If EA really wanted to impress people, they'd make 1.21 a no-cd patch in addition to the other changes. Face it, people crack your games anyway. Why shove a big shiny disc down a legitimate customer's throat every time they want to play? I'm sick of dragging CD notebooks around to various lanparties.
lol, i'm forced to use a no cd crack coz my DVD rom has been damaged due the stupid Box with the To-Damn-Hard-To-Press-Down-CD-Holder-Button. its got a cracky line toward my readable section....and i,m afraid i aint posible to reinstall when i delete the game...
Do you have another computer on a network? If so, you can put the CD in their drive and then install it over the network.*ToRRo*cT| wrote:
lol, i'm forced to use a no cd crack coz my DVD rom has been damaged due the stupid Box with the To-Damn-Hard-To-Press-Down-CD-Holder-Button. its got a cracky line toward my readable section....and i,m afraid i aint posible to reinstall when i delete the game...
the only pc that is connected...doestn read CD/DVDS anymore..its my bro's pc but he smashed a CD in it once the prick...but hell. i dont worry untill the day i,m forced to formate my PC, by the time then i,ll hope BF2 has a special pack BF2 + SF for the price of 45 €
Just create a mini cd image. Its not a crack as far as I can see. You own the disc so you can make an image of it. Or can't you? I don't know. Regardless, that's what I do for all my games. Just have a folder of mini CD images. Far easier.
You can try mailing your disc to EA. 9 times out of 10, a company will replace this kind of damaged product for free...especially when they're so cheap to make.
Last edited by unnamednewbie13 (2006-02-23 05:15:32)
You mean with Alchohol 120% ? i have that program installed and i saw something about cd images...i shall give it a try
Yes Alcohol. But to get a mini image you have to start the process then hit cancel almost immediately. Otherwise you will end up with a whole lot of 750Mb files (or 4Gb if using DVD's). The image ends up being between 2 and 8Mb depending on how quick you hit the cancel button. The image is useless for everything but tricking the game into thinking the CD is in the drive. Its a simple fix to a stupid anti-piracy policy EA and a lot of other companies have.
this is piracy............
is it really when you own the cd already? i mean isnt piracy downloading something you dont own or making copies of things you do?
Nope. If you own the game, making a backup image is NOT illegal.
If you don't own it, then it is.
Well - if you're in the United States that is.
Copyright laws allow you 1 backup copy.
Note, however, that EA doesn't tell you _HOW_ to make that backup, it's up to you.
and yeah - if you use ... um ... I don't know if I should say 100% how to make good CD images - but there's a program you've got to use for the image, use it, then you get a good image with the copy-protect defeated. You can install and everything right off that. If you hunt around the net - you'll eventually run into the program that does it right. All you need is the regular BF2 install CD to play BF2 and SF. Just have the images loaded up in virtual drive - then you're good to go. It thinks you have an original cd in the drive at all times.
Er - I should say this too. Doing a good rip of a game requires hours on end. Depending on how strong the copy protection is/was on the original disc... it takes a while. Newer PC games use techniques similar to Playstation copy protection (if you know what I'm talking about - the "bad sectors" tricks) --- and --- that's where the fun starts. You use a regular image maker, you're SOL - your image won't work right.
Now, you still need a good CD key of course - THAT'S the best deterrent for not owning a legit copy, IMHO. Single player is worthless. Multiplayer is where it's at.
But anyways -
I bought my copy of BF2, I bought SF. Just because I want my BF2 to be running 100% off hard drive for good performance doesn't make it piracy. If you paid for it, you should be able to use or run it however you want. Really - some of the better titles that "make it big":
Quake series (1,2,3)
Half Life 2 (eg, Steam)
don't require CDs. They use original copy keys and user IDs. If you're using user IDs that you verify every single time that someone starts up their game ... doesn't that sorta make the "original CD" check obsolete?
In my opinion ... yes, it sure as fscking hell does.
An online-play-key that's included with the original disc is way better than checking for CDs. CDs can be faked - keys can not.
That would also open up an option like Valve has been running - Publication-Free releases with no hard copies. You get an account that you can access worldwide. You want new games, download them. If DICE did a system like Valve (Steam) ... hehe ... EA would be out of the picture. Just like Sierra / Valve relationship is cut - when you've got online distro, the publisher and hardcopy ( big cost ) is now gone.
( well, as soon as their contracts are expired, you know they have them. )
Oh, ahem, and the security will be increased too. You can sell the games for less, and sell more copies without the overhead. DICE will be happier ( no CDs, more sales, more revenue = what do you think? ), we'll be happier ( no CDs, better gameplay, no scratched discs, no lost discs, recover your account worldwide, you have ultimate access to your game and it's cheaper too! WOOHOO! ) --- so --- what could possibly go wrong with losing the CDs entirely?
Other than high bandwidth for title downloads?
Or better, establish demo copies with NO CD KEY for singleplayer only. Let them be freely available on torrents - use your users to distro.
The piracy problem is already solved with the CD key. Today, there's absolutely no need to double protect with an obviously highly obsolete method.
Piracy is using a software product without license.
Making a copy of the original software CD is "backup". A review of copyright law will reveal "free use" - where you're allowed to examine, study, reverse engineer, and make backup copies of any device/technology you legally own ( or own a copy of, or rights to use ).
Depending on the terms of licensing agreements, some of your rights may have been marginalized - as I'm certain DICE/EA's agreement with BF2 would prohibit reverse engineering - then revoke your license... but backup copy, I'm sure they allow that. It's federal law. If they tried to prosecute a user for having a backup copy of a title that they had legally purchased a license to and copy of - it wouldn't hold water in court. It's moot. Federal law allows you a backup, so you can make it. Just because they didn't -tell- you how to make a working backup copy doesn't mean you're not allowed to.
[note here, this is looking at the situation from US law. It may be different abroad.]
And yeah, that's as accurate as it can get - with the exception of reverse engineering. Often, if you reverse engineer a product that you've agreed to -not- reverse engineer by license, you will most likely have your license pulled, and you may or may not be liable for damage if you do something stupid with what you've obtained from your research.
That - anything causing monetary damage to the licensor (DICE/EA) - will definitely hold water in court, and is inadvisable.
That goes for distributing copies of your legal backup copy. Now THAT is illegal. Even though you do own a legal copy, distribution is not authorized.
A touchy situation would be between two legal owners of a copy, and one who has the capability of making a backup - and one who does not. ( a small case like that, they'd probably ignore though. )
If you don't own it, then it is.
Well - if you're in the United States that is.
Copyright laws allow you 1 backup copy.
Note, however, that EA doesn't tell you _HOW_ to make that backup, it's up to you.
and yeah - if you use ... um ... I don't know if I should say 100% how to make good CD images - but there's a program you've got to use for the image, use it, then you get a good image with the copy-protect defeated. You can install and everything right off that. If you hunt around the net - you'll eventually run into the program that does it right. All you need is the regular BF2 install CD to play BF2 and SF. Just have the images loaded up in virtual drive - then you're good to go. It thinks you have an original cd in the drive at all times.
Er - I should say this too. Doing a good rip of a game requires hours on end. Depending on how strong the copy protection is/was on the original disc... it takes a while. Newer PC games use techniques similar to Playstation copy protection (if you know what I'm talking about - the "bad sectors" tricks) --- and --- that's where the fun starts. You use a regular image maker, you're SOL - your image won't work right.
Now, you still need a good CD key of course - THAT'S the best deterrent for not owning a legit copy, IMHO. Single player is worthless. Multiplayer is where it's at.
But anyways -
I bought my copy of BF2, I bought SF. Just because I want my BF2 to be running 100% off hard drive for good performance doesn't make it piracy. If you paid for it, you should be able to use or run it however you want. Really - some of the better titles that "make it big":
Quake series (1,2,3)
Half Life 2 (eg, Steam)
don't require CDs. They use original copy keys and user IDs. If you're using user IDs that you verify every single time that someone starts up their game ... doesn't that sorta make the "original CD" check obsolete?
In my opinion ... yes, it sure as fscking hell does.
An online-play-key that's included with the original disc is way better than checking for CDs. CDs can be faked - keys can not.
That would also open up an option like Valve has been running - Publication-Free releases with no hard copies. You get an account that you can access worldwide. You want new games, download them. If DICE did a system like Valve (Steam) ... hehe ... EA would be out of the picture. Just like Sierra / Valve relationship is cut - when you've got online distro, the publisher and hardcopy ( big cost ) is now gone.
( well, as soon as their contracts are expired, you know they have them. )
Oh, ahem, and the security will be increased too. You can sell the games for less, and sell more copies without the overhead. DICE will be happier ( no CDs, more sales, more revenue = what do you think? ), we'll be happier ( no CDs, better gameplay, no scratched discs, no lost discs, recover your account worldwide, you have ultimate access to your game and it's cheaper too! WOOHOO! ) --- so --- what could possibly go wrong with losing the CDs entirely?
Other than high bandwidth for title downloads?
Or better, establish demo copies with NO CD KEY for singleplayer only. Let them be freely available on torrents - use your users to distro.
The piracy problem is already solved with the CD key. Today, there's absolutely no need to double protect with an obviously highly obsolete method.
When you purchase software, you're essentially purchasing a -license- to use it.oStoneRo wrote:
is it really when you own the cd already? i mean isnt piracy downloading something you dont own or making copies of things you do?
Piracy is using a software product without license.
Making a copy of the original software CD is "backup". A review of copyright law will reveal "free use" - where you're allowed to examine, study, reverse engineer, and make backup copies of any device/technology you legally own ( or own a copy of, or rights to use ).
Depending on the terms of licensing agreements, some of your rights may have been marginalized - as I'm certain DICE/EA's agreement with BF2 would prohibit reverse engineering - then revoke your license... but backup copy, I'm sure they allow that. It's federal law. If they tried to prosecute a user for having a backup copy of a title that they had legally purchased a license to and copy of - it wouldn't hold water in court. It's moot. Federal law allows you a backup, so you can make it. Just because they didn't -tell- you how to make a working backup copy doesn't mean you're not allowed to.
[note here, this is looking at the situation from US law. It may be different abroad.]
And yeah, that's as accurate as it can get - with the exception of reverse engineering. Often, if you reverse engineer a product that you've agreed to -not- reverse engineer by license, you will most likely have your license pulled, and you may or may not be liable for damage if you do something stupid with what you've obtained from your research.
That - anything causing monetary damage to the licensor (DICE/EA) - will definitely hold water in court, and is inadvisable.
That goes for distributing copies of your legal backup copy. Now THAT is illegal. Even though you do own a legal copy, distribution is not authorized.
A touchy situation would be between two legal owners of a copy, and one who has the capability of making a backup - and one who does not. ( a small case like that, they'd probably ignore though. )
Last edited by KyanWan (2006-02-24 13:39:37)
Image your DVD, install Daemon Tools and hey presto DVD lives in the draw forever.
You need to make an image that defeats the copy protection and has subchannels - else it doesn't work right.
I tried making an image just "bang" with duplication software- when you "put the disc in" (mount the image) - a messed up looking autorun pops up, then when you start BF2 "please insert Battlefield 2 disc".
With protection defeated - it just works - for install & gameplay.
If you really want the quickest way, find an image that someone else made. It takes a long time to make one (1X read speed for quite a while cracking the copyprotect.).
[edit]
Of course, I'd also like to point out that everyone here, apparently, owns the actual game (well - I'm assuming.) If you don't - a un-protected CD image is ... well ... as useful as the (obviously) banned CD key you'll be able to get from whatever site you got the image from.
This isn't really condoning piracy of my damn favorite title. You like it - you should buy it. This title (BF2) is money well spent.
I tried making an image just "bang" with duplication software- when you "put the disc in" (mount the image) - a messed up looking autorun pops up, then when you start BF2 "please insert Battlefield 2 disc".
With protection defeated - it just works - for install & gameplay.
If you really want the quickest way, find an image that someone else made. It takes a long time to make one (1X read speed for quite a while cracking the copyprotect.).
[edit]
Of course, I'd also like to point out that everyone here, apparently, owns the actual game (well - I'm assuming.) If you don't - a un-protected CD image is ... well ... as useful as the (obviously) banned CD key you'll be able to get from whatever site you got the image from.
This isn't really condoning piracy of my damn favorite title. You like it - you should buy it. This title (BF2) is money well spent.
Last edited by KyanWan (2006-02-24 20:31:36)