X3 and "Steam"

Wednesday 26th July, 2006 · Posted by Roguey · Comment

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In the past couple of days, Egosoft has made X3 available though Value's "Steam". The Steam version of X3 is Star-force free, meaning there is no more harsh CD protection software.

However... The CD/DVD version of X3 which contains Star-force, will not be removed until "later this year" as quoted from Egosoft. Egosoft will also shut any subject which discusses Star-force.

Even star-force them-selves have been quoted of saying:

"The purpose of of copy protection is not making the game uncrackable - it is impossible. [...] After several months of sales even we recommend the publishers to release patches that remove the copy protection just to make the game play more comfortable to the customers."

Star-force is a very bad copy protection system, which only harms their customers. The effects can include from system instability, blue screens of death (BSOD), the slowing/failure of CD/DVD drives by reverting them to PIO mode and much more. The star-force protection software is not removed when you un-install the program/game either.

I am not a fan of Steam either. I feel that Steam is very controlling - forcing you to patch games, be in memory so can play your game, keeping a watchful eye and etc.

Egosoft should have removed star-force protection from their CD/DVD retail version also now. Offering a star-force free version only from "Steam" makes me feel that I shouldn't have bothered with X3 on CD/DVD. All most of us want is a version of X3 without all the hassle from Star-force. The "Steam" version of X3 is the version we all should have had when the game was first released. My opinions on Egosoft have lowered today.

Maybe you wont find these comments on most websites, however this isn't most websites.

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