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

[Jae Onasi]

Originally Posted by Taak Farst

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.

[Lynk Former]

And if you are infected, please don't come back here and spread your cooties to the rest of us.

[Bob Lion54]

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.

[Alexrd]

Originally Posted by Bob Lion54

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.

Welcome to the club.

[Lynk Former]

Originally Posted by Bob Lion54

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.

[Bob Lion54]

Originally Posted by Lynk Former

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.

Nope. I'm almost purely a PC gamer. I have a Wii, which is fun for a change of pace every now and then, but the vast majority of my gaming is on PC. I may get one of the others eventually, but I want a bigger TV first.

So, for now, I'm just hoping this excrement... sorry, I mean "experiment" fails so miserably that no one will try it again anytime soon.

One can only hope.

[Nick Vader]

Wow... At least I managed to finish both "Assassin's Creed"s on PS3 before they make it "online-prerequest"ing.

Is this plan of Ubisoft official ?

[Miltiades]

Originally Posted by Lynk Former

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.

I've played it on a PS3 at a friend's house and it looks and plays great. Of course, me not being a console gamer, the whole thing feels uneasy and clumsy. But I doubt there's any reason why you wouldn't choose the PS3 or X360 version over the PC version if you own one of those consoles.

[Lynk Former]

No offense to PS3 owners (me being one of them) but the PS3 controller is generally uneasy and clumsy to begin with. Feels great to play on the 360 controller though.


@ Nick Vader: This issue is only with the PC version only, not the PS3 and 360 versions.

[Darth333]

Originally Posted by Lynk Former

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.

Neither it is for me. I got a console a while back but after the "novelty period" it became a nothing more than a dust collector. Being unable to tweak my games to my liking is frustrating With or without a toolset I always feel the need to modify/fix something.

I wanted AC2 and Splinter Cell....Too bad: as a legit user I find this new way to try to "control" piracy completely unacceptable.

[Astrotoy7]

Originally Posted by Darth333

as a legit user I find this new way to try to "control" piracy completely unacceptable.

There's nothing stopping legit game owners from using the workarounds, which are much stabler nowdays

If anyone thinking boycotting ubi games is going to land them on skid row, then they should have a look at sales figures - which for a PC games - AC2 has sold as well as expected, DRM or not(was in top 10 PC games in UK)

Some people are waiting for an official patch, and are happy to wait because the game will be cheaper by then

Hence, the power of the internets gives everyone flexible options - pirate, cheapskate or legit consumer without a constant connection... all are catered for.

@D33 >> modding is close to nonexistent on AC2, so you may as well just get the console version and not be fussed with the DRM business. I play my pc version with the logitech ps3 style controller. Works a treat

mtfbwya

[Arcesious]

Its a matter of principal too. I don't pirate things because I'm not smart enough to get away with it safely, and I have a principal to abide by the law.

DRM shows distrust of the customer. I could go on and on repeating what everyone else has already said about it, but I think it has another consequence.

What does DRM mean for the modding community? If Morrowind and Oblivion had been clogged full of DRM, what would it have meant to the modding community? DRM could threaten the the future of mods for future games.

[Darth333]

Originally Posted by Astrotoy7

There's nothing stopping legit game owners from using the workarounds, which are much stabler nowdays

Workarounds are illegal here.

If anyone thinking boycotting ubi games is going to land them on skid row, then they should have a look at sales figures - which for a PC games - AC2 has sold as well as expected, DRM or not(was in top 10 PC games in UK)

People can do what they want but for me, it's a privacy matter (see my previous post ).

The only reason I'd buy the game would be to make a complaint regarding the privacy issue (I see no justification for requiring a constant internet connection plus we don't know what will be transmitted) but I don't have time to lose with such things Maybe when I'm old, retired and completely bored (I was going to add crazy to the list but I maybe I already am )

@D33 >> modding is close to nonexistent on AC2, so you may as well just get the console version and not be fussed with the DRM business.

It's not modding like for DA but tweaking gameplay, "completing" an annoying quest, fixing or overcoming some bugs, etc...

[Lynk Former]

So you basically cheat. Shame on you.

[Arcesious]

Well, take Spore for example. When it was just starting up, some people skilled in the programs used for making Spore made some good mods for it. I know that those mods have significantly improved my gameplay experience over what it could have been without them. Unfortunately, EA has killed Spore's modding community with patches to the game meant for fixing bugs that make old mods incompatible. (I never patched my game nor bought any expansions, as I realized that with such expensive expansions for so little new content, they're only trying to rid the customer of all of their money.)

But Morrowind, Oblivion, the Simcity games (exempting the failure that is Societies), and the Sims games - those are the kind of games that have thrived in sales for years partly because of companies encouraging modding communities with games made to be modded.

[Astrotoy7]

Originally Posted by Darth333

Workarounds are illegal here.

Really? Here I thought Canada was cool

Nations have variants of the U.S Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which implements the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) guidelines, though subscribing nations have interpreted the guidelines differently.

I do remember reading something about no-cd patches being allowed here in Oz, but cant really find a reference for it - Lynky may now. In any event - the context is likely quite specific

It's not modding like for DA but tweaking gameplay, "completing" an annoying quest, fixing or overcoming some bugs, etc...

If you really wanted to act according to the letter of the law D333, reverse engineering code to create a mod/trainer/tweak also violates the intellectual property of the code authors - particularly if they have not released such editing tools(like DA and NWN).

Anytime you open a compiled file in a game and manipulate its properties, you are essentially messing with it in a way not permitted by most devs EULAs. This doesn't matter if you are making a purple cape for a KOTOR character or tinker an .inf file to skip the CD checks.

But don't worry, I won't dob you in (if you don't dob me in!)

mtfbwya

[JediAthos]

Ubisoft sales fall 20%: http://gameinformer.com/b/news/archi...scal-year.aspx


Serves them right?

[Lynk Former]

@ Astro: Last I heard you can do anything you want to the product you buy, it's all perfectly legal just as long as you don't reproduce it.

[Mav]

Originally Posted by JediAthos

Serves them right?

Karma's a bitch

[Lord of Hunger]

@ JediAthos: I hope Valve buys them up and discontinues their annoying franchises. I swear...how many sequels will they make just to keep a franchise alive?

[Sabretooth]

Originally Posted by Lord of Hunger

@ JediAthos: I hope Valve buys them up and discontinues their annoying franchises. I swear...how many sequels will they make just to keep a franchise alive?

Nintendo has been doing this decades before Activision, you know.

[Lynk Former]

Originally Posted by Sabretooth

Nintendo has been doing this decades before Activision, you know.

F*** yeah! Super Mario Galaxy 2 coming out soon!!

[Ztalker]

Originally Posted by Sabretooth

Nintendo has been doing this decades before Activision, you know.

What do you mean? I kow some old epic Nintendo games aren't continued, but almost 90% of what Nintendo releases under it's own banner is epic gold.

Some series like Earthbound, Kid Icarus and Donkey Kong are worth of being continued, I think. Especially Kid Icarus...

OT: Ubisoft sales down by 20%? Could be interpreted as 'fans don't buy the games anymore' or 'more people illegally downloaded it.' I have a feeling downloading has become so easy (even my 10-11 year old pupils talk about it sometimes) that this was inevitable.
Imo, still, fines or night in prison for people who make this illegal stuff.
It's interesting to observe this from a sociology point of view though. Because technically, it's stealing and society doesn't set any consequences for it.

PS: Here in Holland, we have Buma Stemra. Every café and establishment where music is blown through the speakers has to pay X$ (per square metre I believe?) and the money collected is spread between the artists. Don't know how it works precisely, but that way you keep the easy downloading and musicians will get what they deserve...maybe something for games is possible for too?

[Astor]

BUMP!

R.U.S.E. to use Steam rather than Ubisoft DRM.

Originally Posted by Ubisoft

When R.U.S.E. is released in September, it will benefit from Valve’s Steamworks API to offer the best community experience to players. Consequently, a Steam account and Internet connection will be required to activate the game, as per Steam policy. For this reason, R.U.S.E. will not use the Ubisoft protection. Single player can be played offline."

Although it's not all good.


I'm pleased as I was interested in R.U.S.E., but put off by Ubisoft's DRM. But, as the second article says, it's possible Ubisoft might swtich to Steam depending on how well it works for this title.

[Alexrd]

Please, not Steam.

[Astor]

Originally Posted by Alexrd

Please, not Steam.

While i'm still not a fan of Steam (although I will concede that automatic patches makes it easier to enjoy game), it is definitely the lesser of two evils when compared to Ubisoft's DRM scheme.

[Alexrd]

Originally Posted by Astor

While i'm still not a fan of Steam (although I will concede that automatic patches makes it easier to enjoy game), it is definitely the lesser of two evils when compared to Ubisoft's DRM scheme.

I do agree, but I still don't like the idea of being dependable of something to play a game that I've payed for.

[JediAthos]

Sounds like Ubisoft might have actually gotten the hint...

[Tommycat]

All this kind of thing does is push people away from buying a game. Then they find it on [a harbor for privateers] fully working without the requirement for internet connection. Then they stick around and find other games they might like without the anti-piracy BS added on.

[Darth_Calo]

This DRM malarky is exactly why PC Gaming is dying. it's almost disgusting that the clowns at Ubisoft and the other corporations do this to us. What if we're not at home and have no internet connection? bah! no game for you. what are they the gaming nazis? "No gameplay for you!"
To Ubisoft: smarten up and rework your DRM policies if you want to keep your current fan base--and even have a hope at expanding it.

[Lynk Former]

XD

[Darth_Calo]

Originally Posted by Lynk Former

XD

...exactly.

[DeadYorick]

This reminds me of Securom so much.

And that ended up getting patched out of most games due to the critics.

Can't Ubisoft just understand most PC gamers use Steam and strike a deal with Valve?

[Astrotoy7]

Originally Posted by DeadYorick

Can't Ubisoft just understand most PC gamers use Steam and strike a deal with Valve?

Most? I highly doubt that. Where did you get these figures from? Considering steam isnt even accessible in some countries, I doubt that "most" bit. if you have some figures, please share them.

Personally, I have never used Steam.

mtfbwya

[DeadYorick]

Originally Posted by Astrotoy7

Most? I highly doubt that. Where did you get these figures from? Considering steam isnt even accessible in some countries, I doubt that "most" bit. if you have some figures, please share them.

Personally, I have never used Steam.

mtfbwya

Granted I was being flippant with my vocabulary. I am merely speaking about how a large amount of PC games are available on Steam. (Some, like the recent Tomb Raider Spin off will have it's PC release exclusive on Steam). Being one of the more popular online content distributors (Ubisoft does have a lot of it's own games on Steam). Some games like Grand Theft Auto 4 or Spore which have software like Securom find it patched out in Steam releases.