mdh@linus.UUCP (Mike Houle (version .6 beta)) (12/27/89)
Hello,
I just want to tell everybody about a new called Pirates!
(Note: This is not a review about the game, this is a complaint
about the companies policy about copy protection and backups.
all opinions are mine, not my companies, so please read accordingly)
Pirates is by a company called MicroProse and it is a Black & White game
for the Macintosh (although it is color for other computers). If that isn't
bad enough, it is copy protected. Now I understand why some companies
feel that they have to copy protect there software, but I hate to ever
use a Master Disk for anything. I feel much safer using a copy that
could accidently get ruined. In addition to copy protection (which
is just an inconvience) they also use the old enter some information
from the manual just to make sure you didn't get around our copy
protection...
Now, I can see using one of the above methods, but using both
for just a games is a bit redundant. Honestly, if someone is going
to take the time to crack the program, do they think that they wont also
take the time to copy the different pieces of information from the manual
that the program is going to ask for. This just makes the game harder to
start, or start over as the case may be...
Also, they say in the manual that if you lose the Master diskette,
you can get a backup, BUT THEY CHARGE YOU $10 FOR THE BACKUP. That is
just a bit unreasonable, is it to cover the cost of disk duplication and
mailling (I think not...). They say that the $10 does not include a new
manual, so why do they charge $10.
If anyone from this company is listening... Lighten up...
Remember that there is no copy protection that can not be worked around
given time. If you wish to make a game unusable to people who pirate
software, do as you do with asking for information from the manual.
Sierra does this, and I think it is wonderful. I can keep my master
disk safe and sound and only have to worry about spilling coke on my
manual... :-)
So If you are thinking about buying any games from this company,
remember there policy on copy protection (it was a gift for me,
otherwise I might not have bought it).
P.S. If anyone knows a way that I can circumvent the message to insert
the Master Disk (any good hack), I would love to know it so I can rest
easier playing the game.
<--------------------------------------------------------------------->
Sorry to be preachy, but I was in a it got me mad to have to keep
on inserting the "Master Disk" whenever I tried to start the game.
--
Mike Houle |
mdh@linus.mitre.org | If I wanted a Clue, I would go out
! UUCP -> decvax!linus!mdh | and buy one.
! ARPA -> mdh%linus@mitre-bedford |jmann@bigbootay.sw.stratus.com (Jim Mann) (12/28/89)
One of the columnists for PC Magazine (probably John Dvorak) said it well: "Don't trust any software that doesn't trust you." What I read about MicroProse's copy protection schemes on the PC is the reason I haven't purchased their "Red Storm Rising" game.
geoff@pmafire.UUCP (Geoff Allen) (01/03/90)
[mdh@linus.UUCP (Mike Houle (version .6 beta)) writes about the annoying
copy protection on the game Pirates!]
My father-in-law recently bought this game and was incredibly frustrated
with the copy protection. He said that it got in the way so much that
it essentially made the game unplayable. He decided to "just say no"
and called MacConnection and got an authorization to return it.
So, the advice seems to be -- AVOID THIS GAME.
--
Geoff Allen \ WINCO doesn't believe in Macs,
{uunet|bigtex}!pmafire!geoff \ so of course these are my views.
ucdavis!egg-id!pmafire!geoff \rsfinn@athena.mit.edu (Russell S. Finn) (01/05/90)
In article <1031@pmafire.UUCP> geoff@pmafire.UUCP writes: >My father-in-law recently bought this game and was incredibly frustrated >with the copy protection. He said that it got in the way so much that >it essentially made the game unplayable. He decided to "just say no" >and called MacConnection and got an authorization to return it. > >So, the advice seems to be -- AVOID THIS GAME. As the author of Pirates! for the Macintosh when I worked at MicroProse, I'm genuinely curious about this, as I tried to make the copy protection as unobtrusive as possible, within the dictates of company policy. With Pirates!, you need to (1) insert the master disk briefly when starting the program, and (2) look up a piece of information in the manual when creating a new character, which should happen fairly infrequently (once you've gotten into the game). That's the theory, anyway. Which part didn't your father-in-law like? Disclaimer: I am now a full-time graduate student at MIT, no longer emplyed by MicroProse, and I do not receive any kind of royalties or payment based upon sales of Pirates! for the Macintosh. Russell Finn rsfinn@athena.mit.edu
geoff@pmafire.UUCP (Geoff Allen) (01/06/90)
rsfinn@athena.mit.edu (Russell S. Finn) writes (quoting me): >>My father-in-law recently bought this game and was incredibly frustrated >>with the copy protection. He said that it got in the way so much that >>it essentially made the game unplayable. He decided to "just say no" >>and called MacConnection and got an authorization to return it. >As the author of Pirates! for the Macintosh when I worked at >MicroProse, I'm genuinely curious about this, as I tried to make the >copy protection as unobtrusive as possible, within the dictates of >company policy. With Pirates!, you need to (1) insert the master disk >briefly when starting the program, and (2) look up a piece of >information in the manual when creating a new character, which should >happen fairly infrequently (once you've gotten into the game). I believe he said that he had to insert the master disk every time he restored from a save. This was terribly annoying. He felt like he was going to wear out the master disk in no time (and Copy II wasn't able to make a backup copy -- MicroProse will sell master disk backups for $10, I understand, but that's more than he's willing to pay). Also the fact that the game hits the player with a double whammy was annoying. Not just key disk copy protection, not just look-it-up-in- the-manual copy protection. One or the other, he could live with, but both was just too much for him to tolerate. I'll send him a copy of this (he's not on the net) and see if he has any more comments for you. -- Geoff Allen \ WINCO doesn't believe in Macs, {uunet|bigtex}!pmafire!geoff \ so of course these are my views. ucdavis!egg-id!pmafire!geoff \
rsfinn@athena.mit.edu (Russell S. Finn) (01/07/90)
In article <1041@pmafire.UUCP> geoff@pmafire.UUCP (Geoff Allen) writes: >I believe he said that he had to insert the master disk every time he >restored from a save. This was terribly annoying. He felt like he was >going to wear out the master disk in no time (and Copy II wasn't able to >make a backup copy -- MicroProse will sell master disk backups for $10, >I understand, but that's more than he's willing to pay). Pirates! isn't really set up for frequent "restoring from a save", the way you would in a traditional adventure game (save position -- open the door -- get nuked by the dragon -- restore position -- don't open the door). You have to actually start to quit the game; then, when it asks you if you want to start another game, say "yes". At this point, you're back at the first screen, and you can start up from a saved position. If, however, you actually exit the game and restart it, you do have to reinsert the master disk (as you would anytime you launch the game). >Also the fact that the game hits the player with a double whammy was >annoying. Not just key disk copy protection, not just look-it-up-in- >the-manual copy protection. One or the other, he could live with, but >both was just too much for him to tolerate. (Would you believe I did a game at MicroProse with *three* forms of copy-protection?) MicroProse's aggressive copy-protection policy comes from having been burned badly in the lower end markets (specifically the Atari eight-bit machines), and not being ready to believe that similar practices won't take place in the PC or Macintosh markets. On the other hand, if they learn about sales being lost as a result... I may forward them a copy of this thread. >I'll send him a copy of this (he's not on the net) and see if he has any >more comments for you. I'm looking forward to seeing them. Let me point out (before I get roasted) that I'm trying to explain MicroProse's policy (as I understand it), not necessarily defend it. -- Russ
jsp@key.COM (James Preston) (01/08/90)
In article <1990Jan5.055220.4463@athena.mit.edu> rsfinn@athena.mit.edu (Russell S. Finn) writes: >As the author of Pirates! for the Macintosh when I worked at >MicroProse, I'm genuinely curious about this, as I tried to make the >copy protection as unobtrusive as possible, within the dictates of >company policy. With Pirates!, you need to (1) insert the master disk >briefly when starting the program, and (2) look up a piece of >information in the manual when creating a new character, which should >happen fairly infrequently (once you've gotten into the game). > >That's the theory, anyway. Which part didn't your father-in-law like? I can tell you what I find most annoying about it: At least with most of the "provide a piece of information from the manual" type of protection, the request gives a page number. Your scheme is cute in that it attempts to make it look like it's part of the game, but without a page number, it takes too damned long to find the right table! I am sorely tempted to take the time to make myself a "cheat sheet" of all those stupid tables just so I won't have to keep thumbing through every page of the manual! If you still have any contact with the folks at MicroProse, tell them that I for one absolutely will NOT buy any more of their products, no matter HOW good the game might be, as long as they continue to use copy protection. Tell them if Spectrum Holobyte can do it, MicroProse can do it. (An aside in the strictest confidence: I have been known to use COPY II to acquire a (copy-protected) game without paying for it. On the other hand, if I like something from Spectrum Holobyte (which means practically everything they've done), I make a point of BUYING it. It's my way of showing support for companies that don't copy protect.) And now, since you freely admit to being the author, a comment on the game itself: I haven't played it much (partly because of the annoying copy protection), but is there more to it than have a sword fight, sail the ship, fight other ships, attack/go into towns? And why-oh-why can I only save a game when I'm in a town?!?!? This is the SECOND most annoying thing about the game. Sometimes, I don't have the time to find a friendly town to sail into (when the girlfriend says, "We're late", you don't say, "Just five more minutes; I've gotta get back to port.") So far, I've just been exploring the game, but I hesitate to start a real compaign for fear that, one day, I'll lose it (or at least the last n hours progress) because I don't have time to make port. --James Preston
martin@m2.csc.ti.com (Steven Martin) (01/09/90)
I only have one problem with the copy protection on Pirates. When I
insert the key disk, my IIci crashes. It worked fine on the II.
Wouldn't it be funny if the game works fine on the IIci but the copy
protection is the only thing that is making it crash.
Steve Martin USENET: {ctvax,im4u,texsun,rice}!ti-csl!martin
ARPANET: SMARTIN@CSC.TI.COM COMPUSERVE: 72727,1471
GENIE: S.MARTIN8 PHONE: (214)-995-0387, 404-1061
I'll have four whole fried chickens and a Coke. -Jake Bluesmitchell@cbmvax.commodore.com (Fred Mitchell - PA) (01/09/90)
Ugh! Copy Protection! I have recently purchased a game that was so heavily copy-protected that it would not boot AT ALL on my hardware configuration! UGH! I say we boycott ALL copy-protected software on ALL machines until the developers change the name of their tune. Being a developer, myself, I can understand the concerns of both sides of the fence- but it's ridiculous when the software won't run THE FIRST TIME!!! :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-( This annoyance must stop NOW! -Mitchell mitchell@cbmvax.UUCP Take no ____ from anyone! (fill in the blank with your favorite four-letter expletive.)
rsfinn@athena.mit.edu (Russell S. Finn) (01/10/90)
In article <1359@key.COM> jsp@penguin.key.COM (James Preston) writes: >... is there more to it than have a sword fight, sail the ship, >fight other ships, attack/go into towns? Sure. If you go into taverns, you can acquire pieces of treasure maps, which can lead you to fabulous wealth. You can hunt down evil Spaniards who know where your long-lost sister is being held captive. If you're of a more peaceful bent, you can effectively become a merchant trader and make your fortune that way. Eventually you acquire wealth and fame, and get to meet the governor's daughter. Pirates! is a fairly open-ended game, in that there is no specific goal imposed by the scenario; however, when you retire a character, you get a score based on how well you did in general terms. >And why-oh-why can I only save a game when I'm in a town?!?!? Um... because that's the way it's always been done? Seriously, I didn't actually do the game design myself, and this didn't come up while I was working on the conversion (or I might have considered it). I suppose you could argue that it's part of the game to plan your voyage accordingly (and as long as you stay fairly close to the islands in the Antilles, you should be okay), but you'd probably say I was feeding you a line, and you might be right... -- Russ