Ubisoft Makes Tiny Tweak to Driver DRM

[M920CAIN]

You know. If you have to connect to a server before you play a game, that means the server has the information of knowing what you did at a certain hour... isn't that like I dunno... stalking? invading privacy or something? just sayin...

 

[Woodsey]

Isn't this basically Steam's DRM deal?

Steam has an offline mode so you only have to activate it once.

How is this different?

I'm not being a jerk, it's just that on my laptop, I had to validate every time. At least, I think I did. Only used my laptop out of range a handful of times.

Steam: install game, activate once, forever.

This: online check every time you launch the game.

 

[Keava]

Baby steps, eh? Oh well, haven't played Driver since the first one on old, grey PlayStation...and not really looking forward to new one. Plenty of more interesting way to spend my money.

After careful consideration of E3 I have to call bullshit.

To each of their own. I got DEx3, HOMM VI, Skyrim, Arkham City this year, ME3, TSW and hopefully GW2 next year. More than enough for me, and that's not counting all the possible indie productions that lately make up 60-70% of my gaming.

 

[Something Amyss]

Your Steam account must be set to auto-login (the "remember password" checkbox), so that requires you to be connected to the internet. But once that's done, if you start Steam and it can't connect to the internet, you're given the option to start offline mode.

What Ubisoft is doing with this game though is that you have to connect every time you play, not just the time you install it.

Ah. That appears to explain it. Merci.

 

[WouldYouKindly]

Here's an idea:

Make you sign into the internet for the first time you launch but allow you to play any time after that.

Is that too much to ask?!

Or how about some kind of key code system that the game asks you to put in upon installation. But that would be crazy, I mean, they'd have to have something like 25 characters in a letter/number combo in order to have enough for all the individual copies.

 

[jmarquiso]

So...what they did for Assassin's Creed 2, and the reason I don't play it too often.
Got it.

 

[Uber Waddles]

I think Penny Arcade said it best. Lets all ***** about Always On DRM, despite the fact that most of us have been connected to the internet continuously since 1999.

Its getting kind of pathetic. Most of the people posting will not be effected by this issue AT ALL. Most of us have dedicated internet that runs all the time. "But I can't play it on planes/trains, etc.". Then don't purchase the game. Its that simple. This DRM system is far from perfect, but they wouldnt be doing it if a vast majority of their users didn't have a steady connection thats almost always running. I really have no sympathy for people who try to sob it up, saying they can't play this game for reason XYZ. If you're in a situation where you dont have internet, its because -

A. You put yourself into a position where you cannot access the internet. Be this because you cant pay your bills, you want to save money so you siphon internet from neighbors, or if your enlisted in the military. In these cases, I honestly don't think gaming is a priority.


B. Its temporary. Plane or Train rides can be long. But theres plenty of other things to do - not to mention that this system of DRM hardly effects any games. Zomg what am I gonna do? Oh yeah, I have an ENTIRE library of steam games.

There is really no reason for this ammount of backlash. If you disagree with what the companys doing, posting about how much you dislike it on the internet won't do jack. Put your money where your mouth is and don't buy the product.

They do this style of DRM because PC versions of their game get pirated ALOT more than their console counterparts. While its not a system that will stop piracy, it does take them quite a while to crack, and increases profit margins on PC games. Believe it or not, the people outraged by DRM are often louder than those who aren't - and more than likely the lack of your sales is going to be made up for by a whole host of others who dont care

 

[Dioxide20]

Is it against the rules to buy the game, and i stress buy in that last part, and then get the crack?

This seems to me to be a legitimate work around. You bought the game, and then you don't have to deal with the stupid DRM, why not get the best of both worlds?

 

[Worgen]

this still bodes not well for heroes 6, I hope its just got steam

 

[Baresark]

Wow, so... no improvement. I would say that they have lied in that they did not listen to the customers.

I think Penny Arcade said it best. Lets all ***** about Always On DRM, despite the fact that most of us have been connected to the internet continuously since 1999.

Its getting kind of pathetic. Most of the people posting will not be effected by this issue AT ALL. Most of us have dedicated internet that runs all the time. "But I can't play it on planes/trains, etc.". Then don't purchase the game. Its that simple. This DRM system is far from perfect, but they wouldnt be doing it if a vast majority of their users didn't have a steady connection thats almost always running. I really have no sympathy for people who try to sob it up, saying they can't play this game for reason XYZ. If you're in a situation where you dont have internet, its because -

A. You put yourself into a position where you cannot access the internet. Be this because you cant pay your bills, you want to save money so you siphon internet from neighbors, or if your enlisted in the military. In these cases, I honestly don't think gaming is a priority.


B. Its temporary. Plane or Train rides can be long. But theres plenty of other things to do - not to mention that this system of DRM hardly effects any games. Zomg what am I gonna do? Oh yeah, I have an ENTIRE library of steam games.

There is really no reason for this ammount of backlash. If you disagree with what the companys doing, posting about how much you dislike it on the internet won't do jack. Put your money where your mouth is and don't buy the product.

They do this style of DRM because PC versions of their game get pirated ALOT more than their console counterparts. While its not a system that will stop piracy, it does take them quite a while to crack, and increases profit margins on PC games. Believe it or not, the people outraged by DRM are often louder than those who aren't - and more than likely the lack of your sales is going to be made up for by a whole host of others who dont care

I hear what you are saying, but it's not legitimate for you to say what is and is not okay for the customer base, only for yourself. This is a legitimate concern for some people. Also, this is a stupid excuse to stop piracy, it won't stop piracy. You can be sure that within a day of it's release, a crack that will bypass the DRM will be released. Now you are punishing people who bought the game by making their version the harder one to play with more rules attached to it. Also, if you "*****" about it online, the company has a habit of listening, just not Ubisoft. Capcom removed GFWL at the behest of all the people "bitching" about how much they hate it. Ubisoft didn't, and now people will more than likely vote with their wallet. But people like to give a company a heads up and there is nothing wrong with that.

 

[ASnogarD]

Ubisoft makes PC games ? Now thats news.

 

[MonkeyPunch]

Another game you won't be able to play on your laptop on travels unless you find a hotspot.
So yeah, it's not only you Andy who's hard to please.

Say what you want about Capcom but at least they changed their ridiculous DRM policy for SSFIV AE when users found out about it. So that is a game I constantly play when on the move.
(I spent all of last week in an apartment in Paris with no internet connection or TV - SSFIV and Jamestown saved me from going bonkers)

 

[Rooster Cogburn]

I think Penny Arcade said it best. Lets all ***** about Always On DRM, despite the fact that most of us have been connected to the internet continuously since 1999.

Its getting kind of pathetic. Most of the people posting will not be effected by this issue AT ALL. Most of us have dedicated internet that runs all the time. "But I can't play it on planes/trains, etc.". Then don't purchase the game. Its that simple. This DRM system is far from perfect, but they wouldnt be doing it if a vast majority of their users didn't have a steady connection thats almost always running. I really have no sympathy for people who try to sob it up, saying they can't play this game for reason XYZ. If you're in a situation where you dont have internet, its because -

A. You put yourself into a position where you cannot access the internet. Be this because you cant pay your bills, you want to save money so you siphon internet from neighbors, or if your enlisted in the military. In these cases, I honestly don't think gaming is a priority.


B. Its temporary. Plane or Train rides can be long. But theres plenty of other things to do - not to mention that this system of DRM hardly effects any games. Zomg what am I gonna do? Oh yeah, I have an ENTIRE library of steam games.

There is really no reason for this ammount of backlash. If you disagree with what the companys doing, posting about how much you dislike it on the internet won't do jack. Put your money where your mouth is and don't buy the product.

They do this style of DRM because PC versions of their game get pirated ALOT more than their console counterparts. While its not a system that will stop piracy, it does take them quite a while to crack, and increases profit margins on PC games. Believe it or not, the people outraged by DRM are often louder than those who aren't - and more than likely the lack of your sales is going to be made up for by a whole host of others who dont care

I have not been continuously connected to the internet since 1999. And just because I'm connected, doesn't mean they are. They're servers can fail; we've seen it before. I know I don't have to purchase it. That fact doesn't make this any less asinine or frustrating. Maybe I wanted to play the game. Now I can't. That's hardly ideal.

As for the rest, I should be able to put myself in a position where I don't have the internet and still play the single player game I purchased. Besides, most of us will probably go without the internet due to circumstances outside our control at some point, and for some this condition is frequent or constant. I live in an area threatened by seasonal storms, and you never know what services will become unavailable. And just for the record, I have never pirated a game.

 

[robert01]

Woooooow, considering that most games hate the fuck out of you when you Alt + Tab out, this change is nothing but total bullshit. I don't think Ubisoft gets the idea all that well. I can honestly say I haven't played a Ubisoft game in years, and apparently I am not missing out on that much either.

 

[vxicepickxv]

You know, when Ubisoft started this bullshit with always on DRM, I was angry. But since then, I've realized that the best thing I can do is not buy their games.

Same. Although I'm up for From Dust. But other than that, this is pretty much a Ubi-Free Zone. (Which is relatively easy since Ubi doesn't publish much of anything I care about anyway.)

I hate always on DRM for single player games so much, I'm not getting any Starcraft 2, nor am I getting Diablo 3.

When it comes to an MMO, always on is how it works. I don't have a problem with that. I have a problem with single player always on. I can't always get on. Some of us travel too much, and can't always get stable internet connections for always on single player.

 

[Helscreama]

I agree, this doesn't change anything. You still have to be connected to the internet. I just don't think that is fair.

 

[The Random One]

It's a huge improvement. The problem is that the original idea was buried so deep in shit that a huge improvement is barely enough to see out of it.

 

[ZenoX969]

It's a small improvement. But it's still a shitty deal. Stuff like this wouldn't matter on a multiplayer game. But when it's single player it becomes more convenient to pirate it... even if you did purchase the game and just want to be able to play it whenever you wish.

They're trying to fight piracy, but they have no idea what they are doing. And are therefore just screwing over their loyal customers instead. Which could possibly lead to even less sales for them on the PC. And potentially more pirated copies being downloaded.

But hey... it's their money, they can waste it however they wish.