All games from Trymedia/Trygames.com do this. All games from IGN/Gamespy's Direct2Drive do this. So, DON'T buy rent games from there! If you upgrade so much as the BIOS on your PC, you will have to reactivate which eventually means paying all over again.

I didn't know this and almost brought a Direct2Drive game. As I upgrade something every 6 months or less I would end up looseing alot of theses titles. I now know to stay clear of anything like this.

What makes me confused is not only does DSmart insult his current user base, he trashes and argues every point anyone has. I for one would love to play a good space sim, even a half-ass one without shadows. DSmart just doesn't understant that a little humility would almost double his user base. I would bet everyone here would buy his game if he came across like a reasonable cool guy. I've bought really crappy games at $20 just because the developers were really nice and and I knew they were trying hard, so I supported them. Man, DSmart, you don't know how much I want to play your game. I have picked up your boxes SO many times. If you can't change your ways, I highly recommend getting a PR crue, or customer care front end to deal with the public.

So not only does it have starforce it also have online activation and hardware coupling? That sounds like Microsoft. Wow Derek's ego strikes again.

Valve was the worst I've ever seen - I made 3 separate trouble reports concerning HL2 and not one was ever answered.

You'll get no argument from me there.

I guess the point is, I'm used to lousy customer service, and I don't consider it as a factor when buying games.

There is a big difference between inattentive customer support like you described and insulting customer support like Derek Smart provides. To even refer to it as "support" is laughable.

I just don't really think I should have to be yelled at for having problems

The only way to convince Derek that is to NOT buy his products. DON'T DO IT! It only re-enforces the notion that he can get away with that shit.

This comment was edited on Oct 10, 15:49.

I have never ever seen a game that ties itself to the hardware configuration.

All games from Trymedia/Trygames.com do this. All games from IGN/Gamespy's Direct2Drive do this. So, DON'T buy rent games from there! If you upgrade so much as the BIOS on your PC, you will have to reactivate which eventually means paying all over again.

This comment was edited on Oct 10, 14:44.

You misunderstand the reasoning here: The really bad sales of dsmarts games are caused by the single sold copy being pirated and then distributed to millions of fans, thus depriving dsmart of millions. Using this draconian copy protection scheme, as well as online activation and hardware signature coupling (wtf - what the hell was he thinking? Oh wait, I'm answering that) will mean that all these fans will now buy the game and make him rich.

What a retard! I have, on occasion, actually thought of buying one of his games, just to see how bad it was, or to be pleasantly surprised, but, I will NEVER buy a game that I have to rely on the existence of another companies servers, or my own hardware never changing, to play. I'd accept starforce before I accepted online activation of a game or hardware coupling.

So...millions in revenue, stretched out over how many games, versions and deals? After you finish paying your peons and server costs, you probably aren't left with much. You can't even afford shadows.

hah his ego is all stretched out and flappy

________________________
music from space captain:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/6/errantways_music.htm
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/4/invisibleacropolis_music.htm

Derek Smart needs to say his games have made millions of dollars in revenue and he has to use the "best" and most "professional" copyright protection in his game in order to maintain his ego. Afterall only crappy games have no copy protection and only crappy games sell badly.

Derek you need to relax and give your ego a break. It's all loose from the constant messaging.


This comment was edited on Oct 10, 10:43.

Damn, I'm late!

It has Starforce!? ROFL, oh good heavens. I'm not one of those that jumps on DS every time there's a BC/UC/PhD post here, but all bets are off, now. Add it to the list!

Commander Inept Wanker
ECV Taco
Smart Command Alliance
Team Leader Vending Machine Fleet

ROFLZ.

Derek you would win more friends and better influence people if you were nicer.

Millions of dollars in revenue my ass

derek you are such a liar

oh wait I forgot my official sig so that you will pay attention to my post:

Commander Inept Wanker
ECV Taco
Smart Command Alliance
Team Leader Vending Machine Fleet

This comment was edited on Oct 10, 10:10.

Shit happens

Otherwise known as 'Gone Gold' for any other non-UC game

I don't develop games for the idiots, the socially inept, wankers-without-a-clue or their ilk

So Derek, are you saying you don't play your own games?

If I chose to ignore all the terrible press every single one of your games have received (which I haven't) and was in clear and present danger of buying one of your games, I would have been saved by reading some of the comments you've posted here. For example, if you don't develop games for idiots, socially inept (and thats a strange call coming from you, because you are the pinnacle of social ineptitude), without a clue wankers, etc, it might be a good idea to start plastering that all over the box. That should probably be coupled with a warning that 'failure to comply will result in being patronized by a condescending holier-than-thou liar.'

Your house, your rules, your attitude, your business, your loss, your bed, lie in it. If I owned a games retail store I'd refuse to stock your games. If I worked at a game store I'd refuse to sell them. Fortunately I do neither, so I just don't buy your games and nor does anyone I talk to. You might have a PHD (tell us another one) but you surely failed business class, didn't ya. Spoonhead. You're like the George Bush of game development. And thats not a compliment.

"Bottom like" eh? Dr Freud is clearly in today.

And hey, Derek, you missed bolding a few of those caps there.


Just trying to HELP.

And I certainly don't answer to any mere mortal

Freespace 2: Lost Souls
http://www.sectorgame.com/aldo/

Is having technical support for a purchased product also a 'privelege'? So if you don't like someone, then you feel free to ignore their financial investment?

Apart from the stupid posts from the Usual Suspects around here, that was the most stupid and nonsensical post I've read thus far.

If you had actually READ my post #25, you would have clearly understood that there IS tech support. LOTS of it; and in VARIOUS forms.

And where has it ever been stated that if I don't like someone, then they don't get tech support? This is the kind of thing you shitheads do. Just post all manner of rubbish hoping that something sticks. Yeah, it would only stick for the inferior and like minded.

Prez, is 100% correct in what he wrote. If you don't want to be yelled at, don't fucking post; because 9/10 times, whatever tech support issue is going to be posted, has ALREADY been posted. And if you think that what you're about to post is likely to get you yelled at or the post/thread deleted, you might be 99.9% correct. In which case, don't post.

Apart from that, the TOS you agreed to before registering to post on the site, are crystal clear and isn't shrouded in secrecy or mystery.

If one person has the sense to figure out that the search button works and that there are CLEARLY DEFINED RULES for posting on the board, then so can the next few hundred. I have zero patience for foolishness.

Bottom like. Its my goddamn house and I make the goddamn rules. You either like them or you don't.

Posting on MY boards is a PRIVILEGE not a RIGHT

Is having technical support for a purchased product also a 'privelege'? So if you don't like someone, then you feel free to ignore their financial investment?

If you're insulting people for asking for help, and branding people who disagree with your methodology ('shit, crap and anti-social wankers') of expecting people to trawl through acres of posts, doesn't that kind of hint why you get some...negative opinions directed at you? I mean, I always thought the sensible perogative of any business was to help the customer, not deter them or treat them like idiots, but there you go......... to be fair, if you've managed to make 'MILLIONS' (in caps too) of revenue off of a series with decidedly awful-to-average reviews, I guess you must be doing something right.

Hmm... maybe I should go back over that and ADD IN SOME CAPS so people RESPECT ME?

Freespace 2: Lost Souls
http://www.sectorgame.com/aldo/

Spoken like a whipped dog. Anyone who would be fool enough to pay that bastard his hard-earned money after seeing tech supporrt "help" like that is either a fool or a glutton for punishment.

I had a problem with Guild Wars when I first got it. The game would load but could not access the game server. NCSoft's tech support consisted of me emailing them my problem and waiting 24 hours for a reply, which was a canned form response and did not help. So I waited some more. Basically, I had to rely on the community to help me figure out that it was my router having an incorrect port triggering setting that was causing the problem. EA is even worse for tech help, but I still play the Battlefield games. I had a similar bad experience with Dungeon Siege back when it was new. Valve was the worst I've ever seen - I made 3 separate trouble reports concerning HL2 and not one was ever answered. This was back when the audio stuttering bug was rendering the game unplayable for some people.

I guess the point is, I'm used to lousy customer service, and I don't consider it as a factor when buying games. That I have to use the search function in the tech support forum is nothing new - I'm used to having to figure out my own problems, and I consider myself lucky that I'm a bit tech savvy and that the internet is full of helpful information to get me on the right track.

I don't really consider myself a "whipped dog" just because I don't post in the tech support forum. I just don't really think I should have to be yelled at for having problems, so I avoid the issue altogether. If I am foolish for liking UC, or for buying a game knowing I'll be on my own with it, well...ok. I can live with that.