EA Editor Criticizes Command & Conquer 4 DRM 266
Command & Conquer 4's DRM hasn't garnered Electronic Arts as much bad press and fan outrage as Ubisoft's scheme, despite being very similar. Nevertheless, it's been causing problems and frustrations for some users, including EA.com's own editor-in-chief, Jeff Green. An anonymous reader points this out:
"Green wrote on his Twitter account late last week: 'Booted twice — and progress lost — on my single-player C&C4 game because my DSL connection blinked. DRM fail. We need new solutions.' He continued later, 'Well. I've tried to be open-minded. But my 'net connection is finicky — and the constant disruption of my C&C4 SP game makes this unplayable. The story is fun, the gameplay is interesting and different at least — but if you suffer from shaky/unreliable DSL — you've been warned.'"
Give that man a new job (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Give that man a new job (Score:5, Funny)
His reply on twitter when someone pointed out his original comment made the D*gg front page. He's @greenspeak
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On the other hand, C&C4 is already cracked and readily available.
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For example you still cant download Assassins Creed II and it has been out for almost an month already.
On the other hand, C&C4 is already cracked and readily available.
Well, guess that means EA will be building an even more draconian DRM next time...
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I may download a couple of copies tonight just to prove you wrong. Don't worry, they're going straight to /dev/null.
Re:Give that man a new job (Score:4, Funny)
Don't worry, they're going straight to /dev/null.
Of course, since that is a Windows game and you are likely downloading it on a Windows computer, and Windows will let you create a folder with that name, that phrase doesn't mean what people think it means. ;)
Re:Give that man a new job (Score:4, Funny)
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http://www.rlslog.net/assassins-creed-ii-crack-v2-wbb/ [rlslog.net]
This link says different.
Re:Give that man a new job (Score:4, Informative)
If you read the comments, it says this [slashdot.org]:
this crack doesn’t work and the rlslog admins should delete this post. you can explore the city but won’t be able to start missions, also when you use the animus the game will freeze. what’s the point in speading a crack that does nothing good but let you play 5% of the game)?
and also
Silent Hunter 5 is not 100% functional. No missions only training
So it's practically useless, and win for DRM.
Re:Give that man a new job (Score:4, Interesting)
So it's practically useless
No different to the retail version then?
I understand that there are save packs doing the rounds that work around these issues, but to be honest that is besides the point. This is not a win for DRM, its a loss for the consumer.
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If it's not win for DRM, why are pirates comments generally like this:
I just came across some extra cash and, unless I get hit by lightning tommorow, I'm gonna go and buy the game.
I don't feel like waiting anymore for a crack, and since I've pirated every game I've ever played in my life, aside from ST:O, it won't be so bad if I shell out some money for this one, regardless of drm or not.
Seems like the DRM is working and pirates are turned customers.
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The only difference here is that while Ubisoft succeeded (so far) at keeping (fully playable) pirated copies from surfacing, EA has not. If you look around, you will even find a scene release of C&C4 which from what I read, uses a server emulator to handle all the basic requests/calls made by the C&C4 game client. Assassin's Creed 2 on the other hand has the DRM integrated into the maps and mission data thereby making it far more tedious and time consuming to crack.
This suggests that EA did not impl
Re:Give that man a new job (Score:5, Insightful)
You might not be able to download Assassins Creed II, but I, an ass hole who dumps a thousand or so a year on video games have not bought the game despite loving Assassins Creed II. You prevent the 12 year old punk who doesn't have any money from playing your game. Being a fucking moron though, you also made it so that the mid twenty single guy with too much money and time on his hand won't buy your game. Good job Ubi. Good job Ubi. Hey, if you create a dead plague that wipes out humanity that will prevent pirating forever! Get cracking Ubi!
Oh well. I bought Bioshock 2, the new DA:O, the new STALKER, Empire Total War, and Mass Effect 2 instead. But hey, at least I didn't pirate Assassins Creed II. Fucking idiots.
Re:Give that man a new job (Score:4, Interesting)
Really? Isohunt search [isohunt.com] seems to disagree. In fact the torrent seems to be 3 weeks old. The "official" torrent for the crack has been up for 6 weeks. The crack's also up at GameFix [wiretarget.com].
So... what are you talking about?
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For example you still cant download Assassins Creed II and it has been out for almost an month already.
Yes you can. And you could the day it was released. Matter of fact, I think it may even have been cracked and on the internet the day before Ubisoft released it. Research first, post second. It'll help you a lot in the future.
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Given the immensely bad buzz around ACII because of it's draconian DRM, I doubt that they were.
History has proved your doubt is almost surely to be misplaced. Badly misplaced.
At this point in time, if company after company didn't have numbers to validate DRM bolstered sales, and by a lot, they wouldn't be spending the large dollars, plus likely royalty payments, to obtain the various DRM kits and spend the manpower to develop/maintain the implementation.
Simply put, without a doubt, companies lose lots and lots of money from people stealing their property. If that were not the truth, companies would n
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Unfortunately many gamers seem to be not very persistent with their boycots [gameaxis.com] ;)
Re:Give that man a new job (Score:5, Informative)
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Gates is well known for stuff like that. He is (or was, since he's semi retired now) passionate about a good product. He is driven in almost the same way as Steve Jobs - they just went about it in different ways. The fact that so many people had just cause to call Windows "annoying and convoluted" would have been very troubling to him - especially since he faced the same issues when using it himself.
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Jeff Green is the former excellent editor of Computer Gaming World magazine. He's always been on the level.
I've got the solution (Score:5, Insightful)
Hey Mr. Green, the solution is quite simple and at your fingertips [thepiratebay.org]
That patch will fix your broken version of C&C4 ;-)
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Or.... you know you could disconnect your computer from the Internet.
My game machine only plays the games that I'm currently interested in. I can wipe it at the drop of a hat. Hacks really don't bother me, I do my browsing and real work on my Macbook.
Another I'll have to avoid... (Score:5, Insightful)
Some people can just pay for a better connection; living in the middle of the desert in a Marine Corps barracks leaves me with fewer options.
While I'm more than willing to shell out the cash for a game like C&C4, my internet is horrible (one of the main reasons I like playing SP games so much now) and to make SP games reliant on a constant internet connection means one less sale for them. Ubisoft has already lost my sale on AC2 and now it looks like EA is going to follow in their footsteps.
A shame too because I loved AC and the C&C series.
Re:Another I'll have to avoid... (Score:4, Insightful)
I quit buying EA Games when C&C 3 Kane's refused to play after I purchased Alcohol 120% .
Apparently they felt they had the right to tell me what programs I am allowed to run on my PC. Unfortunately, they forgot who had the right to open up my wallet to purchase things.
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A shame too because I loved AC and the C&C series.
dont worry, they screwed up the gameplay too, no more basebuilding, apperently a single building produces all units, and you are supplied with all needed building at the start.. so you arent missing much.
As i commented in an other thread (i think about the ubisoft shitstorm days after release), EA lost me, and my girlfriend as a customer, even before i read about how they butchered the entire C&C core gameplay, with this ridiculous DRM. Part of the fun of CnC for me always has been toying around with di
As nice as this is on paper... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:As nice as this is on paper... (Score:4, Insightful)
"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity." - I really doubt they planned on designing crappy DRM so that they can remove it and gain the good will of the fans.
I think it's much more likely a bunch of execs thinking they can do whatever they want and "those desperate suckers will buy it anyway".
Re:As nice as this is on paper... (Score:4, Informative)
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1) Game company releases popular game with draconian DRM.
2) DRM irritates gamers. Game doesn't sell well.
3) Game company sends briefed spokesperson to the world to say "Hey, I feel your pain!" and gamers gobble it up.
4) Game flops in sales. EA pretend to be upset with blogger.
5) EA releases patch to remove DRM. Game sales explode.
6) Gamers enjoy game DRM free.
7. - REDACTED -
The last item was supposed to be "Games companies realise that DRM is hurting sa
I was about to buy this... (Score:3, Interesting)
I was in my local games shop the other day and I brought this title to the counter. In the queue I noticed it said "requires online connection". So I asked the clerk if it was an online game but he said no. I subsequently put it back in the shelf and walked out of the store.
That's one lost sale EA. I'll buy it when you loose the funky DRM. (I have bought almost every other C&C title)
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Re:I was about to buy this... (Score:5, Informative)
From the start of C&C you got 2 cd's. One with GDI and one with NOD. And you were explicitely permitted to lend one to a friend while you were using the other yourself.
Thats how I got hooked too.
If I remember correctly the first where this was not included/allowed was C&C Generals.
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That is correct and even the playstation one versions of the originals were multidisk games.
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Digital Restrictions Management works! (Score:5, Insightful)
Assuming, that is, your goal was to destroy the PC as a gaming platform.
Piracy: the better choice (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Piracy: the better choice (Score:4, Insightful)
One of the reasons... (Score:5, Insightful)
...why i am losing interest in games rapidly.
While i can still play games i bought 15 years ago, there is no guarantee whatsoever that i can play today's games in 15 years. In the past, i got the feeling of really 'owning' a game (well, a non-revokable license to play it, you know what i mean), but now, i can only play it if the publisher is still in business *and* allows me to activate the game, so essentially holding hostage a game i paid good bucks for.
Another reason is that intolerable dlc business, which i still suspect is a mechanism for publishers to hinder the secondhand market, and/or generate 50% more revenue of a game by selling content that (in most cases) might as well have been included in the release.
Then again, maybe it is just me getting older, having kids, etc.
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I don't know how it's in Windows 7, but, for me these 1995-2000 games work pretty well in Wine. Well, my favorites, StarCraft, Unreal and Unreal Tournament, at least.
Have you tried old games in Wine? (Score:2)
now, [PC] games from 1995 to about 2000 were all Win9x abominations that won't work.. unless you've still got an old machine lying around with win98
But do they work in Wine? Or have you tried the PlayStation versions in an emulator?
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Yes, because I hadn't thought of that, you're so much smarter than me.
Re:One of the reasons... (Score:5, Funny)
Hang on now, be fair - your wife also says I'm a better lover.
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Dont worry Green, solution is coming (Score:4, Informative)
Razor1911 is on it.
market tools vs. EULA (Score:2)
> the constant disruption of my C&C4 SP game makes this unplayable
So how is the producer of the game get the message via free market tools, when EULA's as well as store policies prohibit the return of 'opened' games? From what I can tell for at least this user above the product is clearly defective. It relies on the non-defectiveness of things outside the package, such as his ISP etc.. Yet I am sure they will not give him a return/refund because they'll disagree about the defectiveness of the game. B
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Where an extended service plan comes in handy (Score:2)
"The game is fine. It's your hardware that is defective."
I bought the hardware from your store. It obviously has a defect because it won't run this game. Will you take the hardware back too? Here are my extended service plan papers.
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Not that I don't like your solution, but don't you think it'd be much more expensive to pay the lawyer to go to the store with you?
If you could get the store to pay your lawyer fees because they gave you a hard time on a defective or misleading product that'd be a different story, but if you could do that the store wouldn't give you a hard time in the first place.
It's worse than that... (Score:5, Insightful)
these DRM failures have scared me away from buying games, life is too short.
Much like Sony demonstrated that CDs are fair game for malware deployment, I'm never buying another CD or game again.
My gaming is pretty retro by now, so I can live with it, and the occasional pirated/cracked game.
It's kinda funny that I have more faith in crackers to give me a "clean" product, than i do in the publishers.
I have the money for the odd game i want, but I have exactly zero patience with DRM. Oh and my original Quake and Diablo install discs don't require any kind of activation from a remote server, and should work just fine in another 20 years.
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I know exactly what you mean. Basically a Sunday evening goes like this:
Me + 2 roomates. Lets play a PC Game. What genre? If its RTS we'll go with Either Starcraft or Age of Empires 2 mostly. Turn Based? Probably one of the Civs, or Age of Wonders. First Person shooter? Well we got Rainbow 6 Rogue Spear or the Original Ghost Recon if we're in the tactical mode. Original Halo. Anything in the Half Life verse, 1 or 2. If we want to try a new FPS we normally just browse the free HL2 Mods on Steam - find one we
I'm not a happy bunny either (Score:5, Informative)
I've been stung by this one. There was little (or in fact no) warning in advance of release that the copy protection would take this form and, as this was an EA rather than an Ubisoft game, I didn't assume that it would. So, like a fool, I went and placed a pre-order with an electronic-only retailer.
Of course, the release day comes and various forums explode with news of the DRM. I had already made a decision not to buy any games with Ubisoft-style DRM... and now find myself accidentally in breach of that. I try to get a refund... and fail.
After a few days of unsuccessfully trying for a refund, I give up. I say "ok, I'll see for myself just how bad this is". So I pass up any lingering hopes of a refund and download and install the game. Just getting the launcher to start up is a hassle, as there are assorted known issues with it. Eventually, I figure out that I have to manually update the EA Download Manager (an entirely separate piece of software) before the game will run. Having done all of this, and created an account, I click the button to try to play the game. And get told that the DRM client "cannot connect to the internet". I check my net connection; no problems - I've had an IRC client running the whole time with no interruptions. Ok, maybe it's a router problem... nope, everything's fine there. I check a few forums and find that the solution is "keep trying, it works eventually."
Ok, so I do this. On the 7th or 8th try, it succeeds in logging in (so yes, it's just an inappropriate error message). The game starts, and I marvel at how retro and primative everything feels. Yes, it's defaulted my graphics to 800x600, despite the fact that pretty much every other game around these days will default to my desktop resolution and take a stab at estimating my graphics settings. Ok, no big deal, it only takes a few minutes to change things.
So, time to start the game. I'm only interested in the singleplayer campaign. I don't tend to play non-subscription games online these days; I've long since gotten sick of tolerating the 14 year old pottymouths who infest pretty much any other kind of online play. So you can imagine how delighted I am to find myself in a chatroom full of said lowlifes... on the singleplayer campaign menu. Yes, while I try to read the mission briefing, I have a window open below it full of idiot children amusing themselves in the usual way. Clicking past that, I get into the mission.
I knew from the pre-release reviews (none of which mentioned the DRM) that the C&C gameplay had been radically altered; that base building had gone. I hadn't been massively enthused by this, but I'd decided to give it a go. After all, I got plenty of enjoyment out of Dawn of War 2 and its expansion, even though I would have preferred they stuck to the traditional RTS approach. Anyway, the first couple of C&C4 missions are tutorial type things, which is fine. I'm already starting to worry that we've lost some gameplay depth, but now I've committed my money, I'm determined to give it a go. The first two tutorials are over very quickly. I get into the third, and notice that while it's still a tutorial, it's a good bit longer. 15 minutes into it... disconnected from the server... progress lost.
Fantastic.
It takes me 10 minutes to manage to log into EA's servers again (and this isn't launch day, but several days later). When I get back in, I manage to complete that mission. I then get into the game proper, and choose my faction. Starting the first proper mission (for the Nod faction) my worries about the gameplay really start to grow. There's no robustness to the micro-level combat. You're just dragging a force around from one waypoint to the next. Mid-mission, my objective changes abruptly, from conquest to escort. Before I've really cottoned on to this, the vehicles I'm supposed to escort have wandered off and been destroyed. So I revert to a mid-mission save, and go again. This time, I'm ready for the objective switch. I escort the units across the map. Just as they're a
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Seems to me they'll be losing quite a few fans if the continue like this... It's not even hard for me not to buy the game, I stopped caring just now.
Re:I'm not a happy bunny either (Score:5, Informative)
If you're in the US, it's illegal in most states for them to refuse you a refund if the game doesn't work (and it sounds like it doesn't) within 30/60/90 days of purchase. Doesn't matter what store/company policy is, doesn't matter what the EULA says. Check your state's consumer protection laws. You may be able to unbreak that boycott.
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The funny thing that occurs to me is that, part and parcel with the game is the understanding that the purchase price buys a service from EA. That service is EA keeping the activation servers up and insuring that the game talks properly to the server.
In my view, you paid for a service and are not being provided that service. This opens the door to all kinds of things on your end, least of which is issuing a chargeback if you paid using a credit card.
All that being said, I am not a lawyer.
Re:I'm not a happy bunny either (Score:5, Funny)
Although this also brings us back to the "golden age" of gaming on my 286.
Where you had to FIGHT to get the game to even work. Playing with batch files, EMS and XMS memory, loading with 15 floppy disks, etc... Seriously I think it was the messing around with computers to get them to even play games which is what got me interested in computers in the first place, which led to my education path, and presently my work environment....
Wait a tick. I take all the nostalgia back. Burn it all.
Re:I'm not a happy bunny either (Score:4, Insightful)
I can't emphasise this enough.
If you fire up Dawn of War 2, you are only ever controlling a small number of units at once. However, each of these units is highly sophisticated. They can be tweaked extensively between missions and, depending on the tweaks you make, have access to a wide variety of special abilities and powers during missions. They have more in common with a character from a party-based role-playing game like Baldur's Gate than with a traditional RTS unit. When you're actually deployed in the mission, the terrain is highly complicated and the environment has many interactive elements. Securing an area (provided you aren't on the easiest difficulty) will involve careful micromanagement, use of cover, and co-ordination between individual units. Thus the game compensates for the depth it loses by stripping out the traditional base-building and resource management elements of the RTS genre.
If you fire up Supreme Commander 2, you are faced with fairly generic units, most of whom have no special abilities or powers, and which are normally only capable of moving and attacking (though exceptions exist). However, you are managing hundreds of units at once, often fighting on multiple fronts (one set of units defending your base, while an expeditionary force goes on the offensive, with both teams containing hundreds of vehicles). You have little capacity to micromanage individual units without losing control of the wider battlefield, but the depth here comes from managing your economy, building up your base, and controlling a large combined-arms force.
Both of those approaches to the RTS genre are entirely valid and I would have no qualms about recommending either of the above games. They inhabit different ends of the RTS spectrum, but ultimately, the genre is richer for containing both of them. Some will prefer one approach, some the other, and some, like me, are happy with either.
Then we get C&C4. You are only controlling a small force at any one time (slightly larger than in Dawn of War 2, but not by a huge margin). However, the units within it are generic, cookie-cutter stuff. Only a few have any kind of special abilities to micromanage. For the most part, they just move and attack. At the same time, there is no economy to manage. You have a mobile base that can deploy, quickly build a full force of units (with no resource cost) and then pack itself up and move around again. You can slightly influence the course of battle through micromanagement, but with your small army being so easy and fast to replenish, there's relatively little point. It's better just to wheel up near your target and keep pumping out a combination of two or three unit types until you win. That's all there is to it really; no depth, no strategy, no fun.
Hello there EA! (Score:5, Insightful)
Command and Conquer style games I've bought (first sale):
- Command and Conquer
- Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun
- Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun - Firestorm expansion pack
- Command and Conquer: Renegade
- Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars
- Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars - Kane's Wrath expansion pack
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2 - Yuri's Revenge expansion pack
- Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3
- Command and Conquer: Generals
- Command and Conquer: Generals - Zero Hour expansion pack
Command and Conquer style games I won't be buying because of DRM restrictions on single-player gameplay:
- Command and Conquer 4: Tiberium Twilight
So, there you have it. One guaranteed, demonstrable lost sale because of your choice to implement a ridiculous restriction on single player gameplay. Thanks for reading.
He should criticize the game itself. (Score:4, Insightful)
Because it's pretty terrible. Well, let me clarify that. If it was some other combat game set in any other universe released for cheap on Steam it would be OK. For a Command and Conquer game it blows.
No base building?
No resource gathering?
No continuity with the previous story?
Did anybody in EA management play any of the other C&C games? Or even know of their existence?
C&C 4 is the Indiana Jones 4 of the gaming world. What is it with 4s?
Re:No problems here (Score:4, Informative)
Xbox360 is heavily pirated you know.
So is the Wii.
The only console that haven't been hacked yet, is the PS3.
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And you still can't pirate with PS3, which is the point. It also took 3 years for that hack to come up too and probably more until you can actually get the games running.
Re:No problems here (Score:5, Interesting)
I highly doubt he got a "modchip" for a PS3, unless he got ties in the underground.
There is nothing publicity available about being able to load PS3 Games from images yet.
It's been years since they enabled the PS3 to make backups from your games, but there still isn't a way to run those images.
Not public anyway.
I've heard rumours some of the underground groups have successfully ran certain images, but nothing ready to the public.
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Re:No problems here (Score:5, Funny)
I resemble that remark.
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Not to mention the added value to GNP by having us all purchase a console or two for gaming and a PC for work (not to mention a few televisions) instead of just one PC.
Just one PC? Ordinarily, if you want more than one player, you have to buy a separate PC and a separate copy of each game for each person in the house.
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Interesting. I, however, will be continuing to play open source games which do not require me to buy an entire new computer just to play them.
Open source DRM (Score:2)
I, however, will be continuing to play open source games
Even a game that uses an open-source engine can still have DRM. The game doesn't run without the assets (meshes, textures, maps, audio, etc.), and the assets don't get decrypted without the separate executable that enforces the DRM and sends the decrypted assets over a local socket to the game.
which do not require me to buy an entire new computer just to play them.
They might not require you to buy a new computer, but a lot of PC games require other people in your household to buy separate PCs in order to play multiplayer.
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I don't think you understand. I have NO interest in mainstream $60 DRM-locked blockbusters. There are lots of games out there [wikipedia.org] which run on my PC just fine, of which many have no DRM and no proprietary licensing restrictions (and are free of charge too). With all that content out there, who needs the small percentage of it that has DRM on it?
Do Free games cover all genres? (Score:2)
Re:Open source DRM (Score:5, Funny)
I don't even play games, making me even better than you are. All this fuss over DRM is so silly as it doesn't affect me only you fools. You know what else? Why should we help poor and sick people whilst there are so many healthy rich people? LISTEN TO ME PEOPLE I HAVE THINGS TO SAY ON THE INTERNET! WHY DONT YOU UNDERSTAND HOW RELEVENT I AM TO THE CONVERSATION?
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Had me going until I read the account name. Good one BadAnalogyGuy.
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"too-open platform of PCs."
Damn you're horribly misinformed. Security through obscurity never works and DRM is the gaming industry shooting themselves in the foot; they are bitting the hand that feeds. If the gaming industry wants money, all they have to do is make games that aren't shit. And lately, that has been an epic fail on there part. Just yet another reason why the industry is screwing up. There's nothing like spending millions on a piece of crap that no-one will want. Not to mention releasing
Re:No problems here (Score:4, Insightful)
The PC as a gaming platform is done.[...]PS3 offering unparalleled processing power[...]
Can I play every PS3 game in 1080p, 8xAA ? Didn't think so. On my gaming PC, I can. With an Xbox Controller and HDMI output, I can play Batman, GTA, etc. on my HDTV, sitting on my couch, with (far) better graphics than on any so-called Next-gen console. And with the same machine, I can play FPS, CRPGs, and strategy games with proper controllers (mouse/keyboard). Oh, and thanks to Steam's constant stream of special deals, I don't have to pay 50-70€ for each game.
Each time a console's price drops, I've had the temptation to buy one. But each time I quickly remember that I would hardly use it, except for playing the odd exclusive title.
Re:No problems here (Score:5, Informative)
>>Oh, and thanks to Steam's constant stream of special deals, I don't have to pay 50-70 for each game.
The only trouble with Steam is that it requires... an internet connection.
People will say that Steam can run in offline mode, and that's true... as long as there's no patch pending for Steam.
If there is, then when you run Steam offline, it tells you it is trying to patch, and canceling or trying anything else results in it quitting. There's literally no solution until you get internet access again, which really sucks if you're on a laptop without access, or if rain gets into a conduit and your internet goes down for a week, like it did for me last Thanksgiving. I'd just bought Dragon Age, and being unable to play it for an entire week because of Steam's butt fucking retardnessness really turned me off to the platform.
It's been a "known issue" for, oh, since Steam began.
Steam (Score:2, Interesting)
I work on an offshore oil rig. Internet access is available, but not in my cabin. I had HL2 backed up to DVD but couldn't install it without dragging my laptop to where I could get a net connection. Got it all installed from DVD, patched from the net.
Went back to my cabin, and it wouldn't start. Not authorized! I had to get it back to an internet connection, start the games to authorize them, then go back to my cabin. Why the hell didn't it authorize when I installed and updated!!! Was too late to play.
Afte
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Re:No problems here (Score:5, Funny)
Oh yeah, he'll just get that rainstorm that knocked out his internet to give him a warning next time.
Re:No problems here (Score:5, Insightful)
You say that Steam requires and internet connection. But then your example is a rare edge-case involving a half-way downloaded patch. It sounds like a bug, and it sounds annoying, but it isn't the same as saying that steam requires an internet connection.
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Renaming (or deleting, if you're feeling adventurous) your clientregistry.blob file should let you work around this bug.
Note: this is also the approved fix for when the system fucks up and you *do* have an internet connection,as happened to me just yesterday. Sigh...
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The annoying part is that it knows a patch is available, but doesn't download it or do anything with it, it just notes the fact, and then refuses to run if the internet goes down before it gets patched. This is a Really Bad Design for a service that supplies single player games. Not quite as bad as the DRM fiascos people are reporting, but it's been an extant issue with Steam (with people complaining about it) for years.
Re: (Score:3, Interesting)
I'm pretty sure what he's getting at is this DRM system is failing because it requires you to have an internet connection. Steam, which I do like, also requires an internet connection. Steam is better because it doesn't require a persistent connection. However, If for some reason you don't have an internet connection you can't use steam.
As an example if you work in a remote location like an oil rig, scientific research station, space, etc...
More commonly, if you live in a very rural area you might not have
Smash Bros., Mario Kart, and Animal Crossing (Score:2)
With an Xbox Controller and HDMI output, I can play Batman, GTA, etc. on my HDTV, sitting on my couch, with (far) better graphics than on any so-called Next-gen console.
Does your "etc." include proper counterparts to Super Smash Bros. series, Mario Kart series, and Animal Crossing series? I'd like to know what PC games you recommend for fans of these Nintendo-exclusive franchises.
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The comparison was with the PS3, so how is the PC any different than is if you want to play Nintendo exclusives?
And what about those Wii owners who want to play PC "exclusives", what do they do???
I was talking about genres (Score:2)
The comparison was with the PS3, so how is the PC any different than is if you want to play Nintendo exclusives?
I apologize for being unclear; I didn't necessarily mean Nintendo exclusives. For example, "a game like Street Fighter" would include King of Fighters and Mortal Kombat, even though each Street Fighter game started out as a CPS exclusive. Likewise, "a game like Super Mario 64" would include the Spyro series, "a game like Halo" would be other first-person shooters with a vaguely similar play style, and "a game like Smash Bros." would be other platform-fighting games. My point is that I don't know of a lot of
Re: (Score:2)
This has been a great year for PC gaming. There's still a lot of money to be made in making and releasing games for PC. I doubt very much that game manufacturers are going to leave that money on the table just because some people are copying those games illegally.
Re: (Score:2)
The pirates won't notice the DRM either.
I just went to look at a popular private tracker (for informational purposes only) and saw that more than half the list of top 50 games for download are for consoles.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
The PC as a gaming platform is done.
Not done, but perhaps we're starting to see the sunset. I gave up on PC gaming when Microsoft moved past Windows XP. I couldn't even get my motorola phone to work on 64 bit Windows Vista or 7 even while following various sets of directions because Microsoft boned the whole driver signing thing, and I hate to dual-boot, so now I just run the handful of games which are both good and fun on Linux.
While the CPU power and abundance of input devices make it an attractive target platform, there are simply too many problems related to software piracy to sustain the PC as a viable platform for much longer.
All the piracy-related problems are actually developer-related problems.
With X-Box supporting all the latest DX technology,
It doesn't. DirectX has moved on from what
Indie games (Score:3, Interesting)
Consoles and physical media will be the way forward from now. With X-Box supporting all the latest DX technology, PS3 offering unparalleled processing power, and Wii providing an innovative user interface, the time has never been better for game developers to migrate away from the too-open platform of PCs.
Except for students, hobbyists, and studios that are that too small to qualify for a devkit. See also Bob's Game [wikipedia.org].
Re: (Score:2)
They are doing the same crap to the consoles too. Testing the waters with DLC that is only available via the code in the new game box. Right now it's fluff crap that nobody really cares about (ME2: none of the DLC is useful at all, it's all worthless) but it will change, like 1/2 the game being a DLC that is locked to a user.
It's crap like this that makes me think the pirates have the right idea and are justified. I'm a legit customer, and I get reamed in the butt without lube by the company I bought
Re: (Score:2)
Democracy as a form of government is done. While the lack of corruption and abundance of liberty make it an attractive target platform, there are simply too many problems related to iron-fisted political control to sustain democracy as a viable platform for much longer.
Oppression? It won't be an issue when you are keylocked to your personal console and media. You won't even notice the oppression.
Funny how easily that translates... Also, whoever thought "strong" was a good replacement for the "b" tag obviously never wrote HTML by hand, the jerk.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:No problems here (Score:5, Interesting)
You damn well can notice DRM on the Xbox 360. I recently had mine die and I sent it back to MS for repair. They sent back a referb unit as per their usual policy. Along with the Xbox was a note telling me to redownload all my DLC so that the licenses on my hard drive would be updated to work with the new console. Well that only works if the jack asses at MS remember to actually transfer the licenses to the new Xbox on their servers, which they failed to do in my case.
It took a lot of poking around but I eventually found xbox.com/drm which gave me proof that they indeed forgot to transfer the licenses and also gave me a way to transfer the licenses to the new Xbox, though you can only do this once per year.
While I was having these DRM issues I could only play DLC games when I was on the account they were purchased on and logged on to Xbox live. As soon as I lost my internet connection (which happened to be having issues around this time) all my DLC games would get the word trial added beside their name. I did a test and brought up the list of all my DLC games, pulled the network cable out of the Xbox and saw the word "Trial" added to the name of every one of my games, top to bottom, one at a time. Event my damn wallpaper disappeared because that was DRMed too.
That said at least they have a tool like xbox.com/drm and at least they do allow you to link your games to a console so they can be played offline once that is achieved. Still, I'm sure this isn't the last I'll see of these issues.
Re:No problems here (Score:4, Interesting)
there are simply too many problems related to software piracy to sustain the PC as a viable platform for much longer.
Yet surprisingly indie gamers, seem to be doing OK releasing PC-only games.
Frankly, I would like the "big boys" to stay out of PC gaming. Let them buy the arguments from their accountants that it's just "not worth" developing or porting to the PC (especially when they have switched over most of their production to producing for consoles first). These large corporations are only milking the same concepts they invented or purchased long ago, in endless boring sequels.
The beauty of the PC is that ANYONE with a compiler can write games. By definition, it will always be among the first platforms to receive truly innovative concepts - because the amount of people who CAN write a game for the PC is so much greater. The "barrier to entry" is much lower. You need no specialized equipment or software. Hell Microsoft even gives away "free trials" of its compilers nowadays. All you need is an idea, and the patience to code it.
Re:No problems here (Score:4, Insightful)
While the CPU power and abundance of input devices make it an attractive target platform, there are simply too many problems related to software piracy to sustain the PC as a viable platform for much longer.
Why would there be more problems now than any other time in computer gaming history? There has always been piracy; it was sneakernet and BBSes before the internet came along. The difference is, back in the days of the floppy when Duke Nukem was a squeaky little side scroller, gamers revolted and stopped buying games with any sort of DRM, and DRM went away -- for a decade or two.
Piracy does not cost anybody and actually can cause a company to make even more money, by getting the word out that it's a kickass game. The only people who pirate are those who just want to try it out, and they'll buy it if it's good, and the rest of the pirates aren't going to buy the game anyway and wouldn't even if it was impossible to pirate it, so there aren't any lost sales to pirates. But pirates help sales when their non-pirate friends see the game.
The kicker is, for piracy to help sales of a game, the game has to be good, as opposed to being a piece of shit that the publisher bribes gaming magazines to lie about. Bad games that shouldn't even be on the market are the only ones that piracy will hurt, because the pirates will let everyone know that the game is shit.
If you believe the bullshit the RIAA, MPAA, and BSA spew, I have a nice bridge in Brooklyn you might be interested in buying. DRM only helps games, movies, and music that suck anyway; good media will sell regardless.
Re: (Score:3, Informative)
I'll second this. I'm an avid gamer. Between my Wii, Xbox, PS3, and PC I probably have AT LEAST 500 games. Steam alone has ~150, Impulse ~50, disc-based games (and floppy before) make up the rest. I still have some old SNES (I lost my NES and Atari years ago, somehow only my SNES survived to my adulthood).
That said, I pirate games. Alot. As in, I pirated probably at least 1/2 of my steam collection, and just about every other PC game I own. Why? Because the demos honestly suck. One tutorial level and maybe
Re:Hardware Dongle... (Score:4, Interesting)
I don't think it would work.
People can still modify the software to not check for a dongle, or create fake dongles. Dongles work well in a big companies because if the company is caught using unlicensed software it can mean hundreds of millions of dollars. However, some companies will still work around, or demand work arounds, dongles. I wish I could remember where I read a post on this. I read someone talking about an application they developed that used a dongle, but the customer used laptops and dongles were frequently lost in the field so the customer demanded the software without the dongles. The developer company was able to turn the dongle requirement off just for this "special case". If one person can turn off the requirement then so can others.
Individuals are (or at least think) they're more anonymous and don't have that kind of capital anyway. That being said, we've all heard about the cases where the *IAA has taken someone to court and won some X hundred thousand dollars.