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Running With Scissors Studios gives permission to pirate games

based

image:

screenshot of a Tweet from Running With Scissors reading

“We’ve been told our games are too expensive in some countries but we’ve been using Steam’s recommended pricing for a while. We trust Valve enough to not change this. If our games are still too expensive for you, you can pirate them until you have enough to support us.”

trclst ,
@trclst@lemmy.ml avatar

download some unknown exe or sideload some dll with admin rights sound like good idea.

zer0 ,

Why not releasing the source code then?

BeardedGingerWonder ,

There’s a world of difference between “we don’t mind if you bootleg our games if you can’t afford them” and “here, have the keys to the castle”

zer0 ,

Go on and explain the difference

Sleepkever ,

Releasing the source code would allow anyone to copy AND modify or extend the game as they see fit. Including all the inner logic that is normally compiled away.

Piracy or a compiled release without DRM (like GOG) only allows you to play the game and maybe modify some parts of it through modding after a significant amount of effort.

zer0 ,

Releasing the source code would allow anyone to copy AND modify or extend the game as they see fit

So just like when you buy a bicycle irl and you are allowed to customize it and set it up as you want. Are you saying we shouldn’t be allowed to modify goods?

Lowbird ,

The source code is arguably more comparable to the bicycle factory. When I buy a game, I’m thinking of buying the experience, not the underlying mechanisms.

You still can find ways to mod and tinker with the finished product you own (bicycle), but you don’t have the info and machinery you’d need to make your own identical bicycle.

Or, if you buy a book, you own the finished book, but you don’t automatically also own all the author’s notes and rough drafts and file organization that went into making that book.

zer0 ,

When I buy a game, I’m thinking of buying the experience, not the underlying mechanisms.

When i buy a bicycle i’m thinking of buying the experience, not the underlying mechanisms

you don’t have the info and machinery you’d need to make your own identical bicycle.

When you pirate the game you are making an identical copy of the game

Sleepkever ,

That is not the correct analogy. Offcourse you can customize it. Just like you can customize or mod the game.

But you won’t get the actual designs to the bicycle. You will not get the blueprints to send to a factory to create exact duplicates or with your modifications.

inanna ,

Lol, “you’re already letting me in the house why can I have a deed to the property???”

zer0 ,

A house isn’t software, it’s more like getting handled the blueprints of the building. They already have access to the property what’s the difference if they have the blueprints or not

outadoc ,

If it’s the same, why do you care?

Of course it’s not the same.

zer0 ,

Without the source code there’s no way to know what you are running, ever heard of a spyware named red shell?

I would also like to compile my own binaries for my own system

pinkdrunkenelephants ,

You all complaining about the word “based” know that Urban Dictionary exists, right?

Contend6248 ,

based on what

nikscha ,

Based on yourself. Read the dictionary

Gekkonen ,

Now if only there was a way to safely pirate stuff without the possibility of the binaries having keyloggers or cryptominers embedded in them. I seem to recall some studio hosting an official torrent on their website precisely for this reason.

zer0 ,

Like having the source code?

Gekkonen ,

Or a zip package signed by the developer.

ReverseModule ,
@ReverseModule@discuss.tchncs.de avatar

Now I have to buy their games lol.

fox ,

That’s awesome of them! What’s their best game? I’ll buy a copy on Steam.

ColdWater ,
@ColdWater@lemmy.ca avatar

OG Postal and Postal Brain damaged

scottywh ,

Just had to fucking ruin it by saying based huh?

Naatan ,

I’m getting old … what does this mean and why is it objectionable? Google suggests it means they have strong character, which seems like a fair assessment.

mothersprotege ,

I’ve long regarded it as a red flag, since the first people I encountered using it were alt-right dipshits. Subsequently it seems to have been adopted wholesale, and I get the impression that most people don’t see it as politically charged.

scottywh ,

I just see it as fuckin stupid personally and it’s begun to inspire more and more rage in me as a result.

Like enshitification, I see it as Idiocracizing society mostly.

stephen01king ,

Go to bed already grandpa. Stop hating on new words so much.

Crotaro ,

My man, that’s so not funky of you! If you skedaddle into this far out place called internet, you have to expect to come across new terms that are slammin and radical to some people. Instead of giving them hairy eyeballs and going “No can do”, how about you say “Word, brother”? Every generation invents its own gnarly slang and that’s pretty fly, actually. Like, what makes your slang groovy and theirs bogus?

CrabLord ,
@CrabLord@beehaw.org avatar

Groovy is definitely a word we should all use more.

Dave ,
@Dave@lemmy.nz avatar

To a zoomer, based is the opposite of cringe (I’m told). This is the first time I’ve seen it mentioned in regards to alt-right, that sounds like they happened to be alt-right zoomers.

p03locke ,
@p03locke@lemmy.dbzer0.com avatar

No, it’s not the “opposite of cringe” and it’s not an alt-right dog whistle. It just means the person or group is willing to do the right thing, above politics or greed. It’s more comparable to Giga Chad, but it’s more accurate to say that Giga Chad when used in memes is the representation of a based individual.

Also, “alt-right” is a dog whistle for “white supremacist”, invented by a white supremacist to soften the language. Stop using it. Just call them white supremacists or fascists.

cobra89 ,

My understanding of “based” from years and years ago was that it was used as an exclamation when people essentially weren’t afraid to speak their minds even if they’re likely to get shit for said opinion.

That’s why it’s gotten associated with the alt-right because it was usually bigoted douchebags saying bigoted shit that other bigots would then respond “based” to. I feel like the terminology was associated with 4chan in its early usage and spread to reddit.

I believe your definition that is popular with Gen Z is a newer development.

scottywh ,

Years and years?

bullshit

cobra89 ,

knowyourmeme.com/memes/based

From 2014? So yes years and years. Maybe use Google before you decide to be a douche.

echodot ,

And then do it anyway right?

scottywh ,

Fuck you dickhead

The_Hunted_One ,
@The_Hunted_One@beehaw.org avatar

Please remember, this is Beehaw. Our primary rule is Be(e) Nice.

scottywh ,

Those “giga Chad” bullshits are dumb as hell too.

Rentlar ,

What I understand this originates from is “not based on anything”, so essentially bucking the trend or the norm. Doing things not because something or someone told them.

It’s 4chan type of language, itself an alt-right cesspool.

Naatan ,

Gotcha… From reading all the responses, it sounds like the word and meaning itself isn’t really objectionable, it’s more the people that use it. Which isn’t something a search engine tells you… 😅

blindsight ,

It’s gone mainstream. I hear it in high schools all the time from many different students. I think it’s pretty unobjectionable.

scottywh ,

I’m fuckin old too and that’s why it pisses me off… It’s fuckin nonsense words.

noodlejetski ,

wait till you hear about all the other nonsense words.

(hint: all words are nonsense)

echodot ,

Words have meaning, and that meaning is defined by common understanding. If a significant percentage of the population does not know what a word means, (and I mean a significant percentage not just some people) then it’s fair to say the word is essentially nonsense.

The problem is sometimes people pick a word and then decide on its meaning but then neglect to inform the rest of the human population - see Woke. That’s not how language works, it’s about mutual acceptance the particular sound or set of sounds means a particular idea or concept or thing. If that mutual acceptance is not there, then it is not a word.

Serdan ,

Humanity is not a hive mind. We can’t just inform everyone instantly.

echodot ,

People have been using it for years no one knows what it means.

noodlejetski ,

see Woke

it’s been coined by the Black community, essentially meaning being aware of, and alert to, the systematic injustice against them. there you go.

echodot ,

There are many people who would disagree that that is its meaning, and that’s the problem. There is no completely defined meaning for these words, they mean different things to different people so when you say the word I don’t know what meaning is supposed to be interpreted.

hikaru755 ,

That’s how literally all language change happens? People just start using words differently or use new words, it slowly spreads, until a majority is using it. You can either embrace it and be happy you get new tools to express yourself with, or reenact the “old man yells at clouds” meme and be grumpy. I know which one I’ll choose.

blindsight , (edited )

What you’re missing is that language is often used differently in subculture groups and other niches. Language frequently changes meaning depending on context, and that’s how it’s supposed to work.

Language never has been and never will be static. Shared slang is a very important part of signaling that you are part of an “in group”, and it will always change rapidly, compared to language in more common usage.

Related: trans-phobic signaling that “they/them” should be used exclusively singularly as a plural, despite its common use as a gender neutral pronoun for centuries.

EnderofGames ,

exclusively singularly

I think you mean... plurally?

Long before I had any knowledge of transgender or even transexuality, I knew to use they/them when gender was unknown. I agree that the "singular they" is long accepted, correct, common English.

Naatan ,

Lol… it definitely reminds you of how old you’re getting. But I’m sure the generations preceding ours felt the same.

bundes_sheep ,

I figure people need to pick up on new slang or risk becoming the old man or woman that yells at kids to get off their lawn one day.

droans ,

Y’all called people daddio.

altima_neo ,
@altima_neo@lemmy.zip avatar

Yeah, it’s pretty cringe

Satan ,

It’s just slang that more-or-less means “confident”, originally coined by the rapper Lil B.

While it’s an interesting line of inquiry as to why internet culture may appropriate and adopt words like this, this comment is just giving off major “old man yells at cloud” energy.

frei ,

Based is just a common word zoomers like me use. While your likely implication of it being some sort of dogwhistle or right wing term might have been correct like, half a decade ago, it doesn’t apply anymore. Everyone uses it between the age of 16-20.

Simply: Based = Good Cringe = Bad

scottywh ,

Idiots use it.

That’s all.

EnderofGames ,

Idiots use lots of words. Like the word "idiots".

scottywh ,

Says the fuckin idiot

Sina ,

I wish people stopped using it, because it’s often confusing as f.

Computerchairgeneral ,

I mean I don't think the pirates needed their permission, but it's a nice gesture at least. Accepting the reality that people will pirate your games makes for much better PR than trying to crack down on it through DRM.

blackstrat ,
@blackstrat@lemmy.fwgx.uk avatar

Why not both? “You can pirate our games… But good luck with all the DRM in them!”

Serdan ,

Because DRM usually gets cracked within weeks, if not days?

hellishharlot ,

DRM also costs paying customers performance generally

blackstrat ,
@blackstrat@lemmy.fwgx.uk avatar

That’s why no one uses it then! Oh, wait…

Zapp ,

Why not both?

Because DRM misfires for a small percentage of paying customers.

Those paying customers, ironically, usually get help from the pirate community to get their game working.

Then they go back to paying for everything, because they still trust game studios more than pirates. Wait no, this last bit usually doesn’t happen.

Overall DRM prevents zero percentage of all privacy, while hassling a small percentage of paying customers.

Anticorp ,

I’m pretty sure I was friends with the founder of that studio back in the suprnova.org days when his username was RunsWithScissors and he was a full-blown pirate.

argv_minus_one ,

If you can’t otherwise afford them. Pretty important “if”. And then only until you can afford them.

wzzzy ,

Is it still piracy if they give you permission…?

Overzeetop ,

CNC can still be fun. You just need to be confident in your safe word.

NaoPb ,

They have a nice discount on their games on their own webpage. Too bad it requires a credit card or paysafecard.

I’ll probably be pirating for now.

Moonrise2473 ,

Their reason is: people is using g2a for “discounted” keys.

Where the “discount” comes? Easy, some asshole buys from their website many keys with a stolen credit card, then they will need to refund it + pay an expensive fee for the chargeback.

I’m not a dev but at that point I would just give up selling keys by myself and I would just rely on steam for fraud detection. The only case where the 30% fee is justified

ChronosWing ,

I’ll take the downvotes but this is hardly true. Most of them come from bundles and purchasing them in other countries where it’s a lot cheaper. You can prove this easily by checking games on g2a that almost never go on sale or are included in bundles and you will notice the price is the same or a few dollars cheaper than steam.

averyminya ,

Most == prevent.

The issue with G2A is that any keys at all come from scammed credit cards. In a silly way it’s like of like tor. It doesn’t matter if I am trying to sell my excess Humble Bundle keys in good faith on G2A if other sellers on the market are selling scammed keys. Good users making listings obfuscate all the bad users.

Also, purchasing regional keys cheaper and reselling them is also what causes this shit in the first place. People blame Valve for making the decision, but not the people switching to a region to buy a game for cents on the dollar and then resell it? That is actively hurting the people in those countries who are now being charged closer to USD prices. For Brazillians this is exorbitant.

I don’t disagree with you in that there are G2A keys that come from bundles. But I do disagree with the notion that “it doesn’t matter.” It absolutely matters because it’s affecting people’s ability to buy games and it affects people circumventing legal purchase methods (of which I support their circumventing) who then have to deal with buying scammed credit card keys instead of me selling them and excess Humble Bundle key. The card gets charged back, the developer loses money, the G2A purchaser loses their key, and the scammers get off scott-free.

Basically, G2A should be a good idea but has been co-opted by scammers. These sites have their grey-market reputation for a reason, because it’s run entirely off of the losses of others. Losses of the developers, losses of regional players, and losses of players purchasing games on these grey-market sites.

There’s no winners for G2A except for the owners of the site and scammers. You may win once in a while getting a brand new game for $5-25 less. You may end up losing when it’s pulled from your account, if it does. At that point, you’re effectively gambling. Taking a risk for a discount on something with a high likelihood of it being unethically sourced which may be removed from your account?

In most cases I’d personally rather pay the extra $15 to just have the peace of mind. The chance of the game not being bought on a stolen CC and not supporting regional theft that hurts those players is just a bonus.

Solarius ,

If they’re charging less in different regions and people were using VPNs to purchase then you’d think that’d be a sign that maybe game prices are too high. They’re selling an identical product at a much cheaper price because the people in some countries are poorer or their currency is garbage compared to USD? Pretty gross to think about.

ChronosWing ,

I never said it didn’t matter. I said it’s not at prevalent as people are making it out to be. I’ve purchased 100s of steam keys from these sites over the years and never came across an instance where the key was removed or revoked. All of these sites guarantee the key is good or your money back anyways so I find it hard to believe that is what is going on at all. As long as you purchase the key from a reputable seller as they all have ratings just like eBay then there is no issue. I think maybe in the early days of key sellers it’s what was happening, but these sites would have fizzled out a long time ago if they were bastions of credit card fraud.

Tigwyk ,
@Tigwyk@lemmy.vrchat-dev.tech avatar

Anecdotally, I’ve bought 3 keys over the years from g2a and 2 of them immediately didn’t work. Iirc there’s a big button you click during checkout if your key doesn’t work and the seller immediately has to provide you with a working one. That’s not g2a though, that’s just the seller providing you with another cheap key from their collection. G2A is scammy in other ways too (I’ve yet to be able to cancel their $2 “insurance” fee or whatever they call it the first time, it’s been years and I’ll probably have to chargeback since their site just throws me errors when I try to cancel. PayPal won’t even let me cancel it from their end.)

Why defend them?

ChronosWing ,

Because I’ve never had a reason not to? I’ve only used G2A a few times but you can just remove the insurance at checkout. Never had an issue.

averyminya ,

Except for, again, how it’s screwing over developers, players in other regions, and supporting credit card scammers.

ChronosWing ,

I’ve seen no concrete evidence of any of that. So agree to disagree.

averyminya ,

You said yourself some of the keys come from regional bypassing?

ChronosWing ,

No, I said they are bought in other regions. There is no proof that is from any bypass. Just some guy who lives in a poverished nation trying to turn a profit.

argv_minus_one ,

So, basically, G2A is a fence for stolen property? Why hasn’t it been shut down by law enforcement?

BirdyBoogleBop ,

Because only Factorio has been able to proove that is happening. That and they pretend they don’t know that is happening as they are just the middle men.

Smoke ,

Can you give the backstory of what happened with Factorio?

Moonrise2473 ,

factorio.com/blog/post/fff-303

They lost $6600 in chargebacks and g2a was running an ad campaign using their name on Google

BirdyBoogleBop ,

arstechnica.com/…/g2a-confirms-stolen-game-key-sa…

I had a better link on my old Lemmy instance but that one went the way of the dodo and I can’t find that in-depth explanation.

Basically Factorio never goes on sale. Ever, it only gets more expensive so, if someone is selling a key for a price lower than their starting price point it must have been fraudulent.

Sprokes ,

In Europe at least if strong authentication was done during the purchase (and it is mandatory since a few years), the merchant is protected and the bank issued the card will take the loss. They don’t need to refund or pay fees for charge back.

Moonrise2473 ,

Are you sure? My stripe merchant account still mentions the 15 euro chargeback fee and now in my country is easier to ask for a chargeback, can do at the phone while before you needed to send a registered snail mail at a secret address with the right timing using a secret form, while sending a copy of the police report via fax

bazke ,

SCA (strong customer authentication) should indeed move the liability for fraudulent purchases to the issuer. Wording in contracts may still mention other things. We had to, for one specific payment service provider, explicitly tell them to only allow card purchases using SCA since we had problems with stolen cards. With some PSPs we could just refuse certain ECI codes. Been a few years for me and YMMV but if chargebacks are causing headaches it might be worth looking into.

Sprokes ,

I worked at company like stripe and exactly at the scope of authentication/liability. I am not sure about whatever you pay the charge back fee even though the liability is shifted from you to the issuer bank. Do you have 3DS2 enabled for your payments?

It is normal that Stripe mention the charge back fees as there are exceptions for strong authentication but it is worth asking them for details and whatever you pay the fee even when liability have been shifted. And maybe the issuer bank will just do refund and take the loss if it see the SCA have been done.

Moonrise2473 ,

Luckily I never had a chargeback, I meant I still saw it in the fees

JasonHears ,

I don’t think this post is allowed on lemmy.world.

dukk ,

This post isn’t on Lemmy.world.

atocci ,
@atocci@kbin.social avatar

It is funny though since they blocked the piracy community

CaptainPike ,
@CaptainPike@beehaw.org avatar

Oh that’s what everyone was talking about… Well, i’m glad that I’ve got my BeeHaw at least

InfiniWheel ,

The wonders of federation

soysauce ,

This reminds me of Paulo Coelho telling people to pirate his books theguardian.com/…/paulo-coelho-readers-pirate-boo…

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