Steam having worst use conditions than retail, what’s next? People walking upside down? Humans biting dogs?

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170131

Personally I hate DRM. If you have to tie your key to an online account for multiplayer, that’s fine, but anything beyond that – like restrictions on how many times you can download it – is pretty stupid in my opinion.

steam lists these guys as the english language support for stalker clear sky.

http://support.kochmedia.com/web_index.php?action=web_form&cat=0=868&lang=en

i sent them the following, will update when i get a reply.

Just a question which will reflect on me buying stalker clear sky.

The steam version mentions a limit of 5 activations, once they are depleted how can i get more (free or paid as appropiate) does the UK retail version have the same restriction?

Does for example uninstalling the game reimburse me with an install? and if due to system failures i lost all 5 activations what should i do.

Thanks, a potential customer.

Anyway, it clearly shows that the complaints have worked, it just have to continue.
I think the momentum is gone for Spore DRm complaints. Further complaints will liekyl be seen as whining, since ‘EA has already given in’, which might become the public opinion on this. We dont want the ‘anti’DRM movement’ to be seen as whiners, because EA would have an easier time justifying not to listen to it then. What worked for Spore was exactly that newspapers etc. picked up the story, and framed it in a negative way toward EA and positive toward the anti-DRM case.

However, next time EA release a game, and likely use this very same DRM (changed to the new 5 computers thingy) people should redo the 1 star reviews, forum complaints etc. all over again. Until the day DRM doesnt hinder our usability of our legally bought software.

At least: Recognize that these DRM schemes really aren’t meant to thwart the savvy pirate, but to keep a handle on everyone else’s pocket books.

Yes, DRM schemes have gone from being “anti-piracy” to ways to steal from the customer. If so-called “content owners” think they can unilaterally redefine their business, they shouldn’t be shocked when “game purchasers” come up with their own notions of the community of intellectual property.

(Are we at 100 posts yet?)

get this: a lot of people aren’t ready to openly steal entertainment.

DRM is for those people who are NOT proud to call themselves a thief/pirate. People who generally consider themselves “law abiding.” The current DRM schemes are an attempt to scare this LARGE GROUP of customers into obeying the law. My girlfriend and I both wanted Spore, and our computers are 10 feet apart – but we still purchased separate copies of the game, because we don’t think of ourselves as thieves.

You may be proud to call yourself a criminal. it is oh-so-trendy to think piracy is sexy.

But i don’t know anyone who invites self proclaimed criminals into their homes. Or wants to leave them alone with the kiddies. Sooo, grow up a little? Maybe reevaluate how open you want to be about your criminal activities? (at least until the legal system catches up?)

At least: Recognize that these DRM schemes really aren’t meant to thwart the saavy pirate, but to keep a handle on everyone else’s pocket books.

STALKER: Clear Sky has limited activations on Steam, don’t know at retail. I’ve written a mail to Deep Silver UK asking about it but no reply yet (I’m not having much luck asking about DRM directly at the source in general, I’m either ignored or I get not particularly definitive answers).

The UK retail box sports a pretty funny “IMPORTANT This product is copy-protected by technical protective measures”. Highly informative. No mention of activations/installation limits on the manual.

I’m holding from just going ahead and installing it to find it out by myself as I’m waiting for new hardware and with the patches released so far not having been compatible with previous versions savegames I guess it’s a bit pointless to risk the waste of an activation token.