Re: Games that use Starforce

On Mon, 17 Oct 2005 22:58:22 +0200, Michael Vondung
<mvondung@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:


>That's actually one of my major beefs: when I uninstall a game, it should
>remove _everything_ it installed and, if user-data has been created, _ask_
>whether it should be kept. The "reasoning" that publishers and developers
>offer for not removing Starforce is that the user might have _other_ games
>with Starforce installed, which would break if Starforce was removed during
>the removal of those hidden drivers. That "makes sense", but only if you
>assume that it's morally acceptable that a game quietly installs system
>drivers on your machine. In my opinion, that's somewhat viral in nature.

Of course, a properly written installer/uninstaller would check to see
if any other software has dependencies on it before removing. If there
is, leave it there and let THAT program's uninstaller take care of it.
You'd think the programmers could figure that out, but they really on
half-assed excuses instead.

But the point is moot anyway. If you uninstall Starforce, the next
time you play a Starforce protected game it will automatically
reinstall its drivers and prompt you to reboot. So there's no real
reason not to uninstall the damn things.

Mind you, I'm not so anti-Starforce as many people in this channel. I
don't particularly like it, but not any less than other
copy-protection methods. Its never really given me any problems. I
certainly prefer it to having to activate my software online or by
telephone. But the excuses the publishers make about Starforce make me
grind my teeth in frustration


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Starforce Copy Protection
    ... there are keys that disabled the StarForce ... if you just want to uninstall the game as you mentioned before then... ... Copy Protection this is the first time i've ever heard of Starforce and ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.games)
  • Re: One more reason to say "Fuck Starforce"
    ... PC Gamer, as usual have their heads in a dark place... ... My fault - Mark said 'the games I looked at provide no uninstall of the ... Starforce drivers and I find this unacceptable'. ... Starforce should be uninstalled along with the game that installed it. ...
    (comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action)
  • Re: Starforce Copy Protection
    ... I've also looked for my missing log file and cant find that either, ... Install the game again and uninstall it the way Paul suggested. ... key code i'm entering is correct, i've tried updating the Starforce ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.games)
  • Re: Starforce Copy Protection
    ... Install the game again and uninstall it the way Paul suggested. ... Copy Protection this is the first time i've ever heard of Starforce and its ... Antivirus: Outbound message clean. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.games)
  • Re: Mass Effect Phones Home
    ... DRM schemes that are too intrusive cause a backlash that reduce sales. ... because they were "protected" with Starforce. ... support calls that some publishers had to endure, ... when he's done with it or even lend the game to a friend. ...
    (comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action)