Risk of Starforce problems?

[RGr1087]

I am considering purchasing SHIII but I am extremely concerned about Starforce. :-? Besides game play I use my computer for burning home movies to DVD. My system is as follows:

Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro2 (This has an nForce2 chipset)
Athlon XP 2600+ (266 mHz FSB)
2 * Crucial 256MB PC2100 (not in Dual Channel)
WD 80GB 8MB 7200RPM HD (XP Home w/ SP2 is on this drive)
WD 120GB 8MB 7200RPM HD (used only for movie storage and rendering)
TDK indiDVD 420N (DVD RW+ 4X Wirte/ DVDROM 12X Read)
Gainward Geforce4 MX440 64MB 8X AGP (has VIVO for my movie producing) :hmm:
Antec TruePower 430W (1.0)

BTW, because I thought about getting SHIII, I have an MSI Geforce 6600GT 128MB 8X AGP w/ VIVO on its way. :yep:

I have read that Starforce has potential issues with burner functions and nForce2 IDE drivers. :cry:

Should I steer clear of SHIII due to Starforce? :up: :down:

[urseus]

You come to a forum for a video game called Silent Hunter III.

This forum is located inside a site called "Sub Sim.com." A site for Submarine Simulation Fanatics.

You ask if the game is any good, and if you should buy it.


<Moderator Edit... no personal attacks>



In specific reguard to your question, star force is no problem. In fact, ive had 4 games with it on, and never ever had a problem with it. So long as you dont have 300 differnt types of no-cd cracks for other games, or DVD emulators coming out of your ears, no problems.

The most hassel ive ever had from it is 5 seconds extra loading wait while it says "checking disk" Thats it.

Buy the game. Its fantasic. But, its not like your going to get an unbias opinion from main forum of the video game pretty much.

[RGr1087]

<Moderator edit Don't reply to personal attacks>


:|\ I have searched the forums of Ubi, Starforce, and Subsim. There is a lot of universal anguish out there. Understandably, those having problems are going to spend more time and energy in forums trying to make their problems go away than those that are busy having fun playing their trouble free games.

:hmm: I also read a comment in one of the Starforce interviews pondering the actual satisfaction/dissatisfaction ratio. So I thought it would be interesting to see the tally of a vote of this type.

:smug: I accomplished something already. I got you to come out and write something in a way I have not yet read>

quote: "So long as you dont have 300 differnt types of no-cd cracks for other games, or DVD emulators coming out of your ears, no problems."

:sunny: That is the most encouraging thing I have read! Thank you.

[urseus]

Most of the time you will find the people complaining are the ones with no-CD cracks, emulators, and other legit yet not completly 100% aok software.

However i run Daemon tools, and no problems at all.

Its like people who whinge about Steam.

Steams great. Online content delivery. Its the future. In 10 years time you wont go to Video Game stores anymore, youll download games. Other companys will have similar programs as steam for buying and playing their games.

You can only spin a DVD/CD so fast before the kenetic energy in it blows the disk apart. The alternative in an increasingly broadband globe is online content delivery.

[Muntjak]

Most of the time you will find the people complaining are the ones with no-CD cracks, emulators, and other legit yet not completly 100% aok software.

However i run Daemon tools, and no problems at all.

[...]



how did you manage to bypass copy protection? I tried to do an image of my DVD disk but it does not pass copy protection program :(

I even copied DVD to dvd-r... nothing :( I don't want to use my original DVD. I prefer rather to use copies and when there is more scratches on them, replace them with another fresh copies. Or to use images on hdd.

SH3 copy protection does not allow me to do it.

BTW: i found another annoying thing. I bought SH3 in Poland (polish version), installed it, played few patrols and then bought Australian one with help of my friend who lives there (due to problems with modding translated version and lack of 1.4b patch for it for long time). I unistalled .pl version and installed .au one. Australian game still allowed me to play only with .pl DVD :roll:

'luckily' my recent tries with some 'catalyst' drivers made my winXP completely unusable (major 3d glitches in sh3) so I recovered it from hdd image (fresh install :) ) Installed .au version. Finnaly I'm free from this .pl one :-)

[Gizzmoe]

how did you manage to bypass copy protection? I tried to do an image of my DVD disk but it does not pass copy protection program :(

Please, no discussions about how to circumvent copy protections. If someone knows how to do that we don´t want to read it here on Subsim.com.

And noone should even start with "But it´s legal in my country" or anything, because that´s irrelevant.

Thanks!

Gizzmoe
[Moderator]

[CB..]

from a purely personal point of view- since the use of starforce has become relatively wide-spread amoungst the major gaming maunufacturers -the amount of games i buy has dropped to virtually nil;

i just hope they come up with some-thing better soon..SH3 did install and runs ok on my computer...other games using starforce did not..if theyre were not genuine issues surrounding starforce we would have never even have heard the name mentioned around the net nor would we be able to download the removal tools from official game manufacturers sites...

a percentage of folks are having problems some quite serious some less so...some none at all... they're are lots of myths as to why this is ---

as for the games i've bought with starforce incorporated; i've found it amusing (in an annoying sort of way) that often the problem has been that once the starforce drivers have been installed, the drive can no longer recognise the very disc that was used to install the drivers (and the game) in the first place...lol...this too on a "virgin" computer bought recently to take advantage of all these new games..so no room for any doubt regarding the myths---if these games cannot be relyed upon to install and play correctly on a "virgin" clean freshly bought computer then there's a problem some-where with the starforce system..

so as this seems to be running at around 30% of games bought with starforce giving this error---and there is an small additional risk of pernamently damaging the dvd drive as a result (as some folks have found) then the incentive to impulse buy new computer games for me personally is vastly reduced...especailly as there is at present no indication on the packaging of these games that they include starforce protection..so i cannot simply read the box info and make an informed decision..so there's a bright side to this, i suppose, for me personally- starforce is saving me quite a lot of money...lets hope it is doing the same for the manufacturers--- :hmm:

[Damo1977]

I had problems with SH3 and starforce but the starforce crew helped me out pretty much straight away.....and its the best game I have bought in a while!!!

[Mentalist]

Ubisoft are great game makers but the suck for using Starforce. It can seriously, irreperably, screw your computer up and can even screw you CD/DVD drives up, physically!

And don't think uninstalling a game will get rid of it. It leaves the starforce driver on your system. You need a tool to remove it. Not to mention all the people who buy games and can't play them.

NOT TO MENTION... that it screwed up my MBR and left me with a PC that was basically a heavy paperweight.


Silent Hunter III was too good to ignore but if a game uses Starforce then I won't buy it. Thousands of people are boycotting Starforce and so they should. They wrote an invasive dangerous program. I agree that protection is important but when it ****s the clients computer up then you need to reconsider.


/rant off

[Takeda Shingen]

I have had no problems with Starforce or SHIII.

[Mentalist]

Thats lucky but you still have an invasive program on your computer that can cause problems down the road.

[Drebbel]

Thats lucky but you still have an invasive program on your computer that can cause problems down the road.

Yes, most of us have indeed Windwos XP, nothing we can do about that !

[urseus]

Heheh true.


Im 100% sure that microsoft has a big data base that lists everything you have on your computer, without question. I mean their operating system runs all our data.

Sure its illegal, but your dreaming if you dont think that every time you connect to the net it uploads a quick listing of all software on your computer.

[Mentalist]

Don't forget the backdoors that have been placed on all modern operating sytems by the order of the FBI and other intelligence gathering services.

Basically the proper authorities can break into any system with a simple floppy disk. The world and its information has been comprimised, we're living in a world that believes you should have no secrets from your goverment.

Sad state of affairs. Thats why we fight things like Starforce. We have to have conventions that protect out freedom and the freedom to NOT have invasive programs that don't uninstall is a big one. Ubisoft should be forced to stop using Starforce.

[Mowgli]

There are <Moderator edit no personal attacks> on this site who because they have never had toothache would probably believe that it does not exist.

They also have this attitude that anyone with a big brother Starcrap problem is either an out and out pirate or pauper student hacker and not people who have invested a LOT of money on exquipment and are concerned about their investment.

If you really want to know how bad Starcrap is, just do a search on Google and key in "Starforce Problems". The count rises daily and is currently around about 53,000 finds.

Silent Hunter 3 is an excellent sim and I would say to anyone who wishes to buy it. Go for it but you WILL be playing Russian Roulette with your system.

Do you feel lucky??

[Drebbel]

Click this links for convenience:
click here (http://www.google.nl/search?q=morons+south+wales&sourceid=mozilla-search&start=0&start=0&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:nl-NL:official)

25000 hits

Just kiddin of course :rotfl:

[Gammel]

Microsoft has a database of all installed running on your computer?
They´re backdoors for the FBI?
:o
Do you think any company would buy such an operating system?
I guess not. Microsoft is too clever to do such stuff. If anyone would find out about such a backdoor
(would be just a matter of time) their OS would die like a fly.

Why do most of you think copy protection is important btw?
You operating system for example is much more expensive than a game and is totally unprotected.
You can easy make a copy of it.
Looks like microsoft don´t have ran into a financial desaster with that strategie... ;)

A good system to let the custumers buy a game would be a good manual. In the past there were some game docs that you could read like a book. You´d missed a lot when you only had a copy of the game. The money UBI payed for a starforce licence would have been better invested in the game manual.

[John Channing]

If the personal attacks don't stop this will be yet another locked Starforce thread.

If Neal would let me I would ban any discussion of Starforce outright on the grounds that some people here just aren't mature enough to discuss it in an adult manner.

JCC

[kiwi_2005]

In specific reguard to your question, star force is no problem. In fact, ive had 4 games with it on, and never ever had a problem with it. So long as you dont have 300 differnt types of no-cd cracks for other games, or DVD emulators coming out of your ears, no problems.


:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rock: I must admitt....hes right

[kiwi_2005]

I was very angry when i found out after the install that this game has Starforce! Starforce is a major hassle to "Some hardware" notice i said some, not all, cos in some or most sytems starforce is not a problem. The major hassle will be your dvd drive, starforce can make it spit the dummy. I also thought ubisoft put starforce on without telling us, but then notice in the SH3 manual they give a warning that starforce is running in SH3. So thats a good thing to at least warn us.

[Damo1977]

:hmm: Me don't get this thread anymore!!
If what I read is right, people think it MY fault that I have ORIGINAL problems with starforce, due to me have copied programs etc... :hmm: ME don't think so, I have bought everything on my computer. SH3 cost me AU$89, plus a new graphics card and and extra 512k ram....

And lastly IF IT is true Microsoft, FBI and anyone else ( :huh: no not the FBI :rotfl: wonder if Agent Mulder still works there or Scully) want to spy on my computer and what I do on my computer they can! That won't find anything, at less nothing they don't know about already. :rotfl:

[RGr1087]

:nope: Boy....These forums can quickly slide down hill and get way off the subject fast!

I am encouraged by the voting here. However, I feel I have gained more constructive answers with a duplicate posting at the SHIII site forum where BTW voting is incredibly lacking.

Let me ask again. This time more directly......Has anyone with a nForce2 Mobo had a trouble free/trouble filled experience with Starforce? What was done to correct those problems?

Has anyone had or not had difficulty with WinDVD, Pinnacle Studio, or Microsoft Movie Maker software after installing a Starforce game?

:stare: Listen, I'm on my fourth generation computer and I have had my share of frustration with driver problems from hardware upgrades so all of this really seems somewhat childish.

:hmm: Maybe that was a bit strong, but it really does seems that the people that are pissed off out there are the ones that have met their match in software protection. Ok. I understand that everyone has paid their hard earned money for a great game and want to protect ther investment by making 30 copies, as back up, placed in the homes of several friends so that if one is misplaced or lost in a fire.......... :lol: Yes....I went way to far!

Anyway, can we stick to my original question and provide some legitimate recommendations? I am beyond the ethical question of Starforce.

[kiwi_2005]

Has anyone had or not had difficulty with WinDVD, Pinnacle Studio, or Microsoft Movie Maker software after installing a Starforce game?

I use those programs and the answer to that is No problems. The nforce i wouldn't know but make sure you have the latest mobo drivers installed, before using SF

[Mowgli]

Why not go to http://www.google.co.uk/webhp

Key in "Starforce problems Silent Hunter" and read some of the 15,000 odd posts and pages that are generated. Perhaps add your configuration details and you might have some luck.

My NEW machine - I'm not saying Starforce killed the other but a smoking gun was in the room, has problems loading, booting and playing cd's. Luckily I have work arounds and have a separate CD player.

Want to play russian roulette with your machine? Install Silent Hunter III.

[el_Salmon]

I hope my Pioneer 106 DVD-recorder keeps alive. Starforce 3 is a "active" anti-copy system. Starforce 1 & 2 were "passive" systems. This means that optical lense suffers too much.

[capt-jones]

:-? blew my dvd drive tonite it wont read any disks :hmm: still dunno if starforce is at fault it sure has been acting up lately kept asking too reinsert sh3 disk and retry :damn: so no more sh3 for me ;) not for a while, anyways

[kiwi_2005]

Gainward Geforce4 MX440 64MB 8X AGP (has VIVO for my movie producing) Hmmm Antec TruePower 430W (1.0)

RGR1087 = i just read your specs, your GF4 is total crap mate, your gonna have trouble big time running SH3, or SH3 will look very ugly and go slow. Even before you begin to install SH3 i would recommend buying a higher spec card Dont go any lower than a GF-FX5700 128mb

[RGr1087]

Kiwi,

Thanks for looking but I had that covered.....

"BTW, because I thought about getting SHIII, I have an MSI Geforce 6600GT 128MB 8X AGP w/ VIVO on its way. "

[Tim D]

I have been having problems for months with my burner and had given up hope. I recently upgraded my computer with MS Service Pack 2 and decided to give it another go. The first thing I noticed was the speed that I was allowed to burn at, before it would not let me burn over 16X, now it said 52X. I used NERO Express and it burned all tracks until the end and I recieved a error message (Not again). I then used the Starforce Removel tool and gave it another go. HURRAY I GOT MY BURNER BACK!!! I am so happy now just to get it going, it was like having a expensive drink holder. I can live with this! For months I was getting the run around from UBI, NERO, and SF. My last tech support email said to disconnect my INTERNAL DVD drive and give it a try, hello, how can I play SHIII now :doh:

[kiwi_2005]

"BTW, because I thought about getting SHIII, I have an MSI Geforce 6600GT 128MB 8X AGP w/ VIVO on its way.

Thats good, but not great, those cards aren't that much better than a FX 5950 Ultra, unless its a PCI express. Why were at it, you also have a Athlon XP 2600+ (266 mHz FSB) 266? go up to 400 FSB if your mobo will. Or better still buy a 3ghz + If you want sh3 running full max then go full max, otherwise expect "just" good results.

:up:

[BladeHeart]

The only problem I have had with vanilla SH3 was when I got my new machine that has a SLI configuration for the graphic cards and 64 bit processors.

Resolved (had to do with the intro movies).

Like Damo1977 I found Starforce helpful and prompt, even though it turned out to have nothing to do with their product; same day and in fact within the hour despite being on the other side of the pond to me. :up: Still waiting to hear from Ubisoft; good think I was not relying on them; nearly 6 weeks plus now :down:

I have played this game now far more often then any other, including R:TW Get it! :)

[Mowgli]

If you are having problems why not go over to their forums http://star-force.com/forum/index.php and search there.

Lots of useful advice such as:-

"A StarForce protected disc will authenticate from an USB2 drive *only* if there are no IDE CD/DVD-ROM drives installed. Otherwise, you'll be required to insert your disc into an IDE CD/DVD-ROM drive. "

Some fantastic posts there from people having major problems. The responses from Starforce make really interesting reading.

Go on - be a beta tester for them.

I see that google now reports 152,000 links on a search of "Starforce problems".