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

[TheJTrain]

I'm in the middle of playing BG for the first time right now!

I'm really bummed about this, and pissed that they delayed the one Ubi game I was really looking forward to, Splinter Cell Conviction, just so they could put this crap in it. Sales on all of these are going to be in the toilet, and they won't be able to blame it on piracy, so they'll probably just use it as an excuse to move further away from PC development. Sucks.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I don't see this as disqualifying requirement if the game is otherwise a good one.
Even on Steam, when I tried to play Torchlight when my internet was down, I was afraid to because I got a warning message about overwriting my saved games on the cloud if I continued offline.
Our house recently had serious connectivity issues because of a bad modem, but other than that, how often do you really lose your internet connection, and it is not the end of the world to have to go back to the last checkpoint.(Actually checkpoint only saves on the PC irritate the hell out of me. Whatever happened to save anywhere??)

I do agree that the company going out of business and shutting down the servers could be a bigger problem. If the game were designed well with good gameplay for the PC (not a lousy console port) I would be willing to put up with having to be connected to the internet to play it.

 

[flashbacck]

EA had a requirement in the Mirror's Edge ranked speed runs that you had to have a continuous connection to their server. Unfortunately, their server's are f'd and I would get my connections dropped every other run I did. When your connection drops, it boots you to the menu. After getting dropped a few times over several days, I gave up on it and uninstalled it. There's nothing more frustrating than doing a speed run absolutely perfectly, then getting unceremoniously booted. So... if ubisoft does go this route, well, screw that!

 

[CKent]

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.

I live in a wooded, windy area. The power / cable goes out constantly since trees tend to fall over on the lines (happened right in front of my house a year or two ago). I wasn't the biggest fan of ubisoft to begin with, but lol, not a chance I'd buy their software now.

 

[Kadarin]

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

"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.

Of course they will. LOL.

 

[Nebor]

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.

And then there's people like me that are totally aware of this, and want to encourage more stringent DRM in the future to reduce piracy, so I'll definitely buy these titles.

 

[shortylickens]

And then there's people like me that are totally aware of this, and want to encourage more stringent DRM in the future to reduce piracy, so I'll definitely buy these titles.

:hmm:

 

[Inspector Jihad]

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.

well most people dont know cause they don't browse gaming forums. its ignorant and stupid to call them sheeple or whatever.

 

[Zenoth]

That's extreme, but fortunately enough we can use our gray matter and simply not buy those games, problem solved right away, capitalism at its best, it's our best and only true way to speak against such practices. There's only one thing that do bother me, is that if those games sell poorly they will STILL blame piracy, and that's getting old.

 

[lupi]

And then there's people like me that are totally aware of this, and want to encourage more stringent DRM in the future to reduce piracy, so I'll definitely buy these titles.

You're either an incredible imbecile or just trolling.


And I would love to see this applied to consoles cause they day they do is the day the entire drm facade comes crashing down.

 

[rivan]

And then there's people like me that are totally aware of this, and want to encourage more stringent DRM in the future to reduce piracy, so I'll definitely buy these titles.

I have to agree with Lupi that you're either incredibly naive or simply trolling.

I don't think there's any stopping piracy. At best you'll make it unappealing; measures like this that impede a paying customer's ability to play unfettered are simply unacceptable.

 

[CountZero]

I don't see this as disqualifying requirement if the game is otherwise a good one.
Even on Steam, when I tried to play Torchlight when my internet was down, I was afraid to because I got a warning message about overwriting my saved games on the cloud if I continued offline.
Our house recently had serious connectivity issues because of a bad modem, but other than that, how often do you really lose your internet connection, and it is not the end of the world to have to go back to the last checkpoint.(Actually checkpoint only saves on the PC irritate the hell out of me. Whatever happened to save anywhere??)

I do agree that the company going out of business and shutting down the servers could be a bigger problem. If the game were designed well with good gameplay for the PC (not a lousy console port) I would be willing to put up with having to be connected to the internet to play it.

In the world of DRM everyone's limit is different. I have friends that won't play a game if it ever uses internet authentication. For me constant monitoring is over the top especially for a piece of software that is <=$60. I work with programs that cost 10-100k and they only check for a license at start up. All DRM treats the customer as a thief until the prove otherwise, this particular setup is just too much for me.

 

[mmntech]

And they wonder why PC games aren't selling. "Gee, nobody's buying our games so you know what, we're going to make it even more difficult to enjoy them. That should boost sales." I'm calling shenanigans on Ubi for this one.

Want to see a real lost sale? I was going to buy Assassin's Creed 2 for PC (seriously), now I'm not. I've played it on PS3, I enjoyed it, but too bad. No sale for you Ubi, on any system. My internet is not reliable enough and I don't appreciate being harassed.

Update: Apparently a Facebook group has been started urging a boycott of Ubi. I'm joining.
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=B...278749&ref=search&sid=729246451.2613054149..1

 

[slag]

I don't really see this as a showstopper. Millions of people play world of warcraft every single day and that requires a constant internet connection and somehow they manage to do it. There really isn't any difference here. You lose your connection, you start over where you last saved. At least in this game you won't have 19 other people pissed off at you because their tank/healer/dps disconnected in the middle of a boss fight.

 

[smackababy]

I like the above example. You're right, it is just like World of Warcraft. Now, how long before they start charging you to keep these authentication servers going?

 

[Martimus]

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.

Yeah, but then I would have to buy a console, and find a TV to plug it into that I can actually use without bothering other people. That is too much hassle to play a game, in my oppinion.

I just won't buy any Ubisoft games until they fix all these obvious issues. We all know this is going to blow up in their face, and with Ubisofts track record, I doubt they will be proactive enough to correct the problems fast enough that they won't go bankrupt from the basklash.

 

[slag]

I like the above example. You're right, it is just like World of Warcraft. Now, how long before they start charging you to keep these authentication servers going?

thats already built into the cost of the game. The difference with the world of warcraft servers is that they constantly patch and release new content, not only in expansions which you buy and I'm not talking about, but all the patches in between that fix game imbalances, add content, etc.

You've bought wow knowing you were paying a fee, whereas with this game, all the servers are doing is authenticating you and making sure you are legal.

 

[SunnyD]

Wonder how long it will take to reverse engineer their auth servers.

 

[lupi]

2 small problems with your WoW analogy; first is that WoW. Is designed as a multiplayer simultaneous played game. Most of the stuff they're tacking this drm crap on, not so much. Second is that pirated versions of WoW servers do exist so that kinda leaves the entire this will help against piracy doa.

 

[Imp]

No thank you...

 

[IEC]

Ubisoft will no longer get my business. They can have 1&#165; as an insult.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

<nelson>

Ha ha!

</nelson>

Where are all the apologists from the previous thread?

 

[CountZero]

I don't really see this as a showstopper. Millions of people play world of warcraft every single day and that requires a constant internet connection and somehow they manage to do it. There really isn't any difference here. You lose your connection, you start over where you last saved. At least in this game you won't have 19 other people pissed off at you because their tank/healer/dps disconnected in the middle of a boss fight.

With the main exception being that in WoW the internet connection integral to actually playing the game. AC2 is not a massive multiplayer game and as such requiring a constant internet connection is not integral to the experience. And when the ubisoft servers have issues around release time paying customers will have a pretty coaster and pirates will continue to play unhindered in any way.

I don't think a boycott will do squat to make companies stop this crap but I don't have to give my money to a company that treats me like a thief until I prove otherwise.

 

[slag]

2 small problems with your WoW analogy; first is that WoW. Is designed as a multiplayer simultaneous played game. Most of the stuff they're tacking this drm crap on, not so much. Second is that pirated versions of WoW servers do exist so that kinda leaves the entire this will help against piracy doa.

There's no problem with my analogy. My point was, that people who play wow are required to have constant internet connections at all times while they play the game, the same as this, and yet, WoW has the largest following of any computer game ever. To say that requiring a constant internet connection will be the downfall of this game probably isn't true once you see the success of wow requiring a constant internet connection.

 

[mindcycle]

And then there's people like me that are totally aware of this, and want to encourage more stringent DRM in the future to reduce piracy, so I'll definitely buy these titles.

Yes, because DRM prevents piracy..

What DRM apologists don't seem to not understand is that even if you did prevent a game from being pirated that doesn't mean you'd gain any extra sales. A large percentage of pirates download games because they can, not because they actually have any interest in the game. So IMO, you have to really look at things from that perspective. "Are we doing our customers a disservice by imposing extra roadblocks in order to gain an unknown number of sales?" Maybe instead of attempting to prevent "non-customers" from pirating your game, you should instead provide greater incentives to your actual customers.. you know.. the ones who are willing to buy your product.

I'd like to see Ubisoft succeed with this DRM, and then once it backfires on them and sales are poor along with massive amounts of complaints, they won't have anyone to blame but themselves.