NWN2: MoW - DRM Limited Install Removal

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Blue's News reports that Ossian's MoW has had its install limitations removed, and there is a short Q&A with the details on Ossian's forum; which I'll quote in full.
Ossian Studios is pleased to announce that there is no longer a 3-activation limit on NWN2: Mysteries of Westgate. The activation limit has been removed by Atari after Ossian highlighted to them how many fans were not happy with it. You can now install MoW as many times as you like on your computer. Here are some quick facts about this change:

  • Q: Do I still need to activate MoW to play?
    A: Yes. The DRM activation limit has been removed but you still need to activate MoW online for each new installation on your computer. After the one-time activation for each installation, you don’t need an Internet connection to play. Activation is necessary to prevent serial numbers from being posted to the web where hundreds or thousands of people can access it.
  • Q: So, I don’t have to worry about changing my hardware and not being able to re-activate MoW?
    A: No. You can change the hardware configuration or operating system on your computer as often as you like and can re-activate MoW as many times as you like.
  • Q: Is it okay if I install the game on more than one of my computers?
    A: Yes, that’s fine.
  • Q: Are the MoW resources still encrypted?
    A: Yes, the MoW resource files are still encrypted. However, we have provided most of this content for free from the Mysteries of Westgate page on the NWVault:
    http://nwvault.ign.com/View.php?view=NWN2ModulesEnglish.Detail&id=362
More information.
 
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Good news - I was going to buy it soon anyway, but this sweetens the otherwise bitter pill of DRM :)
 
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Good news - I was going to buy it soon anyway, but this sweetens the otherwise bitter pill of DRM :)

wrong.
it removes it, so there's nothing to be sweetened anymore.
________
AROMED BUY
 
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No, the DRM is still there. It's just far, far less onerous -- like it should have been to start with. Kudos to Ossian for pushing this with Atari -- and to Atari for making a U-turn on it.
 
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Yeah, given that the module was delayed since Sept 07 because of the DRM it's hardly as if Atari was going to remove it completely.

you still need to activate MoW online for each new installation

Is the kind of DRM I'm perfectly happy with.
 
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Hell yeah finally i will buy it :)
 
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As veteran role playing gamers you should bought MoW already no matter what DRM it uses. It is not Ossians fault to put a DRM in it. It's Atari's decision. You know PC gaming is crawling in its knees because of low sales and pirating. And, if you do not support these brilliant products, there won't be any good RPGs for PC in the future. I bought it the day it released. And, i definity would bought if it allows me to install itself only one time. And it definitely worths my 10 euros. More support, more money, more budget and more quality products like MoW. It is all that simple
 
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Hey Gokyabgu
I would buy it eventually anyway.
I change parts in my PC quite often, so that DRM might have been quite problematic for me, and that's why I didn't buy it on the day one. However I was even thinking yesterday to buy in a week or two, to play it after my exams.
Also if more people ill buy the game now it will show Atari that this kind of DRM is a bad way of selling their products.
 
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As veteran role playing gamers you should bought MoW already no matter what DRM it uses. It is not Ossians fault to put a DRM in it. It's Atari's decision. You know PC gaming is crawling in its knees because of low sales and pirating. And, if you do not support these brilliant products, there won't be any good RPGs for PC in the future. I bought it the day it released. And, i definity would bought if it allows me to install itself only one time. And it definitely worths my 10 euros. More support, more money, more budget and more quality products like MoW. It is all that simple

I disagree my friend. I am against draconian DRM, doesn't matter if my mom made the game (well, in that case I would really hope to get it for free, but I digress). By not buying it with the DRM and buying it now, hopefully Atari can see that strong DRM does a lot more damage than good. Had everybody done what you said, Ossidian wouldn't have complained to Atari and Atari wouldn't have acted.
 
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Well I got what I asked for, so, even though I'm not ready to play MoW yet, I'm going to go buy it. I know some folks here felt I was wrong to boycott, and I felt utterly horrible when I read Luke Scull's subsequent plea, but I'm now very glad I can purchase it without compromising my convictions.

Thank you so much Ossian for fighting something that was outside your control.

There are still a few Atari games that I want that I'm boycotting. Here's hoping those will be relaxed as well, in time. I am not, however, holding my breath. :)
 
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I'm buying it,definitely.
I'll probably get a couple of copies as my cousin is a NWN fan and at that price it's a no-brainer.
 
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Dear Green Place
Draconian? You mean it kills you if you attempt to pirate it? Sheesh, maybe I should have skipped this one!!

This is good, but it seems odd. 18 odd month delay for DRM, then they effectively remove it. Unlimited activations is barely DRM at all, I could, in theory, give the downloaded file to all my mates, they could all instal it, activate it... It all just seems bizzare.

I do just want to mention that MoW is a really good product, and it is incredible value. I'm enclined to think that it would be incredible value even if had a one activation limit. I payed $10 US for it, which was roughly $12 AU, or less than one third the price I payed for SoZ or MotB, and 6 or 7 times less than what I usually end up paying for full price games. It's a great game, 20 or so hours of total enjoyment. Not MotB level, but not that far off. And it is better in one regard - levels 8 - 15 are a bit of a sweet spot. You don't find 1000s of gold in barrels lying around the city, and the merchants in the town square who don't even have buildings to use as shops don't sell artifcats worth half a million gold :s

If you have NWN2, and haven't got MoW - BUY IT NOW.
 
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Yeah, that was my approach. $10 for 20 hours of pretty good gaming - that's good value for me even if the DRM makes the code explode at the end and I don't ever play it again. I'm not condoning DRM but I don't see why some products can't stand on the value of their first play through.
 
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When I have the money to buy it I probably will but I wouldn't have before. I don't like DRM and limiting it to 3 installs would have hurt bad since it can take me a very long time to get through a game and within that time I may have to reinstall or change parts a few times and I wouldn't be able to get through the game.

PS. It was far worse when I had Windows XP since I would need to reinstall windows and software on my computer quite often back then.
 
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As veteran role playing gamers you should bought MoW already no matter what DRM it uses. It is not Ossians fault to put a DRM in it. It's Atari's decision. You know PC gaming is crawling in its knees because of low sales and pirating. And, if you do not support these brilliant products, there won't be any good RPGs for PC in the future. I bought it the day it released. And, i definity would bought if it allows me to install itself only one time. And it definitely worths my 10 euros. More support, more money, more budget and more quality products like MoW. It is all that simple

I completely disagree.

We have voiced our opinion about this kind of DRM and the developer has heard our pleas and had the system changed. This is exactly why we held out.

Now it is our duty to all buy it :)
 
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Glad they did this - shows they are listening to the community. $10 was already a great value, this makes it better.
 
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Draconian? You mean it kills you if you attempt to pirate it? Sheesh, maybe I should have skipped this one!!

Oh, please. Limited installations is draconian. You're no longer buying the game; you're renting it. At ten bucks, I'm ready to think of it that way (I did, and bought it); however, it's also being applied to fifty-buck games, and at that level, I'm not willing to live with that kind of restrictions.

IMO the best compromise would be limited activations for the first six months of the game's lifecycle, required activation but no limits for the next 30 months after that, and DRM removed altogether following that time. It'd put a small damper on the big piracy spike on release, but would address the concerns of people who want to return to well-loved old games later.

This is good, but it seems odd. 18 odd month delay for DRM, then they effectively remove it. Unlimited activations is barely DRM at all, I could, in theory, give the downloaded file to all my mates, they could all instal it, activate it... It all just seems bizzare.

That constitutes abuse, and I'm sure they have some triggers in place to raise an alarm should that happen.
 
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This is how it should have been in the first place. I bought the game on release day even though I wasn't too happy about the DRM scheme implemented. But to me it was more important to support Ossian than protesting against a DRM that hopefully would be removed before I ever got hit by it's limitations.
 
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IMO the best compromise would be limited activations for the first six months of the game's lifecycle, required activation but no limits for the next 30 months after that, and DRM removed altogether following that time. It'd put a small damper on the big piracy spike on release, but would address the concerns of people who want to return to well-loved old games later.

Absolutely agree - that is what I've said in various articles / posts ... Full draconian DRM for ~1-2 months, peel back limits, then within a year go to fully DRM-free. Reports have said that it is only the first couple of months that are the piracy-block targets anyway.
 
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