Chance of Valve banning me?

[Clavius]

Last thursday my classmates played hl2 deathmatch on a server they set up theirselves. They use a warezed version of halflife 2 that they passed around. Also the server is running on this version.

Now, I tried to log in in with my legally bought hl2, wich failed due to the fact that the versions dont match.

The problem: one of my class mates offers me a copy of their warez version, so that I can join their server.
What is the risk of my key being banned when I install this version alongside my legal one?

 

[Danimal]

If you used your account on it then there would be a big chance.

 

[Ikerous]

I'd actually say theres very little chance.

 

[FireCrack]

Big or small, it aint worth it.

 

[WhiteZero]

Good chance.
Tell ur friends just to buy it...

 

[Hazar]

when vac2 comes out, I think the chance goes up exponentially

 

[FireCrack]

^well ,it couldnt go up exponentialy, seeing as it would go up instantly and stop. But you could say "As newer versions of VAC are released the chances increase exponentialy"

/nitpick

 

[Hazar]

shut up

 

[Jintor]

Yah, they should buy it you know. I say good chance of getting busted.

 

[15357]

how did they actually pirate HL2 deathmatch????????

its multiplayer isn't it?

Spoiler

i wanna know how too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:E

 

[CrazyHarij]

IIRC Valve can, to an extent, find out if you've used an illegal version of HL2 on your IP as well as your steam account, so you might be able to play with them without being caught but suddenly a long time later having your account suspended. I'd advise you to think this through, and if it's actually worth risking your steam account.

 

[Clavius]

Yah, they should buy it you know. I say good chance of getting busted.

Well, yeah, that would be the ideal situation indeed, but take into account that out of the 20+ guys playing, I am the only one with a legal version.
Basically, I'd ask 20 people to pay 50 bucks for a game they already have, just so that I can join them... :rolling:

how did they actually pirate HL2 deathmatch????????

its multiplayer isn't it?

I've got no idea how, they just have some dvd with it.
It's multiplayer, but you can only join via some vague console commands AFAIK.

IIRC Valve can, to an extent, find out if you've used an illegal version of HL2 on your IP as well as your steam account, so you might be able to play with them without being caught but suddenly a long time later having your account suspended. I'd advise you to think this through, and if it's actually worth risking your steam account.

It's a bit of a pickle, I cant join my mates' fragging extravaganza because I bought the game!
Ofcourse I rather join them, than fight some random guys on steam.
On the other hand, running the risk of never being able to play anything on steam again is a bit too much.
How does this VAC work? Is there a chance that, if the client doesnt connect to steam, it'll slip under the radar?
Otherwise, I guess I'm pooped a bit :x
Thanks for the info anyway

 

[Hectic Glenn]

I'd say go for it. The warezed multiplayer works by running a dummy steam in the background then you start the game from a normal launcher. Which from there gives you the standard deathmatch or cs source background (works on cs: s as well) Because its like a whole different community running on an old version of the game, only warez people can play with each other. I know this cos i downloaded the counter strike source beta version and played it for a week or so.

I'd say that you should go for it, just don't input your real email into the notepad document you have to put an email into, so your legal account doesnt get effected. You are just playing with some mates, and you have the legal version already so you are ok. They are likely to get into trouble. Just keep your legit account separate from the warezed one and you will be fine. You don't wanna miss out not playing with them, go for it.

 

[oni_666]

If you have a fast internet connection, Then you could uninstall your legal copy of HL2, and install the illegal one, then when your finished playing with your thieving mates, Uninstall the illegal HL2 and re-install the Legal HL2 and connect to steam to download all the updates, etc.

Or backup all your legal HL2 "gcf" files from within C:\Program Files\Valve\Steam\SteamApps to another folder on your HD, then do the old Unistall legal HL2, Install Illegal HL2, Play with your mates, Then Unistall Illegal HL2 and re-install Legal HL2 and cut/ paste all the "gcf" files to where they originally were, (my "gcf" files amount to 5.2GB).

As far as I see it, if you try to install an Illegal version of HL2 onto your C: Drive it will over write the Legal one.

But everything your proposing is Illegal in itself, Just Imagine if we all had Mates like yours who ripped off Game developers...What may happen is games like HL3 may never be released because the game developers are losing millions in lost revenue every year because of mates that support Piracy.

 

[Ennui]

Get a spork and kill your friends for stealing money from Valve.

Then don't install it because in a year Valve'll find out and ban your account.

But don't pirate software from a good company like Valve - and don't support your friends doing so. Do it from EA and microsoft all you want, but Valve Software has worked hard and is nicer and more supportive of its fans than any other company I know of.

 

[corkscru74]

Basically, I'd ask 20 people to pay 50 bucks for a game they already have, just so that I can join them... :rolling:

Yeah, but they dont already have the game - they have a fake.

Tell your mates to stop being such stingy bastards! It's not like it's a rubbish game that you want to try before you buy. It's a great game that you'll want to play forever more - it's not like it's going to be a waste of their money! :bounce:

 

[Clavius]

I'm fully aware of the fact that my poposition might be illegal. The thing is, we all have mates that rip off Game developers, but you have to ask yourselve, do the game developers actually loose a penny to these people? I dont really think so. If this illegal version never existed, these people would probably never played it in the first place. This warez version this is something of the last few weeks around here, and the legal one has been out for much longer. Never heard them about halflife2 before this.

Sure that doesnt change a lot to the fact that, in a strict sense, its even illegal for me, a paying customer, to play a warezed version, but saying my mates should die for stealing this game goes a bit too far. After a while they might even decide to buy the game, because of the fact they're now missing content add-ons (crowbar ).
Anyway, this topic wasnt meant to be a discussion about the ethics of warez, but about the chance of getting busted for both having a legal and illegal version of the game. Thanks for your contributions (especially hectic and oni ), I think i'll go for it. I'll let you know the outcome (fingers crossed)