New version of SecuROM

[lewisb40]

Cool, going to check it out :thumbup:

[Empathy]

I refuse to be treated like a criminal and i find it soo offensive that they have the darn nerve to treat me/us like this

[gazania]

There is definitively is other ways for them to deal with pirates/warez. Again, EA games should do what Valve and Steam does(and Blizzard is also going to set up a service similar to Steam).

Steam offers a lot of protection against pirates due to the fact that you buy games directly from Steam(online store/account), and the games are tied directly to your account.

Of course, you require internet connection for Steam but you only need internet connection when you download and install stuff for Steam.

You can play offline afterwards once you've downloaded and installed the game from Steam.

Blizzard is also going to this route(though it's not the "exact" same as Valve and Steam), allowing people to download/buy games directly from the Blizzard online store.

So EA games should get heads up and copy Valve's method with Steam.

Yes, Steam is one of the services my husband put on both our computers. At first, it was a PITA because messages kept popping up whenever we turned the computer on, and I admit to calling my best friend and lover a few nasty names when I saw them. But it seems to be very easy to configure so that you don't even know it's there unless you need to use it.

This is even more frustrating. Why doesn't EA Games offer both options? If they want to be a pain in the butt, they can sweeten the Securom pot (Price? Goodies?) But if they really had half a brain, and they have negotiators who can make the proper arrangements, this could really work in their favor. They can "save face", yet offer us a choice. EA would be happy. We'd be happy. EA might actually see sales increase. People who really wanted these games legitimately might be less tempted to go the arrr or the "do without" route. I know that I for one would be tempted to buy BV if EA offered me those options.

Or is this too simplistic in the land of pixels?

[MaryH]

EA does not see us as customers. They see us as walking bank accounts, who will buy anything they sell us. That is the wrong approach to take, and we should fight them on this issue.
Why am I so harsh in this? Because the quality of their releases has steadily declined, and their work has been very poor in fixing games with patches. If a game was so great, why would it need a patch in the first place? A patch means that they screwed up making the game and they don't want to admit it.
But they want us to buy everything they sell without protest, without comment, and with a smiley happy face. They're the ones who borked your game, but they're the last to admit it. This is trying to get them to be held accountable for destroying computers that ran fine without their damned software in the first place.
Not gonna happen without a fight.

[raindrops84]

In light of the new Freetime Patch and all the issues it has caused with its SecuROM update (that EA conveniently forgot to mention was apart of the patch) I wanted to bump this thread and let Simmers know they can get more information on SecuROM at

http://securom.sublimesims.net/

[lewisb40]

I went on the site to look at the patch and was discouraged to even download it, cause the fixes were the same as past patches. Then when I opened the the patch file and saw the size, I knew something was up. So I waited. Watched the BBS and other sites about the patch. When it said an aggressive SecuRom was added, I said no all together.

My game is running fine, and what I wanted fixed I got from MATY, Simlogical, and Simbology. No thank you, EA.

Another thing, my computer has been spared, so far, from the woes of SecuRom, but I didn't want this on my computer anyway. I don't mind copy-rights on your own products, but your copywrite protection cannot govern the way I use my computer. Sony just wanted to hi-jack computers world-wide to protect all their media. No making back-ups or burning music for the computer world. Thank computer gods for Nortons. I might have been messed up without it.

[tallsimsfan77]

I think EA is digging their grave now because this copy protect might make people turn to piracy to avoid the mess.

As if I haven't.
I mean... my German language copy of OfB was bought off Ebay... >.>

Back on topic- yeah- the switch over to Suck-u-rom was a bad move in the first place; now the new version seems so... I don't know.  It's like they want to control your gaming habits?

[MaryH]

Yes. They want to control your computer, your gaming habits and your downloading. You download something the program doesn't like, it shuts down the computer. You burn something on your DVD burner, it shuts down the burner, because it thinks you're a pirate making copies of games.
 It installs in your computer and does not get removed by doing anything less than a total reformat of your hard drive-now if you've got a few days, you can do this-the hubby has done this to computers before, and it takes at least 24 hours if not more to properly reformat and reinstall a complete working OS in a standard computer.
 He does it thoroughly-and believe me, if he swears he doesn't want to do it, he knows what he's talking about. Starting from scratch to redo everything from nothing.
Yes, that's hard-but it is almost impossible to do it unless you're a professional computer programmer who knows every single trick in the book.

[EKozski]

Like I said in a prior post. I REFUSE to buy anything from EA. Since I'm buying a GIG of memory, I'm toying with the idea of buying, Seasons.

But I found out something odd the other night, I have an earlier version of  SecuRom on my computer. When I downloaded the latest update to my Diablo II Lord of Destruction game a long time ago, it added that.

I'm still able to burn CD/DVD's burn mp3's, movies, anything for that matter. But, when I uninstalled the game, it stayed behind.

I kinda freaked when I saw that, then I realized, nothing is wrong with my computer. So, yes, I do have it, but nothing is wrong. My computer is still my computer.

It came via Blizzard Entertainment.

[MaryH]

Unfortunately a lot of companies are using SecuRom in their games-there is a partial list of those games at our site.
But I think that EA is the only one using such a extreme version of it that disables and destroys so many types of computers-there is something very wrong in that program, and we'd like to find out why it is just eating up computer systems like this.
Then there are the companies that aren't using SecuRom at all..one or two...wish it were more than that, because it would encourage people to buy better games.

[EKozski]

From everything I've been reading, yes, it is extreme. My paranoia prevents me from buying ANYTHING with this new version on it. Normally, I'm not a paranoid person to begin with.

But, the one thing I'm curious about is, has anyone talked to a lawyer yet? Everybody getting together and trying to create a mass tort case. A big company like EA could afford to pay out a few billion.

For instance, my dad was taking Vioxx when he died. Vioxx had several mass tort cases. Or maybe that might not be enough. But, with enough people rallying, it might work. SecuRom destroyed private property. (computer). It induced stress and nervous conditions. Loss of sleep. Invasion of privacy. I could go on and on.

No company is above the law.

That was just something I was thinking about.

[cypherathos]

EA is being possessed. That's all I'll say...

[raindrops84]

But, the one thing I'm curious about is, has anyone talked to a lawyer yet? Everybody getting together and trying to create a mass tort case. A big company like EA could afford to pay out a few billion.

Your are not the only one thinking along those lines, at the Simmers against Securom site Forum, that is exactly what they are looking into. What can we do to make EA hear us and are there any legal paths we can take.

Not everyone is having issues with SecuROM on their computers but it seems with every new EPs and patches (and just wait for the Ikea stuff pack) it gets to more and more people. I don't have any issues with SecuROM yet but I am pretty sure the SecuROM version on the FT patch would have been an issue for me as I have both Nero and Roxio, I am really glad I didn't download it. When I saw the patch was out I actually first went to the EA BBS, Insim and Simmers against SecuROM and I found exactly what I had been (sadly) expecting.

Even if I haven’t had any issues with it yet, I still feel the need to make a stand against it, they have no right to do this to people, never mind their loyal customers. The version they are planning on including on Spore and the Sims 3 is truly what I wish to see stopped before it even hits the market… but we will see. So many people have already complained to them about the current version of SecuROM and they haven’t done anything about it, the FT patch is the proof. I myself have sent them a couple written letters to tell them I won’t be giving them my money any longer. They don't deserve it.

Were they always like this and I was just too blind to see or did they go under some new management or something? Makes me wonder... /sigh

[MaryH]

I think that before EA acquired Maxis, they had the same attitude. Remember, the Sims franchise was started at Maxis, and when they got bought out by EA, the entire company was absorbed into EA..which is a huge congolomerate, with it's eye on the bottom line.
As I wrote-"Money talks. Make your voice heard at EA Headquarters."

[Sam the T-man]

Well, thanks to this stupid software, EA's claims that their games will run on Vista is a lie! My luck finally ran out; updates wouldn't install properly (on AVG or Windows), every time I loaded up Windows it'd say my firewall was turned off (that was a big clue), and my net connection was slower than it should be - Blogger didn't even wanna know, and some other sites acted up too. I didn't realise they were all linked to the same problem, but the firewall was indication enough that maybe I should go looking for a crack and get rid of that software. Strangely enough, despite using a tool I found, and sifting through the registry etc. with a fine toothed comb afterwards to make sure it was gone (it was, as far as I could tell), the computer problems remained, so I started to wonder. I had no choice but to reinstall - my big thanks to Bill Gates for adding Easy Transfer to ease the headache, that's all I can say.

After finding out what they've been up to with this new patch, I did some more research. It turns out that all those problems I described are to do with SecuROM, and the killer was when I found out it was incompatible with Vista - WTH?? And I also find out that the version of this s/w on the FT patch is the one they're hoping to put on Sims 3 - the 3 computer/times/both limit version. Well thank you very much guys, I'll stick with the 3rd party fixes Oh, and maybe you should revise the compatibility listing on your games while you're at it. Your games may run on Vista, but the piece of crap you bundle with it sure as hell doesn't

*steps off soapbox*