theInq: Half-Life 2 is piracy savvy

[BlamoHammer]

Originally posted by: MustISO
Forcing you to have an internet connection to play a game is really lame. They can try and protect the game all they want but it will be cracked. They're just alienating the people who don't have internet access.

Yeah, those three people are going to be pissed!

 

[igowerf]

I don't understand why some of you are freaking out about internet access. It's just a system requirement, like having a video card.

 

[NFS4]

How is this activation going to work? What if I install and activate HL2, then get a new processor/motherboard and do a clean in stall and try to install HL2 again? Is it gonna bark at me for trying to "reactivate?"

I bought the boxed version from Outpost.com for $35.99 shipped BTW

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

I don't have a box that can play HL2 respectably, so I won't play it until I do. I wanna see eye candy, baby. Low settings would allow for smoother game play, but my game box absolutely crawled playing Doom3. What a waste of a game on my box.

 

[Kev]

Originally posted by: NFS4
How is this activation going to work? What if I install and activate HL2, then get a new processor/motherboard and do a clean in stall and try to install HL2 again? Is it gonna bark at me for trying to "reactivate?"

I bought the boxed version from Outpost.com for $35.99 shipped BTW

the games you buy are stored under your steam account, so you can download them as many times as you want. it doesn't care what hardware you have like win xp.

yes, this game will probably be cracked after the activation patch is made available to the public, but until then this strategy prevents people from getting the game off the internet weeks before its release

 

[Kev]

btw, this strategy seems so simple that i can't believe this is the first game to do it.

 

[Homerboy]

*sigh*
show me ONE prgram that hasnt been cracked.
CS:S has been cracked and can already be played online. To think that crackers are not going to (and aren't already) toiling day and night to get HL2 playable online (not on Steam's servers silly but on cracked pub servers) is beyond ridiculous.

Once the activiation code is out, it will be cracked in a matter of hours if not minutes

Build a better man trap...

 

[DannyLove]

Let me say this once to close the argument...

Piracy, warez, will never be stopped. There will always be cracks, patches, serial keygens, etc.
I have seen some amazing work arounds. Nothing is bulletproof in terms of software. There will always be that one small loop-hole.

Of course, I haven't said anything about this being right or wrong, so that should eliminate any ethical questions... I'm simply giving my opinion based on the experience and sh|t I have seen and obtained.

End of discussion.

danny~!

 

[Balt]

Eh, if they were only as diligent in combating cheaters..

 

[elanarchist]

Too bad this heralds the end of 2nd hand computer games if you've got to activate them now.

 

[preslove]

Originally posted by: biostud666
When steam was introduced it was really bad IMHO, but I haven't had any problems recently. The concept is good and as it seems to work better it's good.

 

Originally posted by: elanarchist
Too bad this heralds the end of 2nd hand computer games if you've got to activate them now.

Hardly.

 

[Rent]

Originally posted by: theNEOone
wth is steam, besides gaseous water?


=|

Do some research. Or better yet, don't, your opinions are worthless in a thread about a video game.

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

Originally posted by: Rent
While I dislike Steam and its sluggishness, I agree with the article.

really? how so? works for me. makes patching automatic and entering online games a snap

Steam takes fvcking forever to start. It doesn't always update unless you restart it, and never lets you know when a new patch is being applied. You just read about it when a website gets wind of it.

I have to manage 18 desktops all running steam. Most of the time, it works fine, but when the network gets busy or when steam starts getting load on it, it takes forever to respond or just errors out. Its an annoyance, espically when someone is paying you so they can play, but they can't.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: Kev

Originally posted by: NFS4
How is this activation going to work? What if I install and activate HL2, then get a new processor/motherboard and do a clean in stall and try to install HL2 again? Is it gonna bark at me for trying to "reactivate?"

I bought the boxed version from Outpost.com for $35.99 shipped BTW

the games you buy are stored under your steam account, so you can download them as many times as you want. it doesn't care what hardware you have like win xp.

yes, this game will probably be cracked after the activation patch is made available to the public, but until then this strategy prevents people from getting the game off the internet weeks before its release

But I bought the hardcopy version, not the steam version. When I activate, will it still be linked to my steam account?

 

[wfbberzerker]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Kev

Originally posted by: NFS4
How is this activation going to work? What if I install and activate HL2, then get a new processor/motherboard and do a clean in stall and try to install HL2 again? Is it gonna bark at me for trying to "reactivate?"

I bought the boxed version from Outpost.com for $35.99 shipped BTW

the games you buy are stored under your steam account, so you can download them as many times as you want. it doesn't care what hardware you have like win xp.

yes, this game will probably be cracked after the activation patch is made available to the public, but until then this strategy prevents people from getting the game off the internet weeks before its release

But I bought the hardcopy version, not the steam version. When I activate, will it still be linked to my steam account?

yes.

 

[MrCodeDude]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: Kev

Originally posted by: NFS4
How is this activation going to work? What if I install and activate HL2, then get a new processor/motherboard and do a clean in stall and try to install HL2 again? Is it gonna bark at me for trying to "reactivate?"

I bought the boxed version from Outpost.com for $35.99 shipped BTW

the games you buy are stored under your steam account, so you can download them as many times as you want. it doesn't care what hardware you have like win xp.

yes, this game will probably be cracked after the activation patch is made available to the public, but until then this strategy prevents people from getting the game off the internet weeks before its release

But I bought the hardcopy version, not the steam version. When I activate, will it still be linked to my steam account?

You would hope so

Probably when you go to activate, it asks for your steam account.

 

[brigden]

Give them Internet wizards a week and they'll figure it out. If they can crack operating systems, they can crack a game.

 

[slycat]

Originally posted by: brigden
Give them Internet wizards a week and they'll figure it out. If they can crack operating systems, they can crack a game.

i concur..jeez its not so impossible to kill that 'need to go online to activate' switch. Or make it think its going online...give it a little time.

 

[ViRGE]

Originally posted by: slycat

Originally posted by: brigden
Give them Internet wizards a week and they'll figure it out. If they can crack operating systems, they can crack a game.

i concur..jeez its not so impossible to kill that 'need to go online to activate' switch. Or make it think its going online...give it a little time.

But that isn't the point - the point is that until the game is released world-wide, no one has the data needed to play it at all, it's not just a matter of going online, it's a matter of getting the rest of the data. Post launch, you'll need a patch of some sort to import the data to play it, and that's going to be more complex than simply tricking it in to thinking it's just online.

 

[Balt]

Originally posted by: elanarchist
Too bad this heralds the end of 2nd hand computer games if you've got to activate them now.

That won't be the case (with Steam at least). It will actually make it easier for them to be sold second-hand online. All someone would have to do is give you their steam account login and password and you could download the rest and then change the steam login/pass to your own for security. Thus, they could essentially send that information to you as soon as the auction ended rather than having to send a physical product.

If I correctly understand how the system works, at least.

 

[gwarbot]

There is one problem with Steam i found more than one user can sign into steam at the same time.
My friend matt and I had put hl2 on both of our computers then one of us downloaded a crack and cracked the game. Then we used the same cd-key to register the game then we tried steam we were bot able to sign in online at the same time he played hl2 death match and I played Counterstrike for a flawless game protection the company needs to run an active monitoring system that would only allow one screen name of the same sign in at one time.

Hl2 is hackable

 

[Lonyo]

Wait until your account gets shut down for being accessed by 2 IP's at the same time.
Then see who is savvy.

 

[0roo0roo]

well valve has the clout to wait until all versions are localized iguess.

smaller companies probably have the publishers forcing them to ship whatever they got..

 

[bandana163]

IMO, not being able to play the legit version without an internet connection encourages piracy in some areas.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Lonyo
Wait until your account gets shut down for being accessed by 2 IP's at the same time.
Then see who is savvy.

lol i hope he's prepared to pay for 2 new copies of hl2