Fm2009 DRM

People may have noticed that quite a few Ea Games are now using a SecuRom DRM protection that limits you to 3-5 installs and then after that you've given the privilege of phoning them to ask them for permission to install it again.

This has caused cosumer backlash about Spore and Red Alert 3 over at Amazon and their respective forums.

I was wondering, will Football Manager 2009 have similer DRM?

I would like to know this before purchasing the game. I respect SI/Sega's rights to profit from this game and for it not to be pirated.

Thanks

i would assume so, as 08 was done wtih securRom protection iirc

i would assume so, as 08 was done wtih securRom protection iirc

I believe it's a different version of securom - where it has to 'phone home' at certain events/periods.

No one was limited to how many times you could install a copy of Fm in the past.

I'm just curious to know if Fm2009 will have DRM like Spore.

ahhh i see.. not sure then...

I should hope not. I refuse to be told how many times I'm allowed to install something I paid for

It's disgraceful how EA run their business. They will resort to any tactics to milk money from people. The day everyone else follows EA's example is the day piracy increases to the point developers go out of business

fm had securom?!

fm had securom?!

fm08 has, yes.

tbh who cares about protection UNLESS it limits installs which is a disgrace but people complain about it even if all it does is TRY in vain mostly to stop protected games get played.

If it has limited installs or online authentication then its a no buy. Im ok with a cd check, anything else is just annoying. And even with cd checks i prefer those companies that remove it in later patches.

it's EA's tactics that make people download games instead of buying them.

If FM09 has securom like spore has, I won't go anywhere near it until its been cracked.

These companies get what they deserve sometimes.

1700 odd reviews, 1600+ give Spore a 1 rating.

DRM only effects legitimate users, spore was cracked before it was in the shops.

It would be the death of FM if SI used this, it would drive people to unlimited pirated versions.

tbh who cares about protection UNLESS it limits installs which is a disgrace but people complain about it even if all it does is TRY in vain mostly to stop protected games get played.

So what happens when they decide to shut down the activation servers and not support the game any more, you are left with a game you bought and cannot play.

The same thing happened when yahoo closed its music download shop. All the tracks bough became useless overnight.

Customers will not stand for this. DRM doesnt prevent piracy, it drives people towards it to get a clean product.

Ugh, hadn't even thought of this. It's so sad that a legal copy of a game brings along so much more issues than a pirated copy. These kind of tactics only push more people into piracy.

I really hope FM isn't going to get the same garbage included, because even just thinking of the possibility of it being in FM09 has crushed all excitement I had built up so far.

I'm personally not a fan of any of this type of software, on online activation or any of that stuff.... my gaming computer doesnt have an internet connection because i dont see the point in it having one, and if i'm forced to activate a game online ie. half life 2 etc i choose not to buy that game. I dont have any problem with software that checks the disk to see if its ligit, but as soon as they start messing with you is when i choose to move onto a different product.

Just as a point i have 3 PC's and two of them have had windows re-installed in the last year down to viruses caused by my little sister at all times FM has been intalled on them all. In total i think ive installed it at least 6 times.

Also i agree with the likes of CD keys but for f***s sake limiting the amount of times you can install a game which you paid good money for, i think that is the wrong route to go down to kill priates. I believe i you take a game and make it so people want it have an anti .ISO or .BIN protection on it as this would stop it dead rather than limiting any thing

I like how SI add in bugs which only occur when someone cracks their game. It's been funny in the past when someone comes here posting a "bug" but those of us with legit copies don't get it

I think SI/SEGA have better business sense than to add ridiculous install limitations on to us. Leave that nonsense for EA

I like how SI add in bugs which only occur when someone cracks their game. It's been funny in the past when someone comes here posting a "bug" but those of us with legit copies don't get it

I think SI/SEGA have better business sense than to add ridiculous install limitations on to us. Leave that nonsense for EA

Didnt know they done that. Ive heard of Microsoft sending viruses if you have an illeagal copy of XP or Vista instead of updates. However i think this is the way to stop piracy in gaming. If you put it so bugs occour in the pirate version then people will not get it and pay for the real deal.

Weather as a limit would make people get the free/illeagal version.

Im all for this idea.

I like how SI add in bugs which only occur when someone cracks their game. It's been funny in the past when someone comes here posting a "bug" but those of us with legit copies don't get it

I think SI/SEGA have better business sense than to add ridiculous install limitations on to us. Leave that nonsense for EA

Not true, I looked into that, it seemed they messed it up and a proper later one was released. Of course the ones who used a complete image without a no cd didnt have to put up with that. As far as Im aware, only 1 company uses a protection like that and its very good, it doesnt install hidden drivers, doesnt affect people that bought the game yet stops the pirates from playing it.

Didnt know they done that. Ive heard of Microsoft sending viruses if you have an illeagal copy of XP or Vista instead of updates. However i think this is the way to stop piracy in gaming. If you put it so bugs occour in the pirate version then people will not get it and pay for the real deal.

Weather as a limit would make people get the free/illeagal version.

Im all for this idea.

Again not true, MS would be sued if they sent virii to users especially as lots of legitimate users were unfairly accused of having pirated windows.

As for putting bugs in the game, people would only buy the game if they knew the "bugs" were due to the protection and not just bad coding.

You download a game and its bugged to hell, you arent going to rush out and buy it, are you?

Not true, I looked into that, it seemed they messed it up and a proper later one was released. Of course the ones who used a complete image without a no cd didnt have to put up with that. As far as Im aware, only 1 company uses a protection like that and its very good, it doesnt install hidden drivers, doesnt affect people that bought the game yet stops the pirates from playing it.

Why would you look in to it? Seems a bit suspicious knowing about all that stuff

Why would you look in to it? Seems a bit suspicious knowing about all that stuff

I wanted to see if SI were lying. Nothing suspicious about that or wanting to know about all sorts of DRM.

Having starforce ruin 2/3rds of my burning attempts push me into knowing about all types of DRM and wanting to know what I put on my machine and whether a company can stop me playing what Ive paid money for.

Why would you look in to it? Seems a bit suspicious knowing about all that stuff

Urm not at all. I for one have looked into DRM and alternative methods like the one SI had supposedly used, for reasons of being a Legit downloader of music and games. You cannot even imagine how difficult DRM makes your life.

I wanted to see if SI were lying. Nothing suspicious about that or wanting to know about all sorts of DRM.

Having starforce ruin 2/3rds of my burning attempts push me into knowing about all types of DRM and wanting to know what I put on my machine and whether a company can stop me playing what Ive paid money for.

Just like you Philli Flyer I have really looked into DRM, I have found that it does nothing more than make it harder to buy and use music online legitimately. If I had gone out and pirated all of my music I would be much better of than I am now. DRM only hurts legitimate customers.

Please don't use this system SI.

There is only one thing more ridiculous from getting home with the new legally bought copy of "spore" (it uses SecuRom) , install it and then look for a no-cd crack ; this is going rapidshare and find that the game was cracked even before it was released in your country !

Copy protections are made to make customer's lifes difficult.

*For those that do not remember bioshock's "copy protection" ( SecuRom) had a rootkit

http://www.gamingbob.com/2007/08/23/bioshock-installs-rootkit-including-demo/

fm had securom?!

which doesn't work

Yea, when i first bought FM08 it would do nothing but tell me i don't have a proper version of the cd ! I HAD to use a crack to get it to work until SI fixed it.

Maybe SI will should make online confirmation with game serie no's, same as Pro Evolution Soccer online 's choise..

The spore thing is a joke. I've already installed it on three computers, and at no point in the install process does it warn you about the drm crap. It wasn't until after that I found out I now cannot install it again without asking for permission. Absolutely pathetic.

Maybe SI will should make online confirmation with game serie no's, same as Pro Evolution Soccer online 's choise..

What about those without Internet?

The spore thing is a joke. I've already installed it on three computers, and at no point in the install process does it warn you about the drm crap. It wasn't until after that I found out I now cannot install it again without asking for permission. Absolutely pathetic.

Take it back, even if the shop says it was in the EULA, tell them its worthless as you cannot read that until youve bought the game. At which points most shops wont take a game back without a fight anyway.

If they refuse, make a scene. Do this on a busy Saturday for maximum effect.

I remember the SecuROM issue when FM 08 was first released. It definately was a nightmare for me since everytime I tried to install the game, it kept saying I had a backup version of the disk. At first I thought it was because I bought the game in Norway since that's where I was at the time, but then came on the forums and found out it wasn't just me.

I'm glad after the patch however, that SI had fixed the problem and only required the disk to be in when loading or starting a new game. I hope they go with this route again as piracy protection schemes don't seem to work too efficiently these days, at least the route SI chose to go with last year, and only made installation of the game worse.

I'm sure SI are smart enough to come through as they always have in the past with minimal amount of problems.

What about those without Internet?

will cant play, like PES

Why do people install/download official patches without internet?

will cant play, like PES

Why do people install/download official patches without internet?

Why? Why not would be a logical question, rather. Surely you would want to improve your game and have it up to date with the latest stats as well.

Copy protections like this does nothing for anyone. All it does is harm the genuine customer. Companies should worry less about copy protection and more about the quality of their product. If it's good - it will sell.

Using the '10 day internet activation' method as an example. Genuine customers have to activate their product every 10 days, pirates dont and they still get to play - where is the sense in that?

Why? Why not would be a logical question, rather. Surely you would want to improve your game and have it up to date with the latest stats as well.

sorry

not why, how.

i cant believe it haha, i tired :/

We are not using Securom for FM09.

Can you tell us what you will be using, I would think some of us are waiting to pre order but need to know what you are using.

eg Starforce or DRM that prevents installation or needs to phone home = no sale for me on any game, no matter how good. I even refused to install a free trackmania game because it had starforce on it.

Can you tell us what you will be using, I would think some of us are waiting to pre order but need to know what you are using.

eg Starforce or DRM that prevents installation or needs to phone home = no sale for me on any game, no matter how good. I even refused to install a free trackmania game because it had starforce on it.

What's the problem with stuff like that? I'm not criticising, just genuinely interested - I'm happy to use whatever system a publisher enforces as I don't do any piracy, just see it as a fact of installing the game.

We are not using Securom for FM09.

Good to hear, and thank you for your reply.

Neji - there's no sense in that at all. However, if it wasn't for people pirating/stealing/whatever you want to call it, there would be no need for any kind of copy protection.

Problem is though that the software gets cracked and it's on torrent sites within days, so if people want to download it...everyone knows where to go and it will be there. Pretty much making DRM worthless.

We are trying to come up with a system that sticks within the end user license agreement that have always been in place in our games, and which everyone who has installed a legitimate version of our games has agreed to before installing, but still offers better protection against those who decide that they don't want to pay for our work.

I would support a move to the steam platform. What are your thoughts and Segas thoughts regarding Steam?

I believe that the majority of DRM in use today (as far as games are concerned anyway) have, at best, no effect on piracy at all, and may, in some cases, even sway a good deal of people to stop paying for games.

But I'm going to choose to be reassured by Miles' posts, assuming that SI will try to find a sensible solution that will not bother legitimate customers, so that I may begin rebuilding my excitement for FM09.

Starforce, interferes with optical drives making the failure rate go through the roof, can damage them too. http://www.glop.org/starforce/

Anything requiring activation, they can turn off the servers leaving you with a coaster that you paid for but cant play. Like Yahoo music recently. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/25/yahoo_announces_death_of_drm_servers/

A normal cd check is fine like theyve been using, anything more will drive people to piracy.

What's the problem with stuff like that? I'm not criticising, just genuinely interested - I'm happy to use whatever system a publisher enforces as I don't do any piracy, just see it as a fact of installing the game.

Not being allowed to play your singleplayer games when your connection dropped, hoping the 'service' that does the checks will not someday disappear, making your game useless.. that's just a few quick reasons, and not nearly the end of it.

All the while, a cracked version, without any of these problems, will be available before most people receive their legitimate copy of the game.

Starforce, interferes with optical drives making the failure rate go through the roof, can damage them too. http://www.glop.org/starforce/

Anything requiring activation, they can turn off the servers leaving you with a coaster that you paid for but cant play. Like Yahoo music recently. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/25/yahoo_announces_death_of_drm_servers/

A normal cd check is fine like theyve been using, anything more will drive people to piracy.

Starforce copy protection in my opinion is the computer equivalent of dropping a bomb on some terrorists, and not being able to kill them but yet killing many innocent civilians and injuring many others.

I wouldn't care if there was a 5-install limit on FM. I've only installed FM07 twice.

I wouldn't care if there was a 5-install limit on FM. I've only installed FM07 twice.

It would annoy my alot. I do format my computer quite often so it would be a problem for me, even if you can get your installs back.

I wouldn't care if there was a 5-install limit on FM. I've only installed FM07 twice.

Good for you....

How is this relevant to a disscussion at all. I bet Miles is sat at his computer now saying, "Hey lads turns out it isn't a bad idea at all to use SecuRom DRM protection becuase SCIAG says he only installed FM07 twice"

Good for you....

How is this relevant to a disscussion at all. I bet Miles is sat at his computer now saying, "Hey lads turns out it isn't a bad idea at all to use SecuRom DRM protection becuase SCIAG says he only installed FM07 twice"

Indeed. Even if I only installed it once, that isn't the point, I would still be angry knowing that at some point some morons in suits sat down around a table and said "Let's release our games with new protection. We are now going to limit how many times our customers can install our games. If they don't like it then tough, they can phone us on our premium rate phone line and beg for us to let them install it again. They will all bow down to us"

Or something to that effect...

Miles - anything similar to the SPORE system (which you've said you're not using, great!) only hurts people who actually buy the game. This is also true of the protection you guys used on FM08, while it's mild by comparison, it stops the game working for a lot of people who actually bought (myself included). It doesn't effect pirates because they can effectively turn the protection off.

There has to be a copy-protection method that doesn't hurt the user in the end.

There have been a few games released in the last couple of years that used no copy-protection - what did they find out? Their sales were actually better than expected! (was it sins of the solar empire?)

I am in the anti-DRM camp for many reasons. Most recently because of Microsoft's Vista and XP authentication debacles but there are so many things that can go wrong and impact upon legitimate users that will never affect pirates.

If I buy software to install on my PC, I don't want rootkits installed for free and I will veer away from software that requires online activation for many reasons including the points already mentioned here and in previous posts in this thread.

It is my opinion that piracy prevention techniques should not impact in any way upon any legimate purchaser of software. Unfortunately, such a technology doesn't currently exist and, as such, I feel that all anti-piracy software does (in many cases) is frustrate the paying consumer whilst the wooden-legged, parrot on shoulder, eye-patch wearers enjoy very few problems.

I have no problems with companies trying to prevent the theft of their intellectual property but when the percentage of illegal users having problems is less than the amount of legimate users, surely it is time for a complete re-think.

To use a car analogy (which always seem popular even though the two industries are not comparable in any logical sense), most current software protections would be the equivalent of a vehicle anti-theft device that stops more car owners from driving their own cars than the thieving toerags that the devices were designed to prevent in the first place.