After analyzing our open beta test results Aion will not feature GameGuard at launch. We will however continue to pursue ways to effectively utilize GameGuard within Aion in the future. Right now we're focused on providing players with the best possible Aion experience.

- Aion Website

This is a huge positive and really shows, I think, that NCsoft is respecting players and their concerns.  GameGuard, aside from being totally ineffective with regard to stopping hacks is an unstable and highly intrusive program and something gaming can well do without.  Kudos to NCsoft for getting it right on this issue.

I know it says they will look at it for the future but let's keep the pressure on and remind them that GameGuard is something the game is better off without.

It was the right move.  I never had any issues with gg but it was a shame how many others seemed to least from what I saw.

I agree.  While I like the idea of what GameGuard represents, implementing that idea in what is essentially a rootkit is horrible and I raise my flaggon of ale in the removal of GameGuard.

"Right now we're focused on providing players with the best possible Aion experience."

Once they are no longer focused on that, they will put GG back in.

Just remember, game guard isnt gone. Its actually still on your machine. They just temporarily patched it out. Personally I hope they keep it out as I couldn't use my amBX lighting system with it running but they may throw it back in at any time.

Originally posted by DoomsDay01

Just remember, game guard isnt gone. Its actually still on your machine. They just temporarily patched it out. Personally I hope they keep it out as I couldn't use my amBX lighting system with it running but they may throw it back in at any time.

So are you saying if one buys the retail game, GameGuard is still in there but not being incorporated\interfaced with?

If that is the case, I retract my raised ale flaggon!  If it is out of the install alltogether, my raised flaggon of ale will still be raised.

One of the major reasons why I won't be trying out Aion is because of GameGuard and all of its rootkit-like attributes it has.

Once again, the Devil is in the details. Which is why I will wait to hear that the program is NOT in the retail version.

Until I hear that confirmed, I don't buy.

Devs lie.

That's what I'm wanting to know since I haven't downloaded the game yet. I don't really want to install it on my main computer if it still downloads Gameguard.

You people worry far too much about Gameguard, sure it's a fairly bad program and it installs a rootkit.
But how many people have you seen, or read about getting hacked or information compromised because of it? I've heard of absolutely zero personally.

You just have to be smart with your computer and internet usage so you don't have problems.

I personally think this is a cynical move on NCSoft's part to up their initial sales of the game.

RootKit anti-cheat software that does exactly nothing to stop real cheating and only prevents very low-level users from cheating is ineffectual & simply retarded in my book.

I still wont be touching AION with a ten-foot bargepole until they state they are not implimenting GG at all in the west.

Originally posted by Krilster

You people worry far too much about Gameguard, sure it's a fairly bad program and it installs a rootkit.
But how many people have you seen, or read about getting hacked or information compromised because of it? I've heard of absolutely zero personally.

You just have to be smart with your computer and internet usage so you don't have problems.

I don't need to 'see' or 'read about' anyone getting hacked, or anything of the sort.  It installs a driver that borks my optical drives, causing them to vanish from my computer, requiring a reboot to get them back, after I play Aion.  Not to mention it crashes IE 8 when I alt-tab out of Aion to view certain websites...such as this one.  Quite frankly, that's a bunch of bullshit, and not worth dealing with just to play some stupid game.  If they remove it completely, great, I'll play Aion.  If it's still installed, regardless, I won't be playing Aion.

I'm not a cheater, so I don't want to be treated like a potential cheater and have my system thrashed.  Period.

Originally posted by DoomsDay01

Just remember, game guard isnt gone. Its actually still on your machine. They just temporarily patched it out. Personally I hope they keep it out as I couldn't use my amBX lighting system with it running but they may throw it back in at any time.

I removed GG from the machine I tested Aion on during the OB, and even with the hidden files removed and all GG registry entries gone (essentially GG totally gone) Aion patch and launch and did not re-add it back.  So it is gone, though its hidden driver is still resident for folks who do not manually remove it.

Here is what I did to get it off my test machine and on my gaming rig, with NO GameGuard.  I downloaded the NCsoft launcher and installed it and when it was done and prompted me to install Aion I just pasted the Aion folder from my test machine and then told the launcher to path it up.  Once patched, there is a Gameguard folder in the Aion program folder but it doesn't re-add the GameGuard registry entries or the hidden driver files.  So worst case, just download and install the game then remove GameGuard manually and off you go, though it may very well be that the downloader is already updated to not install GG in the first place, no idea on the CDs.

To remove GG manually - search Windows folder for npptNT2.sys and remove any instances found (outside the Aion/bin folder.), then search the registry for npptNT2 and GameGuard and remove all entries found then reboot.  Should be good to go after that.

Originally posted by Eben

Originally posted by Krilster

You people worry far too much about Gameguard, sure it's a fairly bad program and it installs a rootkit.
But how many people have you seen, or read about getting hacked or information compromised because of it? I've heard of absolutely zero personally.

You just have to be smart with your computer and internet usage so you don't have problems.

 

I don't need to 'see' or 'read about' anyone getting hacked, or anything of the sort.  It installs a driver that borks my optical drives, causing them to vanish from my computer, requiring a reboot to get them back, after I play Aion.  Not to mention it crashes IE 8 when I alt-tab out of Aion to view certain websites...such as this one.  Quite frankly, that's a bunch of bullshit, and not worth dealing with just to play some stupid game.  If they remove it completely, great, I'll play Aion.  If it's still installed, regardless, I won't be playing Aion.

I'm not a cheater, so I don't want to be treated like a potential cheater and have my system thrashed.  Period.

I completely agree.  Its my PC and I feel like I should have the final say if I install something or uninstall something.  GameGuard is too invasive for my own personal tastes and it has very little to do with getting hacked.  I should be able to control every aspect of my machine that my talent provides me and I do not feel like I would be able to control the usage\installation\uninstallation of GameGuard (to say nothing with the known issues of compatibility of GG).
 

Originally posted by Skuz

I personally think this is a cynical move on NCSoft's part to up their initial sales of the game.

That is how it reads, yes.

Originally posted by MMO_Doubter

"Right now we're focused on providing players with the best possible Aion experience."

 

Once they are no longer focused on that, they will put GG back in.

EXACTLY!!!!!!!   Give it 60 days, when all the new people are paying their $15 a month, then NCSoft is gonna drop the hammer and shove GG right back in.  All you have to do is read the full statement by dev team and it reads plain as day.  Sad part is, as soon as they put GG back in, you can bet all these folks cheering AIONs action to remove it are gonna be back crying how they were dupe by AION devs.  HELL, if you bother to read what they wrote, you can tell GG will be back.

In every game that uses GG, people are complaining about it.

"I can't launch the game" , "GG sucks", "GG makes my game crash" bla bla bla...

How come myself and alot of other players never experience trouble with GG?

Not once did GG fuck up my game, nothing. I just fail to see how so many people aren't able to make GG "work".

I know any anti-cheat program just sucks balls. No doubt about that. But the fact it does help a bit in the game.

Originally posted by Schaapje

In every game that uses GG, people are complaining about it.

"I can't launch the game" , "GG sucks", "GG makes my game crash" bla bla bla...

How come myself and alot of other players never experience trouble with GG?

Not once did GG fuck up my game, nothing. I just fail to see how so many people aren't able to make GG "work".

I know any anti-cheat program just sucks balls. No doubt about that. But the fact it does help a bit in the game.

Great question.  The reason for 98% of the GG errors are that people don't shut off all their virus, phising, etc protection stuff before they install the game.  User error when they tell you to shut the stuff off, but people don't listen.

Originally posted by Schaapje

In every game that uses GG, people are complaining about it.

"I can't launch the game" , "GG sucks", "GG makes my game crash" bla bla bla...

How come myself and alot of other players never experience trouble with GG?

Not once did GG fuck up my game, nothing. I just fail to see how so many people aren't able to make GG "work".

I know any anti-cheat program just sucks balls. No doubt about that. But the fact it does help a bit in the game.

Yeah same, never had a single issue with it, and the fact it has elements similar to a rootkit dosent bother me either much. I think theres a lot of unfounded panic and drama about it in out there, but you can't fight the zeitgiest with facts I guess.

The fact that there are a stack of GG bypassers out there make it pretty redundent though... anyone who wants to cheat can still do it very easily, even with it, so it seems pointless to have.

It's prolly worth dropping from the game for the good PR alone tbh.

Originally posted by Shannia

Originally posted by Schaapje

In every game that uses GG, people are complaining about it.

"I can't launch the game" , "GG sucks", "GG makes my game crash" bla bla bla...

How come myself and alot of other players never experience trouble with GG?

Not once did GG fuck up my game, nothing. I just fail to see how so many people aren't able to make GG "work".

I know any anti-cheat program just sucks balls. No doubt about that. But the fact it does help a bit in the game.

 

Great question.  The reason for 98% of the GG errors are that people don't shut off all their virus, phising, etc protection stuff before they install the game.  User error when they tell you to shut the stuff off, but people don't listen.

 

It's absolutely nonsensical for a program to be so poorly constructed that it requires me to leave my computer unprotected when in use. It's inexcusable. It's not the only problem either. GG has conflicts with drivers, firmware and even windows itself. When a program has problems with a properly configured computer simply because of the components used to build it that program is bugware of the worst kind plain and simple. The damn program doesn't even prevent cheating. A half wit can bypass it with instructions found on the web.

Originally posted by Schaapje

In every game that uses GG, people are complaining about it.

"I can't launch the game" , "GG sucks", "GG makes my game crash" bla bla bla...

How come myself and alot of other players never experience trouble with GG?

Not once did GG fuck up my game, nothing. I just fail to see how so many people aren't able to make GG "work".

I know any anti-cheat program just sucks balls. No doubt about that. But the fact it does help a bit in the game.

There are a LOT of different PCs out there.

Not everyone who smokes will get lung cancer. That doesn't mean cigarettes are safe.