spore DRM whats it like now?

[mindfray]

i know when spore first came out it was very restricting and many many gamers were against it.

lots of time has passed since then.
how is the spore drm right now, as if i would buy it off steam.

is it still something like this for example.
5 installes per year, then your boned?
or is it more like 5 installs allowed, when you revoke an install with a drm tool you get the install you just used back after uninstalling the game?

[dragonboyjgh]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spore_%...29#Controversy

You can unauthorize a copy, which lets you install it on a new one.
The unauthorized copy will not work unless you unauthorize that one, though.

unauthorized copies will; not work until reauthorized.

Clear as mud?

basically its:

• install one: remove 1 use from your max amount of 5
  
• unauthorize an installed copy: adds 1 use back to max install amount.

so, option 2.

[Erenoth2002]

As far as I know the DRM issues were only prevalent with the retail copies, since I switched to Steam copies and I haven't had any issues since then. As long as I log into Steam.

[mavet]

that or just remove the DRM = problem solved

[sixtyfps]

I was going to get this today (kids enjoyed Creature Creator back in the day), but EA still hasn't learned its dumb lesson on the DRM front. "Activate" & "Authorize" my $0 all the way to the bank, EA.

[kmfdm11]

Revocation or not, I don't see a reason to have two DRM systems in place since Steam itself is already a powerful DRM. I had a lot of problems in the past with limited authorization DRMs on games purchased via Steam, and I will not fall in this "trap" again.

[Salvatore955]

darn, was hoping to pick this up, looks cool...w/e i have a ton of good games WITHOUT drm i need to play

[theTak]

Originally Posted by Salvatore955

darn, was hoping to pick this up, looks cool...w/e i have a ton of good games WITHOUT drm i need to play

Came here to find out the same thing, thanks for sharing. Oh well, money saved!

Just posting in the very slim hopes someone at EA will pull the ♥♥♥♥♥ out of their ears and listen to their (potential) customers, one day.

[Fozi]

I don't see anything mentioned of the DRM on the store page. People are not required to check the forums for DRM usage, if I bought this, I would be asking Steam for a refund now.

[Zyrin]

Spore on Steam does *not* have the SecuROM activations the retail copy does. It was released alongside Mass Effect and a few other titles stripped of their activation limits:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10128408-52.html

All it uses is the standard EA Account according to the big DRM list as well:

http://steamdrm.flibitijibibo.com/in...e_Big_DRM_List

Bad information in this thread. Hell, even the linked wikipedia article specifically says the Steam version does not have SecuROM.

[IceHedge]

Originally Posted by theTak

Came here to find out the same thing, thanks for sharing. Oh well, money saved!

Just posting in the very slim hopes someone at EA will pull the ♥♥♥♥♥ out of their ears and listen to their (potential) customers, one day.

I couldn't agree more. I, too, came to the forums to check to see if the restrictive DRM is plaguing the digital release of Spore. I was going to buy Spore new, but once I found out I could only install it X amount of times, then the decision was pretty simple to make.

Being one who doesn't believe I should pay $50 a year to maintain anti-virus software that only quarantines a virus until your subscription expires only for the viruses to be let lose, I typically re-install my OS when I get a virus, a process that takes less than an hour if I have my files backed up. So, to say I only have x amount of installs for a game when I'm rebooting a PC once or so a year(which means I would have already run out of Spore installs if I bought it new), well, like I said before, EA's not getting any of my money.

Originally Posted by Zyrin

Spore on Steam does *not* have the SecuROM activations the retail copy does. It was released alongside Mass Effect and a few other titles stripped of their activation limits:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10128408-52.html

All it uses is the standard EA Account according to the big DRM list as well:

http://steamdrm.flibitijibibo.com/in...e_Big_DRM_List

Bad information in this thread. Hell, even the linked wikipedia article specifically says the Steam version does not have SecuROM.

That's an interesting perspective, and its good the Steam release doesn't have SecuROM, however on the Steam page for Spore, the disclaimer reads:

INTERNET CONNECTION, ONLINE AUTHENTICATION, END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT REQUIRED TO PLAY. TO ACCESS ONLINE FEATURES, YOU MUST REGISTER ONLINE. ONLY ONE REGISTRATION AVAILABLE PER GAME. EA TERMS & CONDITIONS AND FEATURE UPDATES CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.EA.COM. YOU MUST BE 13+ TO REGISTER ONLINE. EA MAY RETIRE ONLINE FEATURES AFTER 30 DAYS NOTICE POSTED ON www.ea.com.

The 'one registration available per game' has me scratching my head. So if I install the game, register, then re-install it later, I don't have to register again? By register, does it mean giving you a unique key when you install the game, and then it will give you another unique key when you install it again, or does it mean 'register' as in just a log in and password information?

You know what this is way too much trouble. EA should have never went through with this DRM bull<3<3<3<3.

[golebiewsky]

So how exactly look DRM now? Is there 3d party DRM o r not? I'm confused. Did anyone buy it?

[duderseb]

Same question here. That warning at the end of the page on Steam left me scratching my head.

[Zyrin]

Originally Posted by IceHedge

That's an interesting perspective, and its good the Steam release doesn't have SecuROM, however on the Steam page for Spore, the disclaimer reads:

INTERNET CONNECTION, ONLINE AUTHENTICATION, END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT REQUIRED TO PLAY. TO ACCESS ONLINE FEATURES, YOU MUST REGISTER ONLINE. ONLY ONE REGISTRATION AVAILABLE PER GAME. EA TERMS & CONDITIONS AND FEATURE UPDATES CAN BE FOUND AT WWW.EA.COM. YOU MUST BE 13+ TO REGISTER ONLINE. EA MAY RETIRE ONLINE FEATURES AFTER 30 DAYS NOTICE POSTED ON www.ea.com.

The 'one registration available per game' has me scratching my head. So if I install the game, register, then re-install it later, I don't have to register again? By register, does it mean giving you a unique key when you install the game, and then it will give you another unique key when you install it again, or does it mean 'register' as in just a log in and password information?

You know what this is way too much trouble. EA should have never went through with this DRM bull<3<3<3<3.

There's no "perspective" about it. It's the EA Account. You register the key to the account if you want the online services, that's it. From then on you can log into your EA account no matter how many times you reformat or get a new PC. It's the exact same thing as what was used in Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Dead Space 1, Mirror's Edge, Bad Company 2, etc, etc.

Seriously, I'm anti-DRM and all...but the vast majority of you in this thread are being ridiculous.

You buy the game. You register it with your EA Account if you want to take it online. Nothing more nothing less.

[number3son]

Originally Posted by Zyrin

Seriously, I'm anti-DRM and all...but the vast majority of you in this thread are being ridiculous.

You buy the game. You register it with your EA Account if you want to take it online. Nothing more nothing less.

I don't think they're being ridiculous at all, since it looks like you're the one who's mistaken here.

"INTERNET CONNECTION, ONLINE AUTHENTICATION, END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT REQUIRED TO PLAY."

You must register the game with EA whether you want to play online or not. That is DRM. Once EA shuts the servers down, all those who own Spore on Steam or anywhere else will lose their game permanently.