C&C4 Requires Constant Internet Connection to Play

[Nutcase]

<---noob

SecuROM? DRM? err... is this PC terminology? Because I don't follow...

DRM : Digital Rights Management : Technology that prevents multiple installs in order to block piracy.

Thank you, kind sir! Well, that makes sense, I guess. So why is everyone treating it like a bad thing?

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You sort of sound like a conspiracist, what's-your-name, ermmm... oh, "Nutcase," well that explains it. You aren't very approving of current DRM's or the use by developers of them, are you?

That's a pretty fucking rude attitude to take after you asked a question and I bothered to write you a comprehensive answer. Everything I posted is true. If there's an individual argument or assertion in there that you don't find credible, just point it out and I can address it in more detail.

Like I said, with the exception of anti-cheat protection, DRM does me (and you) no good whatsoever. So why would I approve of it?

 

[Woem]

I can see how this would annoy people, but it is a much more agreeable anti-piracy measure than secuROM ever was. And who knows, they could make it in some way that you can play online, but you don't get credit for any of your player-progression when in offline mode or something along those lines.

I don't understand this at all.

Why do I need an internet connection to have "MMOG-esque 'player progression'"? Really, all this is is an acceptable form of DRM, and I'm fine with that. But don't bullshit us about the features of your game. We aren't idiots.

They mentioned in one of their earlier press releases that this also works as an anti-cheater system. Making people stay online in order to progress their character guarantees that they progressed their character legitimately, and not just through some form of editor.

I can go with the anti-piracy system, and the anti-cheating system as well. But why would a player need to be online the whole time, even when playing an offline campaign? I can accept that you need to register online before you can start playing, and that each time you do get online that your progress gets uploaded (and perhaps new content is download/unlocked) but why wouldn't I be able to play offline if my connection is down or if I wanted to play the game on my killer laptop while on an airplane or on the backseat? Street Fighter IV features unlockables and online gameplay but you don't have to be online to play a normal VS Computer match.

 

[Royas]

I can see how this would annoy people, but it is a much more agreeable anti-piracy measure than secuROM ever was. And who knows, they could make it in some way that you can play online, but you don't get credit for any of your player-progression when in offline mode or something along those lines.

Huh? This is a lot worse than SecuROM ever was. At least SecuROM only required you to be online while installing the game you bought.

Fortunately everything points to the game throwing its PC gaming roots away, and descending to the shitter to compete directly with Halo Wars (all-in-one base) and MMORPGs (grinding), so nothing lost by just leaving it on the shelf.

No, SecuROM originally validated the game's authenticity online constantly. They changed it because that was one of the larger complaints about the system. This system at least doesn't limit your number of concurrent or total installs.

Actually, that was just one of the options SecuROM allows. It can do the constant authenitication, the one time check, the CD Key, the limited installs or activations, the periodic online check... or none of the above. SecuROM is less a single program than it is a menu of options publishers can pick from. Using SecuROM doesn't have to be a dick move, it's just that EA and others were using all the most extreme options.

Regardless, I'm glad I don't much care about C&C one way or another. I probably wasn't going to get this to begin with, this just clinches the deal. I hate the idea of supporting a game that ignores a huge percentage of the customer base. Even now, dial up is extremely common (believe it's still the majority, but unsure) and always on broadband connections aren't available everywhere. Not cool to take the single player game away from those who can't depend on a constant connection. You should never have to be connected to the internet to play a single player game, that's just asinine.

 

[ThirdPrize]

EA say "Even if you don't have a broadband connection, C&C4 will still work, so no worries there." while the escapist reads that as "That's not just for multiplayer, but all single-player modes as well. If you're not online, you can't play C&C4."

Assuming you have an Xbox Live account then you are probably connected 24/7 anyway unless you go out og your way to unplug the cable. Will it require a Gold account though? You generally need gold for network play.

 

[Ezzay]

I cannot respond to this without excessive use of profanity.

So I wont.

 

[Spucktier]

Assuming you have an Xbox Live account then you are probably connected 24/7 anyway unless you go out og your way to unplug the cable. Will it require a Gold account though? You generally need gold for network play.

Get your facts straight, C&C4 is Windows only. No 360 port.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/168251/ea_says_command_and_conquer_4_windows_exclusive.html

 

[Pimppeter2]

am i to presume u will need xbox live gold to play this? pass then

yea, but only silver, which is free

Edit: Never mind. Its PC exclusive

 

[KSarty]

Actually, that was just one of the options SecuROM allows. It can do the constant authenitication, the one time check, the CD Key, the limited installs or activations, the periodic online check... or none of the above. SecuROM is less a single program than it is a menu of options publishers can pick from. Using SecuROM doesn't have to be a dick move, it's just that EA and others were using all the most extreme options.

Fair enough, I didn't realize that the publishers had options in that matter.

Regardless, I'm glad I don't much care about C&C one way or another. I probably wasn't going to get this to begin with, this just clinches the deal. I hate the idea of supporting a game that ignores a huge percentage of the customer base. Even now, dial up is extremely common (believe it's still the majority, but unsure) and always on broadband connections aren't available everywhere. Not cool to take the single player game away from those who can't depend on a constant connection. You should never have to be connected to the internet to play a single player game, that's just asinine.

I agree that its asinine to have to be connected to play single player, but I can't imagine too many PC gamers still have dial-up connections. You can't base it off the general public, you have to take into consideration their target audience, which would be people who regularly play video games on a PC. I'm confident that the majority of PC gamers have some sort of broadband connection.

 

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[Flunk]

I expect we'll see this with all PC games fairly soon. Like it on not, it's a lot harder to pirate them.

 

[Nutcase]

You sort of sound like a conspiracist, what's-your-name, ermmm... oh, "Nutcase," well that explains it. You aren't very approving of current DRM's or the use by developers of them, are you?

That's a pretty fucking rude attitude to take after you asked a question and I bothered to write you a comprehensive answer. Everything I posted is true. If there's an individual argument or assertion in there that you don't find credible, just point it out and I can address it in more detail.

Like I said, with the exception of anti-cheat protection, DRM does me (and you) no good whatsoever. So why would I approve of it?

I meant it as a joke, but... that was pretty rude of me. Sorry, I get a little edgy when... well, I was edgy at the time. But, you're right, I shouldn't have responded like that. There was a lot of comprehensive information in your post, but I was so tired that...

Forget it, you don't want to hear my excuses.

That's the thing with humor, it's never reliable. Apology accepted.

Still, though, does DRM literally stand for Digital Restriction Management, or Digital Rights Management?

It literally stands for Digital Rights Management, which is nonsensical (what are "digital rights"?) and misleading, and that's why the people pushing it named it that way. Reading the R as "Restrictions" is a more objective description of what's going on.

Anyway, having lots of Digital Rights all over the stuff you are about to buy sounds nicer than having it burdened with Digital Restrictions, right?

 

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[Nutcase]

Still, though, does DRM literally stand for Digital Restriction Management, or Digital Rights Management?

It literally stands for Digital Rights Management, which is nonsensical (what are "digital rights"?) and misleading, and that's why the people pushing it named it that way. Reading the R as "Restrictions" is a more objective description of what's going on.

Anyway, having lots of Digital Rights all over the stuff you are about to buy sounds nicer than having it burdened with Digital Restrictions, right?

Huh, that makes sense. But they gotta protect their profits somehow, right? I mean, how else would they stop people from pirating and stuff?

That's a good question, but irrelevant, seeing how the majority of DRM out there does not stop pirates from pirating. The second there is a working cracked copy out on torrent sites, it doesn't matter how much DRM they pile on the discs at the store, because anyone wanting to pirate it will just download the version that works. I believe most major single-player games are cracked at release or before release, occasionally taking a week or a month. If the publishers' motivation to add DRM on the products was to stop pirates, then what they should do is to remove the DRM with a patch once a working pirate copy is out (at the latest). This would add value for the legit users and let them enjoy the convenience that pirates will enjoy anyway. The publishers' tech support costs would go down. The publishers do not do this, and the only logical reason is that the DRM was never there for the pirates, but for the legit users.

 

[Royas]

I agree that its asinine to have to be connected to play single player, but I can't imagine too many PC gamers still have dial-up connections. You can't base it off the general public, you have to take into consideration their target audience, which would be people who regularly play video games on a PC. I'm confident that the majority of PC gamers have some sort of broadband connection.

The majority of gamers do, according to the June Steam hardware survey, but about 15% of Steam users have 256 Kbps connections, which is well below the FCC definition of broadband. While 15% is a minority, that's still a large chunk of people who are being left out in the cold. Going with the concept of target audiences, a Steam survey would be heavily weighted to the broadband side of gamers, as in there are likely to be a lot higher percentage of broadband using gamers on Steam than in the general gaming population. I think we can assume that the actual number of gamers without broadband is much higher than 15%. Not a lot of dial up players are going to have Steam even if they are gamers. Ignoring more than 15% of your potential customer base isn't exactly the act of a savvy businessman.

Given EA's recent history with DRM, I'm amazed they keep on pulling crap like this. It's like they keep shooting themselves in the foot, determined to empty the entire clip before they give up. I had hoped that, with the lack of heavy DRM on the Sims 3 and Dragon Age (announced at least), we had seen the last of EA's anti-customer activity, but I see that I was wrong.

 

[Lost In The Void]

I know I shouldn't keep buying C&C games, but I just love the universe, and everytime I pick one up I get that giddy feeling that it's back to the Tiberium universe, and I've loved doing that since the original C&C

 

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[Nutcase]

But... then what the hell is DRM there for!? Surely the publishers have realized this already. What's the point of having DRM if it is useless anyway?

Like I said: the point is to screw legit users.

Close down second-hand market.
Prevent loaning.
Prevent rentals.
End fair use altogether. (While fair use rights are still technically there, to exercise them you need to remove the DRM. That is made illegal by laws in many jurisdictions, for example the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.)
More control.

 

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[Nutcase]

That doesn't make any sense... I thought the publishers loved me and treasured me... why would they betray me in such a way?!

/sarcasm. *sigh* well that stinks for PC users. Good thing there isn't something like that on Xbox or PlayStation or Wii disks.

Er, there is? The DRM examples in my very first reply to you included the 360 and the PS3. *Every* console is a closed system and protected by DRM.

The DRM-enforced restrictions on consoles are a big reason why I don't own more of them. I have a PS2, but I had to modchip it to play the games I wanted to play. If it weren't for the region locking and deliberate restrictions on peripherals, all enforced by DRM, I'd own a 360 and possibly a PS3 by now.

You can't really be a gamer these days without tolerating some DRM and restrictions. But some games on the PC have none, and many have nothing more than a CD check, which isn't very offensive to me as it doesn't give the publishers any additional control. Even that still inconveniences the user, of course, by making them keep handy and insert a disc the game doesn't actually need.

 

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