Hi Tony,
For others who are reading, I am taking Mr. Hilliam up on an offer to another poster and myself to outline the issues with Trainz' DRM system. (edit: I would be remiss if I didn't explain what DRM stands for: Digital Rights Management.)
While I cannot speak for KingConrail76, my definition of DRM seems to align with most common understandings of it of which I'm aware: It is a system that requires some form of interaction with the developer/manufacturer/distributor/seller/etc. after purchase in order to use the product or some part of it. One-time product activation, as well as sometimes-on DRM (as TS12 has begun using as of SP1 for DLC) and always-on DRM all fit this category.
The primary problem with DRM is, while it may have originated as a means of copy-protection, it's used, today, as a means of limiting a customer's use of a product, whether by deliberate design (as in many if not most cases) or by accident, failings of business, nature, whatever. Let's consider the traditional product-activation scenario: You install your software, but have to activate it over the internet (or, in some cases, you have the option of telephone.) That's fine as long as the company is:
1. Still in business,
2. you haven't used up all your allowed activations,
3. as long as there is a means to accomplish activation,
4. as long as the company chooses to support your product.
In other words, you could lose the product you paid for, not to mention the ability to use any add-ons, including those you've made yourself, if any one of the following is true:
1. Manufacturer (or anyone else in the chain) goes out of business. Note that this has already happened to Auran once, and the fact that they need to roll out a product on Kickstarter isn't a sign of a financially-health company.
2. The number of activations is arbitrary. Purely as an example, some vendors allow only 3 activations. I've installed Trainz more than 3 times in the last year alone. Probably a good number if not a majority of long-time Trainzers and power users (who reformat their HDDs regularly to clean up our systems) have done so in the past as well. Whether the limit is 3, 5, or 20, for many users, it's likely to cause problems for a good number of users.
3. There needs to be a means to activation. Since it's pretty much a given that N3V doesn't have the resources to man a 24/7 phone bank, that means internet. However, many customers live in areas with spotty internet service. Far more serious, many users live on fixed incomes, so requiring an internet connection just to use a product one already paid for is likely too much of a burden for many.
4. A company can simply choose to stop accepting activations/authorizations for a product. Some of the biggest companies in the world have done it: Wal-Mart, Yahoo, Microsoft (twice) and Amazon are but a few of a few major companies that simply decided to stop supporting DRMed content, in most cases leaving their customers with worthless purchases. Amazon's DRM system allegedly allowed them to remotely delete content off of customer's Kindles.
Another problem with DRM is that many forms of it (especially most forms of activation) are sensitive to hardware changes. Routine repairs or upgrades effectively "break" an activation. On limited-activation DRM systems, this often means a user uses up one of their allotted activations.
These are only the problems I have personally encountered or know about; other problems such as companies banning users for whatever reason is yet another potential problem, albeit one I have not experienced personally and is only practiced by some companies. I'm also not getting into the issue of the new DRM system locking payware DLC.
Now, here's WHY I oppose DRM and will not support any product that uses it. First and foremost, I need to run my gaming rig offline i.e. standalone, with NO internet access. A lot of gamers do. This is critical for performance. I run Trainz in a partition that only runs Trainz, a few other games and some business applications. Antivirus, firewalls, even the network connection itself consume tremendous resources. Plus, it's infinitely more secure. So, running online is not an option.
The other reason is because I still want to be able to use the game and DLC I paid for if N3V ever goes under or for whatever reason I'm not able to maintain an internet connection. Nearly all the games I own (apart from a few sims including Trainz) are at least 15 years old and most are 20 or 30.
More importantly, I'd like to protect my investment. And, yes, I've invested A LOT of money in the Trainz franchise - probably about a grand at least - not to mention the time I spent learning both the program and the content creation tools I use to make my own content. So, yes, Trainz represents a considerable investment.
Now, I don't have a problem with serial numbers, simply because keeping a serial number is no more difficult than keeping a proper backup of the software. I don't expect a broke or long-gone company to supply me with discs to reinstall my game, nor do I expect them to supply me with a serial number. But, while I can keep a backup of my discs and/or serial number, a can't expect a broke or long-dead company to supply me with the Activation Codes DRM systems require. It's that simple.
Yes, I know N3V's argument is going to be that all a pirate needs is a stolen serial key and they can use the software. Maybe, maybe not. A number of companies have integrated a serial number key revocation list with new patches and updates of their software, which would render software running a stolen/pirated serial inoperative upon updating. Simply providing an updated key revocation list with each game or DLC update (or, heck, perhaps with every DLS access attempt) would prevent most if not all warez serial numbers from being used. Furthermore, N3V can simply blacklist users attempting to use stolen/warez serial numbers from the DLS and forums. Considering how basic this is, I'd think...I'd hope...that's already being done.
Which brings me to another topic: In N3V's case, DRM is just so completely unnecessary. Unlike many software companies, N3V offers a value-added service in the form of the DLS. While it's possible a pirate could still use a serial with a specific version of the game, they cannot take advantage of what really makes Trainz truly worthwhile - the tons of content on the DLS.
So, Mr. Hilliam, I hope you can understand why myself and quite a few other users have expressed unwillingness to continue supporting Trainz. There are better happy media which can strike a balance between users' needs and N3V's.
For others who are reading, I am taking Mr. Hilliam up on an offer to another poster and myself to outline the issues with Trainz' DRM system. (edit: I would be remiss if I didn't explain what DRM stands for: Digital Rights Management.)
While I cannot speak for KingConrail76, my definition of DRM seems to align with most common understandings of it of which I'm aware: It is a system that requires some form of interaction with the developer/manufacturer/distributor/seller/etc. after purchase in order to use the product or some part of it. One-time product activation, as well as sometimes-on DRM (as TS12 has begun using as of SP1 for DLC) and always-on DRM all fit this category.
The primary problem with DRM is, while it may have originated as a means of copy-protection, it's used, today, as a means of limiting a customer's use of a product, whether by deliberate design (as in many if not most cases) or by accident, failings of business, nature, whatever. Let's consider the traditional product-activation scenario: You install your software, but have to activate it over the internet (or, in some cases, you have the option of telephone.) That's fine as long as the company is:
1. Still in business,
2. you haven't used up all your allowed activations,
3. as long as there is a means to accomplish activation,
4. as long as the company chooses to support your product.
In other words, you could lose the product you paid for, not to mention the ability to use any add-ons, including those you've made yourself, if any one of the following is true:
1. Manufacturer (or anyone else in the chain) goes out of business. Note that this has already happened to Auran once, and the fact that they need to roll out a product on Kickstarter isn't a sign of a financially-health company.
2. The number of activations is arbitrary. Purely as an example, some vendors allow only 3 activations. I've installed Trainz more than 3 times in the last year alone. Probably a good number if not a majority of long-time Trainzers and power users (who reformat their HDDs regularly to clean up our systems) have done so in the past as well. Whether the limit is 3, 5, or 20, for many users, it's likely to cause problems for a good number of users.
3. There needs to be a means to activation. Since it's pretty much a given that N3V doesn't have the resources to man a 24/7 phone bank, that means internet. However, many customers live in areas with spotty internet service. Far more serious, many users live on fixed incomes, so requiring an internet connection just to use a product one already paid for is likely too much of a burden for many.
4. A company can simply choose to stop accepting activations/authorizations for a product. Some of the biggest companies in the world have done it: Wal-Mart, Yahoo, Microsoft (twice) and Amazon are but a few of a few major companies that simply decided to stop supporting DRMed content, in most cases leaving their customers with worthless purchases. Amazon's DRM system allegedly allowed them to remotely delete content off of customer's Kindles.
Another problem with DRM is that many forms of it (especially most forms of activation) are sensitive to hardware changes. Routine repairs or upgrades effectively "break" an activation. On limited-activation DRM systems, this often means a user uses up one of their allotted activations.
These are only the problems I have personally encountered or know about; other problems such as companies banning users for whatever reason is yet another potential problem, albeit one I have not experienced personally and is only practiced by some companies. I'm also not getting into the issue of the new DRM system locking payware DLC.
Now, here's WHY I oppose DRM and will not support any product that uses it. First and foremost, I need to run my gaming rig offline i.e. standalone, with NO internet access. A lot of gamers do. This is critical for performance. I run Trainz in a partition that only runs Trainz, a few other games and some business applications. Antivirus, firewalls, even the network connection itself consume tremendous resources. Plus, it's infinitely more secure. So, running online is not an option.
The other reason is because I still want to be able to use the game and DLC I paid for if N3V ever goes under or for whatever reason I'm not able to maintain an internet connection. Nearly all the games I own (apart from a few sims including Trainz) are at least 15 years old and most are 20 or 30.
More importantly, I'd like to protect my investment. And, yes, I've invested A LOT of money in the Trainz franchise - probably about a grand at least - not to mention the time I spent learning both the program and the content creation tools I use to make my own content. So, yes, Trainz represents a considerable investment.
Now, I don't have a problem with serial numbers, simply because keeping a serial number is no more difficult than keeping a proper backup of the software. I don't expect a broke or long-gone company to supply me with discs to reinstall my game, nor do I expect them to supply me with a serial number. But, while I can keep a backup of my discs and/or serial number, a can't expect a broke or long-dead company to supply me with the Activation Codes DRM systems require. It's that simple.
Yes, I know N3V's argument is going to be that all a pirate needs is a stolen serial key and they can use the software. Maybe, maybe not. A number of companies have integrated a serial number key revocation list with new patches and updates of their software, which would render software running a stolen/pirated serial inoperative upon updating. Simply providing an updated key revocation list with each game or DLC update (or, heck, perhaps with every DLS access attempt) would prevent most if not all warez serial numbers from being used. Furthermore, N3V can simply blacklist users attempting to use stolen/warez serial numbers from the DLS and forums. Considering how basic this is, I'd think...I'd hope...that's already being done.
Which brings me to another topic: In N3V's case, DRM is just so completely unnecessary. Unlike many software companies, N3V offers a value-added service in the form of the DLS. While it's possible a pirate could still use a serial with a specific version of the game, they cannot take advantage of what really makes Trainz truly worthwhile - the tons of content on the DLS.
So, Mr. Hilliam, I hope you can understand why myself and quite a few other users have expressed unwillingness to continue supporting Trainz. There are better happy media which can strike a balance between users' needs and N3V's.
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