FileForums - Starforce Petition!

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- - Starforce Petition! (https://fileforums.com/showthread.php?t=70333)

Is starforce boycott working? Price of SCCT for PC is already down to $30, while console version remains $50...

Interesting...

I think it's working but your not going to get publishers announcing the fact, they will just quietly remove it from there software without fanfare.. :D

Read this if your thinking of going 64bit scroll down page untill you get to the bit about starforce.
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/...1816231,00.asp

http://www.64bitstuff.com/index.php?showtopic=1644

When Silent Hunter III was released, it was far from being offered here in Brazil. As a long time fan, I had no choice but to download it. I figured that when it is available, I'd buy it. three months later, it finally reached the stores in a reasonable price (not the most expensive, but above the average). This time gave me the opportunity to try the several methods of backing up (with no success) and to notice the overwhelming amount of bugs and inconstancies with history, engineering and even the previous Silent Hunter II. Coupled with the fear you and several other people displayed in installing StarForce, I've made up my mind: I won't buy it and will delete my illegal copy. Thank you.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KessG

So glad we could help..Tut tut to D/L it (warez) is not tollerated here @ GCW. Just be carefull what you say here otherwise you will be reciving a ban. (may i suggest you read the rules as to avoid this happening to you like it happens to so many others)

(Ive mentioned these points in other threads but thought they also deserved to be mentioned here) :D

If I was given a choice between a game with Starforce protection or a game with an Online Activation (like HL2) I would honestly prefer the online activation!
Starforce messes with your system and can cause hassles with other programs the whole time! And does their Starforce Clean really fix those hassles? Starforce doesnt tell you its installing!
Online Activation however is only a hassle for a short time, thats during the actual activation (except for dialup users, the hassle could be a longer one). Online activation tells you what is happening, it is not hidden from you! Once the game is activated you dont have anymore 'hidden' hassles. Like with HL2, once the game has earnt its profits they can release a patch so you dont need the disc to play, they can possibly even release a patch to stop the online activation?
But even if a starforce game has earnt its profits, and they release a patch for you to be able to play without the disc, would you really be free of the problems starforce has already created for your system?
I really dont like the Online Activation, it is a hassle but nowhere near the hassle of Starforce!
Since I for one had major problems with the Starforce Protection, I always create a ghost image before installing a new game. Luckily I had ghost images from before my system ever came in contact with a Starforce game! After installing a starforce game i found a lot of my other games would not even autoplay, my drives where reading the disc names even after the disc had been ejected, I had programs no longer working properly, I had CD's/DVD's which would not eject, I had all sorts of problems!! I never had any of these problems before I installed Starfoce and even after using 'Starforce Clean' these problems were still there!
But as soon as I ghosted back to before Starforce all my problems magically disappeared!
Regardless of how much any future games gets hyped up I will not be installing them if they have the Starforce virus! ;)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Monty Burns

The only chance of stopping starforce, is boycotting it. But this will never happen.....at least not to a degree which would be remarkable....

Sorry my friend but it's already happening surf the game forums/sites. This is the type of war that as a consumer you LOSE, but as consumer's you definitely shall WIN.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dajunka

Sorry my friend but it's already happening surf the game forums/sites. This is the type of war that as a consumer you LOSE, but as consumer's you definitely shall WIN.

Well we can live in hope but hope is all we have and will ever have if there isnt a solution found. (which dosent look promising). I also belive (even though i dont and will never own a SF protected game) that we are on loosing side. There will never be enough people who will not buy anymore or diss-continue buying SF protected games and lets be realistic unless a big ammount of revenue stops going to devs etc then SF will continue. Its down to £s and the devs,pubs,etc arnt loosing enough of it for them to concider implementing "other" protection's. (IMO) Why would they cause lets face it it dose what it says on the tin (and plenty more besides) and unless there were a lawsuit of somekind (due to the system instabilities etc etc etc SF can cause) then i belive its here to stay :(

SF is not a protection its a damm virus! (As Grumpy and so many others have stated)

If game developers are going to use starforce they NEED to AT LEAST have a pop up box to confim before install. And it should state that it can cause problems on some systems.

I have been reading about all the problems that people have been having with StarForce for a while now, but I never thought anything would happen to me. Well now my system has crashed a couple of times recently and before I UNKNOWINGLY installed StarForce, crashes were extremely rare for me. And one time when I double clicked on one of my CD Drives in My Computer it asked me what program I wanted to use to open it. WTF. Also, BlindWrite seems incapable of making images now. I MOST CERTAINLY will not be buying any starforce protected games anymore.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterYoda34

Yerr, hope is a major player here, hope that SF become totally un hip and anti social, hope that main line publishers see the light, hope that some dude take some publisher to court over SF and wins, hope that SF will once and for all be cracked.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MasterYoda34

If game developers are going to use starforce they NEED to AT LEAST have a pop up box to confim before install. And it should state that it can cause problems on some systems.

I think it is useless, if they build in a pop up box because its too late if you see it before installing, that the game has SF! Then you cant bring it back to store because you have already opened the packing! It shold be placed somewhere on the cover!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy

Agree!

Aye. While "Steam" has many anoyances for the user it dosent do what SF dose. Anoyances are (imo) eaiser to deal with and leave you with a working PC. (Unlike what SF can leave you with besides a head ache). Online activation is more straight forward. It dose what it says on the tin and thats that. Once you uninstall a game with online activation (HL2 etc) then its gone where SF isnt. As the devs etc look for better ways to protect there games from piracy etc we are gonna come into contact with such things i guess. Therefore its up to us (the consumer) to let the ppl who matter (devs,publishers etc) know that were not happy with a protection like SF due to the consequences having a SF protected game can cause. I wonder if On-line activation is the way forward ?. I for one would perfer that. Its the better of two evils is it not?. Its not a cast iron guarentee to protect games from becoming warez (which is what the devs etc are looking for is it not?) because as im sure many of us know there was a version of HL2 avalible with the online activation ripped out meaning the S/P part of the game was playable. I do belive online activation is more user freindly than SF and i dont mind having games with online activation installed on my PC unlike SF protected games. Do you think its the way more and more games will be protected ?? It is a winner in many ways is it not ? I say that because people who own the original game (bought from shop etc) are able to back it up quiet easily and its all about the code. The only loosers in one way are the ppl who wish to own the game for nothing weather thats by D/L or whatever, and thats what its meant to stop is it not?. Having said all this i wouldnt be surprised is ppl arnt of the same opinion and dont want online activation instead of "other" protections. So SF or Online activation ? (im intrested to know which ppl would choose if given the option).

I think there will be solution to backup every SF3 title released so far, with new Daemon Tools 4 Pro, which will go out very soon.

From other forum -

Quote:

Some guys in the BETA of Daemon Tools PRO v.1, tell that from a ORIGINAL dvd of Splinter Cell 3, you can clone with Alcohol (mdf+mds) and play mounting the mds emulating Starforce with Daemon Tools...

So, just burn the game with Alcohol 120% (latest). and mount with Daemon Tools, install and play. This is tested with the latest staforce (the 3rd Splinter Cell 3 patch)

http://img27.echo.cx/img27/8028/daemontools43yf.jpg

http://img65.echo.cx/img65/55/dtoolssf35la.jpg

That won't help, since the SF devs will soon realize how daemon tools gets around the protection and release a new version. we do not only need ot boycot starforce, but any kind of copy protection! for software and music as well. as i already said, poeple who buy the software get the copy protection with it. people who download it from the internet don't, so what#s the point?
Btw, a french court dicided that copy protections are illegal, because the are against the users right to make one backup copy. very sad that the french have to show the rest of the world what is right...

Yes i agree ,
i'm will not pay to get some kind of Trojan , Virus or something else to my Pc.
So i hope all ****in Starforce programmers will die a low age!!

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Psi ops is Starforce 3 protected too

Quote:

Originally Posted by corones

So i hope all ****in Starforce programmers will die a low age

Next time, TURN ON YOUR BRAIN, before posting such a crap !!!
Wishing the dead to people, only because you can't make a backup of a software.......... :confused: :confused: :confused:

Quote:

Originally Posted by impic0

That won't help, since the SF devs will soon realize how daemon tools gets around the protection and release a new version.

But then again, Daemon Tools developers will release just a small update, and thats it. It will be easier for them, because they know now, how SF3 works.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevi

But then again, Daemon Tools developers will release just a small update, and thats it. It will be easier for them, because they know now, how SF3 works.

Wait a second, shouldn't the people who actualy make the protection know better what they do, because they have the source? It's always more difficult to reverse-engineer, because you only have the asm "source".

Quote:

Originally Posted by impic0

I know that, but DT devs are also NOT stupid. :eek: There will ALWAYS be some kind of workaround - from hakers, Virtual Drive devs, or someone else... SF3 people are NOT the smartest people on earth. I know that there are some smart talented people that know how to crack dificult SF3 games (with dificult VM, PC Codes, and other custom stuff) in quicker way, but they are keeping it for themselves. They are not part of the warez scene... By the way, ALOT of good legendary crackers got busted last year (Fairlight, Immersion, Razor 1911, Deviance). With them, SF3 would be dead already, but nevermind, there WILL ALWAYS be some kind a workaround... :D Just my 2 cents.

@Stevi and Impic0
C'mon guys this was supposed to be a Starforce Petition thread! Go chat to each other in the 'Chit Chat' forum please. :rolleyes: ;)

Well sorry, but this thread makes no sense since you "sign" against the (almost) only copy protection that is still hard to crack. so what do you want? that software is protected by weak copy protections that erverybody can crack with help of some "tool"? i don't think publishers will agree with you. wouldn't it make more sense to start a petition against copy protections?

Quote:

Originally Posted by impic0

Wrong

The petition is for starforce and his malicious drivers (work as a virus in your PC), not for protections in general.

If you read all post in the thread you get enough information about this.

@LoxHazard
That is exactly right. Well said. ;)

NOTE: Its a shame the 14 1/2 thousand who have viewed this thread so far didnt come on board and submit their disgust at the Starforce Protection!
Not that they all would have been a different member etc, nor would they all have neccasarily agreed with what we have to say, but yeh it would have been nice! ;)

Hi guys,

On a sidenote, Starforce developers are developing software for the money. Dameon Tools developers, on the other hand, are developing free software for the fame. Guess who has more enthusiasm to trick the other? :D

Joe

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joe Forster/STA

Dameon Tools developers, on the other hand, are developing free software for the fame.

When i remember right, the new DAEMON TOOLS PRO 1.0 will be not for free !!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoxHazard

Wrong

The petition is for starforce and his malicious drivers (work as a virus in your PC), not for protections in general.

If you read all post in the thread you get enough information about this.

So your opinion is, that copy protections are ok? I mean, not that they just make it hard for you to make a backup of your legally owned software. They also let your game become more expensive.

twisted logic there, most of the times you dont legally own the software you own a license for it, and if the cd breaks you use the existance of that license to get a replacment from the publisher, as for protections costing more, they cost a fraction of the game price if you want to see where the real mark up is , its in the store, check retail price against the supplier price.. thats where the money is made, and with piracy simply exiting most publishers weight the cost of a few cents per cd for the protection and go with it, if you have a problem with the original cd then contact the publisher, thats how it works, the main 'issue' with starforce that most ppl have (apart from jumping on the 'waaah, no cracks exist for xxxx, i cant play it now' bandwagon) is the fact that the drivers make their system unstable and cause intermittent crashes, and that uninstalling the game does not uninstall the drivers etc.. thats the main argument of this thread

Quote:

Originally Posted by TippeX

You own the right to make a backup copy.

having the right to make a backup copy and physically being able to do it are two totally different things all together, the industry protects the industry, no more, no less, as a consumer you really have zero rights

Quote:

Originally Posted by impic0

So your opinion is, that copy protections are ok? I mean, not that they just make it hard for you to make a backup of your legally owned software. They also let your game become more expensive.

No. I only say that this Thread is for starforce and his infernal drivers, I don´t say my opinion about others protections.

Protections aren´t good for legit customers, i agree with this, but Starforce not only protected backup posibilities, installed evil drivers in ours PC too. For this, is that this thread exists.

Anyway, I agree with Grumpy that this thread is for petition, not for discussion.

You can create a thread over other protections or other things.

There are some more games that are protected by StarForce, apart from the ones mentioned. There's also Beyond Divinity and some more games listed here:
http://www.cdmediaworld.com/hardware...ar_force.shtml

I totally agree that it's 100% illegal not to inform the user about the existence of Starforce drivers on his system. Trojans get installed in exactly the same way

Quote:

Originally Posted by thebluegr

There are some more games that are protected by StarForce, apart from the ones mentioned.

Update -

Pro Rugby Manager 2
Psychotoxic
Sudeki
Creature Conflict - The Clan Wars
Cross Racing Championship
Restricted Area
Trackmania - Sunrise
Singles 2
Codename Panzers - Phase Two
1944 - Battle of the Bulge
Second Sight
Postal 2 - Apocalypse Weekend
Area 51
Psi Ops - The Mindgate Conspiracy
Domination
Still Life
SuperPower 2
Chaos League
Maximus XV: Abraham Strong Space Mercenary
Will of Steel
Garfield
The Moment of Silence
Medieval Lords
Gadget and the Gadgetinis
Gooka – The Mystery of Janatris
Xpand Rally
Asterix & Obelix XXL
Breed
Club Football 2005
Fire Department 2
I-Ninja
LMA Manager 2005

And maybe some more...

Addition:
Afrika Korps vs. Desert Rats (or Desert Rats vs. Afrika Korps)
Was it mentioned yet? Couldn't see it :confused:

Thanks for the update on the starforce games guys. I will update the list (in post #1) sometime tommorrow. I would do it now but its 4.30am here and I will be punchin Z's soon! :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grumpy

There seems to be some strong (maybe even heated) discussions happening through these forums regarding the Starforce protection.
Which brings me to start this thread. I would hope that only a simple comment is needed here: "Yes, I am boycotting Starforce games". That is really all that needs to be said! There is no point in congesting this thread with arguments, its not what I would like to see happen here! There is no need to say anything else! If people are serious then leave a short message here.
I would also hope that if this thread gains enough support then it could maybe become a future 'Sticky'? After a few weeks or months we will know if this is worth persueing.
Its not that I am supporting Warez or Piracy, I just dont agree with Software being installed onto my system without my approval!

Come on all, place your support post here. If you dont agree with what I am saying then simply do not post here! A post here is a post counted. ;)

Thankyou for your post/vote.

P.S: I truly hope Empire doesnt mind this sort of petition?

Ok, a big thankyou to Morglum from cdsteam who has been kind enough to let me use his Starforce Protected Games List. Now it was originally a Spanish only list! So some of these games will need to be checked. The Games with '???????' next to them are the ones I am not sure of the correct English title? So feel free to let me know of the correct title or any other Starforce games which are not on the list? I will edit the list to keep it up to date. (Some of the games may only be Spanish games as well, I havent checked them all yet.)

Starforce Protected Games

- 7 Sins [3.4.71.19]
- Afrika Korps VS Desert Rats [v3.3.31.21]
- Blitzkrieg - Rolling Thunder [v3.4.50.1]
- Codename: Panzers - Phase One (3 CDs) [v3.3.37.2]
- Colin McRae Rally 2005 (DVD) [v3.4.49.1]
- Cossacks II - Napoleonic Wars (2 CDs) [v3.4.65.11]
- Counter Terrorist SF - Fire for Effect (DVD) [v3.4.71.19]
- Cycling Manager 3
- Cycling Manager 4 [v3.3.36.1]
- D Day (2 CDs) [v3.4.41.1]
- Dead to Rights (3 CDs) [v3.3.37.26]
- Etherlords 2 (2 CDs) [v3.3.31.21]
- Fair Strike (2 CDs) [v3.3.33.3]
- Fire Department
- Gangland [v3.3.36.1]
- GTR FIA GT Racing game (2 CDs) [v3.4.70.2]
- Juana De Arco [v3.3.36.1] ???????????????
- Kill Switch (2 CDs) [v3.3.33.8]
- Korea - Forgotten Conflict [v3.3.27.36]
- League Manager 2005[v3.4.50.1] ???????????????????????
- Obscure (1 DVD) [v3.3.36.1]
- Pac Man World 2 [v3.3.30.11]
- Pax Romana [v3.3.30.11] ??????????????
- Real Madrid Club Soccer (DVD) [v3.4.50.1] ???????????????
- Scrapland (2 CDs) [v3.4.50.1]
- Shade - Wrath of Angels [v3.4.53.0]
- Silent Hunter III [v3.4.71.19]
- Singles [v3.3.33.6]
- Soldiers - Heroes of WWII [v3.3.36.1]
- Splinter Cell - Chaos Theory [v3.4.71.19]
- Street Racing Syndicate
- The Black Mirror (2 CDs) [v3.3.27.36]
- The Entente [v3.3.37.26] ???????????????????
- The Fall - Last days of Gaia (2 CDs) [v3.4.63.3]
- The Kreed [v3.3.27.36]
- The Suffering (2 CDs) [v3.3.37.2]
- Toca Race Driver 2 (1 DVD) [v3.3.35.2]
- Trackmania
- UFO Aftermath ( 2 CDs) [v3.3.27.31]
- Victoria – Empire Under the Sun [v3.3.30.5] ?????????????????
- Virtual Skipper 3
- WWII Frontline Command [v3.3.0.26]

Here you can read an article about Starforce. It is an interview with Abbie Sommer of StarForce.
She discusses many aspects of the Starforce Protection, what it is, what it does and why it is needed.
Here is just a small portion of that interview:

Question: There's an uproar among segments of the game community that StarForce is installed without user approval. Is this a potential legal concern for your company?

Answer: There is no legal concern because before a user loads a game, he or she has agreed to accept the conditions of the end-user licensing agreement, typically known as a EULA. These are also known as click and go, or click and accept agreements. When you accept, you are saying I will load this game or application at my own risk, and have read and understood the terms. Or there will be a disclaimer that protects the publisher from damages of any kind due to their products’ use. Our product is licensed to our customers, and becomes part of their product, so the user by accepting the terms, is giving approval.

Now here Abbie states "When you accept, you are saying I will load this game or application at my own risk, and have read and understood the terms."

Tell me please people, how many of you, after reading the EULA, actually understood, from those terms, that an intrusive protection was going to be installed onto your system? Do you think her statement only implies to 'The Game' itself? I believe the EULA should tell us about the protection being installed!
If in fact there was nothing to worry about why is this statement included?
"Or there will be a disclaimer that protects the publisher from damages of any kind due to their products’ use"
The word 'Products' should really only say 'Game'! After all that is all we have been made aware of installing, as thats all it says earlier!
To be fair to the gamer this is how I believe that part or the EULA should be written:
"I will load this game and the Protection application at my own risk, and have read and understood the terms."

I still believe it is only a matter of time before this issue finds its way into a court of Law! The wording of documents like the EULA must be written in a way so as not to decieve the consumer! We must be given the opportunity to be 'fully' aware as to what we are actually installing!

Grumpy

Ok, since they hide Starforce within the game EULA, them I beleave that they will be buying the games back? Since the rules are once you buy a game and you open it YOU KEEP IT. There is no returning open games. So if we dont want Starforce in our systems then due to the manner in they hide this piece of software, sounds like a type of computer highjack, within the content of the game maybe they can be held accountable and therefore refunding gamers for the damage software?

You can add two more starforce protected games to the list:

Xpand Rally
Warlords Battle Cry 3 (European Version Starforce protected not the english one)

Thank god I found working no cd cracks for them

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoxHazard

Wrong

The petition is for starforce and his malicious drivers (work as a virus in your PC), not for protections in general.

If you read all post in the thread you get enough information about this.

LOL :D
Dude you scare me... But i know the truth. So stop bagging others!
Where is the proof that SF drivers is a virus??
No one antivirus software company update thier antivir bases with StarForce! NO ONE!!! No articles where wrote on it in serious antivir resoures. You just use the hearings and conjecture from the web.

Think when you drink! :p

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pyr0

i refuse to buy any more starforce protected games :mad:

dito!

i refuse to buy any copy protected game, but starforce even more because it goes to mutch into my system. and i refuse to belive that starforce drivers are malicious, because that doesn't make any sense.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nerva

I don´t drink.

First, i don´t say that starforce is a virus, i said that works similar as a virus, because attack other software like alcohol 120%, and other bad things. There are a lot of writer drivers broken for starforce drivers, is true.

Anyway you are totaly partial, how you are starforce admin forum and works for starforce:
http://star-force.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38

Your opinion is not valid in this case.