Settlers 7 DRM Problems Still Unresolved

[Andy Chalk]

Settlers 7 DRM Problems Still Unresolved

The Settlers 7 [http://www.amazon.com/Settlers-7-Paths-Kingdom-Pc/dp/B00347BRU8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278691955&sr=1-1] DRM woes apparently remain unsettled, as many users are still reporting difficulties connecting to Ubisoft's servers weeks after the game's release.

The Settlers series may not be as high-profile as Ubisoft's [http://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Creed-Playstation-3/dp/B000P46NMA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1278691978&sr=1-1] always-on internet requirement.

At the end of March it came to light that gamers in Australia had been Eurogamer [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/99566-Australian-Gamers-Struggling-Under-Ubisoft-DRM] today that the servers are still choking out.

"Settlers 7 players have encountered difficulties playing the game over the [Easter] holiday weekend due to issues with servers that do matchmaking in multiplayer mode and that keep track of profiles, campaign progression and stats in both solo and multi modes," Ubisoft said. "Our technical teams have made progress but we are not yet able to say that the issue is completely resolved."

Ubisoft has promised to post updates as they become available in the official Settlers 7 forum, available here [http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/6061083365].


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[erbkaiser]

Amazing that they are getting away with this. If I owned a copy of Settlers 7 I would demand a refund for unplayable (intentionally broken) software, or maybe even consider suing Ubisoft. I'm pretty sure a case could be made against them.

I'm still not convinced Ubisoft is not deliberately sabotaging themselves, to get an excuse to abandon the PC market. They can't REALLY be this stupid, can they?

 

[Altorin]

Let another wave of anti-DRM hatespeech commence

I'm going to abstain this time.

 

[MR T3D]

gee, making games that aren't totally online require constant connection seems like such a good idea, no?


nothing terribly surprising here, more shitty ubi DRM is shit.

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

Ubisoft has guaranteed they will never get another dime from me ever again for a PC game. Good jorb guys.

 

[Callex]

My copy seems to be working fine.

I hear they've finally cracked all the story sequences for Assassins Creed 2 now though, it just shows nothing is uncrackable, no matter how invasive your DRM is.

 

[Keava]

On the other hand however, apparently after a while there are emulated servers for Assassins Creed 2 with nearly full databases, so its not the 100% safe DRM after all.

Just a shame with Settlers7, wanted to actually give it a try since i spent lots of time on first and second games from the series, but the online requirement is not something i will accept in a game i want to play purely singeplayer when i dont have net access avalible.

 

[Irridium]

Dear lord Ubisoft!

Is it possible to fuck this up any more than you are doing?

Once again, I reiterate my position. If Ubisoft don't disable this invasive and broken DRM, then I shan't be buying from them again and I would urge others not to. Buy from someone who actually sells you games, not rents you them.

It's too bad, I enjoy the Settlers series.

Ah well, back to the games in the franchise that actually work I suppose.

I too vowed never to buy anything from them until this crap is taken away. And not only on PC's, but consoles as well. I'm going all in with this.

Shame to, because I really want to try out Red Steel 2...

OT: Hey Ubisoft, want to know how to fix this? Get rid of the DRM!

There, problem solved. The money spent keeping these servers up and running is going to far outweigh any profit they make, so this system is just a pointless waste of money.

 

[Nimbus]

Ugh, their crappy always-on DRM has already been cracked. Why are they still using it?

 

[Antari]

Keep going Ubisoft, keep tightening the rope around your neck. Soon no one will want to buy anything with your name on it.

 

[ark123]

Ubisoft is like the Kramer of developers. They screw up all the time, they're hilarious and eventually they'll make one final giant mistake that will doom their careers for good.

 

[Dorkmaster Flek]

Oh lord, I feel bad for the people that actually bought this game, but part of me really hopes this continues as it only serves to throw more light on Ubisoft's insane DRM scheme.

 

[DividedUnity]

I was going to go out and buy this game today because it looked like a fun RTS. That wont be happening now

 

[Woodsey]

What's this? Ubisoft's DRM stopping legitimate customers from playing for weeks on end? Why, I'd of never seen this coming in a million years!

Oh well, at least "Ubisoft has promised to post updates as they become available in the official Settlers 7 forum" - that's so kind of them, isn't it?

Good ol' Ubisoft - always doing the right thing, especially for us PC gamers!

Ubisoft is like the Kramer of developers. They screw up all the time, they're hilarious and eventually they'll make one final giant mistake that will doom their careers for good.

Actually I think they have one of the best development studios in the market (Ubi Montreal). It's the executives (and the publisher-side) of Ubisoft that are making this (EPIC FAIL) judgement.

 

[rpsms]

It is only confusing until you realize that this is not DRM: it is a beta implementation of a single-player pay-per-play subscription model.

 

[MorteSphere]

How much longer until they realize how fucking stupid this was?

 

[Gildan Bladeborn]

Dear lord Ubisoft!

Is it possible to fuck this up any more than you are doing?

Once again, I reiterate my position. If Ubisoft don't disable this invasive and broken DRM, then I shan't be buying from them again and I would urge others not to. Buy from someone who actually sells you games, not rents you them.

While I quite agree with that first bit (I'm boycotting any and all products from Ubisoft now and encouraging everyone I know to do likewise), it's worth noting that other companies with less restrictive DRM systems aren't selling you your games either, just selling you a license to play them. If there's any form of online activation at all, you're still ultimately just renting the games - while you might not need to constantly be online to play them, if they check with a server during the installation process you're going to have some problems if you decided to re-install your old game years later, when those servers have long since been taken down.

This is why the only form of DRM (besides services like Steam which provide tangible benefits and are unlikely to suddenly get 'turned off') that I'll support is a disc check of some variety, as there is no remote component of the installation/verification process then, and thus publishers can't simply decide that nobody needs to play their old titles anymore and make it so.

I'll probably still use no-CD patches to avoid that silly disc check of course, but if publishers want to use those in lieu of online activation I'm certainly not going to keep burning them in effigy.

 

[shadow skill]

What's this? Ubisoft's DRM stopping legitimate customers from playing for weeks on end? Why, I'd of never seen this coming in a million years!

Oh well, at least "Ubisoft has promised to post updates as they become available in the official Settlers 7 forum" - that's so kind of them, isn't it?

Good ol' Ubisoft - always doing the right thing, especially for us PC gamers!

Ubisoft is like the Kramer of developers. They screw up all the time, they're hilarious and eventually they'll make one final giant mistake that will doom their careers for good.

Actually I think they have one of the best development studios in the market (Ubi Montreal). It's the executives (and the publisher-side) of Ubisoft that are making this (EPIC FAIL) judgement.

The kinds of anti-consumer/anti-common sense practices companies like Ubisoft engage in just remind me of the prohibition era in America. In the end all they do is hurt otherwise law abiding people and give crackers and pirates(To a lesser degree.) a reason to keep breaking these things or putting functionality back into a product.