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Stardock's DRM Plans

Edge Online has word on plans to create a new Digital Rights Management solution from Stardock, a developer/publisher vocally opposed to DRM in the past. While Stardock prez Brad Wardell maintains they do not plan on adding DRM to their own games, other publishers have challenged them to help make DRM more acceptable to consumers: "So the publishers are telling us, 'Put your money where your mouth is. Why don't you guys develop something that you think is suitable that would protect our IP, but would be more acceptable to users?' We're investigating what would make users happy to protect their needs, but also provide some security for the publishers. ... We're actually developing a technology that would do that." They are exploring ways to make it possible to reinstall a game after losing the physical media, and are soliciting ideas from users about what will and won't be acceptable from their points of view.

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51. Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Oct 25, 2008, 15:45  dsmart 
 
I only have a one line response to this news: LMAO!!

Puhleeze. Companies like Sony et all spent years perfecting something that actually does work. No, the restrictions that various publishers use with SecuROM is *not* mandated by Sony. They are ALL up to the publisher HOW they want their DRM to work. SecuROM - the best and least intrusive - gives you a wealth of activation options.

In fact, below are my bookmarks for gaming friendly DRM company in existence. To date, newcomer ByteShield is the best and least intrusive. Even Steamworks is better than nuthin.

So this news by Stardock is just pissing in the wind and the usual noise. It won't get anywhere. Period. You know how many years of research, real-world testing etc it takes to implement - let alone perfect - a DRM solution?

And given Stardock's previous DRM statements, my guess is they're having trouble getting publishers to stick their games on Impulse without a DRM scheme in place. So, like their previous gaming portal, totalgaming.net, Impulse too is having trouble getting devs/pubs (at least those that care) to put their games there. That would be my guess; especially with this about face.

Same reason why most publishers using Steam, also use their own (e.g. SecuROM) preferred DRM scheme even though Steamworks is free and comes with the service. Nobody gives a rat's ass about unproven DRM tech when you can just as well *not* use any.

Since EVERY SINGLE DRM can be cracked, Stardock *not* working on yet another DRM solution is just the same as *not* having DRM.

IMO as a game developer with 20+ yr industry experience and a gamer, the best DRM solution from both the perspective of the dev/publisher and consumer, is NO DRM. Anything short of that is just a waste of time because it can be cracked. So in most cases, the pirates are are playing while wanking as your paying customers are twiddling their thumbs wondering why their game doesn't load. So, how do you think they [Stardock] are going to field test this new DRM without a bunch of dev/publishers actually adopting it, fielding it and learning from it? Ain't gonna happen. Ever.

Anyone who knows anything about kernel development knows that you need a petri dish of about 10^1000 machines in order to even come close to all the crashing scenarios. This is why every single DRM in existence, has patch updates. Even SecuROM, Sony - with their excellent support - will actually rebind game executables for gamers having problems with the original DRM which works for everyone except them. I should know because just two weeks ago, Sony had to roll out a patched DRM executable for one of my games for someone who had some obscure incompatiblities on their machine. The first time that has ever happened since the game [UCCE] was released last year and in the two years (and two titles) since we dropped Starforce for SecuROM.

=========
Alcatraz Copy Protection.url
Armadillo (tm) Software Protection System.url
ByteShield - Software Copy Protection.url
CD-Cops Copy Protection.url
Crypkey.url
EXECryptor - Bulletproof software protection.url
Macrovision SafeDisc.url
nProtect GameGuard.url
Open License.url
Software Activation Service.url
SoftWorkz DNA.url
Softwrap.url
Sony SecuROM.url
StarForce Copy Protection System.url
STEAMWORKS.url
TAGES, the AAA Copy Protection System.url
Trymedia Systems - ActiveMark.url
WinLicense.url

This comment was edited on Oct 25, 2008, 15:56.
 
Game developers are just human beings who happen to make games for a living. If you want to hold us up to higher standards of conduct, then go ahead
...but don't be surprised if we don't uphold them
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    Date Subject Author
  1. Oct 24, 21:35 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Ludomancer
  2. Oct 24, 21:41  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans ViRGE
  52. Oct 25, 16:17   Re: Stardock's DRM Plans danebramage
  4. Oct 24, 21:50  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Caveman
  3. Oct 24, 21:50 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Aero
  6. Oct 24, 22:07  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Kxmode
  7. Oct 24, 22:10   Re: Stardock's DRM Plans elefunk
  10. Oct 24, 22:15    Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Caveman
  11. Oct 24, 22:19    Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Kxmode
  13. Oct 24, 22:35     Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Hyatus
  15. Oct 24, 22:52      Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Kxmode
  20. Oct 25, 01:08     Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Teddy
  29. Oct 25, 06:20    Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Prez
  30. Oct 25, 07:27     Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Kajetan
  33. Oct 25, 09:35    Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Rob
  9. Oct 24, 22:13   Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Caveman
  5. Oct 24, 21:51 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Tumbler
  19. Oct 25, 01:06  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans ViRGE
  8. Oct 24, 22:12 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Huzsar
  12. Oct 24, 22:31 Illogical Z9000
  14. Oct 24, 22:36  Re: Illogical Caveman
  16. Oct 24, 23:02 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Shadowcat
  17. Oct 24, 23:57 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans everyone
  18. Oct 24, 23:58 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans theyarecomingforyou
  32. Oct 25, 07:37  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Bhruic
  21. Oct 25, 03:25 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Bluesfanboi
  23. Oct 25, 04:16  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans everyone
  47. Oct 25, 14:36  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans MindStalkerReturned
  53. Oct 25, 17:17   Re: Stardock's DRM Plans DG
  22. Oct 25, 03:48 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Optimaximal
  24. Oct 25, 04:54  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans elefunk
  31. Oct 25, 07:34   Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Optimaximal
  25. Oct 25, 05:02 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Dr. D. Schreber
  26. Oct 25, 05:13  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Kajetan
  27. Oct 25, 05:14  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans elefunk
  28. Oct 25, 05:30 Quasi sober DRM ramblings begin NOW: Propagandhi
  34. Oct 25, 09:50 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Bhruic
  36. Oct 25, 10:46  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans DG
  35. Oct 25, 10:03 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Dades
  37. Oct 25, 10:54  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Bhruic
  41. Oct 25, 11:53   Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Dades
  38. Oct 25, 11:21 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans ^mortis^
  40. Oct 25, 11:40  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans tuddies
  54. Oct 25, 20:18  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Shadowcat
  55. Oct 25, 22:27   Re: Stardock's DRM Plans CJ_Parker
  56. Oct 26, 01:58    Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Bluesfanboi
  57. Oct 26, 15:31     Re: Stardock's DRM Plans CJ_Parker
  39. Oct 25, 11:40 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans bluehair
  42. Oct 25, 12:02 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans zirik
  43. Oct 25, 12:24  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans PHJF
  44. Oct 25, 12:45 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Ozmodan
  45. Oct 25, 13:38 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans LemonJoose
  46. Oct 25, 13:39 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans theyarecomingforyou
  48. Oct 25, 14:53 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Aero
  49. Oct 25, 15:26  Re: Stardock's DRM Plans nin
  50. Oct 25, 15:38   Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Warskull
>> 51. Oct 25, 15:45   Re: Stardock's DRM Plans  dsmart 
  58. Oct 27, 15:15 Re: Stardock's DRM Plans Dades


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