Eeeasy on the words there tiger.
Are we sufering from delusions of grandeur a bit? Who the heck do you think you are to tell people (or cats:D) to shut up and be quiet??
Sorry, it's just I'm TIRED of it all. We've hit month three here and it's still the same things being spewed out and I guess CatStar's little set of posts have driven me up the wall. I wish I could just block this entire thread out, but my web page blocker doesn't like that at all.
Im not sure what china has to do with anything, and I never claimed to be a hero. Im a customer trying to keep his favored product from being burred in and used by a sea of unwanted games hanging off of STOs popularity, I Ive tolerated PWE but ARC was a 3rd party that wasnt in the agreement. Haven't you read the original license agreement for the STO discs and game, even when I bought my lifetime sub, my contract was between me and cryptic as an end user contract. Ill keep my cryptic launcher like in the documentation i agreed to stated, cryptic has the right to change and update THEIR launcher, not bring in a 3rd party one! I have and will say no to ARC, and yes they are a threat, as my last pc began to accumulate adware and search bars once I downloaded arc and played champs through it!
...remain quiet...lol. Ive paid them a lot of money and been a loyal customer over the years, I think ive earned the right to have a say!
The way you talk, though, makes you come off as someone who's trying to espouse the "evils" of Arc. Arc isn't a Third Party thing - it's part of PWE. And Cryptic is part of PWE. So, your talks of Third Party stuff went right out the window.
What you must have gotten, though, was Pando, which IS a threat but has been stopped since August. Just watch out for what's being paraded around AS Pando, though. Heck, I just went through my MalwareBytes and Avast programs just recently and nothing came out as being a threat from Arc.
But, of course, I know you won't believe me as you're too focused on the past and not the idea that "Okay, maybe it was something else."
Sorry, it's just I'm TIRED of it all. We've hit month three here and it's still the same things being spewed out and I guess CatStar's little set of posts have driven me up the wall. I wish I could just block this entire thread out, but my web page blocker doesn't like that at all.
The way you talk, though, makes you come off as someone who's trying to espouse the "evils" of Arc. Arc isn't a Third Party thing - it's part of PWE. And Cryptic is part of PWE. So, your talks of Third Party stuff went right out the window.
What you must have gotten, though, was Pando, which IS a threat but has been stopped since August. Just watch out for what's being paraded around AS Pando, though. Heck, I just went through my MalwareBytes and Avast programs just recently and nothing came out as being a threat from Arc.
But, of course, I know you won't believe me as you're too focused on the past and not the idea that "Okay, maybe it was something else."
hey buddy I cant help if u dont like me, but if I dont speak up for me, no one else will! I dont know what the general player thinks of me atm, but none of you should have reason to dislike me. Even if you didnt like my work, I offered my time and talent to aid others in favors and requests, and the only thing I asked for in return was your feedback.
A "no" doesn't make problems go away, and saying "shut up" only delays the inevitable. But it still had to be said, something has to be done, you cant hide from a problem you have to face it and see things accomplished. If nothing else, no one can ever say "Cat, you should have done something or spoken up or warned us about this!" I have a particular character that drives me to do what I perceive to be the right thing, even if its not popular.
After missing out on news because the RSS doesn't work and there's no new one to replace it afaik, I thought I'd make the STO Arc home page abomination easier to read.
Nitpicking is a time-honored tradition of science fiction. Asking your readers not to worry about the "little things" is like asking a dog not to sniff at people's crotches. If there's something that appears to violate natural laws, then you can expect someone's going to point it out. That's just the way things are.
I was launching STO through ARC today. Holodeck was already patched up. I noted Redshirt had returned. I chose to not patch Redshirt. But I casually decided that I would patch Tribble to test out some of the new features to be found this week. My files were up-to-date as of last week. I didn't think that the current feature - Kit Mods - was inordinately large a file size, However, the download seemed to be taking an inordinate amount of time.
I, of course, checked the usual suspects first. Was a roommate playing an MMO, streaming Netflix or what have you? No competing downloads at home.
So I decided to stop patching. Exit ARC. Restart the STO launcher and then patch Tribble. ZOOM. My patch time more than halved. Make of that what you will.
(/\) Exploring Star Trek Online Since July 2008 (/\)
some of you should pop over to rift forums and see that there doing the same thing but there's is called glyph. btw these companies don't care what you people think they will prolly make it mandatory like glyph for rift and maybe some people will leave but those new people that have never played the game will gladly use arc and glyph and life will go on. will i use it nope because i don't want just like alot of you but we will most likely end up looking for something else to play because i don't want more bloatware on my computer. i had fun playing the game and im glad i didn't spend that much money on it. but hey that's the truth of it :rolleyes:
Being human (or at least resembling one) I'm a little resistant to change. At first I was resistant to the new website design but now I've come to like it.
I would like to request that two features be brought back, however.
1) Please bring back the server up / server down indicator. I found that to be of immense use.
2) When a release patch is announced can you please let us know how long the servers are going o be down? Granted, sometimes there are unforeseen delays, but knowing roughly how long it's going to be down for is missed.
The rest of the site, I think it's very functional and it looks better, too.
Being human (or at least resembling one) I'm a little resistant to change. At first I was resistant to the new website design but now I've come to like it.
I would like to request that two features be brought back, however.
1) Please bring back the server up / server down indicator. I found that to be of immense use.
2) When a release patch is announced can you please let us know how long the servers are going o be down? Granted, sometimes there are unforeseen delays, but knowing roughly how long it's going to be down for is missed.
The rest of the site, I think it's very functional and it looks better, too.
You're in the right place for number two: whenever you come to the Galactic New Network portion of the message boards and you see a post reading "Server Maintenance", the first post will tell you how long it'll take.
Unless you mean you want it on the main page, then yeah, I can sympathize.
some of you should pop over to rift forums and see that there doing the same thing but there's is called glyph. btw these companies don't care what you people think they will prolly make it mandatory like glyph for rift and maybe some people will leave but those new people that have never played the game will gladly use arc and glyph and life will go on. will i use it nope because i don't want just like alot of you but we will most likely end up looking for something else to play because i don't want more bloatware on my computer. i had fun playing the game and im glad i didn't spend that much money on it. but hey that's the truth of it :rolleyes:
yeah, i guess your right. I put way too much into this game (lifetime sub for champs and sto), as i thought i would be able to play them forever. Why oh why do you treat me this way PWE? Im locked outta champs now due to ARC's ....beta...test??, my launcher no longer works. $300...gone...soon to be $600 when im locked outta sto (not including 1000's in zen purchases for both) =T.T=
I had thought about trying for a fundraiser to try to get trek fans around the globe to raise enough in cash to buy majority stock in cryptic and get PWE's hands off of it, but I was reminded of something by someone today, gamers arent trekkies...a trekkie is loyal to the genre, a gamers loyalties are determined by who can bribe them the best, heck when the "KHAAAAN!" costume came out I jumped at the shinys myself ^^; so I guess it will be just that, another come-and-go game on the generic board with only candy crush breed of players for its future...and star trek as a franchise will be nothing more then Heavy Metal magazine with the canon names...meh..
I will leave it on the table as is, if I can play the game without arc, i will continue to...but im not buying zen when my time is limited and have to go through arc! That would be dumb!! IM glad the Devs mentioned they appreciate our support for all this time, but as nice as it was to hear it, it will still sting when that ARC door slams in my face! :O
It seems the staggering majority of players (including myself) absolutely cannot stand and does not want arc.
Yet, they're still forcing it on us. So is this thread really about feedback? Do they really care? Obviously not.
My feedback? Give me the choice of doing it the old way, the way that still works 100%. Give me the option of using the old website, the website that still works 100%. I don't want to be assaulted by this cheap steam knockoff that's loaded with monitoring software, and is only designed to tickle the fancies of new players, and barely functions with any remote reliability.
No, they're not listening to us this time. Arc will become mandatory and then I'll have to choose between being excessively spied upon or giving up a game I like and money I spent.
That'll be a valid suggestion when they explain just how Steam is going to bypass the Arc gimmick. They have yet to do so.
They have said in this thread and others that there are no plans to change things for steam users. If you use steam you will be able to launch the game the same way you do now.
Arc isn't that bad. Just slap some oil on it and take it slow. It will make it less painful to insert it into your hard drive.
They have said in this thread and others that there are no plans to change things for steam users. If you use steam you will be able to launch the game the same way you do now.
Of course, switching to Steam if you're not already using it, just to avoid ARC, would be kind of silly. Steam's got its own merits, but very nearly every objection to ARC that isn't "I already have Steam" applies equally to Steam. Nearly.
Plus nothing says PWE won't someday have Steam launch ARC and STO through ARC.
Former moderator of these forums. Lifetime sub since before launch. Been here since before public betas. Foundry author of "Franklin Drake Must Die".
Being human (or at least resembling one) I'm a little resistant to change. At first I was resistant to the new website design but now I've come to like it.
I would like to request that two features be brought back, however.
1) Please bring back the server up / server down indicator. I found that to be of immense use.
2) When a release patch is announced can you please let us know how long the servers are going o be down? Granted, sometimes there are unforeseen delays, but knowing roughly how long it's going to be down for is missed.
The rest of the site, I think it's very functional and it looks better, too.
Both are coming to the Arc client and website. Logging into Arc will allow you to see the current status of the servers as well as the downtime, and any other useful maintenance updates.
I'm working on a roadmap at the moment, that will give you guys an idea of what you can expect to see in the near future with Arc.
And I'm still waiting for an answer if it will be possible to not have Arc running while playing, like you CAN with Steam.
Last time I tried to kill arc while the game was running didn't work out so well. The overlay piece seems to integrate into the game in such a way as to make it nearly impossible to end arc without also stopping the game program.
Last time I tried to kill arc while the game was running didn't work out so well. The overlay piece seems to integrate into the game in such a way as to make it nearly impossible to end arc without also stopping the game program.
That's typical of I/O overlays of any kind on Windows. Happens with Steam, Raptr, XFire, even TeamSpeak and Ventrilo if you're using overlays. I only know of two ways they could fix that (which is not to say there aren't more, I'm not much of a Windows programmer):
1) Let you turn off the overlay functionality.
2) Implement the overlay separately from the rest of ARC, and have it quietly cease responding to inputs if the main executable ends.
#1 makes way more sense, since it's a lot less code for the same end.
Former moderator of these forums. Lifetime sub since before launch. Been here since before public betas. Foundry author of "Franklin Drake Must Die".
I disagree, they won't be having 2 frikking "platforms" running at the same time I think.
If Steam runs it runs and if Arc runs it runs, not both same time.
And I'm still waiting for an answer if it will be possible to not have Arc running while playing, like you CAN with Steam.
From my understanding, the normal launcher will be locked out, you will have to use the new ARC one to enter the game, whether you have steam or arc, it will be all ARC in the end. Go back and listen to their promotional video for it. Its designed to help "them" have better and quicker access to the entire network and incoming data to manage the games and players better. It will minimize time and manpower to track everything in the fence.
Its true, monitoring our activities will help to catch gold sellers, prevent cheating and not have to burden that one guy who only wants to login once. :rolleyes: But my issue is still strangers in my pc messing around like its their own, even if your guys aren't peeking at my banking and business info, a hacker could just as easily use your back door to get inside. I hope you understand my concern? Plus also, ARC is a big inconvenience to me all around, I offered many times to assist with things...you would be surprised at what this cat could bring to the table, above all things im for the success of this game!
I have no Problm with it since I play STO & Champions Online I kinda like that I can jsut download them to the ARC thing & have freed up Space on my computer since they are all in one place. Other than that im not sure what else to think about it or why people think it's Spywear unless they confused the anme with something else but eather way im fine. Just put the Cryptic shop on the new site so we dont have to log into the game to buy stuff
As many upon many has stated the dismay on dealing with ARC.
My dislike adds to the chorus.
I am only here for STO, and no other games that is offered by PWE or this company.
NeverWinter Nights is a Forgotten Realms setting, I am GreyHawk.
That is all can be said. But I am a realist to the whole picture as well. When the push comes on flipping the kill switch to the STO stand alone launcher, which is already in there. I will decide then and there if my time spent was worth the effort on trying to enjoy a IP loved by many.
From my understanding, the normal launcher will be locked out, you will have to use the new ARC one to enter the game, whether you have steam or arc, it will be all ARC in the end.
From what they have said thus far in this thread though I lean to believe Steam will always be an option, but it's not 100% clear and "we" have asked this repeatedly. I haven't seen a clear answer to this (please direct me to it if wrong).
From what they have said thus far in this thread though I lean to believe Steam will always be an option, but it's not 100% clear and "we" have asked this repeatedly. I haven't seen a clear answer to this (please direct me to it if wrong).
Plus in order to solve your mystery, I have sought after Millenium Citys best Cat detective (The Cat Crusader =^.^= ) to find the clues you seek to know how i came to all my conclusions. Here are some snips from this thread...
# 103
01-08-2014, 05:33 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by worffan101 View Post
I will say this: My malware and virus scanners HATE ARC. They give me a warning every one minute and thirteen seconds, on average. My free Avira and Malwarebytes packages consider ARC to be malware.
What software are you using? I heard a rumor that Norton doesn't have an issue with ARC.
Thanks for reporting the issues with Malwarebytes and Avira. I will pass along the reports and we will look into what is causing that. Arc doesn't contain any malware or spyware, so we will see what could be causing the alert to go off.
I wasnt the only one effected by this^
# 111
01-08-2014, 05:49 PM
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Originally Posted by o0kami87 View Post
I assume this means Gateway will continue to be accessible? or better still continue to be developed?
Hey there,
Gateway should continue to exist. The issue right now is more that it exists, but the user experience of finding it via Arcgames.com could be improved by having more links to it.
# 114
01-08-2014, 06:02 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fraghul2000 View Post
So...
PWE = Cyberdyne, Arc = Skynet, dezstravus = Miles Dyson ?
I can't take credit for inventing anything. My job is to deliver important communications, so I call the T-800.
Its all going to be tied into one network so you have no real choice, ARC games will be a fenced in community^
# 158
01-08-2014, 11:48 PM
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Overall, I find it quite nice actually. It fits on my phone browser very well, and is easy to read. The only nitpick I have is the news. While I see it's on the far right side on the main landing page, I think that the images up top instead of being just random screenshots/wallpapers should be major news articles. This is what is going to be the most interesting for new and current players.
PS - I tried adding other non PWE games to my library and was quite surprised I was able too (considering it was Star Wars ). So that's a plus to me!
Its designed to monitor and filter your activity's for their records, it wont stop you from using other programs, its designed to just gather info so they have records of what you do and where. ^
# 279
01-09-2014, 10:53 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by donbo2 View Post
Having drilled through all these pages of comments I am trying to wrap my head around why the only responses from the devs and Branflakes are to those that sing praises to ARC.
Hey Donbo,
We've been responding to a lot of feedback, bug reports, and suggestions, too. Of course, we can't respond to everything, but we try to.
We are committed to addressing any compatibility issues with anti-malware software, so please feel free to continue escalating those reports. We've already escalated a couple regarding Avira and Malwarebytes from this very thread.
For any reports of alerts from these programs, please let us know. The more information that can be provided, the better. The full report from the software, including what specific activity or behavior it identified as suspicious, can help us improve Arc to ensure that it is accurately analyzed as safe and secure.
# 284
01-09-2014, 10:58 AM
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Originally Posted by dgdolph View Post
What else did you expect?
I wouldn't be suprised if it comes with a load of rootkits, spyware, trojans and is hi-jacking your internet to make you part of a chinese bot net...
Well, actually "wouldn't be suprised" is the wrong term - I expect those things to be build in
Hey dgdolph,
I appreciate your critical perspective. It is our goal to create software that our gamers want to use, so integrating any of the above would actually work against our vision. That being said, if you encounter anything in Arc that you feel falls into one of the above categories, we are committed to looking into the issue and addressing it promptly. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and valid concerns.
# 285
01-09-2014, 11:00 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maxvitor View Post
Well just for curiosities sake I installed ARC, to see for myself what it's all about.
Immediately Spybot - Search and Destroys Teatimer blocked 2 Browser Helper object installation attempts and an ArcPlugin showed up in my Firefox.
What in the hell would Firefox have to do with game functionality?
Needless to say, ARC is being removed, all traces purged and and a complete spyware and virus scan run.
Hey Maxvitor,
I've escalated the question about the ArcPlugin dialogue to the developers. At this time I am not aware of its functionality but I will do the research and post the response in this thread.
Thanks!
# 471
01-10-2014, 12:33 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ixionveridian View Post
It makes me feel like STO is simply in maintenance mode until Arc is done.
No Devs who work STO content, bugs, art, QA, etc., etc., etc. are working on developing Arc. STO is light years from being in maintenance mode -- that should be evidenced by everything we did in 2013, and everything you'll see us do in 2014.
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
# 503
01-10-2014, 01:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by themarie View Post
Then why does it intrusively scan my hard-drives every time I use it? All four of them, all of my partitions?
Also, can you explain why it insists on installing browser plug-ins?
And finally, I would ask that you release the source code. No I am not trolling here. Someone is feeding Marketing a line of BS about ARC and Marketing is doing their best to sell it. However real-world experience is telling US the consumer something totally different. TOTALLY. So lets see the source code, so we can pick it apart and find out why it does the things it does.
Hey themarie,
Can you elaborate on the report regarding the hard drive scanning? Arc does check your drives to see if launchable PWE games are installed, but I'm not sure if this is the behavior you are referring to. Please share any details if anything seems amiss and I'll escalate accordingly. Alternatively, you can email us at arc_feedback@perfectworld.com.
In regards to the browser plug-in, I am currently researching that topic to find out more technical information and hope to have more info to share on this thread soon.
~Dezstravus
More reports of it^ the setup they had was great before and was easy for me to use and served our needs , they are so determined to force this its unreal, it came off as fanatically determined to have this monitoring our pc's yet they dont know everything it does. What are the suits hiding??
# 894
01-31-2014, 04:08 PM
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Hello everyone!
My name is Anthony and I am the new Community Manager for Arc. I wanted to come and introduce myself to you all, and to let you know that I've been closely monitoring the forums and taking in all of your feedback. I know many of you have questions and concerns, so I will be doing my best to answer them as they come in. I am very excited to be a part of the community and will be working closely with all of you to help make Arc the best possible experience you can have. If you haven't already, go ahead and drop by the Arc FAQ page that we put up recently. This will give you a general guideline on what we plan to offer and where we are currently with our new beta build. Remember, we're always open to feedback and even if you don't get a direct response, I have more than likely taken note and passed it on to the appropriate people!
Aside from that, I have just started playing STO and am getting the hang of things slowly. I'm really excited to get to know you all and hopefully I will get time soon to come in-game and chat!
If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Cryptic Studios Team label, but I thought Arc and the devs where on different fields? ^
# 962
02-04-2014, 10:59 AM
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Hi all, thank you for your feedback.
I know there hasn't been a lot of communication on the spyware issue, so I'm going to give you a brief explanation on what we can actually track. In short, we don't track anything you don't want us to, as we have the opt-in feature for if you choose to let us. All this feature allows us to do is track your system information that can be easily found when you navigate to "Help">"System Information" in Arc. We do this as it helps us find any potential software and hardware issues, which in turn allows us to better optimize Arc for as many configurations as possible. Keep in mind though, that this is all through the opt-in system. If you do not opt-in, we will not be able to track your system information.
I hope that clears things up, and if there's anything else please let me know.
# 1031
02-11-2014, 02:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kazapsky View Post
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.
For the nah Sayers, yes it does have access to your pc, so we are on the honor system here. ^
# 1035
02-11-2014, 02:46 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by monkeybone13 View Post
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by robdmc View Post
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)
Hope that helps.
"What I would expect from a gaming service?" I thought they always said, they would never ask for your passwords....ah right, they can just get it without asking! Genius! ^
# 1041
02-11-2014, 03:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rinkster View Post
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!
Uninstalling it from my other pc is how i cleaned it off to, as recommended by my security software, lol^
# 1254
02-24-2014, 09:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redshirtthefirst View Post
My opinion... I don't really care about ARC. When it's mandatory, so be it, I will launch the game from it and play as usual. I got used to Steam and Origin for other games, Arc is just another launch platform. I installed it, it could use some polish, but it does its job. If I was worried about spyware, I would just pull the plug and use my computer offline...
Note: I just wish there was an in-game browser if I was to launch the game from ARC, it would save me to tab out, which cause the game to often crash...
There is! You can do this by hitting shift + tab. It'll bring up the overlay, where you can access the forums, Zen, support, etc. Just click any of the buttons at the bottom, and let it load. From there you can stay on their respective page or use it as you would any other browser.
As for everyone's concern regarding Steam, I'll leave this here from our Arc FAQ:
"Will it still be possible to launch my game through Steam without Arc?
The current scope of development does not involve any changes to Steam."
# 1309
02-25-2014, 03:11 PM
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Originally Posted by captaind3 View Post
Well I tried to access the wiki from inside the Arc overlay and it worked as advertised opening the web browser.
Still felt incredibly weird, but I suppose it will be useful in the future.
I must say it was rather jarring. The visual quality is lower res than the game so it looked kinda funky. That said I'm perfectly happy with that especially if it's a measure designed to keep arc from negatively impacting the game's performance.
Is there a way to access my bookmarks from there though?
At the moment, nope. I've taken note though and will bring it up with the rest of the team when I get the chance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by unikon View Post
People resort to that behavior when their input is marginalized as meaningless. The "NO ARC!" people are still around. They're just not as relentless as they were in the beginning. I bet that some of them have come to the conclusion that any feedback whatsoever will fall on deaf ears and are now looking for alternatives.
The bribes that you mention has gotten more people's attention toward Arc so you're seeing more mixed views than the No stonewall before the bribes.
No input is meaningless, as I read pretty much every post and try to take the most feasible ideas and give them to the rest of the team. You may never see every great idea come to light, but that's not because we didn't want to add it. There is a lot involved in making a program like this. We have to be aware of how new functions will work with old functions, then we have to make sure there's no conflicts between them. At the end of the day, we just can't add everything we'd like all at once. Right now, we're working with what we have and smoothing those out so Arc runs as close to perfect as possible. When that happens, and even probably before, you will start seeing new features being added.
I know this may sound like a PR stunt or what have you, but we, especially myself, fully understand your issues with Arc. I'm a gamer, along with just about everyone on the Arc team, and I use plenty of programs like Arc. Because of that, myself and the team want you to enjoy Arc and we're going to keep improving it until you do.
We also realize, that even if Arc was to have everything you wanted, some people still wouldn't want it, and that's perfectly fine. That's why there are no plans to remove the capability of using Steam.
This makes sense, as Steam is just an addon client, you just run the launcher through it so it can track you...once the current launcher is not working, they will have the arc one for us to use, so you will be using the arc integrated one through steam...and you WILL like it! heh^
# 1314
02-25-2014, 04:39 PM
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Originally Posted by aloishammer View Post
Not really. It's become too common a practice among game companies to use that term in its most extreme literal sense. As in "there are no plans to..." meaning "no plans at this precise moment in time, but tomorrow's planning meeting is a very different moment."
I, for one, take "no plans to" and "actually yes, but we're not ready to announce that just yet" as completely interchangeable and have had that interpretation validated by multiple game companies over the last 10 years.
The reason we say "no plans" is because, like everything else in the world, things can change. That said, we are partners with Steam. It would not be very beneficial for us to remove Steam from the picture, which is why Steam support will still be a possibility once Arc launches. Everyone here that games at the office, uses Steam. It's a product we all very much like, and plan to support as long as we can.
"will still be a "possibility" "plan to support it as long as we can" That sounded shaky to me..^
# 1522
03-03-2014, 11:13 AM
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Originally Posted by robeasom View Post
They never listen to feedback if they did we wouldnt be forced to have everything in ARC
First new installs through the site need Arc
then Forums change to this crappy colour.
Then the site transfers to ARCgames.com
Then the game will need arc to play for existing games
Then finally Steam gamers will get shafted as well and need to use arc to play
I'm not saying the game is doomed but if all the people who are against Arc leave and if there paying customers then the future won't look bright for PWE or this game not even with new gamers as a lot will not want to pay nevermind find the game on this tragic excuse for a website
All the feedback I've gotten from this thread has been sent off and discussed with the rest of the team, and I've even came back letting you guys know that some of the things will be implemented later and some are still being worked on. (Screenshots, the issue with game installs not properly loading up on Arc, etc)
As for forced Arc, I've already stated as well that the option to use Steam will still exist if the game is already on Steam. That means for STO, you can launch it from Steam without having to open Arc.
I'm not sure if I'm just not being clear enough and if so I'll work on that, but we are listening and we do have a lot of future plans for Arc; A lot of which has come directly from all of your feedback.
# 1542
03-03-2014, 03:31 PM
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Originally Posted by kalani2 View Post
I think the problem is that we've been told that the Cryptic launcher is eventually going away. If that happens many of us can't think of any other way steam would launch STO besides some form of ARC. The official info we have seems to be contradicting itself. If there are no longer any plans to ever remove the Cryptic launcher let us know so we can put this to rest once and for all. If there are still plans to eventually remove the Cryptic launcher than your gonna have to let us know how we can continue to use Steam without arc in the future without a Cryptic launcher or this question will continue to be asked.
Legitimate concern. I will see what I can find out and post back with any details I get.
# 1598
03-08-2014, 10:33 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ethoir View Post
Arc is incapable of noticing that I've got STO installed.
I've got STO installed in "C:/Users/Public/Games/Cryptic Studios" and its been there since 2011/2012. Later when Neverwinter was released I installed it there as well. So the Cryptic Studios folder has STO and NW in it as sub-folders. The root folder (Cryptic Studios) has the launchers/patchers for both games and that's how I played for ages.
Then I tried Arc when the Kahn tuniform thing came out and things went sideways. Arc could see that I had Neverwinter installed and hooked up appropriately to it. When it came to STO however, the client didn't do the same thing. As far as the Arc Client was concerned, the only game I had installed was Neverwinter.
The Patcher/Launcher for STO was in the same place as the Patcher/Launcher for Neverwinter and both games had their own sub-folders within the same directory and the registry is still correct as far as I know. So to me the fact that Arc could not see that I had STO installed despite it being right there bothered me. I can still patch the game and play it with the taskbar shortcut I have on hand, but Arc still thinks I don't have it installed and I had to add it manually to the games list which still doesn't make the client see it as installed (it has an 'install' button on STO's arc page in-client).
Is there a fix for this?
Simple - Just click add games, point it to the STO launcher.exe and it'll work from that And yes, you do get the rewards as well.
This conflicted with how they where selling it...(confused) the steam client rruns off of the launcher stored on your pc, once that isnt working then how do you suppose steam will open it?? PLus adding in stuff later, no word on that yet...that had me concerned. PWE parody:"btw, after its mandatory and on your pc running, we are adding in some other stuff, but dont worry about it!" =O.o=
Ok, so this is where i have been coming from, and my general following and thoughts on information released and talked about.
You are not the only one who has been asking the question repeatedly. There has been no answer on how to patch and launch STO via Steam which I would say is a pretty fundamental thing to share.
And yeah, "plan to support Steam as long as we can" does sound fishy to me..
Also I now have more concerns about Arc than I've posten in this thread before, but not gonna bring those up yet. Time for some straight answers, not more questions from my side of things.
Why are you people expecting a CM to be giving you definitive corporate policy into the far future? For that matter, why are you expecting him to know what's going on in the back end?
For what it's worth, I run Norton with fairly strict standards, and it has no problem with Arc. And if PWE were trying to load you down with spyware and botware, they would have just included it with one or more software updates for STO, and you'd never have known...
Why are you people expecting a CM to be giving you definitive corporate policy into the far future? For that matter, why are you expecting him to know what's going on in the back end?
For what it's worth, I run Norton with fairly strict standards, and it has no problem with Arc. And if PWE were trying to load you down with spyware and botware, they would have just included it with one or more software updates for STO, and you'd never have known...
Oh oh, I can answer that!
Because he is the community manager for the Arc project who came to answer all of our PR questions as they came to him (I would assume from HIS bosses and not off the top of his head) for nearly 2 months now. (Entry #894) of this thread!
He also has a shiny "Cryptic Studios Team" label. (Meaning hes a made man) Some day I hope to have "Official STO Caitian" label
My biggest concern is the idea of the STO launcher disappearing and being forced to use Arc or Steam. Currently I use neither. Nor Origin or any other thing like that.
I don't want to use either. I don't trust them, I don't want anything getting into my computer and reading my personal data. And I certainly don't trust Arc.
I don't play any other PWE games. I am not interested in playing other PWE games. The STO launcher for me is pretty much perfect and taking it away from me would force me to install a massively bloated programme I have ZERO use for. And I hate being spied upon to boot. Why does nobody understand the meaning of "Privacy" anymore?
I'd have to take STO off my laptop and install it on my desktop, which is relatively new and contains no data I consider private. Sure I play Sims3. Big deal.
Frankly being forced to sit at my desktop and being unable to play STO in various different locations on my laptop would make me one VERY irritated customer. Beware.
No. To. Arc. I don't want it. I never will want it. It'll be a pain in the backside to have it forced on me.
Comments
Sorry, it's just I'm TIRED of it all. We've hit month three here and it's still the same things being spewed out and I guess CatStar's little set of posts have driven me up the wall. I wish I could just block this entire thread out, but my web page blocker doesn't like that at all.
The way you talk, though, makes you come off as someone who's trying to espouse the "evils" of Arc. Arc isn't a Third Party thing - it's part of PWE. And Cryptic is part of PWE. So, your talks of Third Party stuff went right out the window.
What you must have gotten, though, was Pando, which IS a threat but has been stopped since August. Just watch out for what's being paraded around AS Pando, though. Heck, I just went through my MalwareBytes and Avast programs just recently and nothing came out as being a threat from Arc.
But, of course, I know you won't believe me as you're too focused on the past and not the idea that "Okay, maybe it was something else."
hey buddy I cant help if u dont like me, but if I dont speak up for me, no one else will! I dont know what the general player thinks of me atm, but none of you should have reason to dislike me. Even if you didnt like my work, I offered my time and talent to aid others in favors and requests, and the only thing I asked for in return was your feedback.
A "no" doesn't make problems go away, and saying "shut up" only delays the inevitable. But it still had to be said, something has to be done, you cant hide from a problem you have to face it and see things accomplished. If nothing else, no one can ever say "Cat, you should have done something or spoken up or warned us about this!" I have a particular character that drives me to do what I perceive to be the right thing, even if its not popular.
EDIT: http://youtu.be/oeGMHbK4NlA?t=2m3s
Ooh very nice. I approve.
Joined January 2009
I, of course, checked the usual suspects first. Was a roommate playing an MMO, streaming Netflix or what have you? No competing downloads at home.
So I decided to stop patching. Exit ARC. Restart the STO launcher and then patch Tribble. ZOOM. My patch time more than halved. Make of that what you will.
Being human (or at least resembling one) I'm a little resistant to change. At first I was resistant to the new website design but now I've come to like it.
I would like to request that two features be brought back, however.
1) Please bring back the server up / server down indicator. I found that to be of immense use.
2) When a release patch is announced can you please let us know how long the servers are going o be down? Granted, sometimes there are unforeseen delays, but knowing roughly how long it's going to be down for is missed.
The rest of the site, I think it's very functional and it looks better, too.
You're in the right place for number two: whenever you come to the Galactic New Network portion of the message boards and you see a post reading "Server Maintenance", the first post will tell you how long it'll take.
Unless you mean you want it on the main page, then yeah, I can sympathize.
Absolutely HIDEOUS. Do not like it. Do not want it.
Two thumbs down.
yeah, i guess your right. I put way too much into this game (lifetime sub for champs and sto), as i thought i would be able to play them forever. Why oh why do you treat me this way PWE? Im locked outta champs now due to ARC's ....beta...test??, my launcher no longer works. $300...gone...soon to be $600 when im locked outta sto (not including 1000's in zen purchases for both) =T.T=
I had thought about trying for a fundraiser to try to get trek fans around the globe to raise enough in cash to buy majority stock in cryptic and get PWE's hands off of it, but I was reminded of something by someone today, gamers arent trekkies...a trekkie is loyal to the genre, a gamers loyalties are determined by who can bribe them the best, heck when the "KHAAAAN!" costume came out I jumped at the shinys myself ^^; so I guess it will be just that, another come-and-go game on the generic board with only candy crush breed of players for its future...and star trek as a franchise will be nothing more then Heavy Metal magazine with the canon names...meh..
I will leave it on the table as is, if I can play the game without arc, i will continue to...but im not buying zen when my time is limited and have to go through arc! That would be dumb!! IM glad the Devs mentioned they appreciate our support for all this time, but as nice as it was to hear it, it will still sting when that ARC door slams in my face! :O
PWE: "NO soup for ju!"
And when it does come, just use Steam. You're only "excluded" if you choose to be.
Yet, they're still forcing it on us. So is this thread really about feedback? Do they really care? Obviously not.
My feedback? Give me the choice of doing it the old way, the way that still works 100%. Give me the option of using the old website, the website that still works 100%. I don't want to be assaulted by this cheap steam knockoff that's loaded with monitoring software, and is only designed to tickle the fancies of new players, and barely functions with any remote reliability.
Tough choice. Both suck balls.
That'll be a valid suggestion when they explain just how Steam is going to bypass the Arc gimmick. They have yet to do so.
They have said in this thread and others that there are no plans to change things for steam users. If you use steam you will be able to launch the game the same way you do now.
Arc isn't that bad. Just slap some oil on it and take it slow. It will make it less painful to insert it into your hard drive.
Of course, switching to Steam if you're not already using it, just to avoid ARC, would be kind of silly. Steam's got its own merits, but very nearly every objection to ARC that isn't "I already have Steam" applies equally to Steam. Nearly.
Plus nothing says PWE won't someday have Steam launch ARC and STO through ARC.
Both are coming to the Arc client and website. Logging into Arc will allow you to see the current status of the servers as well as the downtime, and any other useful maintenance updates.
I'm working on a roadmap at the moment, that will give you guys an idea of what you can expect to see in the near future with Arc.
I disagree, they won't be having 2 frikking "platforms" running at the same time I think.
If Steam runs it runs and if Arc runs it runs, not both same time.
And I'm still waiting for an answer if it will be possible to not have Arc running while playing, like you CAN with Steam.
Last time I tried to kill arc while the game was running didn't work out so well. The overlay piece seems to integrate into the game in such a way as to make it nearly impossible to end arc without also stopping the game program.
That's typical of I/O overlays of any kind on Windows. Happens with Steam, Raptr, XFire, even TeamSpeak and Ventrilo if you're using overlays. I only know of two ways they could fix that (which is not to say there aren't more, I'm not much of a Windows programmer):
1) Let you turn off the overlay functionality.
2) Implement the overlay separately from the rest of ARC, and have it quietly cease responding to inputs if the main executable ends.
#1 makes way more sense, since it's a lot less code for the same end.
From my understanding, the normal launcher will be locked out, you will have to use the new ARC one to enter the game, whether you have steam or arc, it will be all ARC in the end. Go back and listen to their promotional video for it. Its designed to help "them" have better and quicker access to the entire network and incoming data to manage the games and players better. It will minimize time and manpower to track everything in the fence.
Its true, monitoring our activities will help to catch gold sellers, prevent cheating and not have to burden that one guy who only wants to login once. :rolleyes: But my issue is still strangers in my pc messing around like its their own, even if your guys aren't peeking at my banking and business info, a hacker could just as easily use your back door to get inside. I hope you understand my concern? Plus also, ARC is a big inconvenience to me all around, I offered many times to assist with things...you would be surprised at what this cat could bring to the table, above all things im for the success of this game!
EDIT: I meant ideas, not a job! lol ^
My dislike adds to the chorus.
I am only here for STO, and no other games that is offered by PWE or this company.
NeverWinter Nights is a Forgotten Realms setting, I am GreyHawk.
That is all can be said. But I am a realist to the whole picture as well. When the push comes on flipping the kill switch to the STO stand alone launcher, which is already in there. I will decide then and there if my time spent was worth the effort on trying to enjoy a IP loved by many.
Carry On...
From what they have said thus far in this thread though I lean to believe Steam will always be an option, but it's not 100% clear and "we" have asked this repeatedly. I haven't seen a clear answer to this (please direct me to it if wrong).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShJ80bgxVwA <--their video
Plus in order to solve your mystery, I have sought after Millenium Citys best Cat detective (The Cat Crusader =^.^= ) to find the clues you seek to know how i came to all my conclusions. Here are some snips from this thread...
# 103
01-08-2014, 05:33 PM
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Originally Posted by worffan101 View Post
I will say this: My malware and virus scanners HATE ARC. They give me a warning every one minute and thirteen seconds, on average. My free Avira and Malwarebytes packages consider ARC to be malware.
What software are you using? I heard a rumor that Norton doesn't have an issue with ARC.
Thanks for reporting the issues with Malwarebytes and Avira. I will pass along the reports and we will look into what is causing that. Arc doesn't contain any malware or spyware, so we will see what could be causing the alert to go off.
I wasnt the only one effected by this^
# 111
01-08-2014, 05:49 PM
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Originally Posted by o0kami87 View Post
I assume this means Gateway will continue to be accessible? or better still continue to be developed?
Hey there,
Gateway should continue to exist. The issue right now is more that it exists, but the user experience of finding it via Arcgames.com could be improved by having more links to it.
# 114
01-08-2014, 06:02 PM
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Originally Posted by fraghul2000 View Post
So...
PWE = Cyberdyne, Arc = Skynet, dezstravus = Miles Dyson ?
I can't take credit for inventing anything. My job is to deliver important communications, so I call the T-800.
Its all going to be tied into one network so you have no real choice, ARC games will be a fenced in community^
# 158
01-08-2014, 11:48 PM
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Overall, I find it quite nice actually. It fits on my phone browser very well, and is easy to read. The only nitpick I have is the news. While I see it's on the far right side on the main landing page, I think that the images up top instead of being just random screenshots/wallpapers should be major news articles. This is what is going to be the most interesting for new and current players.
PS - I tried adding other non PWE games to my library and was quite surprised I was able too (considering it was Star Wars ). So that's a plus to me!
Its designed to monitor and filter your activity's for their records, it wont stop you from using other programs, its designed to just gather info so they have records of what you do and where. ^
# 279
01-09-2014, 10:53 AM
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Originally Posted by donbo2 View Post
Having drilled through all these pages of comments I am trying to wrap my head around why the only responses from the devs and Branflakes are to those that sing praises to ARC.
Hey Donbo,
We've been responding to a lot of feedback, bug reports, and suggestions, too. Of course, we can't respond to everything, but we try to.
We are committed to addressing any compatibility issues with anti-malware software, so please feel free to continue escalating those reports. We've already escalated a couple regarding Avira and Malwarebytes from this very thread.
For any reports of alerts from these programs, please let us know. The more information that can be provided, the better. The full report from the software, including what specific activity or behavior it identified as suspicious, can help us improve Arc to ensure that it is accurately analyzed as safe and secure.
# 284
01-09-2014, 10:58 AM
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Originally Posted by dgdolph View Post
What else did you expect?
I wouldn't be suprised if it comes with a load of rootkits, spyware, trojans and is hi-jacking your internet to make you part of a chinese bot net...
Well, actually "wouldn't be suprised" is the wrong term - I expect those things to be build in
Hey dgdolph,
I appreciate your critical perspective. It is our goal to create software that our gamers want to use, so integrating any of the above would actually work against our vision. That being said, if you encounter anything in Arc that you feel falls into one of the above categories, we are committed to looking into the issue and addressing it promptly. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and valid concerns.
# 285
01-09-2014, 11:00 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maxvitor View Post
Well just for curiosities sake I installed ARC, to see for myself what it's all about.
Immediately Spybot - Search and Destroys Teatimer blocked 2 Browser Helper object installation attempts and an ArcPlugin showed up in my Firefox.
What in the hell would Firefox have to do with game functionality?
Needless to say, ARC is being removed, all traces purged and and a complete spyware and virus scan run.
Hey Maxvitor,
I've escalated the question about the ArcPlugin dialogue to the developers. At this time I am not aware of its functionality but I will do the research and post the response in this thread.
Thanks!
# 471
01-10-2014, 12:33 PM
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Originally Posted by ixionveridian View Post
It makes me feel like STO is simply in maintenance mode until Arc is done.
No Devs who work STO content, bugs, art, QA, etc., etc., etc. are working on developing Arc. STO is light years from being in maintenance mode -- that should be evidenced by everything we did in 2013, and everything you'll see us do in 2014.
Cheers,
Brandon =/\=
# 503
01-10-2014, 01:28 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by themarie View Post
Then why does it intrusively scan my hard-drives every time I use it? All four of them, all of my partitions?
Also, can you explain why it insists on installing browser plug-ins?
And finally, I would ask that you release the source code. No I am not trolling here. Someone is feeding Marketing a line of BS about ARC and Marketing is doing their best to sell it. However real-world experience is telling US the consumer something totally different. TOTALLY. So lets see the source code, so we can pick it apart and find out why it does the things it does.
Hey themarie,
Can you elaborate on the report regarding the hard drive scanning? Arc does check your drives to see if launchable PWE games are installed, but I'm not sure if this is the behavior you are referring to. Please share any details if anything seems amiss and I'll escalate accordingly. Alternatively, you can email us at arc_feedback@perfectworld.com.
In regards to the browser plug-in, I am currently researching that topic to find out more technical information and hope to have more info to share on this thread soon.
~Dezstravus
More reports of it^ the setup they had was great before and was easy for me to use and served our needs , they are so determined to force this its unreal, it came off as fanatically determined to have this monitoring our pc's yet they dont know everything it does. What are the suits hiding??
# 894
01-31-2014, 04:08 PM
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Hello everyone!
My name is Anthony and I am the new Community Manager for Arc. I wanted to come and introduce myself to you all, and to let you know that I've been closely monitoring the forums and taking in all of your feedback. I know many of you have questions and concerns, so I will be doing my best to answer them as they come in. I am very excited to be a part of the community and will be working closely with all of you to help make Arc the best possible experience you can have. If you haven't already, go ahead and drop by the Arc FAQ page that we put up recently. This will give you a general guideline on what we plan to offer and where we are currently with our new beta build. Remember, we're always open to feedback and even if you don't get a direct response, I have more than likely taken note and passed it on to the appropriate people!
Here is the link to the Arc FAQ: http://www.arcgames.com/en/arc-news/...028293-arc-faq
Aside from that, I have just started playing STO and am getting the hang of things slowly. I'm really excited to get to know you all and hopefully I will get time soon to come in-game and chat!
If you have any questions for me, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Cryptic Studios Team label, but I thought Arc and the devs where on different fields? ^
# 962
02-04-2014, 10:59 AM
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Hi all, thank you for your feedback.
I know there hasn't been a lot of communication on the spyware issue, so I'm going to give you a brief explanation on what we can actually track. In short, we don't track anything you don't want us to, as we have the opt-in feature for if you choose to let us. All this feature allows us to do is track your system information that can be easily found when you navigate to "Help">"System Information" in Arc. We do this as it helps us find any potential software and hardware issues, which in turn allows us to better optimize Arc for as many configurations as possible. Keep in mind though, that this is all through the opt-in system. If you do not opt-in, we will not be able to track your system information.
I hope that clears things up, and if there's anything else please let me know.
# 1031
02-11-2014, 02:06 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kazapsky View Post
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.
For the nah Sayers, yes it does have access to your pc, so we are on the honor system here. ^
# 1035
02-11-2014, 02:46 PM
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Originally Posted by monkeybone13 View Post
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.
Quote:
Originally Posted by robdmc View Post
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)
Hope that helps.
"What I would expect from a gaming service?" I thought they always said, they would never ask for your passwords....ah right, they can just get it without asking! Genius! ^
# 1041
02-11-2014, 03:00 PM
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Originally Posted by rinkster View Post
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!
Uninstalling it from my other pc is how i cleaned it off to, as recommended by my security software, lol^
# 1254
02-24-2014, 09:51 AM
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Originally Posted by redshirtthefirst View Post
My opinion... I don't really care about ARC. When it's mandatory, so be it, I will launch the game from it and play as usual. I got used to Steam and Origin for other games, Arc is just another launch platform. I installed it, it could use some polish, but it does its job. If I was worried about spyware, I would just pull the plug and use my computer offline...
Note: I just wish there was an in-game browser if I was to launch the game from ARC, it would save me to tab out, which cause the game to often crash...
There is! You can do this by hitting shift + tab. It'll bring up the overlay, where you can access the forums, Zen, support, etc. Just click any of the buttons at the bottom, and let it load. From there you can stay on their respective page or use it as you would any other browser.
As for everyone's concern regarding Steam, I'll leave this here from our Arc FAQ:
"Will it still be possible to launch my game through Steam without Arc?
The current scope of development does not involve any changes to Steam."
You can find the FAQ here: http://www.arcgames.com/en/arc-news/...-arc-faq#Steam
# 1309
02-25-2014, 03:11 PM
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Originally Posted by captaind3 View Post
Well I tried to access the wiki from inside the Arc overlay and it worked as advertised opening the web browser.
Still felt incredibly weird, but I suppose it will be useful in the future.
I must say it was rather jarring. The visual quality is lower res than the game so it looked kinda funky. That said I'm perfectly happy with that especially if it's a measure designed to keep arc from negatively impacting the game's performance.
Is there a way to access my bookmarks from there though?
At the moment, nope. I've taken note though and will bring it up with the rest of the team when I get the chance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by unikon View Post
People resort to that behavior when their input is marginalized as meaningless. The "NO ARC!" people are still around. They're just not as relentless as they were in the beginning. I bet that some of them have come to the conclusion that any feedback whatsoever will fall on deaf ears and are now looking for alternatives.
The bribes that you mention has gotten more people's attention toward Arc so you're seeing more mixed views than the No stonewall before the bribes.
No input is meaningless, as I read pretty much every post and try to take the most feasible ideas and give them to the rest of the team. You may never see every great idea come to light, but that's not because we didn't want to add it. There is a lot involved in making a program like this. We have to be aware of how new functions will work with old functions, then we have to make sure there's no conflicts between them. At the end of the day, we just can't add everything we'd like all at once. Right now, we're working with what we have and smoothing those out so Arc runs as close to perfect as possible. When that happens, and even probably before, you will start seeing new features being added.
I know this may sound like a PR stunt or what have you, but we, especially myself, fully understand your issues with Arc. I'm a gamer, along with just about everyone on the Arc team, and I use plenty of programs like Arc. Because of that, myself and the team want you to enjoy Arc and we're going to keep improving it until you do.
We also realize, that even if Arc was to have everything you wanted, some people still wouldn't want it, and that's perfectly fine. That's why there are no plans to remove the capability of using Steam.
This makes sense, as Steam is just an addon client, you just run the launcher through it so it can track you...once the current launcher is not working, they will have the arc one for us to use, so you will be using the arc integrated one through steam...and you WILL like it! heh^
# 1314
02-25-2014, 04:39 PM
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Originally Posted by aloishammer View Post
Not really. It's become too common a practice among game companies to use that term in its most extreme literal sense. As in "there are no plans to..." meaning "no plans at this precise moment in time, but tomorrow's planning meeting is a very different moment."
I, for one, take "no plans to" and "actually yes, but we're not ready to announce that just yet" as completely interchangeable and have had that interpretation validated by multiple game companies over the last 10 years.
The reason we say "no plans" is because, like everything else in the world, things can change. That said, we are partners with Steam. It would not be very beneficial for us to remove Steam from the picture, which is why Steam support will still be a possibility once Arc launches. Everyone here that games at the office, uses Steam. It's a product we all very much like, and plan to support as long as we can.
"will still be a "possibility" "plan to support it as long as we can" That sounded shaky to me..^
# 1522
03-03-2014, 11:13 AM
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Originally Posted by robeasom View Post
They never listen to feedback if they did we wouldnt be forced to have everything in ARC
First new installs through the site need Arc
then Forums change to this crappy colour.
Then the site transfers to ARCgames.com
Then the game will need arc to play for existing games
Then finally Steam gamers will get shafted as well and need to use arc to play
I'm not saying the game is doomed but if all the people who are against Arc leave and if there paying customers then the future won't look bright for PWE or this game not even with new gamers as a lot will not want to pay nevermind find the game on this tragic excuse for a website
All the feedback I've gotten from this thread has been sent off and discussed with the rest of the team, and I've even came back letting you guys know that some of the things will be implemented later and some are still being worked on. (Screenshots, the issue with game installs not properly loading up on Arc, etc)
As for forced Arc, I've already stated as well that the option to use Steam will still exist if the game is already on Steam. That means for STO, you can launch it from Steam without having to open Arc.
I'm not sure if I'm just not being clear enough and if so I'll work on that, but we are listening and we do have a lot of future plans for Arc; A lot of which has come directly from all of your feedback.
# 1542
03-03-2014, 03:31 PM
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Originally Posted by kalani2 View Post
I think the problem is that we've been told that the Cryptic launcher is eventually going away. If that happens many of us can't think of any other way steam would launch STO besides some form of ARC. The official info we have seems to be contradicting itself. If there are no longer any plans to ever remove the Cryptic launcher let us know so we can put this to rest once and for all. If there are still plans to eventually remove the Cryptic launcher than your gonna have to let us know how we can continue to use Steam without arc in the future without a Cryptic launcher or this question will continue to be asked.
Legitimate concern. I will see what I can find out and post back with any details I get.
# 1598
03-08-2014, 10:33 AM
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Originally Posted by ethoir View Post
Arc is incapable of noticing that I've got STO installed.
I've got STO installed in "C:/Users/Public/Games/Cryptic Studios" and its been there since 2011/2012. Later when Neverwinter was released I installed it there as well. So the Cryptic Studios folder has STO and NW in it as sub-folders. The root folder (Cryptic Studios) has the launchers/patchers for both games and that's how I played for ages.
Then I tried Arc when the Kahn tuniform thing came out and things went sideways. Arc could see that I had Neverwinter installed and hooked up appropriately to it. When it came to STO however, the client didn't do the same thing. As far as the Arc Client was concerned, the only game I had installed was Neverwinter.
The Patcher/Launcher for STO was in the same place as the Patcher/Launcher for Neverwinter and both games had their own sub-folders within the same directory and the registry is still correct as far as I know. So to me the fact that Arc could not see that I had STO installed despite it being right there bothered me. I can still patch the game and play it with the taskbar shortcut I have on hand, but Arc still thinks I don't have it installed and I had to add it manually to the games list which still doesn't make the client see it as installed (it has an 'install' button on STO's arc page in-client).
Is there a fix for this?
Simple - Just click add games, point it to the STO launcher.exe and it'll work from that And yes, you do get the rewards as well.
This conflicted with how they where selling it...(confused) the steam client rruns off of the launcher stored on your pc, once that isnt working then how do you suppose steam will open it?? PLus adding in stuff later, no word on that yet...that had me concerned. PWE parody:"btw, after its mandatory and on your pc running, we are adding in some other stuff, but dont worry about it!" =O.o=
Ok, so this is where i have been coming from, and my general following and thoughts on information released and talked about.
And yeah, "plan to support Steam as long as we can" does sound fishy to me..
Also I now have more concerns about Arc than I've posten in this thread before, but not gonna bring those up yet. Time for some straight answers, not more questions from my side of things.
For what it's worth, I run Norton with fairly strict standards, and it has no problem with Arc. And if PWE were trying to load you down with spyware and botware, they would have just included it with one or more software updates for STO, and you'd never have known...
Oh oh, I can answer that!
Because he is the community manager for the Arc project who came to answer all of our PR questions as they came to him (I would assume from HIS bosses and not off the top of his head) for nearly 2 months now. (Entry #894) of this thread!
He also has a shiny "Cryptic Studios Team" label. (Meaning hes a made man) Some day I hope to have "Official STO Caitian" label
I don't want to use either. I don't trust them, I don't want anything getting into my computer and reading my personal data. And I certainly don't trust Arc.
I don't play any other PWE games. I am not interested in playing other PWE games. The STO launcher for me is pretty much perfect and taking it away from me would force me to install a massively bloated programme I have ZERO use for. And I hate being spied upon to boot. Why does nobody understand the meaning of "Privacy" anymore?
I'd have to take STO off my laptop and install it on my desktop, which is relatively new and contains no data I consider private. Sure I play Sims3. Big deal.
Frankly being forced to sit at my desktop and being unable to play STO in various different locations on my laptop would make me one VERY irritated customer. Beware.
No. To. Arc. I don't want it. I never will want it. It'll be a pain in the backside to have it forced on me.