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Author Topic:   Starts 1 in 20 - copy protection?

mwra posted 02-23-99 06:27 PM ET
I have to start the game about 20 times before the game runs. The hourglass appears, h/d access lite comes up, CD light comes on - then nothing. Occassionally - for no clear reason the game runs.
Once SMAC does start it runs fine. Double clicking terran.exe in Explorer "seems" more effective than using shortcuts but I haven'nt kept a record.
Seems from other posts that in UK we have been given some copy protection system which the US version doesn't have.
I have the entire game installed on the hard drive and yet the game still asks for a CD. I wouldn't mind if the protection system was not so buggy - I don't want to boot SMAC 10-20 times to get into the game. [I originally installed the game to h/d get round what I thought was a poorly pressed CD.]
I'd feel more forgiving if this was a one off. However, PopTop's Railroad Tycoon II had a similar fiasco - in the end they came clean about the problem and eventually released a patch which either removed or circumvented the protection in non-US versions of the game.
I see from posts that some US users are kindly mailing people here in UK the US exe, which apparently gets round the protection issue. Still, in good faith I paid real money, at a retail outlet for a genuine copy of the game, so that the developers actually see some benefit. In return, is it too much to ask for a working copy of the game? Someone in marketing appears to think anyone without a US passport is a bit dodgy - not a way to build overseas customer loyalty.
2 games in a row, 2 US publishers, same problem. They're obviously reading the same research reports!
FWIW, my system System PII 350, 128Mb, 6 & 8 Mb h/ds, ATi All-in-wonder card (w82440en driver set), Win 98, updated by MS built in updater, CD/DVD-rom drive (Mat****a SR8582). System works fine otherwise with biz, grafix apps and games.
Firaxis, can you please provide bone fide customers with a work around for the copy protection read error.
Sorry to unload, but it seems the suits in distribution have screwed up all your (Firaxis's) good work.
On a more positive note - when I can get into SMAC, I'm really enjoying it. Thanks to all the team.
mwra
(in UK)
BikeDude posted 02-24-99 03:13 PM ET
Ah, darn it...
Not again!
You see: The game starts when I run it from NT4, while it's dead silent when I try launching it from NT5/Win2000. The demo ran 100% fine under Win2000, no sound problems at all. (whereas AC and other games do stutter under NT4 -- sigh)
Could some kind soul out there email me the US version of terran.exe? Please? I tried applying the US patch, but it stopped cold when it got to terran.exe. My guess is that replacing it with the unpatched US version would secure me 2.0 as well.
email: [email protected]
TIA!
--
Rune
sean_007 posted 02-24-99 03:39 PM ET
Could someone e-mail me the U.S. version of terran.exe as well please.
I've had the game for several days and still haven't been able to actually play it.
This is my last attempt at playing smac before I take it back.
sean_007 posted 02-24-99 03:40 PM ET
Oh yeah, [email protected]. Heh,heh.
afeman posted 02-25-99 01:51 PM ET
There's obviously a problem with the UK version if you use a DVD drive. My copy runs every now and then, and mostly if I start it directly from the Terran.exe it seems.
I think it would be quite nice if the US terran.exe could be downloaded from this site, so that us Europeans could run the game from a DVD drive (and maybe even patch the game) until the UK patch is released (with a DVD fix ...)
BTW, if someone could please mail me the US terran.exe file I'd be forever grateful.
Regards,
[email protected]
Milamber posted 02-25-99 02:20 PM ET
I know this isnt entirly legal but could someone post it on their web site so any one can download it instead of having to E-Mail it individualy.
And if you arent could you mail it to me at achisholm.freeserve.co.uk
BikeDude posted 02-25-99 06:21 PM ET
Some kind gentleman emailed me the US version of terran.exe. That and the v2 patch helped.
I've played SMAC for a couple of hours now under Windows 2000. No crashes. No sound stuttering. Just pure and utter bliss.
In addition I emailed [email protected] and told them my honest opinion about the delays, the faulty copyprotection scheme and the way they've handled things at their end. I urge everyone to do the same thing.
Those of you who have already emailed [email protected] to no avail; email me, and I'll set you up with 3MB worth of US terran.exe love (put "SMAC UK" somewhere in the subject in case there's a lot of you). Unless someone tells me not to do so, that is.
--
Rune ([email protected])
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Author	Topic: Starts 1 in 20 - copy protection?
mwra	posted 02-23-99 06:27 PM ET I have to start the game about 20 times before the game runs. The hourglass appears, h/d access lite comes up, CD light comes on - then nothing. Occassionally - for no clear reason the game runs. Once SMAC does start it runs fine. Double clicking terran.exe in Explorer "seems" more effective than using shortcuts but I haven'nt kept a record. Seems from other posts that in UK we have been given some copy protection system which the US version doesn't have. I have the entire game installed on the hard drive and yet the game still asks for a CD. I wouldn't mind if the protection system was not so buggy - I don't want to boot SMAC 10-20 times to get into the game. [I originally installed the game to h/d get round what I thought was a poorly pressed CD.] I'd feel more forgiving if this was a one off. However, PopTop's Railroad Tycoon II had a similar fiasco - in the end they came clean about the problem and eventually released a patch which either removed or circumvented the protection in non-US versions of the game. I see from posts that some US users are kindly mailing people here in UK the US exe, which apparently gets round the protection issue. Still, in good faith I paid real money, at a retail outlet for a genuine copy of the game, so that the developers actually see some benefit. In return, is it too much to ask for a working copy of the game? Someone in marketing appears to think anyone without a US passport is a bit dodgy - not a way to build overseas customer loyalty. 2 games in a row, 2 US publishers, same problem. They're obviously reading the same research reports! FWIW, my system System PII 350, 128Mb, 6 & 8 Mb h/ds, ATi All-in-wonder card (w82440en driver set), Win 98, updated by MS built in updater, CD/DVD-rom drive (Mat****a SR8582). System works fine otherwise with biz, grafix apps and games. Firaxis, can you please provide bone fide customers with a work around for the copy protection read error. Sorry to unload, but it seems the suits in distribution have screwed up all your (Firaxis's) good work. On a more positive note - when I can get into SMAC, I'm really enjoying it. Thanks to all the team. mwra (in UK)
BikeDude	posted 02-24-99 03:13 PM ET Ah, darn it... Not again! You see: The game starts when I run it from NT4, while it's dead silent when I try launching it from NT5/Win2000. The demo ran 100% fine under Win2000, no sound problems at all. (whereas AC and other games do stutter under NT4 -- sigh) Could some kind soul out there email me the US version of terran.exe? Please? I tried applying the US patch, but it stopped cold when it got to terran.exe. My guess is that replacing it with the unpatched US version would secure me 2.0 as well. email: [email protected] TIA! -- Rune
sean_007	posted 02-24-99 03:39 PM ET Could someone e-mail me the U.S. version of terran.exe as well please. I've had the game for several days and still haven't been able to actually play it. This is my last attempt at playing smac before I take it back.
sean_007	posted 02-24-99 03:40 PM ET Oh yeah, [email protected]. Heh,heh.
afeman	posted 02-25-99 01:51 PM ET There's obviously a problem with the UK version if you use a DVD drive. My copy runs every now and then, and mostly if I start it directly from the Terran.exe it seems. I think it would be quite nice if the US terran.exe could be downloaded from this site, so that us Europeans could run the game from a DVD drive (and maybe even patch the game) until the UK patch is released (with a DVD fix ...) BTW, if someone could please mail me the US terran.exe file I'd be forever grateful. Regards, [email protected]
Milamber	posted 02-25-99 02:20 PM ET I know this isnt entirly legal but could someone post it on their web site so any one can download it instead of having to E-Mail it individualy. And if you arent could you mail it to me at achisholm.freeserve.co.uk
BikeDude	posted 02-25-99 06:21 PM ET Some kind gentleman emailed me the US version of terran.exe. That and the v2 patch helped. I've played SMAC for a couple of hours now under Windows 2000. No crashes. No sound stuttering. Just pure and utter bliss. In addition I emailed [email protected] and told them my honest opinion about the delays, the faulty copyprotection scheme and the way they've handled things at their end. I urge everyone to do the same thing. Those of you who have already emailed [email protected] to no avail; email me, and I'll set you up with 3MB worth of US terran.exe love (put "SMAC UK" somewhere in the subject in case there's a lot of you). Unless someone tells me not to do so, that is. -- Rune ([email protected])