Unit has been dispatched to your location;

[quote who="Dr.Gonzo" reply="3" id="2252257"] Moving on to people who don't lie to customers.

[/quote]Good luck with that

Truth:

- Frogboy and other members of Stardock saying that only the retail install of SINS directly from the disc is DRM free.

Fact:

- Frogboy has said Impulse is a form of DRM.

Baseless:

- your claim.

Lacking:

- research before you made this claim.

Akin to Microsoft saying Windows is DRM free but you have to activate explorer. They got a lot of mileage out of saying "DRM Free", and whispering "Only on the CD in the box, everything else that is required to continue to play this game is laced with it"... Disingenous at the very least- liar at the very most. In many ways, this form of DRM is worse than SecurROM and other things like that-- at least you can take those places without them phoning home and requiring internet connections.

http://thereticule.com/2009/03/sins-of-a-solar-empire-entrenchment-the-verdict/
http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=73216
http://trollitc.com/2009/02/sins-of-a-solar-empire-entrenchment-released/

Just a few examples-- But I think, since you're so big on setting the world straight about the DRM in Entrenchment/Sins/Impulse... that you should have these people update their articles. Apparently they didn't hear what Frogboy et al mumbled either.

DrGonzo

Jesus Christ you made of bricks or what!

Ignorant twat!

You don't like this type of DRM! FINE! SHUT UP AND GET AWAY!

Go play EA Games... I assure they don't use DRM..neither does Steam! They're both such truth tellers wouldnt you say!

God damn it...you guys are a drag! Crawl back in the hole you came out off! The world isn't ready for you or is it the other way round (maturity check FTW)

Happy gaming!

Thank you!

I take pride in stating the obvious to those less fortunate then me.

Name calling, so mature.     What gets me is how you and others are NOT seeing the big picture here probably because mommy and daddy pay the bills.   I am all for protecting copyrights.. I code myself.  I am NOT for limiting MY ability to control what I purchase.    If some of you would stop and think for a moment you would realize that if this trend continues, at some point you will no longer have ANY control over what you can and cannot do on your own dam machine.   You will be FORCED and required to have internet connections or worse just to use the dam thing.   And what you are not understanding is that some of us do NOT want to have internet connections in every place we live, work, visit etc.  Some of us just want to be able to use that which we purchase whenever and where ever we are.

The trend means that eventually if it continues ALL software will require you to be connected in some manner to even use the stuff.  Is this what you truly want?  If that is the case then I guess many of us out here at some point will cease to be a part of the community as a whole because while many of you seem all for giving up your personal rights, personal freedoms and your own control over your own system, I am NOT willing to give that up.

I have been talking to Stardock support about this offline and am basically getting the same canned answer that they do not really give a crap and it is not going to change.   That is their choice.... and mine is to cease being their customer.  Honestly I was a bit surprised by the lack of concern portrayed toward a customer but I guess good customer support is a dying thing.  Regardless I will have some software that at some point will no longer be usable since I will not be able to reactivate it on new install etc.  Stardock will loose the income I offered as a paying customer of multiple products I had purchased already, not to mention the ones I was seriously looking to still purchase and/or upgrade.

Some of you will probably whine some more, call me names and so forth.  However remember this.. in the future when you are so looking and hope for more titles, more add ons, more releases and other new titles and you are not getting them, remember why....   because the money dried up... and why?  Because just maybe, there are many more of us out here than just me that ALSO ceased being customers because of some extreme and limiting factors on the products we purchased.

I like Stardock and the products they produce.  Of that have no doubt.  However I am not willing to sell or give up any more of my freedom.  I am NOT willing to be forced by some company to pay for a service that I do not want no matter the reason.  In my case it is not that I do not want it, it IS that I cannot get it where my new home is.  Regardless of the reason, I will no longer have access to update my products nor access other future additions due to the required internet access.

BTW, even Stardock made comment in their emails to me about other users suggestions on how I can still update offline..   Tell you what... I will be all for that if Stardock or someone else wants to PAY ME for the fuel, the wear and tear on my vehicle and the new thumbdrive that will be needed for me to drive the two hours to get someplace that has internet access everytime I need to get a patch or access my software....   even with that, I can only imagine the hassle of having to disconnect my entire machine just to take it somewhere that I can plug it in so I can re-activate the software after a reinstall because the HD failed or was upgraded.

Those of you who want to still berate me and others, call us childish names and so forth, feel free.  But someday when this bites YOU in the ass because of circumstance, don't say you had no idea this could happen.

Just remember each paying customer is what gets you new updates, new add ons, new games and features...  Even one less paying customer dramatically effects what can and cannot be done for future software development due to money available.  Is this really the trend you all want to have continue?  Do you really want all of your software dependent on requirements you may or may not have, want or control?

Malakie

@ Malakie

Do you realise how stupid what you just said was?  You're complaining about having to go somewhere else to get the patch since you might not have internet, and somehow this is related to DRM (apparently)...  But the question is, how would you get a patch if not through the internet?  

Hmm, maybe you could drive two hours to the store and buy the patch in expansion form like some other less reputable companies make people do?  *cough* Sims *cough*

His point (from other posts he's made) is that games should be this "buggy" to begin with, but yes what he's saying is still pretty... stupid. And I don't really think that he's used to "modern" coding/game making. General rule for basic coding: for every bug you find there's 3 more.

Blimey you can feel the testosterone on this thread!

There has to and always will be DRM on downloaded games.  All of them.  Every company.

DRM is a term that is not really understood well.  Pretty much every game ever released has some form of DRM on it.  DRM is simply a term used for anything that identifies a copy of the game individually.  Some games do this by having the disk in the drive.  Others have stuff like SecuROM (which is the nasty stuff that EA uses and what most people think of as DRM).  And some merely have a serial code.  Stardock's policy explicitly states that their DRM is designed so that you can avoid using it by buying a retail copy and not registering it.  They apply basic DRM to ensure that only legit users can get patches, which is perfectly fair.  In your case you are requesting updates, hence there is activation by Stardock's policy.  They are not lying, you have merely misinterpreted their DRM policy.

While there is often interesting discussion on this, you should have known Dr Gonzo that the provocative nature of your original post would get these kind of responses.  Forum users are gettingtired of rants like these, and while you may not have meant to make a trolling thread, that's what you've started.  I refer to the references to 'lying' in your OP, which I don't think Frogboy will take too kindly to when he reads it.

Explain to me how this is better. I've never had a problem with SecuROM in my life. I have had problems with your "non-invasive" DRM, in my life.

To Dr. Gonzo, ricotero, and others on that side of the fence:

I'm sorry but I really fail to see what the problem is with Stardock's DRM scheme.  And I have to point out that saying this is worse than Securom is just ludacris.  Games that use Securom and other schemes like it are the reason I stopped playing those games.  Installing programs at the kernal level without my knowledge should be criminal.

A huge rason why I bought this game was that I felt that this method of DRM was among the most fair in the industry.  And if I didn't like it in a digital download I still had the option of the boxed game.  Yes I know that other games are available with no DRM at all.  I'm a huge supporter of other independant companies and those published under GPL that use 0 DRM.  But I fail to understand why Impulse or Steam are such a bad way of distributing games.  Don't get me wrong--I have often thought that it would be better if I could download an ISO of the game rather than the current install method, but that's about my only complaint.  I have no problem at all with getting updates through Impulse.  Okay so it checks to see if the game is legit before patching.... again, this is bad why?

I can uninstall/reinstall as many times as I like, I can install it on more than 1 PC to facilitate LAN parties, and it doesn't install any 3rd party app limiting my usage of the game.

My question again is what exactly are you complaining about here?