Bf2142 - EA overstep the line.

[onelegout]

Well, it seems that 2142 does not just contain ads, but uses an 'information gathering program' (SPYWARE) to record 'anonymous' information like your internet browsing habits, in order to focus its ingame advertising on you.
source: http://www.shacknews.com/ja.zz?id=13049860

http://www.hostimage.org/img/82432.jpg


I mean, we've seen this before (ubisoft have used it in the past, and sites like tbcs forums which use google ads also focus their ads on the page at hand) but sites like tbcs are FREE. 2142 is expensive, very expensive; too expensive for what is simply a mod for bf2, and nothing more.

For me at least, EA have overstepped the mark.
Im hereby calling for you fellow members of TBCS to boycott EA products. Many of us payed a large amount for battlefield2 which is STILL an unfinished, buggy game - destroyed by patches and poor customer service.

With bf2142 hitting the shelves we can look forward to another few years of red/blue tag bugs (Thats right, they have NOT been fixed in bf2142.), 62% geometry, CTDs and more mispatching.

I hope that, with me, you will all wait it out for ET:QW and not give in to EA's overpriced spyware ridden rubbish.

[/rant]
Peace
H

[DaveW]

I agree-in game advertising should see a sharp drop in prices.

Bet it doesn't.

-Dave

[Razors Edge]

Well look, EA has never really done much for me, I don't really Play EA that much. But telling me to give up Need For Speed Carbon is like asking Bin laden to turn himself in.......

[m4gnum]

and sites like tbcs forums which use google ads also focus their ads on the page at hand) but sites like tbcs are FREE.

That's the crunch though, google only targets ad for the current page you are on. AFAIK it does not stalk your entire surfing history to serve you adverts you don't really want to see.

Adverts worked ok in SWAT4 because it's a slow game, you have some time t stop and look at the ads. I think Battlefield is too fast paced to warrant having adverts in them, and because the game is set in The Future the ads will be unrealistic.

I could understand if the newest GTA game had real billboards, as that would be quite cool (as long as Rockstar didn't put dirty filthy spyware in there to track my surfing), but 21st century products in the 22nd century setting would spoil the illusion.

[TheMovement4]

I love my BF2.. I do agree that ads in game is total nonsense, and I was dling the demo today(2142) but it, for some reason, stop dling. I was about to go get it right before I saw this thread. But.. I am buying the game. And to be honest, Razor right about the Osama Bin Laden simile, ahaha

[Razors Edge]

Yeah I POOOON at racing games. Not really so much with simulation crap like Forza and Grand Turismo becuase I don't want to worry about turning fromt eh right angle and ****. Its easier to drive a car then play one fo those simulation. But the need for speed has always been a favorite......

[m4gnum]

If you think Gran Turismo is simulation, you've never played GTR or GT Legends. That's a whole heap of difficulty.

[podpet24]

Yeah I POOOON at racing games. Not really so much with simulation crap like Forza and Grand Turismo becuase I don't want to worry about turning fromt eh right angle and ****. Its easier to drive a car then play one fo those simulation. But the need for speed has always been a favorite......

Yeah, I'm totally into the Need for Speed series, but I got hooked into Forza because the fun is actually in the tuning. Getting your baby tuned just right and owning people all over the net. Now that's awesome.

Now, back on track, WTF EA? I understand in-game ads in, like, racing games here, but how could you possibly integrate any type of ad into a futuristic war game? Now, I haven't bought and games recently, and I haven't seen one of these ad-maker things in action, but it sounds like it would ruin the reality of the game, not to mention the spyware line EA's toeing with this.

[DaveW]

Being fair, it's brand name which is important. It's not hard to imagine that Coca-Cola will still be around in the future, and coca-cola advertising would probably add to the feeling of a futuristic war game. Things like this can add to the quality of a game.

Go outside and walk around for a while, how many advertisements do you see?

This can work in games if done properly. But i think EA's just cashing in.

-Dave

[public_eyesore]

It doesn't bother me too much, but as Dave said, I would like a price drop

[m4gnum]

This is 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, game play behavior 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 “impression data”, such as location of the billboard in the game or duration of advertisement impression. It
helps see how many people have seen an ad – but not who has seen it.

We are also conscious that the advertisement shouldn’t 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

[onelegout]

Well let's hope theyre telling the truth :D
Thanks for the heads up.
Consider my original post and the source it came from invalid from this point onwards.
H

[Airbozo]

So I just picked up my copy of bf2142 and I feel a sudden rush of, cough cough, wheez, sickness! Better go home and kill,ah er, rest it off.

I must say that I have only ever had one issue with bf2 and that was getting booted out of a server for no reason. I really never had any other issues with the game. I love pretty much all sorts of EA games and think they do a quality job on most of them. I also know a couple of the EA testers and they have said some nice and nasty things about the company and their products.

I never heard of the tracking thingy, but it would not influence my purchase. If it is intrusive I will make some calls and fire off some emails (hell with the money I have spent on ea games, I should be at least a board member!)

Woops, there I went and sprained my pinky, better go home now...

[CanaBalistic]

For the price of the game, there shouldnt be any ads at all what so ever! Why is it that software has to be accompanied by ads at all? What am i paying for? If i wanted to be bombarded with ad's i'd simply go for a walk.

[public_eyesore]

For the price of the game, there shouldnt be any ads at all what so ever! Why is it that software has to be accompanied by ads at all? What am i paying for? If i wanted to be bombarded with ad's i'd simply go for a walk.

The price of dev is going up so they justify this as a way to keep prices where they are

[simon275]

Still on topic I wonder if this has happened to any one yet.

http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2006/10/20

[Airbozo]

The price of dev is going up so they justify this as a way to keep prices where they are

...as well as paying to keep the servers up...

Still think it should be cheaper due to in game adverts though.

BTW installed and played some single player maps last night since by the time I got done with chores and stuff the ea servers were offline for maintenance (tuesday nights from 9pm-11pm). I must say that it ran cleanly and without any issues with everything but aa turned all the way up. I am running a P4 3.0 ghz (overclocked to 3.5), with 2gb memory and an ati x850xt w/512mb (no overclocking). My only issue is that there was not an option for the optimal resolution for my monitor (1600x1280), so portions of my 24" superwide monitor are blank...:mad:

[monoflap]

Personally, I think the battlefield games are good at heart but I've always had problems with bf2 weather its crackling sound or getting booted out. My rig is definatley on the older side but most of this stuff only happens when I'm playing (or trying to anyway) bf2. The thought of ads just makes me less interested in 2142. Good game at heart, but seems rushed out the door.

[onelegout]

What annoys me is that my whole clan are playing this. Im now the only one playing on our two 64 player bf2 servers!

Edit: I mean, im the only clan member - the servers are usualy full with other people its just not as fun when you cant run around in a squad of your own clan owning!