Widescreen Gaming Forum

Guess I won't buy this one either.

LOL me either, well they've saved me some dosh. I was undecided and would have probably bought this game if the reviews were good; but now I'll just leave it :) I'm not interested in a replay of the BioShock activation fiasco.

what I've seen, Far Cry 2 looks like it could be pretty sweet, so I'm hoping that it won't have any DRM systems in it that I object to

This looks like one I might just pirate and eventually purchase once it goes DRM-free.

I will report on how it actually works in the real world. It sucks--that's true--the IDEA of it sucks. We all know that DRM only hurts the paying customers. But, clearly, the suits at EA (and now Ubi) are on this DRM kick the last couple of years.

Again, while I dislike it very much the limitations--on paper--don't seem like a big deal and read far less draconian than the EA Spore debacle. We'll see. I won't be canceling my pre-order and will post my experience.

Some additional clarifications from the Ubi rep "Ubi.Vigil":

Okay, so "only five activations" is not accurate.

You can install the game on three machines, and each machine gets five activations. As soon as you uninstall the game on a PC, the serial is revoked for another installation.

In rare cases where the five activations aren't enough, tech support will be able to assist. Since your activations are verified online they can also be ammended, though only if issues arise from using the five activations (somehow!)

quote:
Originally posted by imstreet:
So it means , as long as i uninstall the game i can install it as many times i want?

What about the steam version?! I have my pre order there.
Theres no installuninstall thing, how to revoke the key there?



As long as you uninstall while connected online, then yes, it should revoke that activation and you can install on another machine. Steam uses its own separate DRM system.

quote:
Originally posted by CuZtds_Lst_Stnd:
Vigil can you confirm that the three seperate machines can have the game installed and activated concurrently? (Not running, although that is a question others would probably want answered)



That's my understanding, yes. You'll also need the disc in the drive to start the game.

quote:
Originally posted by flabacari:
Say I was to have the game installed on three systems, be it one at a time or all at once, and one or all of these systems became outdated. If I revoked the activation on each computer would I then be able to use a different three computers, or is the rule that once it is on 3, those are the only 3 it will EVER be on.



Every time you revoke the activation you can install the game on a different machine. So yes, you could uninstall/revoke on three then put it on three completely different machines.

quote:
Originally posted by TheHoboInABox:

quote:
Originally posted by iennasser888:
Is there a requirement to be connected to the Internet at any time ?



To install and play multi player I guess.



Correct, a net connection is needed to activate or uninstall/revoke. Plus of course multiplayer. You don't need a permanent connection.

quote:
Originally posted by WhiteKnight77:
With Ubi using this new version of SecurROM, which is quite similar to Starforce with a new twist, I am interested in what happens and what plays out.



This is very, very different to Star Force in approach. Star Force was controversial for the system priveleges it granted itself and subsequent issues this caused. There was no online activation element.

And this from community developer Atmon:

Hey There,

Let me clarify that, we are not using a system as draconian as that.
FC2 come with a newer version of SecuROM, providing a “revokeâ€

Stec, Steam has the same limits:


Best of luck to you if you decide to go for the game. I hope it treats you nice.

My position is simple, as soon as I pay for a product, there should be zero artificial barriers impeding my use of that product. I will not ask permission to play a game.

It looks like L4D and Fallout 3 are the only big games that will get my dollars. Of course there's also GOG.com :) .

I posted this SecuROM summary on the Ubi forums:

Secondhand
Exterminating
Customer
Undermining
Restrictive
Operating
Mechanism

_________________
VirtualDub Game Recording Guide | BFME2 & RotWK Widescreen/Triplehead Mods

Yep saw that confirmed by Steam after I posted. I saw your post there as well and it was very well-stated. (thumbs up)

I can't see this implementation really being a hassle for most people though, especially with the Steam version. Granted, I hate that they are using DRM. :evil: I don't hate it enough to pass on this title, however. :?

I'm theorizing that the Steam version will be better than the hard copy as you'll never need to satisfy the supposed SecuROM requirement of playing with the disc in the drive. With that aside, after installation I'd expect playing it will be like any other game.

Again, I'll be sure to detail my experience for posterity and whether this DRM is as friendly as stated on the Ubi boards.

Thanks for the thumbs, Stec. ;)

I would like to hear your feedback, although the only complete evaluation of this kind of DRM can be made after years have passed, since the 'gotchas' are activation limits and testing the waters of Ubisoft's long-term customer support (still waiting for that Raven Shield SDK...).

Projecting this business course out a few years, I must consider what DRM like this means 5-10 years from now. What if most of the industry follows suit? I've got well over 100 games installed. If most games start using such DRM, that would mean I would have to uninstall dozens of titles 'correctly' in order to de-activate properly, before reformating my system. No thanks.

The fact that EA is unabashedly ditching offline-play confirms that industry players are hot'n'heavy to change their business models. Their goal is obvious: transform all games into service-type products so that they can force subscription-style payments. What industry exec doesn't drool over the loads of cash WoW brings in monthly? What exec doesn't look at the massive CounterStrike population and think "How the heck can we get those guys to buy something new?" 5, 10, 15 machine install limits are now, how about 1 machine later? If pubs could get away with restricting a game to a single machine permanently, they would do that. But that would be too much change, too fast. So how do you administer the posion without arousing too much suspicion? In progressive, small doses, while singing a lullaby.

-edit-
Wow. Maybe I'm a prophet or something. How's this for evidence of where game publishers are headed:

each copy of Gears of War 2 will ship with a unique, one-time-use code for downloading extra multiplayer levels. Once the code has been used, subsequent owners of that copy of the game will be unable to download the levels.
And NBA Live 09 will include a similar free, one-time code for accessing daily roster and stat updates. If you buy a used copy of NBA Live 09 and the previous user has already redeemed the code, you'll have to pay $20 to get the updates. source

_________________
VirtualDub Game Recording Guide | BFME2 & RotWK Widescreen/Triplehead Mods

You make some great points.

-edit-
Wow. Maybe I'm a prophet or something. How's this for evidence of where game publishers are headed:

each copy of Gears of War 2 will ship with a unique, one-time-use code for downloading extra multiplayer levels. Once the code has been used, subsequent owners of that copy of the game will be unable to download the levels.
And NBA Live 09 will include a similar free, one-time code for accessing daily roster and stat updates. If you buy a used copy of NBA Live 09 and the previous user has already redeemed the code, you'll have to pay $20 to get the updates. source

Something that I've said in the past:

You buy a book, resell it. You have done nothing wrong.

You buy a game, resell it. Your a thieve.