Do you think the release version should require Login check?

[David]

The current beta-version requires login checking and we may or may not keep it that way in the release version. We are still discussing it internally and would like to get your feedback.

A release without any kind of user authentication will mean that we will have no means to prevent piracy. Our concern is that we will be spreading our resources thin to serve users who are playing pirated copies (and our resources are limited), at the expenses of the paid users.

Having said that, we are open to the idea of making user login optional in the release version. We would like to hear your suggestions on this.

[Keither]

I think the piracy concern is justified. However, login check should be optional. To promote login check, users that use it should be rewarded such as unlocking new features or activate online multiplayer capability.

[Purifier]

These days those crack groups can crack nearly any protection (even online login checks), so in addition to that heres an idea:

"Lock" the game on download or retail purschase if you make that available. Then when you start up the first time, and you login it downloads a "secret" file (not the exe, thats to obvious :p) to unlock the game . Ofc the login check stays after that, but the crackers wont have the option to make a workaround crack

Im not a coder so i got no idea how hard or easy this is to make, but its an idea :p

[mwyeoh]

I think that once the kinks in the system are done away with, the login system will be a good thing to keep (For piracy issues)

Also I think that coupled with the challenge system, the login system should be the only way to download and submit scores for challenges (So its tied in with your login account). This way it will reward legit players and hopefully minimize piracy.

Perhaps it can be mandatory that your account name becomes your player name (But your company name can still be changed?)

[moneytheory]

If you are going to have a log on what about people who don't have access to the internet and there are many people who don't for various reasons you are limiting the game to only internet users which cant be a good thing for a game like this.

I have internet access but it is very unlikely i will be buying this game because of the activations. Piracy will always be there and the figures that the publishers get on piracy is rubbery at best. From what i had read recently piracy was down on the pc by 3% while it was up on the consoles.

As i have said in the other thread it wont matter what measures you have in place there will always be someone who will hack the game for the challenge of it. Look at UBI they spent lots of money on there only online authentication system
for there games like Assassin Creed 2 which was hacked and there system was a disaster for UBI they lost a lot of customers and money. EA are doing with Orgin another disaster in the making.

I would be more than happy if we had a de activation tool at least i am in control of it or have a system like Mount & blade where it expires after a certain time.

At the end of the day piracy will always be there no matter how hard you make it and you are never going to get those pirates to buy the game anyway. The money spent on piracy measures would be better spent on developing a real good game where people wouldn't see the need to pirate the game and the game needs to be well distributed so everyone can have access to it.

I have a space game from a small publisher who have many other games and they don't seem to have a piracy problem like the big publishers do. And the reason is they make good games they look after there customers and don't have online activations.

I really would like to buy this game and support Enlight but if i am going to be inconvenience by online activations or log on or i have to play online i will not buy the game. I f i happen to need a new activation or log on i don't want the inconvenience of happening to wait for Enlight support to email me with a new code. And Enlight customer service in the past has been awful.

[CyberWarriorX]

I think for the standard game Login should be optional. However for some of the other features you have planned such as the challenge system or multiplayer, etc. that should be tied to the Login. If anything, it's sort of a pet peeve of mine that often times it's the legit owners that end up losing in such a deal. The pirates just wait until somebody comes along and cracks it and enjoy a less encumbered game. If anything consider looking into what Steam is doing for their games. Most users seem to be pretty happy there.

[labthatcap]

If you are going to have a log on what about people who don't have access to the internet and there are many people who don't for various reasons you are limiting the game to only internet users which cant be a good thing for a game like this.

I have internet access but it is very unlikely i will be buying this game because of the activations. Piracy will always be there and the figures that the publishers get on piracy is rubbery at best. From what i had read recently piracy was down on the pc by 3% while it was up on the consoles.

As i have said in the other thread it wont matter what measures you have in place there will always be someone who will hack the game for the challenge of it. Look at UBI they spent lots of money on there only online authentication system
for there games like Assassin Creed 2 which was hacked and there system was a disaster for UBI they lost a lot of customers and money. EA are doing with Orgin another disaster in the making.

I would be more than happy if we had a de activation tool at least i am in control of it or have a system like Mount & blade where it expires after a certain time.

At the end of the day piracy will always be there no matter how hard you make it and you are never going to get those pirates to buy the game anyway. The money spent on piracy measures would be better spent on developing a real good game where people wouldn't see the need to pirate the game and the game needs to be well distributed so everyone can have access to it.

I have a space game from a small publisher who have many other games and they don't seem to have a piracy problem like the big publishers do. And the reason is they make good games they look after there customers and don't have online activations.

I really would like to buy this game and support Enlight but if i am going to be inconvenience by online activations or log on or i have to play online i will not buy the game. I f i happen to need a new activation or log on i don't want the inconvenience of happening to wait for Enlight support to email me with a new code. And Enlight customer service in the past has been awful.

Honestly how many people do not have internet access these days? More importantly, how many people who do not have / can not afford internet access will be buying this game? Probably very few - online activation is critical to help prevent piracy and while it is not perfect it does go a long way towards preventing it. In my opinion a login check is not an inconvenience, it is incredibly simple - all you have to do is enter your info once... then click remember password. Besides if you have the ability to play a game like this then you probably have the ability to remember that your password is 12345.. just saying.

If you make the game easy to pirate someone will pirate it - go check the torrent sites - Cap 1 & 2 are both on there, fully cracked. Why? Because out of the relatively small number of people that love these games there was someone with some basic cracking skills that figured 'why not'. It was too easy. Cracking online activation / login checks is not a simple task and as such the chances of it being pirated are much much smaller as the popular / talented cracking teams out there usually focus on larger scale release games & programs (plus why would they put that much time into hurting a smaller scale company?). Not saying it can't happen, but why not do what you can to at least reduce the chance?

Absolutely there should be a login check / online authentication.

[moneytheory]

If you are going to have a log on what about people who don't have access to the internet and there are many people who don't for various reasons you are limiting the game to only internet users which cant be a good thing for a game like this.

I have internet access but it is very unlikely i will be buying this game because of the activations. Piracy will always be there and the figures that the publishers get on piracy is rubbery at best. From what i had read recently piracy was down on the pc by 3% while it was up on the consoles.

As i have said in the other thread it wont matter what measures you have in place there will always be someone who will hack the game for the challenge of it. Look at UBI they spent lots of money on there only online authentication system
for there games like Assassin Creed 2 which was hacked and there system was a disaster for UBI they lost a lot of customers and money. EA are doing with Orgin another disaster in the making.

I would be more than happy if we had a de activation tool at least i am in control of it or have a system like Mount & blade where it expires after a certain time.

At the end of the day piracy will always be there no matter how hard you make it and you are never going to get those pirates to buy the game anyway. The money spent on piracy measures would be better spent on developing a real good game where people wouldn't see the need to pirate the game and the game needs to be well distributed so everyone can have access to it.

I have a space game from a small publisher who have many other games and they don't seem to have a piracy problem like the big publishers do. And the reason is they make good games they look after there customers and don't have online activations.

I really would like to buy this game and support Enlight but if i am going to be inconvenience by online activations or log on or i have to play online i will not buy the game. I f i happen to need a new activation or log on i don't want the inconvenience of happening to wait for Enlight support to email me with a new code. And Enlight customer service in the past has been awful.

Honestly how many people do not have internet access these days? More importantly, how many people who do not have / can not afford internet access will be buying this game? Probably very few - online activation is critical to help prevent piracy and while it is not perfect it does go a long way towards preventing it. In my opinion a login check is not an inconvenience, it is incredibly simple - all you have to do is enter your info once... then click remember password. Besides if you have the ability to play a game like this then you probably have the ability to remember that your password is 12345.. just saying.

If you make the game easy to pirate someone will pirate it - go check the torrent sites - Cap 1 & 2 are both on there, fully cracked. Why? Because out of the relatively small number of people that love these games there was someone with some basic cracking skills that figured 'why not'. It was too easy. Cracking online activation / login checks is not a simple task and as such the chances of it being pirated are much much smaller as the popular / talented cracking teams out there usually focus on larger scale release games & programs (plus why would they put that much time into hurting a smaller scale company?). Not saying it can't happen, but why not do what you can to at least reduce the chance?

Absolutely there should be a login check / online authentication.

You will be surprised at how many people don't have internet access and it doesn't come down to affordability. People maybe in areas it isn't available or people are on the move use Laptops and don't have access. For example a lot of personnel in the military who are in places like Afghanistan would like to play games on there Laptops but cant because they need the internet.

No one wants to make it easier for pirates however it doesn't matter how hard you make it, it will be hacked. UBI thought they had a full proof system with the playonile authentication but as it turn out it was hacked in the first week and of course UBI had denied that there online authentication had been hacked and there games cracked. How many times has the game been downloaded on the torrents and how many times has it been deleted by the person who did the download after they didn't liker it. How many times has a person who has downloaded the game has gone out made a purchased of CAP2. Then you have games like Spore which was the most pirated game in history and the reason why was because normal people were downloading it to avoid activations Which is why the piracy figures are rubbery. Also it isn't just about piracy it is also about your right as a consumer to sell second hand games. The EU have recently passed a law saying that any digital downloads can now be sold secondhand by the owner of the game. It will be only a matter of time before the law is passed in Congress.

For me it isn't about selling a secondhand game it is the principal that i shouldn't have to be inconvenience while the pirates get a DRM free game by all these activations and be treated like a criminal.

And what happens when my internet is down i cant play the game.

[mwyeoh]

Why dont you both try playing the game now as it is without internet access.
You will see that the game can still load

But if internet is required to download challenges (Challenges then must be downloaded and cannot be stored locally) and to submit scores, Im sure it will be enough incentive to get people to buy the game

[happyreadygo]

What about 10 years later .. Will the login server still working? You ll see some player still playing cap2 , and it may be longer than 10 in cap lab.

And yes.. Piracy is limit the resource for the game..
So, my opinion is making it require of internet access for 2 years ,but for the final version of 2.xx (maybe next 2 years ) give it not need the login..

That time , cap lab should be 3.xx.