BioShock: Only Two Installs?

**MIG-31** · Aug 22, 2007, 05:35 PM

Source: Bluesnews
______________
How many installs do we get? Transfer of ownership? on the 2K Forums outline an issue that's been discovered with the SecuROM online activation required to play BioShock. Apparently the process will only allow for the game to be installed twice, which could obviously be a problem for folks who experience problems with their systems.The Steam Forums indicate that this problem afflicts the Steam edition of the game as well.

**MIG-31** · Aug 22, 2007, 05:53 PM

If this true i may refuse to buy this game..Despite how good it appears to be.To pay something in the region of £30 - £35 (uk) for a game... for those who frequently upgrade hardware will certainly have problems.

Simply an unfair system.They have rights to the first purchase (which the buyer pays for) should not have the rights to how many pc's it's installed on.

BlueMak · Aug 22, 2007, 06:05 PM

HAHAHAHAHA, good luck with that. Then they wonder why people turn to piracy.
Idiots.

mkk · Aug 22, 2007, 06:52 PM

Yeah it's confirmed too. Perhaps in the end Securom or 2kGames can give a user an extra activation in the future, but right now there's confusion between those two parties of who's supposed to fix the problem. That doesn't bode well at least for those that run into it early on.

Now that they've also stated that they won't improve the widescreen field of view there's no way I could make myself buy it.

Alistair · Aug 22, 2007, 07:04 PM

Thats enough to make my mind up not to touch the game. Was on my list but since this appears to be true I'll save my money for a game I don't have to worry about being useless to me after a format or two.

Brutality · Aug 22, 2007, 07:06 PM

Bah. If you want the game, buy it. You can always use cracked workarounds later.

Yeah, it's awfully retarded what 2k just pulled off. I don't agree a single bit with that. Nevertheless, that won't stop me from playing that game.

calidan · Aug 22, 2007, 07:51 PM

Or you can buy it off of Steam. There is no restriction on how many times you can install with that.

*edit* Nevermind I should read before I post

topbob · Aug 22, 2007, 07:59 PM

Wel if this affects the Steam version as well, they seriously messed up. No one lets you install their game two times, thats just dumb.

Tinkerhell · Aug 22, 2007, 08:49 PM

+1
While this game has really peeked my interest of late I can't see getting it with those kinds of restrictions. I don't mind copy protection that requires you to have the orignal disks but screw you if you plan to limit how many times I can install it. I'll take my money elsewhere...

Just Learnin' · Aug 22, 2007, 08:52 PM

Voodoo Extreme - News, Screenshots, Videos Reviews and More!

Quote:

Uh-oh, the official [COLOR=#cf7e0c]BioShock forumers[/COLOR] are up in arms because BioShock is supposedly limited to two installs, at which point the game becomes a useless coaster unable to be used ever again. However, having spoken to a senior member of 2K Games we can reveal that the above is bullshit - to prevent piracy the game is restricted to two simultaneous installs. Let's lay it out:

You install BioShock on PC #1.
You unlock it via the net-based activation.
You install BioShock on PC #2.
You unlock it via the net-based activation.
You install BioShock on PC #3.
You go to unlock it, but no! You may be an evil space pirate hell bent on installing the game on your grandmother's computer for free! No unlock for you evil doer!
You're not an evil space pirate so you go home and uninstall the game from PC #2.
The worker bees in PC #2 send an alert via the net to 2K's HQ who reimburse you with one install credit.
You return to Gran's house and install it on her POS PC.
You attempt to unlock BioShock again and hey presto, it unlocks!
You start the game but are booted back to desktop because Gran forgot to buy a Shader Model 3.0 GPU at the bingo

There you have it, everything's AOK, and yes, all digital and boxed versions of the game have this piracy prevention device included. So there.
Update: We asked our 2K contact what would happen if both of your computers simultaneously failed and you were unable to uninstall the game to reacquire an install credit:

"You'd have to ring Securom, explain your situation, and get them to fix you up. However, if you keep ringing and asking for unlocks every two minutes..."

**MIG-31** · Aug 22, 2007, 09:07 PM

Quote:

"You'd have to ring Securom, explain your situation, and get them to fix you up. However, if you keep ringing and asking for unlocks every two minutes..."

Then you are totally fu#ked i suppose.

Da_Jewish_Fonzy · Aug 22, 2007, 09:29 PM

wow, looks like I'll be hittin the high shores for this game after all

Da_Jewish_Fonzy · Aug 22, 2007, 09:34 PM

I just found this on Kotaku, apparently you can install it as many times as you like as long as you uninstall it first.

"UPDATE - Elizabeth from 2K has repsonded on the forums, clarifying the copy protection issue. The key lies in uninstalling before you reinstall. Uninstalling registers the same as installing does, so if you do not perform an uninstall first SecuROM thinks you are just installing the game on different systems over and over again. Hit the jump for the full text of Elizabeth's message, and thanks for everyone who followed up on the issue."

Quote:

hey guys, first, let me say this. you DO NOT NEED TO USE THE INTERNET EVERY TIME YOU PLAY THIS GAME. it is only the first time.
second, you can uninstall and reinstall this game, and if, by chance, you have 2 computers you want to simultaneously play this game on, you also can do that.
if by some chance you are reinstalling this game without uninstalling it first, a lot, there is a chance you may have to call securom and get a key, or deactivate some older installations.
but if you upgrade your hardware next week, you'll still be able to play the game. if you revamp your system and need to reinstall bioshock, just uninstall it before you go through the overhaul, and then do your reinstall.
calling it "hardware fingerprinting" is a bit alarmist. we do not transmit any of your data to any companies.
really, the only people who will be concerned about any of these security measures are those who are rapidly putting bioshock on many pcs... if you use the game as you normally do, you won't notice this at all.

BlueMak · Aug 22, 2007, 10:13 PM

Just make sure that your hard drive doesn't fail, or Windows get corrupted, or you format the drive and you forget to uninstall the game, or their servers are down, or..or..

Tipstaff · Aug 22, 2007, 10:16 PM

Honestly, this really isn't as big an issue as people might think. I mean, as long as you uninstall the game, which tells Securom that you have done so, and this is prior to installing it elsewhere, then there shouldn't be an issue. The real issue here is the length of time this type of system is going to be up and running. Put it this way: say you install the game 5 years from now. Can anyone here honestly tell me that Securom will STILL have a server up and running to facilitate activation? Most likely, no. What that says to me is that this game will have a very short window of playability. Sure, it may become a classic, but what happens when you go to install that classic a few years from now, and you can't activate the damn thing?

Hell, last night I was piss assed mad because of the way this thing activates itself. First, who in their right mind makes an activation code that starts wtih O0lO (which, btw, is not O 0 lower case L O, but O0IO)? After attempt after attempt it worked.. not because I didn't get the code right, but because Securoms activation refused to activate it for nearly 20 minutes of trying.

Personally, I love this game, and the only way I see for me to keep playing this game years from now, and not have to deal with activation crud of this kind, would be to buy the 360 version.

zerodamage · Aug 22, 2007, 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueMak

HAHAHAHAHA, good luck with that. Then they wonder why people turn to piracy.
Idiots.

Why do you think this system is there in the first place? It is because of the ridiculous number of people who pirate games that this system is even there. Blaming piracy on something that the pirates caused in the first place is ridiculous.

BlueMak · Aug 22, 2007, 11:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zerodamage

Why do you think this system is there in the first place? It is because of the ridiculous number of people who pirate games that this system is even there. Blaming piracy on something that the pirates caused in the first place is ridiculous.

Let's just say this, I know 100% that they have lost at least one paying customer because of the above.

The only one they stop with the above is people who legaly get this game.

Mr cairo · Aug 23, 2007, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tipstaff

Honestly, this really isn't as big an issue as people might think. I mean, as long as you uninstall the game, which tells Securom that you have done so, and this is prior to installing it elsewhere, then there shouldn't be an issue. The real issue here is the length of time this type of system is going to be up and running.

Nope real issue here is Vista and its instability and random crashes with loss of Data etc

Vista owners may find that the system crashes forcing a format with the game still on the PC if it happens again thats there 2 activations gone ...

if they were going to this extreme then they should have gone the windows activation route to many hardware changes on your main pc and you have to call but give us at least 5 activations for chrissake

mkk · Aug 23, 2007, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zerodamage

Why do you think this system is there in the first place?

Mostly because there are confused people calling shots in these companies, but partly I also think it might be a hint towards bringing in time limited "licenses" to games, although none of this is likely mentioned on the package. Anyone seen a retail package yet that can check if this two strikes out system is clearly stated?

Piracy is no reason to screw the customers in this manner. It just doesn't help.

BlueMak · Aug 23, 2007, 02:37 PM

Check this post and the attached picture.
Widescreen Gaming Forum :: View topic - Don't expect much from 2K support...

Drexion · Aug 23, 2007, 05:43 PM

BlueMak is correct - the announcement on their site is just PR nonsense.

It doesn't work - its a catch22.
2K blames Securrom and says to contact them.
Securom blames 2K and says to contact them.
And the user does not get his problem solved.

Tipstaff · Aug 23, 2007, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drexion

Nice representation there, Drex.

Lelisevis · Aug 23, 2007, 11:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cairo

Nope real issue here is Vista and its instability and random crashes with loss of Data etc

Vista owners may find that the system crashes forcing a format with the game still on the PC if it happens again thats there 2 activations gone ...

if they were going to this extreme then they should have gone the windows activation route to many hardware changes on your main pc and you have to call but give us at least 5 activations for chrissake

ROFLMAO this post is genius. It's all Vista's fault, glad we got the cause of the problem sorted so quick

.
What a load of rubbish, this sort of uneducated crap keeps me amused for days. I've had Vista installed for 8 months and have yet to see one of these random crashes with loss of data and it's still running as quick as the day I installed it if not slightly quicker. By this point in the past i'd be on my 3rd or 4th XP re-install as it slowly bogged itself down.
I blame Sony or global warming, i've no idea why but it seemed like a good time to randomly point the blame at someone.

BlueMak · Aug 23, 2007, 11:47 PM

you have to re install XP 3-4 times per 8 months? Wth are you doing with your pc? Testing viruses? lol

I re install about once per 1.5-2 years and not have any slowdows or other major problems in the mean time. (what usualy makes damage is some weird bad driver or something stupid I do.

ronnn · Aug 24, 2007, 02:05 AM

On steam, I think you get as many installs as you like, but can only have it installed on 2 computers at any given time. You can delete local content off a computer and than install it on a third. So not so bad.

Mr cairo · Aug 24, 2007, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lelisevis

ROFLMAO this post is genius. It's all Vista's fault, glad we got the cause of the problem sorted so quick

.
What a load of rubbish, this sort of uneducated crap keeps me amused for days. I've had Vista installed for 8 months and have yet to see one of these random crashes with loss of data and it's still running as quick as the day I installed it if not slightly quicker. By this point in the past i'd be on my 3rd or 4th XP re-install as it slowly bogged itself down.
I blame Sony or global warming, i've no idea why but it seemed like a good time to randomly point the blame at someone.

i am not randomly pointing the blame and its not uneducated crap m8 i am one of the vista users that has had nothing but problems with my install including a crash that forced a full reinstall and loss of data after a driver update

the biggest problem is people like you who think that because your vista install is ok everyone else's must be as well

i admit that this last 2 months has seen nassive improvments and a few new drivers that have sorted out a lot of the issues and my vista is now running quite nicley but for every 20 people that has a nice install there is 1 that has a nightmare

like a lot of people here i work on computers for a living ( builds and OS installs etc) and have seen the results of a new O/S and immature drivers several times and i expect to see it more as vista gains a larger market (hopefully a lot will be resolved with SP1 etc)

and if you go back to my post and actually read it you can see that i was using a vista os crashs an example of how you can loose an activation i never said at any point it was vistas fault ( although it is a problem) i used vista as an example because at the moment its a fairly unstable sytem whereas xp is now a fairly solid os ...

and were really installing xp every 2 months because that just insane ?

**MIG-31** · Aug 24, 2007, 08:08 AM

Thanks all for you're replies.The Call of Rapture has released a Press Release concerning the amount of activations.

You will see more details about it in This Thread.

Discussion can continue there.Thread Closed.

Aug 22, 2007, 05:53 PM	Thread Starter #2
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 55,770 Rep Power: 444 System Specs	If this true i may refuse to buy this game..Despite how good it appears to be.To pay something in the region of £30 - £35 (uk) for a game... for those who frequently upgrade hardware will certainly have problems. Simply an unfair system.They have rights to the first purchase (which the buyer pays for) should not have the rights to how many pc's it's installed on. __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here Last edited by MIG-31; Aug 22, 2007 at 06:19 PM.

Aug 22, 2007, 07:04 PM	#5
Alistair Spoos Join Date: May 2002 Location: State College, PA, USA Posts: 435 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Thats enough to make my mind up not to touch the game. Was on my list but since this appears to be true I'll save my money for a game I don't have to worry about being useless to me after a format or two. __________________ - Alistair

Aug 22, 2007, 07:51 PM	#7
calidan Frozen in Carbonite Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 1,409 Rep Power: 57 System Specs	Or you can buy it off of Steam. There is no restriction on how many times you can install with that. edit Nevermind I should read before I post __________________ Steam Community :: ID :: calidan "Don't try to be like Jackie. There is only one Jackie.... Study computers instead." - Jackie Chan

Aug 22, 2007, 07:59 PM	#8
topbob HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: SFBA, CA, USA Posts: 463 Rep Power: 46 System Specs	Wel if this affects the Steam version as well, they seriously messed up. No one lets you install their game two times, thats just dumb. __________________ 12090 in 3DMarks06 on current system, 5001 on old system, 4164 on older, 1587 on oldest

Aug 22, 2007, 08:49 PM	#9
Tinkerhell Not all fairies are nice. Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 989 Rep Power: 42	+1 While this game has really peeked my interest of late I can't see getting it with those kinds of restrictions. I don't mind copy protection that requires you to have the orignal disks but screw you if you plan to limit how many times I can install it. I'll take my money elsewhere... __________________ Stupidity should be painful if not terminal. Darwin for Sainthood!!

Aug 22, 2007, 05:35 PM	#1
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 55,770 Rep Power: 444 System Specs	BioShock: Only Two Installs? Source: Bluesnews ______________ How many installs do we get? Transfer of ownership? on the 2K Forums outline an issue that's been discovered with the SecuROM online activation required to play BioShock. Apparently the process will only allow for the game to be installed twice, which could obviously be a problem for folks who experience problems with their systems.The Steam Forums indicate that this problem afflicts the Steam edition of the game as well. __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here

Aug 22, 2007, 06:05 PM	#3
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,247 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	HAHAHAHAHA, good luck with that. Then they wonder why people turn to piracy. Idiots. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Aug 22, 2007, 06:52 PM	#4
mkk Cthulhu/Dagon 2012 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gefle, Sweden Posts: 4,383 Rep Power: 120 System Specs	Yeah it's confirmed too. Perhaps in the end Securom or 2kGames can give a user an extra activation in the future, but right now there's confusion between those two parties of who's supposed to fix the problem. That doesn't bode well at least for those that run into it early on. Now that they've also stated that they won't improve the widescreen field of view there's no way I could make myself buy it.

Aug 22, 2007, 07:06 PM	#6
Brutality DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Estonia Posts: 887 Rep Power: 39	Bah. If you want the game, buy it. You can always use cracked workarounds later. Yeah, it's awfully retarded what 2k just pulled off. I don't agree a single bit with that. Nevertheless, that won't stop me from playing that game.

Aug 22, 2007, 09:29 PM	#12
Da_Jewish_Fonzy Me>You Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Da Hood Posts: 507 Rep Power: 0	wow, looks like I'll be hittin the high shores for this game after all

Aug 22, 2007, 10:13 PM	#14
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,247 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	Just make sure that your hard drive doesn't fail, or Windows get corrupted, or you format the drive and you forget to uninstall the game, or their servers are down, or..or.. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Aug 22, 2007, 10:16 PM	#15
Tipstaff HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Real capital of Canada: Torauna Posts: 6,658 Rep Power: 187 System Specs	Honestly, this really isn't as big an issue as people might think. I mean, as long as you uninstall the game, which tells Securom that you have done so, and this is prior to installing it elsewhere, then there shouldn't be an issue. The real issue here is the length of time this type of system is going to be up and running. Put it this way: say you install the game 5 years from now. Can anyone here honestly tell me that Securom will STILL have a server up and running to facilitate activation? Most likely, no. What that says to me is that this game will have a very short window of playability. Sure, it may become a classic, but what happens when you go to install that classic a few years from now, and you can't activate the damn thing? Hell, last night I was piss assed mad because of the way this thing activates itself. First, who in their right mind makes an activation code that starts wtih O0lO (which, btw, is not O 0 lower case L O, but O0IO)? After attempt after attempt it worked.. not because I didn't get the code right, but because Securoms activation refused to activate it for nearly 20 minutes of trying. Personally, I love this game, and the only way I see for me to keep playing this game years from now, and not have to deal with activation crud of this kind, would be to buy the 360 version. __________________ Portal: The Flash Version _________________________________ Brain: So, you sacked the cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker? Mr. Sackett: The second cocky khaki Kicky Sack sock plucker I've sacked since the sixth sitting sheet slitter got sick. Last edited by Tipstaff; Aug 22, 2007 at 10:46 PM.

Aug 23, 2007, 02:37 PM	#20
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,247 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	Check this post and the attached picture. Widescreen Gaming Forum :: View topic - Don't expect much from 2K support... __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Aug 23, 2007, 05:43 PM	#21
Drexion DriverHeaven Newbie Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 5 Rep Power: 0	BlueMak is correct - the announcement on their site is just PR nonsense. It doesn't work - its a catch22. 2K blames Securrom and says to contact them. Securom blames 2K and says to contact them. And the user does not get his problem solved.

Aug 23, 2007, 11:47 PM	#24
BlueMak HH's Asteroids' Dominator Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Hellas->Macedonia->Thessaloniki Posts: 13,247 Rep Power: 326 System Specs	you have to re install XP 3-4 times per 8 months? Wth are you doing with your pc? Testing viruses? lol I re install about once per 1.5-2 years and not have any slowdows or other major problems in the mean time. (what usualy makes damage is some weird bad driver or something stupid I do. __________________ The people who are regarded as moral luminaries are those who forego ordinary pleasures themselves and find compensation in interfering with the pleasures of others(Bertrand Russell)"You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn't wear a veil,You know, guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it's a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them." - Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis This is slavery, not to speak one's thought. [Euripides-The Phoenician Women (c.411-409 B.C.)] http://www.macedonia.info/FALLACIESANDFACTS.htm *Sic semper tyrannis.*

Aug 24, 2007, 02:05 AM	#25
ronnn DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 617 Rep Power: 0	On steam, I think you get as many installs as you like, but can only have it installed on 2 computers at any given time. You can delete local content off a computer and than install it on a third. So not so bad.

Aug 24, 2007, 08:08 AM	Thread Starter #27
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 55,770 Rep Power: 444 System Specs	Thanks all for you're replies.The Call of Rapture has released a Press Release concerning the amount of activations. You will see more details about it in This Thread. Discussion can continue there.Thread Closed. __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here