Mass Effect Requires Online Validation Every Ten Days to Function

Shamikebab · 7 May 2008 at 19:41

Orcish-Horde said:
Will the validation server still be running in 15 years time? I have pc games that are getting close to that old I can still load them up on an old system. Now if a game needs validation there will come a time when their servers are no longer there. I will pass on any game that needs validation.

I would have thought after a period of time they will remove it with a patch.

snowdog · 7 May 2008 at 19:42

Orcish-Horde said:
Will the validation server still be running in 15 years time? I have pc games that are getting close to that old I can still load them up on an old system. Now if a game needs validation there will come a time when their servers are no longer there. I will pass on any game that needs validation.

Just crack it to be honest, I know I will.
I've been without proper net for nearly 6 weeks, of which 2 weeks no net at all at home, It'd be rubbish that I can't play a game I bought coz I have no net or coz I'm on holls and taking my lappy with me.

Tefal · 7 May 2008 at 19:44

Flammy said:
And what about civil action?

n britain you won't be hit by much (because they can not go for punitive fines but only loss of earnings + a small amount towards costs)
and then theres the whole aspect of how they found you out, via entrapment style approaches and breaching privacy laws regarding IP addresses.

Which is why that law firm that did that and sent out a bunch of legal threats is now being royally raped in every orifice by most EU governments.

Out of curiosity how many people have been actually convicted (not pleaded guilty/settled) in The uk for downloading?

The cases you are thinking of are in America where they can go for punitive damages well into the hundreds of thousands.

Still the RIAA etc are constantly getting slapped down in almost every case where the person doesn't settle at the mo.

Ohg and remember if you've copied your cd's to your pc or mp3 player your a pirate they can try and sue you or if you play music loud enough to be over heard by others.(which they recently tried to sue someone for.)

Flammy · 7 May 2008 at 19:58

Tefal said:
n britain you won't be hit by much (because they can not go for punitive fines but only loss of earnings + a small amount towards costs)
and then theres the whole aspect of how they found you out, via entrapment style approaches and breaching privacy laws regarding IP addresses.

Which is why that law firm that did that and sent out a bunch of legal threats is now being royally raped in every orifice by most EU governments.

Out of curiosity how many people have been actually convicted (not pleaded guilty/settled) in The uk for downloading?

The cases you are thinking of are in America where they can go for punitive damages well into the hundreds of thousands.

Still the RIAA etc are constantly getting slapped down in almost every case where the person doesn't settle at the mo.

Ohg and remember if you've copied your cd's to your pc or mp3 player your a pirate they can try and sue you or if you play music loud enough to be over heard by others.(which they recently tried to sue someone for.)

Interesting, but I wonder how many loopholes in the law there are yet to be exploited. Given that software piracy requires altering code which is against the EULA, and peer-to-peer involves an element of distribution and so on, I'm surprised that the lawyers havent worked something out of that yet.

Or maybe the corporation's lawyers feel that the 'bigger fish' in piracy can be more easily caught and punished in the US and under US law. Not to say it wont start to happen in Europe in the future.

SkeeterUK · 7 May 2008 at 20:06

At the end of the day piracy is here and here to stay no government can stop this. They should just stop trying to fight it and embrace it somehow.

Orcish-Horde · 7 May 2008 at 20:23

snowdog said:
Just crack it to be honest, I know I will.
I've been without proper net for nearly 6 weeks, of which 2 weeks no net at all at home, It'd be rubbish that I can't play a game I bought coz I have no net or coz I'm on holls and taking my lappy with me.

I will pass it up, to many games and not enought time to waste on copy protection.

manoz · 7 May 2008 at 20:35

I'll happily buy this game straight away IF and only IF a crack comes out to stop the stupid 10 day thing. I've been looking forward to taking this game on holiday with me this summer where I won't have an internet connection for several months

Timber · 7 May 2008 at 20:37

SkeeterPSA said:
At the end of the day piracy is here and here to stay no government can stop this. They should just stop trying to fight it and embrace it somehow.

Just out of interest - how do you 'embrace' piracy?

In my mind Governments will think along the lines of taxation on content. I'm not sure you can ever stop fighting it.

LoadsaMoney · 7 May 2008 at 20:42

Pmsl.

z0mbi3 · 7 May 2008 at 20:44

manoz said:
I'll happily buy this game straight away IF and only IF a crack comes out to stop the stupid 10 day thing. I've been looking forward to taking this game on holiday with me this summer where I won't have an internet connection for several months

I reckon a crack will be out before the first 10 days are up tbh.

shaffaaf27 · 7 May 2008 at 20:56

http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=628724&forum=125&sp=0

Chris Priestly Community Communications Coordinator Bioware said:
Q: What happens if I install and activate MEPC with an internet connection, but then do not have an internet connection after 10 days? Can I still play MEPC?

A: No. After 10 days the system needs to re-authenticate via the internet. If you do not have an internet connection you will not be able to play until you are reconnected to the internet and able to re-authenticate.

Q: What happens if I play, then go away for 2 or 3 weeks? Would the game load, re-authorize and carry on, or would i need to contact EA Support for whatever is necessary?

A: The game would work just like the first time you played it. The number of days you are away doesn't matter.

does this not contradict?

Shamikebab · 7 May 2008 at 20:59

no, it basically says that if you are offline for more than 10 days, as soon as you go back online it will reauthorize I think.

Bloodshot · 7 May 2008 at 21:02

shaffaaf27 said:
http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=628724&forum=125&sp=0

does this not contradict?

No, in the first instance they lose their connection but could still use the computer and play the game for 10 days; after those 10 days - they have no internet so it can't re-authenticate.

In the second instance they are going away and won't be able to play. In that case they can still play when they get back as they still have an internet connection.

I think that's right :S lol.

shaffaaf27 · 7 May 2008 at 21:03

but then they havent activated for 10 days.....so wouldnt it be locked?

Shamikebab · 7 May 2008 at 21:05

no, it locks if the authentication fails I presume.

shaffaaf27 · 7 May 2008 at 21:08

so if i went on holiday for 20 days and couldnt activate it it wouldnt lock, but if i am at home, and dont have internet for 20 days, it would lock?

and in both instances on the 21st day you would play the game.

from the official forums, they coutn isnt 10 game days, its 10 calender days
thats not right at all....

mr.sly · 7 May 2008 at 21:20

shaffaaf27 said:
so if i went on holiday for 20 days and couldnt activate it it wouldnt lock, but if i am at home, and dont have internet for 20 days, it would lock?

and in both instances on the 21st day you would play the game.

from the official forums, they coutn isnt 10 game days, its 10 calender days
thats not right at all....

You install the game, play, activate, and then you're fine for 10 days. After those 10 days you need to authorise it again, otherwise the game will lock you out and you won't be able to play.

If you don't connect to the internet for a month (on holiday, get cut off, don't use that PC for internet useage anymore) the next time you load the game it will need to authorise (because its been more than 10 days) and it will try and connect to the internet. If it connects you can play for 10 more days before the internet will be needed again to call home.

Hope that clears it up.

shaffaaf27 · 7 May 2008 at 21:38

ohhh, so you wont be able to play untill you activate it, and you can activate it after 10 days.

i assumed that if you cant activate it after the 10th day, thats it game gone, but just the game wont work till you do activate, be it a month later.

tis a shame for a person that looses the net, that he/she cannot play, but then im sure a simply call to EA (shudder) will sort that

THANKYOU

Gimpymoo · 8 May 2008 at 00:54

Shamikebab said:
This will stop me playing it, I have no internet connection on my gaming PC. So my only choice if I want to play the game is to look for either a pirated copy or an illegal crack, pitiful effort.

If your system doesnt meet the minimum requirements for the game, DONT BUY IT THEN.

Also, I find this post from the following thread:

"Anyone tried AudioSurf? New game on steam . ."

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sh...53&highlight=username_Shamikebab#post11195253

Loki said:
Just bought Audiosurf this afternoon and paid for it through steam. I went through the tutorial and it says the demo has expired so I cant play it. Am I missing something

Shamikebab said:
restart steam. I had the same problem and that solved it for me.

So you run Steam on a none internet connected PC? - Awaits pathetic excuse.

All these people whining about silent background activations that 90% of us will not ever know are taking place are barking mad.

IF ONLINE ACTIVATION WAS SUCH A BAD THING, I'D HAVE THOUGHT STEAM WOULD HAVE FAILED A LONG TIME AGO.

You have a 360 which somehow is ONLINE... play Mass Effect on that.

mr.sly · 8 May 2008 at 01:09

Gimpymoo said:
If your system doesnt meet the minimum requirements for the game, DONT BUY IT THEN.

Also, I find this post from the following thread:

"Anyone tried AudioSurf? New game on steam . ."

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sh...53&highlight=username_Shamikebab#post11195253

So you run Steam on a none internet connected PC? - Awaits pathetic excuse.

All these people whining about silent background activations that 90% of us will not ever know are taking place are barking mad.

IF ONLINE ACTIVATION WAS SUCH A BAD THING, I'D HAVE THOUGHT STEAM WOULD HAVE FAILED A LONG TIME AGO.

You have a 360 which somehow is ONLINE... play Mass Effect on that.

Nobody is trying to make the point (from what I've read) that they can't afford an internet connection or will never be online. But being forced to activate a game every 10 days to stop piracy, when the pirates will crack it and won't have that sort of hassle.

Its like having piracy warnings at the start of DVDs that you can't skip, yet the people who pirate the films won't even see those messages because they'll be chopped out.