Larian Studios Forums Beyond Divinity (English) General Boy, that was fun! Purchased and returned.

Look I don't get the comotion over the CP. Not buying a game you like because of CP is like saying.

I will punish my wife by castrating myself.

This whole discussion makes no scence to me. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I think the point they're trying to get across is that Starforce is completely unstable, and can cause damage to your system. When you bear that in mind, you might be inclined to skip these games. I for one, would rather have a working machine than play a game I really want.

Ohh that stuff. i format my pc every 9 months so no problem here. (T - 9 days till next format)

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/ouch.gif" alt="" /> Uh, damn. He got us. Given the fact that the decision of the copy protection was the one of our publisher and only we Larians collect this data for "help" reasons it all makes sense suddenly, right? At the end it is very important for a belgian game company to find out how many porn sites their gamers visit (to create more realistic whorehouses in our RPGs for instance) and to report CD-Key abuse to american authorities (we have to, because afaik belgian authorities are rather lax on this matter, or am I wrong here, Lynn?).
Actually it's time to admit that we are not really getting Money from our publisher for selling the game but for all the precious user data which they sell then to microsoft. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/devil.gif" alt="" />
Unfortunately it runs too stable on the mayority of systems so we had to introduce with every new patch more bugs to get as many of you as we can.
What you didn't find out is that Starforce also installed our brandnew rendering pipeline on your machine. In fact all cutscenes for our new games are computed in the background of every <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beyond.gif" alt="" /> computer with internet connection. Cool, isn't it? Saves a lot of money too... And you guys always wondered in vain why your PC is so slow suddenly, don't you? We thought we were smart. All except you fell for those sneaky things. A pity we couldn't fool you too...
TRUST NO ONE! THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/alien.gif" alt="" />

(There was a peek once about our struggeling with the copy protection. For the full range of data you might want to read that as well. Again this decision was not ours so it is in vain to debate about it. We only try to fix it at the best of our abilities.)

Glad to know I was right thinking "StarForks" wasn't Larian's idea.

Sry to bring this thread back up, but I dont understand the point of your post, its not Larian that collects the info, its starforce, and the company that owns it.

@ Marian

The only fix is to remove it. Whether that's beyond your abilities or not, it is the only proper solution. This is causing havoc on forums all over the internet, and isn't something you should want to be associated with.

i'm afraid what's done is done for this case. whatever larians may do to rectify this matter won't help much for the buyers who have the impression that the developers are at fault for using such dubious program for cd protection.

the best advice for those who are unhappy with the game; feel free to return it & get your refund. do let larians know of your experiences with the game in general. they're not above taking criticism. in fact, they're very humble. i believe starforce is a poor choice by the publisher(s).

it may help for those who have problems with the cd protection to lodge their complaints at the publisher's forum or e-mail them.

& for the rest who have no problem with the cd protection, do count your blessings as u don't have to go through the frustrations that the unfortunate gamers experienced.

for your info, i have yet to receive my copy of <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beyond.gif" alt="" /> & all these complaints taint a bit of my anticipation. i really hope i won't have to go through such hellish times getting the game to work. worst comes to worst; i may have to circumvent the protection.

thanks to all for making your points, sharing your experiences & info.

please give larians time to sort out the problems.

What problems? Rectify what?

- Our game has still not been released in the illegal scene (no matter what other people may say).

- Our sourcecode is protected (cause Starforce isn't just about "copy protection").

"Rectifying" this would mean hacking away at our own backs with double-bladed axes (not to mention having to release a "fix" of hundreds of megabytes). "Yeah, let's crack our own game." <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />

People having hardware problems will always be looking for a scapegoat, and the easy target seems to be the "very evil" Starforce. ("Ooh, it won't let me make totally legal copies of the game. Ooh, I had to buy this game. Ooh, it sends all kinds of info to Mickeysoft. Oh wait.")

I'm sorry, but I'm very skeptical when it comes to people claiming their computer doesn't work properly anymore "ever since Starforce was installed". Yes, there is the odd CD-rom player that Starforce does not support, but then still, the Starforce drivers do not render the computer or the drive defunct. Are you always in this much agony whenever you install graphics card drivers? I think those can be much more dangerous...

People who want to make a backup copy: well why don't you. You can install the game from your copied discs. You just have to pop in Disc Two whenever you feel like playing, and I'm sure this won't "wear out" the CD (the disc doesn't even have to be in there all the time, from the moment you see the intro movie, you can safely remove it and put it back in the vault if you wish). I remember when they introduced Compact Discs to the broad public, and one of the arguments they used was that one such CD would last a lifetime...

ok, maybe it's possible to wear out a CD, but c'mon then the CD is of a bad quality or you REALLY used it 'too' much (which shouldn't happen this way)

man o man, where are the good old cartridges from the old days that you had to stick into a sega... I don't think those will ever wear out (given ou don't stick it in and out like 10 times a day)

I totally agree with ForkTong here, there is nothing wrong with protecting games from being copied, it's the only way the developpers/distributors will gain on revenues again and thus the price will drop again.

Actually, if you bothered to read a few forums, you'd see that people are avoiding starforce games, even on the illegal scene.

Sounds like starforce is sh1t to me, when people won't even accept an "Unofficial" copy. It's not just that either. People are complaining about invasion of privacy, and the underhanded way it installs behind the scenes. And as you've pointed out, it hasn't been cracked, so all these are legitimate owners of this (and your) software.



How can say this is beyond me. How the hell do you what Starforce does to systems? All the creators of starforce combined isn't fully aware of the effect it's having. I find you're attitude very distasteful towards the buyuing public. Perhaps your time would be better spent on getting your own software right the first time, as opposed to releasing patches.

That's funny. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> Actually I found the cracked "Deutsch" version after a 30 second search. Haven't seen the english version yet, but this isn't a very popular game and I'm not "looking" for it, could probably get it off some forums I know of quickly.

I'd post a link to the torrent site for proof but I'm sure that would get me in trouble. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />



nova

hello forktong,

when i mentioned give time for larins to sort out the problems, i meant that that u will look into the problems occured when playing <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beyond.gif" alt="" /> & determine the next course of action, especially for future games.

i didn't mean for u to feel bitter but u don't have to be defensive about all of these, u know. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" />

Kind of strange worrying about copy protection on a game. Companies have a right to protect their products from being pirated. The majority of all software installs some kind of drivers on your PC without your knowledge. With all the additional items including servers, that the M word installs I find it hard to understand how anyone using a Windows product could complain about a copy protection program.

I believe the need for copy protection will be eliminated about the same time there is peace on earth (I am not holding my breath for either). I am sorry we all live in a world that has a need for companies like Star Force and virus protection software.

If your worried about information transfer you should be running a firewall (Zone Alarm has a free version), and avoid the majority of the sites on the web.

You can use a driver removal tool after you finish the game to eliminate the drivers that were installed if they are causing you problems.

If everyone invested half as much time in preventing illegal copies as they do complaining about the software used to prevent them, the need for the software would be eliminated (just my opinion).

You're funny <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

That is just a copy of BD that does not work. You won't be able to play that version since the protection has not been cracked on that one.


And xAcex, people that don't want the illegal version of a starforce game? What in hell are you talking about... There is a difference between "to want" and "able to get".

Just like Beyond Divinity there are other starforce games not released in the scene yet. These are Kill.Switch and Toca 2.

On a sidenote, a lot of people bitch on "warez" forums about starforce and how hard it is to crack. There are people even saying to go buy a starforce game in the shop, not do anything with it and go back an hour later to say "I can't get it to work, must be the copy protection or something."

That's just sick, and xAcex, I wonder if you're a part of that, if you can't accept that a company like Larian is trying to defend itself from illegal activities because the law can't really help out, by being illegal (if you want to call it like that) themselves in order to stay alive.

I'm sick and tired of people going all nuts because their "rights" are somewhat hindered in a very small way. But then again they don't care at all about the people that want to prevent their work from spreading for free on the internet.

Ya, I'm sure there's 30+ people seeding something that doesn't work. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

If you're thinking of the same thing as me, you can trace the file back to the "home page" and check the comments there. It works, or there's a whole bunch of liars claiming it does.

I'm sorry but if people on P2P networks (like kazaa, and other crap) having the game is your strong argument than there is nothing I need to add.

There is not one group that released it. I can search on Kazaa and probably find everything. But if it's really that and if it will work is something totally different. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/silly.gif" alt="" />

If you are so sure, please provide me with the release .nfo accompanying it.

I found an NFO file but I see no reason to post here, on the official boards.
I think there's nothing left to discuss.

Actually, if you bothered to read a few forums, you'd see that people are avoiding starforce games, even on the illegal scene.
-----

Isn't that a good thing if the illegal people are avoiding it? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" />

Lews: it's not good if people who buy the game are experiencing problems. I don't, though.

So many warez of Sacred! Maybe I should download it? :P
Just kidding. I'd rather borrow my friends' Diablo2+LoD.