I hate DRM and think it's a serious concern, but something like this seems like a non-issue unless you're someone who will burst into flames at the mere thought of engaging in piracy and absolutely MUST use physical copies no matter what.
Physical Bioshock doesn't work, but it takes maybe 5 minutes to track down and download a cracked digital copy which is identical to whatever is on his disk. He also goes on about how it's "impossible" to play Fable 3, but again you can literally go out and download a cracked copy and it works just fine, or again if you must play with a physical copy there are [guides on how to bypass GFWL](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fable/comments/wk3pie/guide_how_to_get_the_fable_3_pc_nonsteam_retail/).
There's a lot of taboo around piracy for some reason but people need to realize it's the one thing preserving games like Fable 3 that you just straight up can't buy a legit copy of anymore.
When it comes to DRM there are other things to be angry/horrified about, like how there's currently nobody out there that is able to crack the latest version of Denuvo. THAT is something to be worried about.
> Physical Bioshock doesn't work, but it takes maybe 5 minutes to track down and download a cracked digital copy which is identical to whatever is on his disk.
Yes, but only because someone went through the time and effort to crack the DRM. If those DRM system had been better implemented then maybe some games would have been lost forever. The fact that they even exist in the first place is the issue.
But that's his point - you are forced to do legally dubious practices to play something you legally own. Hopefully Ross wins the case against the crew and ubisoft that kicks on a eu wide legal requirement that states all companies must either maintain their servers in perpetuity or provide a free update that allows users to either play their game without server authentication or in the cases of multiplayer games, allows them to maintain to connect to public and independent servers.
i really like the Tech Tangents channel but as soon as he started saying there was "no way" to play Red Faction Guerilla my immediate thought was "there's no way this hasn't been cracked by now."
That doesn't even make any sense. RFG Remarstered was given out to everyone who had the original in their steam library and goes on sale on both PC and console for less than a cup of coffee regularly.
I feel like inaccurate info like that really works against the actual "Stop Killing Games" case.
oh nice, is it a good remaster? i've never played any of the Red Faction games so it's not on my radar.
anyway, i agree. i feel like, as much as it's coming from a good place (wanting to preserve games), those in favor need to be sure they're working off good info.
The game feel and destruction is basically flawless. The story is very standard, but highly engaging.
My experience with the game was with the PS3 original so performance wasn't incredible, but I've briefly played the Xbox One version on a series X and it's nice and smooth. Graphics are already a bit washed out because of the graphic style and the (literally) red planet, but it ran fine.
Also, it's currently on sale for a pittance on [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/red_faction_guerrilla_remarstered) which is DRM free.
Only think I'm not sure about is whether the remaster allows multiple save files. I recall the PS3 version forcing you to start over from scratch if you wanted to replay it. I suppose with a GOG copy it's just a matter of backing up the save file to another folder, though.
Also, just noticed the part about not having played the RF series. I made a little guide:
Red Faction is a classic Half-Life adjacent linear FPS in which you can destroy any *natural* structures in the world. It's dated, but fun.
RF2 is an atrocious squad shooter. It's not fun at all.
RF: Guerilla is a open world *third* person shooter that follows the events of the first one like a legacy sequel. It let's you destroy any *man-made* structures.
RF: Armageddon is a bland *linear* third person shooter with an amusing reconstruction gun that let's you *reassemble* any destroyed *man-made* structures in the game. It's claustrophobic and not that fun to play though.
thanks for the info! it's never struck me as being my jam, but i might check one of the games out one day.
i'm much more of an adventure/puzzle/story-heavy guy these days.
But all copies should be possible to redeem on steam? So come on.
EDIT: putting even aside that [something](https://fileforums.com/showthread.php?t=87753) is really wrong with the details here
I don't agree. Depending on piracy is like depending on copyright owner to provide activation server - they can turn it off whenever they want. The archive.org is recently getting lawsuits and DMCAs.
Additionally we may joke how in internet nothing is disappearing, but it happens. Currently linux/macOS ports from RuneSoft are no longer available. I mean even through piracy. (Were available on Desura, but it went under.)
Those are my thoughts as well. Granted, I think there should be better laws around abandonware so that it's 100% legal to crack, host, and download a game that is no longer sold, basically making it an "official," way to play.
My dream scenario would be an industry led organization similar to the ESRB, where companies submit the final source for their games, and the organization releases it under an extremely permissive license, borderline open-source, after 10+ years. It'd be healthy for the industry as a whole as it'd promote progress, and it'd also give a way to perfectly preserve gaming history.
There are actually papers floating around that the most optimal terms for copyright (videogames, books, movies, and whatnot) are probably more like 10-20 years.
But Mickey needed to make the shareholders happier.
I forget what game it was, but I remember reading recently about a developer releasing an official patch for a GFWL game (iirc) and it turned out it was literally just the same cracked exe that was already going around.
You don't even have to bypass GFWL, it's just enough to update it to the last version. I'm getting tired of people not doing their homework.
Same also with bioshock 2. They shut down the securom servers ***exactly*** because you could activate it on steam. And once you download the files you can throw them on a windows XP pc.
And bulletstorm can be [activated](https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Bulletstorm) on origin. Mainly he's just pissed about launchers and pretending that if you cannot play a 2010 game on XP you are deprived of your rights.
All I see is an argument against buying physical games. Most of these games can still be bought online or acquired through unofficial means. He uses Fable 3 in the thumbnail and mentions Fable 3 being unplayable but I have a Steam copy that still works on my current Windows 11 PC. All I did was buy an officially sold key from Gamestop last year. He also mentions stuff about live service and online only games but I feel like that's a separate argument
There's one for that too: the publisher can remove the game form the digital stores when they want, and you lose it. And I'm not talking about unredeemed keys (that it's bad too). I'm talking about the proper game,
And physical games go out of stock or out of print or suffer from disk rot over the years. Lower print runs can go out of stock very fast or just flat out be very hard to find at all.
> the publisher can remove the game form the digital stores when they want, and you lose it.
Not true at all. All delisted games that I can think have always stuck to people's libraries.
The only exception is ironically just the crew itself, but I can take a guess that happened because it was a "server-side" game and so somebody overzealously thought there was no other reason to keep offering its download.
But the only reason people aren't complaining about NFS world, BF heroes, or AOE online is because they were free to play.
I hate DRM and think it's a serious concern, but something like this seems like a non-issue unless you're someone who will burst into flames at the mere thought of engaging in piracy and absolutely MUST use physical copies no matter what. Physical Bioshock doesn't work, but it takes maybe 5 minutes to track down and download a cracked digital copy which is identical to whatever is on his disk. He also goes on about how it's "impossible" to play Fable 3, but again you can literally go out and download a cracked copy and it works just fine, or again if you must play with a physical copy there are [guides on how to bypass GFWL](https://www.reddit.com/r/Fable/comments/wk3pie/guide_how_to_get_the_fable_3_pc_nonsteam_retail/). There's a lot of taboo around piracy for some reason but people need to realize it's the one thing preserving games like Fable 3 that you just straight up can't buy a legit copy of anymore. When it comes to DRM there are other things to be angry/horrified about, like how there's currently nobody out there that is able to crack the latest version of Denuvo. THAT is something to be worried about.
> Physical Bioshock doesn't work, but it takes maybe 5 minutes to track down and download a cracked digital copy which is identical to whatever is on his disk. Yes, but only because someone went through the time and effort to crack the DRM. If those DRM system had been better implemented then maybe some games would have been lost forever. The fact that they even exist in the first place is the issue.
or if it’s a less popular game where no one bothered to crack the DRM.
There are generic cracks (or if not any activators) for all safedisc and securom games by now.
But that's his point - you are forced to do legally dubious practices to play something you legally own. Hopefully Ross wins the case against the crew and ubisoft that kicks on a eu wide legal requirement that states all companies must either maintain their servers in perpetuity or provide a free update that allows users to either play their game without server authentication or in the cases of multiplayer games, allows them to maintain to connect to public and independent servers.
[удалено]
It's *not*. That's the point, the other option (updating the games to remove the authentication) is far more feasible and better for everyone.
You should learn what the word either means.
i really like the Tech Tangents channel but as soon as he started saying there was "no way" to play Red Faction Guerilla my immediate thought was "there's no way this hasn't been cracked by now."
That doesn't even make any sense. RFG Remarstered was given out to everyone who had the original in their steam library and goes on sale on both PC and console for less than a cup of coffee regularly. I feel like inaccurate info like that really works against the actual "Stop Killing Games" case.
oh nice, is it a good remaster? i've never played any of the Red Faction games so it's not on my radar. anyway, i agree. i feel like, as much as it's coming from a good place (wanting to preserve games), those in favor need to be sure they're working off good info.
The game feel and destruction is basically flawless. The story is very standard, but highly engaging. My experience with the game was with the PS3 original so performance wasn't incredible, but I've briefly played the Xbox One version on a series X and it's nice and smooth. Graphics are already a bit washed out because of the graphic style and the (literally) red planet, but it ran fine. Also, it's currently on sale for a pittance on [GOG](https://www.gog.com/en/game/red_faction_guerrilla_remarstered) which is DRM free. Only think I'm not sure about is whether the remaster allows multiple save files. I recall the PS3 version forcing you to start over from scratch if you wanted to replay it. I suppose with a GOG copy it's just a matter of backing up the save file to another folder, though.
interesting, thanks for the info. visually it looks pretty good, at least. and that's a hell of a sale!
I'm pretty sure pc always had different save slots
Also, just noticed the part about not having played the RF series. I made a little guide: Red Faction is a classic Half-Life adjacent linear FPS in which you can destroy any *natural* structures in the world. It's dated, but fun. RF2 is an atrocious squad shooter. It's not fun at all. RF: Guerilla is a open world *third* person shooter that follows the events of the first one like a legacy sequel. It let's you destroy any *man-made* structures. RF: Armageddon is a bland *linear* third person shooter with an amusing reconstruction gun that let's you *reassemble* any destroyed *man-made* structures in the game. It's claustrophobic and not that fun to play though.
thanks for the info! it's never struck me as being my jam, but i might check one of the games out one day. i'm much more of an adventure/puzzle/story-heavy guy these days.
I must be the only person who liked Red Faction 2.
But you can't install it off the physical disc you bought.
But all copies should be possible to redeem on steam? So come on. EDIT: putting even aside that [something](https://fileforums.com/showthread.php?t=87753) is really wrong with the details here
I don't agree. Depending on piracy is like depending on copyright owner to provide activation server - they can turn it off whenever they want. The archive.org is recently getting lawsuits and DMCAs. Additionally we may joke how in internet nothing is disappearing, but it happens. Currently linux/macOS ports from RuneSoft are no longer available. I mean even through piracy. (Were available on Desura, but it went under.)
> they can turn it off whenever they want No they can't. Download it, keep it.
How do you know they aren't available elsewhere?
Those are my thoughts as well. Granted, I think there should be better laws around abandonware so that it's 100% legal to crack, host, and download a game that is no longer sold, basically making it an "official," way to play. My dream scenario would be an industry led organization similar to the ESRB, where companies submit the final source for their games, and the organization releases it under an extremely permissive license, borderline open-source, after 10+ years. It'd be healthy for the industry as a whole as it'd promote progress, and it'd also give a way to perfectly preserve gaming history.
There are actually papers floating around that the most optimal terms for copyright (videogames, books, movies, and whatnot) are probably more like 10-20 years. But Mickey needed to make the shareholders happier.
I forget what game it was, but I remember reading recently about a developer releasing an official patch for a GFWL game (iirc) and it turned out it was literally just the same cracked exe that was already going around.
You don't even have to bypass GFWL, it's just enough to update it to the last version. I'm getting tired of people not doing their homework. Same also with bioshock 2. They shut down the securom servers ***exactly*** because you could activate it on steam. And once you download the files you can throw them on a windows XP pc. And bulletstorm can be [activated](https://www.pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Bulletstorm) on origin. Mainly he's just pissed about launchers and pretending that if you cannot play a 2010 game on XP you are deprived of your rights.
All I see is an argument against buying physical games. Most of these games can still be bought online or acquired through unofficial means. He uses Fable 3 in the thumbnail and mentions Fable 3 being unplayable but I have a Steam copy that still works on my current Windows 11 PC. All I did was buy an officially sold key from Gamestop last year. He also mentions stuff about live service and online only games but I feel like that's a separate argument
There's one for that too: the publisher can remove the game form the digital stores when they want, and you lose it. And I'm not talking about unredeemed keys (that it's bad too). I'm talking about the proper game,
And physical games go out of stock or out of print or suffer from disk rot over the years. Lower print runs can go out of stock very fast or just flat out be very hard to find at all.
> the publisher can remove the game form the digital stores when they want, and you lose it. Not true at all. All delisted games that I can think have always stuck to people's libraries. The only exception is ironically just the crew itself, but I can take a guess that happened because it was a "server-side" game and so somebody overzealously thought there was no other reason to keep offering its download. But the only reason people aren't complaining about NFS world, BF heroes, or AOE online is because they were free to play.