Ubisoft Relaxes DRM Restrictions on Certain PC Titles

[Starke]

Has Ubisoft actually confirmed that this aspect of the DRM has been patched out? I was researching Ubisoft's DRM a few days ago, and I found a report on the Steam forums that one user was able to play without an Internet connection. But since it was just one user saying that and there was no confirmation in the change notes for the latest patch, I assumed it was a glitch in the DRM, not a deliberate change.

I refused to buy AC2 (or Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands) because of the DRM. Theoretically, I have an always-on Internet connection. In practice, it's pretty flaky, and having the game pause every time my Internet connection dropped out would be extremely annoying. If this is definitely no longer the case, maybe I'll pick up a copy of AC2 soon...

I'm taking a risk on Settlers 7 right now. I'll let you know.

 

[omicron1]

I think the real problem here is that this sort of DRM just doesn't work. It's the farthest they've gone as far as complicating the procedure of piracy (IIRC, it stores some necessary code server-side), and they've still managed to crack it within weeks - and that was starting from scratch! Now that they know how, pre-launch cracks are certainly possible even with this stringent system.

Which, in the end, means that, as Shamus Young is fond of pointing out, this system only negatively affects the truly honest customers. TAGES, Starforce, activation limits... they all only make a difference to those who can't crack the thing within hours of release! I can't imagine that the developers and publishers haven't noticed this, so I can only assume that this, like the completely-ineffective age gates that pop up all over the Internet, is all an effort to convince some moneyed person in a suit that his investment is properly safeguarded.

I'm sure the developers aren't at fault here, and I can't imagine the publishers are immune to common sense (even those in marketing), so all I can guess is, the more removed from the situation a given person is, the more likely his involvement in this sort of decision. Which means that, yet again, our happiness is infringed upon by the misguided actions of those who are sure that they, the inexperienced outsiders, know what's best.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

/insert M. Bison YouTube here.

It's a start. Possibly prolonged your companies life a little further.

Especially as you seem to be admitting it has NO effect on Piracy.

In the long term, no defense is proof against a persistent offensive effort. Most publishers are satisfied if they can keep their game from being pirated on a wide scale for a few weeks as this is the period in which they tend to see most of their sales.

 

[teh_Canape]

Which is great as long as you have one of those magical internet connections that never goes down and their servers never do.

uh, yeah, it does go down here and there

but it happened to me only once in that game

as for the servers, nope, I didn't had to deal with any of that =P

guess I'm just lucky

 

[BabyRaptor]

Still not getting any of my money, Ubisoft. Sorry.

 

[shadowform]

I'm not so sure that Ubisoft patched their DRM out because of a change in mindset as much as it may have been that someone else already patched it out for them, rendering the DRM ineffective.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/100188-Hacker-Group-Claims-Real-Ubisoft-DRM-Crack

I've never really cared much for Ubisoft's library, not even enough to pirate them, but I'd imagine that if Ubisoft had truly had a change of heart in their DRM policy then they would have patched it out of all their games. These two probably just have the most widely-available cracks.

 

[Tom Phoenix]

Ubisoft Relaxes DRM Restrictions on Certain PC Titles

The annoyance of Ubisoft's "always online" DRM scheme is being patched out of past releases.

Gamers have struggled with DRM for what seems like an eternity, but never has the battle been more voracious than when Ubisoft revealed [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/98396-Ubisoft-Online-DRM-Its-Worse-Than-Expected] it would be requiring that PC titles remain online at all times lest they stop working. After less than a year, it looks like Ubisoft might be abandoning the scheme, or is at least patching it out of previous releases.

A user on Reddit pointed out that a recent patch released by Ubisoft has allowed both Splinter Cell: Conviction [http://www.amazon.com/Assassins-Creed-2-Pc/dp/B001TOQ8R0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1293891737&sr=8-3] to work without the presence of an internet connection. The user posted screenshots along with his network status, which showed an unplugged network cable, yet the games were still operational.

Ubisoft also abandoned its new DRM scheme with the release of issues [http://www.amazon.com/R-U-S-Xbox-360/dp/B0020KXYPG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1293893323&sr=8-3] with its operation may have made Ubisoft reconsider.

Even if Ubisoft keeps requiring PC gamers to remain online with new titles, thankfully it's at least patching this DRM out of older games as a form of mercy. This could be a sign that Ubisoft's DRM is a thing of the past, or it could just mean that we should wait 9 months before buying certain Ubisoft games on the PC.

Thanks for the tip FROGGEman2 [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/view/FROGGEman2]!

Source: PC Gamer [http://www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/etjzl/you_no_longer_need_an_active_connection_to_play/]

Permalink

Can I kindly request that the news post be updated to reflect the fact that you still need an Internet connection to start the game in the first place? As it is worded right now, it is kind of misleading, since it implies that an Internet connection is no longer required period.

Anyway, this is a step in the right direction....but not enough of a step. They will have to remove the DRM entirely or at least limit it to the installation of the game (although the former would be much more preferable) before I even consider buying their newer games.

 

[Terramax]

Funnily enough, playing Venetica has put me in the mood for wanting to try out Assassin's Creed 2, so this is good news for me. Congrats Ubisoft, you may be getting some of my money now.

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

Too little too late. I didn't get Assassins Creed 2 due to this and now my brother is back from Malaysia with an external hard-drive. Guess what's on it?

 

[Sartan0]

Actually, I have a question:

How are people who are offline supposed to get this patch?

That is just funny!

...That's actually a good point.

Yeah but it does not stop it from being funny. I admit as I don't buy Ubi-soft games it is more funny to me then if I did buy from them.

 

[Veylon]

I wonder if this has more to do with the quantity of bandwidth and servers it takes to run this DRM than any amount of supposed good will. I always believed that the supposed pirate attacks that hit their servers when this first came out were actually their own customers trying to connect in such numbers that their system failed.

 

[SimuLord]

Until they embrace Steamworks as their DRM of choice (if they MUST have DRM, that is) they're not getting one red cent of my money. Always-on or not, that's just unacceptable.

 

[Asehujiko]

Why did I have to find out about this after the Steam sale for Splinter Cell ended?

Because ubishit hates money. You also can't save offline still so you only have to be online when asscreed autosaves after every checkpoint, collection item, sidequest and cutscene.

 

[Burnhardt]

Too little to late.

I will no longer buy Ubisoft games for the PC

 

[Continuity]

Any DRM that has activation limits or online verification requirements is spawned straight from Satan's bottom.

So say I.

Too little to late.

I will no longer buy Ubisoft games for the PC

Ubisoft used to be a good company, they released some great classics such as silent hunter III and Raven Shield... now, i wouldn't touch them or their games with the 3 foot long motion controller.

 

[Something Amyss]

Which is great as long as you have one of those magical internet connections that never goes down and their servers never do.

uh, yeah, it does go down here and there

but it happened to me only once in that game

as for the servers, nope, I didn't had to deal with any of that =P

guess I'm just lucky

Yup. You've got lucky. Assuming that it'll be smooth sailing is silly and just asking for a fall.

 

[fix-the-spade]

I wonder if this has more to do with the quantity of bandwidth and servers it takes to run this DRM than any amount of supposed good will.

Probably, those servers represent an infinite cost if they have to be always on all the time. Even if Ubi were to switch them off in five years time it would no doubt cancel any profit a major relase stood to make during that time.

Someone upstairs must have realised it.

 

[Starke]

Starforce

Ironically, Starforce was, a) not that restrictive, b) the subject of a smear campaign, and c) suffered from really bad PR from it's parent company. Citation [http://www.tweakguides.com/Piracy_9.html].

As for the age gates, that's only a liability shield. And, you're right it is the publishers who tend to dictate DRM selection.

 

[Ildecia]

I usually only buy games that i know i'll play for more than like.. idk... 50+ hours?

so i usually never really feel ripped off

 

[Antari]

9 months? ... Your too soft Tom. I'll wait 9 years before I even reach for my wallet near Ubisoft.