Borderlands DLC FTL

[The Mighty Gerbil]

The zombie island of Dr. Ned DLC has been released on steam and while I suspected it would cost money it includes Secure rom . I R filled with Gerbil rage! Why do you release a game without secure rom and then add it in DLC! From playing Borderlands I can't say I'm surprised as the Gearbox philosophy of game design seems to be random in quality control .

There is a polling thread someone started on the Gearbox forum about the secure-rom issue . (warning: Seems clean and constructive at the top but language may show up further down.)

From the listed content in the DLC, the original Borderlands bare bones content and videos of Dr Ned being Dr Zed with a mustache I expect the DLC to lacking in content worth even 9.99. Where are the new weapons it's like a no brainier that you get new weapons when the weapon system IS the only thing Borderlands does well!

Also Borderlands itself had an update today but they failed to put up exactly what was updating in the description as yet. There is even the POSSIBLITY of secure-rom having been added http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=18821855&postcount=9031 . Great now I can't even play the main game until I know (because I only updated it not executed it).

 

[Keero]

I would still buy it, only if it was cheaper though...

/holds out until Christmas deals

 

[ewoksrule]

Thats a bummer to hear. I am playing it on the 360 so I won't have to worry, myself. I am def picking up the DLC and there is a 2nd one coming on Dec 29th. They are adding storage now!!!

 

[Tek7]

The zombie island of Dr. Ned DLC has been released on steam and while I suspected it would cost money it includes Secure rom

That is epic fail.

My interest in Borderlands had already waned. This will likely be the last bit of information that leads me to skip purchasing the game altogether. There are too many great games not infected with SecuROM to pay cash money for software that only punishes legitimate users. (The warez version of Borderlands has SecuROM stripped out and allows pirates to play online multiplayer without any issues.)

Sounds like the Steam version of Borderlands may be the lastest software to fall victim to the evils of SecuROM. I heard Spore was a decent game, too, but I'm not willing to risk damaging my operating system for a single game.

 

[vibrokatana]

Borderlands was updated when the DLC hit the store. So I suspect the new content was automatically added. This is sorta like the extra gameplay modes discovered in Modern Warefare 2 that will show up as "downloadable content" sometime.

 

[Tek7]

I received Borderlands as a Christmas gift from Elihu earlier tonight and have read over some of the threads linked in earlier posts.

As grateful as I am for the gift, I'm wondering if there is a way to "return" Borderlands and get a different game (I'm thinking Dragon Age: Origins) instead.

If it's not possible to return the game, the only solution that would protect my computer from the SecuROM malware may be to download a version of the game with SecuROM stripped out.

EDIT: I've posted about my situation on the Steam forums. I copied and pasted the text and submitted it as a Steam support ticket as well.

 

[Odale]

So, if I understand this correctly..

1 - You buy Borderlands off Steam.
2 - You get an update and it installs the secuROM which was not originally with the software from steam.

I wish they'd make two patches for the game so people who got it off steam wouldn't have to worry about secuROM (I am assuming that's why they chose to forgo having a hard copy of the game...).

 

[The Mighty Gerbil]

So, if I understand this correctly..

1 - You buy Borderlands off Steam.
2 - You get an update and it installs the secuROM which was not originally with the software from steam.

It installs bits of secureROM for the main game via an automatic update. No one (steam, Gearbox, 2k) has confirmed or denied that secureROM is actually active when this happens. To my mind it probably isn't active it's just loading bits for the DLC. Thing is they neglected to put any patch notes when the patch occurred which is shady to say the least. Disregarding this the DLC has secureROM. It is foolish to change the rules after releasing the main game without it. I never would have bought the original game had I known I could never play the DLC so I feel quite shafted.

 

[Tek7]

I never would have bought the original game had I known I could never play the DLC so I feel quite shafted.

The moral of the story: Never buy another game published by 2K Games or developed by Gearbox ever again.

The irony is that some warez group will crack the DLC any day now and the pirates will be able to play the game without SecuROM while paying customers are punished with what is effectively malware.

Malware, short for malicious software, is software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. The expression is a general term used by computer professionals to mean a variety of forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code

Source: Wikipedia

Borderlands was a shoddy port to begin with. Now this. No wonder PC gamers are moving from PC to consoles. They're getting tired of being treated like trash rather than like paying customers.

 

[Tek7]

Well, Valve has refused to refund Elihu's money.

I'm going to look for a way to strip SecuROM out of the base game or otherwise circumvent it. I refuse to put SecuROM on my system.

 

[Odale]

Is there a way to not let it update?

You could always google ways to customize the game... after all, its paid for.

 

[vibrokatana]

Is there a way to not let it update?

No. Steam does a check to make sure the game is up to date before it allows it to launch.

You could always google ways to customize the game... after all, its paid for.

Most of those cases modify the executable. Which unless you know how to do it yourself adds a pretty big vector for getting a trojan or other virii installed if you download it from a 3rd party. Virus scanners act more like a blacklist then anything else and a small scale release like a crack isn't as likely to be caught and added.