Xbox 360 Piracy Continues with Fable 2, Gears 2 - Page 2

airblazer,

You deserve credit for trying, but you're really not coming up with anything new. Infinity could have done better with COD4, but nothing is going to come close to 100%. I'm guessing you only have a limited knowledge of how programming and networking actually function, but there's always a way around these methods. Even WoW has cracked servers up and running where you can play for free, and that's about as close to a perfect system as you'll get.
But even systems like WoW's and other MMOs have major drawbacks such as being highly restrictive to end users and costing more money for both developers and users. That's not to say other types of games can't use similar methods, but there is a lot of give and take associated with doing so. And even then it's not 100%.

Purplerat,

How is WoW's user account management system restrictive to end users ? you knew you needed internet and monthly payments at the start before you even buy the game in the store, says so right on the cover of the game.

Other than that you don't have any restrictions really...

and the fact that there are cracked servers out there.... so what?

1 They do NOT get regular updates
2 They do NOT carry the same atmosphere
3 They do NOT have the same player base
4 They do NOT in any way represent the actual gameplay for WoW if you own a legitimate copy.
5 Problems and bugs do NOT get fixed on a regular base
6 If something goes wrong there is usually no GM to help you out..

And the list goes on...

If people want to play wow on a cracked server for free, that's fine by me and I'm sure Blizzard doesn't lose any sleep over it as those who like the game on a cracked server will be tempted to play it for real, and those who still can't play it for real due to money issues or some other reason(s) will have something to play around with.

Yeah... you mean something like Steam. Even though I know that cracked TF2 servers exist, they are too much of a hassle to find and as far as I know you need something like a cracked client in order to be able to use it (It's not as easy as searching for it in a Torrent Tracker to find it), if COD4 had worked an arrangement to make use of Steam like a Valve-game (i.e. each copy needs to be registered with a Steam account regardless if you got a boxed or DD copy), then we would have seen a A LOT less COD4 cracked MP servers, probably somewhere around 5-10% is my guess.

That's MMO gaming for you, Blizzard might be the biggest target for these critiques because they have the biggest MMO, but it happens in all MMOs, in the ones that it doesn't happen it's because admins/mods are not doing their job.

>>>Warning off topic <<<

Not to mention the fact that the user agreement already states that if something is amiss Blizzard has the right to discontinue it's service to you.

Plus of course the fact that your totally legitimate BG leeching is not legitimate at all as the only way you can stay in a BG as a leech is by moving around every now and again to avoid being AFK booted out of the game or getting involved in combat every now and again.... not to mention that it's highly annoying to have such slackers in the BG ruining the game experience for everybody else in the first place.

I have made trades for over 5000 gold quite frequently to allow players in my guild to buy flying mounts.... and never have I ever had a problem or negative encounter with a GM about it.

Also when you are banned they thoroughly research into your account to see whether your claim is legit and you were in fact doing nothing wrong, and in the unlikely case that they banned you for no reason.... they will reinstate your account and apologize for the time taken to resolve the issue, but reassuring you that it's for the good of the community.

Plus you can use authentication/account servers and still use player hosted games or servers through that online system... but only allowing these games to be hosted through that account system and after being authenticated.

As for patches disabling certain parts of your mods... The fact that you are allowed to make mods and are in fact encouraged to do so is rare and very cool.... however it's upto you as the creator to keep the mods upto date and inline with the game version and allow list for player made modifications.... certain things will no longer work because they have been added to the game, certain things will be disabled because they aren't in line with what Blizzard wants for their game (aka what is giving you an unfair advantage over other players) and others will be disabled solely on base of version.... meaning a simple change in the code to support the new version of the game is enough to make them work again.

Also stated quite clearly in the agreement is that the game content and in game experience may change over the course of online play.

No offense intended, but I feel your attitude towards Blizzard and such is a tad colored red with rage.... calm down take a few steps back and think about what they have to manage and think about every day and how many people they have to deal with .... I'm sure some accounts do get banned that should not be, but I am also sure that this is rare... and then in that rare case you have the right to be upset and to never touch a blizzard made game again ... if that is what you wish...

>>> On Topic <<<
But you have to realize it's always a choice .... a choice YOU make.

And as for piracy and publishers moving away from one platform to seek shelter with another, that's not the case. simply because we do not get a say in the matter.

Anyhow....

Later.

Thurin,

I play WoW and love the game. What I'm pointing out is that what makes WoW so piracy proof is that the very nature of the game is for MMOs to be highly restrictive. It's a good thing for MMOs to be that way. You can't have thousands of people playing simulataniously on the same server without strictly enforcing rules. So it's something you have to accept if you are going to play that type of game. What you said is that it's not restrictive and that is completely wrong. Even if the restrictions are for very good reasons and are necessary to make the game work, they still exist.

I wouldn't want games that are mostly single player or even smaller multiplayer to force so many restrictions down gamers throats. But I have advocated more use of server based authentication. That however is different than server based game play and is much less effective in stopping piracy. Tricking a game to think a server has authenticated is not that difficult compared to actually setting up a server to run the game.

Legendary, another multiplatform title, that was conveniently delayed for PC about 2 weeks after the console launch has been leaked early for XBOX360.

the main problem with that is if they decide that they don't want to run those servers anymore then everyone with the game will be left with a cup coaster. this takes the life of the game down from unlimited, to today or tomorrow or some time later on

think about this, how much is the percent loss in life of the game when you reduce it from unlimited, to a few years if your lucky?

or if 2 stores were selling gift cards, and 1 gift car has unlimited money, while the other had only $100 in it, but both cards cost the same much, which would you get?


if developers start flooding their console games with DRM like the kind on pc games then you will see a huge uproar from the console gaming community, then you will see console game piracy skyrocket higher than it already is in order to get out of having a game that can fail to run at any moment