Don't buy bioshock for PC

Apparently you can only install bioshock twice.

http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5527&page=35

 

did u read the article you posted... and ones other have... just uninstall it before you re-install it on the system if you have a hardware change.... and how many computers do you wanna install it on anyway?

 

just wait for the "fix" for it

 

Why wait.....

 

touche..

 

soon hopefully 2kgames will learn that they dont need to use securom garbage for their protection, the fact the people are less likely to pirate games bought through steam, and enjoy the online benefits, that the original purchase brings.

of course HalfLife 2 will play on any machine I wish to log in to, so say I am away somewhere and didnt take my laptop but there is a machine available, I can login upload my game files from the servers, and play presto.
(lol)

does this mean bioshock full version would throw a thrombo if that were the case? not very clever really eh?
not even in the spirit of steam games.

anyhoo the demo rocks, my laptop isnt and doesnt, so the Beer fund is going to have to transfer to the laptop fund. hmmm how will I get that past wife (credit) control

 

uhmm wasnt the price of Bioshock via steam more expensive than versions sold in stores? Kinda strange that. Whole point of steam is cutting out the publisher hassles so the developer can sell straight to the consumer.

Whos getting the extra cut?

Do they ship out a real manual of the game to you or do you get the infamous "online manual" (i hate them )

 

I purchased it last night. Runs great on the laptop, but I do want to play it on the desktop as well. I sent them a support e-mail before I install it on the desktop so that they have a record of my asking. If it invalidates I can e-mail them an unlock request and have them send me a new key. There was a post on another board (wish I had kept the link) where people were complaining about securom protection and a rep from 2kgames said you can install it on more than one machine, just not "many" machines.

EDIT: I'll post their response once I receive it.

 

Also a fun fact. If you play it on a widescreen monitor, instead of showing extra display on each side of the monitor, the game crops off the top and bottom of the screen. So the 4:3 people see more of the game than the 16:9 or 16:10 people.

http://kotaku.com/gaming/widescreen/bioshocks-widescreen-pissing-people-off-291697.php

Hack posted here (not sure if it works): http://kotaku.com/gaming/mr-fix-it/hack-for-bioshock-widescreen-issue-292432.php

Don't think I'll be buying it until some of this stuff gets worked out...

 

Actually.. here's something interesting to read:

http://kotaku.com/gaming/more-bioshock-shock/bioshock-pc-you-only-install-twice-updated-292222.php

It seems that you CAN reinstall the game as much as you want, you just have to uninstall it first. Uninstalling the game contacts the securom servers and lets them know you removed it. You can have up to 2 active copies on your computers at any one time. However, reformatting your drive without uninstalling the game leaves a copy open on the securom servers. If by chance you accidentally do this twice, you'll need to contact 2kgames and/or securom to get an unlock code. The protection is there to make sure you don't install active working copies on more than 2 pc's.

EDIT: Apparently uninstalling does allow you to reinstall on the same PC, but not a different one. A lot of people are trying to clarify this with 2KGames but have had no luck just yet. So the information posted from 2K games that says you CAN reinstall after a hardware upgrade may be misleading. What if you replace your desktop's motherboard, processor, ram, hard drive, video cards, and reformat/reinstall a new OS like Vista? That's not really an upgrade, it's building a new PC. 2KGames won't (as of yet) define what their definition of "upgrade" is, and/or whether you're screwed for installing on that PC after you've done so. The game was still worth $49.95 for my laptop though, it's hella fun.

 

how come none of this sort of info makes it into pc reviews from online sources or pc magazines?

or maybe they have?

 

Welcome to yesterday .

 

But don't you need the actual disc in order to play? If thats the case, wouldn't it make it moot regardless of how many copies you install on however many computers?

 

i dont think im going to buy it period.

 

Biohazard :confused2:

 

So BioShock via Steam is a better alternative then? No secure-rom garbage and don't need to worry about CDs and Keys.

 

yeah im wondering- does steam take care of the problem?

i assume steam isn't required to play, so they sort of have two methods of installation.

i would go with steam if you already have some steam games. its a great tool for portability.

 

I have to say this is utterly ridiculous! This means that say in 5-10 years time you want to play this again, you might not be able to if you had used it on two systems already! So the replay value of this game is 0 unless you never ever format your drive twice due to unrecoverable crash or dead drive.

looks like im NOT buying this game, its funny how people who make/release such amazing games make such stupid mistakes like this, it's like their brains suddenly turned to jelly! Perhaps ppl should just get the thing from torrents and teach these fools not to rip us off!

 

Wow, this is ridiculous. Truly ridiculous. As consumers we shouldn't have to put up with this sort of crap. We bought the product, we should be able to use it as we damn well please.

I'm disappointed I preordered this game in full for PC. (haven't picked it up yet...still waiting for my Gamestop to call to say it's come in)

I would buy it over steam if that would solve the securom issue ~_~.

 

Wow... this was on Attack of the Show last night... Anyways, if anyone else watched that, you would have heard that there are so many people trying to do cracks now a days... There will be a way around it within a month or two. But Honestly.... Who is going to install the game 3 times on your own computers? "Ummm... I want to know how it runs on my 8800 GTS, then on my 8800 GTX, and my 8800 Ultra, just to see what the differences are!!!" THEN UNINSTALL IT!!! your not going to beat the game 3 times on 3 different machines.... are you?

 

Steam has to be running to use the game, but you do not have to be connected to the internet like some games. And i would think that Steam would solve the problem because the game is linked to your account... therefore you can not re distribute the game to different computers... unless they have your account info... which why would they know that anyways...

 

the problem with the steam thing is that it therefore has no resale value, you buy it and whether you like it or not, it's yours forever. That again is stupid if it's at the same price as the DVD. As for the reason why someone would use it 3 times, if you have a desktop and laptop, one crashes and has to be replaced. someone with a faulty laptop who returns it several times, each time it comes back he installs the came and after a while the laptop dies. It is just not practical to limit the number of installs unless you can ensure your system will never fail.

I have to say I opened this topic thinking it was someone who was trashing the actual game or had bougth it and had issues but its a valid reason to NOT buy this game.

Hopefully Crysis wont be giving us anything close to the ludicrous methods this game does.

 

Steam has the same restrictions

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=589874&page=1

can`t understand why?

 

so they can sell more units

seriously until they give up on this restriction crap, i aint buying a game i cant use in the future cuz I exceeded installation allowances.

I guess they should rename this game to BioSuck

 

There goes 2K from Steam's friends list.

 

I can't see what all the complaining is about. It's already been said that when you install the game, you use up one of your two installs, and when you uninstall it, you get one back. So if you're buying a new machine, uninstall it on your old machine, and then install it one your new one. The same goes for reformatting or upgrading your hardware.

Although it is still a pretty harsh measure and I would much rather do without it, the inconvenience is apparently a measure 2k was willing to take in order to deter the non-hardcore pirates, which is where most of the PC game sales are lost. Even if something happens to one of your installs, say you forgot to uninstall it before reformatting, you can just call in for a new key there you have it.

 

i have stated why, you didnt read it i guess. IF your drive fails, you lose an install cuz u cant uninstall from a drive that DOESNT WORK. same goes if say your laptop dies or gets stolen. it's a stupid measure, that alone warrants a complaint!

 

"EDIT: Apparently uninstalling does allow you to reinstall on the same PC, but not a different one."

This was the main thing that bothered me. Unconfirmed at the moment, but stupid. "Sorry, you installed on two different PCs, no you can never install on another computer again. Ever."

 

Some people don't get the credit back when they uninstall.

 

Perhaps we should start a petition to officially change the games name to BioSuck? I think we could get this done people!

 

There is already a cracked version available. So much for 'Copy Protection' .

The only people to really suffer are the legitimate end users, IMO.

 

I agree. And it really ticks me off. This happens with all my games, installing windows, and even academic software. I should be able to uninstall and install as many time as I would like provided I don't violate licensing. I shouldn't have to call places and explain the situation to them to get something that I BOUGHT reactivated. Ticks me off.......

 

Yeah, the copy protection does seem unnecessarily strict. Has anyone tried calling in to get a new key to see how big of a hassle it is? The main problem the secuROM poses for me is that my friends and I can't share one copy, especially provided its a single player game, but so far I have been able to uninstall and reinstall multiple times with no problems.

IMO, the best copy protection is still to have a solid multiplayer component that only one cd key can use at a time, ala BF2 and all battle.net games.

 

BTW, it is an amazing game, and despite all the problems I had to go through to get it working (I had to reformat my desktop because of a VC++ conflict somewhere), I have to say it was entirely worth it. Easily one of the best game's I've ever played, and I'm only about five hours into it.

 

I make it a habit to pirate DRM-ed stuff. Heck, I don't even have Windows, but I'll still burn a copy of BioShock, just to give 'em the finger.

 

Maybe you could change it to BioWAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH instead.

 

Yeh... somebody should set up a website. Let them hear our anger. I'm sure a couple of people would like to put their name down, along with a small nice message.

 

I havent had any issues yet, except maybe drivers, but I still think that the DRM on this sucks bad...

 

The DRM thing is annoying, but I doubt it'll ever affect most users. I've never had a hard drive fail in 8 plus years of real PC use. Even then I'm sure they work with you.

They are protecting their work though, which no doubt cost them millions to make. I'm just getting into the game myself on PC, and it's a beautiful game. The atmosphere is amazing, it looks fantastic on 1920x1200 resolution, and it's not over demanding on hardware. They do deserve some protection for their hard work on an amazing piece of art.

 

saw my first Bioshock tv advert yesterday, very nice Music is very creepy hehe

 

I don't question a company's rights to protect it's product. Every company can legally do practically anything to protect their intellectual property, however, that doesn't mean what some do and have been doing is the best way to go about engendering the respect of the gaming community.

As we have all seen over the years the people who set out to break copy protection are as (if not seeming to be better) good at this as the people who make the original game. There is essentially no way to prevent people from stealing games so you have to play to the legitimate gaming audience. Make a great game so people want to pay for it, be completely honest about it's positives and negatives so people don't feel gypped when they buy it, have great support/customer service, make it easy to install and run, get involved in the community and release patches when necessary and make a great multiplayer so people will want to have their own copy.

Basing decisions on the lowest common denominator is a grade school method of doing business which is becoming ever more prevalent and all it does is piss off the people who have no intention of breaking the law.

 

I agree on that, single player only games are more likely to get pirated. I am familiar with that...attitude...from people I know...haha. Take a game with online play though, and they will want their own purchased copy so they can take the CD key online.

Bioshock having no multiplayer creates a dangerous issue for them unfortunately.

The more I play it, the more I'm enjoying it though, and I'm not even that deep a player on FPS normally Runs great on my 8800GTS 320mb card too.

 

Well, single player games are the only ones that can be pirated, but i mean, only being able to install it twice is no different. I mean, STALKER wont let you install the game more than once, but i can assure you people play the game pirated.