Where I strongly support the right of people to voice their opinions; I feel I should offer the disclaimer that I started this thread to take what we did not have control over (DRM) and try and evolve it into something that we could actually find useful and an improvement to the game.

I just don't want to be thought of as the person that started the riot. :)

It's not you, it's Ubisoft. And the hope is that this "riot" will result in a change-I like the games that Ubisoft releases, but I will refuse to support them as long as they refuse to listen to their customers.

As to the tracking/crackdown on the pirate sources. It comes down to the interpretation of the local laws of point A versus point B. And throw in torrents and now you have to contend with not only multiple sources, but the wording of the laws that you're trying to prosecute a person for breaking. Actual possession of illegal material in some cases isn't a crime for instance. Only the means of obtaining/distributing. Distribution in part versus entirety of material is another example.

Also, it is a fine line between invasion of privacy and prevention of violating copyright law. My ISP for example runs automatic checks for download of videos from known illegal IP ranges and sends a turn off notice to the cable modem. While to some degree the ISP is within their rights given the wording of their EULA, people have sued for and won on the basis of invasion of privacy.

Well this is why I am against such a DRM scheme(and things like Steam)! What happens if I want to relive an old classic 5-10 years down the line? Recently I played Betrayal at Krondor and System Shock. If everything is now going to be constant internet connection, encrypted files and all the other crap, then such a thing will be impossible!

The title " DRM - Turn Lemons into Lemonade" should be renamed to " DRM - Turn Lemons into Piss".
Sorry I couldn't resist, I tried so hard!!:har:

That's a terrible idea, since it would cause great difficulty for President Barack Obama to play the game uncontroversially. :ping:

Apparently many multiplayer games have DRMs almost as finicky as SH5's. Today Taleworlds's authenticating server went down, and thus players cannot play the Mount & Blade: Warbands game they paid for on multiplayer. Any time the authenticating server breaks a nail or calls for routine polishing we just have to suck it up, or if the taste is too bitter go squeeze a lemonade or watch a video on prostate exams until the server is back up. Left 4 Dead also won't work if Steam's servers are down, and who knows how many other games.

This model is a burden on the customer and indeed more to the likes of piss than lemons, and if you wanted to make a lemonade out of it then DRMs should be designed with room for these inconveniences in mind, allowing the game to run on "pirate mode" for 8 or 12 hours when the server or the internet is down before requiring authentication again, time enough to have things set back in order. That's the least a company caring for its customers would do. How this would work, I don't know, because I'm not a programmer striving to provide the best product to my customers, I'm just a customer feeling like a sucker sucking on lemons. Maybe you get one "pirate mode" ticket per authentication, which has to be recycled at the authentication server every time you want another off-line run. Which is not a good idea either, because then someone would have the great idea of charging for these tickets, and making it all pay-to-play like an arcade: insert coin.

In the end the only lemonade that can be had is passing the DRM through the squeezer, and the grinder, and the blender, and the microwave. When it no longer burdens the customer, who can then play his game whenever, wherever, that's when I'll toast my lemonade with you, and it won't taste like nuts anymore. :woot: