25-08-2002 06:54									#1
	How about product activation? Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

I've noticed a lot of questions about crack. Not from wearing pants too low, or smoking coke. I'm talking about cracking Civ3 so the CD isn't required.

While this idea does sound convenient (I hate leaving the CD in too) it violates the Terms of Agreement for Civ3. I can only think of two possible solutions for this annoyance.

1) Product Activation (like XP products).
or
2) Everybody in the world can stop stealing software.

So my question is....

Would you prefer product activation over CD boot activation?

	25-08-2002 14:46									#2
	Increase Your PM Length

Well why not activation... it would then be easy for me... activate it ONE TIME after I got the game, and stop worrying about the CD thing. However, neither stops piracy, and that's what they got to understand, too .

	25-08-2002 16:23									#3
	Put an end to popups!

What about if you have to re-install and you're a complete, disorganized mess Slover?

6 months from now, how do some people remember where they put that thing? Unless they need it every day to get the fix.

Just a question.

	25-08-2002 16:47									#4
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

no, activation would be BAAAAD

think of how many times you had to reinstall civ3 because of overwritten files, falsely edited civ3bic, patches and mods, that didn't work.

i don't want to have to phone or email firaxis every time that happens.

	25-08-2002 18:28									#5
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

I don't care either way (what happened to the banana option?! That's a sin not to have one! ).

I change so much hardware on my computer when I upgraded to WinXP and never got a damn call, nor WinXP's need to call. This included increasing RAM, and changing video and audio cards among other things.

	25-08-2002 18:52									#6
	Support Apolyton, pre-order Civilization IV

Product activation sux...

	25-08-2002 18:54									#7
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

Oh well I don't change too much hardware... and I've only had to reinstall Civ 3 once, due to a fatal crash of all my PC.

	25-08-2002 19:25									#8
	Put an end to popups!

quote: Originally posted by sabrewolf no, activation would be BAAAAD think of how many times you had to reinstall civ3 because of overwritten files, falsely edited civ3bic, patches and mods, that didn't work. i don't want to have to phone or email firaxis every time that happens.

Um....once? Because I reformatted? If you back up your files when you mod the game, you don't have to reinstall...

	25-08-2002 19:30									#9
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

Product Activation doesn't protect software. I hate leaving the CD in the drive and think that people should be trusted. I have safedisk problems and every patch I have to get a special patch and re-install the game. We should not have activation.

	25-08-2002 20:12									#10
	Remove this text

Nothing protects software. CD checks are removed, activation is, too.

	25-08-2002 21:30									#11
	Get a bigger avatar today!

quote: Originally posted by Solver Nothing protects software. CD checks are removed, activation is, too.

and if your really really really talented, you can program and make your own Civ3.


I'm working on it.

	25-08-2002 22:33									#12
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

Yeah, get them to release the source code, change the title screen, and there you are .

	26-08-2002 00:46									#13
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

quote: Originally posted by Sabre2th Um....once? Because I reformatted? If you back up your files when you mod the game, you don't have to reinstall...

And if the install didn't actually work properly? On 98 i've reinstalled roughly 4 times, but when it was XP....I used to have to reinstall nearly three times every day (And Firaxis never helped. I'll never forget when they told me I didnt have access to my computer..... )

Would I have liked to call Firaxis each of those times? No. That would have sucked.

	26-08-2002 07:12									#14
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

quote: Originally posted by Solver Yeah, get them to release the source code

I've tried that, but Soren wouldn't give up under gun point.

	26-08-2002 20:52									#15
	Avatar Enlargement: We've got the solution

quote: Originally posted by Thrawn05 I don't care either way (what happened to the banana option?! That's a sin not to have one! ).

I didn't add banana, because everyone would have voted for it since the other options suck.

After thinking about this for a while I have to go with the CD start myself. I can't imaging the support for getting re-activited when something goes wrong being anything but terrible. Infogames/Firaxis just don't have the resources IMO to handle product activation.

	27-08-2002 17:30									#16
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

Product Activation bad. How many people are out there still playing Civ I, or Civ II, or some other game whose license has either migrated several times, or been lost completely? What about MOO, or MOO II? What if you want to do product activiation and the company is gone? Then you're kind of stuck. No, since I tend to play very obsolete games at times (MoM anyone?), I don't want to have to count on the company that sold it to me still being there, and still supporting whatever 10 year old product activation scheme was in place when I bought the game.

	27-08-2002 18:07									#17
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

Product on installation. Anybody who wants to play with a warez version can do so anyway. The way it is the people with a legitimate copy are the ones "suffering".

	27-08-2002 18:45									#18
	Support Apolyton, buy Alpha Centauri

I don't mind having the CD in, since there are only a couple of games that I play at one time. I fail to see though that any of the two ways will stop piracy from happening.

About Piracy though, this is a topic that can be discussed to death but truth of the matter is that it's not going to stop no matter what the companies will do but then on the other side it is due to this piracy that some games and software have become very popular. Companies should recognize the potential and play with it while on the other side they should be fighting Piracy. A good example is DOS and Win some 10+ years ago they were pirated to death and today Bill controls half the Universe and is ritcher than most allow themselves to dream of.

So long...

	27-08-2002 19:07									#19
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

no matter which method you use - piracy is always possible... and warez-versions of all games and applications afaik don't have neither cd-check nor production-activations...

	28-08-2002 00:14									#20
	Support Apolyton

agreed: product activation, CD-keys, CD-checks, etc. are all inconveniences that only ppl who bought the game have to put up with...

	28-08-2002 00:17									#21
	Support Apolyton buy from Amazon

and why is there no poll option for 'neither'?

	28-08-2002 00:39									#22
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

The funny thing is that I got hooked on civ for mac with a pirated copy (I think of it as a demo). You could play up to 1000BC or something then it asked you for the answers to certain questions. Of course it wasnt hard to figure out the answers. I eventually bought it and still have it somewhere but it wont work on a G3. Now I own every civ-type firaxis game (legally).

Doesnt this sound like the tactics used by another software company? Get us hooked then gouge for money.

	28-08-2002 03:12									#23
	Remove this text

cd

	28-08-2002 14:57									#24
	Support Apolyton, buy Civilization III: Complete

don't copied CDs work? If they do then what kind of protection against piracy is that?

	28-08-2002 17:43									#25
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

Product activation is more interesting: you could install several games (products) on your laptop and you could use them everywhere without needing to bring all CDs with you.

	28-08-2002 18:44									#26
	Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations

Given only the two options I would prefer to stick with the CD (and search the web for the hacked.exe file.) The XP method is big brotherisim at it's worst - I (and many others) would sooner drink gasoline and urinate on a fire than have any XP product on my machine for this very reason.

	28-08-2002 19:42									#27
	Support Apolyton or Terrorists Win

Product activation would be a very good idea because some of my old-game cd's are in such a bad condition that I'm unable to play them (no I did not toss it against the wall or out of the window it's just a sign of extensive overuse). So there would be one option to buy the game again but 1) they are no longer in sale for 2or even 3 years and 2) why should I spend money on that thing again??? or I have to download it somewhere (I've heard that dl of a game isn't illegal when I've a copy of them).

But with the PA you just install the game activate it and no more worries about CD's.

	28-08-2002 22:32									#28
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

quote: Originally posted by miccofl Given only the two options I would prefer to stick with the CD (and search the web for the hacked.exe file.) The XP method is big brotherisim at it's worst - I (and many others) would sooner drink gasoline and urinate on a fire than have any XP product on my machine for this very reason.

I agree. But my purpose was based on a totaly legal aspect.