Poll of the Day > What if instead of using DRM copyright protection for PC games...

(+) Yeah! (+)

put a little file in the game so that if it detects a pirated copy of the game, your computer ASSPLODES.
Problem ssolved

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I've always wanted to see someone implement random screamers as an anti piracy measure.
Only problem would be if somehow it failed and affected honest purchasers of the game.

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Ferarri619 posted...

ASSPLODES

Smells like 2006 in here

Ferarri619 posted... put a little file in the game so that if it detects a pirated copy of the game, your computer ASSPLODES.
Problem ssolved

What if you posted good topics and messages.

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Zangulus posted...

And the first game Bethesda releases with they measure destroys thousands of computers due to an errant variable name.

Lmfao

Zeus posted...

What if you posted good topics and messages.

Whaaaaaaat, I thought we were getting along now?

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Zangulus posted...

And the first game Bethesda releases with they measure destroys thousands of computers due to an errant variable name.

And then the pirates, who are almost certainly better coders than the actual company, remove that code from the pirated copy and the pirated copy becomes the only version that WON'T destroy your computer.

...You know, until the blind sheep Bethesda fans create a "mod" (more like a patch!) to fix the issue and do Bethesda's job for them, for free.

Some games do sabotage the pirate releases; like Arkham City screwed up the glide controls, and people laughed when the pirates cried on the forums about the broken game.

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Rotpar posted...

Some games do sabotage the pirate releases; like Arkham City screwed up the glide controls, and people laughed when the pirates cried on the forums about the broken game.

My favourite is still Game Dev Tycoon: If you play a pirated copy of the game, piracy gradually becomes a larger and larger problem for the game you're developing until it eventually becomes insurmountable and you go bankrupt. People asking how to overcome piracy on that game's forums got a rather quick lesson in self-awareness.

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YonicBoom posted...

Only problem would be if somehow it failed and affected honest purchasers of the game.

This has always been the real problem with anti-piracy measures. The pirates usually find ways around all the DRM and pirate the game anyway, while the only people who actually suffer are the people who legally paid for the product.

Which then, ironically, can encourage those people to avoid paying for the game and just track down a pirated copy (which plays better), thus doing the complete opposite of what was originally intended.
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The biggest problem with DRM is most of it is cracked within a week or two (very rarely more then that) of release, yet most companies keep it on their games for several years (or permanently) so the only people it is hurting are the ones who buy their games legally. I honestly believe that the advent of digital and regular sales has done more to combat piracy then DRM has ever done. I mean, why get a pirated version of a game from a shady site that has god knows what kinds of viruses and spyware included with it when I can go on GoG and pick it up for less then $10, maybe even less if I am willing to wait for a sale? And I am guarenteed to have it work on my system or I get my money back!

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Dikitain posted...

when I can go on GoG and pick it up for less then $10, maybe even less if I am willing to wait for a sale? And I am guarenteed to have it work on my system or I get my money back!

In all seriousness, you can actually get GoG games to work with some tweaking. If the game isn't working just check the GoG forums on the specific game. Chances are that many are having the same problem as you.
Soul Reaver 2 and The Suffering: Ties that Bind were literally unplayable on my Windows 10 machine but with some tweaking and/or certain free software, I got them both working fine.

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