In January, Ubisoft revealed plans to streamline its DRM policy across all PC titles, making players log in to Ubisoft servers to authenticate before playing. Although it sounded dubious at first, Ubisoft's Brent Wilkinson assuaged our fears, explaining the new process would allow gamers to play on any computer and continue a game's progress through a cloud-based save system.
According to PC Gamer, tests of upcoming Ubisoft PC titles Assassin's Creed 2 and Settlers VII proved how flawed the system actually is. If, for whatever reason, your connection experiences an issue (be it router reboot or a momentary pause in connectivity) the software will immediately boot you to the main menu of the game. Oh, and all that progress you made after a previous save or checkpoint? That's gone.
But that isn't the worst part. If Ubisoft's "Master Servers" encounter any errors, then all players with working connections logged in to the servers will not be able to play their games until the servers are back online, and lose all unsaved progress if this scenario occurs during gameplay.
There is something to be said about protecting your property from rampant PC piracy, but when draconian concepts such as Ubisoft's new DRM policy are in place, the publisher seemingly punishes the players who do support its wares. The cloud concept is great, but not at the expense of saving every thirty seconds out of fear that a server on the other side of the world might decide to act up.
[Via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]
Reader Comments (111)
Posted: Feb 17th 2010 4:56PM (Unverified) said
Good news everyone! Oh wait.. that's not good news at all...
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 6:10PM BrianH said
i don't know how old you are ahac (eh, age might not be a factor, i didndt know how else to start this comment), but this system is terrible.
Forcing people to be online to play a single player game is ret@rded.
Saving my files half way across the world is ret@rded, i want my saves on my computer.
this system is crap, and pirates will easily get around it, this isn't anything special to bypass.
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Forcing people to be online to play a single player game is ret@rded.
Saving my files half way across the world is ret@rded, i want my saves on my computer.
this system is crap, and pirates will easily get around it, this isn't anything special to bypass.
Posted: Feb 17th 2010 9:17PM (Unverified) said
It sounds like a great idea -- for a rental service.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 4:54PM That Burning Sensation said
The only people this DRM is going to affect are the people who actually BUY the freaking game. Hackers will find a way around this and will blog about it the next day. This is all pointless. If a human being can create something another human being can dismantle it. . . Its that damn simple.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 5:57PM ahac said
I'm not so sure.
It seems that games will save directly to the server. No server = no way to save.
We might see some kind of pirate servers that you can run on your PC... easy to make... unless the saves use some kind of encryption... which is very likely.
I'm really interested in how this will end. If they succeed and if it becomes much harder to pirate those games then this will be the future... not only for PC gaming but for all gaming.
But if they fail... then at least other developers won't get such ideas for some time. :P
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It seems that games will save directly to the server. No server = no way to save.
We might see some kind of pirate servers that you can run on your PC... easy to make... unless the saves use some kind of encryption... which is very likely.
I'm really interested in how this will end. If they succeed and if it becomes much harder to pirate those games then this will be the future... not only for PC gaming but for all gaming.
But if they fail... then at least other developers won't get such ideas for some time. :P
Posted: Feb 17th 2010 7:56PM CaramelZappa said
@ahac
People have figured out more complex attempts before. It's not this simple, but a fix could include just pointing the game to a fake server that is really your own pc. It will certainly take more time than your average securom workaround but it will definitely happen, and when it does the pirates will have the superior version of the game and the legitimate customers will have broken garbage.
If DRM has proved anything it's that you can't stop pirates with it, you can only put-off legitimate customers. As far as I've seen the PC market has been steadily going down for the most part, while use of intrusive DRM has gone up. Coincidence? I think not. Game companies need to stop wasting money fighting with immoral, cheap bastards who wouldn't buy their games anyways and start listening to their paying customers who don't want handcuffs on the products they buy.
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People have figured out more complex attempts before. It's not this simple, but a fix could include just pointing the game to a fake server that is really your own pc. It will certainly take more time than your average securom workaround but it will definitely happen, and when it does the pirates will have the superior version of the game and the legitimate customers will have broken garbage.
If DRM has proved anything it's that you can't stop pirates with it, you can only put-off legitimate customers. As far as I've seen the PC market has been steadily going down for the most part, while use of intrusive DRM has gone up. Coincidence? I think not. Game companies need to stop wasting money fighting with immoral, cheap bastards who wouldn't buy their games anyways and start listening to their paying customers who don't want handcuffs on the products they buy.
Posted: Feb 17th 2010 4:55PM sigma8 said
If your goal is to have 0% piracy, I agree, abandon the PC. Because it won't happen. If your goal is to do something innovative, a full-fledged computer offers the best environment to do it. If all the major publishers want to drop making games on PC, I wouldn't be upset. Guess I won't get to play a crappy over-DRM'ed Modern Warfare 3, and I'll be stuck with indie "junk" like Torchlight instead. Sign me up, please!
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 4:55PM RKN said
I think I will purchase AC2 for PC when it comes out next month, and then will promptly proceed to crack it. I like the concept of having saves and other information stored in a cloud, as do some Steam games. Aside from that, bleh.
I don't want to be online all the time to play the SINGLE-PLAYER MODE.
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I don't want to be online all the time to play the SINGLE-PLAYER MODE.
Posted: Feb 17th 2010 5:06PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said
Kills the usuability of a portable device like a laptop without a constant internet connection. We often times go on long road trips and play computer games when we're driving ... couldn't play AC2 though!
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 5:45PM spencer8ab said
I've only had to crack two games, purchased legitimately, Spore, because of it's install limit, and MGS pc, because all of the fixes for modern computers were integrated with no-cd cracks.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 4:56PM That Burning Sensation said
Yeah no amount of reasoning will stop blogging from idiots, I just say dump the idiot from the internet completely.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 4:56PM (Unverified) said
This sounds similar to the DRM that made it's way into Dragon Age: Origins. At least for the xbox version there were times when it would refuse to allow you to play any of your save games because it couldn't contact their servers. I believe it was officially for checking DLC, but the effect sounds similar and equally annoying.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 6:00PM Ballistic3188 said
dragon age is slightly better difference. you need internet to start or resume a game with DLC attaced to it. however if your internet cuts out. you can still play.
but all being said it sucks i hope they never go to that way again. ME2 has a better set up as it doesn't require internet connection.
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but all being said it sucks i hope they never go to that way again. ME2 has a better set up as it doesn't require internet connection.
Posted: Feb 17th 2010 6:58PM Dolar said
Except, it only took around a week to crack that system for DA and the DLC was up on the pirate sites.
No matter what the DRM, it is going to be cracked. The DA DLC thing did take a bit longer then most, but still it was cracked.
All it does is punish, us, the legit customers in the end.
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No matter what the DRM, it is going to be cracked. The DA DLC thing did take a bit longer then most, but still it was cracked.
All it does is punish, us, the legit customers in the end.
Posted: Feb 17th 2010 4:56PM Professor Lario said
I hate to post off-topic here, but I hope my fellow Joystiqers will help me out. I am looking to return to some PC gaming after a long absence. Are there any good PC gaming web sites/resources out there? I know the larger game sites cover PC, but it seems only as an afterthought.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 5:17PM Petebot330 said
Rock, Paper, Shotgun caters directly to PC gaming. They're fun to read as well...I don't even own a PC and I read it. They shine plenty of light on indie games as well as the AAA stuff...
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/
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http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/
Posted: Feb 17th 2010 5:38PM Anonononomous said
Destructoid is truly awful and actually has no love for PC gaming.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 8:01PM CaramelZappa said
Yea. It's pretty obvious that none of the Joystiq writers are really PC gamers, it shows in their completely shallow coverage of the platform, which I find sad because I really think it's just as important as any of the consoles or handhelds.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 8:04PM CaramelZappa said
@Abibibiniys & Petebot330
Wow, thank you guys so much for that link. This blog is awesome. As soon as I saw the AAAaaahh! article on the front page I was sold.
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Wow, thank you guys so much for that link. This blog is awesome. As soon as I saw the AAAaaahh! article on the front page I was sold.
Posted: Feb 17th 2010 10:42PM Cheesus Crust said
BigDownload and Overclock.net
Also that Rock website is pretty good too! I didn't know about it Thanks!
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Also that Rock website is pretty good too! I didn't know about it Thanks!
Posted: Feb 17th 2010 4:56PM That Burning Sensation said
Yeah no amount of reasoning will stop blogging from idiots, I just say dump the idiot from the internet completely.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 4:58PM sigma8 said
I do not like Steam, and try to avoid buying things in it.. That said, I do like Steam's design. The only thing I don't like is that I'm afraid it will become a Valve-controlled monopoly--other than that, it's excellent. Anybody trying to make their own digital distribution system should spend 80% of their effort simply copying Steam.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 5:00PM sonicspike41 said
Plenty of Valve titles are pirated too, and plenty of Steam-based titles. But of course the friendliness and ease of Steam has been known to convert at least a few pirates into legitimate customers (and those sweet prices don't hurt either).
@Big N00B
Actually piracy is beatable on the PC, it just requires that they build in a crap ton of fail-safes should one method fail. Look at Windows for example. I had a friend who's legitimate OEM copy screwed up so bad he had to do a Windows Repair. So when he tried to repair it (using a different disc since his didn't come with an OEM repair one), it asked for a serial before he could log in (which he thought he lost). He used a pirated serial and it completely locked him out of his system so he couldn't even log in without having a valid key first.
He ended up getting a new PC with Win7 since his was older than dirt anyways.
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@Big N00B
Actually piracy is beatable on the PC, it just requires that they build in a crap ton of fail-safes should one method fail. Look at Windows for example. I had a friend who's legitimate OEM copy screwed up so bad he had to do a Windows Repair. So when he tried to repair it (using a different disc since his didn't come with an OEM repair one), it asked for a serial before he could log in (which he thought he lost). He used a pirated serial and it completely locked him out of his system so he couldn't even log in without having a valid key first.
He ended up getting a new PC with Win7 since his was older than dirt anyways.
Posted: Feb 17th 2010 5:01PM Johnnynumber5 is powered by cell said
This is why I prefer gaming on consoles. What a bunch of BS you have to go through to play a damn game. The irony in all of this: It'll still be pirated. The only difference is now people will actively pirate it in droves because of this superflous DRM. I didn't like that bad ole DRM so instead of boycotting the game I stold'd it. That'll show em! Double edged sword FTL.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 5:12PM KeenCommander said
My Internet toasts out all the time. I could never buy one of these games, not even just as a protest, I mean...it wouldn't even be playable. Bad enough getting the random messages that you've been disconnected from GFW live.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 5:16PM sigma8 said
@Big N00B: Sure, your console can play the game without any upgrades.. So have fun playing your iterative console games within a closed ecosystem and no modding abilities (but if there are any games that support mods, please thank the people on PC's with the PC versions who are making them). Please also enjoy paying a yearly $50 toll for the online privilege, on top of the generally higher game prices.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 5:20PM sonicspike41 said
Case: $30
CPU (AMD x3 2.47GHz): $50
RAM (2GB): $50
Motherboard: $45
GPU (geforce 9600/GT240): $80
HDD (160GB): $40
Keyboard/mouse: $10
Total: $305
OS (Win7 x64): $105
Total with OS: $410
That setup will play a crap ton of current gen games just fine.
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CPU (AMD x3 2.47GHz): $50
RAM (2GB): $50
Motherboard: $45
GPU (geforce 9600/GT240): $80
HDD (160GB): $40
Keyboard/mouse: $10
Total: $305
OS (Win7 x64): $105
Total with OS: $410
That setup will play a crap ton of current gen games just fine.
Posted: Feb 17th 2010 5:27PM Kleptomaniac said
I was gonna pick this up, but after hearing this I think I'll pass. And when people decide likewise not to buy it due to this ridiculous system Ubisoft will blame the pirates.
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Posted: Feb 17th 2010 5:29PM DudeGuyMan said
This is just like the 360's DRM if your licenses are not tied to your console. If you are in the middle of an XBLA game and you lose your Xbox Live connection. The game resets instantly and goes back to the title screen and into trial mode.
One of the main reasons I will never buy "Games on Demand".
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One of the main reasons I will never buy "Games on Demand".
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