[kalnaren]

Bleh, I won't touch anything made by EA anymore simply because of SecuROM. I don't care what they say it does or does not do; it completely foobars an otherwise stable system by installing a bunch of undisclosed drivers, codecs, and virtual devices that's a nightmare to get rid of. I'm sorry EA, but there are other companies out there making far better games WITHOUT treating legit customers like pirates.

[Stormkeeper]

RA3 uses DRM, which, iirc, is different from SecuROM. While it is somewhat irritating, at least you can free up one of your 'installs' when you uninstall the game from your system.

Besides, lots of games use different types of copy protection, and the measures are only gonna get stricter because of the amount of money publishers and studios lose to pirates every year.

[CP5670]

No, it's Securom, and the limited activation variety to make things worse.

Just get a crack and forget about it. I use them on any game with intrusive DRM. A lot of games even work fine online with the cracks as long as you have a valid CD key. Make sure to install the crack before opening the original game exe though, as that is what installs the Securom driver.

[Spicious]

SecuROM is an implementation of DRM, which is essentially any system that ensures that you (the end user) have no digital rights. For some reason they always seem to be a poorly coded drain on system resources too.

[Stormkeeper]

Just get a crack and forget about it. I use them on any game with intrusive DRM. A lot of games even work fine online with the cracks as long as you have a valid CD key. Make sure to install the crack before opening the original game exe though, as that is what installs the Securom driver.

I really don't see the point in using a crack since you have the original game. And since you can free up your activations once you uninstall RA3, having to use a crack seems ... I dunno, unnecessary.

[CP5670]

Just get a crack and forget about it. I use them on any game with intrusive DRM. A lot of games even work fine online with the cracks as long as you have a valid CD key. Make sure to install the crack before opening the original game exe though, as that is what installs the Securom driver.

I really don't see the point in using a crack since you have the original game. And since you can free up your activations once you uninstall RA3, having to use a crack seems ... I dunno, unnecessary.

The point is to avoid getting the Securom kernel mode driver loaded on your system, which is essentially a form of malware. Anything that blacklists programs and secretly tracks hardware changes has no place on my machine.

There are also a number of cases where a cracked version of a game runs noticeably faster, both with loading times as well as framerates, than the original, Securom infested version.

Also, you have to actually uninstall the game to get the activation. Imagine a situation five years in the future where you want to format your hard drive, but have to manually uninstall 30 games to get the activations back. It would be a massive waste of time.

[Stormkeeper]

The point is to avoid getting the Securom kernel mode driver loaded on your system, which is essentially a form of malware. Anything that blacklists programs and secretly tracks hardware changes has no place on my machine.

There are also a number of cases where a cracked version of a game runs noticeably faster, both with loading times as well as framerates, than the original, Securom infested version.

Also, you have to actually uninstall the game to get the activation. Imagine a situation five years in the future where you want to format your hard drive, but have to manually uninstall 30 games to get the activations back. It would be a massive waste of time.

I see your points.

[Colonol Dekker]

Finished the Rusky and Allied campaigns, i don't like Tanya, she's not "RA2 Tanya" Enough for me.... Her Cha-Ching, and Shake it baby don't stir me in the same way...

Also the Hollyoaks bird / Eva .....  is no good. Russian Eva equivalent and Blonde Russian Co-Commander however are vrey much appreciated. In a non-sexist or Bigoted way


I've yet to start the Empire Campaign but Yuriko Omega kicked my butt on the

Spoiler:

Emperor assasination mission (one of my favourites )

Her powers are a bit freaky but i look forward to seeing how the Veritech Mecha Tengu handle

[Stormkeeper]

Spoiler:

Emperor assasination mission (one of my favourites )

I know. One of my favorites too. ;D

Spoiler:

Did you rescue the conscript and his bear?

[Colonol Dekker]

Spoiler:

Nah...... Although they're my two favourite non-hero units in the game. Bless'em. I sniped everything with orbital drop instead

[Stormkeeper]

Ah. Well, I ...

Spoiler:

... went in guns blazing, levelled the Empire base and sent in Twinblades to evac the two heroes. They're heroes in my eyes!

[kalnaren]

Just get a crack and forget about it. I use them on any game with intrusive DRM. A lot of games even work fine on-line with the cracks as long as you have a valid CD key. Make sure to install the crack before opening the original game exe though, as that is what installs the Securom driver.

I really don't see the point in using a crack since you have the original game. And since you can free up your activations once you uninstall RA3, having to use a crack seems ... I dunno, unnecessary.

The point is to avoid getting the Securom kernel mode driver loaded on your system, which is essentially a form of malware. Anything that blacklists programs and secretly tracks hardware changes has no place on my machine.

There are also a number of cases where a cracked version of a game runs noticeably faster, both with loading times as well as framerates, than the original, Securom infested version.

Also, you have to actually uninstall the game to get the activation. Imagine a situation five years in the future where you want to format your hard drive, but have to manually uninstall 30 games to get the activations back. It would be a massive waste of time.

+1, not to mention stability. SecuROM is known to make an otherwise stable operating system have aneurysms. For example, people using the cracked Fallout 3 exec experience around 60% less crashes than those who are not. That's a lot of crashes solely because of the DRM software.

I also don't trust EA at all. They can tell you what it is they're doing with SecuROM and that it doesn't install this or that... it's BS. I'd love to baseline a system, then install an EA game and see exactly how many things it changes and installs.

[CP5670]

I've been playing this game for the last several days. So far, I have mixed impressions. The campaigns are fun and generally well designed. The cutscenes and campy atmosphere are quite hilarious (things like the time machine and Rushmore cannons, and the taunts you get from the enemy commanders). There are some nice touches like a short video for every unit and different accents for the Allied units, and the game pokes fun at old conventions of the series during the comical training missions.

The gameplay feels like a backward step from C&C3 in many ways. There are no upgrades, the resource system is dumbed down, veterancy has little effect on units and most of the alternate abilities require too much micromanaging to be useful in practice. The unit AI has a number of new problems, often being less alert than they should be at any setting, and they are prone to getting stuck or accidentally hitting each other when in large groups. The skirmish mode has only 6 players maximum and is limited to one AI personality, and the whole menu interface is sluggish and unresponsive.

The Soviet campaign was very easy, with only one mission that posed any real challenge. The Allied one is much more difficult and interesting. The Allies feel a bit underpowered in general, at least on the 1.04 version I'm using, and you're also up against much stronger opposition in their missions. The Kirov mission near the end was especially nice and felt like a classic C&C puzzle mission. The AI never rebuilds any structures you destroy, although the missions seem to take that into account and still provide a decent challenge. The friendly AI commander is pretty useless, but I found that he/she was rarely needed anyway.

I haven't played the Japanese campaign or any online games yet. It is a fun game overall, but unlike C&C3 I can't see myself playing it much beyond the singleplayer campaigns.

[Stormkeeper]

Well, its meant for human co-op, so the co-commanders are competent, but can have utterly random results. Its best and the most fun when you're playing with a human co-commander.

[IceFire]

In Kanes Wrath they had so many problems sorting out the resource system that I suspect they dumbed down the resource system for a reason.  Its still a pretty good system...and its not unlike how Blizzard's handled their resourcing system.  The collectors can still be easily harassed.

Secondary modes are heavily used online and using the hotkey is the best way to do it.  Even me...who is a bit slow manages to make use of the secondary modes.

At present its actually the Empire that is the weakest side.  It seems like Allies and Soviets are pretty evenly balanced but the Empir has received a few buffs in the past balance patch and they still aren't quite there yet.  I suspect the Tsunami tank will get a slight buff at some point.

[CP5670]

Well, its meant for human co-op, so the co-commanders are competent, but can have utterly random results. Its best and the most fun when you're playing with a human co-commander.

They send a continuous stream of weak units towards the enemy bases instead of amassing an army and frequently pull out of attacks, so they aren't really effective against anything.

The co-op might be fun to try out, although only the Allied campaign seems hard enough to justify a second player. The Japanese one is pretty easy too from what I've seen so far.

In Kanes Wrath they had so many problems sorting out the resource system that I suspect they dumbed down the resource system for a reason.  Its still a pretty good system...and its not unlike how Blizzard's handled their resourcing system.  The collectors can still be easily harassed.

They basically created those problems. KW's system originally worked well (it was identical to that of C&C3 and the previous games), but the patch messed up several things with it.

In RA3, it seems like you might as well hit the refinery instead of the collector in many cases, except when using terror drones.

Secondary modes are heavily used online and using the hotkey is the best way to do it.  Even me...who is a bit slow manages to make use of the secondary modes.

That might be more efficient, although I was referring to the nature of the alternate modes themselves. A few are nice but many of them require you to direct multiple units individually in order for them to be effective, which can be especially annoying given the AI pathfinding glitches in large groups.

[IceFire]

C&C3 had the same problems.  KW just culminated in it being worse.

Your problems with the enemy commanders weak stream of units would be solved if you gave them some orders using the control panel for co-commanders in the top left of the screen.  Tell them to amass units and then move on a target.  I usually try pincer movements and crush the enemy forces in between my co-commanders and mine.

[CP5670]

C&C3 had the same problems.  KW just culminated in it being worse.

Well, C&C3's system was identical to all the earlier C&C/RA games. It has always worked well for these type of RTSs and made it important to keep an eye on the harvesters.

Your problems with the enemy commanders weak stream of units would be solved if you gave them some orders using the control panel for co-commanders in the top left of the screen.  Tell them to amass units and then move on a target.  I usually try pincer movements and crush the enemy forces in between my co-commanders and mine.

I might have done this more often if you could tell them to attack a general area, but it only lets you target individual units. Once the AI is done with that unit, it goes back to its routine. I found that it was faster to just do everything myself. As I said earlier, only a few missions are hard enough to make the AI commander useful anyway.

[Stormkeeper]

Actually, you can order the AI to plan an attack on a location. I think its the blue(?) button in the order menu.

[IceFire]

Actually, you can order the AI to plan an attack on a location. I think its the blue(?) button in the order menu.

Ditto...I forget which button but you have two area effect orders. One orders them to secure and mass forces at the area and the other tells them to attack this general area.  The specific target command is useful but I rarely used it preferring the two other orders.