UbiSoft Unleashes New DRM Based On Cloud

[Telefrog]

With the Settlers 7: Paths To A Kingdom, UbiSoft is trying out a new antipiracy effort. The seventh chapter of the long-running, and popular, PC strategy series will require gamers to be online at all times to play and save the game.

Since authentication is now handled through your Ubi.com account, you'll always need to connect to your Ubi.com account to authenticate before playing. While it's hard to conceive of PC gamers being stranded without an Internet connection, those situations do come up, particularly when traveling.

We asked about the potential backlash to this authentication platform requiring an Internet connection. "We think most people are going to be fine with it. Most people are always connected to an Internet connection," Wilkinson replied.

On the upside, saves will be stored on the Ubi.com servers, so they will be available to any PC you've installed the game on, and unlimited installations will be allowed.

No plans for offline play (laptop travelers) or contingency plans for server-side data loss and outages were revealed.

[Karak]

Originally Posted by Telefrog

With the Settlers 7: Paths To A Kingdom, UbiSoft is trying out a new antipiracy effort. The seventh chapter of the long-running, and popular, PC strategy series will require gamers to be online at all times to play and save the game.



On the upside, saves will be stored on the Ubi.com servers, so they will be available to any PC you've installed the game on, and unlimited installations will be allowed.

No plans for offline play (laptop travelers) or contingency plans for server-side data loss and outages were revealed.

Despite what I am sure will be argument, To me this is the "worst" of all DRM's and I have been waiting for the shoe to drop on this kind of thing for awhile.
DRM that involves a complete seperate service that doesn't involve MMO requirements is really damn restrictive. Especially for a game like Settlers that I might take with me in a laptop or other portable function and be places with no wireless access. I am sure the pirates will fix it asap as they always seem to do with this kind of thing. But I am against this form of DRM more than any other.

[CappinCanuck]

Originally Posted by Wilkinson

"We think most people are going to be fine with it," Wilkinson replied.

You're in for a treat! Who the hell did you consult for that opinion? I hope they offer refunds!

[J Arcane]

I have never had anything short of massive and constant problems with Ubisoft's online systems. I still have nightmares about how much of a pain in the ass it was to get online in Rainbow Six 3, and it had a lot to do with why I played it mainly on Xbox instead.

[KidCactus]

Originally Posted by Telefrog

On the upside, saves will be stored on the Ubi.com servers, so they will be available to any PC you've installed the game on, and unlimited installations will be allowed.

If they are ONLY stored on their servers I wouldn't call it an upside.

[Narradisall]

Well, saves me picking that game up ever.

Even in the bargin bins.

While I'm sure a lot of you here (including me) probably have active internet connections when we play, there's still enough time spent gaming when we don't. That's ignoring their service being shitty too. Heck I hate GFWL enough because it always shits the bed whenever I want to do anything. The idea of not being able to even play when they do... *shudder*

[Telefrog]

Originally Posted by KidCactus

If they are ONLY stored on their servers I wouldn't call it an upside.

Neither would I, but I'm trying my hardest to be fair in a thread starter.

Let's face it, Dragon Age was pretty much the same way if you had any of the DLC stuff active in your current save. Ubisoft's plan is a graduation of that. (I think the test run was the Uplay unlocks implementation in Assassin's Creed 2.) I think we've all known that this cloud-based DRM was coming for a while. It's what I initially thought of back when Valve was talking about it before Steam even launched.

The cloud concept is really about data control. It can be convenient in the case of multiple users accessing the same files (like collaborative projects) or a single user accessing data across multiple platforms, but overall it's about controlling your independence.

[Panthera]

This shit will be cracked instantly.

[DoctorFinger]

Originally Posted by Panthera

This shit will be cracked instantly.

Can something be cracked before it even exists? Because that's what is going to happen in this case.

[boratika]

Well, I'm not buying any games with this ever.


Personal situation: I don't have internet at home (I have no phone line - it'll cost $200-300aud to get it reconnected,) so I take my computer around to my Mum's house, (where I pay for the internet and she pays for the phone line) to use the internet. At my house, I have a 56" 1080p plasma. At my mum's house I have a 17" 1280x1024 LCD.

You can probably guess where I do most of my gaming and my online status when it takes place (I'd be about a year since I last played any online multiplayer.)


And this is just one reason out of oh so many why someone might not be able to be online all the time.

Originally Posted by CappinCanuck

You're in for a treat! Who the hell did you consult for that opinion? I hope they offer refunds!

I guessing the two sock puppets where his hands would normally be.

[Savok]

Annnnnd not buying Ubi games anymore.

God damn, I'm gonna have money for a trio of hookers at the rate publishers want me to stop buying their shit.

[Hawkzombie]

Originally Posted by Savok

Annnnnd not buying Ubi games anymore.

God damn, I'm gonna have money for a trio of hookers at the rate publishers want me to stop buying their shit.

Lord knows you need them.

[Savok]

I'll line them up, make a ho-train, and I'll be the tracks.

[H.Bogard]

I hope SC: Conviction doesn't follow this shit.

Do they even care if the people who are giving them money enjoy the experience anymore? Seriously?

[biosc1]

...and when they decide, like EA has done in the past, that they no longer want to run these servers anymore?

Hopefully, they are going to use a generic form of DRM to handle all their games so that they don't need to run separate servers for each game...and maintain separate servers for each game, etc...

Of course, that would be the smart thing to do, but one never knows these days...I'm sure they have thought up an idea that, after a year or 2, to maintain your older game on their servers, you'll have to pay...

[Xydarc]

Originally Posted by Telefrog

Let's face it, Dragon Age was pretty much the same way if you had any of the DLC stuff active in your current save. Ubisoft's plan is a graduation of that. (I think the test run was the Uplay unlocks implementation in Assassin's Creed 2.) I think we've all known that this cloud-based DRM was coming for a while. It's what I initially thought of back when Valve was talking about it before Steam even launched.

AFAIK, you don't have to be online while playing Dragon Age to use the DLC equipment. Even then, you can disable the DLC and perform a force load.

[Saladin]

Originally Posted by Panthera

This shit will be cracked instantly.

I dunno, if the game physically lacks the ability to save locally how useful will a crack be?

[Telefrog]

Originally Posted by Xydarc

AFAIK, you don't have to be online while playing Dragon Age to use the DLC equipment. Even then, you can disable the DLC and perform a force load.

Right, but if you actually want to use the DLC for your singleplayer game, you'd better be online.

[Ink Asylum]

Originally Posted by Saladin

I dunno, if the game physically lacks the ability to save locally how useful will a crack be?

Presumably a crack could tell the game to store the save data somewhere else, namely your own computer.

[Telefrog]

More info at Shacknews.

What if Ubisoft decides not run these online services in the future? Will my game stop working?

If any service is stopped, we will create a patch for the game so that the core game play will not be affected.

Keep in mind that this is the same thing Valve said about Steam and their games way back in the day, but the EULA for Steam does not support this at all. I'd bet dollars to donuts that the EULA for UbiSoft's PC games using this system will also omit any such guarantee.

Frankly, if a business is crashing and burning, I think they'll have a few issues that take priority over putting out an unlock patch. IE - I haven't seen it happen yet.