NWN2 - Mysteries of Westgate DRM Details

[mindcycle]

Ossian's Alan Miranda has posted specific details on the official forum of the DRM system that Mysteries of Westgate will use:

Hi Everybody,

I wanted to clarify for you what Atari is intending with regard to the 3 activations for MoW. So I?ve consulted with them to get some specific details and prepared a list of clarifications.

Firstly, please note that entering your serial key when installing MoW is NOT the same thing as MoW automatically authenticating with the Atari server in order to activate.

- With 3 activations you can install MoW on 3 different PCs.
- If you reinstall MoW on the same PC with unchanged hardware (see below for details), you can do this an unlimited number of times. You can do this on 3 different PCs.
- If you uninstall MoW and reinstall it, the westgate.key file (generated from the authentication) in your NWN2 folder won't have been removed, so your new MoW installation will not count as an activation.
- If you uninstall MoW and NWN2 (on the same PC), and then reinstall them, you can either have backed up your westgate.key file (to copy back into your NWN2 folder so MoW doesn't have to authenticate again) or not backed up the key at all and let MoW authenticate again (in this case, it will detect that this machine has activated before). In either case, this will not count as an activation.
- If you change your RAM or video card (and likely sound card too) and play or install MoW, this will not count as an activation. I don?t have 100% confirmation from Atari on this next part, but I would expect that changing your CPU, motherboard, or hard drive where MoW is installed would count as an activation.
- If you reformat your hard drive and reinstall your OS, NWN2, and MoW, but without changing your hardware configuration, then this ?normally? shouldn?t be another activation. I say ?normally? because that is the wording that Atari told me.
- Apparently, for some retail games, a user can revoke their usage of it in order to resell it, so that the slate is wiped clean for a new user to install and activate (I think this is termed an ?installation reset?). Atari has said that can?t be the case for a digitally-distributed title like MoW.
- If you surpass 3 activations, then you can contact Atari tech support in order to get another activation.

I hope this has helped answer your questions about activations.
- Alan

http://www.rpgwatch.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7055

Link to the forum post: http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/...topic=675604&forum=122

 

[Bateluer]

Limited activations = No dice. Sorry Atari, not buying it.

When you're on the merge of bankruptcy and have been de-listed from the NASDAQ, its not the time to piss off your customers.

Edit - A full 1/3 of the threads on the NWN2 MoW forums are locked because of irate, likely former, customers.

 

[Dorkenstein]

This is bad. I never finished NWN 2 - MOTB or SOZ, so I will likely never touch this but just to hear of this again is a downer.

 

[Bateluer]

My thread on the matter at the NWN2 forums.

http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/...topic=675815&forum=122

 

[Kromis]

Originally posted by: Bateluer
My thread on the matter at the NWN2 forums.

http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/...topic=675815&forum=122

I like how you barely mentioned piracy and the thread gets locked.

 

[s44]

It's much less restrictive than the original Premium Mod DRM scheme Bio used.

But now all DRM is the devil's work, sayeth the Angry Internet Men.

Eh.

 

[mindcycle]

The thing I don't get is why they include this restrictive install limit DRM on an addon.. So I get it, they are trying to stop piracy.. good luck. But the kicker is the potential customer base for this addon is quite specialized. You need to own NWN2. So that is going to stop a lot of pirates as they can't just easily download the thing and start playing, they'd need the original first. Not that they couldn't pirate that as well, but the prospect just doesn't seem like it would be that appealing to most.

So you tie this ridiculous DRM and try pass it off to the hardcore NWN2 community (the ones still playing the game or who still have interest in it), since that's your audience. Why not just require that you enter your original NWN2 serial in order to be able to purchase and download the game.. You need the original to play right? Why include install limit DRM? It makes no sense at all. I mean, it makes little sense for any game IMO, but especially not for an addon.

 

[mindcycle]

Originally posted by: Kromis

Originally posted by: Bateluer
My thread on the matter at the NWN2 forums.

http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/...topic=675815&forum=122

I like how you barely mentioned piracy and the thread gets locked.

I didn't even see any mention of piracy, or did they edit that out?

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: mindcycle

Originally posted by: Kromis

Originally posted by: Bateluer
My thread on the matter at the NWN2 forums.

http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/...topic=675815&forum=122

I like how you barely mentioned piracy and the thread gets locked.

I didn't even see any mention of piracy, or did they edit that out?

Yeah, Grinning Fool, a mod, edited it after Hugie locked it. You can still read my original statement in Hugie's quote though.

 

[Red Irish]

Here we go again...

 

[Red Irish]

Originally posted by: s44
It's much less restrictive than the original Premium Mod DRM scheme Bio used.

But now all DRM is the devil's work, sayeth the Angry Internet Men.

Eh.

Not really, all we are saying is that our concerns and issues with DRM should be taken into consideration at some point during the process of releasing a game.

An angry Internet man.

 

[lupi]

There's a reason I haven't bought any nwn2 stuff yet.

 

[rivan]

Originally posted by: s44
It's much less restrictive than the original Premium Mod DRM scheme Bio used.

But now all DRM is the devil's work, sayeth the Angry Internet Men.

Eh.

It is, in many of it's current forms.

It's not doing anything to impede piracy and it's doing everything to annoy legit consumers.

 

[aka1nas]

From that interview, it sounds like you just need to copy the activation key file once you've activated the game once and then paste it into any subsequent installations to prevent the game from trying to activate again. If that's the case, it's only a little less convenient than keeping a hold of a CD key.

 

[mindcycle]

Originally posted by: aka1nas
From that interview, it sounds like you just need to copy the activation key file once you've activated the game once and then paste it into any subsequent installations to prevent the game from trying to activate again. If that's the case, it's only a little less convenient than keeping a hold of a CD key.

The key is tied to a hardware config, so you can copy it, but if you change any "major" hardware or change the machine where the software is installed the key won't work and you'll need to reactivate online.

 

[aka1nas]

Originally posted by: mindcycle

Originally posted by: aka1nas
From that interview, it sounds like you just need to copy the activation key file once you've activated the game once and then paste it into any subsequent installations to prevent the game from trying to activate again. If that's the case, it's only a little less convenient than keeping a hold of a CD key.

The key is tied to a hardware config, so you can copy it, but if you change any "major" hardware or change the machine where the software is installed the key won't work and you'll need to reactivate.

Well, that's too bad then. :brokenheart:

 

[mindcycle]

Originally posted by: aka1nas

Originally posted by: mindcycle

Originally posted by: aka1nas
From that interview, it sounds like you just need to copy the activation key file once you've activated the game once and then paste it into any subsequent installations to prevent the game from trying to activate again. If that's the case, it's only a little less convenient than keeping a hold of a CD key.

The key is tied to a hardware config, so you can copy it, but if you change any "major" hardware or change the machine where the software is installed the key won't work and you'll need to reactivate.

Well, that's too bad then. :brokenheart:

I agree, and it's kinda of useless IMO.

 

[zebano]

Hmm while the mechanics were better than NWN1, I got caught up in modding NWN2 and then discovered how horribly it is implemented. Needless to say that pissed me off and I never finished MotB which many people have told me had an excellent storyline. =/ I certainly won't be buying this.

 

[IEC]

Well, guess I won't be buying this

 

[shortylickens]

I really dont care.
I finished the main game after about a year, partly because it was buggy, and partly because the game just sucked.
Still havent beat Mask or Storm, and probably never will.
The increased difficulty combined with the inferior controls/interface is a huge turnoff.

We need another 2D game or a 3D game designed with a fixed camera in mind. We need smoother controls and menus.
I need to start up a new session of BG2.

 

[Bateluer]

At this point, Ossian Studios is just hoping that MoW is well liked by the few who actually buy it so they can use it on their resumes.

 

[mindcycle]

Here's a review from RPGWatch which discusses the DRM:

Finally, I cannot avoid discussing the DRM (digital rights management) system Atari implemented for Mysteries of Westgate.

While the game doesn't require an internet connection at startup as the 'Premium Modules' for the original Neverwinter Nights did, Atari needed to figure out some way to protect 'non exe' installations such as these adventure packs. They opted for an online authentication system tied to a serial number. The controversy, of course, is around the installation limits - you are allowed three 'activations' across different PC's. That has become fairly standard at this point, but the contention for many is the fact that there are no options to revoke an activation. Once you use them up, you need to go crawling to Atari to get another one (presuming they are still in business at that point), and there are some definite gray areas around what sorts of hardware changes will and will not trigger the need for a new activation. I'll discuss this more when addressing the value proposition later in the review.

My first instinct on the value proposition is this: you get a game that is bigger, better, deeper and more fun than the majority of new AAA releases, and you get it for $10? So I would say buy it, Buy It, BUY IT ALREADY! But there is one little caveat - DRM.

When the discussion of limited activations comes up, someone invariably asks 'how many time do you REALLY need to activate it?' with the insinuation that it is more about being anti-DRM than actually looking for a sensible solution. When that comes up specific to the Neverwinter Nights franchise, I mention that I have installed the NWN Premium Modules up to 8 or 9 times since initial release on different computers. I know I go through computers quicker than the average person - something I chalk up to my choice to game on laptops - but the point is this: I would have been unable to play Mysteries of Westgate anymore over a year ago after I traded off the last computer I had from 2007 in order to buy a sweet new unibody Macbook Pro. And really - should it matter? Should gamers have to justify themselves if they like to reformat their computers monthly, change video cards and hard disks quarterly, or get entirely new computer twice a year?

So in terms of the final value proposition, I would rate this as a 'must have' module in spite of the activation limitations. There is too much quality writing and questing and role-playing available here to get hung up on the activation issues. And while I can hardly believe I just wrote that sentence, the truth is that while we hold some influence over how things proceed, the influence is ambiguous: not buying could mean that we are protesting DRM, tired of D&D games, bored with round-based combat, or abandoning PC gaming. Buying the module and sending a letter to Atari protesting the DRM, however, would show that you are a paying customer who is tired of being treated like a potential criminal.

Read the full review here: http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/a...cleid=120&ref=0&id=379