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Buggo,
Micr0za on gr.org couldn't play CoH after the patch when Relic's servers were down. He didn't have the DVD handy, and his backup image didn't work:Company of Heroes (vanilla) does NOT use SecuROM AT ALL.
http://www.gamereplays.org/community...owtopic=293375
Was this only for the initial activation?
How does it work? If there is no internet connection, can CoH owners play without the DVD, as usual?
this is a serious problem which can only be solved by removing the copy protection again. all people who bought the game without a cd, wont be able to play with their laptops and without internet.1. Game bought on Direct2Drive, and therefore a) I do not have access to a CD or DVD disc. 2. After having successfully installed the game, and activated it, and have ensured that I could play it while connected to the internet, I closed the game, removed the ethernet cable, and restarted CoH:OF 3. When the Login screen comes up, It first asks me where I bought the game. I select Direct2Drive. It then forces me to the activation screen just like my original installation. I can't reactivate because I do not have the ethernet in (to simulate not having an internet connection), and therefore can't play.
Would a patch be able to fix this anti-piracy poopy or do we have to wait for the third expansion? If it can be fixed thorough a patch then I hope in on the very top of Relic's list. Playing SP games has never been this crappy anywhere....ever!
Like my pappy used to say, "If a game isn't fun then its not worth playing."
#254
Originally Posted by SKYRocker
I guess that is a compliment?
There are a lot of very high resolution textures (how many other games have so many different units that you can zoom in on and still see good detail instead of blurry pixels?) and a ton of unique sounds. It simply takes that long to copy it all to your hd. And rather than force you to leave your DVD in the drive like a console game the entire DVD is copied over so you don't need the disc in the drive, you can simply automatically log into relic online. A little bit of an inconvenience at the start, but it's better in the long run.
Can I have Relic's word that I can't be invited to matches or have messages sent to me while being in Single Player modes like Skirmish and the Campaign?
Because the OF expansion uses SecuROM in any way I will not be purchasing it or upgrading to any future patch. CoH is dead to me. Well, okay maybe I'll play my old unpatched vanilla for a while but probably not for long.
I use Process Explorer as an auto-start on any Windows system I install and SecuROM idiotically flags it as hacker-ware. You have to exit Process Explorer, remove the auto-start, and reboot your system because PE installs a driver which SecuROM detects. This gives you an idea about the caliber of programmer/marketeer that developed the bad idea masquerading as software that is SecuROM.
There are mini-root kits out there that can be used to spoof the process listing to hide Process Explorer from SecuROM but personally I can't be arsed to care enough to bother. I didn't play the demo for Bioshock for this reason (much less purchase the game).
Usually systems like SecuROM are poorly programmed and badly maintained and do nothing but cause problems on people's systems. Software protection systems are developed by con artists that take a phony moral higher ground while being nothing but parasites on consumers and publishers. Their junk usually fails to clean up after themselves on uninstall leading to hard-to-diagnose problems. They do absolutely nothing to stop hard-core piracy.
So, we purchase a game and instead decrease our system stability?
Relic has to ask itself: would the original CoH have been as popular if it came with SecuROM?
DRM and other systems are NOT anti-piracy: they are anti-consumer. Game developers have to realize that I don't need their game as much as they need my patronage.
Boycott DRM, boycott SecuROM/all equivalent security systems and this nonsense will stop very quickly.
Requiring net access to start the single-player game is yet more idiocy. I mainly play single-player - I don't really care about a CD check but I've had nothing but problems with games that require net connections to play single-player (e.g. any Battlefield game).
Well, CoH was fun while it lasted.
The linked FAQ says you do not use Securom. Nowhere does it say that you only use part of Securom. This lead myself and many others to think that there would be no securom at all. It's a small distinction but it makes all the sense in the world.
The point still stands that Securom was said not to be included but was regardless of intent.
I also must say that vCoH does do media authentication as I can no longer even reach the main menu of my game that I purchased over a year ago. Both here and in the FAQ thread you allude that these changes in DRM would only affect Opposinf Forces, yet here I am a year after my purchase and I am locked out of a product I purchased.
Unless I am doing something very wrong this addition of Securom does indeed affect vCoH.
I'd appreciate it if any fellow forum members could confirm this.
Last edited by Edwin; 28th Sep 07 at 3:26 AM. Reason: Added screenshot.
It is sad that a former good game gets ruined by this stuff like forced online registration, Securomcheck et cetera.
Beside of the "Antipiracy features" in the new Addon OF, I am really sad of the fact, that the whole stuff got also integrated in the old VanillaCoH, a year after the release, and over 10 months after I bought it.
Would it been fact there, that I need to register for the Onlinepart, I would never have bought it.
Also, the "No Lanplay without online connection" thing is a joke in my opinion. I do often make small lans with some friends, and we do all have legal copies of CoH, WC3 and so on, the usual lan games. But we got no Inet connection most times, so...CoH is now out of that, at least all Versions after 1.71.
And from our little group, nobody will buy OF, as nobody bought Bioshock. We dont support that type of "Protection".
Edit: And to add some small legal note...At least here in Germany, it is illegal to sell software that needs internet registration or activation without a note on the package of the product.
The EULA is not of matter, because it can only be viewed after someone bought the software.
You'd be totally right. If you were right at all. You do not require an online connection to play singleplayer. Not for campaign, not for skirmish.Requiring net access to start the single-player game is yet more idiocy. I mainly play single-player - I don't really care about a CD check but I've had nothing but problems with games that require net connections to play single-player (e.g. any Battlefield game).
In short: You do not need online connection to play singleplayer.
Anything else is a simply, factually wrong.
Again, for the probably hundreth time in this thread - this is nothing like Bioshock. Bioshock required an online connection - OF does not.And from our little group, nobody will buy OF, as nobody bought Bioshock. We dont support that type of "Protection".
Again, it does. At least if your computer is connected to the internet.
And im not see me unplug the connection only to get OF checking after the DVD.
Only partially correct. Bioshock uses both activation and media authentication which vCoH and OF only uses media authentication. It is partially like Bioshock in this aspect.
Only partially true. People who bought the game online and dont own a cd, will need internet to play.In short: You do not need online connection to play singleplayer.
If you don't have a internet connection, it does not connect to the internet. If it you do, it does. Who cares? It doesn't do much of anything when you're connected. After setting up my account and clicking the auto login and "always use this account"...I never even notice that I'm logging in. I double click the shortcut..game loads up...I'm at the main menu screen.
And about the DVD authentication...get over yourselves. All it fricking does is check to make sure the DVD isn't a pirated copy. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. So get off your high horses already AND QUIT YER BITCHIN'.
I tried to be civil, but it's 6:43 in the morning. Civil isn't awake yet.
Spoilers : Checking whether the DVD is pirated or not is pointless. Im sure everyone knows that such a check is usually cracked within a couple of days of the game being released(and that is a very generous estimate). For some reason Relic appears to have forgotten that.And about the DVD authentication...get over yourselves. All it fricking does is check to make sure the DVD isn't a pirated copy. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. So get off your high horses already AND QUIT YER BITCHIN'.
Whilst all the complaining annoys me too. I believe it is valid feedback to Relic who perhaps thought the idea of logging into Relic online would be preferable over having the DVD in the drive, for many people (single players) this is seems not to the case.
Again, who cares? It's there, it doesn't pose any harm. It's going to remain there. It may not stop all piraters. But quite a few of them don't know how to do a damn thing and the DVD authentication WILL stop them.
I Care. Many others care. So, if it is of no interest for you, I strongly suggest you do not read the thread.
On subject "it doesn't pose any harm": Did you analyse the nettraffic? No? So you probably dont know it. And no, I do not trust Relic/THQ anymore, there were too many "Oh we changed our mind..." things.
To add to the "just set up a onlineaccount and use this" thing:
To make a RelicOnline Account, I got to agree to the Terms of RelicOnline.
And why should I, if I dont want to play online? I will not agree to some Terms, probably illegitime in my Country (That is a problem with many Onlineserver services of games today, the "Terms" are just made for the USA, and often inherits stuff that is illegal in european countries...), only to play the Singleplaye part of a game without knowledge of the fact that I neet to set up an account.
I really wonder if there is a single pirated copy out there that is failing the DVD check for OF. Im pretty sure its at least 10 times as hard to find one that will fail as opposed to bypassing it.Again, who cares? It's there, it doesn't pose any harm. It's going to remain there. It may not stop all piraters. But quite a few of them don't know how to do a damn thing and the DVD authentication WILL stop them.
And yes, it is doing some harm. Its inconveniance the real customer by implementing a protection system that is doing absolutely nothing else. Why force customers to carry around a DVD? Its like implementing a security lock on your house door where you need to enter a password to enter, except that EVERYONE knows the password because it is written right on the door itself. Doesnt stop burglers, just slows you down from entering your own house.
As said SEVERAL times by damn near everyone, including Relic employees, YOU DO NOT REQUIRE THE DVD. Hence the Relic Online to check to make sure everything is kosher. You don't have the DVD in, you connect to Relic Online.
I suggest you calm down and back out of this thread as you are taking it way to personal. If you cannot bend, compromise or respect another person's point of view I don't think anyone here wants you here. Not only is it a lack of respect it's just plain rude.
I'm doing quite fine, thank you very much. Just quite tired of all the whining and moaning that is going on over a perfectly fine game. Is it perfect? No, but nothing is.
I agree. But we aren't discussing the game. We are discussing the DRM.
As said several times: you have no possibility to play the game WITHOUT INTERNET, IF YOU BOUGHT IT ONLINE.As said SEVERAL times by damn near everyone, including Relic employees, YOU DO NOT REQUIRE THE DVD. Hence the Relic Online to check to make sure everything is kosher. You don't have the DVD in, you connect to Relic Online.
when i play a single player of a game and dont need internet i restart my pc with only a few apps running, so no internet. So when i finally got the DVD to read (had no problems reading it before patch) i went to login and clicked on the retail button, but it said it cud read the media or something. The only one what worked is the direct drive one (didn't buy it off there) but i think you need the internet for that. So how do i login with my DVD in, but no internet....... ?
Without an internet connection you can't login online...
yeah yeah
You dont realise that if you dont have DVD and internet connection you cant play single player? Or do you just not care about others who dont want to bother with the DVD and for some reason dont have an internet connection?As said SEVERAL times by damn near everyone, including Relic employees, YOU DO NOT REQUIRE THE DVD. Hence the Relic Online to check to make sure everything is kosher. You don't have the DVD in, you connect to Relic Online.
Yeah i just want to play the single player when my is internet off.......surely don't need the internet to play single player do i.....
I suspect that if there is a problem with people who bought the game from direct2drive (not being able to play it unless it sees the internet), Relic will fix this. It's unacceptable otherwise.
I'd be curious for anyone who bought a copy off Steam to put Steam in offline mode (run Steam with the ethernet cable unplugged), then run the newly patched CoH (hopefully the patched version is now available to Steam users) and see what happens.
I would've caved and made a RO account, but as soon as I read that they might be mining data from my single player gaming, I said no way. Yes, Steam may be doing it with Half-Life 2, yes, people may be leaving cookies in my browser cache, and yes, people can obtain my IP address, but at some point I make a stance. After all, I didn't buy BF2142 because of the ads in game. Why should I be subjected to advertising in a game I bought? And furthermore, does it need to scan where I'm from in order to give me specific ads?
All a path to worse things.
-HM
"I see a Hollow Man, gun in hand, it points my way." - The Cult
Band Chat
Yes, why should you indeed. Considering that you don't have to.And why should I, if I dont want to play online?
The latter. They don't wanna bother with the DVD and internet? To quote a recent Valve release "Cry some more!". 90+% of all other games don't give you the internet choice and require the DVD in-drive period.You dont realise that if you dont have DVD and internet connection you cant play single player? Or do you just not care about others who dont want to bother with the DVD and for some reason dont have an internet connection?
Except that relic has disabled drive check for DOW before, citing the pointlessness of said check. People usually go to "hey that doesnt work, why are we doing it?", not the reverse.90+% of all other games don't give you the internet choice and require the DVD in-drive period.
Also the way they implemented the drive check was..yea...a bit surprising(the part about how it doesnt bother to do the drive check as long as you have your internet up).
Still there is the problem, that you simply can not choose if you want to use the DVD-Check method or the online authentification.
If the games sees a internet connection, it justs craps out and want you to sign in. Even with the DVD in the drive.
Only method at the moment to circumvent that is to a) unplug the inet connection or b) block the game with a Firewall.
And Im still insulted by the fact, that a one year old game gets a new copyprotection almost a year after I bought it. Thats a damn Joke in my opinion, I only bought the game, exactly like DoW Dark Crusade (and DoW and Winter Assault after they removed the DVD-Check), because I could be sure not to struggle with this antipiracy stuff.
No, sorry, to implement a new copycontrol into the addon is one thing, to just add it to a older game through a patch (Of course without stating the info before the download takes place) is just a very bad habit.
Exactly. Making something worse with time is just nutters. As said, most companies REMOVE copy protection with time. But I guess it was done for two reasons:
1. They think there will be renewed interest in vCoH.
2. Maybe it was needed on vCoH so it would be compatible with the expansion's "new and improved" copy protection.
Either way, it's lousy to make things more annoying as time goes on, and to not even tell the user that this is going to happen (let's say, by including a readme with the patch) is inexcusable. For those of us who were not in the know (like me), installing the patch, then trying to run the game and getting smacked with this RO login, and not knowing what the hell we're supposed to do, was just insane.
-HM
still.... this wont make it any better... they use securom...
anyone remember that sony root kit fiasko?... well securom isnt any different... and well... it wont help anyone
If you had read the posts that I have made, you would discover that without internet, you cannot play if you do not have a CD/DVD, at least with the Direct2Drive digital purchase. And so in response to your declaration of factual omnipotence about not needing an internet connection, you are wrong.
Well I have been a CoH fan a long time and play alot of lan and solo games the current setup is annoying beyond belief. Heck some friends that rarely play more then 5-6 games a year of CoH bought the expansion and so far they cannot play against me since I have the both games and they have only the OF pack. So unless they find ways to get it to work right now 5 copies of OF are headed to be returned lol. Nothing like all the online privacy junk preventing online or LAN play between the games for us.
Add me to the list of "complainers" too, don't like the way you are now required to "check in" if your connected to the net and wish I had have known about it before I purchased and opened the new version yesterday at Future Shop. I really don't like being monitored like a little kid or a criminal and yes it is as simple as that people! I started expressing my feelings about the changes yesterday over at Planet COH...been reading other posts all over the net, obviously many others don't like the change either. I've uninstalled OF and I'll be sticking with the old version patched to 1.71...online play is not my bag nor was it even a consideration when I purchased the original COH or OF.
def feel ya on that one. i am the same way. i have yet to play vCoH online and i dont plan to play that or OF online. i'm at a crossroads myself of what i wanna do.online play is not my bag nor was it even a consideration when I purchased the original COH or OF.
Yah since the new system got added i cant play solo offline -.- .
If you have an online Copy, then you have an internet connection. You are complaining out of sheer boredom and spite.If you had read the posts that I have made, you would discover that without internet, you cannot play if you do not have a CD/DVD, at least with the Direct2Drive digital purchase. And so in response to your declaration of factual omnipotence about not needing an internet connection, you are wrong.
Yeah, and of course if you bought a game from Direct2Drive, it does mean that your Internet is never ever unavailable.
Or that you might want to install it on another PC (say a laptop, perhaps to use on a trip?). I assume once you get the game from Direct2Drive that's it's trivial to copy the installation to a DVD and use it on another PC. Thus, having the Internet connection required is bad news.
-HM
Yes, because laptops are something from sci-fi movies, people never travel, and even if they did, internet is available everywhere, always.If you have an online Copy, then you have an internet connection.
I was very happy to get my copy of OP on Tuesday, but after visiting here I didn't open it that night after work, thinking I would not be able to play single player on my gaming rig at home because is is NOT connected to the internet.
Thought maybe relic was trying the Halflife 2/Bioshock crap where you have to activate the game online before you can play.
Well, I was very happy to install the copy of CoH/OF and start the new campaigns on my home gaming rig that I only use for gaming, and is not connected to the internet so I do not have any problems with security applications messing up my game files or other crap except what I need for gaming.
Heck I even have over 40 StarForce protected games and no problems as long as you have a clean PC.
Thanks Relic for not going the single player activation online when many of us use "vanilla" PC's just for single player gaming and are not connected to the internet.
Mt 2 cents.
At this rate it's only a matter of time before they start to use on-line activation. They're headed down the path.
-HM
Yeah, I'm not liking this, either. Not that my words will change anything, but I preferred CoH's traditional way, you being able to play Single-player Campaigns or Skirmish games without an Internet connection. I understand it's for security reasons, but there is such a thing as "too secure".
That's a fact you accepted the moment you bought a game online. It's identical to not being able to INSTALL the game you bought if you don't have an internet connection. You chose to buy it online - you chose not to have a DVD.Yeah, and of course if you bought a game from Direct2Drive, it does mean that your Internet is never ever unavailable.
Daton, there are times when the Internet Connection does fail and is unavailable for a time. When this happens to the D2D people then they are screwed by something they cannot control or easily fix.
Course most D2D people probably travel since no CD means not having to carry around another box in their suitcase. Then again if they got no net then they got no game so I foresee them having many long hours of pure boredom because they want to play OF but cannot due to not having a internet connection.
All sides are only as Overpowered as you let them.
I'll go test this system out now, I have a D2D version.
Edit: Ok, so it works kinda. When it can't log in it asks you to say where you bought it from, I put D2D. It then asks for my activation code.... which is a pain in the arse.
Last edited by Eddie; 28th Sep 07 at 3:28 PM.
I'll chip in that I'm a bit miffed that I have to log in online to play my version of COH single-player and LAN. I managed to get about half of friends to buy COH by showing them a few games on LAN, and my work isn't complete yet!
Yeah, I registered to file a complaint - that does not mean it is not valid. There are some misconceptions about the game due to various language Relic used in the game menus and tips.
Here are the facts:
* You have to logon to Relic Online (RO) to play the game in any mode unless you have no (disable) internet or RO servers are down.
* Thus the game Requires an Internet Connection which is not listed on the box. Though, I obviously have an internet connection, this is a problem to me because nowhere does the game box or website suggest this is. Nor do I enjoy being forced to logon to services I do not plan to use.
* Even with the DVD in, which Relic language suggest otherwise, you cannot play the game. If I could do this normally, I would not have any complaint. Putting in the DVD only works when Relic Online is down, but when it's up, you are forced to logon. The only way to make this work when the server is up is to disable your internet. Try it.
Other Cons:
* My general feeling is that this is deceptive online. Prior to OP, the highest number of players logged on at once was about 1700. Now that number is 5000. Now, then the game list x players being online, you have no idea if they are actually playing online or single player. For example there are 2800+ online now, yet you can't get any 2v2 automatch games because the actually number playing is probably well less than a third.
And it is not convenient. The old system was convenient, this is annoying. Even with autologon - the fact still remains, I do not want to logon. For me, this is no different than if Microsoft forced me to login to microsoft.com everytime I used Windows.
People can still install and jack the game if they want, they just can't play multiplayer (the same as before). You just have to disable your internet - then an old DVD Emu, and done. There are a lot of simple ways to disable your internet, even while allowing the rest of your software to work normally. Therefore it offers them little to no actual privacy protection. This system still only protects them from players playing online without buying the game, which the old system did too. Thus making this a very ineffective system that also sucks for customers. As I stated before, they can setup 100 other anti-piracy stuff for all I care, but this one is intrusive.
All because they made the game doesn't mean it's good or I have to accept it.
Last edited by badmove; 1st Oct 07 at 1:12 PM.
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