Two Worlds II - DRM Details

Two Worlds Vault is reporting DRM details for Two Worlds II, sourced from PC Games Hardware and Gamers Global:

According to what Mariusz Szaflik from RP confirmed and Zuxxez told earlier GamersGlobal.de, the title will rely on similar protection as its predecessor: you activate the game via the internet or telephone up to 3 times (subsequent reinstalls on different systems or rigs will require you to contact the publisher) and play. The game doesn't require DVD in your drive to be played and similarly will not rely on Steam connection (for Steam-distributed copies).

Head over for the links, including Google translations of the original articles.

More information.

Excellent…this will certainly stop the pirates, while at the same time I see no potential for this inconveniencing paying customers. DRM rules!

Kay

the title will rely on similar protection as its predecessor: you activate the game via the internet or telephone up to 3 times (subsequent reinstalls on different systems or rigs will require you to contact the publisher) and play. The game doesn't require DVD in your drive to be played and similarly will not rely on Steam connection (for Steam-distributed copies). King’s Bounty: Crossworlds Platinum Edition – contains King’s Bounty: Armored Princess, all the new content, plus the original King’s Bounty: The Legend.

Limited installs?

i am so gonna use a cracked exe

Idiots! More encouragement to pirate. When will they learn?

Originally Posted by KayAU
Excellent…this will certainly stop the pirates

It'll stop them for a week or two, if they're very very lucky. A day or a few hours if they're not so lucky. But i guess you werent serious after all..

Originally Posted by bemushroomed
Hahahaha. Yeah right, it'll stop them for a week or two, if they're very very lucky. A day or a few hours if they're not so lucky.

The opening window is quite vital in preventing piracy, for a significant number of would-be pirates.

To be honest it worked quite well for the original Two Worlds… it won't stop the pirates from cracking the game, but that seems to be common these days

Originally Posted by Tragos
Limited installs?

i am so gonna use a cracked exe

This.

If I find myself interested enough in this game I'll buy it and then use a pirated version instead.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
The opening window is quite vital in preventing piracy, for a significant number of would-be pirates.

That makes perfect sense especially for expensive hyped games by big companies that need to cover their expenses on day 1. I'm just wondering though: wouldn't it be a much better idea for a smaller or indie company, that can't afford fancy marketing campaigns, to invest into something that will steadily gain support from 'word of mouth' (or its equivalent for internet forums) that would assure steady sales for an extensive time period?

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
The opening window is quite vital in preventing piracy, for a significant number of would-be pirates.

yes, that's why i said they're lucky if it takes them 1-2 weeks.

Originally Posted by holeraw
That makes perfect sense especially for expensive hyped games by big companies that need to cover their expenses on day 1. I'm just wondering though: wouldn't it be a much better idea for a smaller or indie company, that can't afford fancy marketing campaigns, to invest into something that will steadily gain support from 'word of mouth' (or its equivalent for internet forums) that would assure steady sales for an extensive time period?

I couldn't say, really.

I suspect that VAST majority of gamers who say "DRM = I won't buy" are full of shit.

They want to play a good game as much as anyone, so only a tiny minority will follow through - IF they can't pirate it.

I think the primary problem is that people will feel entitled to pirate the game, which is why it's vital to not have that option during the first couple of weeks.

Then again, most sales will be on consoles anyway. So, I think it's a minor issue overall.

Originally Posted by bemushroomed
It'll stop them for a week or two, if they're very very lucky. A day or a few hours if they're not so lucky. But i guess you werent serious after all..

You guess correctly.

I strongly dislike DRM. It is highly ineffective at fighting piracy, and generally creates nothing but trouble for paying customers. One thing I find especially stupid, is that DRM can actually make cracked versions universally useful, as you may end up needing them to play the games you have bought properly. I think this irony is lost on most publishers, though.

Kay

They should have came up with an alternative way of selling their product already.
The most interesting method I once read, which was about selling music - not software, was through sites where you would become a member by paying a small subscription and then being able to download anything you want without any limits or further charges. The income from the subscriptions would then be divided amongst the artists depending on the relative quantity of downloads of each one's work.

Well, at least that's how I remember it… I don't know how well it would work but the article I read was quite convincing. Of course I understand that would result in large companies getting less money while small ones get more… which sounds absolutely great to me but I can see why Warner and Sony would never want that to happen.

Originally Posted by holeraw
They should have came up with an alternative way of selling their product already.
The most interesting method I once read, which was about selling music - not software, was through sites where you would become a member by paying a small subscription and then being able to download anything you want without any limits or further charges. The income from the subscriptions would then be divided amongst the artists depending on the relative quantity of downloads of each one's work.

Well, at least that's how I remember it… I don't know how well it would work but the article I read was quite convincing. Of course I understand that would result in large companies getting less money while small ones get more… which sounds absolutely great to me but I can see why Warner and Sony would never want that to happen.

Yup, greed prevents that from happening.

But it's the kind of system I've been advocating for a while - though I would prefer no monetary system at all.

That way, you ensure that a game is created for no other reason than to create a game.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Yup, greed prevents that from happening.

But it's the kind of system I've been advocating for a while - though I would prefer no monetary system at all.

That way, you ensure that a game is created for no other reason than to create a game.

And how would they fund these games then? In-game commercials comes to mind…

Originally Posted by holeraw
And how would they fund these games then? In-game commercials comes to mind…

They wouldn't "fund" them without funds

They would be assigned resources - if any were available.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
They wouldn't "fund" them without funds

They would be assigned resources - if any were available.

Either you have something on your mind that I'm not getting or you suggest people should make games exclusively as a hobby besides their paying job - which doesn't seem too appealing an idea to me because I expect we would end up playing nothing but short flash games.

Originally Posted by holeraw
Either you have something on your mind that I'm not getting or you suggest people should make games exclusively as a hobby besides their paying job - which doesn't seem too appealing an idea to me because I expect we would end up playing nothing but short flash games.

I have something on my mind, yeah

A complete restructuring of the world and the world-society - so it's not like it will happen for hundreds of years.

Still, it'd be nice - I think!

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
They wouldn't "fund" them without funds

They would be assigned resources - if any were available.

You are thinking of the Star Trek society model?

Kay

Originally Posted by KayAU
You are thinking of the Star Trek society model?

Kay

Not really, as they never managed to explain it