I loved the Lomac, but when the Flaming cliffs came out with the Starforce I give up the Lockon series.

Read somewhere you can buy the Flaming cliffs for something less than $15 US now. Thought I'd look into buying it, if the malware junk isn't being used.

starforce is still in FC. although I don't know if Black Shark will use it.

I have not had any problems with the type of starforce used by FC affecting my computer. There are different versions and strengths of that program.

I'm in the same camp. I want FC but not with Starforce. I suspect Starforce of destroying two of my recordable optical drives and won't allow Starforce on my latest PC build. I guess if I bought the download version of FC there would be no reason for it to do a cdrom check but am still wary of it. I will install Starforce to two of my other PC's but not my main gaming rig and that is the PC I use for LOMAC.

FC uses two differnt types of Starforce, 1 is a CD check system, and the other is a Online code activated system. Not all staforce protections are the same.

Nate

I have read that when you run out of activations, you can "request" 1 or so new activations? Is that correct? I only have 3 activations left and i would like to know what i can do when these 3 are gone too? Who is the one, who can help us? Are the Starforce guys the ones to ask or ED?

You email ED.

The limited activation crap is another thing that is stopping me from buying FC. I mean, WTF were they thinking treating a $14.99 add-on like it is Fort Knox? All they accomplished was to hurt their profit margin because I am not the only one that will not buy games with draconian copy protection. Speak with your wallets and they will soon get the message.

dont meantion that word here,you will bring the wrath of gods!

If you get a disc version there is no activation. You just have to put the CD in the drive once a week.

For the web version there is a regsave utility. This provides you with the ability to save your activations from being used up quickly or by accident. I have used both the versions of SF that come with FC. Niether of them has caused me or any one I know any problems at all. I have done multiple installs with no issues. In fact I have FC running on 4 different high end computers in my home lan. 0 problems.

The fears and rethoric over SF is way overblown IMHO. Maybe it is a combination of a few people that have had some issues they did not know how to cope with and a whole lot of people that were mad they can not steal this particular title because in the final analysis, in at least this one case no one has been able to.

I am speaking from professional experience as a certified hardware/software/network technician with many years of repairing building and networking all manner of PC's. I also build many custom gaming machines in which I have pre-installed select SF titltes at the customers request. Again repeatedly no issues.

Having some one that knows nothing about computer hardware tell you that SF messed up their machine or caused thier old optical drive to explode is simply too hard to believe as proof of anything. I am sure like any other piece of software SF could cause some issues but it is no where near the nightmare a select few claim it is IMPO. Thank God for people like this, it is what makes me sure there will always be plenty of work for me. I specialize in trouble shooting the real issue for people and I also get to see thier faces turn different shades of red when as most often occurs they realize that they were sadly completely mistaken in thier "self diagnosis".

When you need a problem solved with a machine it is better to call in a professional then make statements about the reasons why only to look like a fool when the truth finally comes out. tinkering with a home build does not a professional make.

Out

Yea sure, only "professionals" know what they are talking about.

Man!!! And I tought a Magna Cum Laude B.S. in Computer Sciences (including Robotics, Software Engineering, Computer System Structures (Analisys and Design), logic gates, etc), over 15 years of I.T. experience inclusing Computer Programmer, Systems Specialist and Network Admininstrator made me a professional...I guess I will have to go back to school....

starforce has problems. whether you experience those problems depends on configuration. Exploding drives is bollocks - not being able to burn stuff anymore is not.

starforce = bad, and the days when it took longer than zero day to crack are gone.

My two optical drives wouldn't read anything anymore and not just not be able to burn disks. It wasn't some simple registry glitch either as neither could boot to a boot cd either. On top of that, one time when I installed a Starforce game and it said I had to reboot to play the game, well, after the reboot XP said my hardware had changed and had to re-activate.

Sorry mates but I beg to differ based on my experience with many machines and many starforce installs in oppostion to your one.

Punisher, credentials are great and congratulations on each and every one of them but I know many a professional admin, programmer, engineer etc, that rely on others(my) advice for hardware becuase in that regard many do not have the hands on experience I do. And some simply do not know their collective asses from thier elbows about hardware/software issues despite the certs.

Bard.....I get the feeling you do not like SF.

Say what you will and dis SF all you want, you are members of the gross minority, period, like it or not most people have no such issues. My experience is NOT isolated to one or a few machines as I suspect most of yours are. Burning software and burners of every concievable make and model...no problems for me. Now all of you tell me about the tens of machines you have experienced your SF issues on and I will listen.

Screengoo,no you do not need to be a pro to trouble shoot these types of issues coreectly although it helps, you just need to be smart enough not to shoot your mouth off with out absolute proof that SF is problematic and at the root of your issues. Some here may have that proof but I bet most do not. Beyond that proof what is there? Mindless BS.

Just thought you might like to tolerate anothers opinions and views based on experience and not be closed minded to the potential realities that my original post brings up. I am not saying this is the case always. Only that it is a possibility and my opinion that troubles with SF are no where near as bad as all that. The reality does not match the rhetoric.

I will post nothing more here as it has all been posted before.

Be well!

Out

And you, sir, do not have absolute proof that Starforce is not problematic. And if we are the "gross" minority then explain to me why quite a few companies have stopped using Starforce after many customer complaints. The only companies still using Starforce are playing a dangerous game with their profit margin and are fools.

If you had two optical drives go south in a row after installing Starforce games then what would you conclude? One was a brand new Samsung drive and the other was a Ricoh that I had been using reliably for years and cost me over 200 bucks. Both developed the exact same issue. What would you think if after installing a Starforce game Microsoft XP activation was triggered? Is that the kind of software you would want to trust and install on your PC ever again?

"you just need to be smart enough not to shoot your mouth off with out absolute proof that SF is problematic and at the root of your issues"

You need to be smart enough to realize that your experience is not empirical.

Wow..this again? Round and round and round we go... Everyone has a valid opinion...start lobbing insults at each other and this one will go down with all the rest of them...

BeachAV8R

After getting FC, Starforce damaged my OS twice in short succession (during the SF checks at the initial startup of an FC session) -- both times requiring a C: drive reformat and OS reinstall (plus all my software reinstalled). Since then, I only have the original LockOn on my machine -- no problems -- ever. Other copy protections -- no problems -- ever (playing flight sims since 1991).

Won't buy any more SF protected games, period.

Ahhhhh... That felt good

That's actually the perfect way to do it and say it. It really is that simple.