Soon We'll Remember SES DRM Fondly
Jaz
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=160764
More specifically:
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=1246545&postcount=18
"Now it has been officially confirmed by an Ubisoft employee in the German
SH5 forum, SH5 will contain exactly this new protection:
- you need an Ubisoft online account to activate SH5
- Save games be stored online on Ubisoft server
- PC must be throughout the playing session connected to the internet"
TILT!
Also, the game Rise of Flight requires you to login to an online account
to play single player. Apparently that is a FAIL so bad that the company
is going to "fix" it in a patch.
And for you morons who can't figure out how to buy the game properly, here
is an 8-step process:
http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2945292/ROF_Licensing_WHAT_A_CLUSTER_F.html#Post2945364
eddys...@hotmail.com
> Here's the Ubisoft plan for Silent Hunter 5:
>
> http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=160764
>
> More specifically:
>
> http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=1246545&postcount=18
Seems like you need a subsim forum account to access those posts.
> "Now it has been officially confirmed by an Ubisoft employee in the German
> SH5 forum, SH5 will contain exactly this new protection:
>
> - you need an Ubisoft online account to activate SH5
> - Save games be stored online on Ubisoft server
> - PC must be throughout the playing session connected to the internet"
>
> TILT!
>
> Also, the game Rise of Flight requires you to login to an online account
> to play single player. Apparently that is a FAIL so bad that the company
> is going to "fix" it in a patch.
Some people just ain't smart enough to figure out that the cost in pr
and support far outweighs whatever they think they gained from sales
to would-be pirates.
Google "Rise of Flight" + crack and you get 862,000 hits ..
Seems like the pirates aren't really bothered by the DRM, just their
regular customers who can do a Google too when they run into DRM
inflicted problems and are now getting introduced into those murky
waters. That's a lose-lose situation for any company.
> And for you morons who can't figure out how to buy the game properly, here
> is an 8-step process:
>
> http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2945292/ROF_Licensing_WH...
On the XBox : buy game - put disc in XBox - play.
It's not pirates who are killing pc gaming ...
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Vincenzo Beretta
Well, the good news is that not only the sub sims lovers are being
shafted...
http://kotaku.com/5457012/ubisofts-pc-games-will-soon-require-an-internet-connection
eddys...@hotmail.com
> Well, the good news is that not only the sub sims lovers are being
The only one who's going to be shafted is UbiSoft.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Giftzwerg
16e1b4...@m25g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com
says...
> > And for you morons who can't figure out how to buy the game properly, here
> > is an 8-step process:
> >
> > http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2945292/ROF_Licensing_WH...
>
> On the XBox : buy game - put disc in XBox - play.
- faulty XBox drive scratches disk to shit - XBox itself RRODs - wait 60
days to get replacement.
> It's not pirates who are killing pc gaming ...
I'm just waiting for these games to hit GOG. Cheaper, and I get to fuck
the Nazi developer out of his money.
--
Giftzwerg
***
"Barack Obama has now, in just a year's time, become the single most
inept president perhaps in all of American history."
- David Michael Green
eddys...@hotmail.com
> In article <53fa54b0-ae4b-4681-af45-
> 16e1b4bae...@m25g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>, eddyster...@hotmail.com
> says...
> > On the XBox : buy game - put disc in XBox - play.
>
> - faulty XBox drive scratches disk to shit - XBox itself RRODs - wait 60
> days to get replacement.
Shit happens & things break down - but the crucial point is that they
weren't *designed* to break down, the devs tried to create a product
as fault-free as possible.
With server-chained software the reverse is true. If <anything>
happens the DRM kicks in to lock you out of your game. A couple of
days ago the DRM-server for Rise of Flight went down for a night and
*all* their customers were unable to play their game. That's a case of
designed to break down if I ever saw one.
> > It's not pirates who are killing pc gaming ...
>
> I'm just waiting for these games to hit GOG. Cheaper, and I get to fuck
> the Nazi developer out of his money.
The funny thing is that Strategic Command 1 appeared on GoG and
looking at the reaction of Battlefront they weren't even told about
this :)
http://www.battlefront.com/community/showthread.php?t=90383
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Giftzwerg
@g1g2000yqi.googlegroups.com>, eddys...@hotmail.com says...
> > > On the XBox : buy game - put disc in XBox - play.
> >
> > - faulty XBox drive scratches disk to shit - XBox itself RRODs - wait 60
> > days to get replacement.
>
> Shit happens & things break down - but the crucial point is that they
> weren't *designed* to break down, the devs tried to create a product
> as fault-free as possible.
In the case of the XBox, though, it seems like they didn't try very
hard.
> With server-chained software the reverse is true. If <anything>
> happens the DRM kicks in to lock you out of your game. A couple of
> days ago the DRM-server for Rise of Flight went down for a night and
> *all* their customers were unable to play their game. That's a case of
> designed to break down if I ever saw one.
I had an interesting conversation the other day with this fellow who
does $ork's "digital marketing" (IE, facebook, twitter, other social
presences...). He took me to task for opposing server-chaining with a
single observation; "You use gmail for everything now, though; if gmail
isn't server-chained, I dunno what is."
Ignoring the obvious rejoinder that email was always kinda difficult to
accomplish without a transport system, he had a point; a cloud-based
email application is problematic in all sorts of ways an older POP-style
client isn't. There are security and privacy issues. There's the
matter of no local storage. The application simply goes dark if there's
no connection.
So my real response is that gmail and other cloud-based applications
offer me something powerful in return for the server-chaining. In the
case of gmail, I can go to any PC on the internet and read my
correspondence as if I were at my own computer. Try that with Microsoft
Outlook.
The gaming corollary would be something like WORLD OF WARCRAFT. Nobody
bitches about being "server-chained" to play WOW - that's the whole
point! You're getting a compelling gaming experience in return for
being tied to a server.
The PC wargame world offers (almost) nothing like that; server-chaining
offers nothing beyond an opportunity for Nazi developers to stiff their
customers.
eddys...@hotmail.com
> The PC wargame world offers (almost) nothing like that; server-chaining
> offers nothing beyond an opportunity for Nazi developers to stiff their
> customers.
The best thing that could happen to wargamers now is a massive DRM
fail of some sorts. JR deciding he wasn't going to design wargames
anymore for those ungrateful pirates and shutting down his operation
or such.
As per their licence agreement he only has to provide support for 90
days after purchase so legally he can't be touched.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
HermanH
<eddyster...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> The best thing that could happen to wargamers now is a massive DRM
> fail of some sorts. JR deciding he wasn't going to design wargames
> anymore for those ungrateful pirates and shutting down his operation
> or such.
I don't see how an SES shutdown can equate to a 'massive DRM
failure'. It's not like they are a big fish or have a significant
market share as they are in one of the smallest niche markets.
Briarroot
> Here's the Ubisoft plan for Silent Hunter 5:
>
> http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=160764
>
> More specifically:
>
> http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=1246545&postcount=18
>
> "Now it has been officially confirmed by an Ubisoft employee in the German
> SH5 forum, SH5 will contain exactly this new protection:
>
> - you need an Ubisoft online account to activate SH5
> - Save games be stored online on Ubisoft server
> - PC must be throughout the playing session connected to the internet"
>
> TILT!
>
<scratches head> Is SH5 supposed to be an MMO?
> Also, the game Rise of Flight requires you to login to an online account
> to play single player. Apparently that is a FAIL so bad that the company
> is going to "fix" it in a patch.
>
What? No monthly fee to *rent* the game? 8-P
--
"If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in
five years there'd be a shortage of sand." - Nobel prize-winning
economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006)
Magnorff
"Jaz" <j...@jaz.invalid> skrev i melding
news:Xns9D0CE85B...@188.40.43.245...
Odd that they'll try this stunt a couple of years after EA tried theirs.
(Bioshock, Mass Effect etc).
EA has turned around almost completely, Sims 3 just has a registration
online (I think, might be just to get extra stuff) and then CD in drive
check. It's basically the same with Dragon Age. Mass Effect 2 has a
registration online, then no more checks unless you want to install again. I
think.
All 3 games are extremely high profile, and I'd imagine they would be a
prime target for "causual piracy".
M
Giftzwerg
22g2000yqr.googlegroups.com>, herm...@gmail.com says...
> > The best thing that could happen to wargamers now is a massive DRM
> > fail of some sorts. JR deciding he wasn't going to design wargames
> > anymore for those ungrateful pirates and shutting down his operation
> > or such.
>
> I don't see how an SES shutdown can equate to a 'massive DRM
> failure'. It's not like they are a big fish or have a significant
> market share as they are in one of the smallest niche markets.
Agreed. There's going to have to be some *giant* company with a
showstopper DRM failure involving class-action lawsuits; somebody with a
million customers having to pay $20 to each of them.
Note, too, that serious companies with too much at stake pull the fangs
right out of their DRM. A failed Windows activation, for example,
leaves the computer in a perfectly useable state, just with a nag-box
and black wallpaper. It surprises me that more game companies don't
adopt this sort of thing rather than bricking the game completely; make
it so the game only runs in 800x600 16-color VGA (or something) until
activation goes through.
Seems to me that might make DRM more palatable even to the people stupid
enough to buy an afflicted product in the first place.
Giftzwerg
bria...@gmail.com says...
> > Also, the game Rise of Flight requires you to login to an online account
> > to play single player. Apparently that is a FAIL so bad that the company
> > is going to "fix" it in a patch.
> >
>
> What? No monthly fee to *rent* the game? 8-P
I'm surprised more companies don't do exactly this. I would try out a
lot more FPS games, for example, if I could get the first "level" for
five bucks to see if I liked the game.
Better yet, pull a DOOM and gimme the first level free. Demos are nice,
but most of them are so dumbed-down and limited that they're hardly a
fair introduction to the main producdt.
paul...@yahoo.com
> Odd that they'll try this stunt a couple of years after EA tried theirs.
> (Bioshock, Mass Effect etc).
Wasn't Ubisoft the Starforce fiasco company too?
I think the best bet for them is to abandon the PC market and strictly
develop for Xbox - server chained to Windows Live, of course...
KG_Jag
> In article <53fa54b0-ae4b-4681-af45-
> 16e1b4bae...@m25g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>, eddyster...@hotmail.com
>
> > > And for you morons who can't figure out how to buy the game properly, here
> > > is an 8-step process:
>
> > >http://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/2945292/ROF_Licensing_WH...
>
> > On the XBox : buy game - put disc in XBox - play.
>
> - faulty XBox drive scratches disk to shit - XBox itself RRODs - wait 60
> days to get replacement.
>
> > It's not pirates who are killing pc gaming ...
>
> I'm just waiting for these games to hit GOG. Cheaper, and I get to fuck
> the Nazi developer out of his money.
>
> --
> Giftzwerg
> ***
> "Barack Obama has now, in just a year's time, become the single most
> inept president perhaps in all of American history."
> - David Michael Green
You may have a long wait. The last time I checked, GOG offered only
Silent Hunter 2.
Holdit
says...
>
> Here's the Ubisoft plan for Silent Hunter 5:
>
> http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=160764
>
> More specifically:
>
> http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=1246545&postcount=18
>
> "Now it has been officially confirmed by an Ubisoft employee in the German
> SH5 forum, SH5 will contain exactly this new protection:
>
> - you need an Ubisoft online account to activate SH5
> - Save games be stored online on Ubisoft server
> - PC must be throughout the playing session connected to the internet"
>
> TILT!
>
No sale.
Holdit
--
"But, for sheer thrill-a-minute stuff we turn to King Muley Hassan of
Morrocco. His contribution to brighter chess was to use prisoners from
the royal dungeons [as pieces]. What made his games prime-time viewing
was that captured pieces were beheaded on the spot. And you thought
American Football was rugged. The prisoners must have taken a keen
interest in Muley's opening repertoire. Gruesome (but not necessarily
accurate) legendhas it that he was particularly fornd of the Danish
Gambit."
-The Even More Complete Chess Addict
Graham Thurlwell
<snip>
> It surprises me that more game companies don't adopt this sort of
> thing rather than bricking the game completely; make it so the game
> only runs in 800x600 16-color VGA (or something) until activation goes
> through.
Wouldn't bother me, I still play FFE in glorious 320x200, haven't even
downloaded the Direct 3D hack those Russian guys did last year. Most
wargames would probably be pretty playable in 800x600 - WCNAW for
certain.
That said, I'm still running a ViewSonic E70fSB (a 17" CRT) so I can
get away with it. I imagine that some high-end plasma jobs could have
a problem syncing that low.
--
Jades' First Encounters Site - http://www.jades.org/ffe.htm
The best Frontier: First Encounters site on the Web.
nos...@jades.org /is/ a real email address!
Graham Thurlwell
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Erm, aren't these the guys who stopped using Starforce because they
suddenly decided it was evil?
I wasn't hugely bothered about SH5 anyway, but I have a horrible
feeling that Ubisoft are the publishers for the new ETO sim from the
IL-2 developers.
KG_Jag
The DRM has apparently caused some sort of revolution at SubSim
against the title.
Are you tracking this JR?
Ubi--are you not familiar with the level of "success" of (and most
recent emails from) SES and their DRM driven "business" model? Do you
have a clue what this DRM does to the modding community for your
games? Guess SH 5 needs to be "subs lite", with an entirely different
customer base than the previous SH titles in order to achieve any
level of success.
Giftzwerg
fac045...@r24g2000yqd.googlegroups.com>, wbur...@netscape.net
says...
> > > It's not pirates who are killing pc gaming ...
> >
> > I'm just waiting for these games to hit GOG. Cheaper, and I get to fuck
> > the Nazi developer out of his money.
> You may have a long wait. The last time I checked, GOG offered only
> Silent Hunter 2.
<shrug>
Fine. A game I've never played has zero priority in my universe.
Graham Thurlwell
<snip>
[Ubisoft server-chain SH5]
> The DRM has apparently caused some sort of revolution at SubSim
> against the title.
Yeah, I'm reading the thread now. Stacks of people are cancelling
their pre-orders. That's a particular embuggerance for SubSim as they
have some sort of deal with, IIRC, Amazon where they get paid a cut of
sales through their online store. :-(
Cronos
> Here's the Ubisoft plan for Silent Hunter 5:
I was looking forward towards SH5 but not anymore.
Holdit
nos...@jades.org says...
>
> embuggerance
Superb word! Thanks.
Holdit
--
"But, for sheer thrill-a-minute stuff we turn to King Muley Hassan of
Morrocco. His contribution to brighter chess was to use prisoners from
the royal dungeons [as pieces]. What made his games prime-time viewing
was that captured pieces were beheaded on the spot. And you thought
American Football was rugged. The prisoners must have taken a keen
interest in Muley's opening repertoire. Gruesome (but not necessarily
accurate) legend has it that he was particularly fornd of the Danish
Jaz
news:53fa54b0-ae4b-4681...@m25g2000yqc.googlegroups.com:
> On 27 jan, 07:50, Jaz <j...@jaz.invalid> wrote:
>> Here's the Ubisoft plan for Silent Hunter 5:
>>
>> http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=160764
>>
>> More specifically:
>>
>> http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=1246545&postcount=18
>
> Seems like you need a subsim forum account to access those posts.
Oops, sorry. Hope I gave you enough to get the idea of what Ubi are
planning. A LOT of unhappiness there.
Vincenzo Beretta
> their pre-orders.
I really wonder what is passing through Ubisoft's minds right now. They got
the expected result, so it would be interesting to know *why* they were
looking forward to this...
Holdit
says...
I do have an account on that forum, and I can tell you that when I
looked in, it was a very angry thread.
Vincenzo Beretta
> looked in, it was a very angry thread.
Consider this: I have SHIII plus the GWX mod on my laptop, and it is one of
the games I play while on the move. SHV requires a permanent connection to
the internet and saves *are stored on UBI servers!!* Even if I were the
biggers DRM lover in the world this fact alone would push SHV in the "no
sale" column. It is amazing the creativity that some companies put into
cutting their own balls.
eddys...@hotmail.com
> In article <7f2b5ce050.ja...@d.thurlwell.btopenworld.com>,
Shortest explanation of what DRM is I've ever heard :)
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
eddys...@hotmail.com
> On Jan 27, 7:22 am, "eddyster...@hotmail.com"
>
> <eddyster...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > The best thing that could happen to wargamers now is amassiveDRM
> > anymore for those ungrateful pirates and shutting down his operation
> > or such.
>
> I don't see how an SES shutdown can equate to a 'massiveDRM
> failure'. It's not like they are a big fish or have a significant
> market share as they are in one of the smallest niche markets.
I'm not talking about games in general here, but about the wargame
world. That's a small world and even a little company like SES going
tits up and leaving their customers in the cold will result in most
wargamers shunning DRM from then on.
Greetz,
Eddy Sterckx
Sean Black
Beretta <rec...@hotmail.com> writes
SHIV, so I'll just get my sub fix from them. Until such a time, should
it arrive, as I'm sure it will that there's a crack for SHV to bypass
the DRM. Well done Ubi, good job all round :)
--
Sean Black
Briarroot
> In article<ZrCdndfjCZBU__3W...@posted.toastnet>,
> bria...@gmail.com says...
>
>>> Also, the game Rise of Flight requires you to login to an online account
>>> to play single player. Apparently that is a FAIL so bad that the company
>>> is going to "fix" it in a patch.
>>>
>>
>> What? No monthly fee to *rent* the game? 8-P
>
> I'm surprised more companies don't do exactly this.
>
If this keeps up... ;-)
> I would try out a
> lot more FPS games, for example, if I could get the first "level" for
> five bucks to see if I liked the game.
>
> Better yet, pull a DOOM and gimme the first level free. Demos are nice,
> but most of them are so dumbed-down and limited that they're hardly a
> fair introduction to the main producdt.
>
Yeah, I miss shareware too. :-/
--
"President Obama [in his State of the Union Speech] called for a new tax
on banks and other large financial institutions, 'a modest fee,' he
said, 'to pay back the taxpayers who rescued them in their time of
need.' That sounds great, but in truth, the new tax would do nothing of
the kind. Mr. Obama knows that almost every major bank has paid-back
their bailout funds, with interest. Taxpayers made substantial profits
on those repayments. On the other hand, most of the companies that still
owe billions to taxpayers, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and
auto firms GM and Chrysler, would not be subject to the tax. In short,
Mr. Obama would tax those that have paid back taxpayers and exempt those
who have not." - The Heritage Foundation
Cronos
> As per their licence agreement he only has to provide support for 90
> days after purchase so legally he can't be touched.
What happened to the EU law they said they were proposing that all
software had to come with a warranty of 2 years?
Graham Thurlwell
<eddys...@hotmail.com> wrote:
Can't claim credit, I'm afraid - I myself saw the word in a spoof book
on the SAS but I gather it's a reasonably common word in the British
Armed Forces. Does have a nice ring to it though. ;-)