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