Is StarForce really that bad?

[M4dn3ss]

So a couple of years ago when I got my PC, I decided against installing a game that I had previously liked to play a lot on my old computer, Trackmania Nations, because it contained the StarForce copy protection system. On the internet you can easily find horror stories of the various evils of StarForce...
However recently I read this: TweakGuides.com - PC Game Piracy Examined and I decided maybe Starforce wasn't so bad after all and installed TM Nations.
Although it didn't work initially, after using the manual Starforce patch from this web page [Troubleshooting] ... - TMX I managed to get the game working.
Most of the anti-Starforce stuff you can find is dated 2005 or 2006... so is Starforce really still bad?

 

[Gornot]

Personally, I don't think I've seen Starforce protection anywhere. Good riddance, I say.

 

[M4dn3ss]

Personally, I don't think I've seen Starforce protection anywhere. Good riddance, I say.

Explain?

 

[Wishmaster]

I don't have any games with Starforce.

But, I have heard a lot of horror stories. Seems it was bad about corrupting the OS.


But I have several other kinds including SecuROM & Tages, and havent had any issues from them. They seem fairly well behaved.

 

[smarteyeball]

It's been superseded.

 

[M4dn3ss]

Is it still bad? I have it and it hasn't given me any problems......yet

 

[Gornot]

Personally, I don't think I've seen Starforce protection anywhere. Good riddance, I say.

Explain?

Eerrr, lol, sorry, I meant RECENTLY

 

[Wishmaster]

Yea, have a look about them on Wiki.

Seem all kinds of trouble got started due to it, and many companies moved to SecuRom due to the boycotts on games using that DRM.

 

[M4dn3ss]

But are the claims true or just a load of rubbish?

 

[Gornot]

They are true, for the vast majority of the cases you've heard.

 

[boogieboy]

i bought a game some years ago arrrrrghhh i forgot it's name ...... It was American McGee's ScrapLand (Nice Game) yesssssss it has StarForce :S but i did'nt noticed anything LOL!

 

[M4dn3ss]

Then why does Tweakguides dismiss the claims? I mean no one has actually proven that starforce has actually broken their optical drives. And also most people claiming that starforce damages optical drives were in Windows XP where a disk fault would cause Windows to downgrade it to PIO mode and eventually 16-bit mode; as far as I know that doesn't happen on Vista/7

 

[Wishmaster]

Not sure. According to the Wiki page, many claimed it did but the case was dropped in court due to lack of evidence.


Im not sure Ive had a Starforce protected game, so I can't speak from personal experience.


But, look at more modern DRM schemes. Tages and SecuROM. You see ton of compliants, and people refusing to buy due to activation limits etc.
Yet I always wonder .. Why do you need to install on more than 5 machines at a given time? You can De-Auth or get those activations back after a period of time.

I've never had a issue with either of these, and never even know they are there aside from the initial activation. Yet, you still see tons and tons of complaints about them.
Perhaps its more of the same with Starforce? More of the idea its present rather than any real harm being done.


The only thing I can really find is that many boycotted any games using it, so many devs just left it behind due to the outcry and it eventually just died off.


But from some of the complaints Ive seen about it breaking optical drives etc. , and there are a lot, there does seem to be something to it.