Ubisoft's New PC DRM Really Requires Net Access, Ends Game If Disconnected

[mindcycle]

Ubisoft wasn't kidding when it said that its new digital rights management technique mandates "an active Internet connection to play the game, for all game modes."

Advance copies of the first two games to embrace the new solution--Assassin's Creed II PC and The Settlers 7 PC--recently arrived at PC Gamer, leading to the discovery that the games automatically shut down if temporarily disconnected from the Internet.

In the case of Assassin's Creed II PC, a single-player game, players will lose any progress since the last checkpoint in the event that they briefly lose their connection to Ubisoft's master servers, be it because of client-side or server-side issues.

Other aspects of the new system include a lack of disc checks and installation limited, along with the ability for saved games to be stored in a server-side cloud. "Most upcoming Ubisoft PC games will make use of this system," according to the company, which has also promised to patch in offline support when or if the system shuts down.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/62412

 

[crownjules]

Well, that changes my stance. I supported the requiring an internet connection but assumed they meant in a similar manner to Steam. This is highly restrictive. My internet connection's up time is really good but it has the occasional hiccup or wireless can lose it's signal momentarily. If that results in my singleplayer game also shutting down and losing unsaved progress than Ubisoft needs to rethink things through.

 

[EvilComputer92]

This is the same company that put starforce into splinter cell. So it's not that surprising. Ubisoft games have sucked recently anyway, so I see no reason to buy any of their drm infested junk.

One thing I've noticed is that EA has removed Securom from many of their new titles. Dragon Age and Mass Effect both have a simple CD check. They are to be commended for that.


Anyway, here comes the flood of whining, ubisoft is evil, and "PC gaming is dead" posts. Oh and also the steam apologists.

 

[Qbah]

Ouch. DCing during gameplay ends the game? Now that is bad... I'm on 3G (through my iPhone) and it likes to die far too often to enjoy gaming with such restrictions...

You might as well get it for Xbox360 or PS3. The PC doesn't offer anything over the console version anyway. Just a giant headache and another source of possible frustration.

Now if it were Steam-ish, even requiring internet access each time you start the game, I'd be fine with it. But this? No.

 

[lupi]

Doesn't surprise or matter to me. I knew there would be nothing good to cone of this when the initial details were announced. As I said then, I wpn't be buying any of their affected titles till it's patched out or I pick up the game for about $5 just to collect it.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

if i bought this game, i wouldn't install it...rather i'd go download a cracked copy which wouldn't have this nonsense in it.

 

[mindcycle]

Even if this does stop piracy for a period of time, I wonder what Ubisoft will do when they look at the dismal sales of these titles due to people not picking them up because of this abysmal DRM..

 

[dud]

Game over. This is rediculous and will end up alienating gamers in the long run.

My connect goes down from time-to-time ... then down goes my game?

 

[aigomorla]

if i bought this game, i wouldn't install it...rather i'd go download a cracked copy which wouldn't have this nonsense in it.

as much as i hate to agree with ya..
My position is the same.

IF i bought the game, i would most defnitely go find a crack for the game i bought so i could play it offline.

Even if this does stop piracy for a period of time, I wonder what Ubisoft will do when they look at the dismal sales of these titles due to people not picking them up because of this abysmal DRM..

There gonna point there fingers and blame the advertising department.

But yes, this is an absolute stupid move on ubisoft.

 

[Zargon]

horrid

 

[djmartins]

One word: ARRRRGGGHHH!
It is not like people don't have other choices.....
LMAO!

 

[rivan]

if i bought this game, i wouldn't install it...rather i'd go download a cracked copy which wouldn't have this nonsense in it.

I simply won't buy games sold with this level of asshattery attached. The companies doing this will simply not listen to anything until it hits their pocketbook.

Sadly, I think there are too many sheeple out there who will happily buy and remain totally unaware of this until they lose game progress at some point and hit the support forums. At that point it'll be too late.

 

[Bateluer]

I simply won't buy games sold with this level of asshattery attached. The companies doing this will simply not listen to anything until it hits their pocketbook.

Sadly, I think there are too many sheeple out there who will happily buy and remain totally unaware of this until they lose game progress at some point and hit the support forums. At that point it'll be too late.

Yep, been saying this for years now. People keep buying the crap these companies produce, regardless of the DRM included. Recall the infamous screen print of the Boycott MW2 Steam group showing all the members playing MW2. It is this kind of crap that will lead to a crash in PC gaming, returning the power to the customers in the long run.

 

[ChaoZ]

So...they don't want my money?

 

[Pacfanweb]

I'll never buy a game that has this "feature".

 

[ZzZGuy]

Good.

Some popular games need to come out with such horrendous DRM to make people aware of hostile DRM and where it's headed. Perhaps just a few more people will search for what DRM is on a game before they buy one next time.

 

[KaOTiK]

While I knew what the DRM was from previous reports, I had and I'm sure many others had assumed that the game would be "paused" if you lost your connection. But to simply have it end, that is horrible.

I wouldn't have much of a problem if Ubi's new system had an offline mode like Steam, but sadly it wont and I wont get to play Silent Hunter 5 cause of this

 

[Kalmah]

I'm imagining, if I was pulling out my old Baldur's Gate 1 cds right now, put them in.. installed them.. then launched the game and got a message like "Error, authentication server unavailable" I would be really fucking pissed.

What's going to happen with these games in 10 years time? When a company is closing, and everybody is losing their jobs.. the first thing on their minds probably isn't going to be, "let's hurry up and patch the last 10 year worth of games so that people can continue to play them".

 

[coloumb]

Ya know - if this was a multiplayer only title - then it makes sense. But hell - it's a single player game!

I just wonder how much time = "briefly"? If the save games are stored remotely, then it would make sense to only check during an automated save game. And will the saves be localized as well?

Ah well - I'm pretty sure the crackers, hackers, and pirates will find a way to bypass this ludicrous DRM.

 

[rstove02]

From what I heard they are going to implement this DRM system at least partially on the upcoming release of Silent Hunter 5 as well.

 

[JoshGuru7]

Everything else being equal I am willing to pay less for a game that requires an internet connection but I am still willing to pay some amount. Despite all the rhetoric in this thread, many people would accept an internet connectivity requirement in return for a (much) cheaper price and thus agree with me.

 

[shortylickens]

I'm imagining, if I was pulling out my old Baldur's Gate 1 cds right now, put them in.. installed them.. then launched the game and got a message like "Error, authentication server unavailable" I would be really fucking pissed.

What's going to happen with these games in 10 years time? When a company is closing, and everybody is losing their jobs.. the first thing on their minds probably isn't going to be, "let's hurry up and patch the last 10 year worth of games so that people can continue to play them".

BINGO!

When they go out of business soon (because they ass raped and pissed off their customers) they wont be looking out for us with DRM-free patches.

Fuck Ubi. Now my money is headed to companies who dont give me too much shit as an honest customer. Kinda sad really.

 

[CountZero]

I'm imagining, if I was pulling out my old Baldur's Gate 1 cds right now, put them in.. installed them.. then launched the game and got a message like "Error, authentication server unavailable" I would be really fucking pissed.

What's going to happen with these games in 10 years time? When a company is closing, and everybody is losing their jobs.. the first thing on their minds probably isn't going to be, "let's hurry up and patch the last 10 year worth of games so that people can continue to play them".

The code monkeys, devs, designers and such probably care about whether you can play in 10 years but they don't decide to do this crap. The executives and business side operations don't care even a little if you can play in ten years. As a matter of fact if you are playing a ten year old game that's precious game time (and money) that isn't being spent on the latest sequel.

And since these don't ever actually stop piracy if this has any impact at all on sales it will be blamed on piracy. Nobody in a publicly traded company will ever admit to making a mistake if there is somewhere else to lay the blame.

 

[KaOTiK]

I'm imagining, if I was pulling out my old Baldur's Gate 1 cds right now, put them in.. installed them.. then launched the game and got a message like "Error, authentication server unavailable" I would be really fucking pissed.

What's going to happen with these games in 10 years time? When a company is closing, and everybody is losing their jobs.. the first thing on their minds probably isn't going to be, "let's hurry up and patch the last 10 year worth of games so that people can continue to play them".

Funny you mention BG. Just started replaying it tonight haha.

 

[paperfist]

It's really nice to know that we as consumers are subject to such thugery and have no afforded protectioni. Sure you can say if you don't like it don't buy it, but why should you have to put up with a faulty product right out of the box if you choose to buy it?