Disciples 3 - What kind of protection?

[Herbert Holman]

I cannot find this info anywere: what kind of protection go with Disciples 3?

I need to know because i wanto to write an article about this game, tnx

[wolfsrain]

Try contacting the Akella PR. If you mention for which magazine you will write the article, you might get some answers. Usually the russian PR is pretty cooperative (i've dealt with Nival before and they were nice enough to give some mail interviews).
en.akella.com/
The game is not finished and the most optimistical date is quarter2, 2009. So the protection might not be decided yet.

[Blazkowicz]

But as we know Akella likes StarForce, it is 90% sure they will use StarForce also for that game.

[Herbert Holman]

@wolfsrain: is just my little site, is not anything big like a magazine, so i don't think they bother to answer me.
Anyway, tnx

@Blazkowicz: i'm wrong or starfoce has been readically dropped in games a few months ago? If i remeber correctly, they don't use starfoce protection anymore.

[Zulu]

I guess you know that thread
http://www.strategyfirst.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=35609

No 100% reliable answer regarding non-russian versions by the admin.

Same uncertainty here
http://www.disciples3.ru/forum/showt...t=1110&page=72

[Muji-FightR]

Why is it only Russian stuff that gets protected by StarForce ?
Don't they complain as much as e.g. French people ?

I thought they get their legal 10 bucks versions anyway :?

[Herbert Holman]

Originally Posted by Muji-FightR

Why is it only Russian stuff that gets protected by StarForce ?
Don't they complain as much as e.g. French people ?

I thought they get their legal 10 bucks versions anyway :?

My guess: russian market is full of piracy.
You think west-european/american market got piracy, but if you stick your nose into russian (eastern europe) illegal download, you will find a far more worse situation.
I wrote a few articles about piracy, and all the WWW market statistics i found around say the same thing, africa is a proxy paradise, sweden the p2p paradise and russian black market (organization who sell illegal warez) is one of the strong on the net.

Of course i also think starforce is not the solution, but... well, i want just to write an article, so i guess i'll wait a bit more

[wolfsrain]

Pure speculation: the EU version might get TAGES, while the US might be saturated with the latest "rage" SecuROM online.

[TippeX]

Originally Posted by Herbert Holman

My guess: russian market is full of piracy.
You think west-european/american market got piracy, but if you stick your nose into russian (eastern europe) illegal download, you will find a far more worse situation.
I wrote a few articles about piracy, and all the WWW market statistics i found around say the same thing, africa is a proxy paradise, sweden the p2p paradise and russian black market (organization who sell illegal warez) is one of the strong on the net.

Of course i also think starforce is not the solution, but... well, i want just to write an article, so i guess i'll wait a bit more

you kind of left out the asian area too as a piracy 'haven'

[Herbert Holman]

Originally Posted by TippeX

you kind of left out the asian area too as a piracy 'haven'

It's because i think asian situation is different from european-american situation
The software market is more advanced, piracy is not a big issue (even considering the industry stats.) because the industry here live on rental copy (i've see this with my eye when i was on "japan vacation") and not direct resell as we do.
America and europe rent they products as well, but asian country do it on a social base, even they marketing is different from "ours", so people who share got most of they copy through multipley rental product.

[Joe Forster/STA]

I think TippeX rather meant the fact that, in Asia, you can purchase very much original looking software for a fraction of the original price IN A SHOP. They've stepped to a new level of piracy with counterfeiting: pressing pirated software in factories and putting it into a nice box. (Although the low price and a directory called Crack on an "original" disc should give you a hint. )

[wolfsrain]

Joe, that's true for most of the asian countries. The only exception is Japan. But if you look to the countries where the piracy level is high, one of the main cause is the poor economy of those countries.
In Eastern Europe, the piracy rate is high not only because of the poor economy, but also of a lack of a good distribution chain. Also the prices in Eastern Europe are even higher for many products. Example Fallout 1 it can be bought on the western market with maximum 5 euro. In Eastern Europe, the price doubles. It's a combination of greed, lack of a long-term vision and the fact that most of the distribution chains in Eastern Europe don't have any real competition. Games that were released years ago, can be found there at prices varying between 25 and 40 euro. Also, due to the actions of some residents from Eastern Europe, those countries are banned from sites like Amazon, ebgames, play.com, gamestop and so on. So those people are in a strange position. They can't buy an original game due to very high pricing, they don't have access to Direct2Drive type of sites, where they could get their game cheaper. I've found Eastern Europe as a strange mix, where people are obssessed with making a quick buck, never thinking how to develop an actual market for the products they sell. People from those countries, who are willing to respect the law, are jumping through hoops to get a legit copy. And that shouldn't be happening. But if the distribution is lacking and those people have the means to buy a legit copy, why blocking their access? Why not double checking the datas and then, if they are okay, to give them the product they want??? I've checked a lot of sites, and around 90% don't ship or make transactions with the countries from EE. Weird situation...

[nando2002]

The difference between EE countries and mine it's you may buy on-line. But kids can't do it and most parents don't buy stuff in the internet. So you get stuck to retailers.
Here's is an example: Racedriver GRID
new @ gamestop.com = $29.98
new @ gamestop.pt = €49.98 (inc. VAT 20%)
even if you include transport and VAT it's cheaper than buying it here.
We have a good distribution network but ppl in my country are greedy also.

[Herbert Holman]

Originally Posted by Joe Forster/STA

I think TippeX rather meant the fact that, in Asia, you can purchase very much original looking software for a fraction of the original price IN A SHOP

You can do that even in my country, and is not asia, but is not even legal.
Also, for piracy i mean primary P2P (torrent) and the likes (rapidshare, and so on...).
Games sold at black market is smuggling, another tipe of piracy not included in the report linked upon.

Originally Posted by wolfsrain

But if you look to the countries where the piracy level is high, one of the main cause is the poor economy of those countries.

I just think this: if you give people the chooice to buy a 5$ or to download for free, people always choose to download, with rare exception.
Why? Because whe live in capitalistic country, so every $ not spent is a $ gained.

Originally Posted by wolfsrain

In Eastern Europe, the piracy rate is high not only because of the poor economy, but also of a lack of a good distribution chain. Also the prices in Eastern Europe are even higher for many products. Example Fallout 1 it can be bought on the western market with maximum 5 euro. In Eastern Europe, the price doubles. It's a combination of greed, lack of a long-term vision and the fact that most of the distribution chains in Eastern Europe don't have any real competition.

There is one thing positive in global market: you can buy whatever you want, whenever you want.
Using proxy o VPN you can reach site "out of usual range", also you can simply get an anonymous box with the game, no one is go to block you (well, maybe if you live in a dictatorship country... but i think is not our case, right? ).

I always buy game at the lesser price, via eBay or public forum (some got a little market of scrapped games, is easy to find them, at least in my country).

[DABhand]

Again to educate the masses.

Piracy = Warez sold for profit, by market sellers etc

Warez Users = people who download and steal software without selling.