That's just fine. We specifically allow two seats per license for LAN play. Most people end up buying their own copy after playing someone else's at a LAN party anyway, it seems

sorry for the double post, stupid edit button no longer exists.
i guess its only 2 computers though according to kryo, pretty sure it says something about 5 in there somewhere.
also, not stardock central but ironclad online. two very different but both very helpful programs.

By the way, you're not "rewarding" StarDock and IronClad because their game is the only one you're not pirating. You're just not stealing from them.

Sorry, but I thought that deserved saying.

-- Retro

Exactly. How bloody condescending could you be?

meh i see both point of views of the devolpers and the people pirating. Some companies do deserve to have legit copies brought, Bethedsa for example when they released oblivion, but it is really annoying when you buy a game to have something idiotic like starforce come with it. i never really get pirated games (and always buy shareware cuz 90% of the time its a smaller company making it ) but yes i do see his point.

What I meant was that saying "well NOWWWWWWWWWW I DECIDED TO BE THE HARBINGER OF JUSTICE AND REEEWAAAAAARD YOU" is like punching someone in the face and saying "I'LL REWARD YOU BY NOT DOING THAT AGAIN LOL". It's condescending toward the developers to the extreme and the OP should get off his high horse.

I appreciate that though I want to plug for three. Of all the friends I have that play games, especially those with teenage children, there are at least 3 computers in the house. I personally still chafe at having to buy multiple copies of a game per household but if it's needed from a business perspective I understand. However it breaks out, I'm still happy Stardock works with its customers instead of treating us all like criminals.

For the anti-pirating moralists, I see it as a two way street. While certainly there are some hardcore thieves, the industry is not exactly innocent in the loss of respect that helps fuel western piracy. I actually tend to view games more on the restaurant model as opposed to retail. In a restaurant, typically if the food sucks I don't pay. I'm not talking about just not liking it, I'm talking it was sent out burnt and looks like someone just threw the food on the plate. There isn't a hardcore gamer today that hasn't played at least one game that can fit that description. Ever been to a fancy restaurant and have the food look like art but taste like crap? Again, there isn't a gamer out who hasn't played one like that. How should customers feel when the people they rely on for fun treat them like ATM's and just throw out crap product after crap product just to get cash? Games should be treated like decent quality chefs treat food-- if it's not any good, don't send it out because all it does is piss off the customer and make them never want to return.

Someone else already made the anti piracy software argument but still, I'm a paying customer, why am I the one jumping through all your hoops just so you can not catch the crooks? Why are you treating your customers like criminals instead of like valued assets and even friends? Why aren't more companies like Stardock and allowing me to at least demo a game, or making it easier for me to cope with losses like Stardock central? I found that when I bought Galactic Civ 2 and that feature just made me a loyal Stardock supporter. I saw an interview over Sins that made the comment about making games people don't pirate but it misses the mark to me. Stardock provides a service that simply can't be pirated and makes the customer actually feel like a person, not a paycheck.

The gaming market is saturated with these mistakes from Heroes of M&M (post Shadow of Death) to Crysis. It erodes customer confidence and respect and if you don't have that, no security in the world is going to make you a profit because you won't have any customers. Pirates aren't customers, I am, serve me not them.

Hi, thebadchopper. Can you please avoid the flaming? There is no call for personal insults like "Stop patrolling these forums in order to compensate for your lack of girlfriend." - it makes neither yourself nor the boards look good.

Thanks.

-- Retro

You seriously trust game magazine reviews? Have you not seen all the scandals and shady advertising issues that have been in existence almost as long as the reviewers themselves? Over 20 years of actually paying attention( I was reading slightly longer) I've seen some true turds get 9/10 and had it come down to pressured reviewers, hoodwinked reviewers and the company's bottom line. The only thing I really trust at this point is my own play experience.

Just like all restaurants don't offer samples, not all game companies offer demos and many that do offer the demo as part of a game magazine's promotions. Also, the difference between a demo and a sample is that many games get crappy as you play through and find weaknesses, a proper sample gives you the full experience, if only just a bite. Where a sample of the clam chowder will almost certainly tell me if it will be good or bad, a game demo doesn't tell me if I'm going to be playing through the same uninspired,repetitive levels/gameplay that only have how pretty it is as a selling point. It's like ordering a 7 course meal, getting a great appetizer as a teaser and having the rest of the courses be mediocre if not total garbage.

Side note: Even taste tests don't fully work. New Coke killed in taste tests but when people had to drink a whole can they said it sucked.Just more proof that the best way to have something be better is to test the whole thing and not put out "sweeter" crap.

YES! (best idea ever)

Even if games were perfect. I mean every game you buy turns out to be something like Zelda64 in presentation ,there will still be PIRATES because pirates are cheapskates. So it doesnt matter if developers make the effort to role out the red carpet and serve the best food , because it wont stop pirates from pirating because the food still costs $50.

A simple example...

Galactic Civ 2 , great game, excellent presentation, support , runs smoothly , bug free , NO DRM , respectable developer , great value for money...

but theres still torrents out for it.

Yeah true, but thieves aren't going to buy anyway. Heck, most thieves don't even actually play the game once they jack it and by play I mean even think of it after the first day or so; they're too busy stealing ever more product. Disaffected customers however, who are making up more and more of the piracy stats, can be brought back by seeing their money/time actually be well spent. That's how it happened in the 80's when gaming crashed and that's what's happening in the music industry now. When you generate customer respect for the product (in the Western world at least) they don't want to steal it. Even those that do tend to come back and pay for it. The danger now that didn't exist for gaming in the 80's and to some extent the music industry in the late 90's is that widespread high speed internet is going to make it a pain to ween those customers off pirating but then, that's the industry's fault for abusing the customer's confidence in the first place. Now they have to spend those ill gotten gains trying to get it back.

Crysis was mediocre, just like the oft cited Titan Quest;same old game, just prettier. When you put out mediocre product expecting it to sell millions just off looks( especially when most systems can't run it) make sure you have a mirror handy when you look who to blame.Pirates are bad but you sucking is much worse.