Help me create the perfect DRM

[Mariena]

the best drm form is the one arkum asylum had. Gimped game features.

This is exactly right. The best DRM is one which can delay piracy for a long time (thus getting sales from those who are willing to buy the game if they can't get it for free) without punishing paying customers. Covertly sabotaging the game in case of verification failure is the best way to achieve this.

I have to agree with this.

"The best DRM is one which can delay piracy for a long time (thus getting sales from those who are willing to buy the game if they can't get it for free) without punishing paying customers." Precisely.

DRM like in AA, or the FADE used in the OFP/ArmA series, seems the way to go.

Developers like Bohemia Interactive Studios and others remove copy protection software after a while. By then, "nobody" buys the game anymore and the game has dropped off the "pirate frontpage". If every developer did this, you would always be able to play your game, even when the activation server has gone offline.

 

[mad825]

store all the game data externally ie a game server which will require the user to be connected to the internet which will then store the data in the RAM (I suppose it eliminates the user needing a hard/soft drive ^.^)

for the user to play the game, the user must install Spy ware/Rootkits so that the server has overall control of the data stored in the RAM preventing copying and any other unauthorised use of the .tmp information

self termination of the internet connection without warning will force the data stored in the RAM to delete itself.

any flaws?

 

[Mr. Gency]

the best drm form is the one arkum asylum had. Gimped game features.

This is exactly right. The best DRM is one which can delay piracy for a long time (thus getting sales from those who are willing to buy the game if they can't get it for free) without punishing paying customers. Covertly sabotaging the game in case of verification failure is the best way to achieve this.

I have to agree with this.

"The best DRM is one which can delay piracy for a long time (thus getting sales from those who are willing to buy the game if they can't get it for free) without punishing paying customers." Precisely.

DRM like in AA, or the FADE used in the OFP/Armed Assault series, seems the way to go.

Developers like Bohemia Interactive Studios and others remove copy protection software after a while. By then, "nobody" buys the game anymore and the game has dropped off the "pirate frontpage". If every developer did this, you would always be able to play your game, even when the activation server has gone offline.

I hate to go off topic, but, why did you quote him, then copy and past what he said then added some quotation marks for good measure?

 

[Mr. Gency]

Even the part about how I believe DRMs have to get less and less restrictive before they finally go away.

Yes. I don't want to wait, I just want DRM out of the way right now. I should not have to tolerate the asshole behavior of the publishers before I can use the games I buy in whatever way I want to.

So do I. But publishers have to learn to trust the gaming community again. I just want to try and speed up the progress.

Edit: Hey my post count is 11:11 make a wish!

 

[MagnetoHydroDynamics]

Grow some mind powers and make everyone who pirates games feel really guilty about it.

That'd work.

 

[DeadlyYellow]

/thread.

I hope you know that the responses on this thread so far have eliminated my patience for this kind of bullshit![/quote]
You can't control people on the internet. Just roll with it.

Frankly any system that needs consistent interaction with an online server loses massive points in my book. Lacking this fancy "brawdband" all the kids talk about nowadays, I can only muddle by with my outdated DSL. As such, anything similar to Steam's Save Cloud for instance, greatly aggravate me as it slows down my internet as well as consume large amounts of memory even when the program is inactive. Unlike most DRM, this feature can be disabled.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

It won't work. It would only be a matter of time before the pirates came up with some sort of program, like a keygen, that randomized the code.
And no offence, but your plan almost sounds as bad as Ubisoft's if I'm not going to get the complete game when I buy it.

 

[0bserv3]

How about a system that uses a unique code, and requires each person to set up an account with an email address. The same code cannot be used twice, and the game sets itself up to only run on that machine.
However, if the person wants to switch computers, they can remove the code from their account after a confirmation email and then reinstall the game on a new system.
If then the old system attempts to play the game while connected to the internet, the game would be programmed to destroy several major files which will render the game unplayable. If you play it offline, though, it'll be fine. Hopefully the annoyance of having to remember to turn off their internet connection every time they want to play will be too much and they will give up.
let me know if that makes no sense.

 

[Mr. Gency]

Finally someone contributes to this thread.

How about a system that uses a unique code, and requires each person to set up an account with an email address. The same code cannot be used twice, and the game sets itself up to only run on that machine.
However, if the person wants to switch computers, they can remove the code from their account after a confirmation email and then reinstall the game on a new system.
If then the old system attempts to play the game while connected to the internet, the game would be programmed to destroy several major files which will render the game unplayable. If you play it offline, though, it'll be fine. Hopefully the annoyance of having to remember to turn off their internet connection every time they want to play will be too much and they will give up.
let me know if that makes no sense.

I like your idea. As long as that method for transfering the game from one computer to another can be used to move the game back (in case the player borrowed a friend's computer for whatever reason), I approve.

 

[Wisefox]

What if, and hear me out, we had a client that allowed you to download games to an account the user has, and that games needed to be installed to this client, and that no one else could install the games that are registered to the user's account, as they are not that user. Then, the games each account would hold are stored on a server somewhere, so that the account could be activated from any system, and have the games available to play, but only for that user. The players would also keep their saves and achievements out on this area, and people could access it from any where they went.

Or, in other words, use steam, but give it a wider range.

This by no means says that you need to be constantly connected, but merely to log in once and be able to play the game, and are unable to play until you log in. You can use any copy of the game after it's registered to your account, and first person to use a code has that unique copy.

 

[Mr. Gency]

How about this -- the company (Activision, Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, etc.) 'leak' a version of the game to Torrent Sites -- naturally, these files will get spread around to other sites by pirates. Naturally, a lot of pirates will download this... and be incredibly disappointed when they find out that not only does their version of the game only contains the first few levels of the game... but also that their IP Address has been reported for piracy.

Not exactly DRM, but would be quite effective nonetheless. Of course, how many people would be willing to take the chance downloading your next game?

It completely removes the need for a DRM, But you would have to find ways to keep pirates guessing.

 

[DazBurger]

include pictures of naked women and i am sure it will sell. and we won't even need drm then. i assure u it will sell. it's the fact of life sex sells

Please take this tread seriously.

But in case you are serious

Spoiler

Its when looking at pics like these I wish I wasn't partially colour blind

 

[DarkRyter]

A good serial code is fine.

That's how it's always been. And so far, it's doing fine.

 

[GeneticallyModifiedDucks]

store all the game data externally ie a game server which will require the user to be connected to the internet which will then store the data in the RAM (I suppose it eliminates the user needing a hard/soft drive ^.^)

for the user to play the game, the user must install Spy ware/Rootkits so that the server has overall control of the data stored in the RAM preventing copying and any other unauthorised use of the .tmp information

self termination of the internet connection without warning will force the data stored in the RAM to delete itself.

Many flaws?

Fixed.

 

[0bserv3]

Finally someone contributes to this thread.

How about a system that uses a unique code, and requires each person to set up an account with an email address. The same code cannot be used twice, and the game sets itself up to only run on that machine.
However, if the person wants to switch computers, they can remove the code from their account after a confirmation email and then reinstall the game on a new system.
If then the old system attempts to play the game while connected to the internet, the game would be programmed to destroy several major files which will render the game unplayable. If you play it offline, though, it'll be fine. Hopefully the annoyance of having to remember to turn off their internet connection every time they want to play will be too much and they will give up.
let me know if that makes no sense.

I like your idea. As long as that method for transfering the game from one computer to another can be used to move the game back (in case the player borrowed a friend's computer for whatever reason), I approve.

well, you'd have to put some sort of time limit on it, otherwise when the pirates version become corrupted they'll just reinstall it. a week or two, maybe? or maybe you could make it so that as long as the code has been used from another machine in the meantime, then you can re-install it.

 

[Mr. Gency]

What if, and hear me out, we had a client that allowed you to download games to an account the user has, and that games needed to be installed to this client, and that no one else could install the games that are registered to the user's account, as they are not that user. Then, the games each account would hold are stored on a server somewhere, so that the account could be activated from any system, and have the games available to play, but only for that user. The players would also keep their saves and achievements out on this area, and people could access it from any where they went.

Or, in other words, use steam, but give it a wider range.

This by no means says that you need to be constantly connected, but merely to log in once and be able to play the game, and are unable to play until you log in. You can use any copy of the game after it's registered to your account, and first person to use a code has that unique copy.

I may be misunderstanding what your saying, but if you get your hands on someone's account password (and other things needed to log in) they have easy access to every game they own.

 

[Mr. Gency]

include pictures of naked women and i am sure it will sell. and we won't even need drm then. i assure u it will sell. it's the fact of life sex sells

Please take this tread seriously.

But in case you are serious

Spoiler

Its when looking at pics like these I wish I wasn't partially colour blind

Well it's a picture of a guy from Star Trek facepalming made out of a lot of other facepalm pics.
(what you said implys that you can't tell what it is)

 

[Frostwhisper21]

No amount of DRM would work forever, as many have said. It's just going to get cracked anyway, and it punishes those who do not pirate, too (no internet=no play). Though the amount of people with a computer and no internet is rather low, servers crashing, etc. is an annoyance.

Simply put, better policing of pirating is the sole answer. But considering how much people belittle crimes caused on the internet, this is gonna take awhile.

 

[AmayaOnnaOtaku]

include pictures of naked women and i am sure it will sell. and we won't even need drm then. i assure u it will sell. it's the fact of life sex sells

Please take this tread seriously.

But in case you are serious

Spoiler

Its when looking at pics like these I wish I wasn't partially colour blind

Well it's a picture of a guy from Star Trek facepalming made out of a lot of other facepalm pics.
(what you said implys that you can't tell what it is)

That is an EPIC facepalm. and thanks for showing how to FINALLY do the blasted spoiler box

 

[Holyeskimo]

probably the only real way since it mostly happens with pc gaming is to make it require the disk to run the game. that's the only way i can see that will seem like the least of dickish moves.