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Starforce on Beta probably means Starforce on Retail...
Published on March 24, 2006 By iTZKooPA In PC Gaming
Update: Another user has received the following response from the SaveHeroes.org team:

From: Admin@saveheros.org

I am only going to state this once... get it to your "team".

We at SaveHeroes.org did not create our petition to stop development or inclusion of StarForce. We do not condone the invasive procedures used by StarForce, but that was never our intent, and WILL never become our intent. Please stop sending these emails to us. They fall on ears that are not interested in hearing the same thing over and over.

This is the third letter of this kind. Any more letters and I will have no choice but to proceed with legal remedies under the anti spam acts.

So it appears that they don't understand that a) we are asking for their support and we are going after the same goal, making sure that the newest installment sells well. By the OVERWHELMING response to this post and the post running over Ubisoft's forums you can see that Starforce will definitely have an impact on sales.

End Update.


As many of you may have heard the people over at SaveHeroes.org managed to help get the newest Heroes of Might and Magic delayed in order to assure a successful relaunch of the franchise. While I was researching some information on the story I came across a few links detailing that the Beta of the game already had a copyright system, Starforce. Upon hearing this I began to worry, not because I was afraid the title was gonna suck, instead I was afraid the retail version would also have Starforce.

I am one of those people who not only hate malware, but who loves trying to get the most from his hardware. So the idea of installing one of the draconian DRM scheme to be able to play software that I legally own is appauling to me. So appauling in fact that I have joined the effort to boycott any title that uses the technology. Until now there was no big name title that I wanted to play that was enforcing the technology so I had no worries. Things have changed, and I plan on doing something about it.

Below is an e-mail that I sent over to admin@saveheroes.org in hopes of getting that community to stand up against Ubisoft again. If you feel the sameway I do about Starforce and DRM practices in general I would advise you to copy+paste (feel free to edit it if you wish) and send over your own copy to SaveHeroes.org. If anyone would like to join me in my cause an e-mail to Ubisoft directly should also be prepared incase the folks at SaveHeroes.org aren't interested in this new cause.




To Whom it May Concern,

First off I would like to congratulate the team at SaveHeroes.org for helping Ubisoft realize that the title needed more time. I have been a fan of the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise since the beginning and am happy that the new owner is willing to give the franchise the time it deserves to be developed. But there is a different problem with Ubisoft's approach to the franchise. The company has decided to release the game with the StarForce copyright protection system.

You may have heard something about the the use of StarForce since they have had a few bouts of bad press, most recently evidenced by the company linking to torrents of pirated copies of Galactic Civilizations II, and claiming that the developer WANTED people to pirate their product.

The reason I am writing to SaveHeroes.org is in hopes that you may once again rally the troops, this time against the use of Starforce. Although Starforce has been shown to be effective in stopping or slowing piracy it has also been shown to have detrimental affects to user's PCs, both software and hardware wise. With so many other 'good,' non-invasive DRM products available, including Securom, Ubisoft has no reason to stick with Starforce.

Many security and tech blogs, including the respected Boing Boing, have labeled the product as malware due to its invasive procedures. BoingBoing also has details, including screenshots of how this system can cause havoc to CD/DVD drives, rendering them useless. The products newest iterations even can have BIOS level access, effectively giving the company ABSOLUTE control over a user's machine.

During the initial push to save Heroes your community was formed because it was afraid that a bad installment of the franchise would doom it. With the use of Starforce, and the current boycott of any games that use the technology, a sluggish performance is still possible.

I implore SaveHeroes.org to at least look into the idea of starting another rally. For the Heroes community and for gamers around the world who want to stop being hampered by this kind of draconian technology. I for one am a boycotter of Starforce and will not buy the game if it is released this kind of protection scheme, even if it is a title or franchise that I love. As I said there are many other options out there for Ubisoft to use that don't have the same detrimental effects. It is also worth noting that Starforce is being investigated as part of the Sony/BMG Rootkit class action lawsuit. If the suit is found in favor of the people then Ubisoft and other companies that use the technology could lose millions.

You can find additional information on the topic at the Wikipedia entry and various other places on the Internet. I hope to hear back from you soon either way.



Thanks for your time,

-Name


Comments (Page 3)
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on Mar 28, 2006
What is it with people bashing russian devs...Jesus some of the software they put out is miles ahead of certain US products. Way to go generalizing a entire country. Tsk tsk.

I could name a bunch of titles from russian devs that are far superior then their western counter parts. As far as starforce goes i agree but if you even had half a brain you would know its the publisher that decides which copy protection is used. Seriously though might wanna learn something about the industry in general before you make posts that make you look like an idiot.

on Mar 28, 2006
I could name a bunch of titles from russian devs that are far superior (than) their western (counterparts).


Can you? I sure can't. Please, go ahead. I do know of a case where the US intelligence secretly planted bugs in software that the Soviets were attempting to steal. The USSR used this software to control their own gas pipeline, which exploded so catastrophically that the event was observed from space. I can only assume that this was caused by an inability of Russians to write software.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4394002

I'm not going to join the anti-Russian bandwagon, or say something sarcastic like "Russia makes bad software because everyone is trying to type at once on the communal keyboard". I don't think Russia is responsible for Starforce except insofar as the country lacks a legal system that deals with corporate crime. Now that the Cold War is over and the East can import modern computer hardware and software, there's no reason Russians should be unable to program, though there are way more people in the West have more experience, from the decades of Cold War when computers were nonexistant behind the Curtain. For example, lots of great games come from Warsaw nations now... just look at Serious Sam and - woah, wait a second, HOMMV is coming from Russia! How interesting

Whether is is "Great" remains to be seen.
on Apr 04, 2006

"In Russia, the security software protects the program from YOU!"

Shame about UbiSoft...I'm another who's purchased every HoMM title and expansion, it's been like my Solitaire or Free Cell for years, a great time-waster. But I can't see putting that on my system.

Hopefully, publishers will come to accept: However effective or economical the copy protection software, it FAILS when it drives people away from purchasing the product! Whether the non-buyers then download or do without is not really the bottom-line question for the business types, is it?
on Apr 04, 2006

Oh, and regarding whether or not the Russians really can't ever do nothing right, one word:

Andrei Kirilenko.
on Apr 04, 2006
tetris?
on Apr 04, 2006
Well it goes like this, I won't participate in the development of trash ( Betas which will install Starforce on your computer ) for reasons previously stated. As I don't want any piece of software having those kind of rights on my system. Also I like my cd/dvd drives and having them continue to work is not something thats negotiable.

Any games that have Starforce or something similar will not purchase. Will purchase other titles from other companies.

We gamers need to unite on this and SHOW them we mean it, effectively boycotting said titles. Companies will start to take notice. Enough is enough. This digital rights crap totally makes me sick. The DRM does not constitute fair use downloading purchased mp3s to another device such as your personal mp3 player without the consent of the copyright holders... Another rant for another thread = but it goes to show you we need to be heard. We need to stop the digital age from taking our 'rights' from us. We need to make it so these bad digital rights ideas and draconian software measures are pariahs and companies think hard and step away from them.


on Apr 04, 2006
Most people don't care about Starforce one way or the other I'm afraid. As long as it doesn't crash their computer that is....

HOMM5 will be a huge hit, its already one of the largest pre-ordered PC titles due for release in the next few months. So you not buying it will make no difference whatsoever. Ironically though, Amazon says that the same people who have pre-ordered HOMM5 also bought Oblivion and ....... GalCiv2!!!!! Ain't that an irony considering Starforce's actions towards the developers of both those games!

on Apr 05, 2006
But after the dog that was HOMM4, and the ugly mutt that was the HOMM5 demo, there is still a good chance that HOMM5 will fall flat on its face - good pre-order sales or not.

But in truth, it will have little to do with whether Starfarts is on the disk or not.
on Apr 14, 2006
http://tgnforums.stardock.com/?ForumID=141&AID=113158

WE WIN!
on Apr 15, 2006
Ehh you want names from triple A titles developed by russian developers... okay sure: LOMAC/Lock on: Modern Air Combat, IL-2 series (this one alone is huge), T-72, Blitzkrieg series, Silent Hunter 3, WW2 RTS (unreleased), Stalker (unreleased).

I could go on and on but nuff said. Notice how most of the games are realistic something 95% of all westen devs dont even attempt, and if they do it usually turn into a mess.

So once again, before you flame russian devs (for something they dont even have input in, hint hint: Starforce) how about informing yourself about the industry in general and take a look at the bunch of top quality software that comes from there.

Coldwar is long over no need to hate...
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