24 replies to this topic

[Luke Garrad]

I love to play my games through steam. So if I added MWO to my non steam games and open it through steam so I can still access the steam community and all while playing would it break the NDA?

Edited by Luke Garrad, 15 June 2012 - 06:07 AM.

[Heldar1]

Good question... I've never added non steam games to my steam account, so my question would be; Would all of your friends be able to see the name of the game your playing? If so then yes, that would break the NDA because you aren't supposed to tell anyone your a beta tester. If not, I cannot see why it would. But to be honest, I wouldn't risk/bother with it. Not that big of a deal, IMO.

[Kragmore]

Yes since it show that you are part of the beta. Thus breaking the part where it usually say that you aren't allowed to say that you are apart of the beta.
So if you are lucky I'd say you better wait till the game is released or enters an open beta.

[Doctor Mushroom]

I think all of your friends can see, one of my friends has a non-steam game added and I can see when he's playing it. So yes, you probably would be breaking the NDA.

[Luke Garrad]

What if I just named it Mechwarrior or Mechwarrior 4?

[PirateNixon]

... Change the name of the game in the non steam game setup... set it to TOTALLY NOT MWO or something more believable like any single player game you actually own.

[Luke Garrad]

Just clear things up here. Im not in the beta. Don't want the admins on my ***

[Vexgrave Lars]

Assuming you were selected to join the beta...would it be worth the risk of getting in and then getting banned?
Seriously? How important could this be?

[Kragmore]

Well, if there's something you think would possibly get you in trouble then it's most likely unwise to do it.

[Luke Garrad]

Just name it mech warrior 4 on steam, Solved. Anyone asks, Its MW4. No one should as it says

[NeonKnight]

Of Course, for added 'Giggles' you can add ANYTHING to Steam, (Word, Email, Games, etc) to launch them, and then by going into the properties field, you make it say instead of DIABLO III for example it says MECHWARRIOR ONLINE: BETA.

then Sit back and enjoy the ensuing steam chat pop-ups from your envious friends as they ask questions of the BETA.

Ahhhh....such good trolling of your envious friends

[Waladil]

Hm... a similar line of thought: Would it be breaking NDA to delete this comment that I'm writing right now, but only if I get into the beta? It wouldn't be so much as telling people, as... doing something that may be interpreted in certain ways by certain people who read this post.

Nudge nudge, wink wink.

[Heldar1]

Waladil, on 15 June 2012 - 06:39 AM, said:

Hm... a similar line of thought: Would it be breaking NDA to delete this comment that I'm writing right now, but only if I get into the beta? It wouldn't be so much as telling people, as... doing something that may be interpreted in certain ways by certain people who read this post.

Nudge nudge, wink wink.

Don't think so. Your only legally bound AFTER you agree to the NDA. Anything before hand, well thats fair game *nudge nudge*

[Torcip]

As long as you chance the name of the game so everyone can't see you're playing it, then I don't see any problem with it.

Edited by Torcip, 15 June 2012 - 06:52 AM.

[RG Notch]

Can some one point out where it is stated one can't say one is accepted to the beta. I'm not doubting it, just haven't actually seen it stated by the team. I can't understand the reasoning, but whatever.

[Blackfire1]

Luke Garrad, on 15 June 2012 - 06:05 AM, said:

I love to play my games through steam. So if I added MWO to my non steam games and open it through steam so I can still access the steam community and all while playing would it break the NDA?

Yes.

Edited by Blackfire1, 15 June 2012 - 07:01 AM.

[SeniCuna]

I would imagine so long as you changed the display name of the game to be literally anything else then you'd be okay, still, I wouldn't.

RG Notch, on 15 June 2012 - 06:52 AM, said:

Can some one point out where it is stated one can't say one is accepted to the beta. I'm not doubting it, just haven't actually seen it stated by the team. I can't understand the reasoning, but whatever.

I haven't searched for it specifically, but it's probably either offhandedly mentioned by the Devs at some point or in the NDA itself.
As for the reasoning? There could be a few reasons, not that hard to imagine some. Even one as simple as an added layer of security to the NDA could be the logic behind it.

[Waladil]

RG Notch, on 15 June 2012 - 06:52 AM, said:

Can some one point out where it is stated one can't say one is accepted to the beta. I'm not doubting it, just haven't actually seen it stated by the team. I can't understand the reasoning, but whatever.

Yes, I can, actually! Scrounged it up through some of Paul's old posts:

Paul Inouye, on 25 May 2012 - 02:59 PM, said:

And to those lucky enough to get INTO Beta...

You are bound by NDA...

NOT ALLOWED TO SAY YOUR PARTICIPATING IN BETA ANYWHERE

Being removed from Beta may or may not extend past the Launch date. Behave!

EDIT: Although the lawyer in me is pointing out that a literal interpretation of these words would allow one to say that they were accepted into the beta, but not that they were participating. Kind of a silly difference. If I were offered free ice cream, it's pretty obvious that I'm gonna eat it, right? Also, I doubt the legal text is so permissive.

PS to EDIT: Now I want some ice cream.

PS to PS to EDIT: That's not a euphemism, I really just want some ice cream right now.

Edited by Waladil, 15 June 2012 - 07:13 AM.

[Giverous]

So as a technicality, from what i'm reading, if i was offered beta (which sadly i haven't been) then I could tell everyone on the forums that im GOING to be in beta. Then i could agree the NDA, and not mention it again?

[Major Tom]

SeniCuna, on 15 June 2012 - 07:05 AM, said:

I would imagine so long as you changed the display name of the game to be literally anything else then you'd be okay, still, I wouldn't.

even if you rename the "application" steam can still see the digital signature and details of the of the files. You are still reporting to them the true application you are playing, the frequency, and any other details they want to gather (steam is an extremely invasive piece of software). So while you may not be aware that you are breaking the NDA, it is likely that you are.