What is the difference between this and freeware versions?

[JolanXBL]

Apart from all the download links on your 3000ad website leading to either dead sites or *weird software

[Agathosdaimon]

well i think the main difference is that Battlecruiser Millenium Gold is not one of the freeware items, the others are given as extras and conveniently so with all teh documentation and patches applied.
Battlecruiser Millenium Gold is the main thing one would be buying i believe and Smart has thankfully removed the safedisc drm on it that microsoft disabled in windows 10

[JolanXBL]

ah, alrighty. cool

[AG1969]

Battlecruiser Millenium Gold was for a long time only available as a DVD with copy protection, has never been freeware and became rare. Being a favorite of many fans and after a request (by me among others), it has now been re-released as download on Steam (for now) in a bundle with its predecessors to celebrate the 25th birthday of Battlecruiser 2000AD's release.

The reasons for a purchase must be clarified by everyone for themselves. Except Battlecruiser Millenium Gold, all other games are free to find on abandonware sites.

I would recommend everyone to try the freeware versions before. If you do not know how to get these freeware versions, you will not have any joy in the games, because they require a lot of initiative and independent thinking. The games are not easy to access because of the many keyboard layouts for control, but now run smoothly on modern systems, since all old systems can be emulated on modern computers. The re-releases have been tested on modern systems and generally run smoothly after installation. Owners of the Universal Combat CE Bundle on Steam can claim the bundle for free.

Unlike its predecessors, Battlecruiser Millenium Gold can be controlled (by pressing the Alt key) with the mouse and therefore you do not need a joystick to play. With the game fans also get the Game Builder System (GBSII) with which game scenarios can be created (by writing scripts).
As for gaming content there are four Campaigns, one free Roam Option, several more Instant Action Scenarios, and a lot more music tracks compared to BCM Freeware (One Campaign, Roam and one Music Track). Multiplayer has been removed from this version.

This release proves that all games can and do run smoothly. The only problem lies in the attitude of the player and presents a challenge to himself. Through initiative, experimentation and curiosity, patience and perseverance, the game can develop into a real treasure chest of insights, experiences and acquired skills. The player's relationship with the game here is, in particular, a matter of development.

Okay that's it. Athough I wrote this as answer to your post, I think I will use it for my review as well...

[thedereksmart]

Originally posted by JolanXBL:

Apart from all the download links on your 3000ad website leading to either dead sites or viruses.

1. BC3K - same
   
2. BC3K 2.0 - same
   
3. BCM - lots of differences (e.g. more scenarios, different build etc)
   
4. BCM Gold - never released as freeware

More importantly, this is the first time any of those games are on Steam.

Also, being on Steam means you know where to find them, and they're all in one package, complete with instructions, fully tested etc.

So which of the download links lead to viruses?

http://3000ad.com/download/

Also, over the years, sites come and go - and it's hard to keep track of them. I will see about removing the dead ones from that page.

[JolanXBL]

The only download link I could find on Fileplanet lead to P-mqeg1.exe, which Chrome promptly blocked. My fault for clicking a suspicious download image.

I did eventually find two on ModDB, and an abandonware site, though I assume most 'abandonware' games are a gray area.

@ AG1969
Yeah, I have em hard copy, but also the cards with controls printed. Still confusing but I really like the idea of the games, and even tried creating Joystick profiles to make them work for me :)
I think Derek should have a custom controller make for the series, like that massive mech keyboard. Would really sell home the simulation aspect.

[thedereksmart]

Originally posted by JolanXBL:

The only download link I could find on Fileplanet lead to P-mqeg1.exe, which Chrome promptly blocked. My fault for clicking a suspicious download image.

The Fileplanet link goes to this page[www.fileplanet.com]. From there you can see two BC3K download links with EXE files. I have no clue what those files are, but I downloaded both of them and found to be free of a virus.

Regardless, they did change the original name of the files, and seeing how these sites change hands over time, I am now going to remove all those links from that page and just link to the Steam page since all those freeware games are on here now.

[thedereksmart]

Originally posted by JolanXBL:

I think Derek should have a custom controller make for the series, like that massive mech keyboard. Would really sell home the simulation aspect.

LOL!! No

[JolanXBL]

Yeah. Now click the 300AD v 2.09, then the only download button it gives you, the download (again), then Chrome reports unsafe filename, then Virus Detected.

https://i.ibb.co/h8Mpmfb/Screenshot-2021-09-23-015843.jpg
lower-left corner

[m662]

Originally posted by JolanXBL:

Yeah. Now click the 300AD v 2.09, then the only download button it gives you, the download (again), then Chrome reports unsafe filename, then Virus Detected.

https://i.ibb.co/h8Mpmfb/Screenshot-2021-09-23-015843.jpg
lower-left corner

I am going to eleborate on the information provided by JolanXBL technically we are *not* dealing with a virus however we are dealing with something far worse in this day of age. Because while a virus can be removed the information collected whle running the .exe however are not so easily removed.


Short version do *not* download this file from the Fileplanet link
If you have 10 minutes please read the information below why.
For safety reasons the https link to the download has been changed to hxxps (defanging) be sure to change it before copy pasting them in your browser if you want to download it on your own risk.

Lets delve in:
The link to the download is hxxps:/www.fileplanet.com/archive/p-26560/Battlecruiser-3000AD-v-2-09/download

This however does *not* link to the game but to a download manager from INNOVA MEDIA D.o.o (which aquired Fileplanet) that contains a mechanism to gain the required files.

VERY IMPORTANT

Fileplanet / INNOVA MEDIA D.o.o choose to use this download software not dsmart I think it is important to mention this.

This mentioned company is known rogue entity with regards to data collection and the download is considered Adware / PUP by most security software companies as such. https://www.virustotal.com/gui/file/7bb1c75e6ad5f075f6bd4fe5894785e81e3b209948f0a05c88da2f352806367a?nocache=1

Here is the involved company privacy policy
https://www.innovamarketinsights.com/privacy-policy/

However the mentioned download was never updated and it contains a old Privacy Policy from FilePlanet instead. This links to https://www.fileplanet.com/policy-en
And when you actually read the policy it says updated August 24, 2016

Notice to European Users: this privacy statement has been prepared in fulfillment of the obligations under Art. 10 of EC Directive n. 95/46/EC, and under the provisions of Directive 2002/58/EC, as revised by Directive 2009/136/EC, on the subject of Cookies.

These directives has been abolished in favor of the GDPR/EU with required compliance on 25 May 2018. Any one can verify this if they want to look at the GDPR history. However for sake of keeping this as understandable and short as possible I am not going to link to a maze of confusing policy historical records.


Not only are there outdated directives mentioned but further reading shows that more data is collected and you are required to go to another privacy policy. This is also in direct violation with GDPR as all the data-collection information must be available at the information source in one document.

Even more unfortunately the mentioned additional privacy policy is no longer online. https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/877900
So instead we have to grab the caching copy that was last available to further study this privacy case.
https://web.archive.org/web/20190718020443/https://www.iubenda.com/privacy-policy/877900

Reviewing this policy (shortest I have seen in ages) mentions data collectors this time Akamai Content Delivery Network and DigitalOcean but no information what is collected nor any additional sources. Again a direct violation of your rights.

There for in conclusion I would urge dsmart to either remove the files and directly host every instance or repackage them based on the correct legal requirements as at this moment the legal part is not correctly covered if we are talking about the EU.
I commend dsmart for removing the other links but for safety reasons I recommend full withdraw from Fileplanet.

I would strongly urge ever other user to reconsider downloading this specific file (and any which has this kind of download manager) until the mentioned download manager software is removed or at the least understand that your information might get sold by companies that have no legal right over your data.

Again this is not dsmart his or his companies fault this is a very wrong ethical move from INNOVA MEDIA D.o.o and they (not dsmart) are hereby reported to the appropriate Data Protection Authority (DPA)

[thedereksmart]

Originally posted by m662:

Again this is not dsmart his or his companies fault this is a very wrong ethical move from INNOVA MEDIA D.o.o and they (not dsmart) are hereby reported to the appropriate Data Protection Authority (DPA)

Thanks for all that. And yeah, this is the problem with external links; you never know how they will change at some point in time. I didn't even know that FilePlanet - once the largest gaming file repository - was sold off to that entity.

Nevertheless, as I mentioned above, I have since removed all the external download links from my website.

Thanks guys!

[m662]

Originally posted by dsmart:

Originally posted by m662:

Again this is not dsmart his or his companies fault this is a very wrong ethical move from INNOVA MEDIA D.o.o and they (not dsmart) are hereby reported to the appropriate Data Protection Authority (DPA)

Thanks for all that. And yeah, this is the problem with external links; you never know how they will change at some point in time. I didn't even know that FilePlanet - once the largest gaming file repository - was sold off to that entity.

Nevertheless, as I mentioned above, I have since removed all the external download links from my website.

Thanks guys!

More than welcome I am glad you took the original poster his, her alert serious.
And yeah FP got acquired in 2016 apparently. Honestly I thought they were a goner already but when I saw the INNOVA name I knew this could only end fishy.

[thedereksmart]

I didn't want to delete your post, but since it's off-topic, please edit it to remove everything from "Small note..." to the end, and let's discuss via email or send me a PM here or on my Discord (dsmart#8647). cheers

[m662]

Originally posted by dsmart:

I didn't want to delete your post, but since it's off-topic, please edit it to remove everything from "Small note..." to the end, and let's discuss via email or send me a PM here or on my Discord (dsmart#8647). cheers

I have removed the site advisory as you requested. If you want to use the data, solution provided you should have a copy paste available. And if not well than of course all respect for that decision.

I will however respectfully decline your communication offer as the advisory is as far as I am taking this matter. It was given in personal capacity and not professional. But thank you for your kind offer.

[thedereksmart]

That's OK. I only asked that you send to me if you wanted to, since it's off-topic here. I didn't make a copy because I didn't pay too much attention to it, other than to note that it was off-topic.