Information regarding rFactor 2 Steam (FAQ)
- Thread starter Christopher Elliott
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Christopher Elliott
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As a reminder, talk of piracy on here, will result in a forum ban.
Christopher Elliott
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I haven't tried it, but I can imagine that would work fine, provided your network drive is setup right.
Juergen-BY
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I`m using a symbolic link (DirLinker) and its working without problems.
Carlo
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@GCCRacer - Well put (just saw that your post was removed).
@Wiggin
Well, yes, there are security concerns/risks with the launcher if using multi-player (outdated/insecure compiled-in libraries, d/ls, etc.), but the license check/news when launching off-line can be easily monitored, captured and secured against data leaks and spurious connections (e.g. pentest tools, Wireshark, MS Message Analyzer, egress filtering).
Steam, however, opens up a whole new can of attack vectors that isn't acceptable or permissible in my situation. It's an "always on" connection to a 3P host that can push/pull data and modify the filesystem. The attack surface is much larger and more likely to attract the attention of those who would do harm. You now have to deal with ISI (who I trust) and a 3rd party intermediary Steam (who I don't trust).
On a personal note, I don't approve of Steam DRM methodology either. It's much more invasive and insulting - I am not a thief.
Again, I am not faulting ISI for changing their business model - it's their IP after all and they have to work within the constraints of limited resources. However, I am of the opinion that the shift from a product license to a service model could have been handled better. This hit me totally by surprise and I am disappointed.
@Wiggin
Well, yes, there are security concerns/risks with the launcher if using multi-player (outdated/insecure compiled-in libraries, d/ls, etc.), but the license check/news when launching off-line can be easily monitored, captured and secured against data leaks and spurious connections (e.g. pentest tools, Wireshark, MS Message Analyzer, egress filtering).
Steam, however, opens up a whole new can of attack vectors that isn't acceptable or permissible in my situation. It's an "always on" connection to a 3P host that can push/pull data and modify the filesystem. The attack surface is much larger and more likely to attract the attention of those who would do harm. You now have to deal with ISI (who I trust) and a 3rd party intermediary Steam (who I don't trust).
On a personal note, I don't approve of Steam DRM methodology either. It's much more invasive and insulting - I am not a thief.
Again, I am not faulting ISI for changing their business model - it's their IP after all and they have to work within the constraints of limited resources. However, I am of the opinion that the shift from a product license to a service model could have been handled better. This hit me totally by surprise and I am disappointed.
Euskotracks
Registered
I am not a lawyer, but the fact that ISI forces its existing customers to move to steam should not be acceptable.
Joining steam forces the customer to accept additional terms of use to the original ones that were accepted when buying the product.
That by itself should be IMO a contractual non compliance from ISI's side which should make elligible for refund to whoever that asked for it. The guy who cannot accept steam's Terms of Use due its professional status is a clear example of my point.
As I said I am not a lawyer and probably if ISI has made the move is because it is legal to force a customer to get involved with 3rd party that was not present in the original contract.
However, I would appreciate if someone who knows Law better than me could clarify if it is legal to drop updates for non steam users.
What happens if for example one day steam starts charging for their services?
I will personally use the non steam version of rF2 until it is completely necessary. Just in case they change their minds.
Enviado desde mi ONE A2001 mediante Tapatalk
Joining steam forces the customer to accept additional terms of use to the original ones that were accepted when buying the product.
That by itself should be IMO a contractual non compliance from ISI's side which should make elligible for refund to whoever that asked for it. The guy who cannot accept steam's Terms of Use due its professional status is a clear example of my point.
As I said I am not a lawyer and probably if ISI has made the move is because it is legal to force a customer to get involved with 3rd party that was not present in the original contract.
However, I would appreciate if someone who knows Law better than me could clarify if it is legal to drop updates for non steam users.
What happens if for example one day steam starts charging for their services?
I will personally use the non steam version of rF2 until it is completely necessary. Just in case they change their minds.
Enviado desde mi ONE A2001 mediante Tapatalk
GCCRacer
Banned
No one reads them because they wouldn't hold up in front of most European courts. However, since most companies including Valve have a much bigger legal team than your average customer, they remain.
It is high time the EU raises it's efforts to define quality and ownership of software products - I'm not aware of any other business where you can one-sided change the contract, force additional conditions on a customer, offer no refund doing so, and even retain the right to chancel a paid-for purchase at any time for no reason. That's why these days I only buy from the "good guys" (for example GOG.com) but ISI has obviously put their lot in with a company which I don't consider the good guys...
It is high time the EU raises it's efforts to define quality and ownership of software products - I'm not aware of any other business where you can one-sided change the contract, force additional conditions on a customer, offer no refund doing so, and even retain the right to chancel a paid-for purchase at any time for no reason. That's why these days I only buy from the "good guys" (for example GOG.com) but ISI has obviously put their lot in with a company which I don't consider the good guys...
Wiggin
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You're about 7 years to late. We as consumers never fought for our rights when companies started this type of behavior and now it's just the reality of video games. Same thing for DLC. I mean it would be nice if all countries had updated laws regarding software ownership but at the end of the day those that care and those that don't are vastly outnumbered. I would like to own my own software and I 100% agree with you but realistically it's not really an issues to 90% of people.
stonec
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You are not forced to move anywhere, rF2 continues to work perfectly fine on non-Steam (without new patches being released). Just like you can still use rF1 today or Win XP for that matter, with certain precautions about security. ISI is not obliged to provide patches infinitely for their product anyway, they could stop delivering updates today also for Steam version if they so wished. In fact rF2 already received way more updates than rF1 ever did, rF1 updates stopped 3 years post beta release.
It's probably not so much about what ISI wish to do in their hearts, but about pure business. Kunos has said somewhere that AC would have nowhere the success of today without Steam. I couldn't find any useful racing sims on GOG.com, so how are any potential customers expected to be looking there?
Euskotracks
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Explain me the point of paying for lifetime online access and not being able to join servers because they are in higher builds.
If that is not forcing to move to steam it is pushing quite hard DONT YOU THINK MR?
Enviado desde mi ONE A2001 mediante Tapatalk
Last I looked on Steam or similar services there wasn't a big button saying "Rent" or "Acquire Limited Licence with Restrictive EULA", because no-one would cop it. Companies rely on the implication of ownership to get a customer to click on a "Buy" button - it's pretty disingenuous to turn around after someone has clicked that button and reference the fine print in a EULA or TOS which states that the product they just paid full price for is in fact not theirs and they can have their usage revoked without refund entirely at the discretion of the provider.
That fact that this is the new normal doesn't make it any less egregious, but the combined legal firepower and financial leverage of the software industry means you're tilting at windmills trying to question it.
TIG_green
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You'll find exactly the same file structure under Steam:steamapps:common:rf2 as before
Christopher Elliott
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Yes and just to add to that, I've run Trackmap in my Steam install from the start, works exactly the same.
Christopher Elliott
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You need to please calm down now, thank you.
MarcG
Registered
I installed RF2 on my laptop last night, whilst unsubscribing from all workshop items it occurred to me will this mean my main pc will be unsubscribed from all items too? Or are they kept separate? (Can't check until later)
Before you ask, main pc for everything and racing, laptop for modding so I only need the bare essentials! Thanks
Before you ask, main pc for everything and racing, laptop for modding so I only need the bare essentials! Thanks
Lazza
Registered
But this isn't anything new. You never 'owned' software you bought. It's not yours to do with whatever you wish. I know it's splitting hairs a bit, but when people think they actually own something they automatically think certain rights belong to them. Whether you pay for something that's forever offline or you're using an online service, you're only paying for the right to use the software in accordance with the conditions you agreed to when you bought it. Any sort of online service or something you expect to have continual updates, you are putting faith in the seller to provide what you hope in the future, but that doesn't give you any right to demand it.
ISI could have stopped at Build 660 (just an example) and no one would be able to do anything about it. A lot of us would have hung around regardless and just kept playing on Build 660, and there's a fair chance quite a few people will do that with the build after 1084.
There seems to be so much anti-steam sentiment, and I'm sure there are horror stories like there are with anything, but pointing at its terms of use and saying how terrible they are when you've already agreed to something quite similar for rF2, and indeed nearly everything you've bought in the last 10 years at least (online services being what they are), isn't really accomplishing anything.
I didn't like the look of steam when it first started up, mainly because I read about it being a resource hog and it seemed risky to 'own' a game that needed an online service to keep using it. A friend of mine didn't get rF1 until it came out on DVD for that second reason also (what actually happened? Trymedia wound up [or whatever], so ISI released a new version they took control over). Well Steam's still going, a couple of members of the league I'm in have switched in the last 2 days and steam itself is light, rF2 is just about as flexible as it was non-steam, so I can't see an issue with it and will switch when I get closer to my renewal date.
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