cjp@antique.UUCP (Charles Poirier) (12/07/88)
Over the last three years, I've had three copy protected floppy-based games cease to work. In each case, I wrote a nice letter requesting free replacement of the disk and mailed it and the original disk to the publisher. In each case I received a free replacement (ok, less $.66 one-way postage). Sure, that's not as good as having the disk unprotected in the first place. But it's a better solution than just throwing away an otherwise nice program. It also makes me feel a little better knowing I made them eat the cost of a disk (plus shipping and handling). I'm not arguing in favor of copy protection, just offering some free advice on dealing with it if you so choose. -- Charles Poirier (decvax,ucbvax,mcnc,attmail)!vax135!cjp "Docking complete... Docking complete... Docking complete..."
hrlaser@pnet02.cts.com (Harv Laser) (12/08/88)
Sullivan@cup.portal.com (kevin lee smathers) writes: > >FTL: Why don't you offer unprotected versions of the software to registered >users? Say $10 for a new disk that can be put on a hard-drive, and doesn't >have the stringent memory control that is no doubt required to (almost) run >in 512k. The thing is, I have 3 Megs on my machine, and if I can't play >some game while I'm dialing a busy bulletin board, then it really isn't >very useful to me. And I promise, dialing a bulletin board isn't a very >CPU intensive task. Your program won't speed won't be degraded by much. Dungeon Master isn't the KIND of game you'd want to play while dialing a busy bulletin board. This isn't Shanghai or Battlechess or some other kind of diversion that requires only occasional attention. Dungeon Master runs in _real time_. If you JUST SIT THERE stuff happens. The only way not to let stuff happen is to pause the game or quit the game. This game demands your attention during play - not only isn't it tiles or chess or cards, it's also not mindless shoot'em up. I don't like copy protection any more than anyone else does. But putting up with it for this game is worth it to me. It doesn't concern me that I can't dial a busy BBS while I'm riding Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland either. By the way, if you've seen or played the demo version of Dungeon Master you only have a very small taste of what playing the full game is like. Harv Laser, Sysop, The People/Link AmigaZone. Plink: CBM*HARV UUCP: {ames!elroy, <backbone>}!gryphon!pnet02!hrlaser INET: hrlaser@pnet02.cts.com <---open Push down while turning close tightly--->
disd@hubcap.UUCP (Gary Heffelfinger) (12/09/88)
From article <9389@gryphon.COM>, by hrlaser@pnet02.cts.com (Harv Laser): > Sullivan@cup.portal.com (kevin lee smathers) writes: >> >>CPU intensive task. Your program won't speed won't be degraded by much. > > Dungeon Master isn't the KIND of game you'd want to play while dialing a busy > bulletin board. This isn't Shanghai or Battlechess or some other kind of > diversion that requires only occasional attention. Dungeon Master runs > in _real time_. If you JUST SIT THERE stuff happens. The only way not But, but, but..... If I'm downloading a 500K file from said BBS and I get the itch to play DM, I'm out of luck. There are cases where I can give my undivided attention to the "foreground" task while my "background" DL is chunking away. And besides if I want to die at the hands of an orc while I check on my download it should be my decision, not yours or anyone elses. Is a pause gadget beyond the realm of possibility for DM? God knows, every arcade game worth its salt has a pause button. No reason why DM shouldn't. I get tired of people "telling" me how I should use my system, by turning off multitasking. If I can stand having DM slow down, because I've got something else simmering on a back burner, then that's my business. Give me the flexibility. > to let stuff happen is to pause the game or quit the game. This game Of course, having said all of the above, I may still buy DM, simply because the demo blew me away. Oh, and CP doesn't have to preempt multitasking, witness "Mean 18". It is one of my favorites to play while I download. (Though, I *would* like to put it on my hard disk. But that's another story.....) > > By the way, if you've seen or played the demo version of Dungeon Master > you only have a very small taste of what playing the full game is like. Great! Gary -- Gary R Heffelfinger - Not speaking for Clemson University
peter@sugar.uu.net (Peter da Silva) (12/09/88)
In article <9389@gryphon.COM>, hrlaser@pnet02.cts.com (Harv Laser) writes: > Dungeon Master isn't the KIND of game you'd want to play while dialing a busy > bulletin board. This isn't Shanghai or Battlechess or some other kind of > diversion that requires only occasional attention. But dialling a busy bulletin-board *is*. A diversion that requires only occasional attention, that is. Something you can do while riding the roller coaster at Disneyland. And, yes, it does bug me that I can't call a BBS from XLR8. -- Peter da Silva `-_-' peter@sugar.uu.net Have you hugged U your wolf today? Disclaimer: My typos are my own damn busines#!rne
Sullivan@cup.portal.com (kevin lee smathers) (12/11/88)
>Sullivan@cup.portal.com (kevin lee smathers) writes: >> >>FTL: Why don't you offer unprotected versions of the software to registered >>users? Say $10 for a new disk that can be put on a hard-drive, and doesn't >>have the stringent memory control that is no doubt required to (almost) run >>in 512k. The thing is, I have 3 Megs on my machine, and if I can't play >>some game while I'm dialing a busy bulletin board, then it really isn't >>very useful to me. And I promise, dialing a bulletin board isn't a very >>CPU intensive task. Your program won't speed won't be degraded by much. > >Dungeon Master isn't the KIND of game you'd want to play while dialing a busy >bulletin board. This isn't Shanghai or Battlechess or some other kind of >diversion that requires only occasional attention. Dungeon Master runs >in _real time_. If you JUST SIT THERE stuff happens. The only way not >to let stuff happen is to pause the game or quit the game. This game >demands your attention during play - not only isn't it tiles or chess or >cards, it's also not mindless shoot'em up. I don't like copy protection >any more than anyone else does. But putting up with it for this game >is worth it to me. It doesn't concern me that I can't dial a busy BBS >while I'm riding Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland either. as you point out, the game can be paused. It can also be saved in progress. It loads quickly enough on floppies to indicate that on a hard-disk it would be tolerable to save and quit every time your program connected. Speaking for myself, I thrive on complexity. I find it extremely easy to context swap between a particularly troublesome puzzle and a BBS. The limiting factors are: Games that won't load while something else is running, and the two interlaced, one normal screen bug. (I always seem to forget that page flipping is bad for your copper lists... Oh well, one of these days my brain will learn to cope) actually it is usually easier to solve a mystery if you take some time off to think about other things. -Sullivan Segall _____________________________________________________________ /V\ Sully set the example: to fly without moving. We shall ' learn to soar on wings of thought. And the student will surpass the teacher. To Quote the immortal Socrates: "I drank what?" -Sullivan _____________________________________________________________ Mail to: ...sun!portal!cup.portal.com!Sullivan or Sullivan@cup.portal.com
hrlaser@pnet02.cts.com (Harv Laser) (12/16/88)
Gary Heffelfinger: Let me phrase what I said in a slightly different way...
No, Dungeon Master doesn't multitask. Yes it has a game-pause feature.
(You'll get into the game so deeply that you'll HAVE to pause it from
time to time just to get yourself some food or answer nature's call,
unless you're more superhuman than the characters you're controlling
in the game :-) ... Yes it's copy protected and that's that. Now you have
to make the decision as to whether or not the game is GOOD enough so that
you can push these problems aside and buy it and enjoy it. In other words,
does the excellence of the game itself outweigh its running environment's
disadvantages. For my $32 (I bought it - didn't get a freebie "press"
copy or anything), the answer is a resounding YES.
Hey, one man's garbage is another man's prune danish. But I can tell you
with all honesty I've had spent more pleasurable (and confounding) hours
playing DM than any other game I can remember.
In *MY* opinion, if this is the kind of quality that FTL is capable of
delivering in gameplay, I'll put up with copy protection and single-
tasking. Your own mileage may vary. Yeah, I'd like it unprotected and
yeah I'd like to flip to another screen and do something else while the
game is paused, but I understand FTL's reasons for what they did, and
for *ME* the game is good enough to forgive them.
Harv Laser, Sysop, The People/Link AmigaZone. Plink: CBM*HARV
UUCP: {ames!elroy, <backbone>}!gryphon!pnet02!hrlaser
INET: hrlaser@pnet02.cts.com
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