HardOCP News
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Kudos to the guys at CD Projekt practicing what they preach and sticking to their guns on DRM. Here's to hoping other game developers follow suit.
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Witcher 2 Dev Talks Piracy and DRM
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LeninGHOLA
Vladimir Hayt
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Free DLC, continued patch support, sub $60 release, quality game, PC oriented (aside from inventory...), pushes computer hardware, impressive visuals and so on didn't hurt, either.
They came out with this article after an astonishing report. These people made a DRM free game, and only sold 1 million copies, meanwhile, it's been pirated over 4.5 million times. If you want DRM free games, quit fucking pirating them. Support those who are honest, if you don't it's only a matter of time before some cynicism leaks in. It almost feel hypocritical, we as PC gamers deny purchasing with obtrusive DRM, and at the same time punish those who deserve our respect. It's very noble of him to stick to this issue, but we should be ashamed as a community.
LeninGHOLA
Vladimir Hayt
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It's a bit over 1 million copies, which, for a Polish dev studio making an RPG for PC only, is quite a success. But, yea, I wish more people would buy and play it. The Witcher 3 could be fantastic.
I buy their games because they are awesome.
And honestly, there were more pirated downloads because the game is good, not because they would have had any more people pony up and PAY for the game. Those same people are simply pirates. They just didn't have to wait for a crack so all the downloading happened all at once.
You have to understand the complete picture. Statistics for downloads can mean anything you want them to.
Normally, a new game releases, raw images uncracked are downloaded by tons of people... then the crackers rerelease a cracked version AND frequently a separate smaller crack for those who already have the game.
Why am I describing this? Because all of that process spreads out the downloading between many torrents and newsfeeds over a long period of time.
Release the game with no DRM, and all the same pirates will still download the game, but you see the whole body of it slam one or two torrent downloads on day one of release.
I simply LOOKS worse on paper, but it's no different from usual.
And honestly, there were more pirated downloads because the game is good, not because they would have had any more people pony up and PAY for the game. Those same people are simply pirates. They just didn't have to wait for a crack so all the downloading happened all at once.
You have to understand the complete picture. Statistics for downloads can mean anything you want them to.
Normally, a new game releases, raw images uncracked are downloaded by tons of people... then the crackers rerelease a cracked version AND frequently a separate smaller crack for those who already have the game.
Why am I describing this? Because all of that process spreads out the downloading between many torrents and newsfeeds over a long period of time.
Release the game with no DRM, and all the same pirates will still download the game, but you see the whole body of it slam one or two torrent downloads on day one of release.
I simply LOOKS worse on paper, but it's no different from usual.
stealthy123
2[H]4U
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I have never pirated a game, and I never will. I got family in the game industry, would be like slapping them in the face.
I don't think I could even if I didn't have family in the middle of it.
Witcher 1 was such a great game, I will buy all the sequels for full price if they keep their standards as high as they did with witcher 2.
I don't think I could even if I didn't have family in the middle of it.
Witcher 1 was such a great game, I will buy all the sequels for full price if they keep their standards as high as they did with witcher 2.
I wish I had money to buy the second one, but I have no time (or money) currently. But I am glad that CDP feels that way, and I'm glad to know that I have at least supported them in my purchase of the first Witcher. One day I shall own the second...
I DO vote with my money, and some companies, like Ubisoft, I've basically given up on.
I DO vote with my money, and some companies, like Ubisoft, I've basically given up on.
Arcygenical
Fully [H]
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I will stop pirating when I get either of the following:
The ability to test a game before I buy it.
The ability to return software I dislike after purchase.
Until then, I will support great devs, like CDP, mediocre devs (like bethesda) and pirate the fuck out of / ignore the products of shitty devs, like EA and Ubisoft.
The ability to test a game before I buy it.
The ability to return software I dislike after purchase.
Until then, I will support great devs, like CDP, mediocre devs (like bethesda) and pirate the fuck out of / ignore the products of shitty devs, like EA and Ubisoft.
I actually pirated this game. The game was not for me. I personally didn't like it.
I don't think I reached a point that would've made it a demo worthy length. Would've bought it though, if I liked it. I'm glad to hear their stance though, makes me feel like buying their games... I only need them to make it more my flavor.
I don't think I reached a point that would've made it a demo worthy length. Would've bought it though, if I liked it. I'm glad to hear their stance though, makes me feel like buying their games... I only need them to make it more my flavor.
sfsuphysics
[H]F Junkie
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I read here not too long ago someone posted a link to an article in another thread where Valve/Steam basically said games are too expensive. Drop the price to 1/4 of what is typically asked, and you sell 20x more units, not exactly rocket science.
I have tried the first one... i have friends that liked it alot. 2 felt the same as the first. I'm a big story person for sure but the gameplay literally just doesn't hook me in. It's kind of weird since the basic of which I judge is kind of like Skyrim and I love that game.
Outamyhead
Supreme [H]ardness
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The game was being sold for the $30 last time I checked, if I had the cash I would jump on the game, good for them, they still value the customer over their share price.
Thats too bad since Skyrim looks terrible compared to Witcher 2 and the animations just cant compete.
Viper87227
Fully [H]
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Your attitude is the reason outlandish DRM even exists. It's a bit hypocritical to say that the "shitty devs" are producing games that are not good enough to pay for... but still good enough for you to want to play them.
Shalafi
Fully [H]
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I've always stuck to this stance
"If it isn't worth buying, then it isn't worth pirating. If it's worth buying, then you buy it, and by buying it, you remove your need to pirate it."
In other words, it's never OK to pirate!!
"If it isn't worth buying, then it isn't worth pirating. If it's worth buying, then you buy it, and by buying it, you remove your need to pirate it."
In other words, it's never OK to pirate!!
I have toa gree that Skyrim, for teh most part does not look as good as the witcher 2. But it seems to have a good blend of gameplay for me... although it does have a ridiculous amount of bugs and annoyances (UI, who ever thought this UI was good needs a smack in the face more than a facepalm)...
westrock2000
[H]F Junkie
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While I think your probably gonna take alot of flack for that, as the poster above me stated, I think that fundamentally you have a good point. "Media" purchases are protected under law and you as the buyer in the transaction have no financial options. Data from day one has always been about spreading and duplicating. At no point did developers wake up one day and discover that their products could be copied at will. Coming into it, they knew. So if these poeple want to make money in this field they should have to come to realize some of the consequences not twist it their demands.
It would be like someone discovering free energy and eventually a bunch of companies come into it and demand laws be written or changed because they can't make any money off free energy.
westrock2000
[H]F Junkie
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UI is functional and so I can work with it. Having to hit auto-save every 60 seconds because you never know when the game is going to crash to desktop is alot more of issue in my mind. I'm enjoying it, but damn
How do you know if its worth buying if you have never tried it?
0.000001% of people who use that bullshit excuse actually follow through on it.
Shalafi
Fully [H]
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He still raises a fair point, PC devs have done away with demos, but there are still some that put out demos, although those are mostly indie devs, and it's really rare, overall.
But you're right, it still is a bullshit excuse.
If you're incapable of going through forums like this one, reading user feedback, checking out reviews, looking at youtube vids, asking your friends what they think, etc.
Then I dunno what to say.
But you're right, it still is a bullshit excuse.
If you're incapable of going through forums like this one, reading user feedback, checking out reviews, looking at youtube vids, asking your friends what they think, etc.
Then I dunno what to say.
But some people do. I have done this with Borderlands (should have played the pirated version longer), S.T.A.L.K.E.R (unplayable on my shitty PC, ended up not purchasing until after an upgrade), Modern Warfare 1 (purchased), and Halo Reach (purchased).
I did something similar with Mass Effect. I got it on a Steam sale for something like $5 - $10, ended up not playing it for 2 years because I don't typically like that type of game, tried it, liked it (hey, where did those 5 hours go?), and bought Mass Effect 2 at retail price.
User feedback helps with finding out about bugs, poor performance, or story problems, but it doesn't tell you if you will personally like the game. Something like the Steam Free Weekends would be nice, or at least bring real demos back. I'm getting tired of seeing more cutscenes than in-game play in these demo videos.
But some do doesn't really excuse the VAST majority that don't. The Witcher 2 statics are a perfect example of it. I wish there were more demos, but let's be honest there was rarely a time when hundreds of demos were easily accessible. Before broadband became widespread you had to buy magazines to get demos (I miss those days actually).
Youtube videos and walkthroughs can really help to figure out if you will like the way a game looks and plays.
UI is functional and so I can work with it. Having to hit auto-save every 60 seconds because you never know when the game is going to crash to desktop is alot more of issue in my mind. I'm enjoying it, but damn
Did you apply the Large Address Aware patch from Skyrim Nexus mod site? It's clutch.
Also, the people saying that "those 4.5m illegal downloads wouldn't have translated into sales anyway" are beyond the point of delusion. Obviously some of those people wouldn't buy the game but do you seriously believe that a few hundred thousand of them - at the least - weren't lost sales?
Get real. How much I care about PC gaming is evidenced by what you see in my sig, but I'm not delusional or blind. Piracy is a serious issue, period.
Yeah. I believe piracy is seriously overstated and used as a bullshit excuse by many studios (Ubisoft specifically) but it is a major problem with no real solution.
Just wanted to chime in....
Skyrim has barely crashed on me. I play window mid to high range graphic settings at 1440x900 ona 5770.
As for reviews. They are generally worthless, generally. They do usually convey the first thoughts on the game... but many games might look awesome after a playthrough but seem retarded afterwards.. Ass Creed was cool the first play through and I loved it... but after the fact I look back and think... hmm it had a unique experience but that's it...looking at it, it's not as spectacular as I thought it was.
Videos help a greate deal in showing how the game is... but it still doesn't really tell you how it plays... if videos were an be all, end all type of thing... I would love Witcher and Witcher 2, I was greatly impress by the videos... and weirdly enough I was actually kind of hyped for both games. But both times I tried it out... it really didn't do it for me... I just didn't like it.
Questions on the Large Address Aware patch....
1. Isn't that something Steam can pretty ban you for? I know it seems unlikely but it's basically a hack in a way. I'm not a steam person myself but my friend is, and he's worried regarding this. He's have had crashes and I recommend him trying this but he's worried that he might lose his account.
2. How do you apply it without steam, not being a steam person myself... I don't really use it. But the direction tells you to have it running or whatnot. So do you need steam? or can you use it without?
3. Lastly, is there a place aside from Skyrim Nexus to download up to date mods... I really don't want to sign up for another site.
Oh and... I think the UI is functional... but it is FAR from optimal, and it's almost unacceptable for a pc game.
Skyrim has barely crashed on me. I play window mid to high range graphic settings at 1440x900 ona 5770.
As for reviews. They are generally worthless, generally. They do usually convey the first thoughts on the game... but many games might look awesome after a playthrough but seem retarded afterwards.. Ass Creed was cool the first play through and I loved it... but after the fact I look back and think... hmm it had a unique experience but that's it...looking at it, it's not as spectacular as I thought it was.
Videos help a greate deal in showing how the game is... but it still doesn't really tell you how it plays... if videos were an be all, end all type of thing... I would love Witcher and Witcher 2, I was greatly impress by the videos... and weirdly enough I was actually kind of hyped for both games. But both times I tried it out... it really didn't do it for me... I just didn't like it.
Questions on the Large Address Aware patch....
1. Isn't that something Steam can pretty ban you for? I know it seems unlikely but it's basically a hack in a way. I'm not a steam person myself but my friend is, and he's worried regarding this. He's have had crashes and I recommend him trying this but he's worried that he might lose his account.
2. How do you apply it without steam, not being a steam person myself... I don't really use it. But the direction tells you to have it running or whatnot. So do you need steam? or can you use it without?
3. Lastly, is there a place aside from Skyrim Nexus to download up to date mods... I really don't want to sign up for another site.
Oh and... I think the UI is functional... but it is FAR from optimal, and it's almost unacceptable for a pc game.
Youtube videos help, but by that time any interesting plot points have already been ruined by friends or random news postings.
You assume that they are able to accurately track downloads. This is a big assumption. There is no accurate way to to track pirates, if there was, we wouldn't have a piracy problem because they would all be in jail (for failing to provide the 77 trillion dollars in damages). How many of those 4.5 million downloads were bots, people that never finished, duplicate downloads, re-downloads due to corruption, etc? There is no way to know.
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