Rocksteady puts bug in PC version of Batman to root out pirates

[ManaByte]

http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthread.php?t=95030

Hi!
I've got a problem when it's time to use Batman's glide in the game. When I hold <Space> , like it's said to jump from one platform to another, Batman tries to open his wings again and again instead of gliding. So he fels down in a poisoning gas. If somebody could tel me, what should I do there.

What Henke said.

The problem you have encountered is a hook in the copy protection, to catch out people who try and download cracked versions of the game for free.

It's not a bug in the game's code, it's a bug in your moral code.

[pilonv1]

awesome

[demi]

I would replay this for cheevs

[pilonv1]

someone screencapped this somewhere too

[Diunx]

I would pirate the shit out of this game if my pc wasn't a 7 years old dinosaur.

Batman

[Bebpo]

I didn't realize there was a PC version.  Do the graphics look  ?

[fistfulofmetal]

my friend has the pirated version. it works just fine for him.

[cool breeze]

Yes.  Outside the bump to 60 fps, everything getting sharper and the usual benefits of a PC version, the game has physx support.  Basically, if you have a really beefy graphics card or separate physics card, the game with add new effects to the game.

actually, I think they made a video showing the differences.

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/nvidia-showcase-batman-arkham/55346

ok, it was a different video that shows how it changes.  but you can see some differences if you played it on consoles.  There is now fog and steam that reacts to your body, papers that fly around in some areas as you move past, dynamic sparks, destructible environments, added cloth banners in the game that you can cut holes in with batarang (police "don't cross" lines too), and other things too. 

[ManaByte]

Downloaded the PC demo and holy shit it looks nice at 1900x1200 w/ AA. Best looking UE3 game I've seen so far.

[Smooth Groove]

Good job. 

This is actually a really good strategy to fight against piracy.  Nothing would piss a pirate more than being unable to continue in the middle of a game that supposedly doesn't have copy protection. 

I didn't realize there was a PC version.  Do the graphics look  ?

Since your GPU isn't that powerful, I don't think it would look much better on your PC than on the consoles.  Batman:AA is quite resource demanding.. 

I posted some caps in the original Batman:AA thread if you want to see what it looks like with Max effects at 1920x1200 with 16X anisotropic + 4xAA.

It doesn't look that much better IMO since the whole game is so dark.  The PC exclusive Physx effects might make a big difference but I haven't played enough of the demo to notice. 

Also, 60fps (if your PC can achieve that) didn't cause the game to play much different since the combat isn't very fast and has so many dramatic slowdown moments. 

[Raban]

my friend has the pirated version. it works just fine for him.

It's probably because the guy in the OP quote is an idiot and doesn't realize the game has an auto-jump like Zelda games. Or maybe I'm an idiot for assuming that. Either way if Rocksteady actually put something in the code to discourage pirates, that's clever, although I'm not clear how that would work without using Hollywood computer magic.

[Smooth Groove]

my friend has the pirated version. it works just fine for him.

It's probably because the guy in the OP quote is an idiot and doesn't realize the game has an auto-jump like Zelda games. Or maybe I'm an idiot for assuming that. Either way if Rocksteady actually put something in the code to discourage pirates, that's clever, although I'm not clear how that would work without using Hollywood computer magic.

No, it was a publisher employee that confirmed the "bug" was a form of copy protection. 

[bork]

my friend has the pirated version. it works just fine for him.

It's probably because the guy in the OP quote is an idiot and doesn't realize the game has an auto-jump like Zelda games. Or maybe I'm an idiot for assuming that. Either way if Rocksteady actually put something in the code to discourage pirates, that's clever, although I'm not clear how that would work without using Hollywood computer magic.

It seems that the quoted post in the OP had to deal with gliding to another platform.  When Batman does a longer jump, he opens his cape up and glides down towards wherever you steer him to.  The copy protection prevents you from doing this. 

[fistfulofmetal]

No, it was a publisher employee that confirmed the "bug" was a form of copy protection. 

uh. it was a joke. read the final line

"It's not a bug in the game's code, it's a bug in your moral code. "

he's making a joke.

My friend played through the entire pirated game. No such bug exists.




edit: ugh. my friend is an idiot. he tells me directly. No. No Glitch. then i show him the link and he says "Oh yeah. that happened. but then i installed the bug fix."


whatevs

[Raban]

[Crushed]

Good job. 

This is actually a really good strategy to fight against piracy.  Nothing would piss a pirate more than being unable to continue in the middle of a game that supposedly doesn't have copy protection. 

Like I mentioned in the Outside Link Thread where this first got posted, some other PC games have done this sort of stuff. Deus Ex famously made it so people playing pirated versions couldn't leave the first area, so people would post all over about this "weird glitch, I can't get on the boat!"

I think the first Crystal Chronicles on DS had a pretty clever one too. If the game was copied, it would make it so a randomly timed message would eventually appear that said, "Thanks for being interesting in our game! It's in stores now!! ," as though it was a demo, but then deleted all the save data.

[demi]

No, it was a publisher employee that confirmed the "bug" was a form of copy protection. 

edit: ugh. my friend is an idiot. he tells me directly. No. No Glitch. then i show him the link and he says "Oh yeah. that happened. but then i installed the bug fix."


whatevs

owned. stupid freak.

[Raban]

Titan Quest famously put in a game stopping bug for pirates which later turned up in a professional review.

@ games journalism

[fistfulofmetal]

i downloaded the game. no glitch to be found. RUMOR DEBUNKED.

[Great Rumbler]

Anybody played Rocksteady's other game: Urban Chaos?

[duckman2000]

Titan Quest famously put in a game stopping bug for pirates which later turned up in a professional review.

Really? Which review was that?