does any one recall being ask to install ARC plug-in on their browser????
no, but the 'dodge' they have on this is that the STO launcher uses a IE backbone, so its there to plug into that.
Does that make it right? not really but the entire web portion of ARC seems to think that it should have as much resource as an active flash audio/video stream as well.
I have an older system and have read enough of this to realize that I won't be able to handle arc... also, I have enough of a life that I can't read through this entire thread.
Will I be able to launch the game with my physical disc and avoid ARC?
What would I need to do... anything special?
I have an older system and have read enough of this to realize that I won't be able to handle arc... also, I have enough of a life that I can't read through this entire thread.
Will I be able to launch the game with my physical disc and avoid ARC?
What would I need to do... anything special?
Try Steam. It used to be a resource hog, but recent iterations seem to play much more nicely; besides, unlike Arc, you can shut Steam down after the game launches. And according to previous statements, Steam will remain viable even after the standalone launcher is disabled. (I'm currently running STO via Steam because last month the sound cut out when I launched the standalone. When I launch via Steam I can hear again. And just in time for the new Tuvok mission!)
Has anybody figured out how to make Arc run over a LAN yet? I have it installed on A machine in the DMZ and run STO over the LAN but ARC itself will not run over the LAN at all making it impossible to interact with the game as it is supposed to. I would imagine that later when ARC is absolutely required to be running this will become an issue for some people.
I have currently tried just copying ARC's registry entries over to the Networked machine and setting the values to the appropriate Network address but still no joy. It keeps failing at the update stage with no useful information given when it does.
Not happy with ARC. I do not want or need it. You need to do a good deal more work to get me to accept it.
What does this do for me other than give me features I would not use and software that doesn't benefit me? It looks almost like Steam, but with a little more color on the game pages. In my opinion it needs to be made more compact. I play ST almost everyday, Champions online rarely, and Neverwinter is for some reason still on my hard drive.
I do not use Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media. If I want to chat with people in game, I have the Ventrilo and Teamspeak clients, otherwise I can do it in game. If I want a unified launcher I have Steam (which I do not use for cryptic games...yet). No amount of flashy ads will attract me to those other games... unless I get something really useful and amazing (that is NOT A FREAKING TRIBBLE) for use in STO, those other PWI games will never see any of my hard drive's real estate. If I wanted those games, I would have installed them already.
Steam (which I have) already does what this (ARC) does in a neater, more efficient package. ARC, as it stands, is nothing more than a Steam imitation that is clunky.
It would be far better if the client were smaller and more efficient in the space it uses. I use the Aeria Ignite launcher for Aeria games (Aura Kingdom, Elsword, Dynasty Warriors (before they killed it *sob*)). It is a nice and compact unified launcher, with little wasted space, everything is right there with no need for scrolling or hunting for it. Steam, for me, is cumbersome, and is not something to emulate when you do not have the games library that is available there. Other things that should be integrated into ARC to make it more desirable would be to integrate the various gateways into it, allow game tasks to be conducted outside the game, such as duty officer missions, the exchange, being able to view your account bank, Dilithium/Questonite exchange trading, etc.. The "Settings" dropdown menu is redundant, as the options on there are duplicated in the tabs in window that pops up. There needs to be a button that takes us to the latest patch notes up front as well as a simple way to access the dev blogs. Server status indicator would be real nice too. The Social button takes me to a page that is cluttered with links to games I have no interest in...it's cluttered. I play Star Trek, perhaps allow the client to resemble an LCARS console or add client customization options? Did I mention it was cluttered? Smaller tiles would be nice too.
---
I installed it on a laptop running winXP, because that is what is on my desktop that I use to play STO primarily. Laptop is a Fujitsu Lifebook N3530 notebook with 2gb ram, Intel Core Duo T2300 1.83 ghz processor, Radeon x1400 256mb ram, and a 500gb 7200rpm HD running Windows XP 32bit. Before people start crying about how old and underpowered it is, they need to realize that I am using it to test ARC before installing it on a machine with that has anything remotely valuble, so any complaints in that regard can be stuffed. It runs ventrilo, and firefox just fine.
I saw that ARC runs 3 processes (two when just the browser is active, and an additional one when the game is run.
Arc.exe (5.5k-33k memory usage with CPU 1-5% usage)
ArcOSBrowser.exe (13.5k-126k memory usage with CPU 1% usage)
ArcOSOverlay.exe (1.5k Memory usage with less than 1% CPU usage)
(the game client itself ran at 330k-670k with CPU at 60-67% usage)
Memory usage is very heavy when the program (ARC) is first run. After I started STO it eventually dropped much lower, though fter about 2 hours or so, the memory usage of the ArcOSBrowser went back to 100k-110k and pretty much set up camp there, whereas Arc.exe sat at 32k for pretty much the entire time. It really needs to be cleaned up in regards to memory usage/efficiency. I really didn't have any heat issues that other people reported. Nor did the computer suffer appreciably with just ARC running...though running all 3 Arc .exes, the game client, and firefox with 20 tabs open is not recommended. :P
Does it have similar performance on Windows 7 64bit? What about machines with winXP with multiple drives(say like 5 physical hard drives), does the software hamper machines with lots of hardware?
With all the unhappiness with ARC I think you need to seriously communicate clearly what the software does. A product presentation with some details would be nice, and may help clear up much of the misunderstanding and fear that is generated from lack of information.
What Does Arc.exe, ArcOSBrowser.exe, ArcOSOverlay do? What information is communicated to Cryptic, and by what module? What are normal operating parameters for it, what ports does it use? Is the heavy hard drive activity that some people have seen normal? Why does ArcOSOverlay need to be running to play a game, what does it do exactly, and why can't we kill it manually? Some may think that some of this may be intuitive....if that were the case, then there shouldn't be so much fear. I have concerns about what the software is doing, and that being the case you cannot convince me to install the software outside the sandbox without more details.
It's frankly horrible, in my opinion, and should be blasted apart with torpedo barrage. :eek:
It's terribly bland, generic, grey, and clunky. Why fix something that wasn't broken? The current website is just fine and everything is up front and easy to navigate. The new trainwre..er site...not so much. It looks and feels like something that was pulled out of a box and used as is, something made from a generic template, or designed by a 10 year old. It's harsh, yes, but the site as it stands is terrible, and needs a great deal of work. It's what happens when you replace something that works and is easy to use with something that is less in every respect.
What is up with that huge slideshow? It serves no real purpose other than take up real estate that can be put to better use. The pictures have no context. How is anyone not familiar with the product supposed to know what that stuff is? How is any of that Star Trek? Star Trek...remember? Federation, Klingons, Romulans, iconic starships... The slideshow should be airlocked, or at the very least made smaller, and the picture should have some bearing to what people identify Star Trek with. Dinosaurs with lasers, ninja reptiles, concept art, and other stuff that don't say "HEY LOOK, STAR TREK RIGHT HERE!" can be moved elsewhere. You are showcasing Star Trek, not "Turok, Dinosaur Hunter". The Voth are fine, but with no context it can confuse people unfamiliar with them. Concept art can be moved to a different section.
Where is a server status indicator? Forums and other relevant items should be linked DIRECTLY from the main page, and not part of a game of follow the links. A link to a list of Dev blogs is where? What is the latest news? Important information should be up front and center.
Each of the separate game pages needs background art that relates to the game in question.
The same goes for Champions online.
The current Cryptic websites work very well, the guys working on the new ones should compare the two websites, and see. The functionality of the current website is lost. Make the new one functional and simple.
----
I come here to play a freaking game, not to stress out over what this software is going to do to my computer...if it becomes that much of a source of stress, then there are other avenues of entertainment. This is a beta, I know, and am giving you my feedback on it, in the hope that it will improve things.
Sorry for the Great Wall of Text, but I needed to convey a great deal of information.:P
This whole Arc thing is really dumb and I'm only installing it long enough to get free stuff.
They'll have to offer a lot more than a free uniform before I'd even briefly pollute a virtual machine with this bloated steam wannabe, torrent server, and adware all rolled up into one.
Listen, Im sorry but no. I admit to being a clothing horse, heck I think cosmetics are the ONLY thing the store should sell (move us away from pay2win).
But despite me /loving/ clothing, free outfits are not worth installing this hot mess into my pc. More so when I already use steam. Scrap arc and just focus on making the game better.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Thanks to scooterkhan for the awesome sig!
Listen, Im sorry but no. I admit to being a clothing horse, heck I think cosmetics are the ONLY thing the store should sell (move us away from pay2win).
But despite me /loving/ clothing, free outfits are not worth installing this hot mess into my pc. More so when I already use steam. Scrap arc and just focus on making the game better.
I installed it on another machine. Logged in to get it then logged back out and uninstalled. Then ran CCleaner to make sure it was gone off that machine.
Oh and Champions got a little more stuff than STO with their Arc promo.
EDIT Oh and when I tried Account Guard verification while using Arc, it never worked. No e-mail arrived. Yet I did it without Arc just recently too because the game treated using a different windows login as a different computer.
_____
Lifetime no longer gives a forum title. That should be updated on the Lifetime page that mentions what you get. PMing the CSR doesn't work neither.
I installed it on another machine. Logged in to get it then logged back out and uninstalled. Then ran CCleaner to make sure it was gone off that machine.
See, when you have to take that extra step cause PWE/Cryptic thinks they are a branch of the NSA, that is when I say "No cosmetic is worth that ****".
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Thanks to scooterkhan for the awesome sig!
...talking to players is like being a mall Santa. Everyone immediately wants to tell you all of the things they want, and you are absolutely powerless to deliver 99% of them.
See, when you have to take that extra step cause PWE/Cryptic thinks they are a branch of the NSA, that is when I say "No cosmetic is worth that ****".
Umm... think it through. The NSA infests World of ********. So do you think the Chinese intelligence services aren't going to respond with orders that can't be resisted to their own computer game companies? Really? It doesn't take a conspiracy nut at this point to figure your computer will eventually be used for nefarious purposes if you install ARC.
Maybe the best and only way to stop ARC is for all the American players to call the FBI and gripe about Spyware being forced on you that is likely to actually be SPYING.
... So to repeat an earlier question; will I be able to start the game without ARC or Steam if I use the physical disk?
Then again, if you are into conspiracies let me twist your knickers with this one... maybe the Chinese already spy and hack with STO itself.
Pfft, NSA agents are just using that as an excuse to mmo. They figured blizzard ripped off games workshop so its the perfect place for them to hone their woefully lacking mmo skills lol
So do you think the Chinese intelligence services aren't going to respond with orders that can't be resisted to their own computer game companies? Really? It doesn't take a conspiracy nut at this point to figure your computer will eventually be used for nefarious purposes if you install ARC.
Like gold farmer ads being able to message you directly?
Maybe the best and only way to stop ARC is for all the American players to call the FBI and gripe about Spyware being forced on you that is likely to actually be SPYING.
Or just refuse to use the c-store until stuff changes. (Its worked elsewhere, it can work against PWE)
... So to repeat an earlier question; will I be able to start the game without ARC or Steam if I use the physical disk?
IIRC, sto was only recently added to steam so if you have an OLDER physical copy you /should/ be able to install the client that way. Now, how long that is true and how long until arc is forced on us to log in ala other pwe games depends 100% on two groups
1: People willing to say "no", continue to play but refuse to buy store items, INCLUDING items from the exchange.
2: The apologists who defend everything pwe/cryptic do.
Then again, if you are into conspiracies let me twist your knickers with this one... maybe the Chinese already spy and hack with STO itself.
My god, that is what the EC farmers are...40 year old men in China, sitting around in their home made sailor moon cosplay outfits. Damn, thats dash cunning of them.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]Thanks to scooterkhan for the awesome sig!
The stated plan is for Arc to eventually launch the game directly - it hasn't been implemented that way yet.
It's possible that will be the final step to be implemented once Arc becomes mandatory.
There was also a statement this shouldn't happen to Steam players. I suspect that is part of the hold up of them trying to make it so Steam users don't have to have 2 of the same type of programs running.
_____
Lifetime no longer gives a forum title. That should be updated on the Lifetime page that mentions what you get. PMing the CSR doesn't work neither.
I caved in. Downloaded Arc for the Khan costume. IMMEDIATELY deleted it. STO is the only game I play. There was nothing on that software that remotely interested me. Social hub - useless - all my friends are IN STO. Info on other games - useless - assuming I want to play with Trolls and Elves because I play STO is incorrect, therefore I dont care about other games. Installing Arc so I can launch the SAME launcher? - suspect at best.
I'm hoping that they aren't counting hits for downloading it as any kind of success factor. Sooo many of my fleet mates downloaded and deleted it just for the costume.
Don't understand the problem with using arc? I'm using it. Seems nice and no more password entry. Though please feel free to keep whining might get another free gift!
uPlay, Origins, and now this Arc TRIBBLE. There is a perfectly usable and stable digital distribution platform (Steam) available already. What is the point of trying to reinvent the wheel? Why should people have to install 50 versions of the same damn thing to play a game? My honest advice for Arc is to scrap it, and go through Steam.
Dont want to use ARC, never going to. As missconstrued said... everyone wants their own personal version of Steam, and its BS. I only recently even bothered making a Steam account and only then because of Valve games I like *cough*XCOM*cough* :P
uPlay, Origins, and now this Arc TRIBBLE. There is a perfectly usable and stable digital distribution platform (Steam) available already. What is the point of trying to reinvent the wheel? Why should people have to install 50 versions of the same damn thing to play a game? My honest advice for Arc is to scrap it, and go through Steam.
Free advertising and promotions, editorial control over content (especially reviews, keep in mind, the head office is in a free speech free zone), just general bragging rights and the ability to turn thousands of gamers' computers into their own personal botnet for mining bitcoins, which is looking like a pretty solid business plan right now.
I have no issues with arc I been using it before they started pushing it. my pc is locked down and i know whats happening where its completely safe. and no I don't work for cryptic I maintain my own servers for my own personal and business use but I've never had an issue with arc yet and its been a long time since I started using it.
A) How's that tinfoil hat treating your hairstyle?
Why are you storing credit-card information on your gaming computer in the first place? Does no one practice safe hex any more?
Network and internet security was something they always harped on during my time in public service (LEO/Corrections). Countless seminars and classes on the subject. Boring as hell, but I got paid for it. And it was a real eye-opener.
In a nutshell, as it relates to this thread:
1. You can never be too paranoid about the securing of your personal information, stored by electronic means. Especially on networked machines, including home PCs on the internet.
2. Every program, paid or open source, that is touted to protect your computer and information online is never really 100% secure. Same goes for the data centers of online businesses. There is always a way around them. And somebody will find them.
3. Even if you think that a business isn't keeping your payment data, or credit card information, there is a record of it somewhere. And information brokering was, and still is, a bustling international business. That is also one way collection agencies and bill collectors manage to find people when they move unannounced, without having to do much foot work.
4. The People's Republic of China now leads the world in cyber crime and piracy (both digital and hard copy media products). Because of China's convoluted laws, and government's indifference as long as the cash keeps rolling into China, dealing with Chinese Mainland companies can sometimes be a dicey proposition, with many of them cutting corners on network data security.
Now, am I saying PWE is crooked? No, I am not. But considering their business model, I don't expect their network security to be up to snuff. Making it easy for identity thieves and cyber-crooks to get the data they are mining for. Especially on immature software like Arc.
Sure it is still a risk on mature software. But I'd rather take my chances with Steam and Paypal, than with Arc.
Comments
no, but the 'dodge' they have on this is that the STO launcher uses a IE backbone, so its there to plug into that.
Does that make it right? not really but the entire web portion of ARC seems to think that it should have as much resource as an active flash audio/video stream as well.
Will I be able to launch the game with my physical disc and avoid ARC?
What would I need to do... anything special?
Nerfing is Fraud...
I have currently tried just copying ARC's registry entries over to the Networked machine and setting the values to the appropriate Network address but still no joy. It keeps failing at the update stage with no useful information given when it does.
Still waiting to be able to use forum titles
feedback? I personally like the client.
What does this do for me other than give me features I would not use and software that doesn't benefit me? It looks almost like Steam, but with a little more color on the game pages. In my opinion it needs to be made more compact. I play ST almost everyday, Champions online rarely, and Neverwinter is for some reason still on my hard drive.
I do not use Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media. If I want to chat with people in game, I have the Ventrilo and Teamspeak clients, otherwise I can do it in game. If I want a unified launcher I have Steam (which I do not use for cryptic games...yet). No amount of flashy ads will attract me to those other games... unless I get something really useful and amazing (that is NOT A FREAKING TRIBBLE) for use in STO, those other PWI games will never see any of my hard drive's real estate. If I wanted those games, I would have installed them already.
Steam (which I have) already does what this (ARC) does in a neater, more efficient package. ARC, as it stands, is nothing more than a Steam imitation that is clunky.
It would be far better if the client were smaller and more efficient in the space it uses. I use the Aeria Ignite launcher for Aeria games (Aura Kingdom, Elsword, Dynasty Warriors (before they killed it *sob*)). It is a nice and compact unified launcher, with little wasted space, everything is right there with no need for scrolling or hunting for it. Steam, for me, is cumbersome, and is not something to emulate when you do not have the games library that is available there. Other things that should be integrated into ARC to make it more desirable would be to integrate the various gateways into it, allow game tasks to be conducted outside the game, such as duty officer missions, the exchange, being able to view your account bank, Dilithium/Questonite exchange trading, etc.. The "Settings" dropdown menu is redundant, as the options on there are duplicated in the tabs in window that pops up. There needs to be a button that takes us to the latest patch notes up front as well as a simple way to access the dev blogs. Server status indicator would be real nice too. The Social button takes me to a page that is cluttered with links to games I have no interest in...it's cluttered. I play Star Trek, perhaps allow the client to resemble an LCARS console or add client customization options? Did I mention it was cluttered? Smaller tiles would be nice too.
---
I installed it on a laptop running winXP, because that is what is on my desktop that I use to play STO primarily. Laptop is a Fujitsu Lifebook N3530 notebook with 2gb ram, Intel Core Duo T2300 1.83 ghz processor, Radeon x1400 256mb ram, and a 500gb 7200rpm HD running Windows XP 32bit. Before people start crying about how old and underpowered it is, they need to realize that I am using it to test ARC before installing it on a machine with that has anything remotely valuble, so any complaints in that regard can be stuffed. It runs ventrilo, and firefox just fine.
I saw that ARC runs 3 processes (two when just the browser is active, and an additional one when the game is run.
Arc.exe (5.5k-33k memory usage with CPU 1-5% usage)
ArcOSBrowser.exe (13.5k-126k memory usage with CPU 1% usage)
ArcOSOverlay.exe (1.5k Memory usage with less than 1% CPU usage)
(the game client itself ran at 330k-670k with CPU at 60-67% usage)
Memory usage is very heavy when the program (ARC) is first run. After I started STO it eventually dropped much lower, though fter about 2 hours or so, the memory usage of the ArcOSBrowser went back to 100k-110k and pretty much set up camp there, whereas Arc.exe sat at 32k for pretty much the entire time. It really needs to be cleaned up in regards to memory usage/efficiency. I really didn't have any heat issues that other people reported. Nor did the computer suffer appreciably with just ARC running...though running all 3 Arc .exes, the game client, and firefox with 20 tabs open is not recommended. :P
Does it have similar performance on Windows 7 64bit? What about machines with winXP with multiple drives(say like 5 physical hard drives), does the software hamper machines with lots of hardware?
With all the unhappiness with ARC I think you need to seriously communicate clearly what the software does. A product presentation with some details would be nice, and may help clear up much of the misunderstanding and fear that is generated from lack of information.
What Does Arc.exe, ArcOSBrowser.exe, ArcOSOverlay do? What information is communicated to Cryptic, and by what module? What are normal operating parameters for it, what ports does it use? Is the heavy hard drive activity that some people have seen normal? Why does ArcOSOverlay need to be running to play a game, what does it do exactly, and why can't we kill it manually? Some may think that some of this may be intuitive....if that were the case, then there shouldn't be so much fear. I have concerns about what the software is doing, and that being the case you cannot convince me to install the software outside the sandbox without more details.
---
The Website: http://games.arcgames.com/en/prod/star-trek-online
It's frankly horrible, in my opinion, and should be blasted apart with torpedo barrage. :eek:
It's terribly bland, generic, grey, and clunky. Why fix something that wasn't broken? The current website is just fine and everything is up front and easy to navigate. The new trainwre..er site...not so much. It looks and feels like something that was pulled out of a box and used as is, something made from a generic template, or designed by a 10 year old. It's harsh, yes, but the site as it stands is terrible, and needs a great deal of work. It's what happens when you replace something that works and is easy to use with something that is less in every respect.
What is up with that huge slideshow? It serves no real purpose other than take up real estate that can be put to better use. The pictures have no context. How is anyone not familiar with the product supposed to know what that stuff is? How is any of that Star Trek? Star Trek...remember? Federation, Klingons, Romulans, iconic starships... The slideshow should be airlocked, or at the very least made smaller, and the picture should have some bearing to what people identify Star Trek with. Dinosaurs with lasers, ninja reptiles, concept art, and other stuff that don't say "HEY LOOK, STAR TREK RIGHT HERE!" can be moved elsewhere. You are showcasing Star Trek, not "Turok, Dinosaur Hunter". The Voth are fine, but with no context it can confuse people unfamiliar with them. Concept art can be moved to a different section.
Where is a server status indicator? Forums and other relevant items should be linked DIRECTLY from the main page, and not part of a game of follow the links. A link to a list of Dev blogs is where? What is the latest news? Important information should be up front and center.
Each of the separate game pages needs background art that relates to the game in question.
The same goes for Champions online.
The current Cryptic websites work very well, the guys working on the new ones should compare the two websites, and see. The functionality of the current website is lost. Make the new one functional and simple.
----
I come here to play a freaking game, not to stress out over what this software is going to do to my computer...if it becomes that much of a source of stress, then there are other avenues of entertainment. This is a beta, I know, and am giving you my feedback on it, in the hope that it will improve things.
Sorry for the Great Wall of Text, but I needed to convey a great deal of information.:P
That makes two of us.
Listen, Im sorry but no. I admit to being a clothing horse, heck I think cosmetics are the ONLY thing the store should sell (move us away from pay2win).
But despite me /loving/ clothing, free outfits are not worth installing this hot mess into my pc. More so when I already use steam. Scrap arc and just focus on making the game better.
I just installed and then uninstalled it.
I installed it on another machine. Logged in to get it then logged back out and uninstalled. Then ran CCleaner to make sure it was gone off that machine.
Oh and Champions got a little more stuff than STO with their Arc promo.
EDIT Oh and when I tried Account Guard verification while using Arc, it never worked. No e-mail arrived. Yet I did it without Arc just recently too because the game treated using a different windows login as a different computer.
Lifetime no longer gives a forum title. That should be updated on the Lifetime page that mentions what you get. PMing the CSR doesn't work neither.
See, when you have to take that extra step cause PWE/Cryptic thinks they are a branch of the NSA, that is when I say "No cosmetic is worth that ****".
But.
When I go to use it to sign in to STO or Champions, all it does is bring up the regular launcher I already use and I have to sign in again.
So my question is, what is the point?
Originally Posted by pwlaughingtrendy
Network engineers are not ship designers.
Nor should they be. Their ships would look weird.
If you find Arc's folder on your computer, there should be an uninstall button if you want to use that.
It's possible that will be the final step to be implemented once Arc becomes mandatory.
Umm... think it through. The NSA infests World of ********. So do you think the Chinese intelligence services aren't going to respond with orders that can't be resisted to their own computer game companies? Really? It doesn't take a conspiracy nut at this point to figure your computer will eventually be used for nefarious purposes if you install ARC.
Maybe the best and only way to stop ARC is for all the American players to call the FBI and gripe about Spyware being forced on you that is likely to actually be SPYING.
Nerfing is Fraud...
Pfft, NSA agents are just using that as an excuse to mmo. They figured blizzard ripped off games workshop so its the perfect place for them to hone their woefully lacking mmo skills lol
Like gold farmer ads being able to message you directly?
Or just refuse to use the c-store until stuff changes. (Its worked elsewhere, it can work against PWE)
IIRC, sto was only recently added to steam so if you have an OLDER physical copy you /should/ be able to install the client that way. Now, how long that is true and how long until arc is forced on us to log in ala other pwe games depends 100% on two groups
1: People willing to say "no", continue to play but refuse to buy store items, INCLUDING items from the exchange.
2: The apologists who defend everything pwe/cryptic do.
My god, that is what the EC farmers are...40 year old men in China, sitting around in their home made sailor moon cosplay outfits. Damn, thats dash cunning of them.
There was also a statement this shouldn't happen to Steam players. I suspect that is part of the hold up of them trying to make it so Steam users don't have to have 2 of the same type of programs running.
Lifetime no longer gives a forum title. That should be updated on the Lifetime page that mentions what you get. PMing the CSR doesn't work neither.
I'm hoping that they aren't counting hits for downloading it as any kind of success factor. Sooo many of my fleet mates downloaded and deleted it just for the costume.
ARC can take a flying **** for all I care about it.
Free advertising and promotions, editorial control over content (especially reviews, keep in mind, the head office is in a free speech free zone), just general bragging rights and the ability to turn thousands of gamers' computers into their own personal botnet for mining bitcoins, which is looking like a pretty solid business plan right now.
Network and internet security was something they always harped on during my time in public service (LEO/Corrections). Countless seminars and classes on the subject. Boring as hell, but I got paid for it. And it was a real eye-opener.
In a nutshell, as it relates to this thread:
1. You can never be too paranoid about the securing of your personal information, stored by electronic means. Especially on networked machines, including home PCs on the internet.
2. Every program, paid or open source, that is touted to protect your computer and information online is never really 100% secure. Same goes for the data centers of online businesses. There is always a way around them. And somebody will find them.
3. Even if you think that a business isn't keeping your payment data, or credit card information, there is a record of it somewhere. And information brokering was, and still is, a bustling international business. That is also one way collection agencies and bill collectors manage to find people when they move unannounced, without having to do much foot work.
4. The People's Republic of China now leads the world in cyber crime and piracy (both digital and hard copy media products). Because of China's convoluted laws, and government's indifference as long as the cash keeps rolling into China, dealing with Chinese Mainland companies can sometimes be a dicey proposition, with many of them cutting corners on network data security.
Now, am I saying PWE is crooked? No, I am not. But considering their business model, I don't expect their network security to be up to snuff. Making it easy for identity thieves and cyber-crooks to get the data they are mining for. Especially on immature software like Arc.
Sure it is still a risk on mature software. But I'd rather take my chances with Steam and Paypal, than with Arc.
I'll stick with Steam, thanks.