Considering GameJackal? Better act fast...

[AstralWanderer]

Not used GameJackal myself but anyone considering a purchase may wish to act soon. Slysoft's lifetime update policy ends on the 1st January 2009 with customers from then on needing to pay an annual fee to maintain access to updates.

They currently have a 20% discount (due to end on the 31st December).

SlySoft License Change Announcement
SlySoft Homepage

[TippeX]

hmm im in mixed minds if this constitutes as advertising to be honest...
its an ok program (as/when it works), bit clunky for my liking (dt is my main preference)

lets see what the other mods think

[AstralWanderer]

I'd go for Daemon Tools in an instant if the pro version didn't require online activation and the free version didn't include (mandatory) adware. However I'm now considering GJ for those cases where no crack is available (latest versions of Children of the Nile and NWN2 notably) - at least Slysoft's licensing system (a straightforward serial number) doesn't have much scope to go amiss.

[TippeX]

i wouldn't pick gamejackal as a 'better candidate' when no crack is available, they aren't exactly as quick as daemon tools are when it comes to updating

dt online activation i honestly never had a problem with, the lite version doesn't include mandatory adware (the free version has image making capabilities i think, so if its just for simple game playing, install lite)

[DABhand]

If your online whats the problem with online activation? You talked about this a few times, seems you dont like it.

But to be honest GJ = crap. And do you think GJ does not contact home when you enter your serial? There is a huge chance after you think you have activated the software, GJ may contact a home server to report.

[AstralWanderer]

Originally Posted by DABhand

If your online whats the problem with online activation? You talked about this a few times, seems you dont like it.

Online activation has two problems:

• if the company dies, the software goes with it (covered in more detail in this Authorization Servers article). I have no way of knowing how long Daemon Tools (or any other developer/publisher) is going to stay in business, but as a paying customer, I shouldn't need to.
• the company can change the rules on activation any time it wants and enforce them. They could levy extra payments (Stardock does this if it thinks a licence has been transferred), require you to install software (e.g. adware, an "anti-cheat scanner" to check your system for cracks or even the publisher's own electronic store software) or just arbitrarily terminate your licence (as EA were threatening to do to anyone banned in their forums - they withdrew this threat but the fact that they were in a position to make it should give anyone pause for thought). Even if DT's LocutusOfBorg is the most honest, upright person on the Internet, who can guarantee that a more ruthless, money-grabbing, EA-tattoo-touting miscreant can't take over sometime in future?

Originally Posted by DABhand

And do you think GJ does not contact home when you enter your serial? There is a huge chance after you think you have activated the software, GJ may contact a home server to report.

Easy enough for a firewall to detect - have you seen this happen? In addition, no requirement for an Internet connection is given in GJ's requirements - now that doesn't guarantee no-phone-home (plenty of other software has that "let's check for updates automatically" feature) but it would seem to rule against any type of compulsory activation.

Originally Posted by TippeX

dt online activation i honestly never had a problem with, the lite version doesn't include mandatory adware (the free version has image making capabilities i think, so if its just for simple game playing, install lite)

Thanks for the info but does that mean that the note about Daemon Tools on this page needs an update?

[TippeX]

Originally Posted by AstralWanderer

Thanks for the info but does that mean that the note about Daemon Tools on this page needs an update?

yep, think so, because i definately have daemon tools lite 4.30.2 on my x64 machine sptd version 1.56 and during install i could choose not to use the adware..

so, to recap (heres how i think it goes)

daemon tools lite -> optional adware, simple image mounting etc..
daemon tools pro standard and daemon tools pro advanced

the standard and advanced version offer a 20 day trial as well as the activation based license

[AstralWanderer]

Getting back OT, I did install a trial version of GameJackal and can confirm that it works with the latest version (121.1549) of Neverwinter Nights 2 : Storm of Zehir (using SecuROM 7.38). Including the NWN2 profile, it takes up 50.31MB of disk space (30MB of that appears to be due to the profile) and adds 29.95KB data to the Windows Registry, which arguably isn't too bad for the functionality it offers.

Creating a profile is pretty easy to do (you need the original CD/DVD obviously) as is running it afterwards (you can create a shortcut that starts GameJackal, loads the profile and starts the game). The game takes a little longer to start than normal (about an extra 10 seconds) but CD-checks themselves can exceed this.

In terms of updates, the GameJackal Updates.txt file refers to previous versions being released on a weekly/fortnightly basis (35 updates since the 15th February 2008). This shows that it is being actively supported and should work with new games within a few weeks of release (gamers are best served waiting for the first patch before purchasing anyway).

The downside for me is the interface which is one of those "we-dont-care-about-standard-look-and-feel" types with multiple skins, all guaranteed to mismatch with your current desktop.

Overall, given the functionality it offers (CD image creation, drive/protection emulation, automatic image mounting) Game Jackal seems pretty compact. The profiles can take up a fair amount of space, but far less than a full ISO image or the game itself (NWN2 with its 2 expansions weighs in at 11.24GB). If you can bear its looks, it's worth checking out.

However the licensing change by SlySoft in the next couple of days is going to change GameJackal's attractiveness a lot - it is the type of software that needs frequent updates to keep pace with protection updates and having a yearly fee to pay (even with a discount) will make it far more costly long-term. Kudos to them for having (and keeping) the lifetime licence for this long though - companies doing this are increasingly rare.