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Cavalary: The difference in "framing" comes from the fact that you are an advocate of the free market and actually seem to believe that doing things the way you say works. I'm very much the opposite and say that things left to market forces will just keep getting worse, so what's needed are tight regulations and directions set. But, of course, if you give state actors that power over things, they may make it even worse than the free market would, so you need people who actually care for the right causes to actively fight and bring about those desired changes, so the regulations and directions will go the right way.
If those advocating for such are too unreasonable and cannot compromise they are doomed from the start and come off as impossible to work with & then companies/others don't bother trying.

Also regulation should be the LAST thing we try....less regulation and nanny state for me, thanks.....especially in gaming.
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GameRager: One doesn't have to be a tech whiz to make common sense arguments. Cracks(if scanned) usually work just fine, and 1 extra backup makes some difference but not a ton of difference when over a certain number of backups.
The overall backup strategy matters more than arguing over x backup drives being the "correct" one. Eg, I knew someone who lost data on all 4x drives at once (lightning strike blew straight through a surge protector then fried the electronics in a quad-bay (mirrored) NAS + each of the 4x drive's SATA controllers). He wished he had a 5th copy to restore from simply because copies 1-4 were "all my eggs in one basket" strategy. Keeping one extra drive "offline, unplugged and elsewhere" means immunity to such surge damage / ransomware / opportunistic theft (having a multi-bay NAS stolen), whilst for irreplaceable stuff (eg, wedding photos), having another drive or optical backup stored at a sibling's / parents / kids house never hurts either. 3-4 backups in total may seem a lot but it really isn't overkill depending on how it's done.

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GameRager: TBH if the "drm" was inactive remnants that didn't get installed to the system at all that'd be somewhat more acceptable then what the version of FEAR here supposedly has, and just hearing about this ONE game makes me start to call things into question...especially given the reply by staff to that user.
I was one of the ones who tested it in the other longer much more detailed thread:-
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/fear_installed_securom_all_over_my_computer_does_anyone_know_how_to_get_rid_of_it/post480

As described, it's not just "inactive registry remnants that are only installed if you use multiplayer" if core Securom code is still running and constantly scanning for active running processes (outside of the game) in the background without ever using multi-player from a fresh install. Despite the content of the Securom.com hosted links having changed since posting, GOG's "it's not DRM" excuse sounded absurd not least because some of the error message links took you to Securom hosted pages that literally spelled out the message "SecuROM's disc-based Digital Rights Management ensures that only authorized users who have made a purchase can enjoy and use your valuable intellectual property" whilst the "security module" in the message "cannot load security module" directly linked to (now removed) Securom's DRM / copy protection explanation page. Likewise, the excuse "it's not DRM, it's anti debugging for anti-cheat purposes" that one person made is absurd in a game that has it's own internal cheat codes...

It's also no coincidence that the two FEAR expansions that have Securom still partially running stutter a lot more than the base game (even with the Logitech HID fix). I'm not claiming it's 100% down to Securom, but when code that constantly scans the whole system's memory for other 3rd party tasks running in the background is wrapped around an older predominantly lesser well threaded game, inevitably that means fewer CPU cycles within the same thread for the game itself during high-action scenes regardless of how many more modern CPU cores you throw at it.
Post edited November 08, 2019 by AB2012
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AB2012: The overall backup strategy matters more than arguing over x backup drives being the "correct" one. Eg, I knew someone who lost data on all 4x drives at once (lightning strike blew straight through a surge protector then fried the electronics in a quad-bay (mirrored) NAS + each of the 4x drive's SATA controllers). He wished he had a 5th copy to restore from simply because copies 1-4 were "all my eggs in one basket" strategy. Keeping one extra drive "offline, unplugged and elsewhere" means immunity to such surge damage / ransomware / opportunistic theft (having a multi-bay NAS stolen), whilst for irreplaceable stuff (eg, wedding photos), having another drive or optical backup stored at a sibling's / parents / kids house never hurts either. 3-4 backups in total may seem a lot but it really isn't overkill depending on how it's done.
You make a good point, but still with variety of backups/locations once over a certain number the added extra copies/backups don't return a much higher return on investment/make one too much safer.

I think 3 backups(differing types/locations) is good enough for most "normal" data, personally.

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AB2012: I was one of the ones who tested it in the other longer much more detailed thread:-
https://www.gog.com/forum/general/fear_installed_securom_all_over_my_computer_does_anyone_know_how_to_get_rid_of_it/post480

As described, it's not just "inactive registry remnants that are only installed if you use multiplayer" if core Securom code is still running and constantly scanning for active running processes (outside of the game) in the background without ever using multi-player from a fresh install.
Sorry for not being clear with that....I was talking in general, not on that specific game, when talking about inactive drm remnants.

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AB2012: Despite the content of the Securom.com hosted links having changed since posting, GOG's "it's not DRM" excuse sounded absurd not least because some of the error message links took you to Securom hosted pages that literally spelled out the message "SecuROM's disc-based Digital Rights Management ensures that only authorized users who have made a purchase can enjoy and use your valuable intellectual property" whilst the "security module" in the message "cannot load security module" directly linked to (now removed) Securom's DRM / copy protection explanation page. Likewise, the excuse "it's not DRM, it's anti debugging for anti-cheat purposes" that one person made is absurd in a game that has it's own internal cheat codes...
Yeah they either don't care as much as they once did about DRM or they dropped the ball and that staffer posted a reply they don't agree with on their own....either way they need to remedy the situation.

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AB2012: It's also no coincidence that the two FEAR expansions that have Securom still partially running stutter a lot more than the base game (even with the Logitech HID fix). I'm not claiming it's 100% down to Securom, but when code that constantly scans the whole system's memory for other 3rd party tasks running in the background is wrapped around an older predominantly lesser well threaded game, inevitably that means fewer CPU cycles within the same thread for the game itself during high-action scenes regardless of how many more modern CPU cores you throw at it.
True enough.

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JAAHAS: Of course it would be nice to have all the leftover stuff removed properly, but as long as the online side of DRM is made inert and it doesn't have any noticeable dent on a game's performance or cause abnormal harm to hardware, then why should GOG waste resources on that when there are far more urgent issues to solve?
Forgot this bit towards the end on this post you made: Except in this case it does affect some(hard to remove registry entries, slowdowns, etc)...and it goes against the site's DRM free mission statement. They should either fix itor change the pillar to mostly drm free games.
Post edited November 08, 2019 by GameRager
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GameRager: Also regulation should be the LAST thing we try....less regulation
Definite thing to file under irreconciliable differences. One of many, of course, but a more fundamental one than most I'd say.

So would you on that principle oppose regulations against DRM?
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Cavalary: Definite thing to file under irreconciliable differences. One of many, of course, but a more fundamental one than most I'd say.

So would you on that principle oppose regulations against DRM?
Yes*, unless there was no other way to solve the problem and nobody made drm free games anymore.

*With exceptions like against DRM that caused pc damage/etc.
Post edited November 09, 2019 by GameRager
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GameRager: It would've been nice to have seen some proof of that that I could actually use to determine if it had merit and wasn't just opinion.
Do your own research and use logic.

But to get you started down the logic path, just realize that not all Win 10 PCs are the same. So that even if Win 10 is optimized for something, it still needs the supportive hardware to do that something or do it well or well enough.

Games can be very demanding, and having anything running in the background can be seen as an overhead, no matter the optimization. High hardware specs eases the burden though.

That is not arguing with you, just stating some facts. Take them on board however you wish.
Post edited November 09, 2019 by Timboli
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Timboli: Games can be very demanding, and having anything running in the background can be seen as an overhead, no matter the optimization. High hardware specs eases the burden though.
The way modern Windows works, anything else running when you launch a game is moved to the pagefile and basically ignored, resources wise. So a client itself doesn't really "cost" anything. Now Denuvo has been shown to impact processor performance a tiny bit, by design, but it is a very small impact. Not defending it, but just saying I'm not sure that's the best avenue to attack it from.

DRM, at the end of the say, is a consumer rights issue for me. The EU has all these consumer rights regulations, you'd think they would oppose DRM. Not that I'm one for more government involvement, I'm certainly not.
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Timboli: Do your own research and use logic.
I try to every day.

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Timboli: But to get you started down the logic path, just realize that not all Win 10 PCs are the same. So that even if Win 10 is optimized for something, it still needs the supportive hardware to do that something or do it well or well enough.
True enough, but a virtual drive on most PCs isn't going to slow it down to a crawl.

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Timboli: Games can be very demanding, and having anything running in the background can be seen as an overhead, no matter the optimization. High hardware specs eases the burden though.
This is also true, but again a virtual drive on decent hardware isn't going to be much of an overhead.

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Timboli: That is not arguing with you, just stating some facts. Take them on board however you wish.
I will bear that in mind.
DRM, throughout its alterations, has proven to be a hindrance not a commodity nor necessity,
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OmegaInfinityX: DRM, throughout its alterations, has proven to be a hindrance not a commodity nor necessity,
The main goal of it is to delay piracy, not stop it. It fulfills that purpose sometimes (not all the time). Companies don't use it just to throw away money, they have research saying the longer you delay piracy the more copies you sell. That's why a ton of games don't come to GOG at all, or until long after release.
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JAAHAS: Of course it would be nice to have all the leftover stuff removed properly, but as long as the online side of DRM is made inert and it doesn't have any noticeable dent on a game's performance or cause abnormal harm to hardware, then why should GOG waste resources on that when there are far more urgent issues to solve?
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GameRager: Forgot this bit towards the end on this post you made: Except in this case it does affect some(hard to remove registry entries, slowdowns, etc)...and it goes against the site's DRM free mission statement. They should either fix itor change the pillar to mostly drm free games.
Clearly the situation with the expasions of F.E.A.R. is one of these more urgent issues GOG should be fixing instead of wasting time on disasembling every game to a point where they can claim them all to be 100% free of all traces of DRM, when in most cases those traces are just things like a simple check of the existance of files like a "securom.dll" or such a file had already been dummified to skip any verification processes and just always return a valid value instantly.

Until more examples of similar real problems with single player side of games on GOG come to light, I am willing to treat this as the one exception to the rule, especially because unless I am totally mistaken, the complaints about GOG's version of F.E.A.R. still containing DRM surfaced long after the game was released here, so there could be many contractual reasons that may limit GOG's ability to just go and crack the expansions on their own after failing to detect the DRM for so long in them. Hopefully they have learned from this and hired a few more experts to go through all releases and patches in order to avoid making the same mistake again.
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StingingVelvet: The way modern Windows works, anything else running when you launch a game is moved to the pagefile and basically ignored, resources wise. So a client itself doesn't really "cost" anything. Now Denuvo has been shown to impact processor performance a tiny bit, by design, but it is a very small impact. Not defending it, but just saying I'm not sure that's the best avenue to attack it from.
It seems you have your wires crossed, I wasn't talking about DRM, we are talking Virtual Drive.
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GameRager: True enough, but a virtual drive on most PCs isn't going to slow it down to a crawl.

This is also true, but again a virtual drive on decent hardware isn't going to be much of an overhead.
I never said anything about slowing to a crawl, just that I would prefer no unnecessary overheads.
But you need to be subjective though, as it all depends on how demanding a game is.
If your PC is already being pushed to the max or if you just want it to be pushed a little less, then unwanted overheads are undesirable.

At the end of the day what suits you may not suit others, and all I was suggesting is I would want them going for the lower not upper limit, when considering processing power usage or requirements. In short, a virtual drive is an unnecessary extra, as is some client.
Post edited November 09, 2019 by Timboli
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JAAHAS: Clearly the situation with the expansions of F.E.A.R. is one of these more urgent issues GOG should be fixing instead of wasting time on disassembling every game to a point where they can claim them all to be 100% free of all traces of DRM, when in most cases those traces are just things like a simple check of the existence of files like a "securom.dll" or such a file had already been dummified to skip any verification processes and just always return a valid value instantly.
I agree they should tackle that stuff first and also for the most part, but their reply was troubling....as if they didn't care about the poster's concerns.

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JAAHAS: Until more examples of similar real problems with single player side of games on GOG come to light, I am willing to treat this as the one exception to the rule, especially because unless I am totally mistaken, the complaints about GOG's version of F.E.A.R. still containing DRM surfaced long after the game was released here, so there could be many contractual reasons that may limit GOG's ability to just go and crack the expansions on their own after failing to detect the DRM for so long in them. Hopefully they have learned from this and hired a few more experts to go through all releases and patches in order to avoid making the same mistake again.
It's still a glaring exception, and the fact they haven't replied much to that user's concerns speaks a bit to the possible laziness/lack of caring of gog....in the past if such a thing happened they'd be posting an apology video/post asap.

And as for cracking being limited...they did it for many devs/games before & they likely have a clause where devs have to remove DRM from games or allow it to be removed to sell here.

I agree we should give them a bit of slack for now, though....but if they slip up again and again some might not be so wiling to let such slide.
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Timboli: I never said anything about slowing to a crawl, just that I would prefer no unnecessary overheads.
Sorry, I assumed a bit when replying.

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Timboli: But you need to be subjective though, as it all depends on how demanding a game is.
If your PC is already being pushed to the max or if you just want it to be pushed a little less, then unwanted overheads are undesirable.
True, but this isn't the days like in the past where we were limited to ONLY the 640k base ram and had to conserve that and other systems resources....now hardware comes out more often and good hardware is cheap for most & many can afford a bit of extra overhead without their performance suffering too much.

I can see why some would want to micromanage their systems for such reasons, though....I do it myself with regards to folder organization/etc.

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Timboli: At the end of the day what suits you may not suit others, and all I was suggesting is I would want them going for the lower not upper limit, when considering processing power usage or requirements. In short, a virtual drive is an unnecessary extra, as is some client.
Understood......but just a bit of info: the win10 feature doesn't need a client as it is built in. It only runs when you "put in" or mount a disc image and uses little resources. :)

(Also btw thanks for being patient with me and discussing this with me a bit.....it is appreciated)
Post edited November 09, 2019 by GameRager
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JAAHAS: Until more examples of similar real problems with single player side of games on GOG come to light, I am willing to treat this as the one exception to the rule
Have a "better" one for ya, 32-bit Crysis Warhead, originally released with active delayed-activation DRM rendering it unplayable, as it identified the copy as "pirated". GOG's solution? Just remove the 32-bit version entirely.
I feel it's a trust thing. First GOG trusted their customers to not abuse DRM free games and now their customers trust GOG to keep their games DRM free. As long as this relationship remains what can go wrong?

I think it's a fact that if GOG allowed DRM it would be overnight suicide, and that is something they are well aware of. Besides why would they bring back DRM? It's because of their no DRM policy that they continue to grow.