PC Version Availability

[achtbarer]

Does anyone know whether the PC version of Dark Athena be available for distribution on Steam? (I am guessing yes because there are multiple other Atari games on steam, but I do not see it listed in the "coming soon" section)

Thanks ahead of time, will probably be a big decider on whether or not I pick this awesome looking game up for the PC or at a later point for the 360.

[Fluxx]

No idea at the moment Im afraid...:noooo:

Wouldnt you prefer a nice boxed copy anyway?......:mefiant:

[achtbarer]

Wouldnt you prefer a nice boxed copy anyway?......:mefiant:

I personally love the fact that I do not have to worry about discs, patching and I can stay in contact with my friends if I get it over steam.

Plus it helps the environment to reduce all that packaging waste that I would generate if I bought games in the box. ;)

I see that "Wheelman," another game by Tigon Studios is on the "coming soon" section of steam so perhaps there is hope for Dark Athena.

[Fluxx]

Theres also the chance it'll be available through the Atari store.......:respect:

[runeweaver]

I dont think people want the disk version of this game,the copy protection and 3 install limit has alot of people annoyed,very hard to find any game or shop forum that dosnt have 1 star reviews for this game on the pc and people saying avoid all atari products.
The only people who gain out of the copy protection are the companies that make the copy protection software itself.and the only people it hurts are the people who were going to buy it,and now probably wont.the pirates ***** games within days,the copy protection dosnt stop it.oh well guess il go back to my old xbox version of butcher bay.

[MBK1011]

that as it may be its certainly worked for this one, thus far the only cracks that have been released have been fakes/malware

so whilst MOST copy protection is flaud, the combination used for this game certainly atleast has the "scene" certainly temporarily, stumped. Which is all it takes to generate revenue as it means the pirates arent the 1st port of call for this game now, the shops are


Pat on the back to the person responsible for the idea behind the combination of copy systems for this game, even if they are a little over zealous. I am not a fan of limited installs, online activation/verification is fine, after all, it works for the steam platform. Obviously though a limit does need to be in place otherwise there wouldnt be much copy protection at all, but 3 is actually so low it could screw over regular users. That and if you dont release keys prior to formatting windows from other games that use a 3 install limit, you can never recover that instal without lengthy discussions with annoying scripted support teams that usually get you nowhere (not had any experience with atari recently though atari/metaboli were a pain to get a new TDU key from it must be said

[kalniel]

Additional activations for valid reasons are fine, and Atari stated they will remove the DRM at a later date.

[MBK1011]

i know you can get them, but basically it punishes the legitimate user, hence the backlash about limitation based DRM.

Still aslong as they remove it after peak sales (i assume thats the idea, unless it needs to be removed to encourage peak sales, a possibility) then all can be forgiven

Next step for atari is not staggering the release dates, this promotes piracy amongst the impatient (cant say i blame them), of course if the scene havent cracked it by eu release then no harm no foul really i suppose, creates a bit of a rush from the impatient i suppose

[runeweaver]

As for removing the install limit at a later date,too little too late,the damage has already been done,there are 92 1 star reviews on amazon.com and they are now appearing on amazon.co.uk all aimed at the drm protection.that will damage sales,not just the 92 who reviewed but all the others who read it and think it isnt worth the trouble of buying the game.
when people buy a game that want to own it,not feel like they are just renting it.and maybe if they are lucky nice mister atari will let them install it again another day. i was looking forward to this game,but il never buy a game with install limits.madred:

[Johan2]

I had completely missed that Atari got this severely DRM infected.

Too late, already bought it from them. However I really do hope that they will provide some tool to remove the DRM in the future, after say half a year to a year of it being out so that we can continue to enjoy the title in years to come as well.

As I've understood the DRM and copy protection world of today, DRM is mainly a tool for securing the crucial launch (the first 6 months) which is what will provide the bulk of the money to the coffers. After that, the financial harm of leechers isn't that severe to the bottom line, so the risk imposed on Atari by removing the DRM after a while I'd say is greatly offset by the customer satisfaction it would provide.

Satisfied customers buy more and I expect of Atari to stand good on their customer base in this regard and make me a happy Atari customer. I will likely be installing Athena on machines to come, even machines without internet connection (e.g. my laptop) and I'd very much appreciate being able to do so even when offline or after Atari has retired the title from their online service.

So my view on DRM and copy protection is that I understand the reason from the publisher's point of view and respect it. However I also require that the publisher understands and respect *my* needs, that I will be able to use the title in the future and on different machines. After all, >> I << bought a license to use it, not my current machine and so the title is licensed to >> me << and not some toaster.

For that reason I think it would be a reasonable compromise for both parties if the publishers were free to add DRM to a title the first couple of months, but in return that the publisher is required to release a tool or service which strips the DRM layer off after a certain amount of time (say half a year to a year?).

What do you guys think?

[kalniel]

I think you've got sensible views - this is what Atari said about the DRM:

OK guys, first I want to say thanks for being patient, now to get right to it.

There has been a lot of talk lately about DRM and how it was implemented in Riddick and there is a lot of misinformation being tossed around. I just wanted to get word out to you guys that we are listening to your concerns but I also wanted to let you know a few facts.

As of today only about 10% of all the Riddick PC games sold have been activated more than once.

One Riddick serial number alone had over 50,000 activation attempts, so people do try and pirate games.

Only four people have been unable to play on the PC due to DRM. In all cases the parties involved first tried to activate illegal serials. They were banned initially but then were manually unbanned when they purchased legal copies of the game.

DRM is not designed to keep you from playing the game, nor is it designed to combat any after market sales. After market sales for PC games are nowhere near what they are for console games anyway, aside from ebay, craigslist and yard sales I can’t even really think of anywhere to get used PC games.

I want to make it clear that there are people who are monitoring activations so if and when we get into an issue with people not being able to play that issue will be addressed. Should the case get so severe it effects a large portion of the gamers, more activations will be set in place as needed. Further down the line the DRM will be removed and a new unprotected exe will be released.

So to summarize if you buy Riddick legally on the PC we are going to do our best to make sure you can play it for as long as you want.
I hope this helps answer some of your questions / concerns.

[Johan2]

Excellent.

You've obviously given this a great deal of thought and tried to strike a balance between per-title revenue, the overall Atari bottom line and boosted sales from the fact that customers can feel they actually "own their games" (OK licensed to be correct, but for average Joe, first-sale doctorine is what is envisioned when buying a title) instead of just renting them.

The fear regarding DRMed material in general is that it is a technical mechanism to extend the reach of copyright law without any prior revision of the corresponding law, as per the rules of the judicial system. The mechanism allows the distributor to retain full control of the DRMed work, not just the copying of it and this freaks people out and causes a lot of anger.

The sentiment phrased a bit differently: "It's mine, I bought it, I do whatever I damn please with my own stuff and it's none of your business thank you very much!".

Now for this title in particular, I fail to see what other people judge to be so horrible compared to other titles on the market. In my view Atari has gone further than other parties in trying to strike a fair balance. The value proposition of Dark Athena meets my purchasing criteria at least:

1. Digital download (no need to drive 10 miles to a store to buy a redundant coaster)
2. DRM to be stripped in the future, allowing continued use (and "owning" the game as Joe sees it, same as in the -80ies and -90ies)
3. Demo available, so that Joe can evaluate the title before making a purchase decision.

Compare this with Steam for example. Any title I've "rented" from Steam will cease to work the minute Steam or the title's publisher goes belly up or decides to remove the title from the Steam repository (e.g. end-of-life or for some other business reason).

So the rest of you, what is it that you think Atari is missing for Dark Athena? I can't see it, but it must be very important to justify giving a 4-5 star game just a single star at Amazon for example.

[Hollywood_Bowl]

I'm looking for the dvd version of this game, but I can't find it anywhere! Both play.com and amazon.co.uk are not selling it. Does a standard retail version really exist?

[kalniel]

I'm looking for the dvd version of this game, but I can't find it anywhere! Both play.com and amazon.co.uk are not selling it. Does a standard retail version really exist?

Um, yes:

http://www.game.co.uk/PC/Action/FirstPersonShooter/~r339491/The-Chronicles-of-Riddick-Assault-on-Dark-Athena/

http://www.gamestation.co.uk/PC/Action/FirstPersonShooter/~r414349/The-Chronicles-of-Riddick-Riddick-Assault-on-Dark-Athena/

Amazon and play seem to have sold out temporarily.