a lot of different people running a lot of different versions?  You'll then get users who prefer a particular version, coming on with technical or balance issues.  You'll get multiplayer compatability problems.  It just seems unworkable.

I can, however, see how it might get annoying for mod developers.  That, I don't have any answers for...

Think about it - what if the server you got the hacked version from was down?  Would you complain to them and say 'now I'm playing on a legitimate one so I won't have any of these problems again.'

Sure there might be the odd technological glitch, but would you prefer them to release patches on open servers with painfully slow downloads, large file sizes and possible install problems.

Your complaint about backporting may have some validity, your excuse for pirating it is about as good as a light frigate against a Starbase...

I find it sad that some people find nothing ethically wrong about stealing someone's hard work. Regardless of whether or not you the DRM sucks (which I do), it doesn't give you a right to bypass your moral obligation to do whats right.

There are far too many immature, selfish people in the world.

I'm not going to buy-in to most of the commentary above. Most of the arguments objecting to my post are unspiring, almost entirely being limited to some variety of "pirating games is bad... mkay... so just don't do it... mkay". Whatever...

I'm mainly back to say that the same thing happened to me again last night.

As noted, I don't get to play that often but the level of enthusiasm generated by Entrenchment somehow miraculously lead the stars to align and I managed to get three frends up for a network session via Hamachi Saturday night. Tragically, for the second time in as many days, it appears that Stardock's servers were down again and not everyone was running the same version.

Thankfully I'd downloaded a full cracked version since my last post which I can extract and have running straight from a zip file in about five minutes. After about an hour of driving around to people's houses with the pirated verion we finally managed to get a game going, in defiance of Stardock's best efforts to prevent us from playing our own game.

Note to Stardock, I pay for a game to play in my time, with my friends, at times convenient to me. I have zero interest in paying Stardock to dictate who I can play with and when.

The score to date: Pirates 2 : Stardock 0.

Number of future customers lost: 4

Great job guys!

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned it yet - Stardock/Microsoft's new DRM scheme (GOO) should address this exact problem.

I wonder if this will be rolled out to Sins and Entrenchment.

edit: Misread the news article.

What's the deal with strawman arguments tonight.

There was nothing stopping him from playing the game.  He wanted to get an update and (so he says, I haven't heard of a case where the Impulse servers were down for more than a few minutes) the download server is down.

Calling THAT DRM is like saying an FTP site for hosting patches being down is DRM.

This is exactly the kind of idiocy that is just wipes out sympathy for anti-DRM consumers. Because whenever I meet with a publisher, you can bet I'll get a post like this thrown in my face where the DRM nuts will accept nothing less than some FTP site with the raw EXEs right there. 

And if there's no middle ground, then the publishers might as well take the hard line.  Users need to start making some distinction between obnoxious copy protection where you only get to install N times and have to keep a CD in the drive  versus the requirement to download updates with our download manager (Impulse).

You know, I'm new to SoSE, and I plan on modding and working with a mod team.  That being said, all this complete BS about DRM and not being able to choose what version you have, go grow up.  A game company is in the business to provide the best game they can while making a profit to pay its developers to make updates and/or new games.

What that means is, their only obligation is to provide us the consumers, with the most up-to-date version of their product, why, previous versions are inferior products to their current version.

I have only one thing to say to the nay sayers... if you can do better, then put your money where your mouth is, and do it, or just shut up.

That sounds like a contradiction.  You don't like the DRM yet you never registered your boxed copy.  I am quite sure that the base retail version of SINS can be played as it is, thus it has NO DRM on its own.  DRM only comes into play when you get updates through Impulse, which requires registration.  So if you never registered your boxed copy, then you never had to deal with DRM.  So how can you say that you don't like Stardock's DRM when you haven't encountered it first hand?.

Also, can you tell me where you found a statement by Stardock that they do not use DRM at all?  To my knowledge Frogboy has always said that Stardock is not anti DRM, they are anti-stupid DRM.  The closest I can find is how Stardock has no DRM on its base retail games only, DRM only comes into play for digital versions or updates.

um, okay, pirating first, if you have already payed your silver coin, have bought the game, and are simply downloading an older version of the game so you can play with your friends... im probably going to catch some flak for this but i dont consider that piracy. if you hadnt paid any money and wanted to play the game with friends and so downloaded a pirated copy THEN thats stupid and illegal... but downloading something thats outdated, potentially inferior and most importantly, something you once had and already paid for, is not piracy in my opinion, despite where you get it from.

now, DRM... Yes, i guess Impulse is DRM, dont get me wrong im as pissed off as the next guy when servers go down, but as far as i understand DRM (and i dont claim to be an expert) DRM is simply some method of making sure you are the actual owner, and that you are not some chump who wants a free lunch (and when Entrenchment is $10 download, its actually less than lunch). i dont think thats too much to ask, i mean, if you make something, write a book, paint a picture, anything, you would want to be compensated and acknowledged for your work right? Stardock/Ironclad/EA everyone is no different... except EA etc are blood sucking leeches but lets not get into that. i mean, i downloaded Command and Conquer Red Alert 3 (legally). after i downloaded it, it wanted me to go on the net to verify i was the guy who bought it.... except that downloading RA3's big 6 GB ass burnt out my net connection (i was overseas and using mobile internet) so i had to wait like a month to get internet back so i could play the damn game. i bought a CD version of Crysis Warhead, and, unlike Crysis Original Recipie, where you just needed the disk to play, Crysis Warhead requires no disk, but needs regular uplinks the the net to check that im the guy who bought it... at the time i bought it, i didnt have the net! so again, for like a month to 5-6 weeks, i couldnt play my game! THAT is stupid DRM my friend. given, most people have internet nowadays, but i didnt, and it caused me SERIOUS aggravation. Compared to that, the Impulse server being offline for one night is nothing to worry about. Just curious, if they had taken the server offline to do maintenance (make sure it doesnt blow up) or to increase effeciency and speed, would you still have complained? if it screws up regularly, then, yes, Stardock needs to get its ass in gear and fix the problem, but if they are doing actual needed repairs/performance boosts, then one night is nothing to cry about.

now, from what i understand your problem to be, the servers were down and your friends couldnt update the game... why werent they updated in the first place? why was your version more recent than theirs? if you have a group of friends you like playing with, and you only play once a blue moon, update to a certain point and sit there, that way you can play without any issues with compatibility. regardless, the servers are down, its unfortunate, but it happens... when your cable tv goes down because some drunk schmuck ran into the telegraph pole, do you blame (sorry, im Australian i dont know who provides cable TV in the US) do you blame Foxtel for having a monopoly on your tv? you sit it out and wait. i mean, like someone up top said, if the there was no impulse, and simply a standard website with all the exe files on it, and the server that supported that website went down, would it be any different to what happened to you with Impulse?

Im sorry, i know this isnt what you want to hear, but sometimes things go wrong, and/or they need to be fixed. I live in Australia, thats like 20-something hours ahead of the US, if they take the servers down at 3 am US time, thats like 11 pm my time... and personally, id still be playing then, so, for people in the US who have jobs/school/lives and arent playing at 3-4 am, its not a problem, but for me, im playing at a still decent hour, and i get shot down because time difference sucks. Stardock etc is in a tough position, cut them some slack.

Now, all things said, i think your idea to get a pirated copy is nothing for other people to be upset about, it solved a problem... i hope you and all your friends have updated since then and no longer need the pirated version, but, for its purpose, it served well. like i said, he already paid his 10 pieces of silver, and since you dont pay for udpates (thanks Stardock/IC), and since we can assume he already, at one point, had the version he was downloading, he wasnt exactly stealing, simply overcoming an unforseen (by him) obstacle. However, just because servers go down does not mean that Stardock needs to give up its right to ensure it get acknowledged and compensated for its work, and Impulse does that, and even then, with updates only. You could steal the mint version of Sins (CD) and play forever without ever spending a cent, so insofar as that, Impulse is not DRM. but if you want the latest upgrades and advancements, then you need to pay, and you need to do in so that you get what you paid for, and Stardock/IC makes sure it gets fairly compensated for its work.

lol. I'm pretty sure I was just called a liar by a Stardock rep. Way to go with the customer service guys, nice.

And you might want to ask my friends whether anything was stopping us playing the game, since we were hardly going to be sitting on our own playing against the ai's were we? (And by the way, on the subject of strawmen, as noted above I could have lived without an update. I have an earlier archive backed up that I can't reinstall without Stardock's servers either, so I lose on both counts.)

Regardless, I made the post for your benefit as a previously satisfied, now ex-customer. You are, of course, more than welcome to ignore it or otherwise as you see fit. Ultimately it's your bottom line either way and the only thing encouraging me to contribute to it, given the widespread availability of easier to play cracked versions, is my goodwill. Suffice to say you've lost mine.

Looks like we both got a win today, congrats.

Not having total jerks as customers is all the reward I need. Go away.

Frogboy, If I could afford to buy a game everytime you said, I would! But at last Im poor so I will save you a beer instead. Ok, and a pizza.