The Glade 4.0 :: View topic - Ubisoft PC Games Require Constant Net Connection

Alright. So, Ubisoft's new DRM. Supports unlimited installs and Cloud-based save data. Requires absolutely unbroken access to their master servers, or the product ceases to function. I can boil it right down for you:

Nobody wins.

Well, except pirates. Pirates always win, on a long enough timeline. Honestly, the timeline doesn't even need to be that long.

Visit any thread regarding the topic, and I mean any thread, and it won't be three posts until someone raises the Goddamned Jolly Roger and says they'll pirate the game as a gesture consistent with some comprehensive ur-morality they've ginned up, one where stealing things is alright provided they were very angry when they did it. It's entirely possible that you don't like being spoken to in this way, but somebody has to get this done. What Ubisoft is doing here is Draconian - I don't mean those lizard dudes, I'm talking about laws which are characterized by their severity. Before they eventually dismantle it, and it will be dismantled, it will have achieved exactly the opposite of their intention. But what I won't tolerate from rational beings is the idea that you don't understand why they're doing it.

Every avenue of convenience for the user is also a vector of exploitation.

They have given up.

As fiery rhetoric goes, this sucks. It doesn't have that revolutionary quality that rallies the faithful. The trouble is that this dialogue between pirates and publishers, one which was always characterized by falsehood and ill-will, has ceased to exist in this case. A maneuver this extreme means that they're finished talking altogether: this mechanism is their response, the final word. Only it's impossible to get the final word here in The Cloud. Ever.

And no-one of any sense has ever bet against the scorn and resourcefulness of young men.

That said, if I bought a game and couldn't play it single player because my DSL modem was down, I'd be pretty damn pissed off.

This is how most all Xbox Live downloadable games are. Try playing them offline. You buy them, but you have to be connected to the internet to access them, even though they're downloaded onto your HD. If you're not connected, it just lists the games as a "trial version." This sounds very similar. I won't be buying any games like this.

Roophus Gunthar wrote:

This is patently false.

I don't know how it can be false. I unplug my internet connection and my 15 XBL games turn to trial versions. Are you implying I'm actually just off in the twilight zone when it occurs to me?

Roophus, weren't you the one that didn't have internet and used to lug your X-Box hard drive to a friend's house?

If you were doing that when you downloaded the XBL games, your license is probably associated with your buddy's X-Box, and you need to migrate them as above.

Ubisoft DRM authentification server is down, Assassin's Creed 2 unplayable

Earlier today, our tips inbox and the official Assassin's Creed 2 forum were set ablaze by incensed owners of the PC version of the aforementioned Italian revenge epic. According to numerous reports from prospective players of the game, Ubisoft's DRM authentification servers have crashed, forcing some players to suffer lengthy login periods when booting up Assassin's Creed 2, and locking some folks out of the game entirely.

A Ubisoft representative responded to a particularly rage-filled forum thread, stating "clearly the extended downtime and lengthy login issues are unacceptable, particularly as I've been told these servers are constantly monitored." The representative added "I'll do what I can to get more information on what the issue is here first thing tomorrow and push for a resolution and assurance this won't happen in the future." We've got a really great suggestion for how to make such an assurance: Find a less abominable DRM policy.

Ubisoft's DRM Failure
[10:12 am ET] - Share - Post a Comment
The Ubisoft Forums have posts from customers who were unable to play games protected by Ubisoft's online DRM yesterday because the DRM servers were offline. Needless to say most of the posts express severe unhappiness at being unable to play and express anger over a DRM scheme that locks paying customers out of their own game. This Ubisoft tweet explains: "Apologies to anyone who couldn’t play ACII or SH5 yesterday. Servers were attacked which limited service from 2:30pm to 9pm Paris time," and this one follows up: "95% of players were not affected, but a small group of players attempting to open a game session did receive denial of service errors."

Thing is, they won't work. It will get cracked just as fast, if not faster. All this does is inconvenience legitimate customers.

Author:	FarSky [ Fri Feb 19, 2010 10:16 am ]
Post subject:	Ubisoft PC Games Require Constant Net Connection
No net connection, no playing your purchased and playable-offline single-player games for j00. And as always, Penny Arcade with the best and most measured take on the matter: Penny Arcade wrote: Alright. So, Ubisoft's new DRM. Supports unlimited installs and Cloud-based save data. Requires absolutely unbroken access to their master servers, or the product ceases to function. I can boil it right down for you: Nobody wins. Well, except pirates. Pirates always win, on a long enough timeline. Honestly, the timeline doesn't even need to be that long. Visit any thread regarding the topic, and I mean any thread, and it won't be three posts until someone raises the Goddamned Jolly Roger and says they'll pirate the game as a gesture consistent with some comprehensive ur-morality they've ginned up, one where stealing things is alright provided they were very angry when they did it. It's entirely possible that you don't like being spoken to in this way, but somebody has to get this done. What Ubisoft is doing here is Draconian - I don't mean those lizard dudes, I'm talking about laws which are characterized by their severity. Before they eventually dismantle it, and it will be dismantled, it will have achieved exactly the opposite of their intention. But what I won't tolerate from rational beings is the idea that you don't understand why they're doing it. Every avenue of convenience for the user is also a vector of exploitation. They have given up. As fiery rhetoric goes, this sucks. It doesn't have that revolutionary quality that rallies the faithful. The trouble is that this dialogue between pirates and publishers, one which was always characterized by falsehood and ill-will, has ceased to exist in this case. A maneuver this extreme means that they're finished talking altogether: this mechanism is their response, the final word. Only it's impossible to get the final word here in The Cloud. Ever. And no-one of any sense has ever bet against the scorn and resourcefulness of young men.

Author:	Kaffis Mark V [ Fri Feb 19, 2010 12:04 pm ]
Post subject:
I wish people would just either clone the Steam model, or give up and chip Valve the couple of bucks a sale or whatever the licensing arrangement is to utilize it directly.

Author:	FarSky [ Fri Feb 19, 2010 12:22 pm ]
Post subject:
Ubisoft defended their decision, and rejected Steam because "We think what Steam has done is amazingly valid, but aren't Steam games cracked amazingly fast? It's not a question of dissatisfaction, it's a question of 'we've got another idea, another way of implementing it, and we're going for it'." You'll note also from that interview that they also won't commit definitively to releasing a DRM-free offline patch, should they wish to stop running the server for a particular game. Instead, their attitude seems to be "well, we probably will do that, but don't you want to play the newest and bestest new games that are best instead?"

Author:	Darkroland [ Fri Feb 19, 2010 12:28 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Ubisoft PC Games Require Constant Net Connection
I haven't read the linked article, but based on the quote you have to call their logic here. I'm willing to bet their games will be cracked just as fast (if not faster, all this publicity is simply BEGGING pirates to steal their software). He put it very aptly - "And no-one of any sense has ever bet against the scorn and resourcefulness of young men." These young men have almost infinite time and resources to crack your software, you are not going to win. You need to take the stance "if we release software people want at prices they can afford, they will buy our software." Sad times when the cracked copies almost always run better than the software off the shelf. CAD also weighs in, less seriously:

Author:	Raltar [ Fri Feb 19, 2010 6:20 pm ]
Post subject:
It honestly doesn't bother me except the fact that they aren't saying they will do the offline patch if they decide to shut down that server. I don't know about anyone else, but I go back and play older games that have long since been forgotten all the time and I would be upset if I couldn't play them because they shut down the servers. Then again, I don't think I've ever played a Ubisoft game in my entire life.

The Glade 4.0 https://gladerebooted.net/

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Author:	darksiege [ Fri Feb 19, 2010 7:54 pm ]
Post subject:
Well... I think for them it is now console or nothing imo

Author:	Caleria [ Sun Feb 21, 2010 11:14 am ]
Post subject:
Prince of Persia, Assassin's Creed, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X., Call of Juarez, all of these games are by Ubisoft. There are a lot of really good Ubisoft games. That said, if I bought a game and couldn't play it single player because my DSL modem was down, I'd be pretty damn pissed off.

Author:	FarSky [ Sun Feb 21, 2010 12:45 pm ]
Post subject:	Re:
Caleria wrote: That said, if I bought a game and couldn't play it single player because my DSL modem was down, I'd be pretty damn pissed off. This, a million times over.

Author:	Roophus Gunthar [ Sun Feb 21, 2010 5:42 pm ]
Post subject:
This is how most all Xbox Live downloadable games are. Try playing them offline. You buy them, but you have to be connected to the internet to access them, even though they're downloaded onto your HD. If you're not connected, it just lists the games as a "trial version." This sounds very similar. I won't be buying any games like this.

Author:	Dalantia [ Sun Feb 21, 2010 8:28 pm ]
Post subject:
That's incorrect. If you're playing it on the console you bought it on, then they will play off the HD for any profile even if you're offline. If you move that HD to a different console, you must be connected to the internet. Unless you transfer the licenses, in which case, they'll now play offline on -that- console, but not on the original.

Author:	Khross [ Mon Feb 22, 2010 8:15 am ]
Post subject:	Re:
Roophus Gunthar wrote: This is how most all Xbox Live downloadable games are. Try playing them offline. You buy them, but you have to be connected to the internet to access them, even though they're downloaded onto your HD. If you're not connected, it just lists the games as a "trial version." This sounds very similar. I won't be buying any games like this. This is patently false.

Author:	Hopwin [ Mon Feb 22, 2010 10:24 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Re:
Khross wrote: Roophus Gunthar wrote: This is how most all Xbox Live downloadable games are. Try playing them offline. You buy them, but you have to be connected to the internet to access them, even though they're downloaded onto your HD. If you're not connected, it just lists the games as a "trial version." This sounds very similar. I won't be buying any games like this. This is patently false. I am sorry that comment cracked me up hard for some reason. You seem almost angry about it lol.

Author:	Roophus Gunthar [ Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:24 pm ]
Post subject:
I don't know how it can be false. I unplug my internet connection and my 15 XBL games turn to trial versions. Are you implying I'm actually just off in the twilight zone when it occurs to me?

Author:	Darkroland [ Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:34 pm ]
Post subject:	Re:
Roophus Gunthar wrote: I don't know how it can be false. I unplug my internet connection and my 15 XBL games turn to trial versions. Are you implying I'm actually just off in the twilight zone when it occurs to me? Didn't you replace your Xbox or drive recently? You probably need to migrate your license to the new hardware.

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Author:	Dalantia [ Mon Feb 22, 2010 12:59 pm ]
Post subject:
Transfer the licenses and redownload, and it should work. The mass produced and standardized product works exactly how I said it does.

Author:	Kaffis Mark V [ Mon Feb 22, 2010 1:34 pm ]
Post subject:
Roophus, weren't you the one that didn't have internet and used to lug your X-Box hard drive to a friend's house? If you were doing that when you downloaded the XBL games, your license is probably associated with your buddy's X-Box, and you need to migrate them as above.

Author:	Diamondeye [ Mon Feb 22, 2010 5:24 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Ubisoft PC Games Require Constant Net Connection
Wait, if you don't have an unbroken internet connection the product "ceases to function?" as in permenantly? So your game is **** if your modem goes down? How do you even turn the computer off?

Author:	Dalantia [ Mon Feb 22, 2010 5:41 pm ]
Post subject:
It's more "Unbroken internet connection while you play it, or it pauses, and ultimately save/quits".

Author:	darksiege [ Tue Feb 23, 2010 1:20 am ]
Post subject:
when you log in to the site, it shows you what consoles were associated to your account. You can then set them to the new account. The video on their site really helps.

Author:	Mookhow [ Sun Mar 07, 2010 8:51 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Ubisoft PC Games Require Constant Net Connection
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/07/ubiso ... s-creed-2/ Quote: Ubisoft DRM authentification server is down, Assassin's Creed 2 unplayable Earlier today, our tips inbox and the official Assassin's Creed 2 forum were set ablaze by incensed owners of the PC version of the aforementioned Italian revenge epic. According to numerous reports from prospective players of the game, Ubisoft's DRM authentification servers have crashed, forcing some players to suffer lengthy login periods when booting up Assassin's Creed 2, and locking some folks out of the game entirely. A Ubisoft representative responded to a particularly rage-filled forum thread, stating "clearly the extended downtime and lengthy login issues are unacceptable, particularly as I've been told these servers are constantly monitored." The representative added "I'll do what I can to get more information on what the issue is here first thing tomorrow and push for a resolution and assurance this won't happen in the future." We've got a really great suggestion for how to make such an assurance: Find a less abominable DRM policy.

Author:	Talya [ Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:59 am ]
Post subject:
Thing is, they won't work. It will get cracked just as fast, if not faster. All this does is inconvenience legitimate customers.

Author:	Darkroland [ Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:17 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Ubisoft PC Games Require Constant Net Connection
Quote: Ubisoft's DRM Failure [10:12 am ET] - Share - Post a Comment The Ubisoft Forums have posts from customers who were unable to play games protected by Ubisoft's online DRM yesterday because the DRM servers were offline. Needless to say most of the posts express severe unhappiness at being unable to play and express anger over a DRM scheme that locks paying customers out of their own game. This Ubisoft tweet explains: "Apologies to anyone who couldn’t play ACII or SH5 yesterday. Servers were attacked which limited service from 2:30pm to 9pm Paris time," and this one follows up: "95% of players were not affected, but a small group of players attempting to open a game session did receive denial of service errors." Interesting, this one says "they were attacked". Well no ****, you pissed off the internet Ubisoft!

Author:	Ulfynn [ Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:26 am ]
Post subject:	Re:
Talya wrote: Thing is, they won't work. It will get cracked just as fast, if not faster. All this does is inconvenience legitimate customers. Word. As one of the legitimate customers, I can tell you this type of thing is why Sony stopped receiving any of my cash after their CD DRM crap they pulled a few years ago. Vote with your dollars and all that.