Joystiq

Diablo 3 internet hiccups don't penalize players

David Hinkle — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:00:00 EST

Some of you may have experienced this first hand, but if you've yet to suddenly go offline while playing Diablo 3, here's what happens. First, your game will lock up for a minute or so, then you'll be sent back to the character selection screen.

According to Eurogamer, at this point you'll log back in and find that you've retained all gold, experience and items - no penalties there. Once you get back into the game, you'll start from your last checkpoint.

The decision to require a constant internet connection initially received some blowback from the community, but it would seem it's not as bad as initially thought, at least in one regard. Eurogamer even notes that being booted back to the character selection screen didn't happen every time - occasionally the game would resume as if no disconnect even occurred.

Diablo 3 internet hiccups don't penalize players originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 15 May 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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No 'always-on' DRM for Assassin's Creed: Revelations

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:00:00 EST

Ubisoft's always on-again, off-again relationship with its restrictive DRM policies is "off-again" for Assassin's Creed: Revelations. Rock Paper Shotgun reports word from the publisher that it will activate an initial check the first time the game boots up -- and then players are good to go with offline play.

The publisher gave the Assassin's Creed series a break from its always-on DRM after the first sequel, with last year's Brotherhood spared the inconvenience. Meanwhile, other Ubisoft products, like Driver: San Francisco and From Dust, have been burdened with the internet-required protection at launch.

Well, at least one thing remains consistent in the social contract between Ubisoft and PC players: there's no sign of the publisher halting its predictable staggering of console and PC launches.

No 'always-on' DRM for Assassin's Creed: Revelations originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Blizzard responds to complaints over Diablo 3 connection requirement

Alexander Sliwinski — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 09:15:00 EST

Diablo 3 requires a constant internet connection -- a decision that has caused some strong reactions from folks looking to play the game solo, or those pushing against overly demanding DRM schemes. MTV spoke with Robert Bridenbecker, the Vice President of Online Technologies at Blizzard to get the developer's side of the story.

"Internally I don't think [always-on DRM] ever actually came up when we talked about how we want connections to operate. Things that came up were always around the feature-set, the sanctity of the actual game systems like your characters," said Bridenbecker. "You're guaranteeing that there are no hacks, no dupes. All of these things were points of discussion, but the whole copy protection, piracy thing, that's not really entering into why we want to do it."

Bridenbecker goes on to mention that Diablo 2 offline characters couldn't be used online, which got messy for players and the developer, so this time they decided to "just keep everything clean." As for those looking to play alone, they don't have to interact with any other online players if they don't want to -- but they'll still need that internet connection.

Blizzard responds to complaints over Diablo 3 connection requirement originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 09:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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