Ubisoft Anti-Priacy measures - Saves stored on servers

Give it a chance, it may actually work.

And if it doesn't they will just scrap it.

Well that is odd. In fact, come to think of it, Steam largely uses the same system set-up. Yet it's integration is almost seamless.-CheeseEater-

Here is an article about some new anti-piracy measures from Ubisoft.

You may have to connect with Ubisoft.com to save your game etc.

biggest_loser

Doesn't bother me, I'm not going to be buying the crud that Ubisoft churns out each year anyway.

This is stupid. All I want to do is play offline. My PC uses a wireless connection and can occasionally drop if other people are using it, and even if it was completely reliable, I would not support this sort of DRM - why force online for the single player game?!! No Assassins Creed 2 or Splinter Cell Conviction for me then :( . Hopefully they'll eventually patch the DRM out like with Far Cry 2...

funny thing is they probably delayed ACII to implement this system, hey ubi heres a hint: maybe use all that money u just blew on anti piracy and maybe make aninteresting online mode? You know games like left4dead, warcraft/starcraft etc. etc. etc. games that deterred a lot of pirates with good online play?

The one thing that bothers me is "what if the servers went down?" That means I can't play my game?
Why don't they just do what Bohemia Interactive did with ARMA. On the priated versions your soldier would randomly turn into a seagull. Caused a lot of headaches for many.
So like in ME2, your character would grow miniature, or lose his voice. Thus ending the game since you can't talk to anyone to progress.

I would normally be OK with a forced registration and login screen in order to play since it is their product and I only purchased a license to play it so they have the right to track when the gamers are using the product, that would also prevent other people with access to my computer from using my games.

But a required internet connection to "save" games is just plain stupid. These guys think that everyone in the world has a 100% uptime internet connection?

Plus I don't think this is just an anti-piracy move since it doesn't apply to xbox360 or PSP games, and those platforms are getting pirated as well. They are just trying to make PC users move to consoles.

It's better not to buy their games. Buy games from publishers that respect their customers.

I will stay away from anything with this kind of DRM. They will see their PC sales slide as all the other companies doing this did, and will blame piracy.

How much farther will this go? Good god....

[QUOTE="OgreB"]

Don't see what the big deal is...no different then using Steam or some DLC for some game..( where you have to be connected to use it...ala DA:O ,FO3 etc)

If it works...great ! But it probably won't...

zomglolcats

Even the requirement to be logedin is easily hacked... Read package sent (you know they have a legit copy right?) and then read package that get returned from server. Make a exe file that convert that information so it never leave your computer. Pirates WIN. Its quiet sad that i have to use cracks from time to time to get a game i OWN to work -.-

[QUOTE="zomglolcats"][QUOTE="OgreB"]

Don't see what the big deal is...no different then using Steam or some DLC for some game..( where you have to be connected to use it...ala DA:O ,FO3 etc)

If it works...great ! But it probably won't...

OgreB

Even the requirement to be logedin is easily hacked... Read package sent (you know they have a legit copy right?) and then read package that get returned from server. Make a exe file that convert that information so it never leave your computer. Pirates WIN. Its quiet sad that i have to use cracks from time to time to get a game i OWN to work -.-

KalDurenik

if they wanna stop piracy they should do things like the Cerebrus network for ME 2, great multiplayer and so on because then people will want to buy it instead of pirating it because there pissed off at the amount of DRM

if you guys actualy read the aricle you would see that saving the game on there server is just an option, so that you could play the game on one computer, save it to the server, and download the save and play the game on a different computer

dg8794

I don't like this at all. Not only will it be incredibly inconvient, it just seemslike an invasion of privacy to me... although not a dire one.

[QUOTE="dg8794"]

if you guys actualy read the aricle you would see that saving the game on there server is just an option, so that you could play the game on one computer, save it to the server, and download the save and play the game on a different computer

zomglolcats

Even the requirement to be logedin is easily hacked... Read package sent (you know they have a legit copy right?) and then read package that get returned from server. Make a exe file that convert that information so it never leave your computer. Pirates WIN. Its quiet sad that i have to use cracks from time to time to get a game i OWN to work -.-

KalDurenik

If it was possible to trick a server that stores data remotely Steam would be a hackfest with lots of people getting games for free from their servers.

[QUOTE="Makari"][QUOTE="Franko_3"]I think it's a great idea, but it really depend of the publisher who implement it. If it was EA, who shut down their games servers after 3 years, I would be careful with that. Ubi, I have no idea tbh, they don't have many old games with mp supports, so it's hard to see if they are fast to shut down their servers.DJ_Headshot

[QUOTE="KalDurenik"]

Even the requirement to be logedin is easily hacked... Read package sent (you know they have a legit copy right?) and then read package that get returned from server. Make a exe file that convert that information so it never leave your computer. Pirates WIN. Its quiet sad that i have to use cracks from time to time to get a game i OWN to work -.-

cristian_esza

If it was possible to trick a server that stores data remotely Steam would be a hackfest with lots of people getting games for free from their servers.

steam do not save games on their server it save it on your own computer.

If my internet cuts out I am screwed, or on a laptop even worse, screw this.

It sounds as though Ubisoft has found another way to increase piracy.

Such a technology was there since long time...but no other publisher did it.....why? There must've been a good reason.....it was stupidity to do so. The pirate will always find their way, no matter how strong you make your anti piracy measures. Even ps3 is now cracked. The best way to deal with piracy is to think of innovative distribution models like Steam and also to bring down prices.

DRM is not the solution. They should look at what happened to DRM enabled MP3s

I will stay away from anything with this kind of DRM. They will see their PC sales slide as all the other companies doing this did, and will blame piracy.

How much farther will this go? Good god....

TruedUp

Of course they will blame it on piracy, because piracy is what made them do it. Circular reasoning on their part. It's a strange sort of cause and effect or maybe a self fullfilling prophecy. Either way I agree it won't work.

However Batman AA has to save online and I don't remember seeing any outrage then. Also Bioshock 2 has to save online at least according to what I've read. To be honest it didn't bother me with Batman AA but it's a game breaker with Bioshock 2. Can't really explain the contradiction but there ya go.

I've also never pirated a game in my life but it's hard not to contemplate.

[QUOTE="TruedUp"]

I will stay away from anything with this kind of DRM. They will see their PC sales slide as all the other companies doing this did, and will blame piracy.

How much farther will this go? Good god....

Rickylee

Of course they will blame it on piracy, because piracy is what made them do it. Circular reasoning on their part. It's a strange sort of cause and effect or maybe a self fullfilling prophecy. Either way I agree it won't work.

However Batman AA has to save online and I don't remember seeing any outrage then. Also Bioshock 2 has to save online at least according to what I've read. To be honest it didn't bother me with Batman AA but it's a game breaker with Bioshock 2. Can't really explain the contradiction but there ya go.

I've also never pirated a game in my life but it's hard not to contemplate.

Don't see what the big deal is...no different then using Steam or some DLC for some game..( where you have to be connected to use it...ala DA:O ,FO3 etc)

If it works...great ! But it probably won't...

OgreB

You expect to have to connect with Steam, since the games are digital downloads to start with. Plus, Steam has an offline mode. FO3 requires no internet connection to play after activation, even for the DLC. I don't even log into GFWL, you don't need to after you download the DLC if you move the data files into the right folder. I don't expect to have to go online to play a single player game, however. To activate, yeah, ok, that's barely acceptable, but to play my saves? Nope, nope, nope. Not acceptable. Not even a little bit. This is right up there with limited activations for sheer crappiness.

I really wish the publishers would get it through their heads: They can't stop piracy, so stop making your legit customers jump through so many hoops. Use a simple disk check and/or CD Key and be done with it. Yes, the pirates will crack that method, but they crack every other method too, so might as well use the cheapest and most convenient method available.

Some more info on this :http://www.pcgameshardware.com/aid,703947/Ubisoft-interview-New-DRM-for-almost-all-forthcoming-games/News/

Good part :

* Saves can be accessed from anywhere

* Not CD/DVD required (not 100% sure)

* No loss of savesgames :The saved games are stored both locally and on servers. It only synchronizes with the server when the game starts up and closes down. Not during the gameplay. If you lose the internet connection while synching or you abort the synch manually, next time you start or end the game, the synch will resume.

Bad Part :

* Internet connection required - Not a problem for me, but it can be an issue for others

* Size of save games : Due to this storing the save games on server idea, Ubisoft will keep the size of the save games as small possible. While it should not e an issue for most games it can affect some games which need to save a lot of data (remember Deus Ex and it's saved games)

The one thing that bothers me is "what if the servers went down?" That means I can't play my game?
Why don't they just do what Bohemia Interactive did with ARMA. On the priated versions your soldier would randomly turn into a seagull. Caused a lot of headaches for many.

So like in ME2, your character would grow miniature, or lose his voice. Thus ending the game since you can't talk to anyone to progress.DigiTM73

I bet those things are fixed by hackers, just like it happen to other games that used similar stuff. So as you see every method is futile!!

Every time I think I've heard of the stupidest DRM idea ever, another publisher comes out to prove that stupidity has no limits. I can't believe this is even being seriously considered. Didn't Ubisoft get enough bad press over Starforce? Admittedly, many people do have constant internet access, but many also have limits to that access, not to mention travelling and wanting to play your single player game on your laptop.

Making a game with a requirement like this would make me WANT to pirate it, and I don't pirate games, period.

Royas