id Software Praises "Always On" in Diablo 3

[Elamdri]

If this is the future, Onlive's not looking bad.

Ok, forgive me, but wtf? You're upset about a game that charges you once to play and then requires a constant internet connection. Given that, you are lauding a company that charges you once to buy a game then requires a constant internet connection? I don't get it.

The difference is 60 bucks to "own" the game vs 10 bucks a month.

The 10 dollar a month plan is only for specific games, a lot of which are crap. If you want to actually own the game on the service so you can play it anytime you want, you have to pay full market price (And only if it's actually available for purchase).

 

[cobra_ky]

"President

"Diablo 3 will make everyone else accept the fact you have to be connected," he told Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-08-10-id-software-on-always-on-internet-debate] at last week's QuakeCon. "If you have a juggernaut, you can make change. I'm all for that. If we could force people to always be connected when you play the game, and then have that be acceptable, awesome."

I don't know how many heads of state have abused their position to force an unpopular change onto the public. People won't stand for it from their governments, and we shouldn't stand for it from Blizzard, either.

 

[bushwhacker2k]

Am I the only one who missed any actual reasons why this is a good thing?

 

[cvert]

The need to be connected to the internet is the reason I have not bought Assassins Creed 2 and Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands (I could buy Forgotten Sands for NZ$10, but the price is still too high for this kind of DRM). Will not be buying Diablo 3.

 

[blindthrall]

If this is the future, Onlive's not looking bad.

Ok, forgive me, but wtf? You're upset about a game that charges you once to play and then requires a constant internet connection. Given that, you are lauding a company that charges you once to buy a game then requires a constant internet connection? I don't get it.

The difference is 60 bucks to "own" the game vs 10 bucks a month.

The 10 dollar a month plan is only for specific games, a lot of which are crap. If you want to actually own the game on the service so you can play it anytime you want, you have to pay full market price (And only if it's actually available for purchase).

Must only be certain games, because I pre-ordered Human Revolution and the agreement I signed said 10 bucks. What games do you have to pay full price for? I'd like to know, since I was putting off buying certain games so I could use Onlive instead, but if I'm paying full price anyway I may as well get them.

 

[CthulhuMessiah]

I think Always-on is a good idea because my internet disconnects constantly and sometimes doesn't work for days for no reason, and I definitely like being screwed over because of a company who is upset because they can't afford 20 solid gold mansions.

OH, WAIT!

Blizzard: You already are swimming in liquid gold because of WoW. I don't think we'll break the bank by pirating even 20% of the copies released.

ID: I don't think you can afford saying "Lets fuck over the consumers, but it'll be okay because their tiny brains will give in quickly".

It's days like this that make me glad I'm too poor for a good gaming PC.

 

[blindthrall]

Is it really that big of a deal?
1. If you're playing multi-player, this won't affect you at all.
2. If you're playing single-player it likely won't affect you either, unless:
1. You're out in the forest, in which case case you shouldn't be playing games in the first place, and even if you NEED to play something, don't you have other games, or do you NEED to play Diablo3 every damn time you're out in the forest?
2. You don't have internet AT ALL, so why are you on the internet now complaining about it?
3. You have glitchy internet? Blizzard will likely implement safety measures to keep your game safe for you should you happen to have the worst possible internet connection ever.
4. Blizzard server downtime, probably won't happen. These guys have been running Battle.net for over 12 years and the most popular MMO for over 7 years. They probably know what they're doing by now.
5. Shit happens. If you for some reason can't play the game for 5 minutes, then go do something else, there's probably more interesting offline single-player games out there. Really.

It's the precedent. If this inconvenience doesn't impact sales, all developers will do it. Five years from now there won;t be a new title that doesn't require it, and I for one like to occasionally play new games. Plus what if you get laid off and can't pay for the internet anymore? Or if bandwidth limits really kick in?

 

[evilneko]

Tim Willits: Rapist waiting in the wings.

Think about it.

 

[Levethian]

Has Blizzard confirmed that this decision was DRM-related? I thought it wasn't.

Yes, we are cattle. Not individually of course. But en-masse we are.

 

[blindthrall]

(D2 wasn't a single palyer game either by the way... you are just lying if you say so otherwise).

And five pages in, somebody wins the Retard Award. I played D2 and its expansion, with all 7 characters, and never once was that computer hooked up to the internet. Somehow, your own experiences are not all-encompassing.

 

[ExplosionProofTaco]

Awesome Blizzard. You just gave people another reason to pirate your game. Great Strategy, guys.

Why doesn't any developer realise that ANY DRM can be breached within a day by the members of file sharing communities?

The only effective form of DRM is the production of a fantastic game experience!

 

[migo]

Let's hope Bethesda has more sense. I don't care about Diablo 3 or anything id puts out, but if always on makes its way to Skyrim I'm gonna be pissed.

 

[Vinsin]

Common misconception. DRM doesnt stop pirates, it just annoys honest consumers. If, big IF, I buy this game I will be downloading the pirated version the very same day for the no DRM crack.

Which is absolute BS that as a consumer that has payed for the product that I need to rely on said pirates to actually make the game playable all the time.

@OP

Has anyone considered what happens if you manage to piss off Blizard? Say something they dont like on the forums and BAM you could be locked out of a single player game you payed for. Blizzard really just needs to have their entire staff fired and have people with brains put in their place.

He speaks the truth. (It's happen in the past, in regards to a forum post leading to Denial of Service and effectively banning the poster from the game he/she purchased. I believe it's happen more than just once but I intently recall one instance being news-worthy and a law-suit pending and of course - thrown out - as you agree to a contract prior to installation that it's alright if they do that! But I'm sure a google search would reveal the most, I didn't bother and therefore some of that may not be 100% accurate.. mostly I suspect the incorrect portion will be that - theres been a couple dozen of accounts like that rather than just one.)

DRM (and always-on) does not slow piracy, it hasn't, it won't; but they are going to try, and in the process lose a ton of sales (that they don't need to survive, being the juggernaut they are, but still a lot of money regardless!) .. my mindset is slowly jumping onto list of 'make a stand' and just avoid the game altogether. Not pirate it, not play it, nothing.

I have Diablo, Hellfire, Diablo II, and my family - primarily my father STILL plays Diablo, loves it' he's been looking forward to Diablo III since it was announced but do you know what my father doesn't have? Internet? You guessed it. Unless I were to be paying for it, he doesn't have it, he doesn't need it, and certainly won't be getting it just to play Diablo 3..

Hmm... well... I'm certainly not going to let him be tricked into buying it if 'always on' is required and he doesn't have internet.. but I'm sure he'll get to play it 'anyway' somehow... gee.. I wonder how.. I'll just have to keep thinking on that one... maybe get another job and get him internet for a couple months.. but then when the couple months is over he won't have access to the game anymore.. nao.. paying $60 + internet fee's for him doesn't seem reasonable just to have him (or for that matter any other person in this world) make grabby hands at the screen and go "WHHHYYYY!!! I ALREADY PAID FOR ITT!!!!" when the box or label pops up telling him that he can't play anymore without internet.

I'll just have to find an alternative method, and so will thousands if not hundreds of thousands of other's... I do of course mean that we'll all be going to the nearest wifi hotspot.. maybe a starbucks.. as if it wasn't crowded before the masses of Diablo 3 players start showing up there .. uhg.. and if anyone spills they're coffee .. we could see a total disaster - thousands upon thousands of third degree burns and wasted coffee.. WASTED COFFEE?!!?!

See what DRM & Always-On will do to the public? It burns the public, severely.. and wasted precious coffee resources. We'll need those resources to play games, like slaying monsters in Diablo 3 way into the morning.. this is all so counter productive Blizzard! (/sarcasm off.. and if you ask me where the sarcasm began.. I will beat you with wart's wooden leg. You hath been warned!)


Edit:
I just want to make everyone aware, when Blizzard is sued for a coffee spilling 3rd degree burning disaster, I called it before ANYONE .. just so we're clear.. alright, that is all.

 

[MajorDolphin]

DRM is a joke. The hacker pirates usually break that stuff the day the game comes out. So whats the excuse for DRM again? Oh, for updates and items? Really? The pirate boys will still be playing whenever there's a service interruption. Awesome....

DRM should be fought at every turn. I'm now having second thoughts about buying RAGE.

Edit: I was wondering, if you purchased a game at Bestbuy or somewhere, do you have the legal right to modify it? An anti-DRM/anti-always-on patch or crack should be easy enough to find. I wrote a paper for class about piracy and you can almost always find these cracks online the day the game comes out. Assuming you've bought the game legally I don't see why a person couldn't apply these workarounds to their legit copies.

 

[The Almighty Grigard]

The reason I'm pissed at always on DRM is not because of internet shortages. I'm lucky enough to have a stable internet connection.

However most of the play time I have with Diablo 2 is when I'm on my laptop, playing singleplayer while in a bus or when I am bored when out in cabins on vacations etc. Diablo 2 is a great timewaster and it's still really fun to pick up and play for an hour or two.

Now with this always on DRM I won't be able to just open my laptop and play the single player part of game whenever I want. I have to be parked in front of the desktop computer at home, or at some place with a wifi connection that I have access to.

Bullshit and Blizzard have lost a sale. Sadly it won't make a difference in the world since they could flood the entire grand canyon with their money pile.

 

[Vinsin]

Edit: I was wondering, if you purchased a game at Bestbuy or somewhere, do you have the legal right to modify it? An anti-DRM/anti-always-on patch or crack should be easy enough to find. I wrote a paper for class about piracy and you can almost always find these cracks online the day the game comes out. Assuming you've bought the game legally I don't see why a person couldn't apply these workarounds to their legit copies.

In regards to this question, there is a website setup specifically to deliver you cracks upon agreeing you legally own a copy and is intended for this very purpose & does not promote piracy in any way. Though escapist would likely not approve of linking it simply by how muddy the waters are regarding piracy.

Also, it is not technically illegal to crack the game you already own for back up purposes or for your own convenience (such as no-cd cracks). I'm no lawyer, however, but that's my knowledge of it. Though some games do make you agree not to modify the game in any way, I suppose it'd potentially pass in court, though I doubt you'd ever see anyone get taken that far over cracking a game they purchased just so they'd have access to it offline.. Though with times going the way they are, who knows?

Still the problem stims from the fact that hard working citizens - just like anyone else - have to crack a game THEY just paid $60 for (what you think the crackers got it for free? Someone has to buy it first, guess who that is going to be? Thankfully they find some fun out of it sure.) and while some would claim the person (when in actually it's a *team* of people) get so much praise for it and feel like kings and flex they're digital muscles for beating the games security - that too is false.. the slightest problem with the game even if it's not caused by the crack but rather the person's own system puts heat on the team and after hours upon hours of work they don't get anything in return but a few thanks and a pat on the back which thankfully goes back to 'It's good they have fun doing it' as well a good chunk of the teams believe in what they do, started cracking only because of DRM and Always On.

UrKnightErrant mentions something about them making money by selling the disks in china but .. honestly the teams (that I know of anyway) are based in the US & make no money short of donations at most - as well as promoting "If you like the game, support the industry - Go out and BUY /insert name here/" on every description page.

- Point being, It's not all theft and evil. Some outright steal unfortunately, but more try it - and if they enjoy it they buy it, some (alotttt) just don't want the crappy features that are consistently getting rammed down our throats by force if want to enjoy a good game such as DRM & Always on, we buy it.. and then remove said features.

 

[Denamic]

Sucks if you have shitty internet or want to play on your laptop where there's no internet.
I have a stable fibre connection, so it won't affect me, but I know for a fact that people WILL be screwed over by this.