Star-F*cked

This was supposed to be a quick overview of FlatOut 2 as it arrived this morning...

There would have probably been some amusing comments (maybe)...

A screenshot or two...

Maybe even a link to the game's website...

Unfortunately this is not the case thanks to the delights of Star-Force protection.

In the past I have subscribed to a very easy rule: if they don't get in my way, I won't have a problem, and up until today this has worked just fine. I buy a PC game, install it, play it, have fun. It's a very simple formula:

Me + Gaming = Money in pocket for people who made/published/sold the game

So what went wrong this time?

Let me take you on a step-by-step magical mystery tour through the Star-Force way to kill a PC:

- Game is installed
- Game is run
- Star-Force drivers demand to be installed
- Driver installation requires PC to be rebooted
- PC reboots
- Game is run
- Star-Force drivers refused to acknowledge a genuine disk claiming an emulator is in use
- I check my PC for running emulators... find none
- In case it is detecting the presence of in-active drive emulation software, I remove Alcohol 120% (which doesn't actually have any virtual devices present)
- Game is run
- Star-Force drivers refused to acknowledge a genuine disk claiming an emulator is in use
- PC is rebooted (just in case)
- Game is run
- Star-Force drivers refused to acknowledge a genuine disk claiming an emulator is in use
- Desk is thumped(hand is gently nursed)
- All possible types of software that might have even a slight passing resemblance to emulation software are uninstalled
- A registry cleaner is used to make sure that there is no residue
- Game is run
- Star-Force drivers refused to acknowledge a genuine disk claiming an emulator is in use
- Star-Force forums are consulted... a possible solution involving the removal and re-installation of the Star-Force protection is found
- Star-Force protection is removed using approved tool
- Removal requires a reboot
- PC is rebooted
- Windows stops working
- House burns down to the ground
- Plague of zombies attack the Isle of Wight
- The Earth stops spinning
- We all die

...

Ok... so anything after 'Windows stops working' may have been a slight exaggeration (I'll find out for certain when I get back home and find that my house is, in fact, a smoking pile of ash)

So what now... Windows boots but won't give me a log-in screen. As far as the system is concerned, it has booted successful so there is no 'last know good configuration'. Safe mode also refuses to give me a log-in screen. I'm screwed...

And what happens if I re-install Windows tonight and then try again... and get the same results?

At the end of the day, I try to be a realist. I know that they'll argue that is was obviously something wrong with my setup and that the Star-Force protection was working just fine. It's most likely true... but then isn't that the point of a PC? We can install what we like in terms of hardware and software? If I wanted to play games on something 'fixed' I'd have used one of my consoles... it's not like they ever get hacked is it!

Don't get me wrong... I have absolutely no problem with the people who make the games trying to protect their investment. I do think, if I'm honest, they are wasting their time and money because if you make a decent game... people will buy it (bit of a no-brainer really). My complaint is completely with the method of protection: I spend a awful lot of time and money setting up my system so that I can get the most enjoyment out of it; I don't want someone else telling me what software I can and can't have on my PC and I certainly don't want them installing drivers of they're own creation so that it takes up hours of my time... MY TIME... trying to fix a problem so that I can play a game! Stop and think about that... all I want to do is play a game that I have paid good money for and thanks to Star-Force I'm very tempted just not to bother and send the game back.

They argue that by using Star-Force they can stop the 0-day pirating of their games... I argue that anyone who really wants a game on the day of release will have already pre-ordered it from their favorite website.

The only people who really suffer are the legitimate purchasers of the games... People who play pirated game will always find a way round the system, regardless of how 'good' your protection is!

Damn... I'm ranting again... I was hoping not to do that...