Spore Copy Protection Q&A

[Spah]

Well, what about the online authentications? From what I gathered, there are two types: the obligatory first time after install authentication, and the authentication you get when you connect online for patches/content. I'm not sure, but judging by Mass Effect's system, it seems that only the obligatory authentication will check the installation limits, meaning that even if you exhaust all 3 installs by changing hardware/drivers then you'll still be able to play the game AS LONG AS YOU DON'T REINSTALL.
Therefore, the solution seems quite simple: install the game, and make a solemn vow to NEVER get rid of it. EVER. I've done that with The Sims 2, I've had it installed on my PC since early December even though I haven't played it for months. If you need to format/reinstall OS, then just copy the game directory and registry entries to a different drive. The game only takes up 6gb, you can fit it on a single DVD-DL disk, and I'm sure some internet guerrilla will put up a guide for copying the game like that.
Unless you guys are running XP (haha, sucks to be you) then you shouldn't need to install a brand new OS for some time.



Again, it would be nice if we didn't have to do this, but I've had to do worse things to get a game to run, I'm used to getting my hands dirty. Fingers crossed that we'll never need to do something like this.

[777788889999]

I really dont want to go though that... I never done it before and it just seems like so much work if you pay for a game. If I would pirate the game and if their anti-piracy lalalala worked as it should then I could understand if I had to do something like this. But if pirates are able to play the game hassle free and I go buy the game and I have to do all this??

[Spah]

Well, this is the worst case scenario, like I said I doubt it will come to this as I think the limit thing is nothing more than a PR maneuvre to draw attention away from the securom spyware. They'll get rid of it when it comes out, otherwise they'll lose out on the hundreds of dollars I'm sure to spend on expansion packs, which will result in a bigger loss of revenue for them than if I pirated the game for free from the start.

[Wishbone77]

Originally Posted by Spah

meaning that even if you exhaust all 3 installs by changing hardware/drivers then you'll still be able to play the game AS LONG AS YOU DON'T REINSTALL.

You're forgetting "and never change any hardware or update any drivers". So if a new game comes out that needs a driver update in order to work (happens all the time), you'll have to choose between that and Spore. And you can forget about keeping your PC updated. Running out of disk space? Tough. If you put in another hard drive, Spore will stop working.

I don't get these "aww-it's-not-so-bad" posts. Yes, it is so bad!

[Spah]

Originally Posted by Wishbone77

You're forgetting "and never change any hardware or update any drivers".

No, not really. Like I said, if the game only checks the install limit on the first time you run the game, then just never reinstall the game. Even if you install drivers and hardware and exhaust the limit, then the game wouldn't do anything about it, so you can install them all you want.

[Wishbone77]

Whatever gave you the idea that it is only checked the first time after an install? That is not how it works. Otherwise, only the number of installs would matter. And this is definitely not the case.

[Spah]

Originally Posted by Wishbone77

Whatever gave you the idea that it is only checked the first time after an install?

The Mass Effect complaints. From what I've heard, people only got problems after they exhausted the limit AND REINSTALLED. Spore is supposed to have the same system, ergo, using deductive reasoning I can come to the conclusion that Spore only checks your install upon the first time. We don't know what the secondary online authentication does, maybe it just checks your game files, or gets info on your PC from Securom. Whatever it does, it must not be particularly important as EA assures us that we can play grand and dandy without connecting to the internet and being subjected to it. But go ahead and find me a thread that proves the converse.

[Cyberfrog]

When will Spore authenticate?

We authenticate your game online when you install and launch it the first time.

How often will the game have to re-authenticate?

Spore will re-authenticate when a player uses online features, downloads new content or a patch for their game.

Mass Effect is single-player. Spore is too, but has a whole lot of online stuff going on.

Sorry, I don't believe you can use Mass Effect to deduce that the first, official, post is wrong.

[Lethn]

Hiya folks, I logged on here to share my concerns, now I haven't bought an EA game since C&C3 ( ripoff! ) and at first I figured I'd be willing to buy Spore from their store direct and download it since I assumed it wouldn't have SecuROM on it but then I decided to read at the PR garbage known as the EULA.

You agree that EA may collect, use, store and transmit technical
and related information that identifies your computer (including the Internet Protocol Address), operating system and application software and peripheral hardware, that may be gathered periodically to facilitate the provision of software updates, dynamically served content, product support and other services to you, including online play. EA may also use this information in the aggregate, and in a form which does not personally identify you, to improve our products and services. IF YOU DO NOT WANT EA TO COLLECT, USE, STORE, TRANSMIT OR DISPLAY THE DATA DESCRIBED IN THIS SECTION, PLEASE DO NOT INSTALL OR USE THE SOFTWARE.

Quite frankly I think this is an insult to legitimate consumers, as for the installation limit I don't know whether that's true or not, but I don't see why we should be forced to talk to the tech support team just to get one little extra installation out of them especially since talking to almost ANY tech support team takes such a bloody long time. Not only that I find it incredibly suspicious that EA feel the need to take our computer information and store it on their own PCs when they should be perfectly able to know what kind of computers most gamers will be using anyway which leads me to believe that they may well be trying to sneak in spyware under our noses and that quite frankly is just not on.

Please EA, don't ruin an already jaded gamers' impression of you by attempting to install garbage on my PC under the guise of 'updates' there are plenty of companies out there that don't use SecuROM or authentication software and get on just as well as you do.

I demand an official response on this, otherwise I will happily continue to boycott EA's products, this has gone on long enough, you are pretty much either expecting us to install spyware on are PCs or not buy the game at all, most people wouldn't even have looked at this EULA and so would have ended up wasting their money because YOU failed to properly notify them without hiding behind PR speak.

Big *** publishers like you would not be such a problem for the Games Industry if you actually showed a little honesty once in awhile.

[Spah]

Originally Posted by Cyberfrog

Mass Effect is single-player. Spore is too, but has a whole lot of online stuff going on.

Right, but it's not obligatory for Spore to go online to get that online stuff. Right now I can download creatures from the Sporepedia using just my browser, I imagine when the game comes out I'll be able to download player content bundles from third party sites (such as fansites) without having to connect to the internet in-game. It would be madness if I couldn't, as not everyone is priviledged enough to have a constant broadband connection to their PC.

[flatfroggerx]

This is why EULAs do not stand up in court Lethn. By the time you have bought the product it is too late to do anything about it, more so 90% of places won't refund you so you are stuck with a product you cant use. There is a legal term for what type of agreement they are which basically says its a no win situation.

[Tanque]

I hope they happen to remove it and it is a big chance they do so.

First Mass Effect was a game already released on the Xbox 360 so the people who had the game for Xbox 360 didn't complain if they got the pc one,they could still play.

Second Mass Effect has no espansions and spore will have them i don't think anyone will buy any espansion after everything they have to go through with the DRM.

And last if they don't remove it soon more people will try to contact EA making it hard to answear everyone taking to much time and so they'll be known for having a bad costumer support and a thing called DRM that may make you not be able to play the game ever again.

Unless what EA realy wants is lose money i expect(hope,pray,etc) them to remove the DRM.

[Spah]

Originally Posted by Tanque

First Mass Effect was a game already released on the Xbox 360 so the people who had the game for Xbox 360 didn't complain if they got the pc one,they could still play.

Right, exactly. If anything, Mass Effect was a marketing experiment. The game had already payed for itself and brought in a profit by the time the PC version was released, EA had in the most literal sense nothing to lose. Spore is different.

[777788889999]

Maybe this isnt news for you guys but I just went to a site ( Will Wrights Spore: comment ) Some comments to the article says that Securom which is the copy protection that Spore will use is what is called a rootkit and people didnt seem to like that so I checked Wikipedia and this is what Wikipedia says about rootkits. ( Rootkit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia ) Its not something I would like to have installed on my PC really and it really makes me wonder if I dare to install Spore and why I would pay to get this.

[flatfroggerx]

Yes, I have been aware of this. This is basically how EA claim you can uninstall spore or mass effect and not have to reactivate if you reinstall.

This is assuming you dont change or wipe your PC in between though

[Cyberfrog]

Ack, the truth is probably bad enough, no need to invent stuff like "OMGz VISTA HAS SECUROM!!!" or "Sp0re w1ll destroy y0r comput0rz" or "EA will kill your first born!!!!1"

Same as you (probably) don't trust everything EA says, you don't have to trust everything said by paranoid attention-seeking geeks.

[Tanque]

And remember all this is to prevent piracy.
But actualy pirates give you a better costumer support giving you a game without DRM(and i always tough they were bad persons).

[777788889999]

Thats true... And if you buy the game and you have problems due to the copy protection, they supply cracks so that you can play your game anyway. Even if in this case maybe you will lose out on the online features if you do... maybe... =/

[flatfroggerx]

Has anyone thought ahead as far as the launch time crunch?

Basically with the game needing activation and spore estimated to be hot stuff with so many people trying to activate the servers simply fall over and die leaving you unable to play the game for hours until the servers return. It happened for bioshock and it happened on steam for HL2. We all know EA does servers on the cheap.

[Exuvo]

I got an response from EA:
My Question http://exuvo.no-ip.org/sporecomplain.txt
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Response (Chandan Tiwari)
08/11/2008 09:17 AM


Hi,

Thank you for writing to EA.com account services.

Due to the nature of your issue, more time is required for investigation. I apologize for any prolonged delays this might cause, but please rest assured that we are trying to handle your issue in a timely manner. During this time, you may still update your incident with additional information that might help us resolve your issue without causing any additional delay. To update your incident click the link that says, To view or update your question from our support site, click here."

We appreciate the opportunity to assist you and look forward to getting you back in the game!

Please let us know if there is anything else needed.

Thank you.

Chandan
EA Online Support.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Response (Samuel S)
08/11/2008 03:23 PM


Hi,

Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts Customer Support.

Activation only occurs during installation. If you have the game installed already, you will not need to reactivate it.

If you need additional assistance or have further questions please reply to this email or visit our self help knowledge base at http://support.ea.com

Thank you,
Samuel
Senior Representative
Electronic Arts Customer Support


--------------------------------------------------------------------------


And that answer i find very suspicious, but if it actually is true then i would be able to play the game for 2 years max, so it still needs to be removed!
Now they need to remove stupid SecuRom.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
I actually wrote EA twice with the same message and the other one got this answer:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Response (EA Tech Marc C.)
08/10/2008 07:03 AM

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts. I'm sorry for the DRM issue that
you are having with the game Spore.

The DRM solution implemented for the Spore Creature Creator changes copy
protection from being key disc based, which requires authentication every
time you play the game by requiring a disc in the drive, to a one time
online authentication. This system has the added benefit of allowing you to
seamlessly play your game without requiring the game disc in the drive.

KEY POINTS:

This system allows you to authenticate your game on three different
computers with the purchase of one disc. EA Customer Service is on hand to
supply any additional authorizations that are warranted. This will be done
on a case-by-case basis by contacting Customer Support.
Games are authorized to your machine when you first install and launch the
game.
We’ve all had those times when the discs get lost or scratched and you
can’t play a game you’ve bought because you need a working disc in the
drive. With this new system, players will no longer need the disc to play
the game, but can instead simply retain the disc as back up for
re-installation.

If you bought a game from the EA Download Manager you will be able install
the game in three different computers only. May we also remind you that
reinstalling the game on a newly reformatted computer or a major hardware
update will count as one installation license. If incase that you have
installed the game in three different computers, you will be able install
the game again after 14 days. You will also be able to install the game once
after that then you will have to wait again for another 14 days. This rule
applies to some of the older game that was made available for download
through EA Download Manger.

Regarding the newer games it will be almost the same but instead of waiting
for 14 days you will have to contact us for a new installation license.

But as long as you have only installed the game in one computer, you will be
able to install the game as much as you want.

If you need more installation authorizations please provide the information
below so we could further investigate on this issue, thank you.

Full name:
Account name:
Email address associated with your EA account:
Serial code or codes of the game registered to this account:
Post Code:
Date of Birth:

Should you require further assistance about this or any Electronic Arts
games in the future please visit our website and review our extensive Self
Help knowledgebase (http://support.ea.com).

Thanks,

Marc C.
EA Technical Support
---------------------------------------------------------------------
That 14-days wait would seem a LOT better than having to call them..

[777788889999]

Originally Posted by EA

If incase that you have installed the game in three different computers, you will be able to install the game again after 14 days. You will also be able to install the game once after that then you will have to wait again for another 14 days. This rule applies to some of the older games that was made available for download through EA Download Manger.

Regarding the newer games it will be almost the same but instead of waiting for 14 days you will have to contact us for a new installation license.

If you need more installation authorizations please provide the information
below so we could further investigate on this issue, thank you.

Full name:
Account name:
Email address associated with your EA account:
Serial code or codes of the game registered to this account:
Post Code:
Date of Birth:

Should you require further assistance about this or any Electronic Arts
games in the future please visit our website and review our extensive Self
Help knowledgebase (http://support.ea.com).

Thanks,

Marc C.
EA Technical Support

Ok, so there we have an answer, you cant get your authorizations back for Spore (newer game) without giving out your personal information and proving for EA support that you have really bought this game. Why they stopped using the 14 day rule is a mystery. I think that would have worked out for most people. So they think giving out your personal information and contacting them to prove you are the real owner of the game is almost the same thing as waiting 14 days? Bah!

[Exuvo]

I totaly agree, the 14-day wait would have been perfect or eaven an 1 month wait would suffice for almost everyone.
Then i would regain all my activations in 3 months and that would be perfectly acceptable for me.

[Marcolon]

Hate the three times activation limit!


Used my three times: Contact EA ?

Bah stupid

[zbro]

im really confused here what does authenticate mean ? and why cant it just be on cd? can someone explain this to a 13 year old please

[BenVdd]

authenticate is sort of proving you have a legal copy of the game