Colin McRae's DiRT/ Copywrite

[Pezzy]

Hi all.

I actually tried posting this over on a Codemaster forum. I even wrote in my original post over there that I figured my post was going to get deleted by an Administrator because what I was inquiring about "may" have sounded like it was illegal, or some form of piracy.

The post has been up over there for ten days now with over 70 Views, but, not one response/ reply. I'll give it a shot here; see if you can help me out if you're informed on this.

The other year when Colin McRae's DiRT came out, the computer system that I had did not have enough "muscle" to handle the game. I've since built a new system and now I've got MORE than enough power to handle the game: processor, graphics card, etc.

So, I recently looked into getting DiRT, as a local retailer has it for sale really cheap at $14.99. I also did some research on the game and I found something out that, for me, was disheartening and "bad news"; I even checked it out with CodeMasters tech support to make sure.

This game contains the copywrite protection of Starforce. I've had bad experiences with it in the past on other games. I know some people claim they've played games with Starforce protection and had no problems; I'm not one of those people. And I'm aware of the Starforce removal tool out there also. But, I just don't like it being installed on my system AT ALL.

On some other games in the past that I've played that had Starforce on it, it was pretty sneaky in that this Starforce program got installed without your knowledge, and didn't get un-installed when you un-installed the game that it came on. Well, I don't know if this is true, but I had heard (or came across some article on the 'Net) that when installing the game of DiRT, that there comes a part in the installation of the game where it actually let's you know that Starforce is about to be installed. True?

(Now here comes the part where I thought my post would get deleted from a Codemaster Administrator.)

Those of you that know about Starforce know that one of the things that it does is to check and see if your CD/ DVD is in the drive. If a person plays a game a lot - quite frequently - there's much handling of the CD/ DVD, in & out of the drawer, a lot of wear-n-tear. And like a lot of other gamer's out there, I like to try and avoid that wear-n-tear by using one of those "No CD/ DVD" cracks.

There are these "No CD/ DVD" programs out there on the 'Net for DiRT as I've already looked. Here's what I'm wondering: If it's true what I had read/ heard about the game of DiRT actually letting you know that Starforce is about to be installed, is it possible to "deny" this step in the installation process, to "cancel" it, and then to use one of those "No CD/ DVD" cracks so the game doesn't check to see if the CD/ DVD is in the drive. If this would work, then Starforce will have never been installed on the system. That is, if it's true what I read about the "heads up" you get when installing DiRT that Starforce is about to be installed.

What do you think, everyone? Is this idea I have viable?

I really had thought my post was going to get deleted, given the content of what I wrote about (meaning, it "sounds" like I'm up to something illegal, like I won't be having an "official" copy of the game).

Pez

[spikoman69]

Just use starforce, it scans your cd in 2 seconds before DiRT boots up. Is it really that hard to grab a cd and pop it in your drive? It tells you its installing starforce, and if you deny it cancels the whole game isntallation i assume.

[tajahem]

I doubt that it will work. Most likely the install will cancel if you do not agree to install starforce. Save yourself the hassle and find a game that doesn't use starforce.

spikoman69: starforce has been know to cause problems with certain optical drives, conflicts with other protection schemes, and massive security holes in limited user accounts. In addition the company behind starforce went so far as to post a link on their website to an illegally downloadable version of a game that refused to use any protection scheme (galactic civilizations II). Its not nearly as simple as putting a disc in the drive while you play the game.

[Pezzy]

Hi spikoman69 & tajahem.

spikoman69: If tajahem hadn't jumped in here and gave you a bit of info and the "lowdown" on Starforce, then I was just about to do it myself. I take it you didn't already know much about Starforce? I've got a boat load of information on it. I'm not saying it's "hard" to grab a CD and pop it in the drawer; it's just that I don't want Starforce on my system PERIOD.

I use many "No CD/ No DVD" cracks for a lot of the games that I legally own; cuts down on the wear-n-tear and the slight inconvenience of having to get the CD out each and every time I play the game.

tajahem: I see that you are informed on the "evils" of Starforce. And yes, I remember that story also when they posted that link on their web site's forum for that illegal download; what the heck were they thinking?!?!

So tajahem.....am I getting the sense correct in that you personally have not installed or played the game of DiRT on a computer? But you seem to think that my idea will not work. Darn. Then again, I can't say 100% that the info I came across is absolutely accurate. It made it sound like the game itself gets installed, and then, a message comes up letting you know that Starforce is about to be installed.

I thought that, if this info is correct, that since the game got installed that you could "Cancel" the Starforce installation and then put in a "No CD/ No DVD" crack and Starforce will have never been installed on the system.

But even I don't know if all of this is true because I haven't purchased the game. I was hoping that someone who has played the game on the computer could verify the sequence of events during the install of this game. Over at the Codemaster's forum, no one will even touch my post; I could have sworn it would have been deleted by now by one of th forum's Administrators.

I play lots of racing-type games, and this DiRT looked really good, but, you-know-what is on it. I was hoping I could get the game installed, decline the Starforce installation, and then since the game would be on my system, then go onto the "No CD/ No DVD" crack. But you think the install will cancel in its entirety? Or maybe someone will come along that's played it on the computer.

Pez

[tajahem]

As I said I doubt that it will finish the install if you opt not to install starforce along with it, but as I haven't installed the game myself I might be wrong. If it won't you could always let it install and then immediately remove starforce and it shouldn't do any lasting damage to your system. When I purchased X3 I had to do something similar. (a patch for X3 removed the need to run the game from a disk and let you remove starforce). I also did some digging and it looks like you can get DiRT if you have a gold account with gametap although that method requires a monthly subscription and that you have an always on internet connection. http://www.gametap.com/play/gameDetails/000494150

[Trotter]

If you don't want to use the disk to play, make and image and mount it on your hard drive. Since the image is electronic and not burned, it may work.

I doubt you will get around the copy protection. Starforce is usually incorporated into the disk and is installed as part of the program. You would have to manually disassemble the code to remove it.

[NosBoost300]

doesnt steam sell dirt.. couldnt you go that route?

[tajahem]

doesnt steam sell dirt.. couldnt you go that route?

Steam doesn't, but Direct to Drive does.

Direct2Drive: Buy DiRT Download

$40