Purchase 1 goblin and get 4! but...
Moderator: ScummVM Team
Not only a bad move, but a mindless one at that. After all, the MULTI3 edition not only included Goblins 1 - 3, they were also translated to Polish, Czech and Hungarian for this very occasion.
Someone put some time and effort into this, and in UK all they had to do was include the already existing titles without any need of modification.
Gobliiins 4 isn't as strong a title as new Telltale adventures, so I'm amazed that the publishers didn't bother with the bonuses, which for many might be the actual highlight of Gobliiins 4.
Someone put some time and effort into this, and in UK all they had to do was include the already existing titles without any need of modification.
Gobliiins 4 isn't as strong a title as new Telltale adventures, so I'm amazed that the publishers didn't bother with the bonuses, which for many might be the actual highlight of Gobliiins 4.
okay... I purchased the game via GamersGate.
Downloaded & installed, seems the exe requires some kind of activation with a serial via internet (of course serial provided via gamersgate). Looks like I end up in some kind of StarForce website? You can also activate via http://proactive.star-force.com/2.0/activate.php
Now, when I activate the game, I press next, the stupid thing says "unexpected error" and gives me some hex code. Okay, restart. What?
Via the site it says the same.
Deactivation gives me this
Now I have the game officially and can't play it??
Edit: the bonus content is 280MB wow...
I install it, it says "Gobliiins 4 bonus content installed. Uninstall previous version and run setup again". What's that supposed to mean? Where did you install it (didn't ask anything?) There are no files added to the Gobliiins 4 base install directory...
Urgh
Edit: okay installing the bonus content *BEFORE* the original game solves that problem. No protection on the old games. All CD versions indeed, and wow @ no adlib music
that sucks bigtime!
What a ripoff, those Gobliins 2 voiceovers are terrible! Luckily I own the floppy disk version... Man, why didn't they include all or at least those versions? Sigh... Not really worth it, those extra bonus games.
Here are the files:
Gobliiins 1
Gobliins 2
Goblins 3
Downloaded & installed, seems the exe requires some kind of activation with a serial via internet (of course serial provided via gamersgate). Looks like I end up in some kind of StarForce website? You can also activate via http://proactive.star-force.com/2.0/activate.php
Now, when I activate the game, I press next, the stupid thing says "unexpected error" and gives me some hex code. Okay, restart. What?
GoddamnitActivation denied by server. The number of activations allowed by your Serial Number has been exceeded. You can obtain a new Serial Number from the publisher of this product.
Via the site it says the same.
Deactivation gives me this
This is really starting to piss me off...Attention!
• This feature is not supported in the current version of the protection system.
Now I have the game officially and can't play it??
Edit: the bonus content is 280MB wow...
I install it, it says "Gobliiins 4 bonus content installed. Uninstall previous version and run setup again". What's that supposed to mean? Where did you install it (didn't ask anything?) There are no files added to the Gobliiins 4 base install directory...
Urgh
Edit: okay installing the bonus content *BEFORE* the original game solves that problem. No protection on the old games. All CD versions indeed, and wow @ no adlib music
that sucks bigtime!What a ripoff, those Gobliins 2 voiceovers are terrible! Luckily I own the floppy disk version... Man, why didn't they include all or at least those versions? Sigh... Not really worth it, those extra bonus games.
Here are the files:
Gobliiins 1
Gobliins 2
Goblins 3
Whoa, StarForce DRM? Nasty. It's a shame you didn't know what the protection was before you bought it. If it doesn't work, ask GamersGate for a refund claiming unsolvable compatibility issues.
StarForce is infamous for its invasive approach and affecting system stability. There are numerous StarForce boycott sites and many developers have turned away from it due to gamers' disapproval.
The philosophy behind StarForce is to create a very hard to crack protection, but this comes at the cost of overall compatibility and stability of the program. Even Telltale stopped using Armadillo / Software Passport because of some issues and the Armadillo DRM solution they were first using wasn't anywhere near StarForce level complexity.
This really annoys me. If a service like GOG.com can provide DRM free games, why can't others do the same? Piracy is not even an issue, since everything is crackable, StarForce, Armadillo / SP and Themida included - with all defences up. Telltale proved that SecuROM DRM is enough, even for digital distribution. Did their games get cracked? Of course. Did they increase the security? No. What for? I hate overkill security measures as much as I hate clients like Steam.
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Edit: I'm glad to see it finally worked. Also, I couldn't help but notice that the bonus games don't come with original DOS executables. The Polish MULTI3 retail includes even the batch files. But I don't have the AdLib versions either. Shame.
StarForce is infamous for its invasive approach and affecting system stability. There are numerous StarForce boycott sites and many developers have turned away from it due to gamers' disapproval.
The philosophy behind StarForce is to create a very hard to crack protection, but this comes at the cost of overall compatibility and stability of the program. Even Telltale stopped using Armadillo / Software Passport because of some issues and the Armadillo DRM solution they were first using wasn't anywhere near StarForce level complexity.
This really annoys me. If a service like GOG.com can provide DRM free games, why can't others do the same? Piracy is not even an issue, since everything is crackable, StarForce, Armadillo / SP and Themida included - with all defences up. Telltale proved that SecuROM DRM is enough, even for digital distribution. Did their games get cracked? Of course. Did they increase the security? No. What for? I hate overkill security measures as much as I hate clients like Steam.
---
Edit: I'm glad to see it finally worked. Also, I couldn't help but notice that the bonus games don't come with original DOS executables. The Polish MULTI3 retail includes even the batch files. But I don't have the AdLib versions either. Shame.
It still doesn't work, with "solved that problem" I meant getting the bonus games to install on the HDD... That online activation thing is killing me, I did activate it, it crashed, and now I'm pretty much stuck. Already sent an e-mail to GamersGate support, but of course they haven't responded yet.
Ironically, installing a simple crack (enough floating round) solves everything and I can play the game. Of course this is not really legal, I just wanted to mention this. Too sad, actual buyers of games always get screwed by DRM...
That online activation thing is killing me, I did activate it, it crashed, and now I'm pretty much stuck. Already sent an e-mail to GamersGate support, but of course they haven't responded yet.Ironically, installing a simple crack (enough floating round) solves everything and I can play the game. Of course this is not really legal, I just wanted to mention this. Too sad, actual buyers of games always get screwed by DRM...
Sounds very much like I shan't bother with this full stop then.
It's such a shame that we rely on games companies to bring classics back into the market and one way or another they screw up something significant. And don't get me started on the choice of DRM for the new title!
Looks like the old-game-selling, price-inflating scroungers of the eBay world can still rest easy for the time being.
It's such a shame that we rely on games companies to bring classics back into the market and one way or another they screw up something significant. And don't get me started on the choice of DRM for the new title!
Looks like the old-game-selling, price-inflating scroungers of the eBay world can still rest easy for the time being.
It seems like you got lucky anyway, because StarForce ProActive doesn't seem to be so hard core. Normally a simple crack wouldn't cut it when it comes to StarForce, because it encrypts the resources. I'm guessing you just found a replacement GoblinoidsR.exe or launcher.exe and that would mean the game retained its unpacked form.
Any luck with the translation Morden?
(Still nothing from GG here... Sigh.)
I did finish the first three levels of Gobliiins 4 yesterday and I must say I'm impressed. The graphical and sound effects are sub-par, but the gameplay and the stupid jokes/references to old games are superb! It really is a good Gobliiins game, worthy of 'the name'.
I love the spider in the 3th level, but it kept me busy for 10 minutes, trying to figure out what the heck to do with it. (Nothing!)
One little thing they seem to have forgotten though: when you pick up and item in the old game, you've automatically selected it to use it with something else. In gob4 you still need to go to the inventory screen and grab the picked up item.
(Still nothing from GG here... Sigh.)
I did finish the first three levels of Gobliiins 4 yesterday and I must say I'm impressed. The graphical and sound effects are sub-par, but the gameplay and the stupid jokes/references to old games are superb! It really is a good Gobliiins game, worthy of 'the name'.
I love the spider in the 3th level, but it kept me busy for 10 minutes, trying to figure out what the heck to do with it. (Nothing!)
One little thing they seem to have forgotten though: when you pick up and item in the old game, you've automatically selected it to use it with something else. In gob4 you still need to go to the inventory screen and grab the picked up item.
Sadly, the GamersGate resources, even though they're from CD versions, don't seem to work with the CD versions I own. The game doesn't call the audio correctly, which is weird, because Sierra's editions worked much better and I thought they wouldn't. I'll have to experiment further. Thanks for your help, though. At least now we know what works and what doesn't.jefklak wrote:Any luck with the translation Morden?
That's one of the things I love about Goblins, no matter which game. There are always plenty of things to click on to show a funny scene. There will be more spiders further on!jefklak wrote:I love the spider in the 3th level, but it kept me busy for 10 minutes, trying to figure out what the heck to do with it. (Nothing!)
So... GG responded and simply gave me a new serial number to try out. I did successfully re-register the game, but after pressing "next", this nice little box shows up:
Pressing error repots crashes the application after a few minutes. Good one. I asked for a refund and got it a few hours later, so props for the quick and kind GamersGate support folks. Too bad this didn't really work out as expected, they should state which kind of copy protection is included with each game!
I'm not giving up Gobliiins 4 just yet, I'll be buying it at a retail store then. Never mind the stupid Gob CD versions as a bonus, those versions suck anyway
Gotta try and grab a gob3 floppy version at eBay I guess. Sigh. I don't have a floppy reader!
Pressing error repots crashes the application after a few minutes. Good one. I asked for a refund and got it a few hours later, so props for the quick and kind GamersGate support folks. Too bad this didn't really work out as expected, they should state which kind of copy protection is included with each game!
I'm not giving up Gobliiins 4 just yet, I'll be buying it at a retail store then. Never mind the stupid Gob CD versions as a bonus, those versions suck anyway
Gotta try and grab a gob3 floppy version at eBay I guess. Sigh. I don't have a floppy reader!I'm sorry to hear you were unable to solve the problem. I guess all you can do now is to ask them for a refund. The retail version is priced about the same as the download as far as I've seen.
I wouldn't say they suck, but when I got my first CD version I admit, it was a huge turnoff to hear just the ambiance with short pieces of music instead of a full and proper score. Besides, these are just a bonus anyway, the main attraction still being Gobliiins 4.jefklak wrote:Never mind the stupid Gob CD versions as a bonus, those versions suck anyway