Battlefield 2142 to come with spyware....

Deathblane · Post by **Deathblane** » 18 Oct 2006, 17:10

Ok so I've seen no more conformation of this then image

and some web posts. But if it's true then it'll be a remarkable dumb move form EA, especially considering the zelous anti-spyware stnace of most gamers.

Post by **jcnossen** » 18 Oct 2006, 17:13

Spyware != ingame objects with a bunch of ads textured on them...

KDR_11k · Post by **KDR_11k** » 18 Oct 2006, 20:26

Spyware = reporting your computer usage to the mothership to make sure those textured planes display things their ad companies think you like.

Guessmyname · Post by **Guessmyname** » 18 Oct 2006, 21:03

image = borked

mehere101 · Post by **mehere101** » 18 Oct 2006, 21:14

BF2142 is now < Quake Wars provided quake wars is decent. I trust ID not to use spyware anyway...

rattle · Post by **rattle** » 18 Oct 2006, 21:57

Wondering why. I wouldn't mind some ads on the back of the shirt of your teammate. Especially because I can't run QW anyway.

Felix the Cat · Post by **Felix the Cat** » 18 Oct 2006, 22:04

red x

Deathblane · Post by **Deathblane** » 18 Oct 2006, 23:04

Arse, and it doesn't appear to be in my cache. Basically it was a photo of BF2142 with a piece of paper saying that spyware is installed with the game.
From what I can gather it is supposed to gather your IP to deliver you location optimised in game ads.

KDR_11k · Post by **KDR_11k** » 18 Oct 2006, 23:08

One of the devs said that however the EULA lists a whole lot of data they can collect (and probably will). Stuff like email addresses, browser history, programs installed, etc. If their server just sent different ads based on your IP address they wouldn't even bother mentioning it, all ad servers do that.

grumpy_Bastard · Post by **grumpy_Bastard** » 18 Oct 2006, 23:24

I wouldnt have a problem with it, if it wernt for one thing.

When you read those EULAs, it usually says something about if you do not agree to this, return the game/program to the location you purchased it for a full refund. Fair enough, right?

Return Policies :

Wal-mart - CDs, DVDs, audiotapes, videotapes and video games: Must be returned unopened.
Best-Buy Opened computer software, movies, music and video games can be exchanged for the identical item but cannot be returned for a refund.
CompUSA - Opened software, games, and videos may only be exchanged for the same title.

Im not going to look up the return policy for every last store, but I can assure you that almost all of them will have this same policy worded one way or another. Good luck with returning your opened software, if you strongly disagree with anything in the EULA.

Min3mat · Post by **Min3mat** » 18 Oct 2006, 23:36

that is a VERY good point

KDR_11k · Post by **KDR_11k** » 18 Oct 2006, 23:42

That is the reason I think EULAs should be treated as contracts under duress (agree or waste 50$) but some judges disagree.

BlackLiger · Post by **BlackLiger** » 18 Oct 2006, 23:45

heh. British stores learn fast. Game revoked their "No Returns" policy with games that have EULA agreements like BF2142 supposedly has... after 80+ people made the point that having spyware come with a game counts as a major bug in their book, and counts as it not working

mehere101 · Post by **mehere101** » 19 Oct 2006, 00:02

I wouldn't mind having one of my teammates being a flag for pepsi either, except that in order to do that It has to use a spyware bot to lift my info, send it over and unsecured connection (unencrypted) to a server in I don't know where, so it can spam me. No thank you.

I wonder wether there is a way to twist this into a violation of the CANSPAM act...

nobody2u · Post by **nobody2u** » 19 Oct 2006, 00:35

IIRC the CANSPAM Act was enacted by the US Congress, so it won't affect people in other countries.

mehere101 · Post by **mehere101** » 19 Oct 2006, 00:50

Ah, but its a US company. IE if the source of the infection gets shutdown the rest of the world is safe.

KDR_11k · Post by **KDR_11k** » 19 Oct 2006, 10:26

This most likely violates EU data protection laws, though. The EU limits the terms a non-negotiated contract (i.e. any contract given out en masse by a large company) may have due to the strong imbalance of bargaining power so an EULA is mostly invalid even if it's recognized as a valid contract.

BlackLiger: I think they have to return the returned copies to EA though since people could just copy te CD key and then return because of the spyware. A buyer willing to get infected would then suffer from a used key. But then again, I guess that just generates more negative puiblicity for EA and might dissude them from trying that crap in BF3.

j5mello · Post by **j5mello** » 19 Oct 2006, 15:22

Wow u guys really are taking this a bit over the edge. Let me post what the "spyware" u think exists, really is:

Posting on behalf of the Dev Team
--------------------------------
Greetings,

We would like to provide more information on in-game advertising in Battlefield 2142. To try and help everyone better understand it, here is how it works.

The in- game advertisement is respectful of players' privacy: it never accesses files not directly related to the game, and it does not capture personal data such as cookies, account login detail, gameplay behaviour or surfing history. As it is an integrated part of Battlefield 2142 and not a separate program, it only runs when the game is running.

Because BF2142 delivers ads by region, the IP address of the player is used to determine the region of the player and helps serve ads by region and language; for instance, a player in Paris will be presented with ads in French. Note that this IP address is not stored on the advertisement server and is not repurposed for other uses.

A unique ID number is anonymously assigned the first time the player joins a Battlefield 2142 online game. It is stored locally on the PC but is not linked to any personal details.

The in-game advertisement gathers what we call ├óÔé¼┼ôimpression data├óÔé¼┬Ø, such as location of the billboard in the game or duration of advertisement impression. It helps see how many people have seen an ad ├óÔé¼ÔÇ£ but not who has seen it.

We are also conscious that the advertisement shouldn├óÔé¼Ôäót distract the player from the overall gaming experience, so all ads fit in the unique environment of each level in the game. The content of the ads is also controlled to ensure that no offensive content is displayed in Battlefield 2142.

We all hope that this explanation will address recent concerns on the advertisement in Battlefield 2142.

See you on the Battlefield.

Your Dice Live Team

That idiotic piece of paper they include was made buy some idiot paralegal who has no idea how to use proper computer terminology. There is no spyware u fools. Now u guys can choose to dismiss that if u want but it is a legitimate post by dice developers and that is how the system works.

Now some of u may still disagree with the ingame advertising and that your choice. However BF2142 is not the first game to do this and it won't be the last. So either u guys get over yourselves and buy games with advertising in them or things are gonna stagnate. ATM it seems the leader of this idea is EA since what with BF2142, the more recent Need for Speed games (anyone played those? massive Cingular, Best Buy, and Burger King signs are spread throughout the game world), and im sure sooner or later sports game will boast many advertisements. Now regardless of this complete freak out by the gaming populous im still getting BF2142 and I will enjoy it because I took the time to actually investigate stuff rather than just "crying wolf" (or in this case "crying spyware").

Zoombie · Post by **Zoombie** » 19 Oct 2006, 15:24

And its a great game too, BF2142 is. I'm gonna go buy it.

KDR_11k · Post by **KDR_11k** » 19 Oct 2006, 16:33

Who knows how long it stays like that? AFAIK they reserve the right to collect MUCH more in the EULA and that could possibly start with a patch.

However BF2142 is not the first game to do this and it won't be the last. So either u guys get over yourselves and buy games with advertising in them or things are gonna stagnate.

Yeah, sure. Bite me, I'm not buying that and I don't believe any excuses they may have like games are getting too expensive to make or crap like that. If they're getting too expensive stop throwing millions at celebrity endorsements and crap like that! If you're adding ads, reduce the retail price in return. But no, they expect us to be nice little consumer whores and eat that right up.

Spring RTS Engine

Battlefield 2142 to come with spyware....

Battlefield 2142 to come with spyware....