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Off-Topic Discussion => Gaming Discussion => Topic started by: Scooby_Doo on October 17, 2006, 01:48:50 am

Title: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 17, 2006, 01:48:50 am
EECK even more reason to dislike EA.  :ick:

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=33&threadid=1944736&enterthread=y (http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=33&threadid=1944736&enterthread=y)
Quote
When you open the box, a big slip of paper falls out first, preceeding any discs or manuals. The slip of paper says, essentially, that 2142 includes monitoring software which runs while your computer is online, and records "anonymous" information like your IP address, surfing habits (probably via cookie scans), and other "computing habits" in order to report this information back to ad companies and ad servers, which generates in-game ads.
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Kosh on October 17, 2006, 02:22:25 am
Gaming forum!!!!!!!!!!!!
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Prophet on October 17, 2006, 02:42:55 am
Shut up about the gaming forum. Everyone deserve to know about corporate spyware piece of ****!
And I seriously doubt that the discussion will go in to games, but more in to corporate flaming.
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 17, 2006, 02:48:54 am
Sorry, I don't check the games forum much.. move it if you wish.

I can see it now.... flying around in freespace and on the terran cap ships theres banner ads pasted all over them like a nascar race car  :lol:
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Turey on October 17, 2006, 02:52:59 am
Sorry, I don't check the games forum much.. move it if you wish.

I can see it now.... flying around in freespace and on the terran cap ships theres banner ads pasted all over them like a nascar race car  :lol:

it's already started!

DEUS EX MACHINA HAS AN AD IN IT! (BOSCH BEER)
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 17, 2006, 03:05:23 am
Didn't Unreal tournament also have ads in to? But they at least fit in and were fake.
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: aldo_14 on October 17, 2006, 03:16:04 am
Anarchy Online IIRC had ads.  In a dingy, post apocalyptic future, the only clear shiny thing was.... televisions showing alienware ads.  And I think similarly-sci fi shooter Planetside had Fanta billboards amongst others.
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: BlackDove on October 17, 2006, 03:22:42 am
Yeah but they disappear in AO when you start paying per month.
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 17, 2006, 03:23:25 am
Yuck  :ick:


Now imagine it spying on your computer and posting ads designed for you.
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Prophet on October 17, 2006, 03:24:45 am
I don't mind ads, if they fit in and/or are fake. Like in Tachyon, in the arena. :D
But in this case its just damn waste of system resources. Not to mention the frigging bug snooping trought your computer. And, isn't this game supposed to be about futuristic warfare? Doesn't sound very appealing to have a APC with Gatorade ads in the sideskirts. :wtf:

Not that I ever plan to buy this game, or even try it. Not my thing really. But I care about it if it starts spreading.
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: aldo_14 on October 17, 2006, 03:26:53 am
Yuck  :ick:


Now imagine it spying on your computer and posting ads designed for you.

They had that in SWAT4; the 2nd patch or so added ads (yes, that dingy criminal garage has an actual advert for a niche sci-fi show on tomorrow, perfectly pristine against a grimy tattered wall!), but it also recorded how long the crosshair - i.e. view - lingered on the advert space and sent it back.  Absolutely reprehensible, IMO; if they're going to put in ads then make the ****ing thing free (which would make AO not as bad, albeit still ludicrously atmosphere breaking).

I don't mind ads, if they fit in and/or are fake. Like in Tachyon, in the arena. :D
But in this case its just damn waste of system resources. Not to mention the frigging bug snooping trought your computer. And, isn't this game supposed to be about futuristic warfare? Doesn't sound very appealing to have a APC with Gatorade ads in the sideskirts. :wtf:

You say that, but just wait for the pan-American Pepsi - Coca Cola war.
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 17, 2006, 03:35:33 am
Also what happens when you do a spyware check on your computer and delete these, does BFG stop working?
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 17, 2006, 03:37:08 am
Doesn't sound very appealing to have a APC with Gatorade ads in the sideskirts. :wtf:

 :lol: you know I'd kinda like to see that
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Turey on October 17, 2006, 03:40:17 am
Also what happens when you do a spyware check on your computer and delete these, does BFG stop working?

no, BFG just re-installs it from the internet, along with as much gay porn as the game can fit onto your machine.
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: IPAndrews on October 17, 2006, 03:48:59 am
Well this is a sad development isn't it :(. Remember guys. It doesn't matter that you enjoy the game. You're just there to make them money  :yes:.
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: aldo_14 on October 17, 2006, 03:56:07 am
Also what happens when you do a spyware check on your computer and delete these, does BFG stop working?

no, BFG just re-installs it from the internet, along with as much gay porn as the game can fit onto your machine.

Ah, like the Spartans.
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Sarafan on October 17, 2006, 12:37:39 pm
Copied from the thread I made at gaming, didnt knew someone had already posted her. Anyway

Simply saying the game comes with spyware, and the only warning of this is inside the box, as if that is not enough, if you dont the spyware in your machine the only option they give you is that you dont install the game. Great move, EA, great move.  I shudder at the prospect of C&C3 having this.

The damming proof:

http://www.mektek.net/forums/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=44413
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Flipside on October 17, 2006, 12:47:09 pm
What annoys me is that EA will get paid for those ads in much the same way as the Google ads. So not only are the people giving them money for the game, they are also paying for the right to earn EA yet more money. Personally, I'd be tempted to sue them for loss of income ;)
Title: Re: BFG2142 players Heads Up
Post by: Fineus on October 17, 2006, 01:33:12 pm
I've moved this over to the games and gaming forum, but thanks for pointing this out Scooby :)
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Sarafan on October 17, 2006, 02:43:39 pm
With ads in the game would you people just imagine the possibilities?

The shivan fighter swarming the GTVA fleet positions in Capella, wave after wave of shivan craft throwing themselves at the battered defenders, where hundreds fall to the flak and anti-figther beams, 200 take their place, seeming unstopable, when suddenly the situation becomes more dire when the first Sathanas jumps in, the crews of the GTVA ships know their deaths are upon them and fight valiantly till the end. As the Sathanas power its beam to crush an allied cruiser, its crew marvels at the beast looming over them, its scythe ready, when they see the truth that had escaped them for so long writen in their nemesis face:


MENTOS, THE FRESH MAKER! :yes:

JOIN NOW! ALL THE COOL KIDS ARE DOING!






The sheer horror!
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: TrashMan on October 17, 2006, 02:55:15 pm
God save us! :shaking:
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Sarafan on October 17, 2006, 03:37:27 pm
http://www.totalbf2142.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4490

For any who understand more, can you tell if the list at the 2nd page are the spywares in it? Because if they are, holy ***!
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Sarafan on October 17, 2006, 03:47:13 pm
It can be worse, wait till we actually get "this kill was sponsored by Pepsi!" messages onscreen.
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: CP5670 on October 17, 2006, 03:54:14 pm
heh, I happened to post in that original thread yesterday.

As I said there, I don't care about BF2142 specifically but we're likely to see this crap in other EA titles like Crysis and C&C3. Although there are generally third party hacks available to remove stuff like this, in which case I don't need to worry about it.
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 17, 2006, 04:08:00 pm
Unless EA starts validating data files, which could screwup the hacked files.
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Fineus on October 17, 2006, 05:05:34 pm
Unless EA starts validating data files, which could screwup the hacked files.
Isn't that what PunkBuster does for online play?
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Ulala on October 17, 2006, 05:30:08 pm
What little interest I had in acquiring this game is now very much long gone.
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: phreak on October 17, 2006, 05:53:21 pm
This is probably going into C&C 3 too :/
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Unknown Target on October 17, 2006, 07:44:29 pm
I think SWAT 4 had a hack like three days after release that removed the ads.
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Tyrian on October 17, 2006, 09:14:35 pm
The sad part is this is the direction all games are going in.  It's like buying Happy Meals.  It'll be all advertising, with this teeny game inside. 

As if StarForce wasn't bad enough...

*Runs because I probably just opened the Gates of Hell*
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: asyikarea51 on October 18, 2006, 01:28:22 am
This (tooot) is going to be in NFS Carbon too.

Great. Just great.

http://www.massiveincorporated.com/site_network/pr/08.31.06.htm

Third paragraph.
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: aldo_14 on October 18, 2006, 03:24:20 am
I think SWAT 4 had a hack like three days after release that removed the ads.

Editing the hosts file to stop it accessing the massive network address, I believe.  But I'm not sure how well this would work for an inherently online game, and even if you block the sending, it doesn't stop the fact that this ****ing thing is sitting there monitoring you and using up resources.
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Tyrian on October 18, 2006, 12:09:57 pm
Would it be possible to kill the spyware by hacking out its registry keys, but leaving the spyware itself intact?  I had problems getting Norton off my machine when I converted to Panda, so I hacked out Norton's keys and it solved all the problems.  Whould the same solution work here?  (Assuming the spyware has registry keys...)
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 18, 2006, 02:48:34 pm
This also assumes the game exe doesn't take care of the spyware exe, like fixing up registery errors (assuming it has any entries).  I suppose I shouldn't talk... might be giving them ideas  :nervous:
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 18, 2006, 05:37:59 pm
Just skimming through anandtech it looks like you may need to uninstall windows security patch KB917422 to run BF2...
WTF?!?! Ya.... lets make my computer less secure   :P
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Vasudan Admiral on October 19, 2006, 08:23:13 pm
What a paranoid lot you are :p

http://forums.easports.com/mboards/thread.jspa?sls=3&tstart=0&threadID=133500&lkey=RTS20gdYFpyRIF4PCmaMVAAAKDw


Edit: And here's another interesting read on the subject: http://au.gamespot.com/pc/action/battlefield2142/news.html?sid=6160062
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Nix on October 20, 2006, 12:59:30 am
This here just shows that EA is all about BUSINESS.  They don't care about gamers or developers, they just want thier big sellers (NFS, BF, Anything from Maxis) to keep making money.  Watch, there will be a "required" Sims 2 patch now, and those who have an always-on internet connection will be greeted with advertisements during the loading screens.  Oh crap I better shut my big fat mouth!
 :nervous:
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142/NFSC Players Heads Up (Spyware)
Post by: asyikarea51 on October 20, 2006, 01:37:07 am
Speaking of Sims 2, has anyone looked up NFS: The Island or Sims 2: Island? Or whatever they're called?

Carbon isn't even out and... well whatever.

As for hosts file... anyone know the hosts linking to IGA? If I remember correctly, it's IGA=BF2142, Massive=NFSC... =X
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: IPAndrews on October 20, 2006, 02:47:50 am
You guys are too negative. This is gonna be great for:

Quote
keeping the advertising fresh and relevant for gamers
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 20, 2006, 04:23:46 am
It's still spam, just disguised as a sheep. I don't want to buy DVD's that have commerical interruptions, even if their up-to-date.  Besides a $50 mod shouldn't have ads in them.. unless EA thinks it's really worth $80  ::)
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: aldo_14 on October 20, 2006, 04:27:53 am
It's still spam, just disguised as a sheep. I don't want to buy DVD's that have commerical interruptions, even if their up-to-date.  Besides a $50 mod shouldn't have ads in them.. unless EA thinks it's really worth $80  ::)

If they did, they'd be charging $100 for it.........

EDIt; oh, and don't forget you need to uninstall a windows security update (http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3154527) to run it, too.  I love PC gaming................
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: KappaWing on October 21, 2006, 05:03:43 pm
Personally, I never use windows security updates in the first place. I dont even use SP2. Just use FireFox, browse with sense, be careful on LimeWire, and youll be fine, and yes, my computer is completley and totally free of spyware adware and viruses.

This ad-placement thing is total bullshot. What annoys me most is it delivers dynamic advertising. Now i dont care if they know my IP or not, but leeching my heavily paid for internet connection and my system resources is a nono. I will make a point of pirating and not buying EA games in the future, since, of course, BF2142 IS an awesome game.
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Tyrian on October 21, 2006, 07:08:20 pm
Unless EA starts validating data files, which could screwup the hacked files.
Isn't that what PunkBuster does for online play?

Yeah, it validates files using MD5 checksums.

Personally, I never use windows security updates in the first place. I dont even use SP2. Just use FireFox, browse with sense, be careful on LimeWire, and youll be fine, and yes, my computer is completley and totally free of spyware adware and viruses.

What sort of virus protection do you have?
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: KappaWing on October 21, 2006, 09:27:03 pm
Unless EA starts validating data files, which could screwup the hacked files.
Isn't that what PunkBuster does for online play?

Yeah, it validates files using MD5 checksums.

Personally, I never use windows security updates in the first place. I dont even use SP2. Just use FireFox, browse with sense, be careful on LimeWire, and youll be fine, and yes, my computer is completley and totally free of spyware adware and viruses.

What sort of virus protection do you have?

Ad Aware for adware/spyware and AVG AntiVirus for viruses, although they never detect anything cuz I dont get stuff in the first place lol.
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 21, 2006, 10:09:28 pm
Well I've gotten a virus warning alert from a banner ad from photobucket.
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Flipside on October 21, 2006, 10:12:35 pm
Yup, .jpgs can carry an exploit, due to the way Windows reads them. I remember an article about it some time ago.
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 21, 2006, 11:05:39 pm
Mine was a WIN32.IMG-WMF.u exploit..

It's sad when JPGs can even carry viruses  :ick:
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Tyrian on October 22, 2006, 10:28:02 am
M$ released a patch to fix the .jpg sploit.  I assume it works... :rolleyes:
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: KappaWing on October 22, 2006, 11:57:53 am
M$

*snip*

I assume it works... :rolleyes:

 :lol:
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Mongoose on October 22, 2006, 04:12:32 pm
Regarding the whole issue, let's ignore whether or not the software in question is "spyware" for a moment.  Has anyone actually seen screenshots of these ads in-game?  I have, and they look utterly  obnoxious and annoying. We're talking 30-foot-tall Coca-Cola ads in what appears to be a bombed-out post-apocalyptic future.  Just asinine.   Now,  I had no plans to buy this game in the first place, but seeing screenshots like that would just about quash any desire I would have had.

I've heard people mention the fact that ads are everywhere in real life, and that we should have no trouble "ignoring" them.  But isn't the whole point of playing games to get away from "real life" in the first place?  What's the point of escapism if you're presented by billboards everywhere you look?  I already do as much as is physically possible to avoid looking at ads in my daily life; I'll never sit through a whole commerical block without muting it/flipping away during it, I use the Adblock extension liberally, and hell, I've even ripped mattress ads out of the Sunday paper's comic section. The only way I'd subject myself to ads in games is if they were actually in a context where reality would be represented, such as the little banners around a sports arena.  (Can you even picture a NASCAR game without advertising? :p) Other than that, EA can keep its crap to itself, and I'll gladly go on ignoring their products.
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Scooby_Doo on October 22, 2006, 05:16:53 pm
The only ad i really look forward are the black friday ones  :D
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: KappaWing on October 22, 2006, 08:20:52 pm
Don't IGNORE their products, PIRATE them! :arrr:
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Flipside on October 22, 2006, 09:15:47 pm
I must admit, I did laugh at one of the guys on the BF Forums trying to claim that EA had to pay to support the game and write patches etc....

I wonder if they actually stopped and thought about that for one minute. We have to pay for them to release patches that fix problems with their software that we have already paid for.....:wtf:
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Vasudan Admiral on October 22, 2006, 09:45:08 pm
Quote from: Mongoose
Has anyone actually seen screenshots of these ads in-game?  I have, and they look utterly  obnoxious and annoying. We're talking 30-foot-tall Coca-Cola ads in what appears to be a bombed-out post-apocalyptic future.  Just asinine. 
That would be kinda difficult considering that the ads have not yet been turned on. :p
What you saw was most likely photoshoped - it's been done numerous times on the planet battlefield forums, some jobs better than others, some being jokes and some being flamebait.

I just can't believe how much moaning is going on over the ads though - splinter cell chaos theory had them, but they are integrated so well that you just don't care about them. I asked two friends of mine what they thought of them, and they just went "...there were ads in it?" Didn't harm the game in the slightest.
Now, I don't really like EA for many reasons, but ingame ads in 2142 is not one of those reasons. It's just a great game with what has to be one of the whiniest overall communities on the net. :p

Quote from: KappaWing
This ad-placement thing is total bullshot. What annoys me most is it delivers dynamic advertising. Now i dont care if they know my IP or not, but leeching my heavily paid for internet connection and my system resources is a nono. I will make a point of pirating and not buying EA games in the future, since, of course, BF2142 IS an awesome game.
Errm, somehow I think that just connecting to a server and playing a round is going to use up more bandwidth than a couple of images and an IP address in transit would. Heck, just loading this forum page probably uses up more, no?
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Ulala on October 22, 2006, 10:40:50 pm
I think the ads in SCCT were simply for other EA games, such as Prince of Persia, located in the movies and games section of the movie theatre/mall map or some such thing. That is, if I'm remembering correctly...

And I don't know why you'd want to pirate BF2142 since you wouldn't have a key to play it online. Bots are great and all.. but meh. Maybe if I lived at a LAN party..
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: asyikarea51 on October 22, 2006, 11:23:07 pm
I suddenly remember the days when I had to make do with a 33.6k connection.

How I managed to play TFC in a Pentium 1 in a server on the other side of the globe while having less than 100 ping is is beyond me.

 :sigh:

I'm not into online gaming. Dang features that (I think) they're making compulsory in NFSC... I don't need the world to know my stats (or spy on my cars :nervous:) when it's obvious that there's someone waaay better out there... and then there's still the ads, the ads, and the ads. And now I start seeing the phrase 'video ads'? Bangwal. Bandwidth... hard-disk... :shaking:

Still contemplating if I should pay legal money for NFSC (that Koenigsegg is tempting), or boycott it...

Me lacking any reasonably new/properly-coded/arcadey racing game for home play, but then again NFSC is just a repolished MW. Which is bound to grow old really fast. IMO the advantage of owning a crappy comp that lags even on the lowest graphics settings: it's much easier to see that it's just a polish and not a 'very new' game.

(I know this is a BF2142 thread, but still...)
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: Mongoose on October 23, 2006, 12:13:41 am
That would be kinda difficult considering that the ads have not yet been turned on. :p
What you saw was most likely photoshoped - it's been done numerous times on the planet battlefield forums, some jobs better than others, some being jokes and some being flamebait.
Damn Photoshoppers, making me look stupid.  I don't need any help with that, thank you very much! :p
Title: Re: Battlefield 2142 Players Heads Up (BF2142 + Spyware)
Post by: CP5670 on October 23, 2006, 01:41:18 am
I think the ads in SCCT were simply for other EA games, such as Prince of Persia, located in the movies and games section of the movie theatre/mall map or some such thing. That is, if I'm remembering correctly...

SCCT was actually published by Ubi, not EA. I never saw any ads in it (at least in the singleplayer mode) despite playing through it twice, although I think that was simply because my firewall was blocking out their ad server. :D