Need to be a Mage in NWN1?

[Micah Foehammer]

Originally Posted by Calagari Also not to wonder off subject but I wanted to thank you for warning us on the secrom files on NWN2. I was going to buy it tomorrow until I read your post.

For what it's worth the number of folks having trouble with SecurRom is actually quite small. I haven't had ANY problem with it, and neither have any of my friends. As far as I know, neither has RTB. lol If that's the ONLY reason you are not buying NWN2 you might reconsider.

RTB, quit blaming Atari and blame the software pirates who make it necessary for companies to resort to those measures. If you want to really blame Atari for something throw a huge brick at their non-existant customer service!

[robertthebard]

I'd gladly blame pirates, if SecuROM did anything to even slow them down. It didn't. There was a hacked .exe available the day of release. As to the limited issues, one of the devs ran a non SecuROM exe for a test, and posted his results at the Bio boards. I think his results will surprise you. They did include improved load times, improved framerates, and some of the bugs that have been blamed on outside haks seemed to clear up, all by themselves.

Another point to order on SecuROM. It's made by Sony, the same people that brought you a custom made hacker's back door.

As posted by Sblade on Atari's official forum:

The SSECDLL miniport services is as they say a Minicom driver. The only purpose of virtual I/O communications like this is to setup Virtual RS232 serial ports. Or a virtual communications device that acts like another NIC (Network interface Card). An unopposed NIC with the outside world is very dangerous. No application is monitoring it as we know Securom prevents monitor applications like Process Explorer. This NIC can be easily exploited by 3rd parties software. The situation gets worse with the RING0 access of the device. This Minicom driver is replicating hardware. (I think to update itself and for activation issues) Usually the NIC is visible in a Firewall or a Router. But in virtual devices there are many ways to stealth this. We learned this from Daemon. Given that we are not seeing vast logs of unknown communications being posted around the net, this would suggest it is using a stealth method. (Possibly a byte trickler) which are very difficult to catch and block. Gator adware is a good example of a trickler. I know that MOTB will include Securom, but I really hope it is not the same Securom used in Bioshock: http://www.joystiq.com/2007/08/24/jo...cess-and-harve http://www.twitchguru.com/2007/08/27/bioshock_drm/ http://www.pcgamer.com/ read the 22/08/07 and above.. A full thread of congratulations to 2k http://forums.2kgames.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6696 BattleApple, I would appreciate if you can dig if Atari plans to release Standard Securom (the NWN 2 Securom) the Activated Securom or no Securom at all. Cause if MOTB get the activated Securom I might think buying a 360.

As you can see from this, SecuROM is far from harmless. I would think you would know that I don't make random arbitrary decisions to be against something. I would have a reason. First and foremost, I don't want any software produced by Sony on my computer. They have no regard for customer hardware, and have already paid out settlements for their last rootkit. Can you explain to me why SecuROM needs Ring0 access to my computer?

Can you also explain to me why, this software that was installed without my knowledge, or consent, does not uninstall with the game? I'd really like to know what business it has remaing on my computer when the software it's designed to protect is removed. It's not like it won't install if I reinstall the game. Unless, of course, there are a limited number of times I'm allowed to install it, as 2K Games did with Bioshock? A decision that they have backpedalled on, BTW.

ETA: I believe that I found out why my module crashed too. I was trying to run the Run Module function in the toolset, and the toolset crashed. I think the reason it crashed is that SecuROM found two exes running at the same time, with only one install. I'm still waiting on confirmation of that, however, it seems logical, considering that SecuROM, by it's very nature and design, is Spyware. What is it's purpose? To verify a disc in the drive, spying on what's going on in my computer. A point in support of this admitted supposition: When did BioWare add the Run Module functionality to the toolset? 1.67, or 1.68? Right after/when they stopped requireing having the disc in the drive?

[Calagari]

Ok This scares me. I just checked for the heck of it in regedit and I found a Securom folder. The only 2 games I have installed in this new system are NWN and Oblivion. I am guessing it is NWN that installed it? Now this makes me paranoid to know it is there and what it is doing.
Can it be removed without affecting the game I play? Or maybe a better question is should I remove it to protect myself?

[robertthebard]

NWN disabled it in their install, and Oblivion, according to everything I've read, doesn't use copy protection. Removing it is an involved process, and I don't know what effect, if any currently, it would have on your NWN install.

[Calagari]

Originally Posted by robertthebard NWN disabled it in their install, and Oblivion, according to everything I've read, doesn't use copy protection. Removing it is an involved process, and I don't know what effect, if any currently, it would have on your NWN install.

If NWN disabled it then I guess I have nothing to worry about? It just took me back when I saw it there. If this was an old system that had many game installs I wouldn't be so surprised. Still it doesn't make me feel real warm and fuzzy.

[robertthebard]

I don't know if I can say, don't worry about it. Research is still being done to determine what, exactly, it does outside of verification of the actual physical medium. The fact that NWN will run without the CD is verification that it's been disabled, in so far as I'm aware, right now. Supporting that would be the drop off in the number of failed starts from while the physical medium was required.

[Calagari]

Originally Posted by Nightbird take one level of an arcane caster and become an Arcane Archer. Very powerful.

For now I am going to let the securom folder lie there. It hasn't caused me any trouble yet, maybe it is sleeping.
But for this arcane Archer I may have made an error in creation not sure. I followed the recommendation to make a human. I made level 4 last night and saw that the arcane Archer was grayed out as were a number of other classes. Was thisd because I made a human and not an Elf or Half-Elf? I did get some spells but can't seems to cast them yet. I made it down to the pits last night.
I never thought I would be so happy to find a chest with 4 gold in it. LOL Maybe I have to restart and make a mew ranger?

[robertthebard]

Arcane Archer requires Elf/Half-Elf. Plus the feats; Weapon Focus Long or Short Bow and Point Blank Shot. There is an BAB requirement as well, which is your Base Attack Bonus, and I believe it's 6. My bards usually qualify by level 9, and I think that a Ranger 6/Wizard/Sorc/Bard would qualify by level 7.

ETA: That's one level of either Wizard, Sorc or Bard. Interesting note, this is fixed in NWN 2 in that you have to be able to actually cast first levels spells, so your primary spell attribute must be high enough to allow the casting of said spells.

[Calagari]

That does it for this character then. I may as well restart the game over. At this point it has been a learning curve anyway. I just wish in the manual this point was noted. If it was I sure missed it. Thanks again for the help.

[robertthebard]

No problem, that's what we're here for.