Black Shark patch and upgrade confusion

[FFOman]

I just purchased Black Shark, and after installing it I found 4 files on the DCS website whicvh is supposed to upgrade it to Black Shark 2. According to the instructions, it's for downloaded versions of Black Shark 1. I downloaded the files but did not install yet because I didn't want to mess things up if it wasn't meant for the Steam version at all! Also, there was no mention of a charge when I downloaded these files, yet in other places on the site it mentions that Black Shark 2 upgrade is $19.95!
Should I install these files, and if not is the version I bought fully patched and how do I upgrade to the new version?

[_jema987]

According to the ED forums the BS2 upgrade now works for the Steam version of BS1. Haven't tried it myself since BS2 is a StarForce title and thus banned from my machine.

Regarding payment my guess is that you will be prompted for an activation key once you start BS2 and you don't get that without spending the $20.

Black Shark 1 and 2 are separate games in the same series. The Steam version of BS1 is 1.0.2 which the latest version. Eagle Dynamics allows you to upgrade to the next version at a reduced price have you bought the earlier instalment in the series.

[FFOman]

So I went out and bouight a Visa Debit card because it says on their site they accept it, but now the Visam card bank won't allow the transaction because the company is registered out of the country! Does anyone know if there's a retailer or internet store within the country where I can buy this at?

[_jema987]

As far as I know no. It seems that BS2, and I would guess all future DCS releases, is only sold as a download from the DCS site.

Couldn't you talk to the people you bought the debit card from? I don't know exactly how that type of card works but is sounds like something you would use for purchases outside your own country.

[FFOman]

No, debit cards like the Visa Gift card specifically state that they cannot be used outside the USA. That's a real drag for those of us who don't normally use bank credit cards. The thing is now, that I wanted to pick up the DCS Warthog sim. But now I'm worried that if I buy it thru Steam I won't get updates for it either! I'm only short about $5.00 in my Steam wallet to buy it but if they're not going to patch or upgrade it when they come out it wouldn't be a good deal!

[TatsueN]

Originally Posted by _jema987

According to the ED forums the BS2 upgrade now works for the Steam version of BS1. Haven't tried it myself since BS2 is a StarForce title and thus banned from my machine.

As a simple FYI: "Starforce" is a trademark used by a company for a type of product. The "Starforce" used in DCS products has nothing in common, beyond who made it and using that name, with the old "Starforce". (To be specific, it has less authority on your computer than Steam, MSN, iTunes, etcetera etcetera, it does not require any priviliges, it does not use a driver.)

Originally Posted by _jema987

As far as I know no. It seems that BS2, and I would guess all future DCS releases, is only sold as a download from the DCS site.

DCS Black Shark 2 is download only at this time.
Other products will most likely be released in physical form and through Steam when the relevant deals come through. ED wants to sell in as many venues as possible, but there's a lot of red tape involved in making that happen.

Originally Posted by FFOman

Does anyone know if there's a retailer or internet store within the country where I can buy this at?

Sorry, which country?
Anyways, try this: http://www.direct2drive.co.uk/11752/...ark-2-Download
[[ EDIT: Ah wait, D2D apparently don't sell it to the USA ... ]]

Regarding VISA cards and so on, the shop at digitalcombatsimulator.com does accept VISA Debit, and Paypal, but obviously if your card issuer has special restrictions and blocks the transaction at his end, there's nothing ED or the merchant service can do about it.

Also, Debit Cards should not be anything special to the system at all, as long as a transaction runs through the full Visa system (that is, not Visa Electron), it does not matter at all whether the card in question is linked to a bank account (a "debit card") or a credit account (a "credit card"). Obviously, I've seen cases where some countries do weird and silly stuff with how cards are handled, and having "domestic use only" limitations on a system that is explicitly intended to be good for use in X million locations worldwide is... well, I guess it takes americans and germans for things like that. :P

Originally Posted by FFOman

The thing is now, that I wanted to pick up the DCS Warthog sim. But now I'm worried that if I buy it thru Steam I won't get updates for it either! I'm only short about $5.00 in my Steam wallet to buy it but if they're not going to patch or upgrade it when they come out it wouldn't be a good deal!

Steam release of DCS: A-10C Warthog is 100% identical to the version on digitalcombatsimulator.com. (It could not use Steam DRM for technical reasons.) It is being maintained and updated, though sometimes it takes a couple days extra for a patch to get through channels since ED cannot implement that on it's own like it can on it's own website and systems. However, do note that the license key obtained through Steam for DCS A-10C Warthog is valid for all versions - you can use that key with a download from digitalcombatsimulator.com, if you like. Again, this is due to the fact that they use the same protection system.

[Hokum]

If their site takes paypal, couldn't you use the Visa card through paypal to make the purchase?

[_jema987]

Originally Posted by TatsueN

The "Starforce" used in DCS products has nothing in common, beyond who made it and using that name, with the old "Starforce".

I don't care. The name is tainted and company behind it shady at best and thus all their products or products using their products are forever banned from all my computers. It's called wallet voting and I'm very much in favour of it.

[nuR421]

Originally Posted by TatsueN

As a simple FYI: "Starforce" is a trademark used by a company for a type of product. The "Starforce" used in DCS products has nothing in common, beyond who made it and using that name, with the old "Starforce". (To be specific, it has less authority on your computer than Steam, MSN, iTunes, etcetera etcetera, it does not require any priviliges, it does not use a driver.)

So you're saying ED violates the Starforce trademark and brand for their own DRM which is not nearly as bad as Starforce? What are the chances?

Either it's starforce or it's not. ED would get sued to death for ripping off the Starforce Trademark.
Also they wouldn't gain happy customers by picking that name for their DRM. Why not call it Mercedes or something - at least pick a brand that's not hated by literally every gamer on the whole globe. (And I'm not talking pirate - I mean paying customer)

[Arparso]

Originally Posted by nuR421

So you're saying ED violates the Starforce trademark and brand for their own DRM which is not nearly as bad as Starforce? What are the chances?

No, he simply says there are multiple variants of Starforce and that the version used by ED isn't as horrible and intrusive as the one that got all the bad reputation years ago.

You know, similar to Securom, which might need online activation or it might not... which might limit the number of activations or it might not... it's up to the publisher to decide what features of a copy protection scheme to use and what to leave out.

[nuR421]

While there are multiple versions none of them is good or acceptable.

Also why not simply mention which one BS uses so people can decide for themselves?

Starforce Pro v3 or v3.7
Starforce Keyless
Frontline v4 v5 or v5.5?

To me they're all the same. And they're all equally nasty. Yes, Frontline is a bit less evil but it's still evil (e.g. DeamonTools issue).

Once again: Starforce doesn't bother pirates, they get their clean installs without it - it's a kick in the face for us customers only. There's not a single reason for it, only many against it.