First off, I've come here not as a "crank", not as a troll, and not as a pirate who downloaded
an illegal copy of "Elemental: War of Magic". I've come here as a paying customer who researched
the game (and it's faults), watched videos of it's game play, and read forum posts by it's
designers and it's CEO.

I first carefully read the forum posts discussing "Impulse" and it's implementation. I read
A forum post by Kryo (http://forums.impulsedriven.com/324806/page/7/#replies - #152) states
that "You don't need it to play, only to update." Considering I didn't like the idea of
"Impulse", reading this pleased me and I set out to purchase a physical copy.

Upon arriving at the store, I examined the box and it's "fine print" carefully to verify that
this was indeed true and that "Online Activation" would not be required to play right out
of the box. The box did state however that online activation would be required for updates.

I was absolutely fine with this so long that I received all of the features detailed on the
box that did not specifically require "online activation".

The game was slightly pricey (49.99$ - Best Buy as of 10/06/2010) considering it was from a small
company (like Runic for example) however, I decided that "Elemental: War of Magic" appeared
interesting enough to warrant such a price.

So I made the purchase and returned home to install the game. While the game was installing,
I set out to read Stardock's "Gamers' Bill of Rights". (http://www.gamersbillofrights.org/)
I also made sure that the URL was legitimate and found a forum post made by Frogboy.
(https://forums.elementalgame.com/392474 - on August 25, 2010)

Which Stated:
"The site, www.gamersbillofrights.org  was set up and is run by Stardock. We stand by it.  
It is, with some irony, our commitment to no DRM on our DVD release that ultimately caused
the rough pre-release experience of Elemental."

I thought to myself "now this is impressive." At this point, the game had almost finished
installing so I finished reading the "Gamers' Bill of Rights", bookmarked it, and closed
my browser down.

The game installed without a hitch and while I understood that I wouldn't be getting
updates, (because I did not wish to use Impulse), I was gladly ready to experience
all of the features listed on the box that didn't require "online activation".

Ah but, as the old saying goes "If sounds too good to be true, it most likely is."
Right away, I noticed that one of the major features listed on the box that helped me
decide on my purchase ("Build Your Own World - Create your own maps, quests, and adventures.")
Required the "Latest updated version of the game".

This immediately shot up reg flags due to what I had previously read on the forums from
Kryo and on the very retail box itself. So I set out to research further on the game
forums.

So what I gathered was that (of course) updating the game required the use and log in
with "Impulse". So by proxy, having the featured "Map Editor" requires "online activation".
I also learned that the "Multi-player" feature required "online activation" as well.

The problem here is that the retail box did not explicitly state that these items required
an online activation. Multi-player (obviously) required broadband connection but aside from
that, nothing else detailing online activation for features was expressed on the retail
box.

At this point, I wasn't angry. Just somewhat curious as to why I wasn't told on the retail
box that these features would be unavailable unless I used Impulse and thus activated the
game online.

So I continued my forum search and found a few very interesting yet concerning posts
made by Kryo and also, Frogboy (Which I've gathered is the CEO of Stardock.) In several
posts, Frogboy was responding to a very angry and disrespectful consumer who was
obviously very unhappy with his purchase.

Some of Frogboy's comments were to the manner of (paraphrasing) I see not having "Cranks"
buy our game as a feature and I don't want your business if you're a "crank". Now I'm
not totally sure how he was using the term "crank" here. So although I have mentioned
his comments, I will not hold those against him or his company.

I will however, hold this against him and his company. If you're going to create a
"Gamers' Bill of Rights" and claim to follow it. ("The site, www.gamersbillofrights.org
was set up and is run by Stardock. We stand by it.") Then I, as a gamer and a consumer
will hold you to it.

I will also point out where you've misspoke and mislead gamers like me who carefully read
the retail box before purchasing your product.

"4. Gamers shall have the right to have their games not require a third-party download
manager installed in order for the game to function."

The retail box states that both "Build your own world - create your own maps, quests,
and adventures." as well as "Compete against up to 16 human or computer players locally
or online" as features. And lists only "updates" require online activation.

Both of these items require "Impulse" in order to function.
I will not claim to know exactly what "Impulse" is. I'll allow a direct quote from
Kryo to explain that for me.

(http://forums.impulsedriven.com/324806/page/7/#replies - post 152: November 26, 2008 2:05:20 AM)
Kryo: "First off, Impulse is not DRM; it's just a download manager."

Now I'm sure a nice defense to this would be that "Impulse" isn't technically "third-party". However,
If you take a moment and review your installation settings, you'll see that Impulse is installed and
can be uninstalled separately from Elemental - War of Magic" and that it's used for other tasks than
just updating Elemental - War of Magic".

Requiring a download-manager made by your company for the two mentioned features above to "function"
is simply a play on the wording of your own bill and a very slick, shady way of circumventing it's
implication. Requiring the use of a download-manager in order for features to function still achieves
the same end, whether it's third-party or not.


I'm not angry that I spent my money on your product only to find that features were missing
without online activation, nor am I upset that it wasn't detailed specifically on the retail
box. What infuriates me is that you created this "Gamers' Bill of Rights" only to use a "Large
Company" tactic to circumvent it by playing on it's legal wording.

Shame on you.

Now I'll expect the small legions of your fans to come quickly to your defense in attempt to
discredit or belittle my opinions, which is fine. I have provided links to the posts that I have
quoted as well as the quotes themselves. I have not used any sort of inflammatory, cursing, or
otherwise ill-mannered rhetoric. I have simply detailed my opinions and conclusions and what
brought me to them.

I consider the purchase of your product to be a mistake. I've signed up to your forums and posted
this here in hopes that perhaps you'll change your wayward policy, implement an alternative, or
simply acknowledge the problem.

A person or company is only as good as their word and after reading your "Gamers' Bill of Rights",
being mislead on the retail box, and seeing the clever use of the download-manager that the Bill
speaks against, I simply do not have any faith in your word. I am a long time gamer and I spend
a sizable amount of money on various games throughout the year.

This is the first product made by Stardock that I've purchased. If the above mentioned issues
are any indication of how Stardock conducts itself, then it'll also be my last purchase.

I'll be voting with my wallet.




If you have any doubt that I'm a paying customer by all means, let me know. I'll be more than
happy to fax you my best buy reciept, the barcode from the retail box, and of course, my request
for a refund.


Note: Upon reading the privacy statement, I found this paragraph:

"Stardock Activation
Beginning in 2005, some Stardock products require activation over the Internet to use their enhanced versions.
Depending on if your order was directly through Stardock or through a third-party, we may ask for your first name,
last name, email address, and the serial number/activation code for the product you have purchased.
Your IP address and number of activation attempts will also be logged. There are reasonable limits on how often you can
activate a given product to help deter piracy, but for most users, this limit will not be reached."

It's obvious to me that "Impulse" is not simply "just a download manager" but a very clever light DRM that
according to the above "helps deter piracy". This is absolutely acceptable however, after my above issues
and upon reading this privacy statement, I'm not convinced that the "Gamers' Bill of Rights" is anything more
than an intelligent marketing strategy that appeals to a particular player demographic that's been burned
by the larger companies and their "heavy" DRM systems.

DRM systems will always be a burden on the player. Whether light or heavy. Whether it's a hidden program
that thrashes through your system collecting data or requiring a cleverly disguised download-manager/DRM in
order to receive advertised features and updates. Pirates still pirate the software and the only thing the
DRM achieves is creating more burden on paying customers and legitimate gamers.