Honestly, Arc seems fine except for lacking overlay chat support (which says it is coming). I previously ran STO through Steam and I noticed that when running the game out of Steam, either directly from the .exe or through Arc I don't have framerate issues and the wewird 2-3 minutes hiccup startup (where the game begins at 1-2 FPS and remains that way for almost three minutes!).
Steam runs many games in compatibility mode to support the overlay, so for anyone who has had framerate issues or slow loading, I would definitely recommend using Arc or loading the games directly.
Seems to help minor framerate issues I had running NWO through Steam as well. Very odd.
Current Server:Mindflayer
History Class in the Realms: "Elves did it better first. Also, magic was probably involved somehow and maybe gods. Or godly magic. Now go outside so the orcs and bandits have someone to menace."
You're missing paranoia. You're also missing a racist conviction that if a particular software package is produced by a company headquartered in China, then of course it must be spyware, malware, and a virus. All at the same time.
I couldn't care less what country it came from. If a program insists on running long after I have no further use for it, sucks down several times the memory it has any business doing, refuses to tell me what it's actually doing with any of those resources, attempts to supplant/takeover my native web browser, and has an EULA that effectively gives it access to every single byte of data on my hard drive, it's spyware. End of discussion.
I couldn't care less what country it came from. If a program insists on running long after I have no further use for it, sucks down several times the memory it has any business doing, refuses to tell me what it's actually doing with any of those resources, attempts to supplant/takeover my native web browser, and has an EULA that effectively gives it access to every single byte of data on my hard drive, it's spyware. End of discussion.
So, STO is spyware. End of discussion.
So is every other MMO out there.
(You, ah, did read the EULA before signing it, right?)
(You, ah, did read the EULA before signing it, right?)
Apparently, you didn't. The EULA of STO (and any other MMO) gives them the rights to check for known cheating/hacking programs, and nothing more. The EULA of Arc doesn't specify ANY limits on what they can look at - it pretty bluntly states your entire HD is up for grabs.
1) A lot of people fear the unknown and there is a lot of unknowns surrounding Arc
2) It feels like something is being forced on us (not the first time if you've been here long enough to remember the forum merger)
3) It adds no functionality that is essential to the game
4) It takes away some functionality of the game like running multiple clients on the same machine
5) It adds an extra server that can and will go down that we must access to play the game
6) It uses more than the insignificant amount of resources that has been claimed be the Arc PR
Some of these points have workaround for now while we can still close Arc after launching the game through the task manager but if that is ever taken away every point becomes very valid and unavoidable.
I absolutely agree with this especially with the adds no further functionality to STO. It?s just another HOOP for the player base to needlessly jump thru.
Ask yourselves some basic questions:
1. How does Arc benefit the Star Trek Online player in ANY way shape or form?
2. Who does Arc REALLY benefit?
3. Does ARC offer ANY LONG TERM benefits at all to the Star Trek Online community at all?
4. It?s Really worth having all the additional headaches and frustrations that WILL come with having a 3rd party style launcher in place?
I couldn't care less what country it came from. If a program insists on running long after I have no further use for it, sucks down several times the memory it has any business doing, refuses to tell me what it's actually doing with any of those resources, attempts to supplant/takeover my native web browser, and has an EULA that effectively gives it access to every single byte of data on my hard drive, it's spyware. End of discussion.
Hey!
So, I'm going through the EULA myself, and I think this is the part that may have you concerned, but let me know if I'm off base.
"12. Data Collected To Prevent Cheating And Unauthorized Software
12.1 You understand and agree that when user our Service and/or run our Game software, this can and may involve software functions designed to detect cheating or unauthorized and malicious programs. In this context, we may access, collect, monitor and/or remotely store screenshots of game play, information relating to hardware capacity, modifications related to our Game software, signatures, profiles or names of known unauthorized or malicious third party programs, files or processes that enable or facilitate cheating, unfair advantage or hacking of the Games or Service. If unauthorized or malicious programs are detected, the Game software may also communicate to us the users account and User ID and information about the unauthorized or malicious program or its use."
To clear this up, this is set forth to ensure we cover all ends on our side. The only thing it will be doing is making sure no cheat software is being ran, which is fairly standard for most launchers/games. Other than that, if you want us to collect system information you have to opt-in, otherwise we can't.
Now you may be asking, well then why does Arc need to run after I launch? In particular, it's because it's used to detect cheat software, something it can't do when it's off. As I said in a previous post though, this may change. Nothing is set in stone atm, which is why we still carry the Beta tag. There's been a lot of talk on ways to improve this feature and to allow users to close Arc after launching. I can't make any promises or give any specifics, as I don't have them, but we are well aware of players' concern regarding this issue.
I hope this helps clear the air, and if not, let me know. I'd be more than happy to answer your questions.
So, I'm going through the EULA myself, and I think this is the part that may have you concerned, but let me know if I'm off base.
"12. Data Collected To Prevent Cheating And Unauthorized Software
12.1 You understand and agree that when user our Service and/or run our Game software, this can and may involve software functions designed to detect cheating or unauthorized and malicious programs. In this context, we may access, collect, monitor and/or remotely store screenshots of game play, information relating to hardware capacity, modifications related to our Game software, signatures, profiles or names of known unauthorized or malicious third party programs, files or processes that enable or facilitate cheating, unfair advantage or hacking of the Games or Service. If unauthorized or malicious programs are detected, the Game software may also communicate to us the users account and User ID and information about the unauthorized or malicious program or its use."
To clear this up, this is set forth to ensure we cover all ends on our side. The only thing it will be doing is making sure no cheat software is being ran, which is fairly standard for most launchers/games. Other than that, if you want us to collect system information you have to opt-in, otherwise we can't.
Now you may be asking, well then why does Arc need to run after I launch? In particular, it's because it's used to detect cheat software, something it can't do when it's off. As I said in a previous post though, this may change. Nothing is set in stone atm, which is why we still carry the Beta tag. There's been a lot of talk on ways to improve this feature and to allow users to close Arc after launching. I can't make any promises or give any specifics, as I don't have them, but we are well aware of players' concern regarding this issue.
I hope this helps clear the air, and if not, let me know. I'd be more than happy to answer your questions.
There is no option in Arc to opt in or out of sharing system information. The only time I saw it was the window for finalizing the instillation and the box was checked by default for sharing data. For someone not paying attention and just clicking the finish button, they will be automatically opted in for sharing data and there is no way to reverse that without uninstalling and reinstalling Arc and unchecking the box in the final install window. I looked all over the settings in Arc itself and could not find the option anywhere.
To clear this up, this is set forth to ensure we cover all ends on our side. The only thing it will be doing is making sure no cheat software is being ran, which is fairly standard for most launchers/games. Other than that, if you want us to collect system information you have to opt-in, otherwise we can't.
Question: does this mean you also record all our system processes for your review? Does this include Window Services?
Really how can you know what software we are running cheat or otherwise if you don't.
Also what is classified as cheat software? I use calc.exe and Excel.exe to help to plan and co-ordinate my fleet holdings. is that kind of maximizing prohibited. I use a dps parcer to Figure out how to maximize my builds. Is the fact that any of those process are running on my system being sent to you. These improve my strategizing.
What if I have a keyboard where the driver software includes macros for faster response into windows. Even though it has no code injected into your game does it count as a cheat since people would appear to have faster then normal response?
Maybe I don't want you to know what software I'm using. In my mind it is none of your business to know what software I'm running.
Can you please show us an example of the information on the software you collect?
So, I'm going through the EULA myself, and I think this is the part that may have you concerned, but let me know if I'm off base.
"12. Data Collected To Prevent Cheating And Unauthorized Software
12.1 You understand and agree that when user our Service and/or run our Game software, this can and may involve software functions designed to detect cheating or unauthorized and malicious programs. In this context, we may access, collect, monitor and/or remotely store screenshots of game play, information relating to hardware capacity, modifications related to our Game software, signatures, profiles or names of known unauthorized or malicious third party programs, files or processes that enable or facilitate cheating, unfair advantage or hacking of the Games or Service. If unauthorized or malicious programs are detected, the Game software may also communicate to us the users account and User ID and information about the unauthorized or malicious program or its use."
To clear this up, this is set forth to ensure we cover all ends on our side. The only thing it will be doing is making sure no cheat software is being ran, which is fairly standard for most launchers/games. Other than that, if you want us to collect system information you have to opt-in, otherwise we can't.
Now you may be asking, well then why does Arc need to run after I launch? In particular, it's because it's used to detect cheat software, something it can't do when it's off. As I said in a previous post though, this may change. Nothing is set in stone atm, which is why we still carry the Beta tag. There's been a lot of talk on ways to improve this feature and to allow users to close Arc after launching. I can't make any promises or give any specifics, as I don't have them, but we are well aware of players' concern regarding this issue.
I hope this helps clear the air, and if not, let me know. I'd be more than happy to answer your questions.
Thank you for that much clarification.
I do see what you're aiming at with the anti-cheat system.
Thing is, does it have to be live?
By which I mean, I see why the program needs to monitor my side of the router, but what purpose is served by it communicating to other computers while I'm playing?
There is no option in Arc to opt in or out of sharing system information. The only time I saw it was the window for finalizing the instillation and the box was checked by default for sharing data. For someone not paying attention and just clicking the finish button, they will be automatically opted in for sharing data and there is no way to reverse that without uninstalling and reinstalling Arc and unchecking the box in the final install window. I looked all over the settings in Arc itself and could not find the option anywhere.
For now that is how it is, but we are looking into a way to get it integrated into the platform.
Question: does this mean you also record all our system processes for your review? Does this include Window Services?
Really how can you know what software we are running cheat or otherwise if you don't.
Also what is classified as cheat software? I use calc.exe and Excel.exe to help to plan and co-ordinate my fleet holdings. is that kind of maximizing prohibited. I use a dps parcer to Figure out how to maximize my builds. Is the fact that any of those process are running on my system being sent to you. These improve my strategizing.
What if I have a keyboard where the driver software includes macros for faster response into windows. Even though it has no code injected into your game does it count as a cheat since people would appear to have faster then normal response?
Maybe I don't want you to know what software I'm using. In my mind it is none of your business to know what software I'm running.
Can you please show us an example of the information on the software you collect?
It will only look for malicious software, so things like calc.exe and excel.exe will not put up any red flags. The same can be said for keyboard/mouse drivers, etc. As for what it monitors and looks for, it's all in the EULA, part 12.1. Essentially, screenshots of gameplay, user ID/password if said player has been flagged running file processes to enable hacking/cheating, etc. Most of it's pretty straight forward and what you'd expect from any online gaming service. Think of it as a built in Game-Guard, except not Game-Guard. If you've played any online game in the past with a anti-cheat software, it functions basically the same way. (Note: I just used Game-Guard as an example)
I hope this helps clear the air, and if not, let me know. I'd be more than happy to answer your questions.
sparkie, it may end up being a case of pointing out examples of similar features that are literally all over the place...whether it's somebody using Steam (with their VACS) or Blizzard (with Warden) or NCSoft (with Gameguard) or yeah...the list goes on and on and on and on and on...eh?
Now you may be asking, well then why does Arc need to run after I launch? In particular, it's because it's used to detect cheat software, something it can't do when it's off. As I said in a previous post though, this may change. Nothing is set in stone atm, which is why we still carry the Beta tag. There's been a lot of talk on ways to improve this feature and to allow users to close Arc after launching. I can't make any promises or give any specifics, as I don't have them, but we are well aware of players' concern regarding this issue.
So It IS spying on us...... to "detect cheat software".
This should put an end to all debate on the subject.
There is NO such thing as just spying on you a little, just like one can't be a little bit pregnant.
You either are spying, or you aren't. It's really quite simple as that.
So today it's to "detect cheat software", what assurances do we have that tomorrow it won't be for something else?
Because from what I'm gathering, it has the capabilities to collect data on other things as well.
You know, the more I read about this issue the madder I get, Why? It's the half truths and the activities of the "Foil hat brigade".
I don't cheat, I'm a good customer and I don't appreciate the patting down of my system every time I log on either.
You want us to trust YOU? How's about showing us a little trust in return?
My new sig line grows more appropriate every time you post, djinn. What exactly makes you think Cryptic/PWE wants to spy on you? Are you really just that freaking special?
My new sig line grows more appropriate every time you post, djinn. What exactly makes you think Cryptic/PWE wants to spy on you? Are you really just that freaking special?
Just the response I was anticipating and equally just as fast.
I protect my privacy on line diligently and I consider someone who doesn't crazy.
Originally Posted by monkeybone13
There is no option in Arc to opt in or out of sharing system information. The only time I saw it was the window for finalizing the instillation and the box was checked by default for sharing data. For someone not paying attention and just clicking the finish button, they will be automatically opted in for sharing data and there is no way to reverse that without uninstalling and reinstalling Arc and unchecking the box in the final install window. I looked all over the settings in Arc itself and could not find the option anywhere.
For now that is how it is, but we are looking into a way to get it integrated into the platform.
May I strongly suggest that you publicise this easy to miss button a little harder.
Just because its there doesn't shield you from liability, especially if its in a non-intuitive place.
And the current inability to revisit this option may also be an actual offence under current data protection laws.
Originally Posted by monkeybone13
There is no option in Arc to opt in or out of sharing system information. The only time I saw it was the window for finalizing the instillation and the box was checked by default for sharing data. For someone not paying attention and just clicking the finish button, they will be automatically opted in for sharing data and there is no way to reverse that without uninstalling and reinstalling Arc and unchecking the box in the final install window. I looked all over the settings in Arc itself and could not find the option anywhere.
For now that is how it is, but we are looking into a way to get it integrated into the platform.
May I strongly suggest that you publicise this easy to miss button a little harder.
Just because its there doesn't shield you from liability, especially if its in a non-intuitive place.
And the current inability to revisit this option may also be an actual offence under current data protection laws.
It's a work in progress and I've already brought it up with the team, so we're well aware of it!
Originally Posted by monkeybone13
There is no option in Arc to opt in or out of sharing system information. The only time I saw it was the window for finalizing the instillation and the box was checked by default for sharing data. For someone not paying attention and just clicking the finish button, they will be automatically opted in for sharing data and there is no way to reverse that without uninstalling and reinstalling Arc and unchecking the box in the final install window. I looked all over the settings in Arc itself and could not find the option anywhere.
For now that is how it is, but we are looking into a way to get it integrated into the platform.
May I strongly suggest that you publicise this easy to miss button a little harder.
Just because its there doesn't shield you from liability, especially if its in a non-intuitive place.
And the current inability to revisit this option may also be an actual offence under current data protection laws.
Shield me from....? How the hell am I liable for anything? And what do you mean I should "publicize this easy to miss button a little harder"? Are you saying I shouldn't be telling anybody where to find the option?
They keep saying we will be opted out by default and have to manually op into data sharing and I was pointing out that the option is not in Arc at all and where the only place to see the option is. Sparkiesoft finally clarified that the option isn't added to Arc yet.
I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not, but you're coming off as a jackass.
Shield me from....? How the hell am I liable for anything? And what do you mean I should "publicize this easy to miss button a little harder"? Are you saying I shouldn't be telling anybody where to find the option?
They keep saying we will be opted out by default and have to manually op into data sharing and I was pointing out that the option is not in Arc at all and where the only place to see the option is. Sparkiesoft finally clarified that the option isn't added to Arc yet.
I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not, but you're coming off as a jackass.
No, I think you misunderstand. I believe Rinkster is talking to the dev, not players.
It's a work in progress and I've already brought it up with the team, so we're well aware of it!
I just want to say thank you for looking into it and finally letting us know. I was starting to think you guys weren't being honest with us because you never said before that the feature wasn't added yet. You just kept saying we will be opted out by default and have to manually opt in to data sharing if we wanted to do that.
P.S. When I launch Arc the left/right scrolling news stuff on the page shows Season 8 Dev Blog #35 first. I believe we are up to at least #48 now lol. So it seems the news isn't completely up to date yet, but I'm sure they're working on it.
No, I think you misunderstand. I believe Rinkster is talking to the dev, not players.
It's a possibility. I wish people could be more specific as to who they are talking to when talking to more than 1 person in a single post, because idiots like me think we're the center of the universe. :P
I've been using SweetFX with STO for a long time now, but when I log in via Arc it seems to bypass it completely. I can still play but without the SweetFX enhancements.
This is a real dealbreaker for Arc. If SweetFX can work with Steam I see no reason why it can't work with Arc.
It's a possibility. I wish people could be more specific as to who they are talking to when talking to more than 1 person in a single post, because idiots like me think we're the center of the universe. :P
My apologies for any lack of clarity Monkeybone.
I was, as said, referring to Sparkiesoft.
You made the excellent point that, while there is a button to opt in or out during installation, it is unaccessible after that.
While I'm no expert, I seem to remember the law requiring the ability to opt in or out on a continuing basis.
Thus, ARC as it stands right now, may be in breach of the law in some juridstictions.
The only way to protect your privacy online is to not go online in the first place.
Right.
Your call may be monitored and recorded for quality assurance.
Sound familiar? When you call your bank, phone company, cable company, or any other kind of customer service number, often times you will hear a recorded message like that.
So to avoid being recorded over the phone, I guess you shouldn't have a phone to begin with.
You could drive down to your bank and talk to them in person to straighten out a problem with your account to avoid being recorded on the phone, but you're going to be recorded on their surveillance cameras.
The only way to not be recorded/spied on is to go to the middle of nowhere and crawl under a rock and stay there. :P
But, if I were you, I'd have a little chat with your company lawyer regarding whether you're exposed right now.
Not being able to opt out of data gathering is something that gets succesfully prosecuted around the world nowadays.
I don't think calling it a 'beta' would shield you from liability.
THIS.
ARC is borderline at best; given what I've been reading on data protection laws, it could, hypothetically, be prosecuted, especially in a country like the US. In fact, I'd give a 60-40 chance of success in such a case (success meaning a plaintiff victory and ARC being overhauled or banned). The "beta" designation...is a very, very weak shield.
Also, in case PWE hasn't been paying attention, a lot of the hate directed at the US government recently has been over spying and pat-downs that are ostensibly for our safety. Given that PWE has a record even worse than that of the TSA and NSA, I don't trust them with my data.
And I may want to publish that story that I wrote for NaNoWriMo sometime.
Also, ARC is buggy as hell, the mandatory ads for PWE games got me into a bit of hot water with my GF (seriously, I don't need pictures of scantily-clad animated women rammed down my throat, and it took like ten minutes to explain and then to get her to stop laughing), and there is no reason on Earth to keep ANY launcher processes going when the game is running.
If and when ARC becomes mandatory, I will very sadly leave STO until further notice. I am not going to download any Cryptic/PWE games until ARC is no more (even though I want to try Neverwinter and CO), and I will not give Cryptic or PWE any of my money until I have a guarantee that ARC will never become mandatory.
I do not blame Cryptic or the STO devs for this. I place full responsibility on the PWE executives who want to implement this software.
Comments
Steam runs many games in compatibility mode to support the overlay, so for anyone who has had framerate issues or slow loading, I would definitely recommend using Arc or loading the games directly.
Seems to help minor framerate issues I had running NWO through Steam as well. Very odd.
I couldn't care less what country it came from. If a program insists on running long after I have no further use for it, sucks down several times the memory it has any business doing, refuses to tell me what it's actually doing with any of those resources, attempts to supplant/takeover my native web browser, and has an EULA that effectively gives it access to every single byte of data on my hard drive, it's spyware. End of discussion.
So is every other MMO out there.
(You, ah, did read the EULA before signing it, right?)
Apparently, you didn't. The EULA of STO (and any other MMO) gives them the rights to check for known cheating/hacking programs, and nothing more. The EULA of Arc doesn't specify ANY limits on what they can look at - it pretty bluntly states your entire HD is up for grabs.
I absolutely agree with this especially with the adds no further functionality to STO. It?s just another HOOP for the player base to needlessly jump thru.
Ask yourselves some basic questions:
1. How does Arc benefit the Star Trek Online player in ANY way shape or form?
2. Who does Arc REALLY benefit?
3. Does ARC offer ANY LONG TERM benefits at all to the Star Trek Online community at all?
4. It?s Really worth having all the additional headaches and frustrations that WILL come with having a 3rd party style launcher in place?
Apparently its still active and, even talking to some entities via the internet.
Tell me whats happening there, then I'll know whether or not to install it.
However, without clarity on that singular point, I don't know why anyone sensible would run this software.
Hey!
So, I'm going through the EULA myself, and I think this is the part that may have you concerned, but let me know if I'm off base.
"12. Data Collected To Prevent Cheating And Unauthorized Software
12.1 You understand and agree that when user our Service and/or run our Game software, this can and may involve software functions designed to detect cheating or unauthorized and malicious programs. In this context, we may access, collect, monitor and/or remotely store screenshots of game play, information relating to hardware capacity, modifications related to our Game software, signatures, profiles or names of known unauthorized or malicious third party programs, files or processes that enable or facilitate cheating, unfair advantage or hacking of the Games or Service. If unauthorized or malicious programs are detected, the Game software may also communicate to us the users account and User ID and information about the unauthorized or malicious program or its use."
To clear this up, this is set forth to ensure we cover all ends on our side. The only thing it will be doing is making sure no cheat software is being ran, which is fairly standard for most launchers/games. Other than that, if you want us to collect system information you have to opt-in, otherwise we can't.
Now you may be asking, well then why does Arc need to run after I launch? In particular, it's because it's used to detect cheat software, something it can't do when it's off. As I said in a previous post though, this may change. Nothing is set in stone atm, which is why we still carry the Beta tag. There's been a lot of talk on ways to improve this feature and to allow users to close Arc after launching. I can't make any promises or give any specifics, as I don't have them, but we are well aware of players' concern regarding this issue.
I hope this helps clear the air, and if not, let me know. I'd be more than happy to answer your questions.
There is no option in Arc to opt in or out of sharing system information. The only time I saw it was the window for finalizing the instillation and the box was checked by default for sharing data. For someone not paying attention and just clicking the finish button, they will be automatically opted in for sharing data and there is no way to reverse that without uninstalling and reinstalling Arc and unchecking the box in the final install window. I looked all over the settings in Arc itself and could not find the option anywhere.
Edit: See my post earlier in the thread here http://sto-forum.perfectworld.com/showpost.php?p=14441821&postcount=527 Screenshots included. There is no option in Arc to opt in or out of data sharing.
Question: does this mean you also record all our system processes for your review? Does this include Window Services?
Really how can you know what software we are running cheat or otherwise if you don't.
Also what is classified as cheat software? I use calc.exe and Excel.exe to help to plan and co-ordinate my fleet holdings. is that kind of maximizing prohibited. I use a dps parcer to Figure out how to maximize my builds. Is the fact that any of those process are running on my system being sent to you. These improve my strategizing.
What if I have a keyboard where the driver software includes macros for faster response into windows. Even though it has no code injected into your game does it count as a cheat since people would appear to have faster then normal response?
Maybe I don't want you to know what software I'm using. In my mind it is none of your business to know what software I'm running.
Can you please show us an example of the information on the software you collect?
Thank you for that much clarification.
I do see what you're aiming at with the anti-cheat system.
Thing is, does it have to be live?
By which I mean, I see why the program needs to monitor my side of the router, but what purpose is served by it communicating to other computers while I'm playing?
Couldn't it do that sort of thing on start up?
For now that is how it is, but we are looking into a way to get it integrated into the platform.
It will only look for malicious software, so things like calc.exe and excel.exe will not put up any red flags. The same can be said for keyboard/mouse drivers, etc. As for what it monitors and looks for, it's all in the EULA, part 12.1. Essentially, screenshots of gameplay, user ID/password if said player has been flagged running file processes to enable hacking/cheating, etc. Most of it's pretty straight forward and what you'd expect from any online gaming service. Think of it as a built in Game-Guard, except not Game-Guard. If you've played any online game in the past with a anti-cheat software, it functions basically the same way. (Note: I just used Game-Guard as an example)
Hope that helps.
sparkie, it may end up being a case of pointing out examples of similar features that are literally all over the place...whether it's somebody using Steam (with their VACS) or Blizzard (with Warden) or NCSoft (with Gameguard) or yeah...the list goes on and on and on and on and on...eh?
So It IS spying on us...... to "detect cheat software".
This should put an end to all debate on the subject.
There is NO such thing as just spying on you a little, just like one can't be a little bit pregnant.
You either are spying, or you aren't. It's really quite simple as that.
So today it's to "detect cheat software", what assurances do we have that tomorrow it won't be for something else?
Because from what I'm gathering, it has the capabilities to collect data on other things as well.
You know, the more I read about this issue the madder I get, Why? It's the half truths and the activities of the "Foil hat brigade".
I don't cheat, I'm a good customer and I don't appreciate the patting down of my system every time I log on either.
You want us to trust YOU? How's about showing us a little trust in return?
Just the response I was anticipating and equally just as fast.
I protect my privacy on line diligently and I consider someone who doesn't crazy.
There is no option in Arc to opt in or out of sharing system information. The only time I saw it was the window for finalizing the instillation and the box was checked by default for sharing data. For someone not paying attention and just clicking the finish button, they will be automatically opted in for sharing data and there is no way to reverse that without uninstalling and reinstalling Arc and unchecking the box in the final install window. I looked all over the settings in Arc itself and could not find the option anywhere.
For now that is how it is, but we are looking into a way to get it integrated into the platform.
May I strongly suggest that you publicise this easy to miss button a little harder.
Just because its there doesn't shield you from liability, especially if its in a non-intuitive place.
And the current inability to revisit this option may also be an actual offence under current data protection laws.
It's a work in progress and I've already brought it up with the team, so we're well aware of it!
Glad to hear it.
But, if I were you, I'd have a little chat with your company lawyer regarding whether you're exposed right now.
Not being able to opt out of data gathering is something that gets succesfully prosecuted around the world nowadays.
I don't think calling it a 'beta' would shield you from liability.
Shield me from....? How the hell am I liable for anything? And what do you mean I should "publicize this easy to miss button a little harder"? Are you saying I shouldn't be telling anybody where to find the option?
They keep saying we will be opted out by default and have to manually op into data sharing and I was pointing out that the option is not in Arc at all and where the only place to see the option is. Sparkiesoft finally clarified that the option isn't added to Arc yet.
I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not, but you're coming off as a jackass.
No, I think you misunderstand. I believe Rinkster is talking to the dev, not players.
I just want to say thank you for looking into it and finally letting us know. I was starting to think you guys weren't being honest with us because you never said before that the feature wasn't added yet. You just kept saying we will be opted out by default and have to manually opt in to data sharing if we wanted to do that.
P.S. When I launch Arc the left/right scrolling news stuff on the page shows Season 8 Dev Blog #35 first. I believe we are up to at least #48 now lol. So it seems the news isn't completely up to date yet, but I'm sure they're working on it.
It's a possibility. I wish people could be more specific as to who they are talking to when talking to more than 1 person in a single post, because idiots like me think we're the center of the universe. :P
This is a real dealbreaker for Arc. If SweetFX can work with Steam I see no reason why it can't work with Arc.
The only way to protect your privacy online is to not go online in the first place.
My apologies for any lack of clarity Monkeybone.
I was, as said, referring to Sparkiesoft.
You made the excellent point that, while there is a button to opt in or out during installation, it is unaccessible after that.
While I'm no expert, I seem to remember the law requiring the ability to opt in or out on a continuing basis.
Thus, ARC as it stands right now, may be in breach of the law in some juridstictions.
I vaguely recall this as well. Although I can't recall specifics.
So why was this law enacted? To protect people's privacy, so it would appear that some of us are freakin special after all. :P
Right.
Sound familiar? When you call your bank, phone company, cable company, or any other kind of customer service number, often times you will hear a recorded message like that.
So to avoid being recorded over the phone, I guess you shouldn't have a phone to begin with.
You could drive down to your bank and talk to them in person to straighten out a problem with your account to avoid being recorded on the phone, but you're going to be recorded on their surveillance cameras.
The only way to not be recorded/spied on is to go to the middle of nowhere and crawl under a rock and stay there. :P
THIS.
ARC is borderline at best; given what I've been reading on data protection laws, it could, hypothetically, be prosecuted, especially in a country like the US. In fact, I'd give a 60-40 chance of success in such a case (success meaning a plaintiff victory and ARC being overhauled or banned). The "beta" designation...is a very, very weak shield.
Also, in case PWE hasn't been paying attention, a lot of the hate directed at the US government recently has been over spying and pat-downs that are ostensibly for our safety. Given that PWE has a record even worse than that of the TSA and NSA, I don't trust them with my data.
And I may want to publish that story that I wrote for NaNoWriMo sometime.
Also, ARC is buggy as hell, the mandatory ads for PWE games got me into a bit of hot water with my GF (seriously, I don't need pictures of scantily-clad animated women rammed down my throat, and it took like ten minutes to explain and then to get her to stop laughing), and there is no reason on Earth to keep ANY launcher processes going when the game is running.
If and when ARC becomes mandatory, I will very sadly leave STO until further notice. I am not going to download any Cryptic/PWE games until ARC is no more (even though I want to try Neverwinter and CO), and I will not give Cryptic or PWE any of my money until I have a guarantee that ARC will never become mandatory.
I do not blame Cryptic or the STO devs for this. I place full responsibility on the PWE executives who want to implement this software.
Sincerely, Your disgruntled customer,
worffan101.