Big "Thank You Stardock" for a great game

and for an exemplary handling of the piracy problem

from GalCiv2 Forums
I have to make a little confession to Stardock. First i have had a pirated version of GalCiv Gold downloaded on some site on the internet. I realized there is no copy-protection or need for an CD for playing the game.

The game turned out to be one of the most long-term motivating games i have and i really do appreciate such great work. So I decided to buy it besides having a fully functional version of it on my Harddrive.

With this I want to encourage you to continue this path in marketing. In my opinion piracy indirectly shows that the price/performance-ratio of most games (and music of course)is very bad. Would developers spend more energy into their games (your support is great) than more players would accept to pay for a product. I heard your game was very successful besides lack of copy protection, that proves to me, that i am not fully wrong with my assumption. Creating a strong product increases the gratification the thought of the actual "posession" of the game creates in the consumer. It is sometimes a very good feeling to actually have acquired a product. But this is only the case if the product can deliever the quality needed. Yours did. Thanks.


13,336 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I wouldn't say the game is totally free from copy protection since you need to activate it online. But, the system in place is far less intrusive and much more flexible than what game makers use. They also support the game and keep it fresh with updates and expansions. There's definitely a lot of value there.

Reply #2 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
No, as far as games are concerned in general, galactic civilisations has no coppy protection other then them only giving patches to people who have registerd. And as you need the internet for any patch I don't see it as coppy protection.

And yes. THANKS STARDOCK
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Reply #3 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Well, I suppose if you want to count Dread Lords 1.0, that would be true. But, I don't think it's noteworty considering the difference between the first and latest versions. Then there's Dark Avatar and Twilight of the Arnor. Those are not free from copy protection. But I'm not complaining. It's just great to have a game that doesn't install covert DRM drivers or require a cracked exe to play without a CD in the drive.

Reply #4 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Stardock is the best "game maker" that i have seen. I started gaming with CIV 1 and since then i have never seen someone take so much care in there games. Honestly i have played games that I like more then Galciv 2 but have never seen such honesty and commitment to the fanbase as I have seen with stardock. In fact, I think the only people I have seen that compare are Mod'ers that do this stuff for free (for the most part) and i love sid M but those seem like big company games now ... and gal civ 2 seems like a gamers game and for that .... i don't know... but i think i love these guys/gals. Anyway a big Thank you!

P.S. out of all the game forums that i have been to or lurked... this is the only game that i would call myself a fanboy ... and proud of it!!!

Edit: as far as the op... i have always bought and paid for stardock games... and regardless of pirate stuff ... how they do stuff now is how you make a name for yourself... and they are doing it but its from 4X so the word is slow ... but besides the FFH2 mod for Civ 4 I think gal civ 2 rules the 4X market (atleast as far as i am concerned).

Reply #5 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Well di55ec7ion what would you like - a pat on the back - a free parrot to go with your eye patch? You have just publicly admitted to a criminal offense and think that thanking the victim of that offense and finally getting around to actually paying them for their hard work after you have been illegally using their software (for how long?) makes it all OK. Are you going to send them the interest they would have made if you'd paid when you should have?

You also seem to be implying that it's OK to use stolen software (and music - and presumably films - how about cars, TV's, money ...) if it has copy protection and/or you don't like it?

As for "piracy indirectly shows that the price/performance-ratio of most games (and music of course)is very bad" - actually no - if it wasn't for theft in the first place developers wouldn't even need to consider whether or not to include copy protection. Yes, some companies have gone over-board in the implementation of copy protection and yes, this does detract from the time they could spend improving the game - but this all stems from the original crime.

It's not in taking the step of minimizing the copy protection in their games that Stardock get my praise - I just find it sad that it even needs to be considered.
Stardock gets my praise for the continued ongoing development and improvement (not just bug fixing) of the game based largely on user feedback.

No, sorry di55ec7ion, I wont be patting you on the back - stop stealing, turn yourself in to the police and face the punishment for your crimes - maybe then.
Reply #6 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I do not want to glorify piracy. It is a crime by the law of most countries and it is correct that it is. The products digital form does of course not legitimate stealing it.
I want to point at the fact that a game can be very succesful besides piracy - if the quality is right. Delievering quality rather than complicated copyprotections might be a better solution to the problem of piracy. Before I decide to buy a product i want to assure its worth the money. So I normally go into the next video store and rent it - totally legal. But the game is relatively rare in germany and theres only DL, not DA to my knowledge. So the internet seemed the fastest option to see if the game is worth its money. Yes, it is a crime do download coprighted software. I do not want to discuss this fact. Maybe just your and my weighting of it are a bit different. I downloaded the game to be fully able to test it. It proved to be very good, so i bought it. Buying a product after testing it is okay imho. Stardock delivered a great game and i wanted to remark that.

If you are offended by this - feel free to delete the thread.
Reply #7 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Buying after testing is a good principle - which is why you can download a full demo of the game from this very site - demo download which you can get to from the "Downloads" link on this page. Note that it is a demo of the Gold Edition too.

But the game is relatively rare in germany and theres only DL, not DA to my knowledge.
This is a simple question, which I honestly don't know the answer to - is there a problem purchasing and downloading (Stardock) games direct from this site in Germany - some technical or legal issue? If not then all that is restricted if the availability of the physical copy.

As to deleting the thread - I am just a humble game player and not connected to Stardock in any way. These are my opinions and I have no control over which threads get deleted.

This is an issue which annoys me personally and I fear I may have detracted from your original intent - congratulating Stardock on a great product. It is the "me" attitude which is sadly growing in society that I detest - "the rules (and even laws) are inconvenient to 'me' so I will choose to ignore them".
Reply #8 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

This is an issue which annoys me personally and I fear I may have detracted from your original intent - congratulating Stardock on a great product. It is the "me" attitude which is sadly growing in society that I detest - "the rules (and even laws) are inconvenient to 'me' so I will choose to ignore them".


I do not want to discuss the topic piracy. Piracy is illegal by law and i pointed out, why it os socially incorrect. I fully can understand your point of view.

I like getting philosophical - so i get a bit offtopic on this. The following does not apply to piracy, its a general thought of philosophical nature.

One question - who does make the "rules", the laws? Do you personally believe the politicians that make the rules of our society are free of the "me-attidude" as you call it? Money is influence and influence dictates politics. Do you think big corporations that spend huge amounts of money for elections are doing it for public good? No, in my opinion they try to influence politics by this way. That problem is universal to many countries, not just yours. Do the corporations act out of the "me-attidude" to rise their profits? I think they do.
I believe i as an individuum have the freedom to think by myself. I have enough confidence to say i am intelligent enough to weigh, if an action is correct or incorrect. So i critically observe the rules given by the authorities and judge their value. This is the principle of democracy - the public controlling the work of the authorities. The "me-attitude" is in a way a (maybe negative)consequence of our democratic principle. Democracy shifts the power to the individuum, encouraging it to bring in its own interests into the society. This is good, but it comes for the cost of bringing the different interests in competition with each other. So if your ability to chose by a free will is to any worth for you i suggest you to question the rules set by the authorities. In my eyes the laws are the rules set by the authorities. The name "law" does not necessarily contain its quality. In a democracy people are able to influence and change law and that is a value that should be protected.
Again i should state, that this does not apply to piracy laws. Software piracy is stealing the product of someone else and should be considered wrong of course - not only bcause its illegal by law. Maybe i should have written "i borrowed it from a friend" or something else, that would not have caused this. ;)
Sorry that ive got ab bit offtopic - maybe is a consequence of our history that we germans are a bit critical about following authorities. The last time we did it costed the lives of millions...
Reply #9 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Every version of Gal Civ (2, DA, TA) I've played has been a fantastic game, exceedingly well supported, lovingly crafted, with a responsive development team and top notch AI. There's nothing I can say that would overstate my affection for Stardock or this game franchise, period. And yes, the lack of intrusive copy protection is just one more mark in their favor.

Reply #10 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
di55ec7ion,

Living in a (truly) democratic society gives you the right - almost the obligation - to question the rules and laws of that society - and those who you elect to govern your society. It even gives you the right to protest and campaign to change those rules and laws you think are wrong - from simply changing your vote through to more vocal campaigns and even standing for office yourself. This is true no matter how intelligent you are - lets all point fingers at our favourite "stupid" politicians ;)

However, questioning and campaigning does not include choosing to ignore them because you do not agree with them. You are a member of a society and the rules and laws are there, in principle at least, for the good of the society as a whole. They are not there so that each individual can pick and choose those they think apply to them.

I am not naive enough to believe for one second that our governments are acting in a wholly (heck - even partly) altruistic manner and that they are uninfluenced by selfish and financial concerns. However, I choose to believe that because "they" are shafting me I do not have the right to try and shaft them. Why lower yourself to their level.

I realise we do not live in an ideal world but I don't have to like it and I don't have to fall in with the crowd and ditch my principles.

Oh, in case anyone thinks this all stems from some religious calling or even affiliation - I'm an agnostic.