1 Starforce issue fixed

[TDK1044]

I don't want to start an anti Starforce rant with this posting, I just want to point out that if, like me, the only issue you've had with Starforce is that SF reduced the burn speed of your CD and or DVD Burner by fifty percent, this issue can now be resolved by downloading an updated version of the Starforce Drivers. I used to simply uninstall the Starforce Drivers before a burn in order to burn at the max setting and then let the Drivers re-install when I next ran SH3. But it seemed obvious to me why the Starforce Drivers were reducing the Burn speed by 50 percent on either the primary or secondary devices, including External Drives, and the fix was also obvious to me so I spoke to Starforce about it. The latest version of the SF Drivers on their website resolves this issue without adding any additional intrusion into your system. I still don't like, Starforce, but they did listen.

[Gizzmoe]

Good! :up:

You can download the latest drivers here:
http://www.star-force.com/protection/users/

[Gairith]

Good! :up:

You can download the latest drivers here:
http://www.star-force.com/protection/users/

This should be added to the mod/tools list.

Just my opinion.

[Gizzmoe]

I "sticky" this thread.

Guys, try the update if you have any kind of SF related problems. Please let us know if it worked.

[Col7777]

I don't want to install anything to do with SF, but I'm wondering if the SF removal tool will remove SF after the upgrade.

[Gizzmoe]

I´ve tried it. The removal tool also removes the updated driver.

[retired1212]

There are two programs:

<Moderator edit: Do not mention such programs - Gizzmoe>

I didn't try them yet but I guess that they might do some "trick" ;)

[Capn Tucker]

Hope this works. Haven't installed SH3 on my new computer yet, because of worries that Starforce will screw with the DVD+/-RW burner. Well, <takes deep breath> I'm off to finally put SH3 on the new system...

[Highblur]

There are two programs:

<Moderator edit: Do not mention such programs - Gizzmoe>

I didn't try them yet but I guess that they might do some "trick" ;)

Those are for circumventing a starforce protected game(image) by disabling your cd drives so only the mounted image remains.

So they are useless in this case...

[CB..]

one thing puzzles me---if --as is assumed-- the star-force drivers install from the disc, and if one were to un-install the SF drivers using the SF removal tool--(if you still had problems after the SF driver patch)

which drivers would re-install when you put the SH3 disc in the drive to play the game?

i tried an experiment and ran the SF removal tool restarted- as per the request- then ran the game--(with-out the disc in the drive)
the SF drivers re-installed from the hard drive- NOT from the game disc -
so given that neither the game un-install or the SF removal tool actually un-installs star force for good -one can only assume that unless your a bit of whizz with these things -once you've got SF on your system your stuck with it (the best you can do is deactivate it with the driver removal tool)

apolgies for the paranoia!!!

[Gizzmoe]

which drivers would re-install when you put the SH3 disc in the drive to play the game?

The original old driver that came with SH3 (driver date is 3.Mar.2005), even when you have previously installed the SF update (driver date is 10.Aug.2005).

i tried an experiment and ran the SF removal tool restarted- as per the request- then ran the game--(with-out the disc in the drive) the SF drivers re-installed from the hard drive- NOT from the game disc

The SF installation file is either embedded in some file that´s inside the SH3 directory or it stores it somewhere in the Windows dir.

so given that neither the game un-install or the SF removal tool actually un-installs star force for good -one can only assume that unless your a bit of whizz with these things -once you've got SF on your system your stuck with it (the best you can do is deactivate it with the driver removal tool)

The removal tool deletes the driver, it´s gone and not just temporarily deactivated.

[CB..]

:up:
the file i'm concerned about is the The SF installation file--

if this file isn't removed by either un-installing the game or by running the SF removal tool then --unless there is a safe manual way to remove it -then your stuck with it no matter what you do--

my point here is simply that the percentage of folks who do have trouble with SF with or without the patch---and even after un-installing the drivers and what ever the offending game happens to be-- have no genuine consumer protection regardless of what any one says--

it seems the game companys are happy with SF- so it's isn't going to go away--either way around

[Gizzmoe]

the file i'm concerned about is the The SF installation file--

if this file isn't removed by either un-installing the game or by running the SF removal tool then --unless there is a safe manual way to remove it -then your stuck with it no matter what you do--

An installation file is an archive that contains the not yet installed product. If you don´t install it it does nothing except taking away disk space, it´s harmless magnetic data on your harddisk. So even if - which I doubt - SF leaves an installation file of itself somewhere in the Windows dir it is certainly nothing that one should be worried about.

folks who do have trouble with SF with or without the patch---and even after un-installing the drivers

If they have trouble even after uninstalling the drivers then that means that the drivers were not removed correctly or even not at all for some reason. When the removal tool works as advertised (and it does on my system) the drivers are 100% gone.

[CB..]

Gizz' me old fruit lets try to remember this isn't a discussion regarding the merits or other wise of SH3- it's a discussion regarding the merits or other wise of Star Force--
i think folks have a habit of getting the two things mixed up--
thinking that to have an issue with the merits of SF is to have an issue with the merits of SH3--

if SF leaves an installation archive on the HD some where (as it must do in order to re-install it-self even with the disc not present in the drive)

what concrete proof do we have that that archive is 100% benign?

it all comes down to wether you as an individual trust Star Force ;

and as is obvious-- that comes down to wether you have had problems or not--

i have had problems--i do not trust SF
those (and it is obvious that majority of people do not have significant problems) that do not are more inclined to either trust SF or ignore it alltogether--

but what ever the issues are they are about Star Force not any associated game or gaming approach attitude or similar--

i don't mind role playing "heroism" in the context of a game--it's part of the attraction-and is hard to avoid--
but it stops when i exit the game--do you see what i'm saying
i'm just not prepared to risk my PC to play a game -it's patently rediculous

i am un convinced by SF's stance on consumer protection--
their stance on copy right protection how ever is extremely laudible

[Gizzmoe]

i think folks have a habit of getting the two things mixed up-- thinking that to have an issue with the merits of SF is to have an issue with the merits of SH3--

You are right, some people do. I don´t... :)

what concrete proof do we have that that archive is 100% benign?

What kind of question is this? Do you think that the archive installs itself after midnight to deliberately harm your system or that it spies you out, because it hates you for removing the SF driver? :)

i'm just not prepared to risk my PC to play a game -it's patently rediculous

It is. But it won´t go away for a while. People are even bad in boycotting it! The numerous "I hate Starforce" forums are full with people saying "I will never buy a Starforce game again!!!!!!!!! Ok, in a week <insert name of top-notch game with SF protection> comes out, I buy it, but that´s an exception. Boycott Starforce!111!!!11!!".

People will get used to it. SF continues to make their driver as harmless as possible and I think that many gaming companies will use it in the future. Do I think that´s a good thing? Not really...

[Kamikaze]

WARNING ABOUT THIS UPDATE!

I decided to attempt this update last night . . . just before some gaming with a buddy (should have known better). The update ran OK and things seemed good after the reboot. But when I tried to connect with my buddy and run LOMAC, up sprang a new STARFORCE warning that my games ID was not recognized.

Not recognized my ASS!

After trying my Serial Numbers and being denied by StarForce I let it do the INFORMATION scan (which told me it did not like LOMAC and to send the data to Starforce . . but not WHERE to send it!), and eventually the HELP menu. Somehow I ended up at www.star-force.com trying to do a manual ACTIVATION. All I was getting were error codes. The messages were not real clear as to what to do.

Luckily for the hell of it I tried LOMAC again . . and it ran fine. I then shut down all the damned STARFORCE windows and LOMAC seemed to be running fine.

I've no idea what I did to get it to run . . . but its running. Course it was NOT broken to begin with either! I then tried SH3 and it ran without a problem.

I'm suspicious the actual problem was the new STARFORCE drivers needing some sort of activiating and they just game me LOMAC errors as that was the first SF program I ran after updating.

FYI

[Gizzmoe]

I guess you have installed the update because you had some SF-related problems, right? What was the problem and did the update solve it?

[kiwi_2005]

Maybe if Ubisoft Romania did a simular option to HL Steam, and make it the only way we can get this game is download it of there site, then they might of not bothered to put in starforce. Cos its very very difficult to make a backup copy of a game this way. Only downfall is 56k users like myself wouldn't bother to dl SH3, it would take my modem a week and a half to dl. :-?

[Kamikaze]

I guess you have installed the update because you had some SF-related problems, right? What was the problem and did the update solve it?

I didnt have a specific problem, but I'm a believer in keeping your system drivers up to date. With the initial topic of this thread and its effect on CD-R/DVD burning it sounded like a reasonable thing to do. Update the drivers to the latest version. I just did not expect the confusion from the product. Also the horrible menu messages from the StarForce program itself did not help. Not intuitive at all! Probably designed by several programmers not talking with one another (my module is perfect . . the problem is with the others!).

BOTTOMLINE
To be safe, expect to have to spend some time going through activation hoops with this update. Maybe you will be lucky and it will go smoothly. Good for you if thats the case. I'm more concerned that I never got a "SUCCESSFUL ACTIVATION" message from StarForce, and LOMAC then started working fine.

[Kpt. Lehmann]

Pardon the dumb question. I haven not had any apparent problems/issues with StarForce on my system.

Is StarForce installed to the system with every version of SHIII?

[TDK1044]

Starforce is installed with every DVD retail version of SH3. You can uninstall it using the SF uninstall tool, but it will reinstall as soon as you launch SH3 again.

[Gizzmoe]

I didnt have a specific problem, but I'm a believer in keeping your system drivers up to date. With the initial topic of this thread and its effect on CD-R/DVD burning it sounded like a reasonable thing to do.

I´m sorry, but something inside of me forces me to write some smart-ass remarks... ;) The SF driver isn´t a vital system driver, so the advice "Always keep your drivers updated" doesn´t apply here. Don´t update it as long as you haven´t noticed any problems, like much reduced CD/DVD burning speed or media recognition issues.

It is a good idea to install the update when there are problems, because it is likely that the possible advantages are bigger than the possible disadvantages. When someone decides to install it even when there are no problems the result is either neutral (=no changes) or bad.

[The Avon Lady]

Starforce is installed with every DVD retail version of SH3.
It is also installed with and required by the downloadable version of SH3.

[Kamikaze]

The SF driver isn´t a vital system driver, so the advice "Always keep your drivers updated" doesn´t apply here. Don´t update it as long as you haven´t noticed any problems <snip>

Let not HIGHJACK this topic Gizzmoe, but I'm going to choose to disagree with you. It can be said that Video and Audio drivers are also "non-critical" but experience has proven that keeping them current usually improves performance.

This thread is about an update to the STARFORCE drivers, I applied it to a system and experienced "odd" behavior. So I'm warning the population at large . . . a general warning of caution. I didnt expect queries of WHY!

Maybe its the quote from their website you gave us the URL for :
"Updating StarForce drivers can improve protected applications performance and drivers compatibility."

:rotfl:

[castorp345]

There are two programs:

<Moderator edit: Do not mention such programs - Gizzmoe>

I didn't try them yet but I guess that they might do some "trick" ;)

ok, while it's all fine and good to follow the stated policy of piracy prevention, what about the very unfortunate situation for those of us running winx64!? i own a legally purchased/licensed copy of sh3 on dvd but am unable to run it thanks to ubi's lack of driver support and the starforce implementation. :down:
needless to say, i'm rather pissed off...
i payed $49.99 usd for something that should work (the os is xp and is in compliance with the actual application's—albeit apparently not the ******* protection drivers—required environment! also and unfortunately, dual boot to 32-bit xp is not an option in my situation), but am prevented from using because of somebody's lack of work ethic... :damn:
a fix sure would be nice and i don't particularly care where it comes from or really whether it violates an unreasonable and legally untenable-given-the-circumstances policy. it seems to me that the community should be interested in supporting it's paying base (ie folks like me who have shelled out hard earned cash) and work together to find a solution, not just censoring because 'we don't discuss that here'.

sorry for the rant all, but i'm pretty frustrated with this situation and don't really see it getting much attention. perhaps as more and more systems migrate to x64 we'll finally get a fix... but ubi's lost a customer and supporter here so long as folks like me are left excluded and feeling ripped off.


cheers
hc

[Gizzmoe]

it seems to me that the community should be interested in supporting it's paying base (ie folks like me who have shelled out hard earned cash) and work together to find a solution, not just censoring because 'we don't discuss that here'.

Don´t ask what the community can do for you, ask what you can do for the community! ;)

If it is really important for you start a petition. Maybe Ubisoft listens and bring out a XP64 update if you find a few hundred people who support the petition. Start it here if you like, make a new thread and also let the people in the Ubisoft forums know that there is one.

By the way, the rule that we don´t discuss cracks and other similar topics in here won´t change.

[Mowgli]

I paid hard cash for my Silent Hunter 3 and despite the fact that Starforce possibly destroyed my one machine and screwed my DVD on my new machine, I just hope that people continue to buy this excellent game [...] <Moderator edit: Rest of sentence removed. Do not advertise cracks. - Gizzmoe>

If however, you are fed up with Starforc then you can visit their site and get their excellent Starforce driver removal program http://www.star-force.com/protection/users/ .

I can vouch for it as it really does remove their drivers. I can now play my music again.

[Gizzmoe]

Nice try, Mowgli... :roll:

[Mowgli]

Damn those escorts. Just trying to get through to the convoy. :up:

[Lamarck]

I just don't play any games using Starforce. There are lots of excellent games out there that don't use it and I'm much happier for it :D

[Lamarck]

And another thought: SHIII is now available at reduced price in the UK, so now that the window of genuine profits has passed why can't Starforce be removed in a patch?

[jason210]

I also have just got a 64bit system and can't run SHIII. Fortunately my works laptop is good enough to run it! That's the advantage of working with 3D graphics!!

But as Lamarck suggested:

And another thought: SHIII is now available at reduced price in the UK, so now that the window of genuine profits has passed why can't Starforce be removed in a patch?

I fully agree. This level of protection is no longer appropriate. I mean, in the future, most users are going to be 64bit users anyway, so won't be able to use it even if they buy it.

I must say, this kind of protection is the worst kind of thing that can happen in the games industry. It causes nothing but problems. There are much better alternatives.

What they should do is just get rid of the Star Force thing altogether. Either in a patch, or by making SHIII available for download to users who have valid CD keys. I think what we will probably see is SHIII get republished in a special edition series, without the key, at bargin bin price. But it would mean buying it again.

[Mystic]

And another thought: SHIII is now available at reduced price in the UK, so now that the window of genuine profits has passed why can't Starforce be removed in a patch?

There might in fact be some additional profit for them now in releasing a Starforce-free version. Speaking for myself, a re-release of SHIII without Starforce is the only way I might have purchased it. And I know I'm not the only one (others here have echoed this stand).

But I suppose it's foolhardy to hope that Ubisoft would value my purchase, since in Ubi's eyes everyone like me has been branded a would-be software cracker just because we had the temerity to say we didn't like what Starforce might do to our computer systems. Come to think of it, I'm disinclined to put any money in Ubi's pocket at this point, irregardless of what they do, because of that attitude.

Even though SHIII was the one game I'd wanted more than any other game released in the last few years (since the disappointment that was MOO3, in fact), and even though I was a constant purchaser of sub sims before SHIII, I've nonetheless managed to live without playing SHIII to date (solely because of Starforce and Ubi's attitude about it) ... and it's been long enough now so that perhaps it's starting to not mean as much to me anymore because of the distance. I guess that's Ubi's true legacy in sub sims ... to drive away formerly good consumers like myself and hasten the end of the genre.

- David (past purchaser of SHII, SH, Sub Command, Jane's 688i, Seawolf, Command: Aces of the Deep, Silent Service II, Sub Battle Simulator, etc.)

[Raptor]

My sentiments exactly, Mystic. :up: Could not have said it better.

And I really wanted SH3 so I could play at Wolves At War. :damn:

Still having a great time with SH2 over at The Atlantik Kampaign. You could join us over there. Email or PM me for details.
:lurk:

Raptor

[Mowgli]

Come on guys. Where there is a will there is a way.
Look and ye shall find.

[Mystic]

Come on guys. Where there is a will there is a way.
Look and ye shall find.

No thank you - I don't want to look. I'm not in the least bit interested in using cracked software, and I depend too much on my PC to even contemplate downloading something from one of "those sites" that could potentially include a virus or be a trojan. Furthermore, as a software developer by trade, I am 100% against piracy in any form, and want nothing to do with such activities. That's why Ubisoft's instantly writing off people like me as would-be software crackers is so deeply offensive to me.

[Gizzmoe]

Come on guys. Where there is a will there is a way.
Look and ye shall find.

Very subtle! :doh: That´s the second time you do that in this thread, will you ever learn not to make any such suggestions? Thread locked.