GameBanshee Forums

Well then again, a lost manual is found quite often.....or at least I hope so, otherwise I'd feel real stupid.

Bootleg copies are certainly possible.

You're not, @Underdog. I regularly read manuals, especially if they're as long and involved as BG2's. I figure they were made that way for a reason, and it probably involved playing the game well, and having more fun as a result.

I also have to wonder how much the bootleggers are costing Interplay, especially in Asia, where the problem is endemic. Apparently, Interplay is having severe financial difficulties. Bootlegging their games won't help the prognosis for future games from them.

Even if people are bootlegging copies you can always print out the .pdf which is a complete set of the rules so signs would then point to laziness. However, allow me to interject another theory. Perhaps some of these people with common rules questions are not scholars to the realm of PnP DnD. Some parts of the manual do seem to be written with an intutitve understand of original DnD rules.

Does any know why Interplay is having all this financial trouble? I see bootleg copies as one source of trouble, but the shear number of good games they've put out would have to cause some prosperity.

I don't think BG2 bootlegging is a major problem, it would take a lot of time to do it. And you would need all 4. What I would like to see more of in games is the computer asking for a bit of information from the manual. For example the Definition of Lawful good can be found on page X.

Originally posted by Ned Flanders:
<STRONG>Even if people are bootlegging copies you can always print out the .pdf which is a complete set of the rules so signs would then point to laziness. However, allow me to interject another theory. Perhaps some of these people with common rules questions are not scholars to the realm of PnP DnD. Some parts of the manual do seem to be written with an intutitve understand of original DnD rules.</STRONG>

@Ned, in surfing the Web I've encountered a couple of warez sites, and they're also regularly giving away items up on ICQ. Once, I tried downloading a new game (in fact, one I'd just finished reviewing for a magazine), to see what would happen. The game arrived as a single zipfile. it only contained the game; no readme, no pdf or docfiles, as in the original--plus a big advertisement for the warez group who produced it.

Assuming that delivery mechanism is typical (and I don't know that it is), lacking the docs while playing off a pirated copy is still within the realm of possibility.

code wheels just encourages the use of photocopying machines

code wheels just encourages the use of photocopying machines

... and not only that, as any half-decent cracker or warez outfit can isolate the program instructions within the software application itself so that no matter what you enter, it always believes you are correct!

The result: users of warez/cracked copies don't have to bother while we legitimate consumers/supporters have to put up with the frustration and pain of going through the whole rigmarole each time! Sigh!

Like our good friend Underdog, just say "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Well, in my case my manual was written in Thai so I really had no idea what some of these things are, as far as some of my queries are concerned (esp those new stuff introduced in ToB). But being a "D&Der" since the time of Gary Gygax back in the early 80's, I didn't have much of a problem on "how things are being done" in the game. If anything, I used the tutorials provided in the game itself.

Yeah, sad to say, piracy is a dime a dozen in this part of the world .

One can even get the 4-disc set of SoA for US$13.30 / 10 pounds (UK)!

My discs are all legit since I did not want to risk having to buy defective ones that may even ruin my pc. Some are even said to contain nothing at all! (Well, sweet justice there... serves them right for buying pirated discs). Using bootlegged stuff is not very much recommended (if you are the stingy kind of person) since you risk harming your own original software and/or hardware.

Then of course, there is always the moral concept of paying the man his dues. It really doesn't sound right for others making money out of your hard-earned efforts when all they have to do is copy!

Nuff said...

Forum Rules:

#2 - Questions or ideas that deal with illegal activities, including any post related to software piracy, will be removed immediately and you'll lose all posting privileges.

@Veh's right, and I must shoulder some of the blame for edging the discussion in that general direction. Let's halt the piracy conversation, and return to other matters.