I thought of a new anti pirate measure.

[The Unworthy Gentleman]

The solution can't be programmed into the game, there can only be slightly preventative methods that will work for a few days.

The only way to fight piracy is to make purchasing the game itself worth it. By that I don't mean in-game addons, I mean giving the consumer a good reason to buy the game. Give them an art book, a small collectible or something like that; something that can't be pirated. It doesn't stop there, as long as you give people more of an incentive that isn't digital and can't be pirated it will work to a better extent that DRM.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

make the The code of the game that allows patches be a part of the DRM. if you remove the DRM you can't get a patch for the game,

That's simply not possible. You're working on the premise that there be two version of any game which wouldn't be the case. Somewhere, someone will make distribute a "good" copy of the game. Cracks bypass DRM entirely. And all that one has to do to get your patch is go back to a game's original, DRM-protected executable, run the patch then revert back to the DRM free version. Here's how DRM works at the most basic level on a legitimate game.

1. Player runs executable
2. Executable runs protection routines (eg. checks for disc in drive, is disc legit, is serial number legit, has game been registered, etc.)
3. Protection routines report back "all clear"
4. Executable itself is "decrypted"
5. Game runs

The techniclities of the DRM are beyond the scope of this discussion and vary between protections. What pirates do is bypass step 2 and/or 3 by either removing the checks, or intercepting them and replacing them with whatever the "all clear" signal should be.

The only absolutely foolproof way to prevent piracy is if a game is played entirely online and requires an account to play it (paid or otherwise)...in other words, an MMO. Any game installed to a hard drive or played off a disc can be worked around. In the same way that any door that has a keyhole can always be opened another way without the original key. Anything that has a legitimate method of access will have an alternative method (even if that method is simply imitating the legitimate one).

The best DRM can hope for, which is what it is designed to do, is to make bypassing it as difficult a process as possible for as long as possible (ie. obfuscation). If DRM lasts two weeks after a new release, it has done a stirling job. Most game sales are when a game is new and its price is highest. The longer this period of time lasts before the DRM is cracked, the better for the devs/pubs.

 

[AgDr_ODST]

I like what the developers for Arkham Asylum did, which was prevent (some or most) moves from being utilized, making the game unplayable.

hahahaha you mean the countermeasure that disable the glide move which resulted in this exchange [http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthread.php?t=95030] on the AA forum? This ladies Gents and OP is what all game makers need to be doing!

 

[kasperbbs]

most patches come with a new crack release so that is kinda old.

 

[jpoon]

I'm sure this wouldn't stop much of anything, might just make a little more work for the hackers to do though.

 

[baker80]

This is what games ALREADY do. You can't patch a cracked exe, the offsets aren't the same anymore. If you want the update you either have to play legit or wait for a new crack.

 

[Defenestra]

Day 0 priacy is the kind that harms devs the most. Games typically sell the most copies immediately after release. So having some kind of anti-piracy measure built in to the software that makes cracking it quickly difficult is a sensible move.

The trouble is that DRM can have a cost in performance and convenience to the end user, lengthening load times, increasing processor workload, and demanding an active internet connection, which will sometimes prevent players from enjoying some single-player gameplay and cause annoyance and frustration.


I propose DRM remain a part of the game only for the first, say, one to six months. A good game can establish itself easily in that time. A later patch can then remove or shut down the DRM measures, to spare processor load, *and* to raise serious doubts for those who might be inclined to participate in or enable unauthorized copies(I think piracy is a very poor word to describe making unauthorized copies. Piracy is attacking a ship, stealing the cargo, and holding people hostage, and this is very much not equivalent to making an unauthorized copy of a game or song).

If you know the game's going to lose its DRM later, why bother looking for cracks on sites with scuzzy and poentially infected popups? Why put all those hours in to making a crack when you can just wait, and maybe get the sucker on sale in a few months, without DRM? If it's half price a month or two after release, that's probably 20-25 dollars, and in the unlikely event you can crack it in three hours, your equivalent pay for that is all of eight bucks an hour. May as well just go flip burgers.

 

[Forum_Name]

LoL, isn't that the way things are already? Released with game breaking bugs, and demands that you let it connect to company servers.

 

[poppabaggins]

here's how you stop piracy--
step 1: stop being assholes
step 2: start treating legitimate customers like customers instead of criminals
step 3: put your game on steam (or impulse or elsewhere) so that I can get a goddamn digital copy if I want to
step 4: stop trying to stop piracy, all attempted actions have just pushed people more and more toward piracy AND given them actual legitimate reasons to steal. Spend all money that used to be aimed at preventing piracy on actually developing the game.

 

[teebeeohh]

you can't solve the piracy problem from technological side. because for every programmer working on DRM there are at least 10 people working to crack it. remember the ingenious uncrackble ultra intrusive ubisoft drm from last?
Your idea promotes buggy releases and there will be a ton of cases where people will have problems with a game they legally purchased because of it.
the best thing you can do is to include some little and non-intrusive/inconvenient copy protection to give an initial hurdle and then just reward people for buying your game.

 

[GiglameshSoulEater]

If you tell that to any developer...I will skin you alive and feed you LIVE kittens.

The most delicious of all kittens.

OT: Yeah, this wouldn't work. To be honest, the only way to prevent (some) piracy is to attempt to appeal to the pirates sense of kindness, i guess. Make 'em think "these guys are pretty decent people. I'll pay, becauase I like theie product and them."

But there will always be the thieves who pirate because they are bloody twats.

 

[Adzma]

Or how about you do away with DRM altogether? You know, like GOG? Let's not forget Assassin's Creed II and how well that went over with the consumer.

The fact is no one likes DRM, neither consumers nor pirates so it largely creates more of the problem it tries to prevent.

 

[ImprovizoR]

The pirates have a large number of justifications for piracy
the game is buggy
the DRM is ridiculous.
are two major ones. well here's my idea
make the The code of the game that allows patches be a part of the DRM. if you remove the DRM you can't get a patch for the game, this means that the people who pay for the games get better games while the pirates have a game full of bugs and glitches. its like a buggy demo, its free but it sucks.

Thoughts?

How about this: don't make buggy games and get rid of DRM?

Console games have no DRM and console piracy is flourishing. Why must PC suffer? Most developers and publishers don't realize that there is no such thing as a lost sale if they treat their customers with respect. But if they don't respect the customers, why should the customers respect them? Why is there still no law against lousy ports and games with game-breaking bugs and glitches? How can they get away with selling an unfinished product for full price? Are we supposed to rely on patches? What if they don't make a patch? They are not legally obligated to do it. Some of them don't even try. You wouldn't buy a movie with half the scenes cut-out, would you? You wouldn't buy a car with no breaks? Why are only the video game companies protected while the consumers get fucked in the ass everywhere they turn? You see, there are bigger issues to address in gaming world.

 

[WanderingFool]

Bah, just add more cannons to the the starboard side. That will make those scurvy dogs think twice before trying to plunder our galleon!

Oh, we're talking about software pirates? My advice is don't mess around with DRM at all. It's trivial to get around, and it makes the game worse.

I say Navy Seal snipers will fix either one just fine...

My two cents, that idea will most likely do nothing to curb piracy, they will either crack the DRM code or whatever, or someone will simply crack each update. Plus if the game is released buggy, modder may fix the problem themselves, like with the Oblivion and FO3 unofficial bug patches.

 

[Dumbfish1]

My basic plan was people who downloads it illegally don't get a good game but if you pay for it you get a nice game. It sounded like a good idea

Not <link=http://www.internetworldstats.com/top20.htm>everyone has internet access. Only 28.7%

 

[ResonanceSD]

Bah, just add more cannons to the the starboard side. That will make those scurvy dogs think twice before trying to plunder our galleon!

Oh, we're talking about software pirates? My advice is don't mess around with DRM at all. It's trivial to get around, and it makes the game worse.

Technically you'd have to add them to both sides, or you'd roll and sink, hilariously.


Steam manages to have a good balance of light DRM by default, as well as developer DRM by game, which they TELL YOU ABOUT. Note the emphasis. DRM doesn't "make a game worse" if your library is legit. Third Party DRM might conflict with stuff you've obtained illegally, but that's just an incentive to act by the law, not an opportunity to bash the mechanism.

 

[Zantos]

The only way to deal with piracy is to find a way to give incentives so that people want to buy it. At the minute there are people that reckon DRM is harming the game industry by being so intrusive that a pirated game is far easier, convenient and more reliable than the real thing. Eventually the people in the industry that think more keys, online checks and whatever else they're using will fall, brain on a hard surface, and when they come too realise they've been going about it all wrong.

 

[SL33TBL1ND]

It's funny because OP thinks that people wouldn't get around it in an hour.

 

[TCPirate]

There is no real way to stop piracy completely. The closest anyone came was Ubisoft with their "You must stay connected to the Ubisoft Server to play." system, and that was hated with a passion.

Edit: The best way to stop piracy is to incentivise legitimate purchase. For instance... Working in a way of allowing someone who has purchased say... Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (WOOOOT!!) on Xbox 360 / PS3, allowing them to ALSO download it onto PC for either a small fee or for free. People would be more likely to buy games legitimately if they thought they were coming out of the deal better.
Like when games offer free items when you buy it. Good way to incentivise legitimate purchase (But also a good way to destroy the second hand market.)