BioShock 2 DRM Getting Scaled Back

[Tolkienfanatic]

I would gladly trade having to go through GFW for the install limits.

Fucking GFW.

 

[Bat Vader]

I plan on buying Bioshock 2 when it comes out for the PC. None of this really bothers me. As long as the game is good that is all I care about.

 

[mogamer]

The only good DRM is no DRM. Simple as that.

All it does is punish customers, and Games for Windows Live is just the worst thing you can put into a game.

Any single-player game that requires internet connection to play is stupid. I don't care if there's leader boards or achievements you can just let me choose to use them or not. As for DRM, unless it's creative it should be almost non-existent. If someone wants to pirate the game then they will. The goal of standard DRM should be to lock out idiots and ametuers. Creative DRM such as that gimpy batman thing...

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/94524-Arkham-Asylum-Pirates-Get-a-Gimpy-Batman

...should be used to deal with the more extreme crackers and make a pirates job of mass distribution harder.

Bah, the effects of gimping Batman AA was overstated. The bug was fixed a couple of days after it was discovered. Working pirate versions were all over the net while Eidos was busy patting themselves on the back.

Look I hate DRM, but unless something like Onlive becomes the norm for gaming, developers really have to learn to live with piracy. They need to make games good enough for a large number of people to purchase and not worry about pirates who aren't going to buy the game anyway.

 

[brunothepig]

I suppose it's good enough... It's still towards the bottom of my list, since I don't want to go through that GFWL shit. What is the point? I still don't see why they haven't realised how annoying online activation is for some people. I have a friend who doesn't have the internet, and a PC, so he isn't getting this game I guess. Way to go guys.

 

[dududf]

First of all, they're giving people the option to have the limits reset, so it's like there isn't a limit at all.
Second, who the hell uses 15 installs unless it's a very rare / special case?
Third, SecureROM is a one time thing, (You can call it useless but it's hardly intrusive)
The only standing argument here is GFWL, which you have to log into once, then just check "stay logged in" and never have to give it the time of day again.

Seriously, why in the world is the internet up in arms over this? I really don't get it.
Seconds of my (not so) valuable time is being wasted! Woe is me!

Not everyone has good internet, Securom has been known to **** up your computer, and GFWL is horrible.

Have you actually used any of them? Because it takes personal experience for you to be able to understand in a situation like this.

*Edit.

As I said in the Bioshock article last week, I cancelled my pre-order because of it and pre ordered Mass Effect 2 instead.

Congratulations 2K I'm not buying one copy, hell I'm not buying 2 copies (Like I did for Bioshock 1)

 

[Worgen]

gfwl still bugs teh shit out of me but I suppose this is a bit better, altho now my money is tied up in other things so Im still probably not going to be getting this at launch

 

[Johnmw]

The only good DRM is no DRM. Simple as that.

All it does is punish customers, and Games for Windows Live is just the worst thing you can put into a game.

This DRM does not stop piracy, I'm unaware of any modern game unavailable through piracy. All DRM does is install bloatware, it just makes life harder for people who actually bought the game. The only way to avoid the bloated anti piracy software is to pirate it....that doesn't seem right really.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

So, what do you think? Is it enough to quell the irritated PC masses? Or is it still not good enough?

Still not good enough. GWFL GTFO.

 

[LockeDown]

They'll never be satisfied. I'm not trying to attack those PC gamers who are affected by DRM, merely commenting on the human species as a whole. People are whiney and selfish, and as soon as you make a single concession to their demands, you'd best be prepared to make about twenty more.

I agree that the whole GFWL and DRM business needs a new answer, trying to force developers to spend extra time and resources to come up with inventive and exciting ways to punish pirates (a la Batman:Arkham Asylum) is a tad unfair, to be honest. Everyone is always quick to say that the programmers need to find better ways to stop piracy, but no one seems to sympathize with the stressed-out, underpaid code monkey that will wind up serving those demands. Not to mention, spending extra time (potential development or polishing time, if you think about it) either means a higher cost of development that will likely be passed on to the consumer, or skimping on other parts of the game, however slight.

 

[laserwulf]

Unless the PC version is leaps & bounds beyond the 360 version, I'll be getting it on the console. No installation, automatic patching, no SecuROM issues, my friends can borrow it, and I can trade it in at Gamestop or sell it on eBay if I tire of it.

 

[lacktheknack]

Quell the masses? Yes.

Quell everyone? No.

Unfortunately for the elitist "No-DRM" s, they're going to settle for the masses.

EDIT: And why all the hate for GFWL? I use it for SF4, and have literally no problems with it.

 

[lacktheknack]

First of all, they're giving people the option to have the limits reset, so it's like there isn't a limit at all.
Second, who the hell uses 15 installs unless it's a very rare / special case?
Third, SecureROM is a one time thing, (You can call it useless but it's hardly intrusive)
The only standing argument here is GFWL, which you have to log into once, then just check "stay logged in" and never have to give it the time of day again.

Seriously, why in the world is the internet up in arms over this? I really don't get it.
Seconds of my (not so) valuable time is being wasted! Woe is me!

Not everyone has good internet, Securom has been known to **** up your computer, and GFWL is horrible.

Have you actually used any of them? Because it takes personal experience for you to be able to understand in a situation like this.

I'm still missing the problem. Securom, I haven't had any problems with. And instead of saying "GFWL sucks", wanna tell me why? I use it for Street Fighter 4, and it does nothing. NOTHING. As in, NOTHING BAD.

I just don't get it either.

 

[Abedeus]

Hahahahaha.

No way I am buying it now. 15 activations, then I must make a phonecall? On my expense? And probably at 11PM because of the time difference?

DRM doesn't work. And I'll prove it by helping the pirates raise the numbers a bit. Show the developers that if you treat people like thieves, that's what you'll get.

First of all, they're giving people the option to have the limits reset, so it's like there isn't a limit at all.
Second, who the hell uses 15 installs unless it's a very rare / special case?
Third, SecureROM is a one time thing, (You can call it useless but it's hardly intrusive)
The only standing argument here is GFWL, which you have to log into once, then just check "stay logged in" and never have to give it the time of day again.

Seriously, why in the world is the internet up in arms over this? I really don't get it.
Seconds of my (not so) valuable time is being wasted! Woe is me!

Not everyone has good internet, Securom has been known to **** up your computer, and GFWL is horrible.

Have you actually used any of them? Because it takes personal experience for you to be able to understand in a situation like this.

I'm still missing the problem. Securom, I haven't had any problems with. And instead of saying "GFWL sucks", wanna tell me why? I use it for Street Fighter 4, and it does nothing. NOTHING. As in, NOTHING BAD.

I just don't get it either.

Your Internet is down?

TOUGH LUCK SUCKER, YOU CAN'T PLAY! No, you can't go offline. That is you can, but if you registered your game online, you CAN'T! At least once you log into Steam, you can go into offline mode for offline games.

Your net connection fails and turns off? TOUGH LUCK SUCKER!

You're moving out of town or on holiday and want to take laptop with you, with no Internet? TOUGH LUCK...

And SecuROM gives people more problems than it solves. It's supposed to fight piracy. I downloaded Borderlands two days before EU release, then I installed my original D2D copy, then when DLC came out... I pirated it. No way in hell I am going to let SecuROM get onto my HDD. And I might do it with the second DLC, seeing how they BOTH have DLC included instead of an actual patch.

 

[Ligisttomten]

The "gimped Batman" took crackers what, a few days to fix? BioShock 2 isn't going to be any different. It will be cracked. DRM only pisses off people who buys it, pirates never have to bother about it.

 

[Earthmonger]

Not good enough. I didn't care much about SecuRom. My ***** was having to install, sign up, and run GFWL, just to save my game. Remove GFWL and I'll consider a legal approach to playing it.

 

[GamingAwesome1]

Somewhat ironic, isn't it? The best way to avoid DRM is to be the person that it's meant to block!

But yeah, at least they've scaled it back a bit. Also 15 installs? I'd say that's more than enough for the average person. Still wish they would just go back to the time where we had no fucking DRM at all!

 

[Earthmonger]

GFWL is like having the Yahoo! or AskJeeves toolbar forced on you. You know it's malware (in this case, a corporate deal you're forced to take part in when some disreputable company has sold their soul to Satan), but you can't use the primary software without accepting its presence. So you either find a way to neuter it, or blacklist the software.

In the case of Bioshock, this actually means you're paying $50 or more to be held prisoner by a shitty piece of third-party software you want nothing to do with.

 

[Frapple]

I'm in two minds about this;

First one is - who is ever going to need 15 activations? I've probably only reformatted 5-6 times in 15+ years of computers.

Second one is - why even bother putting such a high limit, waste of time, money & effort if you ask me!

 

[Chaos Marine]

GfWL - no sale. I've had enough of it from games like DoW2, GoW and Batman AA. Seriously, it's friggin' nuts how bad it is.

I didn't buy Bioshock till it came out for five euros through the Steam sale the year before last and even then I was wondering if I should or not. The game never really grabbed me that well thanks to the awkward Vita life chambers ruining any kind of tension for me. I think I'll wait for the next Steam sale before thinking about purchasing this. If I do at all.