jimomura@lsuc.on.ca (Jim Omura) (02/09/91)
I just went out and bought "Falcon" by Spectrum Holobytes.
I CANNOT recommend this program. Not only is it copy protected,
it is "double protected." The disk cannot be backed up by
normal means and furthermore they also have a codewheel.
All in all, this is a most unsatisfactory program package.
It is not a company who I would like to see succeeding in
this industry. Hopefully, someday I'll see the founders of
the company bankrupt. I will feel no regrets about that at
all.
Those of you planning products in the future, for the
Atari or any other computer, read this message twice and think
about it.
--
Jim Omura, 2A King George's Drive, Toronto, (416) 652-3880
lsuc!jimomura
Byte Information eXchange: jimomuramg40+@andrew.cmu.edu (Michael Jeffrey Garland) (02/10/91)
> Excerpts from netnews.comp.sys.atari.st: 9-Feb-91 Falcon is Copy > Protected Jim Omura@lsuc.on.ca (740) > I just went out and bought "Falcon" by Spectrum Holobytes. > I CANNOT recommend this program. Not only is it copy protected, > it is "double protected." The disk cannot be backed up by > normal means and furthermore they also have a codewheel. I think that perhaps you have bought an old copy. I have Falcon and both Mission disks, none of which have disk-based protection. In fact, the newer ones can even be installed on hard disks (speeds up things a lot). However, I will agree that the code wheel is a pain; it's often very hard to identify what icons are on the screen. Michael Garland Carnegie Mellon mg40@andrew.cmu.edu
erkamp@arc.ab.ca (Bob Erkamp) (02/12/91)
In article <1991Feb9.023327.23336@lsuc.on.ca> jimomura@lsuc.on.ca (Jim Omura) writes: > > I just went out and bought "Falcon" by Spectrum Holobytes. >I CANNOT recommend this program. Not only is it copy protected, >it is "double protected." The disk cannot be backed up by >normal means and furthermore they also have a codewheel. > Well I'm not sure what you're doing but I've had no problems making copies of my disks. I had Falcon v1.1 and put both disks onto one (format at 880K) and use this to play as there are no disk swaps required. I've also made similar disks for the 2 missions (Counterstrike, Firefight). I used Mystic to format the disks and use a regular file copy to move the files. If you still have problems let me know. > All in all, this is a most unsatisfactory program package. >It is not a company who I would like to see succeeding in >this industry. Hopefully, someday I'll see the founders of >the company bankrupt. I will feel no regrets about that at >all. > I have to disagree I think this is a great software package (the codewheel is a bit of a pain to use). I've gotten many hours of pleasure out of this flight simulator and would highly recommend it. > Those of you planning products in the future, for the >Atari or any other computer, read this message twice and think >about it. >-- >Jim Omura, 2A King George's Drive, Toronto, (416) 652-3880 It's a shame you feel that way. Bob
cgjxt@ux1.cts.eiu.edu (Joe Taitt) (02/12/91)
In article <1991Feb9.023327.23336@lsuc.on.ca> jimomura@lsuc.on.ca (Jim Omura) writes: > > I just went out and bought "Falcon" by Spectrum Holobytes. >I CANNOT recommend this program. Not only is it copy protected, >it is "double protected." The disk cannot be backed up by >normal means and furthermore they also have a codewheel. Thats strange. I find Falcon to be one of the best flight simulators I own. Sure it's protected, but that dosn't mean that it isn't a great game. I don't find it's protection to be that much of a problem. You have to match up two icons right after you load it. After that, the protection system leaves you compleatly alone (Wish I could say that for the migs!). I find that falcon extension #2 is the best. The enemy migs know have their own missions (like bombing your own ground targets) and you have to stop them. They don't just pop up and try to kill you. It has 3 types of aircrafts (escorts, bombers, and Hinds). and each behaves like you would in their misson, and not just like some computer was controling it. Personaly, I hope the Spectrum Holobytes makes it big, they give good serviec, sell at a resonable price, and know that to keep their customers happy they need to keep making their products better. Joe T.S. Taitt
Roger.Sheppard@bbs.actrix.gen.nz (02/12/91)
Distribution:world Followup-To:Falcon Note; the UK. version of Falcon has allways been Protected, but with no code wheel, but may be they are using both types of protection now ! -- Roger W. Sheppard 85 Donovan Rd, Kapiti New Zealand...
jhenders@jonh.wimsey.bc.ca (John Henders) (02/12/91)
In <1991Feb12.040848.23978@actrix.gen.nz>,
Roger.Sheppard@bbs.actrix.gen.nz writes:
I tried to reply to the base note via e-mail but it bounced. Since
the current discussion hasn't touched on all the point's I made, I'll
post it here.
Jim, I think you've been sold an old package here. The first
version of Falcon was double protected as you described, but over
a year ago they yeilded to complaints and removed the disk protection.
Actually, when you say "cannot be backed up by normal means",
do you mean copied by the desktop copier? If you do then you should
be aware that many disks nowadays use 10 sectors per track and can't
be backed up by the desktop. There are many pd programs around that
handle 10 sector tracks, and the extra disk space is often necessary
to fit the program onto the unfortunatly still standard single sided
disk.
So I suggest you try a ten sector copier, or if you have a double
sided disk drive, format a double sided 10 sector disk and copy both
disk's files to it. If this doesn't work, contact Spectrum Holobyte
and they will upgrade you to version 1.2 for a nominal fee. I've
found Spectrum Holobyte to be very responsive when talking to them
on GEnie.
Note, version 1.2 and the mission disks will run from the hard
drive, and also have more managable flight controls.
Also note. There are European import versions being sold here
which are heavily copy protected, and usually don't fly as well, as
S.H. usually puts extra time into flight controls after getting the
game from Rowan Software, who does the port.
--
John Henders jhenders@jonh.wimsey.bc.ca
Vancouver,B.C. or jhenders@wimsey.bc.ca
or ubc.cs!van-bc!jonh!jhendersnut@nuthaus.UUCP (Adam G. Tilghman) (02/13/91)
In article <1991Feb9.023327.23336@lsuc.on.ca> jimomura@lsuc.on.ca (Jim Omura) writes: I just went out and bought "Falcon" by Spectrum Holobytes. > I CANNOT recommend this program. Not only is it copy protected, > it is "double protected." The disk cannot be backed up by > normal means and furthermore they also have a codewheel. Having Falcon currently installed on my hard drive, I find you statement a bit incredible. Now, I do have the latest version of the software (the first release WAS floppy-protected), but you can upgrade by sending in your disks with US$5 or so. The codewheel is a COMPLETELY reasonable method of copy protection; considering the amount of pirating of games that goes on with ANY computer, I would be surprised if a company DIDN'T release an unprotected game with a code wheel. > > All in all, this is a most unsatisfactory program package. > It is not a company who I would like to see succeeding in > this industry. Hopefully, someday I'll see the founders of > the company bankrupt. I will feel no regrets about that at > all. Egad! Spectrum Holobyte is one of the better games houses in North America - why such harsh language? Because you bought an old version of Falcon which was copy-protected? > > -- > Jim Omura, 2A King George's Drive, Toronto, (416) 652-3880 > lsuc!jimomura > Byte Information eXchange: jimomura -- = Adam G. Tilghman - SysOp/WizOp/Janitor of Eleusesthai BBS = = USnail: 116 Escanyo Dr., So. San Francisco, CA, 94080-4134 USA = = Voice Phone: +1 415 873 3091 / BBS Phone: +1 415 871 9451 = = nut@nuthaus.UUCP {hoptoad,well}!wet!nuthaus!nut nut@wet.UUCP =
mpl44572@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Grayson) (02/14/91)
In article <1991Feb9.023327.23336@lsuc.on.ca> jimomura@lsuc.on.ca (Jim Omura) writes: > > I just went out and bought "Falcon" by Spectrum Holobytes. >I CANNOT recommend this program. Not only is it copy protected, >it is "double protected." The disk cannot be backed up by >normal means and furthermore they also have a codewheel. >...... >-- >Jim Omura, 2A King George's Drive, Toronto, (416) 652-3880 >lsuc!jimomura >Byte Information eXchange: jimomura I'd just like to point out that it's a great program, and the copy protection takes no more than a few seconds. The disks can be backed up with Procopy, however I had to play with the write-protect notch inorder for it to load properly. -- Mark Lupescu (mpl44572@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu,{ graydeath@uiuc.edu) -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |mpl44572@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu| I am here at U of I, is |graydeath@uiuc.edu| |-------------------------|it self-torture I was after|------------------| |What I say is what I mean| ?? Because I've found it. | Long Live Change | --------------------------------------------------------------------------