Ubisoft's new DRM

[AngelicDeathKitten]

For PC games: in a nutshell, you require a constant internet connection to play. So lets say you buy Assasins Creed 2, a strictly single player game, and your internet hiccups. Just a quick 1 sec disconnect. You're booted back to the main title screen and you have to restart back from the last checkpoint and none of your progress is saved. Also, no putting it on your laptop and playing in areas with no internet access at all.

Here's the full article (there's a follow up interview with UbiSoft afterwards that shows Ubi isn't going to change their minds, yet they cannot make a committed statement that their servers will NEVER go down)

PC Gamer Blog: Constant net connection required to play Assassin's Creed 2 on PC - PC Gamer Magazine

Please keep your comments about "how pirating is bad mmmkay and this is what you get" out of this thread, no flaming. There's enough already on Ubi's forums.


What do you think about Ubi's decision to do this? Even Ubi has stated they know this will be cracked but refuse to change how they are handling the DRM. Do you think Ubi will finally break down and change it?

[Gemini]

Originally Posted by AngelicDeathKitten

For PC games: in a nutshell, you require a constant internet connection to play. So lets say you buy Assasins Creed 2, a strictly single player game, and your internet hiccups. Just a quick 1 sec disconnect. You're booted back to the main title screen and you have to restart back from the last checkpoint and none of your progress is saved. Also, no putting it on your laptop and playing in areas with no internet access at all.

I imagine there being a checkpoint around every 5 minutes, otherwise they'll be getting a lot of complaints (not that they won't already), they can't be THAT stupid. (even though they're french)
Also, REQUIRING internet connectivity is just dumb, because, I for example, quite often go to LAN parties where there is no internet connectivity (because internet here in belgium is expensive, easily 200 euro for a weekend for such events).
Also, this kills off any potential for any kind of competitive scene (doesn't matter for AC2, but you get the point).

Originally Posted by AngelicDeathKitten

Here's the full article (there's a follow up interview with UbiSoft afterwards that shows Ubi isn't going to change their minds, yet they cannot make a committed statement that their servers will NEVER go down)

PC Gamer Blog: Constant net connection required to play Assassin's Creed 2 on PC - PC Gamer Magazine

Their severs will undoubtedly go down at some point in time, for extended periods of time. Especially the first day or two after launch. (steam anyone?)

Originally Posted by AngelicDeathKitten

Please keep your comments about "how pirating is bad mmmkay and this is what you get" out of this thread, no flaming. There's enough already on Ubi's forums.

Pirates won't have this problem, scene groups will mod this shit out and have local savegames.

Originally Posted by AngelicDeathKitten

What do you think about Ubi's decision to do this? Even Ubi has stated they know this will be cracked but refuse to change how they are handling the DRM. Do you think Ubi will finally break down and change it?

Like any other publisher out there still doesn't realize.
DRM has to be either bought or created. This costs money. This makes games more expensive. This makes less people buy the game. Rinse and repeat.
(Note: I'm not saying completely removing DRM will make more people buy a game. It would lower production costs and potentially selling prices, having a lower buy-in for many people on budgets)
Also, DRM only fucks with legit customers, as pirates get DRM free games.

[AngelicDeathKitten]

I agree that companies have to do something. This route is not the answer. They have alienated those in areas with little internet activity or people who dont just game in their own home, like someone who takes a laptop on a trip, on a train to work, or to a weekend away from it all (ie their wife makes them)

They are punishing the people who -don't- pirate. Obviously if you dont have a net connection, you have a much reduced capability of pirating that someone who's got the open connection.

Ubi should of done something, but I feel this is far too extreme and has no pros whatsoever for the average buyer. Why would they care if their saves are online? They don't have to change a disc? There are simple and legal no-cd cracks that block that anyways. And there are free server hostings that let you upload your save files.

tl;dr in order to protect themselves, they gave no benefit to their intended audience and alienated a big chunk

[Drayth]

As Gemini said, DRM only fucks with legitimate customers. The only remotely-DRM thing that's ever sorta worked is Steam; I know there's ways around that too(which is why DRM will never work, nothing is uncrackable/"unworkaroundable") but Steam is at least painless and easily closed without some extra service running even when it's closed.

[Gritz]

One day their servers are gonna go down, and their is going to be a lot of mad people.

[SoBe Green]

Everybody said the exact same thing about Steam. Just sayin...

[HoundDawg]

Originally Posted by SoBe Green

Everybody said the exact same thing about Steam. Just sayin...

+1

And how many of us purchase games via Steam now, which do require us to be logged into it in order to play (well, for most of my games anyway)?

[Gemini]

Originally Posted by SoBe Green

Everybody said the exact same thing about Steam. Just sayin...

Thing with games that ONLY use steam as a DRM method (no third party DRM), if it's a singleplayer game, put steam in offline mode and it just works (singleplayer obviously, as this whole thing is about SP games).
However, with ubisoft's new system, you have to be connected as long as you're playing, be it SP or MP.

TL;DR: you're comparing apples to bananas.

[Drayth]

Originally Posted by HoundDawg

+1

And how many of us purchase games via Steam now, which do require us to be logged into it in order to play (well, for most of my games anyway)?

Not all...if you lose net connection, steam has a saved file somewhere that remembers if you're "verified" to own it or not and it will work in Steam's Offline mode(Comcast has fucked with me enough that I know this firsthand) I played a bunch of Portal, Left4Dead and Fallout3 and the like when my net was out, but since I hadn't touched Prey in so long, it gave me an error msg stating something like "This game has not been verified in a long time and is unavailable for play"; that's the best compromise at least...at the same time it's probably easy to dupe a "Verify" like that I'm sure =/

[[?]Kdogg]

This is the direction that companies go who forget how they got there. I am not saying that they will not succeed, becuase there are enough mindless lemmings who will continue to buy their products becuase its cool etc.....I'm only 33 but I have seen how business has changed from "The customer is always right" to "Well you can buy it at this price or piss off. I don't care what the signs/ads say"

Also after finishing my Masters in Management with some exposure to marketing they beat it down your throat about going after your target market and meeting the needs of your customer, however rarely do companies do this anymore. There are a few but thats just it. The few used to be the minority(those that didnt take care of good honest paying customers) becuase they didnt stay in business long.

I for one will not be purchasing these games becuase of a diminshed product(like COD:MW2 with no ded server support), and other companies that move in this direction(becuase I live in the country and my internet is spotty). Basically at the end of it, they are offering less product for more $$$ and more restrictions. Why am I going to buy into that now when I already see potential issues?

Thats just me though....I mean look at how valve has taken care of the TF2 community. Keeping a game as supported as it is in the mix for this long(since October 07) is a big feat in todays competitive gaming market.....I believe its all becuase they have taken care of their community/customers...

[Zaracen]

Steam games have a offline option for almost all of them. Some games such as Ubisoft's FarCry 2 require an internet connection to VERIFY the game and then you can play offline. Warhammer 40K and RA3 are the same way (I own these three games). After verifying once online you can play to your hearts content offline.

There have been a few times where I don't have internet even in my home and I play single player games to pass the time. I dislike that you have to be connected constantly for a game when you are not playing online.

[Satertek]

Seems like a good low-risk test case. I can't really see anyone buying this game on PC if they already have a 360 or PS3, this isn't the kind of game I'd want to be playing with a keyboard and mouse.

But with this, they'll be able to try out this new DRM, see how quickly it'll be cracked, see the reaction of the community, etc. If no one buys it, so what, they've made more than enough money on the console version.

Seems more like they're just testing the cracking community more than anything else.

[n00b3h]

Tis the natural progression of DRM, If you didnt see it coming you are a fool indeed. However it wont stop pirating at all and is thus completely pointless.

You attract with the carrot not the stick game companies, remember that.

[leegund]

This is all a load of bollocks.

Every company should just pay Valve and do it through Steam.

Then I don't need a load of extra shite on my computer for each Dev so they can try and stop piracy.

Piracy will never go away. Ever.

[G2]

Piracy is the cause of this and is valid for discussion in any thread regarding DRM. The simple answer to this: If you disagree with the DRM don't buy it, don't download it, don't pirate it, don't play it. Boycott the company and stand up for your beliefs. Pirating the game just makes you look petty and cheap. Support PC gaming or pretty sure we're all gonna be stuck on consoles.