PCFormat Forum Archive

Now that I have stopped frothing at the mouth in unrestrained fury; I'd like to share my experience with D.o.W2 and Steam in the hope that my fellow forumites may avoid what has happened to me.

Over the weekend I was LANing at a buddy of mine who has a cut copy of DoW2. I have thusfar been avoiding buying DoW2 because I was unsure if I could activate it and then play single player offline; as my home is sans internet.

Now, his pirated copy installed without asking for ANY keys or activation codes and, incredibly, after mounting the ISO images he was installed and playing within 20 mins. Being a die-hard D.o.W fan I rushed out and bought a legit' copy from Incredible Corruption(no other stores in my erea had stock).

So, after installing the files the game requested the serial provided in the DVD case. No problem, this is what I paid for right? NO! it gave me a 'Duplicate number already exists' message and refused to go any further.

After poking around on the hopeless and irritatingly circular Steam website this is what I have to do:

1) Make a scanned image of my proof of purchase and serial number.
2) Submit the same on a request card on the Steam website.
*Which, might I add, requires opening a seperate Steam Support Account, sending an email with the details of my problem to them and requesting a fault report or 'ticket' number to use later on!
3) Request that they kindly move the serial number over to my Steam Account.
4) Wait for confirmation of the above.
5) Revert to my initial installation and retry my original serial number.
6) Register with the horrendous Games for Windows Live! service
7) Pat myself on the back and create a modern art welded sculpture of all the hoops I've had to jump through, expressing the rage and futility of doing my part to combat piracy.

Now, I understand that Steam may not strictly be to blame for this, someone else may have bought the game before me from IC, installed it then returned it for store credit.

This does however, illustrate how DRM and anti-piracy is getting so out of control, it is creating a generation of gamers with utter hatred for developers who foist their insane anti-piracy measures on their customers who actually made an effort to support them.

I understand why DRM is important, but if I (after spending R400 and weeks of red-tape cutting on an original game) have to sit and watch my pirate-supporting buddy play a game I've been waiting for months to get my hands on, something is seriously screwed up here.

So, if any of you guys do buy any game that requires Steam, ensure your retailer understands what might happen. Perhaps they could let you exchange your copy for one with an active CD key or even install the game in-store after you've carted your PC into the store. After doing so, weep for what the gaming industry has become.

As a side note, PM me if you'd like to join me in a ceremony in which I will be sacrificing a baboon to bring a curse on the employees of Steam. May they always find themselves in bathroom cubicles without toilet paper! I spurn them the way I would spurn a rabid dog!

Please post pics of the sculpture in Point 7 once you have completed it.

Now, I understand that Steam may not strictly be to blame for this, someone else may have bought the game before me from IC, installed it then returned it for store credit.

When you bought the game, was there a plastic wrapping around the box like with all new games that you buy? If not, then you may be partly to blame for not insisting on a sealed copy of the game. If IC allowed a game to be returned for credit after it was purchased and the seal was broken, then they are idiots. Given that we all know that they're idiots, however, this would not be completely surprising. Still, even if that did happen (and I have serious doubts), you would be a little on the silly side to accept an unsealed game from a retail store yourself.

you, sir, are spurning the wrong crowd... what you should *actually* be sacrificing is your 'buddy', as it is his anti-social practice of blatant thievery which has heralded the draconian DRM measures we're all subjected to.

i would happily donate one shiny new rand toward petrol for the ceremony...

It's more likely sole stupid thirteen year old used a keygen and illegally registered a pirated copy on steam. Given that there is a keygen for all ea games, it would not suprise me if a similar one exists with steam or Dow.

(and yes, I make an effort to buy games I like, before anyone accuses me of piracy. Aaarrr!)

Stuart wrote:When you bought the game, was there a plastic wrapping around the box like with all new games that you buy? If not, then you may be partly to blame for not insisting on a sealed copy of the game.

Yep, the game was sealed in plastic and it would absolutely seem dodgy if it wasn't. Hence my venom and irritation at the situation. Although, the intact plastic seal could mean one of 2 things: either it really is an unused new game and IC are blameless, or IC own a sleeve-sealer and can make it appear new. I'm not accusing IC of deliberatley doing so but making a dvd box appear unopened is relatively easy. Although, judging by the level of IT knowledge the average IC employee posesses, I think that its more likely to be ignorance than deliberate mendacity.

rustypup wrote:you, sir, are spurning the wrong crowd... what you should *actually* be sacrificing is your 'buddy', as it is his anti-social practice of blatant thievery which has heralded the draconian DRM measures we're all subjected to.

Sure, much the same way that if people never broke the law there would be no need for police. Sadly, we dodn't live in such a society. What I'm objecting to is the equivalent of every person in the country being clubbed to death because a few happen to be criminals.

The authorities must crack down on pirates, it just sucks being caught in the crossfire, you know?

Anyway, I'm off to buy welding rods.....

OmegaRed wrote:Yep, the game was sealed in plastic and it would absolutely seem dodgy if it wasn't. Hence my venom and irritation at the situation. Although, the intact plastic seal could mean one of 2 things: either it really is an unused new game and IC are blameless, or IC own a sleeve-sealer and can make it appear new. I'm not accusing IC of deliberatley doing so but making a dvd box appear unopened is relatively easy. Although, judging by the level of IT knowledge the average IC employee posesses, I think that its more likely to be ignorance than deliberate mendacity.

I have bought games from IC which have had that little magnetic strip thing inside the cover... So I'm guessing they can reseal
them.

Edit: while it was a mission to through to them, I guess they have to make it difficult, else any old sod can request a new key for "their" game.

OmegaRed: have you tried going back to IC and explaining the situation and see what they can do for you, maybe like a swap out? I know it is essentially a EA / Steam issue, but IC supplied you with the software and the software didn't work. I would at least tell the IC manager.

And this, fellow forumites, is why piracy and cracks are our only salvation. I will never buy any game with DRM and activation crap for this reason.

The pirates have it so much easier than the people who do buy software legally, and the wrong people are treated like criminals.

Has anyone from EA or Valve installed a pirate copy of their own game and seen how much easier, quicker, and nicer it is to play? They bloody well should, so they'll know what a failure DRM was.

I'm sorry, but all Valve games I've bought work flawlessly. Steam is pretty much the only DRM that I've seen so far that works without invading the user's PC and locks out the software from use. (Unless, of course, you don't log in with an account that has the appropriate games installed).

The fact that the CD-key was used can only mean that Incredible Deception sold you a second-hand game. You have full right to bash them as much as you want to for doing this.

Bladerunner, African mentality, seriously.

I am a developer, I write software for a living (as many other on the forum). I love recognition for the code I write, but somehow goodwill and free software will not be putting food on the table. Support fellow developers - buy original. I do.

Hacked or pirated copies of games / software usually can't get the latest service packs / updates and you can't get support unless you can prove that you have a licensed copy. Why go through all the hassle? If you can spend all the $$$ on the latest and greatest hardware, why not complement your system with legal software?

Would you have the same attitude towards software if it was your code being pirated?

Edit: I've never had any problems with any Valve / Steam games. IC sold you a dud.

c0d3r wrote:Bladerunner, African mentality, seriously.

I am a developer, I write software for a living (as many other on the forum). I love recognition for the code I write, but somehow goodwill and free software will not be putting food on the table. Support fellow developers - buy original. I do.

Hacked or pirated copies of games / software usually can't get the latest service packs / updates and you can't get support unless you can prove that you have a licensed copy. Why go through all the hassle? If you can spend all the $$$ on the latest and greatest hardware, why not complement your system with legal software?

Would you have the same attitude towards software if it was your code being pirated?

I am a software developer as well, so you can't say I don't have any perspective on it.

Yet if I were to write software that people pay for, I would make sure not to let the legit owners have hassles that pirates don't.

I bought games in the past. Want to know why? Because I entered my serial and I was done, I could play.

EDIT: Also, I never make use of updates anyway because like most South Africans I can't wait 12 hours to download 1GB of updates.

Another nice story for you to think about:

I bought a legal copy of Matlab, whereas all the other people taking the module at university cracked it. Tried re-installing it the other day and it said it can't activate the product key.

Contacted Mathworks support who sent me a single useless response and haven't heard from them since.

So much for support if you buy legit eh?

Bladerunner wrote:I am a software developer as well, so you can't say I don't have any perspective on it.

Yet if I were to write software that people pay for, I would make sure not to let the legit owners have hassles that pirates don't.

I bought games in the past. Want to know why? Because I entered my serial and I was done, I could play.

EDIT: Also, I never make use of updates anyway because like most South Africans I can't wait 12 hours to download 1GB of updates.

I understand this, but lets say you make it easy for legit users to register and use your software. I come along and write a keygen / serial hacker / modified .exe that bypasses your security thus bypassing the legal purchase process etc. Now, someone is using "your" software that is slightly modified. It breaks. The hacker (or pirate) can't get support because they're using the hacked version. They start spreading that your software is of bad quality etc. I'd rather have people complain that my software has high security (or "bad" DRM) than have people complain that my software is broken or dodgy when it's not.

I won't be happy if someone hacks and bypasses my software suites. I would do anything and everything to stop them from being able to run pirated copies.

I don't think that the request for screenshots / proof of purchase (and whatever else is required by Steam to move over the reg key) is too much to ask for. Just think how many dodgy people would want to bypass this Steam process too. Rather be safe than sorry.

c0d3r wrote:

Bladerunner wrote:I am a software developer as well, so you can't say I don't have any perspective on it.

Yet if I were to write software that people pay for, I would make sure not to let the legit owners have hassles that pirates don't.

I bought games in the past. Want to know why? Because I entered my serial and I was done, I could play.

EDIT: Also, I never make use of updates anyway because like most South Africans I can't wait 12 hours to download 1GB of updates.

The hacker (or pirate) can't get support because they're using the hacked version. They start spreading that your software is of bad quality etc.

Not true, whenever people have issues and post on forums, the question always arises whether it's a legal copy.

Besides that, I have had (much) less issues with pirated software then legal copies.

Bladerunner wrote:Besides that, I have had (much) less issues with pirated software then legal copies.

Then you, sir, have very unfortunate experiences with software. Everything I am running on my machine is legit and I have no problems. I don't buy a lot of games, but even those I do normally run without major problems.

That said, let's please stop admitting our love for illegal software before admission turns into promotion. I reckon Omega has been the unfortunate recipient of piracy's sour grapes and he'll have to jump through whatever hoops required to get things sorted out. My request for pictures of the scuplture stands.

Okay. . .let me rephrase. . .you are getting messed around by your mate.Steam and other measures of protection against PC piracy are there cause of his swashbuckling ways.