Mass Effect - NO DISCUSSION OF CRACKS!!!
 

Due to some of the existing mass effect threads going in a warez direction, as well as the fact that the game is online activation protected (thus a crack is not really needed if you legitimately own the game) ALL threads about the game have been deleted...

do NOT post threads asking for the crack (they don't work anyway), or the crackfix (which is trojaned / root kitted by all accounts)... until the moderators and empire have all come to a decision about this title..

you can make posts for game support, issues with the game, discussions about the game and so on..

I'm confused, since dvd is not required to play, does it mean that there's no protection on the dvd to prevent us from copying (for backup purposes)?

You need a original Cd at the first start of the Game, when he is check that you have a legit version. After that you can play without a cd.

A new check will be come, when you patch the game or downlaod extra content.

To play the game, you don´t need a cd in the cd-drive.

Are you sure about the 'constant internet connection required while playing' being wrong? Straight from the manual:
"INTERNET CONNECTION, PERIODIC ONLINE AUTHENTICATION, AND END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT REQUIRED TO PLAY. ..."

Maybe there are different versions of this game in different geographic regions with different DRM. But for my NA location, the above warning is what I have to contend with.
At any rate, I am not asking for anything....I am simply providing observations and comments.

Periodic doesnt mean constant. Checks over a period of time, it could be every 1hr or 6hrs or even each time you start the game.

I have to admit you have been listening to people who think they know what they are talking about when they dont.

Your unique serial being made by a Key Generator is a very very very low chance of yours getting picked.

Seeing as most Key Generators will develop a key from either the last digits of the key or totally generated from scratch, the odds are very very high for yours getting matched. Even if it does by some coincedence you have the proof of purchase and serial which you can prove is yours.

And online checks are nothing like cd-checks. Cd-checks requires a cd/dvd-rom and media to be used while online checks are just a simple software check.

And yeah GCW has been around alot longer than most of the "other" sites.

I don't see how you would respond to 3 activation limit. Furthermore, when I talked about the longevity of GCW, all I meant is that in this fast-moving world with exponential progress in IT, failure to recognize the trend that PC games are moving away from CDs to online delivery will ultimately spell doom to GCW, if it chooses to stick to catering to the owners of the increasingly obsolete tech. In other words, PC game developers will no longer use CD check at all (for example, there's no protection on ME DVD, I've checked myself - made a copy and installed the game off it w/o any issues), so online check becomes the ONLY source of validation, as CD-check was in the past - hence my parallel.

Since serial is the only source of authenticity, it may cause loads of grief if it's ever compromised due to craptastic online/phone support - if u ever used that, u'd know u want to stay away from that. Thus, as far as I am concerned, maybe the risk of duplicate serial is low, even very low, but it's still unacceptable - I don't want to waste my time proving my innocence, esp. if it does happen, tech support will stick to ur logic - that duplication impossible and blame me for the leak, and will NOT issue me another key. Read the forums at Bioware if you don't believe me - that's the policy they adopted. So the problem is not proving that that particular serial is mine but that I didn't post it somewhere for everyone to use. However minuscule is this chance, this sort of policy is unacceptable for a paying customer like me. I want access to a fix that will allow me, rightful owner of the software, to continue to use in the case when the developer fails to insure the same.

Finally, I suggest you to refrain from further patronizing me. You can't know what I do know and what I don't, and neither do I claim that I know better than you.

well perhaps you might have thought about the probability that the manual was printed well ahead of the disks being pressed, and at that time they were 'promoting' the reactivation every 10 days thing (which they then retracted) ?

For all who don´t know how securom and the authentification works. Read the FAQ at the official site.

OK i will help you:

You can read that you don´t need a constant internet connection and what you must do when you have installed the game 3 times.

does ME has the same copy protection like bioshock ? and is there a limit on how often you will be able to install the game ?

I wasnt patronising you, I was responding to what you previously said.

Also you did say Online Authentication is the same as CD-checks to which I replied that its not.

Like I said you have been listening to others who are very negative in their way of thinking. And you have adopted this.

So you have a 3 install limit, that is because its to stop someone from giving the game out to friends and they install also, so after 3rd install it would be easy to extend it. They say this if you read your game info.

Online delivery? Where the hell did that come from? Just because the game checks online doesnt mean every game in the future will be downloadable only.

It wont spell doom for GCW just because GCW doesnt support online authentication work arounds, now think about it if a crack is used to get around the 3 install limits etc you think this is good? No it does support piracy more than the legit user this is why GCW wont support it.

And as I said, the only limit is the install limit, the rest is easy and you should be able to play no problem.

there were 2 serials tho, right?
1 to install the game (standard ea one - mass_effect_code.exe)
and
2. the actual activation key..

while the crack does remove the activation (which is why it was removed), the game can still check but it'd have to check with using the securom code, which is effectively null and void for this instance, so it can't really check.. the fact you can't quick save is definately an indication that the crack is bad.. on mine i could practically save anywhere (though, truth be told, i haven't played that much due to (as you say) real world commitments) :(, might get some time over the weekend hopefully...

what you could do (if you have time) is to see if you can quick save when using the uncracked exe, and your legit serial, then you'll know 100% if things are bad or not.. for me, im not willing to take the risk... activation was painless and im not really willing to risk save game / data corruption by testing a crack that lots of people claim is bad

After reading a lot of info here and there about this game protection I conclude that:
After initial activation (after installation) of the game you no longer need to re-activate it UNLESS you download new game content.
sometimes it's hard to explain this bold part to some people.

I just got my UK copy today while on a trip to ASDA and it's on 2 x DVD9 discs, Disc 1 contains English and Spanish while Disc 2 contains French, German and Italian languages.

Installation took a while but Activation was quick and painless, and part of my serial code had the letters DRM in it :)

In fact, activation was just a question of letting it connect to the internet and then the game loads like any other, so I can't see why people need be concerned as I don't need the disc in the drive to play either!

Now I need to play it for while!

Yep can confirm that what Barry Said.

Was easy activation took less than a second and was playing, unfortunately it has little crashes here and there while in cutscenes and talking to NPC's.

But loving the game :)

Not had any crashes yet Dab! Got as far as the Citadel and done a few assignments and got admitted as a Spectre and no crashes.

One thing I'm not sure of, do all the entries in your Codex have speech accompanying them as some do and some don't?

Just going to fire it up now while watching the MotoGP.

Just Primary has speech.

But ive done most of the non missions, trying to find all the ores. Especially the Thorium ore, WoW sure gets about into other games lol

DAB, it's better that the collectible missions to be done at higher levels. You get around 3K creds per scan at level 30, and I guess you take loads of money later on after you do the first three story missions on Therum, Noveria ans Feros.

Well, had my first crash :O

Was doing Schells mission on the Quasar machines and got somekind of rendering error? Not had one since but all speech in Flux's bar doesn't play!!

Currently doing some of the missions you pick up by decrypting lone terminals in Citadel, no crashes yet, but methinks it needs a patch to fix sound//speech bugs!

I had to turn down my Particle Effects in the options from High to Medium, so far no crashes yet, but a bug when a lift wouldnt move.

Yeah, but....

The main missions give you alot more money per kill in the missions themselves.

I did Noveria last night and was getting about 4k per kill at level 25. Bloody hard mission though lol

Actually I'm about to hit Noveria. Until now I was only on Therum to pick up Liara. And I've solved an enormous amount of sidequests which brought me to the ridiculous level 32. And i still have Noveria, Feros and Virmire to do, plus the side missions you pick up on those planets.
Also I think the main mission it's giving you the most of Paragon/Renegade points. But doing Rogue VI sidemission allows you to acces the next basic class for your chracter.
Adept gets Bastion or Nemesis, Soldier gets Commando or Shock Trooper. Don't know for othe other basic classes. Every class change offers you some nice bonuses along withe ones offered by the Spectre class.

Im living in Denmark but im orginally from Poland and it was there i buy my ME and they use safedisc there to protect ME so im forced to use DVD everytime i would like to play ME. Russians have Starforce i believe. SO we dont have the 3 times activation like you in US and other country, but are forced to use DVD everytime we play. And other funny thing, we cant use the patch or get BDTS because of diffrent copy protection, until our distributor (cd-Project) have time to get it converted to EU version, if they ever do it (since its free so they dont get money for it). So for us its not "only online activation". So i understand that i will be forced to use dvd since i dont think someone will bother to make crack for EU versions so our disc can " get a rest" in the box. Well thats how life is i guess :-)
So no more from me about the crack anymore or i guess i will be banned :-P
over and out

I was disappointed with BDTS it was only on 1 bloody system. Basically 1 huge mission.