[rxkevco]

Hi all , ,
Have recently started playing games on my quad core pc and just wanted to know a little more about the actual games themselves as i have noticed various ways of installing them and the need for ( or absence of ) serial numbers.

For instance the combat flight sim "falcon 4 ", ,just installed on my pc , left a desktop icon, and didnt ask for a serial number, despite there being one on the back of the game manual ? Once installed, there is no need to put the disk in the drive when you want to play it and just have to click the desktop icon and your away !.
Another combat flight sim " HAWX , installed , ,again, without the need for the serial number but didnt leave a desktop icon , , and does require the disc in the drive when you play it.

Battlefield 2142, battlefield 2 and battlefield 2 special forces, all require the serial number during installation, and leave a handy desktop icon to quick start the game, but require the disk to be inserted in the drive before they will load.

Suppose this is just a whine and winge really, , but , doesnt do any harm learing a little more about how the games are set up and how they function. For all the years i have had a pc , ,and for all the powerful machines i have now, ,i am very very new to gaming and have a lot to learn.

Just out of intrest, , ( should start a new topic really ! ) ,, is there any way to set up my logitech rumble 2 gamepad to act like a playstation controller ? ? Why ? ? I have the racing game "GTR " and although i can control the left / right car movement with the controller, , the accelleration and brake ( which would equate to buttons 1 and 2 on the right hand ) can only be controlled with the left and right functions of my mouse , , its very arkward controlling left and right with the controller in one hand, , and my other hand on the mouse for accelleration and braking , , ,surely there iis some way to make it act like a playstaion controller , doing away with the need for the mouse ?

Would be very grateful for any innforamtion or advice , cheers, , kev

Edited by rxkevco, 04 April 2009 - 07:28 AM.

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Serials are one of the things that tie in with copy protection and online gameplay. Most all games come with serials these days as a simple form of copy protection, if you don't have the serial you can't install it or you can't play online if it isn't unique, most games won't let you online or will kick you off if you're using a duplicate CD key. Pretty much all multiplayer games have a serial. Some games, mostly singleplayer ones, won't use a serial and rely on SecuRom, starforce, etc for copy protection. Some times it's as simple as checking for the CD to be in the drive to run the game, and other times it's far more complicated. Some games, like those offered by the company StarDock, have no copy protection whatsoever. They believe in making good games and in good customer service. They even came up with a "Gamer Bill of Rights" You get a serial from them but you don't have to enter it in your game, it's used to give you access on their website for patches. (If I remember correctly)

If you want much more information, you could check out the wikipedia page.

Now, as far as your game question goes, there should be an options/settings section inside the game and then a controls section under that, I've not played this game but that's how most games are set up. In there you should find keyboard, mouse, and probably gamepad controls since it's a racing game. In there you could set up the configuration of the gamepad to how you want to play it.

[ADNoland]

Serials are one of the things that tie in with copy protection and online gameplay. Most all games come with serials these days as a simple form of copy protection, if you don't have the serial you can't install it or you can't play online if it isn't unique, most games won't let you online or will kick you off if you're using a duplicate CD key. Pretty much all multiplayer games have a serial. Some games, mostly singleplayer ones, won't use a serial and rely on SecuRom, starforce, etc for copy protection. Some times it's as simple as checking for the CD to be in the drive to run the game, and other times it's far more complicated. Some games, like those offered by the company StarDock, have no copy protection whatsoever. They believe in making good games and in good customer service. They even came up with a "Gamer Bill of Rights" You get a serial from them but you don't have to enter it in your game, it's used to give you access on their website for patches. (If I remember correctly)

If you want much more information, you could check out the wikipedia page.

Now, as far as your game question goes, there should be an options/settings section inside the game and then a controls section under that, I've not played this game but that's how most games are set up. In there you should find keyboard, mouse, and probably gamepad controls since it's a racing game. In there you could set up the configuration of the gamepad to how you want to play it.

[rxkevco]

Hi there , and thankyou for your reply.
After giving it all a rest and having an early night, i got back to the pc this morning with a fresh outlook.

I have finally been able to program the logitech rumble 2 controller to act like a ps3 controller so playing the GTR racing game has just become much easier and finally i am content with it.
The serial numbers question has got an answer as well. After reading the maual "properly " , ,the games that dont ask for the serial number during installation, dont actually need them, , its only if you choose to install the online version that the serial comes into play, , , thats that one done and dusted as well.

I have bought tom clancys HAWx combat flight sim game and installed that a day or so ago, , this one brings up a few more issues that i cant get my head around though.
When i installed it, it didnt give me any option as to what drive to install on, , my gaming pc has a 500gb drive, and a 640gb drive. The 640gb drive is partitioned ( by the manufacturer ) into a 100gb C:/ partition for the operating system etc, , and the rest is a D:/ DATA drive. All of my other games are installed onto the data drive, , but HAWx doesnt have any option.
Obviously , i want to keep the C:/ drive pretty clean and not clogged up with unneccesary things that can be instaslled on one of the bigger drives.
The other annoying thing is that HAWx doesnt install a desktop icon either, , in its program files though, , there is a desktop icon there, , dont know how to utilise that icon to get it onto the desktop as a quick start shortcut.

Any ideas ? ? ?

Many thanks for your help though, , with your information, ," and " a clearer head on my shoulders , i have sussed out most of my annoyances, , , thankyou

Regards, , kev

[Oreo Collas]

Also, I'd like to add that I've heard that PS3 accessories will work on the computer so, if you pick up a PS3 controller and plug it in it should work fine. I don't know anything about setting it up or configuring it though as I have not done it yet.

[rxkevco]

I have tried my playstation 3 wireless controller with its usb cable and its not recognised at all, , there is a unofficial fix that mucks around with the controller and adds a few registery changes to let it be recognised in xp and occassionally in vista, but its a long complicated fix, , anyway, the problem is solved now and the logitech rumble 2 gamepad controller works just like my playstation one , ,perfectly, , ,i couldnt wish for more , it works flawlessly now that i persevered and programmed it correctly.

A freind of mine gave me a controller called " THE CLAW " which is a funny looking thing by any stretch of the imagination , , i havent yet worked out what sort of games it would be appropriate for though. Its made so that you place your fingers in the long grooves, , and at the end of each finger thare are programmable buttons , including the thumb, , bit arkward looking, but apparently once its set up and programmed correctly, it supposed to be an ideal replacement for keyboard and mouse in FPS type games ! !

So, , , i have my Saitek "CYBORG EVO " joystick for my flight simulator games , , my logitech rumble 2 controller for racing games etc, , , and " the claw " for god knows what sort of games, , , my keyboard and mouse work fine for any FPS games such as the battlefield collection so all in all, , i think i am sorted for a good while ! ! !

Just as a an addition to oreos post , , i have been told by quite a few people, ,including staff at games shops that the x box 360 controllers work straight out of the box for most pc games , , maybe something to do with " microsoft "

Still havent worked out how to get this bloody "HAWx game installed onto the D drive though, , and god knows why it doesnt install a desktop icon during installation, , as its supposed to according to the manual.

Edited by rxkevco, 05 April 2009 - 10:21 AM.

[ADNoland]

In regard to the claw, I found this:

The Claw™ is designed to be used, in conjunction with a mouse, to provide the ultimate controller set-up for 3D action games.

NOT something I'd use.... just too awkward looking. It's no longer being produced the website says, I'm wondering what they tried to charge for it.

When installing HAWX you can change it's install location by selecting the Custom option instead of the Complete option when installing the game. This gives you the ability to select where the game is installed.

And to get a desktop icon for it, find it in your programs folder, Right Click > Send To > Desktop (create shortcut)

[rxkevco]

The mate who gave ( borrowed ) me the claw said it cost him forty or fifty quid , ,he couldnt actually remember but he agreed that it was very arkward to use and it got relegated to the bottom shelf not long after he bought it.

I will uninstall, and then reinstall hawx and choose the custom installation this time ( never thought of that ) and hopefully it will all install correctly this time.
I tried right clicking the hawx icon and sending it to the desktop but all it actually did was send a shortcut to the actual icon, , not the game.
Hopefully the icon wll be sorted out when i do the custom installation in a little while , there should be an option to install desktop icon etc , , will report back in a while if it all goes successfully , which it should. I dont know whats wrong with me at the moment, , the simplist of things are passing me by and going over my head . . .

[ADNoland]

Doing that should have worked, but if it isn't you can navigate to the folder where it's installed on your D drive and create the shortcut the exact same way.

[rxkevco]

Have successfully instaqlled them all on the D: drive apart from the battlefiels series which i am having problems with , , , dont want to cross post so i started a new thread about the error message i am getting in the windows xp, vista 7 section,

Maybe you could have a look at my new thread to see if anything comes to mind to help ?


http://www.geekstogo...fe-t234612.html

[Bryan_Jovi]

edited