From: Gavin Adams <gavin.adams@lso.mts.dec.com>
Subject: Re: Key-disk... It's back again!!
X-Xxmessage-Id: <A6F06A225002BA16@godzilla.jdola.lanl.gov>
X-Xxdate: Thu, 1 Oct 92 08:41:06 GMT
Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1.1d7
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 15:01:20 GMT

In article <1992Oct1.033943.16669@netcom.com> Hoi Chong, hchong@netcom.com
writes:
>From article <1adfltINNj0f@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu>, by dpn2@po.CWRU.Edu (Damien
P. Neil):
>> 
>> In a previous article, hchong@netcom.com (Hoi Chong) says:
>> 
>>>I looked at a copy of SWOTL on CD-ROM (with all 4 optional planes).
>>>It let you copy everything (yes, it only use 3.5meg of the 640meg CD)
>>>onto your harddrive, BUT, you still need the CD to run it.
>>>
>>>Key-disk?  No.  Key-CD!
>>>
>>>Is there a way we can put a stop to this trend before it catches on fire? 
>>>
>> Yes. Stop piracy.
>> 
>> If you want to put the whole game on your HD, just buy the disk-based
>> version. It makes complete sense to me that companies would use a 'key-CD'.
>> Key-disks are a pain in the ass, because anyone can copy them generally. In
>> addition, disks have the annoying tendance to become corrupt, especially
>> when left out so that you easily get at them to pass the protection.
>
>Yes, I have the disk-based version, and had played it but a few times.
>The game is worth maybe $5 to me. 
>
>It is quite obvious that you are not a serious gamer, one that buy many
>games each month.  I have bought close to a hundred PC games so far, do 
>you know how messy my table is with so many manuals and key-disks?  Some
>games even demand both key disk AND manual protection! 

What difference does this make?  Owning a large amount of games doesn't mean
your a serious gamer.  That's the equivilant of saying, "I have 1,000 CD's,
so I'm an audiophile."

>The way I see it is that I paid my dues, bought enough games, shell out
>enough hard-earned money, THAT I SHOULD NOT BE BOTHERED WITH KEY DISK
>AND SUCH!

We know the reason copy protection is used: piracy.  If the vendor figures
they need some type of CP, that's _their_ choice.  If you decide not to buy
the game based on this choice, don't buy it (as in your case).  If enough
people don't buy it, the vendor will ge the picture.  Just quit whining about
it.

>If you have a game that use up up all 640meg, or even 1/2, or 1/10th of
>the CD, fine, I have to insert the CD each time.  But a 3.5meg game and you
>expect me to trouble with the CD each time?
>
>Do you own a CD-ROM drive?  Do you know what is a caddy?  
>1) I have to take out the caddy from the drive, 
>2) take the current CD out and 
>3) put it back into its case, 
>4) take the game CD out of its case,
>5) put it into the caddy,
>6) and insert the caddy back into the CD-ROM drive.

Or buy a few more caddies.  At ~$4 each, this is very small investment for
your time spent swapping CD's.

>Perhaps they should have a police officer check your driver's license
>each time before you are allowed to drive, heh? 

Not even a close analogy.

>I apologise if I seem rude, it was not meant for you.  But I am often
>get insulted by paying good money for bad games, and to top things off,
>they expect me to open the box and take out the manual or key disk 
>each time!  I would have play the more mediocre once more often if I 
>don't have to bother with protection.  After an 11-hour work day, one
>can't really bother manual and key disk if the game is not of CIV-standard.
>
>Look at it this way -- if one can afford the game in this country, one would
>have paid for it.  Those who sneak around with pirate copies most likely
>cannot afford it in the first place, so why bother.  $20 or $40 is not worth
>cheapening oneself and lower one's esteem.  You wouldn't enjoy the game
>that much if you hadn't pay for it.

Wrong.  Piracy is not a well understood crime or moral turpitude in most
people's  minds.  I have friends, engineers that bring in over $40K a year,
who take pleasure in collecting as many pirated programs as possible.  Piracy
is just limited to the starving high school students anyomore.

--- Gavin
Visualize Whirled Peas!
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games