On Game clients

[william12123]

I've recently been pondering on the nature of game clients (IE steam) and I was looking to get the opinions of people have used clients I have not. Not being an individual who use multiplayer, I've only just tolerated clients like Steam (and only because of the fantastical sales steam offers).

So I've got a game that interests me (DA: Inquisition). But it's made by EA. Thus I'm going to have to use origin at a certain point. I'm rather frustrated with EA itself, as they've bought up a lot of my favorite studios and seem to be shutting them down/letting them destroy themselves (I have little interest in debating this though). And I'm apprehensive of using their client considering the bad press it's received.

I'm interested in knowing the experiences others have had. Has anybody taken the time to see what information the client takes/ what accesses it gains when you install it? Has anybody found a way to limit the program's interaction with the rest of your computer? (this could be useful for steam as well). WHat kind of load does it put on a computer? Is it user friendly? etc.

There are a few things I should note though:
1) Multiplayer/social networking is not a positive feature to me, it is neutral at best
2) Being able to download the game is also not a positive feature (I live in Canada, the amount I can download per month is 100 gigs with a decent connection and an affordable plan).
3) Up until now, my experience with game clients (steam, uplay) has been neutral to negative. If it wasn't for the absolute necessity to have steam for so many games these days...
4) I know about GOG, I patronize them as often as I can. They just don't have much of a selection.
5) Good sales, while fun, are also a neutral feature, my goal is to play games with as little hassle as possible without piracy

 

[MysticSlayer]

For starters, don't believe the rumors that it infects your computer with malware that sends your personal information off to EA. While it wasn't a "rumor" for a time, as part of its EULA stated that EA could use the client to search your computer (this was to more easily prevent hacking and modding), the complete uproar when this was discovered caused EA to remove it from the EULA. Last I heard, it hasn't been added back. I'd imagine most people who still spread the rumor weren't checking EA's news and forums on a daily basis during the debacle and, therefore, missed the update.

As for my own experience: It is clunkier than Steam, though a lot of people would argue otherwise, saying the interface is arguably the best of all the game clients. It did, however, seem to use more resources than Steam. It also is obviously late to the party, as it still has some catching up to do before it reaches Steam's level of service and reliability. Still, I wouldn't say it is a horrible game client, at least not like GFWL or UPlay, and if any Steam rip-off has the chance of succeeding against Steam it is Origin (I'm not counting GOG in this as it is for an entirely different market). Overall, I wouldn't ignore Origin if it has some games you are really looking at getting, but I'd still stick with Steam as your main client. Just be warned that, unlike Steam, you really can't take it offline. I'm not sure if it is a game-by-game basis, but my brother (who uses it far more than I do) always has to remain connected to the Internet for all the games he has on it, unlike Steam where you can go offline for a certain (sometimes long) amount of time.

 

[william12123]

I'm not sure if it is a game-by-game basis, but my brother (who uses it far more than I do) always has to remain connected to the Internet for all the games he has on it, unlike Steam where you can go offline for a certain (sometimes long) amount of time.

That is highly irritating. But more and more common. Sigh.

 

[Maximum Bert]

I am not a fan of game clients I just dont see the point for me GOG has got it right and I always give them my business before Steam (which is the only game client I use) regardless of price.

The only reason I have steam is because I believe Skullgirls will be getting played the most on the PC platform along with KOFXIII and potentially many other fighters now that the console gen is nearing its end and ofc it gets updates much faster which is great for fighters and particularly Skullgirls after its indiegogo campaign success.

Yeah anyway I am not a fan of them and I despise EA so there is no way I would get Origin even if it had my favourite games on but thats just me everyone should make their own decision. First time I had Steam I got it because a game I bought in a store required it to play the game was great Steam wasnt and kept crashing my admittedly piece of shit laptop so I uninstalled it and have only recently given it another go.

Now its much less of a hassle and just goes a bit wonky sometimes. The updating shit everytime you load up is irritating but bearable. I really wouldnt like multiple clients and if a lot of fighters go over to GOG I would gladly delete Steam from my PC repurchase the game on GOG and never look back as it would be worth it not to have Steam on my PC.

 

[Smertnik]

If it wasn't for far larger game library and greater discounts I'd actually mainly use Origin instead of Steam as it's far less bloated (yet) - it's just a simple game client to run games with.

Just be warned that, unlike Steam, you really can't take it offline. I'm not sure if it is a game-by-game basis, but my brother (who uses it far more than I do) always has to remain connected to the Internet for all the games he has on it, unlike Steam where you can go offline for a certain (sometimes long) amount of time.

I don't know about the offline mode as I never have to use it but many, if not most singleplayer games (at the very least all the ones I own, which admittedly are only a dozen or so) do not actually require the Origin client to be running at all.

 

[william12123]

I don't know about the offline mode as I never have to use it but many, if not most singleplayer games (at the very least all the ones I own, which admittedly are only a dozen or so) do not actually require the Origin client to be running at all.

I imagine it's still required to install/run games? This is the type of info I'm trying to get, because the sound bytes genrally never concern themselves with the basic usability of the client.

Can it basically be used as just a "first-time check-in", or does it require a constant connnection for single player?

 

[Smertnik]

I don't know about the offline mode as I never have to use it but many, if not most singleplayer games (at the very least all the ones I own, which admittedly are only a dozen or so) do not actually require the Origin client to be running at all.

I imagine it's still required to install/run games? This is the type of info I'm trying to get, because the sound bytes generally never concern themselves with the basic usability of the client.

I've never bought physical copies of Origin games but I'd assume so. But as I said, once installed you can launch some singleplayer games without the client.

 

[Smeatza]

Doesn't the client take a look at your program files every time you start it up?
I'm sure I remember reading that somewhere

Yeah here's an article talking about it.
http://www.cinemablend.com/games/EA-Says-Origin-Isn-t-Spyware-Although-It-Does-Scan-Your-Entire-PC-36690.html

And a screenshot.

Spoiler: vollia

This was a while back but as far as I'm aware nothing's changed.

 

[william12123]

Does anyone have any clear response on whether or not you're forced to run the thing constantly? Is it a case by case basis? Do you have to be always connected?

(I'll probably check the EULA myself later. I try to read them as often as possible) EULA note: Do they inform you when the EULA is modified (I know steam does)?

 

[MysticSlayer]

Doesn't the client take a look at your program files every time you start it up?
I'm sure I remember reading that somewhere

Yeah here's an article talking about it.
http://www.cinemablend.com/games/EA-Says-Origin-Isn-t-Spyware-Although-It-Does-Scan-Your-Entire-PC-36690.html

And a screenshot.

Spoiler: vollia

This was a while back but as far as I'm aware nothing's changed.

As I pointed out earlier, this was a very early criticism about Origin from around the time it originally released. That is, it was so early, Battlefield 3 was still in Alpha testing. When it was discovered Origin's EULA allowed it to search your computer files there was a huge uproar from the community, so much so that the PC sub-forum on the BF3 page was flooded with almost nothing but people complaining. The end result was that EA backtracked and removed that part of the EULA and prevented Origin from searching your computer files.

In other words, the information backing the conspiracy theories about EA searching all your files went out of date back in 2011 even before the release of BF3.

I don't know about the offline mode as I never have to use it but many, if not most singleplayer games (at the very least all the ones I own, which admittedly are only a dozen or so) do not actually require the Origin client to be running at all.

OK, then that's the issue. Some games do require the Origin client running, even if they are single player only. I believe the Mass Effect games have this problem (could be wrong, as I've only heard it through other sources, but I don't own Mass Effect on Origin, so I wouldn't know from experience).

 

[william12123]

Would there happen to be a list somewhere? Seeing as all game boxes will say "requires origin to run" but not necessarily tell you wether or not you can do you stuff disconected, I'm not certain where to check.

However, the whole mass effect thing does discourage me. Since DA: I is made by the same studio, it might be a sign of things to come. However, Dragon Age is a lot harder to make multiplayer than mass effect, so I can only hope.

 

[Smeatza]

Actually yeah, it has changed. They haven't done that for a good year or two.

As I pointed out earlier, this was a very early criticism about Origin from around the time it originally released. That is, it was so early, Battlefield 3 was still in Alpha testing. When it was discovered Origin's EULA allowed it to search your computer files there was a huge uproar from the community, so much so that the PC sub-forum on the BF3 page was flooded with almost nothing but people complaining. The end result was that EA backtracked and removed that part of the EULA and prevented Origin from searching your computer files.

In other words, the information backing the conspiracy theories about EA searching all your files went out of date back in 2011 even before the release of BF3.

Apparently it was still a problem as late as February 2012.
http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Origin-Scans-Your-PC-Auto-Add-Steam-Games-Library-39973.html

I'm aware that they changed their EULA but not that they changed the functionality of their software.
And I've been unable to find any press releases from EA or even outside news articles commenting on this supposed removal of the scanning feature.

What give you guys the impression that things have changed?

 

[Caiphus]

Apparently it was still a problem as late as February 2012.
http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Origin-Scans-Your-PC-Auto-Add-Steam-Games-Library-39973.html

I'm aware that they changed their EULA but not that they changed the functionality of their software.
And I've been unable to find any press releases from EA or even outside news articles commenting on this supposed removal of the scanning feature.

What give you guys the impression that things have changed?

I'm not sure if this is the same issue, but the resident ex-Bioware employee Thrikreen gave an explanation in one of the threads during the EA humble bundle..

I'll go see if I can find it.

Here:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.825533-Humble-Origin-Bundle-Breaks-5-Million?page=2#20035004

1) that neogaf thread, seems no one knows how to read file monitor software - notice how a lot of the actions were QUERIES? As in "Hey, what file type are you?" It's doing the same thing Steam is in regards to looking for executables to add to the launcher list, you know, of GAMES it RECOGNIZES.

2) there was a bug (source: buddy at Origin) in that it went up one more folder than it should have, so it was doing a recursive scan of C:\program files\ instead of localizing it to c:\program files\origin (of course, if you installed it elsewhere, it would scan from that root instead).

It was resolved pretty quickly, but it's not like it'll stop people who put their tax files in c:\program files\ then complaining Origin was scanning it. Of course, none of said scanned files were actually read, or submitted by Origin. You'd think with all the scrutiny since it was released, someone would have found evidence, but nope.

Not that it'll stop people repeatedly bringing it up as spyware with no actual proof.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Would there happen to be a list somewhere? Seeing as all game boxes will say "requires origin to run" but not necessarily tell you wether or not you can do you stuff disconected, I'm not certain where to check.

However, the whole mass effect thing does discourage me. Since DA: I is made by the same studio, it might be a sign of things to come. However, Dragon Age is a lot harder to make multiplayer than mass effect, so I can only hope.

I think the Origin requirement might relate to DLC, I remember something about if you were offline you couldn't play game saves that included DLC.

This was however back during the ME3 disaster and may be wrong/out of date so could someone with Origin installed confirm or kill this line of thought please?

 

[Caiphus]

I think the Origin requirement might relate to DLC, I remember something about if you were offline you couldn't play game saves that included DLC.

This was however back during the ME3 disaster and may be wrong/out of date so could someone with Origin installed confirm or kill this line of thought please?

I just logged into ME3 and unplugged my internet. It did not kick me out. Hold on, I'll get a screenshot up in a minute.

Edit: Oh, and I have all the major DLC.

Further edit: And I was able to access save games inside DLC while unplugged, although difficult to prove that in a screenshot.


And again:

Spoiler: Proof

 

[Smeatza]

I'm not sure if this is the same issue, but the resident ex-Bioware employee Thrikreen gave an explanation in one of the threads during the EA humble bundle..

I'll go see if I can find it.

Here:

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.825533-Humble-Origin-Bundle-Breaks-5-Million?page=2#20035004

1) that neogaf thread, seems no one knows how to read file monitor software - notice how a lot of the actions were QUERIES? As in "Hey, what file type are you?" It's doing the same thing Steam is in regards to looking for executables to add to the launcher list, you know, of GAMES it RECOGNIZES.

2) there was a bug (source: buddy at Origin) in that it went up one more folder than it should have, so it was doing a recursive scan of C:\program files\ instead of localizing it to c:\program files\origin (of course, if you installed it elsewhere, it would scan from that root instead).

It was resolved pretty quickly, but it's not like it'll stop people who put their tax files in c:\program files\ then complaining Origin was scanning it. Of course, none of said scanned files were actually read, or submitted by Origin. You'd think with all the scrutiny since it was released, someone would have found evidence, but nope.

Not that it'll stop people repeatedly bringing it up as spyware with no actual proof.

Thanks for the info.
So the software still does the scanning, but it's completely innocuous?
I assume that it's been patched now so it only scans the relevant folder, can anyone confirm that's the case?

 

[Caiphus]

Thanks for the info.
So the software still does the scanning, but it's completely innocuous?
I assume that it's been patched now so it only scans the relevant folder, can anyone confirm that's the case?

No idea, I'm afraid. I assume so; Thrikreen seemed to imply that it had. But I don't even know how to see the scans. So I can't help.

 

[Smeatza]

Thanks for the info.
So the software still does the scanning, but it's completely innocuous?
I assume that it's been patched now so it only scans the relevant folder, can anyone confirm that's the case?

No idea, I'm afraid. I assume so; Thrikreen seemed to imply that it had. But I don't even know how to see the scans. So I can't help.

With all the patches origin has had I can't imagine they would have left that issue out.
I'ma check it out when I get home from work.

EDIT: Yeah it's been patched out.

 

[J Tyran]

Personally I find Origin to be fairly inoffensive, its functional and does its job and hasn't been a nuisance. Not like some types of DRM like SecuROM for instance, its never pulled a Uplay on me either.

When I have bought Ubisoft games from other platforms it insists I run the platform I bought it from and Uplay at the same time, Like Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon which I bought via Steam. I have to run Steam and Uplay when I play it, not a huge problem really as clients don't use a lot of resources and having two active clients is not problem. Cheaper/Older PCs might which could be an issue for some people, its just a minor annoyance.

Never had that problem with Origin, Origins prices are fine. They don't have sales as often as GoG or Steam but they have discounts, I get targeted special offers as well. E-mails with codes that knock the price down by a certain amount, sometimes I get the "buy this game and get this other game free/discounted" offers as well. They do pre order bonuses the same as Steam, sometimes its free DLC or other content. Sometimes its a redemption code for a free game or a discount on another game.

The Spyware issue has already been debunked in this thread, no need to repeat it. I wont defend Origin as "good" or particularly useful but its tolerable enough, not my go to platform but as its stable and download speeds are fine I can put up with it when a game needs it and when the prices are tempting.