too too too many cool sims coming of age; too many cool FPS dealies these days... Daaaaammmmmmmmnit!

never enough time

That said, I'm sure not gonna miss this wholesome chunky goodness.

_W00T_ DCS!!!

huh? essentially a patch to an existing game - featuring the same helicopter? for half the price of a new game?

I hope there's a lot of new features, rather than just fixes to old issues to make the cost justified.

It's essentially a port of Black Shark into the A-10C engine, plus a new campaign and new features. I'd prefer this sort of thing to a patch obviously, but on the other hand Eagle Dynamics is a developer that deserves any bit of cash that comes its way. No one else has the balls to make such a dense and feature rich simulator for such a niche crowd.

Honestly, the rest of gaming feels so... immature after playing a DCS title.

Ha... I almost bought Black Shark a couple of days ago. Glad I didn't!

you still need the original

As the comment after me said, they ask 40$ for the Version 2 - which means people who bought Blackshark before.. get totally ripped off. Still some might say its just 10$.. but its about principle here

This comment was edited on Nov 3, 2011, 08:14.

you still need the original

If you want the upgrade version. The standalone version is $40 and doesn't require that you own Black Shark 1.

Does this still come with StarForce DRM? No way I am using that on my machines again.
I looked at the original Black Shark and A10 Warthog on Steam, but even the Steam version has StarForce.

Scottish Martial Arts wrote on Nov 3, 2011, 00:48:
Eagle Dynamics is a developer that deserves any bit of cash that comes its way

No. No they don't...

Q: What copy protection system does the DCS series use??
A: Currently it uses the online activation method of StarForce.

newer starforce is fine. it's just a one time online verification thing. steam drm is a lot worse.

Starforce blows, I bought Black Shark 1 on steam because it had it removed, when will 2 be available on steam? I will only buy it there.

Razorclaw wrote on Nov 3, 2011, 11:54:
newer starforce is fine. it's just a one time online verification thing. steam drm is a lot worse.

Until you run out of activations.

It IS limited activations - no matter that you can backup your activation. What if your drive crashes and no chance of deactivatng? YEP - one less activation...

What if starforce shuts down, or becomes uncontactable? Can we rely on a historically dodgy bunch of dickheads to give us an unlock forever patch to their DRM?

PASS.

The activations regenerate, dude. The hate against the old Starforce is well deserved, don't get me wrong, but a one time activation is hardly draconian. And if it pisses you off that much buy a license but just install the pirated version. Eagle Dynamics and the Fighter Collection self-publish all their products, so the money goes straight to them, and the DCS series is of such high quality and so unique in today's world of dumbed down console shit that they deserve the support.

Anyone who has even a passing interest in military aviation is fucking themselves if they pass up on DCS simply because of the DRM.

Scottish Martial Arts wrote on Nov 3, 2011, 15:28:
The activations regenerate, dude.

link to verify that info please. google comes up empty. the only info i found was regarding multiple installs on the same OS on the same pc. reinstalling an OS will make you give up an activation. nothing about regenerating activation. i want to buy DCS 2 and A-10 but bad experience from starforce made me boycott every game that uses it.

Bard wrote on Nov 3, 2011, 14:56:
What if starforce shuts down, or becomes uncontactable? Can we rely on a historically dodgy bunch of dickheads to give us an unlock forever patch to their DRM?

if french publishers like ubisoft cannot be relied upon to remove DRM when they end support for a game, you think russian devs will do better?

its a shame that games like DCS have to be paired with a pain in the ass DRM. but i understand their home market is rife with piracy so there really isnt much the developers can do.

zirik wrote on Nov 3, 2011, 17:47:
link to verify that info please. google comes up empty.

why google, it's right there on eagle dynamics' forum http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=67025

link to verify that info please.

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=67747

Q: Does DCS: A-10C use copy protection?
A: Yes, it uses the new user-friendly ProActive AAA Technology.
You will no longer have a fixed number of activations, but in an effort to prevent piracy the system does limit the number of activations per month. Your DCS A-10C serial number is initially set to 8 activations and when they all are spent, 1 activation is added automatically once per 31 days (effectively "refilling" your serial number).
ProActive AAA Technology does not install any drivers on your PC. It works as an integrated part of the DCS files but has no special privileges in your system.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to defend DRM. Rather, I think the DCS series is so good that the rather unobtrusive DRM is worth putting up with, and that Eagle Dynamics is a company which deserves support. And again if the DRM is that much of an issue, nothing is stopping you from buying a legit copy to support further development, while installing the pirated version to circumvent the DRM.

Scottish Martial Arts wrote on Nov 3, 2011, 18:23:

link to verify that info please.

http://forums.eagle.ru/showthread.php?t=67747

Q: Does DCS: A-10C use copy protection?
A: Yes, it uses the new user-friendly ProActive AAA Technology.
You will no longer have a fixed number of activations, but in an effort to prevent piracy the system does limit the number of activations per month. Your DCS A-10C serial number is initially set to 8 activations and when they all are spent, 1 activation is added automatically once per 31 days (effectively "refilling" your serial number).
ProActive AAA Technology does not install any drivers on your PC. It works as an integrated part of the DCS files but has no special privileges in your system.

that sounds reasonable to me. thanks for the info guys!

now i gotta dig up the old joystick and throttle. wish i had the cash to buy those $500 controllers from thrustmaster or saitek.