[ProjectRYG v2.0 & v3.0] RYG Evaluation- Max Payne 3

[PALADiN]

Original thread title was: GameShield and Max Payne 3 - adventures in futility

Been trying to get info on Max Payne 3's use of GameShield (as seen in LA Noire) from Rockstar support on Twitter. Needless to say, they've been less than helpful.

My original tweet - an innocent enough question:

@RockstarSupport I notice that GameShield is being used in #MaxPayne3 on PC. Is there an activation limit? If so, do the activations reset?

Rockstar's first response - not too helpful to say the least:

@PalZer0 We don't announce specific information about activation limits. It will be painless and you can install on your own computer(s).

My response - seems to be a reasonable response given the answer I received to my question:

@RockstarSupport Not the answer I wanted to see. Guess I'll be cancelling my Max Payne 3 preorder now.

Rockstar tries to win me back by giving me some (false) hope that I'll get the info I want.

@PalZer0 That's not good. What information are you looking for? How many computers are you trying to install it on?

The second part seemed to be irrelevant so I didn't answer that one. I did offer an answer to the first part of their question - again, a reasonable info request.

@RockstarSupport I'm looking for how many PCs the game can be activated on, activation reset cycles and if the activation can be revoked.

Of course, Rockstar still gives me the run around by asking a totally irrelevant question.

@PalZer0 How many computers would you be wanting to install the game on?

Right now I'm starting to get a little frustrated and I may have shown it a little in my next tweet to them.

@RockstarSupport I have 2 (a desktop and a laptop) but that's not what I asked.

Rockstar's latest response just takes me right back to square one again. Note that they seem to be happy to give me the brush off.

@PalZer0 We don't announce max activations, reset timers, etc. but we can make sure that you can play the game on computers you own. :)

They also give me a weak assurance regarding the DRM.

@PalZer0 You would be able to install Max Payne 3 on your desktop and laptop.

Here, I start to press them on why they won't disclose such important DRM information.

@RockstarSupport Any particular reason why you don't announce this vitally important DRM info?

EDIT: Got a less than helpful response directing me to their support form.

@PalZer0 If you let us know your concerns about the DRM and let us know the ticket # here on Twitter, we can help: http://support.rockstargames.com/anonymous_requests/new

I did, however, get a straight answer out of them regarding the Steam version.

Here's the question I tweeted.

@RockstarSupport Is GameShield also going to be on the Steam version?

Here's Rockstar's response - short, sweet and to the point.

@PalZer0 Yep.

[PALADiN]

Here's the text of the ticket I'm sending off to Rockstar.

I've recently had an exchange with your Twitter support team regarding the implementation of GameShield on the PC version of Max Payne 3.

I've been told that you don't disclose info on things such as maximum activations and reset timers. I just want to know why this is the case as it seems to be rather dishonest to not reveal such vital DRM information.

Hopefully I'll get something out of that (even though I probably already know what the response is going to be).

[Lisa Pham]

Thanks for the info PALADiN.. much appreciated.

They're scared someone might work out how to crack the DRM... sorry, too late, it's either already done or will be done soon after the PC release. Sad but true! But really what do they expect when they use 3 DRM's in one game?

I thought these companies would have learned to be more transparent in their DRM notifications by now. Maybe they think their NO SUE clauses will save them... sadly they are very much mistaken.

If anyone is curious about GameShield, it's mentioned in our LA Noire Evaluation report. More info will be up soon.

We will be evaluating Max Payne 3 soon, but it's not released here until the 6th June and we pre-ordered this one and have to wait for it to arrive in the mail.

[Martin Pham]

Here's the text of the ticket I'm sending off to Rockstar.

I've recently had an exchange with your Twitter support team regarding the implementation of GameShield on the PC version of Max Payne 3.

I've been told that you don't disclose info on things such as maximum activations and reset timers. I just want to know why this is the case as it seems to be rather dishonest to not reveal such vital DRM information.

Hopefully I'll get something out of that (even though I probably already know what the response is going to be).

Well you can bet that we’ll be putting something up in an official capacity. I’d take the word of our trusted members over what Rockstar would peddle at this juncture. If they are going to change something between now and release time then it’s just another reason why dishonest practices breeds a dishonest product.

[Lisa Pham]

Martin has written an article about this and it's now published- Max Payne 3 On Steam Will Be Implemented With GameShield DRM.

[AgentBJ09]

Wow. And I thought Blizzard was bad about some things like this.

I was going to at least try Max Payne on the 360, but I'd rather not support Rockstar until they tone down their DRM bloat. Honestly, is it such a hard thing to do minor DRM, like a CD key, rather than three types of software? CD keys usually let you install your games anywhere you want and as many times as you want, provided you retain the key.

My copy of Painkiller Gold does that, as does Diablo II and Titan's Quest. Quick and easy.

[Martin Pham]

You’d be surprised how narrow-minded that idea is and this isn’t coming from me.

[AgentBJ09]

You’d be surprised how narrow-minded that idea is and this isn’t coming from me.

I've never had any issues with CD keys. Mostly because I'm a collector but also because they've never hindered me.

[Lisa Pham]

Yeah, we have no issues with CD keys either and neither do most other gamers. Sadly the gaming companies don't feel the same way. Not even the supposedly DRM Free minded ones.

As stated here on Brad Wardell's twitter...

Needs updating. CD copy protection? Quaint.

[PALADiN]

I got an email response from Rockstar support to my ticket and it's similar to what I expected (emphasis mine).

Hi Dfrosolen,

I was the one who spoke with you on Twitter. If you have a special case where you want to make sure that your code won't be disabled for overuse, we are happy to help. The keys will work on one or more of one person's own computers, and it is unlikely that the key would become disabled for fraud unless it was blatantly abused.

The reason we don't provide exact information is because that makes it easy for people to exploit who wish to distribute or download the game illegally.

Cheers,

R*

News flash Rockstar. Pirates are just going to strip out the DRM layers before distributing it. Not telling honest people about activation limits is not going to annoy the pirates one bit.