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Ubisoft plans to require constant net connection just to play their games

Jae Onasi

By Jae Onasi
in Ahto Spaceport Cantina

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Astrotoy7 Newbie

Astrotoy7

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Could someone explain to me what the hell a 'seamless experience' is supposed to be, anyway?

 

I'm imagining one which doesn't make you resort to unstable workarounds to bypass draconian DRM measures!

 

I was just lucky it happened when I wasn't really fussed about it. In the approx. 30+ hours Ive spent on the game it happened once, and never during the game ; just failed to launch in this instance. To tell truth, I've had more glitches in ME2 than this. (shipwreck level, Mira Memory Core level..... arrrgghhh!!!!) Regardless of how neatly implemented the extra content in ME2(cerberus membership), the pc game at least came crashing to a halt several more times than AC2s one fail to launch - I think that is at least worth mentioning. DRM or no, the root cause is still on the devs side, and in ME2's case -despite the patch, these have not been fixed. But I did get through AC2 and ME2, and these glitches never happened during a pivotal moment in the game. I think that type of bugginess goes with the territory in PC gaming. It's what you get when you want to run at 2500x1600 and 16x AF :D Games are overall much more stable these days since bygone eras though.

 

For folks that experienced the Ubi server mess-up during sane waking hours - I imagine there would have been some fist waving followed by angry forum posting. Ive come across threads at ubi's official forum that have been closed/wiped full of angry folk.

 

I'm just curious to see what the ''reward'' will be ;)

 

Most likely a custom codpiece for ezio :thmbup1:

 

mtfbwya

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Web Rider Newbie

Web Rider

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Predicted Future of Digital Rights Management

~ Sabretooth

 

2010: Constant Internet Connection required for singleplayer gameplay
CnC4

 

2014: In the rare event that you have bought a game disk, you need to be connected to the Internet to activate the disk after putting it in the drive

No it's already here with Supreme Commander 2 and Mass Effect 2.

 

2020: In the novel "Five-Fold Plan", you need to: Install GFWL, verify your account by linking it to a Steam account, verify that by providing PayPal and credit card details, activating the game through both mediums by using different keys and finally, entering a unique verification number every 1 hour of gameplay and before important boss fights.

Supreme Commander 2 cannot be played without a Steam account, even if you bought the version of the game that comes on a disc, from the store.

 

----

 

The internet is great, but when pirates have an easier time playing a game than paying customers, SOMEONE isn't thinking up there.

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Astrotoy7 Newbie

Astrotoy7

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Just in case anyone was curious what the follow up from ubisoft was - if you got one of their 'sorry' emails you will basically get given unlock codes for the 3 extra missions that came with the black edition of the game.

 

Better than nuthin' I guess ;) I was hoping for the codpiece tho.

 

moreubi.jpg

 

mtfbwya

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Astor Newbie

Astor

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It's a nice gesture, but I can imagine that it will have annoyed those who already have the Special Edition and suffered these outages.

 

Glad to know they still care about their fan-base and audiences.

 

If they cared as much as they say they do, they'd drop this stupid idea.

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Sabretooth Newbie

Sabretooth

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Its amazing how far/backwards we've gone since the Half-life 2 debacle. Then it was just droppingly evil to require an internet verification to start the first time and now... internet access at all time.

 

Can we please go back 6 years?

 

Man, that brings back memories. I remember Indian reviewers then were pretty pissed off with Steam because it verified every file on the disk; an innovative idea, but obviously one that was going to suck hugely for third-world markets like India where a minority of gamers have Internet connections, let alone stable and fast ones. The verification process reportedly took about a couple hours on the speeds back then, which were probably 128k. And that's assuming your Internet didn't randomly disconnect and flip you off.

 

This actually encouraged Half-Life 2's piracy more than anything - everyone I know who played Half-Life 2 played it pirated, the only people who actually bought it did so with the Orange Box today. The knowledge that you needed an Internet connection to even install a singleplayer game turned off thousands of potential customers.

 

These new DRM tactics are practically begging to be pirated. I know that I can't play them - my Internet tends to disconnect once a day or go down for maintenance or something. And that's just me - never mind the many gamers who still don't have Internet connections, or still have 128k connections on a pay-per-use plan. The obvious answer is to waltz over to the nearest pirated software seller and buy a copy to take home.

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Astrotoy7 Newbie

Astrotoy7

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It's a nice gesture, but I can imagine that it will have annoyed those who already have the Special Edition and suffered these outages.

 

The black edition of the PC version is as rare as hen's teeth. I imagine my reg code would have indicated that I have the paupers edition :p

 

I like how Ubisoft reps outright lie and say that pirates haven't broke their DRM.

They haven't broken anything entirely. Those who have the PC version are free to try the patches out there. Ive tried them all, and whilst allowing you to play through the game off a local save - are not without their problems. I didn't go back to the ubi launcher for fun :( The uplay framework and some mysterious buildings in the game marked with its logo indicate that some MP expansion is due - one can only hope they will make things more lax on the SP requirements when this comes into effect.

 

It was lucky I did, otherwise I wouldn't have this free stuff when their servers died :D hehe Being an art history nerd and having just completed an article on Donatello's David(click sig logo if interested)- I got a thrill when I got into the Palazzo de Medici and saw this....

 

EzioDavid640.jpg

 

so, cheers to those pirates/hackers and their $hit workarounds.

 

At the end of the day, I dont think ubi's online verification system would be as malgned if they adjusted the frequency of the checks rather than having it 'always on'. In that way it would be similar to folks on steam or even things like cable TV which send device identifier checks through their broadcast transport stream.

 

Sure, there's always workarounds and hacks - it human nature to try and undo things other have created. The same persons we are lauding for 'breaking the DRM' are the same idiots that got us here in the first place.

 

mtfbwya

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Revan 411 Newbie

Revan 411

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If they cared as much as they say they do, they'd drop this stupid idea.

Yeah, I know. But still, its nice to see that their still support all their PC fan-base with awards like these... Maybe in a few years, they'll probably drop the whole DRM system eventually.

 

I like how Ubisoft reps outright lie and say that pirates haven't broke their DRM.

Unfortunately, Assassin's Creed 2 hasn't been cracked yet. I think Silent Hunter V is the only Ubisoft game with this DRM that has been cracked.

 

The same persons we are lauding for 'breaking the DRM' are the same idiots that got us here in the first place.

And its the same idiotic developers who tries so desperately hard to punish honest PC gamers out there while pirates crack the system and have no trouble playing it whatsoever. The point is; Its the developers at fault here, not the pirates. Most of them are just simple people who are pissed off about the whole DRM system and doesn't want anything involved with having a server tracking all your actions and movements in a single player game in the first place so what do they do? Pirate. And if every, single, developer out there were like Valve and didn't care at all about piracy, then this sorta sh** wouldn't happen in the first place and PC gamers would be buying more and more games out there.

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Liverandbacon Newbie

Liverandbacon

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Its amazing how far/backwards we've gone since the Half-life 2 debacle. Then it was just droppingly evil to require an internet verification to start the first time and now... internet access at all time.

 

Can we please go back 6 years?

 

I was just thinking about that. I do so miss the days when online verification was the most fair use-violating thing around. Now we have this.

 

Does this mean that 6 years from now, we'll look back fondly on the days when always-on server checks were the ultimate evil, while we're stuck with DNA-locked games (Just pour a pint of blood into the receptacle on install and every time you load a save game, for a more seamless and immersive gaming experience!)?

 

The whole battle between pirates and publishers reminds me of a quote from the 3rd Hitchhiker's Guide book:

 

"The Princes of the Plains and the Tribesmen of the Cold Hillsides were about to beat the hell out of each other again. This in itself wouldn't be so bad, except that the Princes of the Plains and the Tribesmen of the Cold Hillsides always elected to beat the hell out of each other in the Forest, and it was always the Dwellers in the Forest who came off worst in these exchanges, though as far as they could see it never had anything to do with them."

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Astrotoy7 Newbie

Astrotoy7

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"The Princes of the Plains and the Tribesmen of the Cold Hillsides were about to beat the hell out of each other again. This in itself wouldn't be so bad, except that the Princes of the Plains and the Tribesmen of the Cold Hillsides always elected to beat the hell out of each other in the Forest, and it was always the Dwellers in the Forest who came off worst in these exchanges, though as far as they could see it never had anything to do with them."

 

*sigh* RIP Mr Adams.

 

My favourite one is about the intergalactic warrior races that after generations of fighting form a pact and decide to invade earth....only to get eaten by a dog due to a dreadful miscalculation of scale :D

 

mtfbwya

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jrrtoken Newbie

jrrtoken

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I'd like to see how much profit Ubisoft is losing due to network strain, server operating costs, and DLC compensation due to server maintenance (or lack thereof)... all, of course, in relation to the theoretical revenue lost for piracy had they reverted to their prior DRM scheme. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if AC2 is actually detrimental to Ubi's budget, either due to lack of sales or operating expenditures.

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  • 4 weeks later...
JediAthos Newbie

JediAthos

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Little bit of thread necro here, but I thought it was an interesting update given the source of the story

 

"Apparently Ubisoft’s olive branch of free games to players burned by their DRM wasn’t enough. The company’s Online Services Network (read: DRM), has been hacked by rebellious users.

 

Ubisoft’s DRM requires players to constantly be online in order to play not only their online games, but even single-player ventures like Assassin’s Creed II. The hack annihilates this DRM completely.

 

These hackers assert that their technique is foolproof, cannot be replicated, and is safe from being counter-cracked Ubisoft."

 

-From Game Informer's Website 4/23/10 (http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/04/23/ubisoft-drm-hacked.aspx?PageIndex=2)

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Taak Farst Newbie

Taak Farst

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Little bit of thread necro here, but I thought it was an interesting update given the source of the story

 

"Apparently Ubisoft’s olive branch of free games to players burned by their DRM wasn’t enough. The company’s Online Services Network (read: DRM), has been hacked by rebellious users.

 

Ubisoft’s DRM requires players to constantly be online in order to play not only their online games, but even single-player ventures like Assassin’s Creed II. The hack annihilates this DRM completely.

 

These hackers assert that their technique is foolproof, cannot be replicated, and is safe from being counter-cracked Ubisoft."

 

-From Game Informer's Website 4/23/10 (http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2010/04/23/ubisoft-drm-hacked.aspx?PageIndex=2)

 

I know that it isn't good to encourage/speak about use of cracks and such - but i wish i could get my hands on this - i hate the idea of permanently needing an internet connection to play AC2 - i mean - what if the internet is off for some reason or another? toughies? no tah..

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JediAthos Newbie

JediAthos

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That's pretty much about it Taak...no connection, no game. It's why Ubisoft has been absolutely destroyed for this. (even on their own forums)

 

Game Informer didn't mention the source of the hack, which I'm pretty sure they couldn't do even if they wanted to, but I'm truthfully surprised that it took this long. There had been some other rumors of a hack, but this is the first story I've seen from a reputable source.

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Jae Onasi Newbie

Jae Onasi

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I know that it isn't good to encourage/speak about use of cracks and such - but i wish i could get my hands on this - i hate the idea of permanently needing an internet connection to play AC2 - i mean - what if the internet is off for some reason or another? toughies? no tah..

 

The staff sympathizes with your difficulties playing this game. However, we can't publish where to get cracks or warez because that's an illegal activity. If you are going to go the route of a crack, and I cannot recommend this of course, PLEASE go to a trusted site so you don't download malware or viruses along with it.

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Lynk Former Newbie

Lynk Former

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So, I was at Walmart yesterday and saw Assassin's Creed 2. I wanted it. I really did.

 

But... I just couldn't do it. It looks so awesome, but this whole thing just peeves me too much.

 

Sigh.

Is getting either the 360 or PS3 version an option? Cause, seriously that's a question everyone should be asking who wants to snub the PC version.

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