Q&A about the new Ubisoft online platform [Archive]

piri_reis

01-26-10, 06:41 PM

Is there an "off-line" option?
No. The added services to the game (unlimited installs, online storage of saved games and the fact that you don’t need the game disc to play) require you to have an online connection while playing the game.

What will happen if I lose my Internet connection when I play the game?
If you lose your Internet connection the game will pause while it tries to reconnect. If the Internet Connection is unable to resume you can continue the game from where you left off or from the last saved game.

Will all my saved games be stored online?
Yes! They will be stored both online and on your PC.

:nope:
I don't understand the game pausing??
Well the save games also being saved locally means utilities similar to sh3cmndr would work, but I'm not sure..

HundertzehnGustav

01-26-10, 06:42 PM

Saved games are also synchronized online

Will all my saved games be stored online?
Yes! They will be stored both online and on your PC.

not ONLY online. Synch'ed.

Is there an "off-line" option?
No. The added services to the game (unlimited installs, online storage of saved games and the fact that you don’t need the game disc to play) require you to have an online connection while playing the game.

hahahaha.

What if Ubisoft decides not run these online services in the future? Will my game stop working?
Ubisoft is committed to being a forerunner in providing new exciting online service. If any service is stopped, we will create a patch for the game so that the core game play will not be affected.

So its patched out by 2012 or something like that (when sale stop?). Good.

Can I resell my game?
Not at this time.
Need to discuss that with lawyer in the morning.

How does Ubisoft use my personal information? How can I control which data is actually provided to Ubisoft?
Ubisoft uses information provided by its customers only to ensure our services run properly for an optimal gameplay experience - including the customer service. Ubisoft does not use personal information for any other purposes, unless you have explicitly accepted for us to do so.

Better keep providing as Fake data as you can, and use tools to prevent them knowing more than you want them to know.

Why is Ubisoft forcing their loyal customers to sign up for a Ubisoft account when they don't want to give their private data and only play single player games?
We hope that customers will feel as we do, that signing up for an account will offer them exceptional gameplay and services that are not available otherwise.

Yawn. Ultra Big Yawn.

GoldenRivet

01-26-10, 06:44 PM

thanks for sharing!

PROS:

1. dont need the disc to play

2. can install on any number of different computers (work, home, moms house, cousins house, grandparents house etc)

3. Play from any one of those computers from the last saves position

4. No strict access rules

5. if online service is expected to cease for a title, a patch will be released to make it playable without the online requirement

6. Loss of connection results in a pause while a reconnect is established, if one cannot be established you can start from where you left off when it is established

7. save games are stored BOTH ONLINE AND ON YOUR PC

8. No monitoring software is included!

CONS:

1. You cant re-sell your game

2. If you buy the game and only then find out about the online requirement it is up to the retailer to provide a refund.

3. No offline option means people who have spotty access to the internet will have problems

IanC

01-26-10, 06:44 PM

Will I need to be online the whole time when I play the game? Including for single player?
Yes. You will need to have an active Internet connection to play the game, for all game modes.

Good gawwd... what are they thinking. :nope:

Paajtor

01-26-10, 06:45 PM

Here (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/97778-Ubisoft-Details-New-Anti-Piracy-Plan) is another article.

bigboywooly

01-26-10, 06:45 PM

so i guess would mean no chance of a program such as SH3commander or sh3 gen as saves stored at ubi

Sgtmonkeynads

01-26-10, 06:47 PM

If I have the game, mod it, then login to play,and some auto-update writes over stuff, will that affect my entire set up right? I had another game do that, and I'm not going through that crap again.

Subnuts

01-26-10, 06:49 PM

So if my internet connection goes down for a few days, and just want a U-boat fix to tide things over, I'm SOL?

Time to get the GWX team back together. They'll need something to do when the local server goes down for maintenance.

Seeadler

01-26-10, 06:49 PM

perhabs if every SH5 user around the world, saving the game every two minutes, the Ubi servers runs out of save space:har:

Paajtor

01-26-10, 06:50 PM

If I have the game, mod it, then login to play,and some auto-update writes over stuff, will that affect my entire set up right? I had another game do that, and I'm not going through that crap again.
Dual install?
Or is that not allowed?

"However you can only play with your individual Ubisoft account on one computer at a time."....

HundertzehnGustav

01-26-10, 06:52 PM

Mwaaahaha but hold on

they will dynamically adjust their servers aallocated to SHV. that means the other games will have problems, not ours.

Well, no matter how, that would wreak Havoc on their system...

GoldenRivet

01-26-10, 07:08 PM

so i guess would mean no chance of a program such as SH3commander or sh3 gen as saves stored at ubi

saves are stored at ubi AND the PC

i dont know which save takes precedence over the other though

bigboywooly

01-26-10, 07:13 PM

saves are stored at ubi AND the PC

i dont know which save takes precedence over the other though

be ok if you can use your own pc save and then sync when saving
guess is a wait and see moment

martes86

01-26-10, 07:17 PM

After reading this, I hope you don't mind that I spit out another "Meh!". :DL

Webster

01-26-10, 07:19 PM

be ok if you can use your own pc save and then sync when saving
guess is a wait and see moment

direct quote from the story

"One very interesting benefit of this new account management system is how it handles save games. Your saves will be stored remotely on Ubi servers, allowing access to your game saves on any machine. Steam offers a similar service for select games, but this will be available for the majority of Ubisoft's PC titles. "

EDIT: incorrect info removed

bigboywooly

01-26-10, 07:21 PM

direct quote from the story

"One very interesting benefit of this new account management system is how it handles save games. Your saves will be stored remotely on Ubi servers, allowing access to your game saves on any machine. Steam offers a similar service for select games, but this will be available for the majority of Ubisoft's PC titles. "

so saves are stored at UBI and NOT on your PC

ummm also from the article

Will all my saved games be stored online?
Yes! They will be stored both online and on your PC.

Paajtor

01-26-10, 07:23 PM

Suppose this "ends piracy"...will games get cheaper?:rotfl2::damn:

Webster

01-26-10, 07:29 PM

ummm also from the article

Will all my saved games be stored online?
Yes! They will be stored both online and on your PC.

where is that link? because its not in the article i saw here:

http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/news/52668/Ubisoft-Drops-PC-DRM-Takes-Everything-Online

bigboywooly

01-26-10, 07:31 PM

The link seeadler posted

Dowly

01-26-10, 07:40 PM

Ubisoft, the new EA... except worse. :nope: Oh well, their decision.

Webster

01-26-10, 07:41 PM

The link seeadler posted

thanks :up: i didnt see UBI had an official info page

kapitan_zur_see

01-26-10, 08:13 PM

There's something you're all forgetting, lads!
It is not so rare now as to find games where save games sometimes reach 5 to 10mb of data. Are we supposed to "pause" while this data gets uplaoded to the servers everytime I want to save?? I've only got some 2mb internet AND remember it's uploading! far slower than your downloading rate!
At best i can upload at 90kb/s, hope I won't get pause everywhere! and worst, lags everynow and then the game sends whataver strange data to the servers!!

Can't they just make a checking at game startup and that's it?!,!? :down::down:

HundertzehnGustav

01-26-10, 08:17 PM

LOL i cannot afford more than a ISDN line, 128 kilobits a second.
that makes 16 kilobytes.

Hehehehe
Funny. Not.

Gilbou

01-26-10, 08:28 PM

No resell allowed ?

I know several countries where this is illegal. Including a bunch of states in the US where resell is protected by law.

They want to KILL people reselling old games. That's their main objective. This has been a subject of discussion for the last years in this industry.

No more "used" games. Everyone must buy NEW and FULL PRICE games.

Where is the Vaseline tube ?

Webster

01-26-10, 08:35 PM

There's something you're all forgetting, lads!
It is not so rare now as to find games where save games sometimes reach 5 to 10mb of data.

i keep coming back to this in many replies i make but think about 100,000 people saving games times say 5mb per user limit.

thats not a lot of data space for more then 1 save and i wonder just what you can and cant save?

will you only be able to save at certain completed portions of the game so scripted layers dont have to be saved or stuff like that.

there are just so many related problems that can be wrapped around this one issue

TarJak

01-26-10, 09:10 PM

What if Ubisoft decides not run these online services in the future? Will my game stop working?
Ubisoft is committed to being a forerunner in providing new exciting online service. If any service is stopped, we will create a patch for the game so that the core game play will not be affected. This needs to be in the EULA that Ubi ships with the game. If it is not and you agree to their EULA, then they can do what they like with no legal recourse for anyone who agrees to the EULA.

HundertzehnGustav

01-26-10, 09:50 PM

Question/ what if i BUY the Disk, read the eula, and decide i do not agree?
do i get meh cash back?

Thomen

01-26-10, 09:55 PM

Question/ what if i BUY the Disk, read the eula, and decide i do not agree?
do i get meh cash back?

In Europe? Most probably.. In the US? That would depend on how loud you can yell at the Customer Service Rep. :D

Letum

01-26-10, 11:03 PM

Question/ what if i BUY the Disk, read the eula, and decide i do not agree?
do i get meh cash back?

Yes, in Europe you will by law.

However, I read an account of someone trying to do just this. They had
a very, very hard time doing it. The company whose EULA they did not
agree with claimed that he has clicked 'accept' (he had not) and they
refused a refund until after a long string of e-mails and a video of him
clicking 'Do not accept'.

mookiemookie

01-26-10, 11:29 PM

If this DRM scheme interferes with the modding of the game, then Ubi has just slit the throat of the SH series.

THE_MASK

01-26-10, 11:56 PM

The DRM wont affect me , i just wont buy SH5 .

Snestorm

01-27-10, 12:05 AM

If this DRM scheme interferes with the modding of the game, then Ubi has just slit the throat of the SH series.

I'll have to agree here, in spite of not being a heavy mod user.

Subsim modders fix Ubisoft mistakes and oversights much better than Ubisoft does.
Actualy, experience shows that there isn't much that Ubisoft does fix, or finish, after release.

JScones

01-27-10, 03:13 AM

If this DRM scheme interferes with the modding of the game, then Ubi has just slit the throat of the SH series.
Does anyone have real experience with DRM to answer this question? It's certainly one of the first q's I thought of. I mean, yeah, the devs have stated that SH5 will be more moddable than SH3...but that means nothing if Ubisoft's DRM negates it all. :hmmm:

Boris

01-27-10, 03:31 AM

Does anyone have real experience with DRM to answer this question? It's certainly one of the first q's I thought of. I mean, yeah, the devs have stated that SH5 will be more moddable than SH3...but that means nothing if Ubisoft's DRM negates it all. :hmmm:

Well it won't completely kill modding unless they put something in to explicitly stop it. But it does have the potential to be a hell of an annoyance, just as it is in Empire Total Wat for example. Game patches are downloaded automatically overwriting any mods you may have and messing up the file structure.

JScones

01-27-10, 03:33 AM

Thus JSGME may be useless? :hmmm:

THE_MASK

01-27-10, 03:35 AM

Spiksy_st3

01-27-10, 03:55 AM

if this DRM will afect or make the modding or mod install too compliated, then i wont buy the game because the modding is the key of making the Silent hunter a "real u boat war simulator" without mods and proper patches the game is piece of crap

Arrakis

01-27-10, 04:03 AM

Well it won't completely kill modding unless they put something in to explicitly stop it. But it does have the potential to be a hell of an annoyance, just as it is in Empire Total Wat for example. Game patches are downloaded automatically overwriting any mods you may have and messing up the file structure.

Empire Total War uses Steam, which allow you to play offline. The Internet connection is needed only to download the latest patch and keep your game up to date.
You can start an Empire game whenever you want offline.

To play SH5 on the contrary, being online is mandatory.

Any chance that SH5 will work through Steam? That would be an alternative to DRM isn't it?

sergbuto

01-27-10, 04:17 AM

If this DRM scheme interferes with the modding of the game, then Ubi has just slit the throat of the SH series.
The intention is to eliminate any alternative to buying a new game. Without mods, the interest of re-playing the stock versions will decline much quicker so people will look toward a new sequel.

urfisch

01-27-10, 04:44 AM

Why is Ubisoft forcing their loyal customers to sign up for a Ubisoft account when they don't want to give their private data and only play single player games?
We hope that customers will feel as we do, that signing up for an account will offer them exceptional gameplay and services that are not available otherwise.

lol...its so unbelievable to sell this "invention" as a present from heaven.

"...are not available otherwise" ...understand. handcuffs.

:nope:

DEZ

01-27-10, 04:55 AM

badkarma

01-27-10, 07:39 AM

From what I have read we may be lucky. If you read the escapist article it says the first game to have this on it is settlers 7 ( a game i was planning on buying) which is released after SH is.
Here hoping he is right

Bear in mind, they can add this later in a patch.
They did this to Company of Heroes. First release was a simple install and code, you didn't even need the disk in the drive to play. 2 or 3 patches later.. hey guys, here are a bunch of fixes to our broken game.. oh and you now need to be online to play and need a Relik account to do so.
You don't want that? Oh, then no bug fixes for you!

I still play the original and enjoy it very much, I'd rather suffer the bugs than open yet another pointless account/password just so I can play against my own PC!

elanaiba

01-27-10, 08:24 AM

Danji

01-27-10, 08:33 AM

Actually in Company of Heroes its either log online (Relic Online, which is the base for their great multiplayer system) or put a disc in the drive.

Its true though that the COH protection has long ago been broken.

omg, you have aquired a cloak of invisibility. i cannot see you, yet you're posting... ( or you're at home )

The General

01-27-10, 08:52 AM

Thus JSGME may be useless? :hmmm:

Actually in Company of Heroes its either log online (Relic Online, which is the base for their great multiplayer system) or put a disc in the drive.

Its true though that the COH protection has long ago been broken.Is Modding SH5 still gonna be possible elanaiba or JScones (you guys should know ;) ?

bigboywooly

01-27-10, 08:55 AM

Is Modding still gonna be possible?

Million dollar question

I should imagine will be tho if ubi use auto updates - as you have to be online and saves stored their end - then updating will negate all mods and maybe mess with file structures
Another wait and see I guess

kapitan_zur_see

01-27-10, 09:01 AM

Although I'm strongly against those intrusive ways of anti-piracy stuff which tries to fight illegality with ways that are virtually on the constant boundaries of illegality themselves, I can, in my personnal case (internet coonection 24/24 etc.), live with it.
However, if it makes SH5 too much of a hassle to mod, then SH5 loses 80% of interest to me, as i'm being an avid modder and usually start to try to mod the game not even after only a month of playing it :ping:...

LtCmdrMaverick

01-27-10, 09:04 AM

At what stage will these 'multitude' of legitimate questions be answered...probably only after the release and when we have, if we decide to buy it, have tried it.

I have 3 installs of SH3, SH3 stock, SH3 GWX and SH3 WAC

I have 2 Installs of SH4, SH4 stock ver 1.5 and SH4 Ver 1.5 with TMO 1.9.

Would be interesting to know if this will be possible with SH5.....can see their servers going into melt down!!!!!!

Maverick:damn::damn::damn:

Brag

01-27-10, 09:34 AM

GoldenRivet

01-27-10, 10:05 AM

Million dollar question

I should imagine will be tho if ubi use auto updates - as you have to be online and saves stored their end - then updating will negate all mods and maybe mess with file structures
Another wait and see I guess

However, Dan himself has said on many many many many occasions...

SHV will be more modder friendly than any previous version of the silent hunter series.

bigboywooly

01-27-10, 10:10 AM

However, Dan himself has said on many many many many occasions...

SHV will be more modder friendly than any previous version of the silent hunter series.

He did and lets hope its so
Mind you they said the same for Sh4 which IMHO was harder than SH3

mookiemookie

01-27-10, 10:13 AM

longam

01-27-10, 10:15 AM

So, after selling their game, UBI will continue spending money to support the game on a daily basis forever. It sure doesn't sound like a good business plan.

"Herr Kaleun, subscriptions spotted on the horizon." :down::down::down::down:

I bet they will remove it in the last patch like they did with the other protection. It seems they just want to keep it from the crackers for at least the fist 6 months or so.

Iron Budokan

01-27-10, 10:37 AM

"Ubisoft is committed to being a forerunner in providing new exciting online service."

Um, yeah. Right. I think Blizzard has already beaten you to that. But thanks for trying. Come again. :rotfl2:

Sailor Steve

01-27-10, 11:35 AM

Thus JSGME may be useless? :hmmm:
Not at all. In fact you'll use it even more. Every time you load the game UBI will overwrite all your mods, and you'll have to reload them all with JSGME, making it very useful.

Except of course for the part where you don't know they've overwritten anything until you're already playing and notice the changes.

Oh, and the part where you can't add mods while in mid-patrol. Except they may have to make a special fix for that or the stuff they add might kill your career when you load a saved game...

Don't you feel so much better now?:dead:

Brag

01-27-10, 11:43 AM

This DRM should be renamed:
MMMM
That stands for Multi Mods Murdering Machine :har::har::har::har:

Yosarian

01-27-10, 11:48 AM

However, Dan himself has said on many many many many occasions...
He also said once in an interview that we mainly use the Type II, VII and IX boats.

No matter how nice these guys are, I no longer trust these devs from Bucharest. If the Ubisoft headquarter in Paris say go and make a headstand while smiling, they will make it no matter how foolish it looks.:down:

xristoskaiti

01-27-10, 01:59 PM

What will happen if I lose my Internet connection when I play the game?
If you lose your Internet connection the game will pause while it tries to reconnect. If the Internet Connection is unable to resume you can continue the game from where you left off or from the last saved game.

:down::down::down::down::down::down::down::down::d own::down::down::down::down::down::down::down::dow n::down::down::down::down:

tater

01-27-10, 02:06 PM

"Mod-friendly" and "auto-updating" are mutually exclusive.

Dan, et al, have squat to do with Ubi's distribution schemes, I imagine, too. So they make it mod-friendly, and Ubi ****s all over it with this crap.

JScones

01-28-10, 03:37 AM

Well, we all did say we wanted the save game aspect fixed....seems it is well and truly fixed now, LOL! :rotfl2:

Not at all. In fact you'll use it even more. Every time you load the game UBI will overwrite all your mods, and you'll have to reload them all with JSGME, making it very useful.

Except of course for the part where you don't know they've overwritten anything until you're already playing and notice the changes.

Oh, and the part where you can't add mods while in mid-patrol. Except they may have to make a special fix for that or the stuff they add might kill your career when you load a saved game...

Don't you feel so much better now?:dead:
Absolutely ecstatic.:shifty:

Galanti

01-28-10, 10:43 AM

However, Dan himself has said on many many many many occasions...

SHV will be more modder friendly than any previous version of the silent hunter series.

Dan is speaking from a dev's perspective, and he is probably completely right when it comes the file structure, tweakable variables, scripting, etc.

Now comes the new DRM, which makes all of the effort the dev's put into opening up the game for modders redundant. He isn't probably too happy about that.

elanaiba

01-28-10, 12:13 PM

While I can't comment on the DRM solution, I know it wont affect the modability.

Now people can hate me if they want, can't stop that.

But the truth is the interview where we said we'll have all 3 main types of subs in the game (II,VII,IX) was done before the decision to cut IX and II from the game. Can't turn back time.

Things like that happen during development of any game. Again, if you want to be completely safe you don't answer any questions, but you wouldn't like that either ;)

I don't see it as much of a problem. The important part is that we let you people know that only type VII submarines are in the game. It would be a mistake if you were lead to believe we have ALL in the game and then you buy it and surprise - no type IXs.

That is not the case.

elanaiba

01-28-10, 12:15 PM

He also said once in an interview that we mainly use the Type II, VII and IX boats.

No matter how nice these guys are, I no longer trust these devs from Bucharest. If the Ubisoft headquarter in Paris say go and make a headstand while smiling, they will make it no matter how foolish it looks.:down:

See above answer for an explanation.

And please don't make assumptions about what I would do "because I work here".

GoldenRivet

01-28-10, 12:21 PM

See above answer for an explanation.

And please don't make assumptions about what I would do "because I work here".

Agreed, the dev team has not been getting much slack around here.

I think most of us are against the online requirment.

but you heard it straight from the horses mouth - THE OSP WONT AFFECT MODABILITY

KL-alfman

01-28-10, 12:29 PM

Thomen

01-28-10, 12:34 PM

thx, elanaiba, for your reasoned words!
the vast majority of the member on this board never had in mind to insult the dev-team (as far as I understand).

but I will never let UBI permanently invade into my system when playing SH5, i.e. I will not buy it until a better solution of copy-protection is found.

hope, I could make myself understood.

Indeed. :up:
I think it many here are grateful for the insights and details that were delivered, by the Dev Team. But it is mainly the.. eh.. lets call it 'not really confidence building news' that come from the publisher that ticks people off. ;)

floundericiousWA

01-28-10, 01:52 PM

Indeed. :up:

I'll third that!!!!! :up: I've gotten great enjoyment from the games, both "vanilla" and "post-mod" and am very grateful that you guys exist, my criticisms notwithstanding.

Thunder

01-28-10, 02:09 PM

Devs...

After all rantings that have gone on here, the fact that you guys still pop in makes you aces in my book.

So congrats on the work you have done, regardless of the restraints put on you.

When its out there go n have a beer...

:up:

Rip

01-28-10, 02:22 PM

Well STEAM let's me play my gammes in offline mode for when I can't connect to the Internet. Failing to do this is market suicide. I will still be buying it but if this remains unchanged I predict it will KILL Ubi sales.

mookiemookie

01-28-10, 02:26 PM

While I can't comment on the DRM solution, I know it wont affect the modability.

Thank you very much, Dan, for your words of reassurance. I will trust you on this. :salute:

tater

01-28-10, 02:28 PM

So it can not auto-update the game?

The game can certainly still be modded with auto-update, it's just that the update will break the mod, the game, or both.

Doesn't change the fact I won't buy it, but that's nice to hear.

floundericiousWA

01-28-10, 02:42 PM

Tater,

Well, how many patches were there for SHIII or SHIV? How soon were they released? A stable configuration WAS reached within months of release, no? (I'm asking there because I didn't find SHIII until at least two years after publication but I promptly bought it when I did!!!)

I don't think patching will make modding "improbable" if only because updates will simply go out to fix compatibility problems and instabilities. In the time it takes to sniff out most of those problems and get fixes deployed, the mod community will be working on its wish list. When we get to a stable config, the modders can start churning out their stuff. That's not a rapid process. Also, we won't know until March what Dan meant by "modder friendly."

The bigger questions, in my mind, will be whether UBI uses this to distribute add-on content and how that will play with user mod content down the line.

tater

01-28-10, 03:36 PM

Well, ANY files altered automatically are a problem. Mods change literally every file in the game save the exe (some have done that, actually).

You'd need to disable mods before any update.

I'm not an anti-DRM zealot, but I think that 100% surveillance is over the top, and insulting.

There is a local bookstore here in ABQ. I love the idea of going to the local store instead of the national chain. IN an attempt to mitigate shoplifting, they have a "greeter" who says "hi" to everyone walking in. I always get the feeling in that store like I'm being sized up and watched, and as a result I rarely go there.

That's the feel I get from this DRM nonsense. The first time I register it online, they will KNOW I'm not a criminal, so why do I have to prove it anew every time I crank the game up?

badkarma

01-28-10, 03:51 PM

The assumption here is that you will be modding the original game files.

How about an override system where you mod a seperate file, point at the original and tell the game - use me instead.
Ubi can still make updates and not effect mods, although functionality may be a little screwy when they change a file a little and the knock on effect messes with your changes, however that can happen after any patch.

I actually have faith in the devs on this one... unfortunately, the perma-online big brother-ware is a total deal breaker for me.
So I'm not buying, but I'll interested to see how the modding/auto-updating works, simply from a fellow developers point of view :DL

floundericiousWA

01-28-10, 03:52 PM

I see what you're saying tater...

I remain in the "we won't know how it works until we see comprehensive reviews which explain how it works" camp

Steeltrap

01-28-10, 06:20 PM

Can't help but feel sympathy for the devs. By all reports they love subsims as much as we do and have worked hard on a somewhat 'different' approach this time.

They might feel as crapped on by Ubi with this DRM nonsense as many here do.

Sad.

Captain Wreckless

01-29-10, 02:46 AM

The DRM wont affect me , i just wont buy SH5 .

After seeing this I doubt very seriously that I will buy SH5. :down: Unless I'm playing an internet based game like POGO.com and the like, I disable my internet access and stop all background apps running to free up as much memory as I can. This includes Virus/Firewall. If UBI changes their mind and do something like STEAM, ie offline mode, then I might consider buying SH5 or what several years when they decide to patch it to remove the online requirement.

CW :arrgh!:

prowler3

01-30-10, 12:26 AM

And we were urged to "pre-buy" to suport a developer's bad habit of not selling a finished game??? That pales in comparison to those who pre-bought...and not only have to wait for patches but now have to deal with intrusive DRM software and requirements??

LOL!! I'm guessing around last quarter 2010 to first quarter 2011 before this game is acceptable to the rest of us...if ever.

Incessant patching is one thing...keeping your damn fingers out of my system is another. I knew the other shoe would drop...maybe UBI has 4 feet??? :down:

Uber Gruber

01-30-10, 05:29 AM

I think Tater hit the nail on the head. I mean aside from the technical difficulties...and there will be hiccups, trust me. This whole assumption by UBI that all their customers are potential criminals and thus have to be "watched" just doesn't sit well on the palette.

Alas it is the direction our wonderfull....cough...capitalistic systems are heading. The customer gets pushed aside in the ever increasing scramble for yet more and more profit.

I am very much FOR systems that reduce piracy and thus increase the revenues for ethical products and companies. However, I draw a line when those systems become intrusive to honest customers like myself.

In the long term, either we'll all accept it or UBI will lose customers and damage its reputation. As no DRM system has ever worked, and neither will they, then its a no brainer. UBI is shooting themselves in the foot. :yep:

THE_MASK

01-30-10, 05:51 AM

The only gripe i have with the OSP is that while i have SH5 , ubisoft controls me by telling me when i can play it and who is to say that they wont charge for it in the future .

bigboywooly

01-30-10, 06:36 AM

and who is to say that they wont charge for it in the future .

Valid point
Who's to say a year after release they wont want to charge to keep the servers open

elanaiba

01-30-10, 08:22 AM

I think thats going a little overboard with assumptions... and I don't think that it would be very legal either.

JScones

01-30-10, 08:26 AM

Nor is implementing a system that stops game resale...only reason they are getting away with it is because Johnny Gameplayer can't afford to take them to court. ;)

Fire_Spy

01-30-10, 08:38 AM

Why aren't they targeting Console game resales as well??

Steeltrap

01-30-10, 01:19 PM

I think thats going a little overboard with assumptions... and I don't think that it would be very legal either.

Yeah, well, preventing you from returning a product to the point of sale also is of questionable legality under 'Trade Practices' and 'Sales of Goods' legislation in my place of residence.

That hasn't stopped it being done, has it? CA/SEGA did it with Empire Total War, too.

It constantly bemuses me how many companies know squat about true, effective customer relations management. Some of the simple princinples include "make it easy to complain and respond to each complaint" and "always allow a customer the option to return the product within certain parameters". How many do it? Bugger all. I used to work professionally in such areas, and trying to get companies to see the light was staggeringly dificult, no matter how well you could demonstrate the benefits.

A consequence of this is that companies persist in crap quality methods because they can get away with it by preventing customers from making the company bear the cost of poor habits. It's an interesting question to ask: does preventing returns lead to poor quality, or do companies do it so as to protect themselves from the consequences of their existing poor quality practices?

Cheers

KL-alfman

01-30-10, 01:30 PM

A consequence of this is that companies persist in crap quality methods because they can get away with it by preventing customers from making the company bear the cost of poor habits. It's an interesting question to ask: does preventing returns lead to poor quality, or do companies do it so as to protect themselves from the consequences of their existing poor quality practices?

Cheers

yessir, absolutely right!
quality management actually is the field I work in for appr 15years now. the basic norm ISO9001 (in its latest version) demands that companies lay there main focus of attention on satisfying customers' needs.
quality cannot be achieved when companies deliver products which are not exactly designed to fulfil consumers' wishes.
in my opinion UBI wouldn't reach the requested level to gain a certificate.

Steeltrap

01-30-10, 01:47 PM

in my opinion UBI wouldn't reach the requested level to gain a certificate.

I don't know, they might be officially certified as "dimwits in customer relations"... :D

Always interesting to hear from a fellow 'quality' student/practitioner.

Cheers!

KL-alfman

01-30-10, 01:54 PM

I don't know, they might be officially certified as "dimwits in customer relations"... :D

Always interesting to hear from a fellow 'quality' student/practitioner.

Cheers!

hi there!
I instantly understood QM is not alien to you because of terminology :up:
(btw, I work as business-consultant in this field)

Steeltrap

01-30-10, 01:59 PM

hi there!
I instantly understood QM is not alien to you because of terminology :up:
(btw, I work as business-consultant in this field)

Funny, so do I...well, I've been doing six-sigma business process improvement for the last 5 years as a contractor/consultant, but still involves many of the same things.

Cheers

KL-alfman

01-30-10, 02:15 PM

hmm, had my six-sigma trainings some years ago now. don't need it cause I specialized in implementing whole QM-Systems to SMBs (medical devices sector).

but, to prevent this from getting a dialogue here:

I really think UBI should have done some market-research before coming up with their new OSP-policy. the release of a new PC-games (or sims) has a long time to market, some years maybe. and during this time there is no-one capable there at UBI to confront the consumers with various measures of copy-protection? and to test the acceptance?
ridiculous and poor proceedings, imho.

Malmer

01-30-10, 02:55 PM

yessir, absolutely right!
quality management actually is the field I work in for appr 15years now. the basic norm ISO9001 (in its latest version) demands that companies lay there main focus of attention on satisfying customers' needs.
quality cannot be achieved when companies deliver products which are not exactly designed to fulfil consumers' wishes.
in my opinion UBI wouldn't reach the requested level to gain a certificate.
And customers' wishes are that the products live up to the claims made by the companies? :yeah: