Ubisoft Online DRM: It's Worse Than Expected

oppp7

New member
Aug 29, 2009
7,045
0
0
Wicky_42 said:
oppp7 said:
Wicky_42 said:
oppp7 said:
Wicky_42 said:
oppp7 said:
Wicky_42 said:
oppp7 said:
Well, I guess I could blame Ubisoft, but it's their product that's stolen. I hate pirates.
Wow, way to mis-lay the blame. How many games have you pirated? Hmm? Now, how many producers are assuming that you did? If the latter exceeds the former, you should be feeling at least a little indignant.

Now, does a company treating you like a criminal make you feel happy about yourself? Do you like LITERALLY renting a game off a company for retail price? Would you happily vote to curtail your rights, so long as someone was telling you that it was to stop bad people? If you answered 'yes' to any of those, I officially have no respect for your opinion as a free-thinking human. Though I'm not going to take your rights away because of it. Unlike some organisations might...
I buy consoles versions. But it's their product and they can decide what to do with it. Yes, I'm partially the victim I suppose, but they wouldn't be doing this if the pirates hadn't stolen it. Therefore, I blame the pirates.
Well, no-one's stolen it yet, so Ubi's kinda jumping the gun here. Sure, it's their software so they are entitled to do as they wish, but outright hostility to their customers? I think all gamers have a right - maybe even a requirement - to be outraged at being treated like that. Do they seriously think that this 'online only' system is going to be an effective anti-piracy measure, when countless other DRM systems have fallen before, doing little more than stoking gamers' ire and hurting legitimate customers?

Fuck 'em - if this isn't a clear advert to move to piracy I have yet to see one.
No, because it's still stealing. It's their product, they can do what they want with it and decide how much people get to use it. If you have a problem with it then boycott it. Piracy will just make them react more harshly to it.
And no, you can't justify stealing unless it's a life or death situation.
To be honest, I don't see how they could react much more harshly, short of forcing you to play the game remotely on their own servers without any client-side data :p Plus, of course, they'd never know if someone was pirating their game or simply hadn't bought it. They just compare sales data against projected sales which, if past draconian DRM fiascos are any indicator, will show a significant shortfall. So I'll just sit here lol'ing at them, that you all the same.

Oh, and as to "Piracy will just make them react more harshly to it" specifically - I didn't pirate any of their other games, but they still did this. I get the feeling that my actions have no bearing on their policies.
Ya, but just because you don't have a large influence on them doesn't mean you should stop. Try boycotting the game and emailing them about it.
Aslo, aren't some companies coming out with something where all games are played on their data so that even the worst computers can play good games? Forget what it's called but I think cloud is in the name...
Emails are all well and good, but their influence on games companies has been - shall we say - unimpressive? Small concessions to placate the angry voices. You know what they say - actions speak louder than words. If they are serious about waging war against piracy then they need to start winning our hearts and minds, not go for the shock and awe campaign to blitz pirates no matter the innocent cost.

Then again, occupying armies lean that lesson afresh every single campaign, so why should games companies have worked that out after only a few decades? The film industry seems to be trying that track out - there are clips at the start of films in the UK were some woman from the industry asks us nicely to not pirate their hard work as peoples' lively hoods depend on it, in a way that quite contrasts with previous 'you wouldn't steal a hand bag, you wouldn't steal a car' campaigns which were horribly distanced from reality.

As to cloud computing - forget it, lol. What's your internet upload speed? What about bandwidth caps? Do you really want to have to deal with ping and latency in a SINGLE PLAYER game? Do you seriously think that you could stream complete game graphics across current internet connections in REAL TIME, when youtube videos can require time to buffer on a slow day? Again, I'm firing a barrage of semi-rhetorical questions at you, hoping that you see my point.

I'm not really condoning piracy, I just hate being treated like a criminal before I've even thought of committing the crime, and as many people have already said, when pirated games work better, easier and more reliably then game studios need to being re-thinking their tactics. Ubisoft is doing it wrong - there's no doubt in my mind. THEY are the ones needing to be taught a lesson, not gamers.
I can understand that, but they don't really have too much of a choice. Piracy could either ruin their sales or DRM could irritate customers. As for games that were messed up by piracy, I'll use Demigod as an example. An online game, it was pirated so much that the servers went down due to all the extra illegal players.
 

Hybridwolf

New member
Aug 14, 2009
701
0
0
One hell of a way to ruin your realtionship with PC gamers ubisoft...whatever these guys are on, I want some, because it sounds fantastic. Constant internet connection all the time, to servers which may get closed down meaning you can't play? Thats bullshit right there. Creed 2 isn't even an online game. I have heard it'll get MP, but when I rented the game, I was glad I rented. Finshed it two days early before I had to return it, and I did nearly everything in the game. Might have missed one or two missions, but I doubt I missed much.

All in all, sounds like Ubisoft don't like getting money...
 

BonsaiK

Music Industry Corporate Whore
Nov 14, 2007
5,635
0
0
Andy Chalk said:
Does Ubisoft really think that gamers going to be "fine" with that?
Ubisoft have a long-standing history of not giving a shit about what their customers think. Look at how they continue to butcher the Rainbow 6 series despite howls of protest from the series' fans. None of this stuff with Assassin's Creed 2 surprises me in the least, Ubi will do anything that their customers will let them get away with, and that includes everything. The only solution is to not buy their games.
 

David Bray

New member
Jan 8, 2010
819
0
0
Hoooooooooo. Makes me glad i only play old games on Steam.

I'm a console gamer at heart but i still feel for those suffering from DRM. It sounds like complete bullshit.
I see two solutions if they want to beat piracy:

1) Have the player sign up for an account with the creator. Each game disc installs to just this ID. Like for instance Cerberous Network. You get a key with the disc which signs you onto their register. Can only be used once and you need it to play. However, your profile is saved so that re-installs can be done at any time.

2) Get it on digital distribution.
 

Wicky_42

New member
Sep 15, 2008
2,468
0
0
oppp7 said:
Wicky_42 said:
oppp7 said:
Wicky_42 said:
oppp7 said:
Wicky_42 said:
oppp7 said:
Wicky_42 said:
oppp7 said:
Well, I guess I could blame Ubisoft, but it's their product that's stolen. I hate pirates.
Wow, way to mis-lay the blame. How many games have you pirated? Hmm? Now, how many producers are assuming that you did? If the latter exceeds the former, you should be feeling at least a little indignant.

Now, does a company treating you like a criminal make you feel happy about yourself? Do you like LITERALLY renting a game off a company for retail price? Would you happily vote to curtail your rights, so long as someone was telling you that it was to stop bad people? If you answered 'yes' to any of those, I officially have no respect for your opinion as a free-thinking human. Though I'm not going to take your rights away because of it. Unlike some organisations might...
I buy consoles versions. But it's their product and they can decide what to do with it. Yes, I'm partially the victim I suppose, but they wouldn't be doing this if the pirates hadn't stolen it. Therefore, I blame the pirates.
Well, no-one's stolen it yet, so Ubi's kinda jumping the gun here. Sure, it's their software so they are entitled to do as they wish, but outright hostility to their customers? I think all gamers have a right - maybe even a requirement - to be outraged at being treated like that. Do they seriously think that this 'online only' system is going to be an effective anti-piracy measure, when countless other DRM systems have fallen before, doing little more than stoking gamers' ire and hurting legitimate customers?

Fuck 'em - if this isn't a clear advert to move to piracy I have yet to see one.
No, because it's still stealing. It's their product, they can do what they want with it and decide how much people get to use it. If you have a problem with it then boycott it. Piracy will just make them react more harshly to it.
And no, you can't justify stealing unless it's a life or death situation.
To be honest, I don't see how they could react much more harshly, short of forcing you to play the game remotely on their own servers without any client-side data :p Plus, of course, they'd never know if someone was pirating their game or simply hadn't bought it. They just compare sales data against projected sales which, if past draconian DRM fiascos are any indicator, will show a significant shortfall. So I'll just sit here lol'ing at them, that you all the same.

Oh, and as to "Piracy will just make them react more harshly to it" specifically - I didn't pirate any of their other games, but they still did this. I get the feeling that my actions have no bearing on their policies.
Ya, but just because you don't have a large influence on them doesn't mean you should stop. Try boycotting the game and emailing them about it.
Aslo, aren't some companies coming out with something where all games are played on their data so that even the worst computers can play good games? Forget what it's called but I think cloud is in the name...
Emails are all well and good, but their influence on games companies has been - shall we say - unimpressive? Small concessions to placate the angry voices. You know what they say - actions speak louder than words. If they are serious about waging war against piracy then they need to start winning our hearts and minds, not go for the shock and awe campaign to blitz pirates no matter the innocent cost.

Then again, occupying armies lean that lesson afresh every single campaign, so why should games companies have worked that out after only a few decades? The film industry seems to be trying that track out - there are clips at the start of films in the UK were some woman from the industry asks us nicely to not pirate their hard work as peoples' lively hoods depend on it, in a way that quite contrasts with previous 'you wouldn't steal a hand bag, you wouldn't steal a car' campaigns which were horribly distanced from reality.

As to cloud computing - forget it, lol. What's your internet upload speed? What about bandwidth caps? Do you really want to have to deal with ping and latency in a SINGLE PLAYER game? Do you seriously think that you could stream complete game graphics across current internet connections in REAL TIME, when youtube videos can require time to buffer on a slow day? Again, I'm firing a barrage of semi-rhetorical questions at you, hoping that you see my point.

I'm not really condoning piracy, I just hate being treated like a criminal before I've even thought of committing the crime, and as many people have already said, when pirated games work better, easier and more reliably then game studios need to being re-thinking their tactics. Ubisoft is doing it wrong - there's no doubt in my mind. THEY are the ones needing to be taught a lesson, not gamers.
I can understand that, but they don't really have too much of a choice. Piracy could either ruin their sales or DRM could irritate customers. As for games that were messed up by piracy, I'll use Demigod as an example. An online game, it was pirated so much that the servers went down due to all the extra illegal players.
Ah, key difference there being 'online game' - it's reasonable - even expected - to have registration and unique-key systems for games, and being online to play is a basic pre-requisite of playing online games. However, requiring continuous online access to play a single player game, with your saves held as ransom? Fuck them.

There's no protection, basic protection (CD Key in case), nice drm (register key online/run through third party system/tied to online account), bad drm (install limits, system checks every time the game runs, invasive third-party system scanning software) and then there's bat-shit insane drm (Ubisoft's AC2). This thing's in a league of its own! Hell, it's in a whole other ball game! In a different country!

Piracy messing up game sales is an anecdote, an assumption that flies in the face of the last few years of the strengthening of the market - 2008 was a record year for the games industry, I believe. The economic recession brought it down 10% in 2009. If piracy was messing up games, we would see all PC and Xbox developers go out of business overnight.
 

Rappidstorm

New member
Sep 28, 2009
1
0
0
what happens when ubisoft get tired of supporting the assassin's creed 2 servers in a couple of years time (or when AC3 shows up), no more game for u?
 

Geamo

New member
Aug 27, 2008
801
0
0
[sub]Oh god don't get too angry[/sub]

Fuuuuuuuuck...
Are Ubi actually honestly trying to fail here? Seriously, are they just thinking that this'll be welcomed with open arms?

I've been wanting to play Assassin's Creed 2 since I first heard about it in the press releases. I've followed it's development, watching the gameplay videos and becoming giddy with excitment.
Then, they decided to push back the PC release three fucking months. I made my peace with that.
Now, we see them implementing this good for nothing piece of shit onto thier game. This is benificial for people who have perfect internet; my internet goes down fairly often, so that means that i'm going to lose my saves each time?

Worst of all, do they really think this is going to stop piracy? People will have it pirated within a week of this release. I hate being treated like a criminal...
You know what? You can go to hell, Ubisoft. You've lost my purchase.
[sub]p.s. all you console gamers who acting so smug can also go to hell[/sub]
 

dryg

New member
Feb 8, 2009
77
0
0
Haven't read any comments because I'm a lazy arse but, do FUbisoft really think anyone would not think the pirated version is better?
 

Ophiuchus

8 miles high and falling fast
Mar 31, 2008
2,095
0
0
I already finished AC2 on the 360 when I borrowed it from my housemate, but I still want to get it for myself to play the DLC, so I was debating whether to get the 360 or PC version. Debate solved.
 

Woodsey

New member
Aug 9, 2009
14,553
0
0
I've created a petition against this at:

http://www.petitiononline.com/ew15dl94/petition.html

Even if you're not a PC gamer, it'd be good to see your signatures.
 

DTWolfwood

Better than Vash!
Oct 20, 2009
3,716
0
0
hURR dURR dERP said:
Welp, that's it then. No more Ubisoft games for me.
Ditto. Life's a ***** and it doesn't get bitchier than being a PC gamer in this day an age. Whatever, y don't they just stop making PC games altogether. Seriously there is no money in it. They have to spend all them money to keep servers running for their retarded DRM schemes, get a $10 price drop, and only get at most 20% of the total sales from the PC market. WHY THE FUCK BOTHER. Rather get no love than get Abusive love.
 

BangsLiekWhoa

New member
Nov 9, 2009
19
0
0
And they wonder why so many people pirate PC games...

When games run better pirated than they do legit, people pirate them.
 

Abedeus

New member
Sep 14, 2008
7,412
0
0
Day of release -> torrents.

No way in hell I'm risking a mission failure just because my Internet might stop working for 5 minutes. OR BECAUSE I PLAYED AC1 MAINLY WHEN I DIDN'T HAVE ANY CONNECTION AT ALL.

They do not realize that pirates don't even give a damn about some online requirement... they'll just make it so game thinks it's always connected, or something like that.
 

Doug

New member
Apr 23, 2008
5,205
0
0
Next step in DRM - you actually have to put on the patented CustomerGuard shackles to prevent you damn theiving customers from daring to play what you payed for.
 

Flames66

New member
Aug 22, 2009
2,311
0
0
Someone may have posted this before but I couldn't see it anywhere so I'm putting it on. There is a petition to Ubisoft to remove this DRM from their games: http://www.petitiononline.com/ew15dl94/petition.html
 

zombiebeard

New member
Feb 22, 2009
22
0
0
Caution: This post may contain loads of swearing.This whole "mandatory internet connection" to install games is a crock of bullshit. Around my birthday times were tough, I couldn't afford my internet bills and I really wanted a new game. So how excited was I when I got a brand spankin' new copy of Left 4 Dead 2?! Not very, when I couldn't install it without an internet connection. So I settled for Borderlands, oh, wait same bullshit. Fallout 3? Nope. Finally just out of sheer frustration I just sat around got drunk and played Ms. Pac-man.

I can't condone piracy (well, maybe), but there's so many simple ways to get around the DRM bullshit that negates everything they're trying to accomplish, all the while alienating the honest people just trying to play the fucking game.

Here's an idea! Put all the installation information on a Flexray DVD [http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/flexplay.htm]. A technology that's only been around for a few (read:7) years now.



 

Rezfon

New member
Feb 25, 2008
338
0
0
I can't help but feel that if AC2 doesn't sell much, Ubisoft still won't accept that it was their fault
 

The Lost Big Boss

New member
Sep 3, 2008
728
0
0
This is a trick, no fucking way they are going to make this DRM for the game. I am calling it BS, because in a week they are going to turn around and be the good guys and say "Oh sorry we made you mad, but look! That nasty DRM is gone. We love our fanbase! Only to have that fake DRM replaced by SecuRom. It's all a trick and we played the cards just like they wanted us to.