[SpardaSon21]

Like The E said, this system really depends on how dickish the publisher is feeling, and EA was feeling pretty dickish at that time.  What I don't like is that despite their newer games like ME2 and DA:O not having this system (an implicit acknowledgment that it has failed), they haven't gone back and patched it out from ME, Crysis: Warhead, Spore, and RA3.

[Klaustrophobia]

again, until someone directly confirms that they tried to get more activations and didn't, it's just an annoyance, not a travesty.  honestly i think they would have to, for fear of legal implications.

[SpardaSon21]

All those games come with an EULA which basically states you'll get whatever EA lets you have and nothing else.

Granted, EULA's are possibly unenforceable, but I'm not sure if that's ever come up in court.

[Klaustrophobia]

EULA isn't going to help them if someone challenges them with selling limited activations rather than the product itself with no indication of such.  you don't see the EULA until AFTER you've bought it.

[NGTM-1R]

Granted, EULA's are possibly unenforceable, but I'm not sure if that's ever come up in court.

It has, and they are.

[dragonsniper]

Voting is now closed. I'd like to thank those that took the time (all of 10 seconds to decide ) to vote and whatnot. If you have any other opinions, feel free to continue to comment. Just try to keep the discussion on track.

[Thaeris]

You know, not being able to remove/change a submitted vote was a problem I had with this thread...

Unfortunately that doesn't do much now... 

[Mikes]

Unreal Engine 3 has gone free (see UDK). (My own issue with UE3 would be that even the best UE3 mods seem to be deserted by players... , but with the Engine going free now and UnrealTournament 3 no longer being a requirement, maybe that will change)

There is talk about CryEngine 2 (i.e. the Engine behind Crysis) becoming free as well. Also worth mentioning is that Crysis is the basis of what i consider to be the most incredible mod of the decade. To see what's possible, check this out: http://www.mechlivinglegends.net/ ... amongst other things, one of the maps is a large rotating asteroid, with lakes that freeze over/melt depending on whether the side you are on currently faces the sun.

Might want to take a look at this again. If DRM played a huge part in this vote then it has become nill and void, because there isn't any DRM in either engine after they go free With Source Engine you still need to own a source game and install it as a mod and as good as Source is, it really is showing its age by now... with free UDK and hopefully soon to be free Cryengine 2 you would get a more up to date engine and the game/mod could be a standalone download too.

I also don't see Crysis system requirements as a huge issue... back in the day i played it on a AMD dual core with an Nvidia 8800 GTS 640mb in 1280x1024 with all high settings in DX9 just fine and it looked just amazing.
Sure, if you want ALL the eye-candy and set it to "highest" in DX10 and want to play in 1920x1200 HD too then yeah, you need beefier hardware...  but the engine as such scales quite well and still looks amazing on even a 500-600 $ PC if its built at least somewhat well.

[dragonsniper]

You know, not being able to remove/change a submitted vote was a problem I had with this thread...

Unfortunately that doesn't do much now... 

Just post the engine change that you wanted. It's basically the same.

[Thaeris]

In that case, I'd go with the Unreal 3 engine. Being free, this will allow more people to use your development. It will also potentially allow more people to get involved with your project without having to make an expenditure.