Ubisoft Blames DRM Outage on "Server Attack"

[SinisterGehe]

So pathetic it's not even funny anymore. All people who know of this DRM, yet are still willing to buy the game, are phenomenal idiots.

Maybe the want to feed their fandom even if they are aware of the problem. If the cookie was great last time but this time you need to wait bit longer for the next ones to be baked so why shuldn't you if it was so good? minor incovinience, but the prize is worth it. And oh yeah there might be some burnt ones in the next patch but The ones that aint are still good.
In common we call it addiction.

 

[SinisterGehe]

I think good wa´y to test that 95% is to do Poll if there are people who play it here and noticed something can fill it and we will see what the numbers will be... Statisticly they should be right ^^

 

[commasplice]

Yes it is a little annoying that I have to be connected to the internet to play a single-player game, but I think you're all making way too big a deal out of this. Steam does the same thing after all.

Huh. Well, it's cool that you were able to play, but plenty of other people weren't. If anything, I think too little of a deal is being made out of this. Fact is that there were a good deal of people who couldn't play a game that they shelled out $60 for. Oh and then there's the poor souls that bought Assassin's Creed AND Silent Hunters.

Edit: Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention the people who can't play it at all because they have no internet connection and they weren't warned before-hand that they'd need one to play.

 

[7ru7h]

Yes it is a little annoying that I have to be connected to the internet to play a single-player game, but I think you're all making way too big a deal out of this. Steam does the same thing after all.

Yeah! Except that's not what it does at all. Steam only has to connect to the servers once per game, plus various other connections for patching and the like. Also, Steam has that nice little offline mode, so after you do the initial connection, you can go into offline mode and never go online again.

 

[Nitpicker of the Wastes]

Edit: Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention the people who can't play it at all because they have no internet connection and they weren't warned before-hand that they'd need one to play.

To be fair, how many people that own a computer don't have an Internet connection?

 

[commasplice]

Edit: Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention the people who can't play it at all because they have no internet connection and they weren't warned before-hand that they'd need one to play.

To be fair, how many people that own a computer don't have an Internet connection?

A few. There was one guy on the Ubisoft forums who claimed that was his exact situation. I'd copy/paste, but the server's still being a douche. I did manage to grab this, though:

So the Ubisoft servers are down.....again

I called the Ubisoft 'support' number, and was told try again in an hour, I replied am I going to be compensated for the time I cant play? I was told no, and contact head office if you have a problem, then I was hung up on.

This has all lead me to the conclusion that while i love Assassin's Creed 2, and was looking forward to completing it I will be returning the game.

To everyone in the UK please read up on your statutory rights, you CAN return the game to the shop you bought it from if you cannot play through no fault of your own (whether or not you have taken off the plastic wrapping).

Sorry Ubisoft, you have just lost another loyal customer, I do hope the constant haemorrhaging of customers is worth this DRM crusade you seem to be on.

Maybe I'll get through to the other pages so that I can post what that other guy said one of these days...

Edit:

I do not like the new requirement for a constant internet connection! As others have stated, I have purchased my game, not rented it. I am now FORCED to continue to have internet service to keep my game unlocked. B.S.
If the economy gets any tighter, I will be giving up my internet connection...AND LOSING A GAME I PAID FOR!!!!!
I have all the games in the Silent Hunter series - this is the last UBI game I will buy.

Yup, we buy the software...we pay for it...and it isnt playable.

For me its cos my gaming rig does not have a internet connection. For others it's cos their internet is unstable. And note again, I've bought the game!

In all cases the only people you have penalised / inconvenienced is the paying customer...

 

[mikecoulter]

Good. I'm pretty sure this won't be the last one either. They should never have been allowed to make this kind of DRM.

 

[Angerwing]

This is so delightfully juicy. This is precisely the thing all the anti-DRM people were waiting for, so we could finally say "We told you so."

Yes we did Ubisoft.

Yes we did.

 

[JEBWrench]

What I'm wondering is how accurate that "95% of users had no problems" statistic is. I read a lot of posts on this board and on the Ubisoft forums and not one said, "My copy is working just fine."

Well, at least on the Ubisoft boards, that makes sense.

Nobody posts on a forum to say "Everything's great! Hooray!"

 

[Gladion]

Likely it was a server attack, but that doesn't make it any less their own fault.

 

[commasplice]

What I'm wondering is how accurate that "95% of users had no problems" statistic is. I read a lot of posts on this board and on the Ubisoft forums and not one said, "My copy is working just fine."

Well, at least on the Ubisoft boards, that makes sense.

Nobody posts on a forum to say "Everything's great! Hooray!"

Maybe not, but I'm sure that there had to have been at least one person who wasn't affected, but browses the boards for other reasons.

 

[NLS]

More outright lies from Electronic Arts, I'm not shocked in the slightest. 95% 90% .... how is it everything is always over 90% ... never 82%, god forbid 74% .. it MUST BE 95% so we can feel important! Nevermind that is has absolutely no basis in reality.

Wait, Electronic Arts?
I think Ubi Soft should perhaps take the hint that nobody likes their new DRM, or that they should perhaps consider Steam a viable option without anything extra added. ( I don't get why some publishers need extra DRM added on top of Steam?????)

 

[Desaari]

snip

Huh. Well, it's cool that you were able to play, but plenty of other people weren't. If anything, I think too little of a deal is being made out of this. Fact is that there were a good deal of people who couldn't play a game that they shelled out $60 for. Oh and then there's the poor souls that bought Assassin's Creed AND Silent Hunters.

Edit: Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention the people who can't play it at all because they have no internet connection and they weren't warned before-hand that they'd need one to play.

Well, it sucks that some people couldn't play, but unless this is a recurring problem that affects a large number of players I still don't think it's a big deal. Also, my copy cost under $40.

As for people who don't have an internet connection, I think the big sign on the front of the box that reads:
"A permanent internet conection is required to play this game"
is a pretty big forewarning.

Yeah! Except that's not what it does at all. Steam only has to connect to the servers once per game, plus various other connections for patching and the like. Also, Steam has that nice little offline mode, so after you do the initial connection, you can go into offline mode and never go online again.

Then why, when my internet cuts out, do I get kicked out of a single player Steam game?
I also tested the offline mode, and it refused to let me into offline mode for no real reason

 

[JEBWrench]

Wait, Electronic Arts?

Some people haven't realized that EA has given up the "evil empire" crown to Ubisoft and Activision.

 

[Retodon8]

Can't do a DOS attack if there's no service to deny.

Yeah, exactly what is this "service" customers are supposed to be getting?
DRM by default is a disservice to customers, this new system by Ubisoft much more so.
We're talking about an offline single player game: single player games don't need any services to work.

It's not even a service to Ubisoft.
It doesn't stop piracy, and it doesn't let them pretend everything is all right in press releases when the poop hits the paddle.
It was actually a clear poop invitation from the start.
I suppose the forums going down makes it a DOS attack concerning their customers, but that should have absolutely nothing to do with an offline, single player game.
Perhaps it disallowed Ubisoft from going online, caused some other problems for them, but I'm pretty sure most customers couldn't care less about that.

 

[7ru7h]

Yeah! Except that's not what it does at all. Steam only has to connect to the servers once per game, plus various other connections for patching and the like. Also, Steam has that nice little offline mode, so after you do the initial connection, you can go into offline mode and never go online again.

Then why, when my internet cuts out, do I get kicked out of a single player Steam game?
I also tested the offline mode, and it refused to let me into offline mode because I had a Steam game running.

What game? I have never had that problem with any of the games I played. As for the offline mode problems, have you tried closing out of all Steam programs, and doing the "Restart in Offline Mode"?

 

[commasplice]

Well, it sucks that some people couldn't play, but unless this is a recurring problem that affects a large number of players I still don't think it's a big deal. Also, my copy cost under $40.

As for people who don't have an internet connection, I think the big sign on the front of the box that reads:
"A permanent internet conection is required to play this game"
is a pretty big forewarning.

Hm, maybe they were warned ahead of time. I don't own the game, so I guess you'd know better than I. There's still the people that may have had service when they bought the game, but couldn't afford it at a later date to consider, though. As for the whole "recurring problem that effects a large number of players" angle, well, it apparently affected enough people for Ubisoft to make a statement about it (even if they did try to downplay it) and it seems like the problem is still ongoing. Have you tried running the game recently? Will it let you play? The Ubisoft forums are still dicking up, so I'm not really sure what the situation is myself.

As far as I'm concerned, though, the fact that anyone paid for the game and wasn't able to play because of a system that only half does its job is unacceptable.

 

[GamingAwesome1]

They just won't admit that this was a stupid idea will they?

I think this "server attack" thing is just them covering up the fact that they FUCKED UP

Also Ubisoft, stop pretending your DRM hasn't been broken, it has, quit being bitter because you've lost the battle.

 

[Echo136]

Yes it is a little annoying that I have to be connected to the internet to play a single-player game, but I think you're all making way too big a deal out of this. Steam does the same thing after all.

Yeah! Except that's not what it does at all. Steam only has to connect to the servers once per game, plus various other connections for patching and the like. Also, Steam has that nice little offline mode, so after you do the initial connection, you can go into offline mode and never go online again.

You still have to connect to the STEAM servers after being on offline mode for 30 days but by comparison it is indeed far superior to Ubi's system.

 

[Desaari]

snip

Have you tried running the game recently? Will it let you play? The Ubisoft forums are still dicking up, so I'm not really sure what the situation is myself.

As far as I'm concerned, though, the fact that anyone paid for the game and wasn't able to play because of a system that only half does its job is unacceptable.

I'll check right now, just for you.
You're right that it's unacceptable, it sucks for those players, but it's still being blown out of proportion.

What game? I have never had that problem with any of the games I played. As for the offline mode problems, have you tried closing out of all Steam programs, and doing the "Restart in Offline Mode"?

Unreal Tournament 3 and FEAR 2. I've tried what you said and it just closes Steam.