Sometimes reading patch notes can be interesting

Yes it’s horribly geeky to actually read patch release notes, but then that’s what I am :).

Anyway, the latest patch for Supreme Commander had a very interesting note – The copy-protection check that the game had shipped with has now been disabled. Freaking awesome!

If there’s one thing that pisses me off about PC gaming, it’s having to keep the CD/DVD in the tray when you play. Can you imagine what would be the uproar if MS ever said “Okay, from now on, if you want to use MS-Office, you need to have the CD in the tray”. I mean I’ve bought the game haven’t I? I’ve entered a legit serial so why do you need another check to see if the copy is legal.

Galactic Civilizations from Stardock was the first popular game I can recollect that went without copy-protection. But it’s great to see a Triple-A title like SupCom get onto that bandwagon.

Supreme Commander v1.0.3220 Patch for PC Download at GameSpot

2 Responses to "Sometimes reading patch notes can be interesting"

Jo says:

September 14, 2007 at 8:07 am

I’m starting to polarize on the copy protections issue. I have decided not to buy Bioshock because of its SecuRom copy protection, as well as all its silly issues and copy protection hoops we legitimate users have to leap through. It is rather disappointing since that game looks awesome. I also decided not to buy Supreme Commander because of its copy protection (I think it might be Securom too but not sure about that).

I might just be a minority but it may be a dark day for these draconian software developers when users will base their purchase not only on the quality of their product but also on the presence and type of copy protection they use.
Balaji says:

September 14, 2007 at 11:09 am

Jo – I have to say I’m torn on the whole copy-protection issue. On one hand, the speed and methods by which pirated games are spreading really leaves publishers with no option but to try and stem the tide somehow. And, of all the copy protection schemes, SecurROM is probably one of the less egregious options.. think StarForce and you know how bad it can really get.

On the other hand, the sort of annoyance that early BioShock users faced, or even the pain of constantly having to keep the game disc in the tray sort of wipes out any compassion one has for the publishers.

Overall I think the approach CoH took is a promising direction – no copy protection, but build such a compelling multi-player experience that people don’t have the complusion to pirate. Obviously this won’t work for Single-Player games like BioShock, but it’s a start.

Re: Bioshock itself – do listen to this episode of the PC Gamer podcast. In this, the designer of BioShock talks about what they have done to resolve the authentication issues, and also what is the future plan for such mechanisms.

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