[Jump]

Steam patched the client yesterday to deal with this. I think they got screwed by 2k in all this and caught off guard. The whole thing wouldn't activate with the 2 security systems in place. The whole point with STEAM is you can have it on as many systems as you wish but only one can be running STEAM at the any point in time. What would be the point of some other layer of activation?

[Milkman]

Steam did patch it to remove the securerom? I know originally it was included which was just stupid.... of course im not a fan of steam either. Im more of a fan of owning what i purchase. But to respect others i won't rant on it too much here. Im a fairly big with fair use rights... which are constantly getting stepped on and then removed in everything from music, movies, games, and now even clothing... yes there are people trying to copyright your jeans.... its just stupid.... ok.. no more rant.

My opinion on bioshock? 2k requiring internet activations to play a single player game=dumb. Only allowing 2 activations = dumb. Installing rootkit with software installation = dumb. All this = me not giving them my money.

Shame too... it looks awesome.

[KEA]

One of the guys at work got it from steam and tried to play on a different computer than the one used to buy it. The game complete refused to run because of the copy protection that is being used. He was kinda pissed because he uses steam to play games at multiple locations.

[Jump]

Make sure he patches his steam with yesterdays update. They say it's been patched to make it comply to their usage limits.

I really don't care too much if companies want to try stuff to limit pirates. But trying things that are known not to work and limiting installs is lame. If you uninstall it then you retain that install for future use.

[Jump]

A little update. It looks like they raised it to five installs. So the pressure is mounting I guess. It seams that Vista x64 will not allow secureROM to be installed. So I am good, but it may mean that it can't be verified for another installation. Or it may mean my five will never be used.

[Milkman]

Thats interesting jump.... and good to know about vista x64. I think the validation is a seperate issue though? Not sure. If want to risk it.. you could test it? upping the installs is progress.. but still hate that validation crap....

[Jump]

Well, I will test it when I am done playing it which might not be for a long time. This is a really really good game. There is an image in one of the directories that says Bioshock editor, hopefully there are good things to come.

I doubt the DRM thing will stay. I would probably stand with the anti DRM crowd if they weren't being so vulgar and obnoxious towards people. I doubt they would have the courage to talk to people like that in public.

Like most companies they made a business decision based on reports and info provided to them by screwed up companies like Themis. Unfortunately they made the wrong decision. It wasn't some conspiracy, and they aren't going to hack peoples computers now and steel all their info.

What I find funny is all the people screaming that they are going to get a pirated copy now. That is hilarious since so many of those hacks install far more sinister code on your computer than DRM. Ironic and Moronic

It's a shame really since this is a awsome game. Though I wish they would have used the Aegia software physics and not Havock.

Anyway, The World in Conflict beta is out. I was a beta tester for that and I can tell you that game will knock your socks off.

[Aphelion]

Keep in mind that it's not 2k games that screwed up the DRM, it's the company they hired to manage it. That, and the thousands of bored internet gamers that Jump describes clicking their brains out, and you get thousands of angry fanboi's on thousands of forums. The game looks good enough for me to upgrade my PC now instead of waiting for StarCraft 2. I'll post my planned purchases up for your consideration later.

[Jump]

I recommend newegg and you can get there via our front page.


I'm playing it my third time through now. lol. I'm trying to find all 122 journals and or find out if that is truly the number of them.

[Jump]

For those interested this has been posted at "Cult of Rapture" website. Which is the website for BioShock.

TECHNICAL FAQ
August 23, 2007

Below is a technical FAQ that helps answer many questions that I have seen on the forums today about SecuROM™, PC activation, and other pertinent technical problems that people have been having with BioShock.


How many computers can I activate this game on at once?

2K increased the maximum computers you can install the game simultaneously on from 2 to 5. We are also preparing a new “revoke application” that will allow you to de-authorize computers so that you may move the game to another computer without "using up" one of these activations. This increase in the limit will cover most users' issues, and the revoke application should alleviate remaining concerns. Of course, if you still experience any issues, please feel free to contact support.

How many times can I reinstall this game on the same computer?

2K increased the maximum installs on the same computer from 3 to 5, before you need to seek customer support. The revoke application we will release will make this irrelevant - as long as you revoke before you install again, you will have no issues.

Does my Steam or Direct2Drive downloaded version also allow the increases to the installations?

Yes, both the Steam and Direct2Drive versions also are updated with the new installation increase.

Do I need to connect to the internet every time I play this game?

No. Only for a fresh install and for the activation the first time you run it.

Do I need to have the DVD in the drive every time I play?

Yes.

Does SecuROM fingerprint my hardware? What does this mean?

SecuROM does not fingerprint the hardware. When an activation is performed, a unique ID is generated to identify the system being used for the activation process. The ID is in the form of a hash and cannot be read by any other system or operator. Its only purpose is for comparing future activations on a particular serial.

Does SecuROM send any information out to another server and collect any of my data?

No information is sent to any other servers. The only data collected is the serial being used for activation, the IP address used for activation, an identifier for the software being activated, and the hash of the machine ID. The ID cannot be read by any other system or operator. Its only purpose is for comparing future activations on a particular serial.

If I put a new piece of hardware, such as a new video card, ram, hard drive, or a new motherboard, into my computer, will I have to reactivate my game? Will this count as one of my “allowed” computers?

No. You won't have to reactivate unless you change several pieces of hardware and this will count as one of your 5 allowed computers, if reactivation is required. The revoke application we will release will make this irrelevant - as long as you revoke before you uninstall and install again, you will have no issues.

How do I free up an activation slot if I decide to uninstall my game from one computer and move it to another?

The revoke application we will release will make this possible.

What do I do if I get the message that I have activated this game on too many computers?

Use the forthcoming revoke app on one of the computers you successfully activated it on. If that doesn't solve your problem, contact support. We will get it resolved.

How does activation and security measures differ between steam, IGN, and retail copies of this game?

They all use the same product activation method. In addition to the product activation, retail copies also have a disc check and Steam uses their own security.

My anti-virus software is flagging SecuROM as an intruder program? What does this mean?

Some versions of virus software will incorrectly flag SecuROM. If so, please update the virus definition file. If you still experience issues, please contact 2K Technical Support for further advice. We would appreciate if you could please notify support@securom.com of any software conflicts so that we may work with the anti-virus companies to update their definition files.

What happens if my computer is lost, stolen, or has a complete crash? How do I get that activation back, since I didn’t uninstall the game?

You can still install the game 4 more times (or however many times remaining to your limit of 5) without a problem. Please contact support if you have reached your limit.

Does SecuROM install a root kit on my computer?

No. SecuROM DOES NOT USE any root kit technology in its implementation. SecuROM Product Activation does place a folder and registry keys on your system. These folders are used only for storage of license information and information to assist with disc authentication. Please do not modify or delete these files. Tampering with these files may result in authentication issues.

What is a root kit?

A "rootkit" can be described as software or a set of software tools intended to conceal running processes, files or system data from the operating system and which can open ports to allow remote access to the system.

A "rootkit" makes it possible for viruses or other malicious programs ("malware") to hide content on a user's PC. In this way, a virus or other malware may remain undetected, even if updated anti-virus software is installed.

SecuROM DOES NOT USE any root kit technology in its implementation. SecuROM Product Activation does place a folder and registry keys on your system. These folders are used only for storage of license information and information to assist with disc authentication. Please do not modify or delete these files. Tampering these files may result in authentication issues.

What is SecuROM and 2K's support contact information?

US Support
Phone: 1-866-219-9839
Email: usa@take2support.com

Canadian Support Phone: 1-800-638-0127
Email: canada@take2support.com

SecuROM Support
Email: support@SecuROM.com

[Jump]

The FOV issue has been fixed by Racer_S over at Widescreen Gaming Forum. 2K was so impressed they sent him a GeForce 8800 for his efforts.

http://www.widescreengamingforum.com...ic.php?t=11685