EA follows Ubisoft, will sell titles with 'always on' DRM

[Deific]

I agree what they are doing is totally useless, it wont help and only annoy people with dodgy net connections it is **** and I agree even the best connection isn't 100% where as it would work 100% if it didn't need it but saying you are out of control of your internet connection is incorrect.

You seem adamant in your failure to comprehend the simplicity of the situation. I'm on O2, supposedly the best provider alongside BE in the UK atm, and my net still drops on occasion when they are having problems in my area or doing maintenance etc. yet when my internet is working, it's fast and stable - which is the majority of the time. As it is there is currently nothing I can do to improve my internet service. I'm with the best provider and that's that.

Similarly, EA and Ubisoft have things called 'servers'. These are stored in server banks where they have lots of servers and your game speaks to these servers constantly when playing one of their games. EA and Ubisoft don't have a great track record of running servers without a plethora of problems following and often a lot of downtime and maintenance. These servers are likely up to or over 100 miles away from where you live. You have no control over these servers and if they go down, as we've seen is common with EA servers in BFBC2 lately, then this is not your fault, you can do nothing to change it and it is out of your hands. This has absolutley nothing at all to do with your internet connection.

So if for any number of these reasons and more your connection to the publishers servers fails, you're game will not work and you will lose unsaved progress. This is obviously in no way the same as meeting a graphical requirement which is a one time purchase and cannot suddenly lose all ability to power your computers graphical needs on a wim, anything like your connection to a server can fail.

I'm sure you can now see why it is not the consumers fault should they lose connection, and how comparing a GPU to a server connection is ridiculous.

 

[megalomanic]

I rely on my connection for the majority of my PC gaming and id probably be more of a console gamer without a stable internet connection. I'v had no problems with AC2's DRM so far but then again my connection maybe goes down once a month.

I understand peoples frustration i guess, this being a single player game, but if you dont have a stable internet connection you've been missing out on some of the best PC gaming anyway.

About 'losing all progress on disconnect' - while playing AC2 yesterday my system rebooted due to my card overheating, and when i started the game back up i had barely lost any progress at all. Maybe i'm missing something but doesnt it regularly save your progress?.

 

[Setroc]

I thought that digital media suppliers already learnt the lesson that if your DRM punishes the user in some way, it will ultimately backfire. We've seen it before, and I don't think it will be any different with this latest DRM.

The fact that Assassin's Creed has already been reduced to £16 in some retailers after being out for only 3 weeks probably shows that it wasn't selling that well.

 

[Calabi]

The servers have gone down, they have directly failed through no fault of the customers, I believe the said unexpected demand or something like that.

Because of a fault with that service which is entirely the fault of Ubisoft, customers werent able to play the games they bought and paid for. Ubisoft has compensated some people with older games that dont require to always be online. A bit ironic.

 

[Amnesia]

Look, is it really that hard to understand, you chose your internet connection, if it isn't very good then get a better one it is EXACTLY like your graphics card.

there are also some rather thick people in this thread.

sorry couldn't help it

 

[Tefal]

Calm down and dont call me a muppet again.

DX10 is a techical req.

A constant connection is also a technical req.

No it is not.


The games can run without a internet connection.



petrol is a technical requirement, floor mats are not.

 

[Riiya]

I'm sorry but you're being very naive. I have a fast cable connection so in theory it should make no difference at all that I have to connect but in practice it does.

Why? Well I don't really feel like having my game interrupted or progress lost any time my cable goes down, or someone resets the router without warning me. I can guarantee you the large majority of people do not have a stable internet connection through no fault of their own.

Also no fault of the games publishers. Please, none of you have anything to say that can possibly outweigh the only important fact: "They can do what they want, and if that affects a small minority of their customer base, they don't give a flying fart".

Lol.

 

[kylew]

Also no fault of the games publishers. Please, none of you have anything to say that can possibly outweigh the only important fact: "They can do what they want, and if that affects a small minority of their customer base, they don't give a flying fart".

Lol.

When publishes make a requirement, they should evaluate the practicalities of making those requirements.

They have a responsibility as the developers to make sure their requirements are sensible.

Now they should know that internet connections, even the best of them, can go down, this is why they shouldn't have made it a requirement to play the game.

TRUE technical requirements are what the game NEEDS to run effectively.

An internet connection ISN'T a requirement for a single player game, it is however an example of Ubisoft telling you when you can play your own game.

"You have permission to play your game when your internet connection is working without flaw".

It doesn't even appear that they have looked in to just what happens when their DRM system doesn't work as intended.

Looks like they didn't even consider people would launch DDoS attacks on their servers, probably as an example of just how ridiculous their DRM is.

Them saying an internet connection is required is the same as them dictating what size monitor you play the game on, completely arbitrary and unnecessary to the game being able to run.

 

[Fromez]

Good to see a long thread about this.

In my view game companies shouldn't impose this on customers regardless of whether internet is up to scratch or not. People shouldn't have to rely on external servers or factors to play their game. It is further control by publishers - they can dictate your experience of Assassin's Creed 2 to an unprecedented level.

I haven't bought AC2 out of principal and if I'd had, I'd be screwed as people in my house are always disconnecting the modem.

 

[Tefal]

Also no fault of the games publishers. Please, none of you have anything to say that can possibly outweigh the only important fact: "They can do what they want, and if that affects a small minority of their customer base, they don't give a flying fart".

Lol.

Not even EA people can play the game tohugh

http://www.bluesnews.com/s/108706/ea-on-c+c4-drm

EA's Jeff Green tweeted...

Booted twice--and progress lost--on my single-player C&C4 game because my DSL connection blinked. DRM fail. We need new solutions.

and...

Welp. I've tried to be open-minded. But my 'net connection is finicky--and the constant disruption of my C&C4 SP game makes this unplayable.

Hilarious!

And of course you're relying on the good will of 4chan/the internet in general not to DDos the servers and stop you playing your game

 

[Setroc]

I just hope that paying customers are as outraged as they seem to be and vote with their wallets. The bottom line is all that these guys understand.

 

[Azza]

I'm a little puzzled though, have people actually managed to crack Assassin's Creed 2 yet? I was under the impression that the only way to play it was to buy a legit copy at present.

Yes there is a work around not so much a crack.

 

[kylew]

I just hope that paying customers are as outraged as they seem to be and vote with their wallets. The bottom line is all that these guys understand.

All well and good, but people who've already bought it can't "vote with their wallets".

 

[Bane]

All well and good, but people who've already bought it can't "vote with their wallets".

At least its been educational for those of us that wouldn't have bought AC2, even if it had no DRM. As it demonstrates what will happen when more games include this DRM method.

I'll have to consider if it's worth getting one game I'm looking forward to. Because even if my internet and the game servers are working fine, I'd still be annoyed with the system if a DDoS on the game server prevented me from playing my single player game.

 

[Pyroblaze]

AC2 is properly cracked now, it's a massive process to install and get working but it's done, by P2P none the less. Won't be long for the proper scene crack.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

AC2 is properly cracked now, it's a massive process to install and get working but it's done, by P2P none the less. Won't be long for the proper scene crack.

Not just that, but SH5 and AC2 have been seriously reduced in price and aren't selling all that well. It speaks for itself.

 

[n111ck]

AC2 is properly cracked now, it's a massive process to install and get working but it's done, by P2P none the less. Won't be long for the proper scene crack.

Most of the main missions work but less that half of the side missions work.

What made me laugh is that one p2p group stole the emulator from another and released it first - no honour among thieves!!

I doubt there will be a scene release though as it's not a crack.

 

[Bane]

Most of the main missions work but less that half of the side missions work.

I suppose this will be a good test of the try before you buy phrase. If it's more like a taster than being able to play everything in the game.

Will have to wait and see if anyone then goes and buys the game to get the full experience (unless the quests are added as found out) because they want to experience the whole game.

 

[Setroc]

With the AC2 server outages, are we even sure that it was because of a DDoS? I remember one statement from ubi apologising for the outages, claiming it was a DDoS, but apparently one that suspiciously stopped for a couple of non-peak hours

 

[Sh3rlock]

I dont see why anyone here should be concerned about DRM, as long as you purchase your games and dont download them ?

I for one, dont care what DRM they throw at me, Its never cause me an issue.