Sadly, SH5 is no longer an option now. Ironically, many people who would have purchased SH5, now will wait till an "offline-crack" appears or they will try and find an illegal version. I guess Ubisoft is going to get what they try to avoid.

I believe those people who are actually into submarine simulations are willing to BUY SH5 anyway. Those people who aren´t interested in the genre, won´t even bother to get SH5 illegally.
Makes sense, doesn´t it?

I for one love playing old games, and I really mean OLD. Hard enough to make them run on Win XP, now it seems future games will not only be limited due to software/ hardware development, but also because of online dependency.

There are so many games which were created by companies that no longer exist. What would have happened to their games if they had been based on online dependency? Dear Ubisoft, I´d like to play Silent Hunter when your servers are long dead and gone.

Cheers, AS

Oh and by the way...

I´m pretty sure there´s going to be an "offline-crack" very soon. How difficult can it be for a hacker to remove SH5´s online check and replace it with a little (illegal) tool that emulates an internet connection?

Anyway, I won´t buy SH5 unless it´s DRM free or a crack/ workaround is available.

Thank you UBI for making me save money.

Cheers, AS

AS, just being friendly, but you might want to make sure you can't be suspected of advocating any form of piracy/cracking, no metter how compelling the argument.

Neal and his moderators have zero tolerance on this topic (as they should).

Moving along.....

I'd be very interested in seeing data on the number of pre-orders that have been cancelled.

Cheers

Said in another topic, but I'll repeat to add to the now closed poll. Won't buy unless this particular version of "scr*w the honest gamer" is removed. And I'm of the opinion that this will only cause more piracy from the hordes that don't want to deal with DRM. I also won't buy from Ubi even if a hack was created, because that sale only makes them think I'm happy with their DRM system.

And I respectfully disagree with Neal on the numbers issue. Sure, many casual gamers will shrug their shoulders and buy the game (and possibly return it after 10 times of being kicked off their internet and having their game either crash or "pause"), but I wouldn't be surprised if the ratio of casual gamers to hardcore (and knowledgeable) subsim gamers isn't closer than less niche market games.

Either way I imagine Ubi will take a hit. This isn't just for SHV, it's for everything they do. If you lose a majority of your hardcore gamers across the board, and you trickle off casual gamers that try a game, realize their game experience stinks with pauses or server issues or whatever, and then return it, then Ubi ultimately loses. Especially since I doubt this system will be foolproof anymore than other options have been up to this point.

It's a tragedy for almost everyone concerned. Ubi will lose money, not to mention good will. Fans will lose the opportunity to play games they really were looking forward to. The real winners here are the pirates. IF they can crack it, there will undoubtedly be an upsurge in their download numbers and they become more popular and gain "street cred". Regardless, I doubt this solution will solve the pirate problem.

Anyone who has studied guerilla warfare will tell you that Ubi's DRM/OSP move will only make pirates more popular than ever, sort of folk heroes.We don't want that to happen because it undermines the future creation of quality games.

That's why I consider Ubi's move a disaster in the making.

Moo

i was going to buy this game,but this is a step too far for me. :down:

@ Steeltrap:

I´m not advocating anything, I´m just reflecting the DRM issue trying to anticipate what it all leads to. I do not support software piracy at all, partly because I want to support the genre. (I even bought the somewhat crappy "Shells of Fury" simply because I want the publishers of submarine simulation to keep on investing in "our" somewhat unpopular genre).

But if publishers like Ubisoft start to restrict the availability of a product I have to purchase, I´m not going to support that.

Selling a piece of software that ties you to a specific publisher´s server is piracy, isn´t it?

Cheers, AS

you didnt cross any lines there the way your statement was worded but steeltrap is correct, you did pop up on the radar for those key words you used

the trouble is usually the second guy sees the word posted then blurts out his honest opinion of the subject of that word and thats the poor guy that usually gets slammed.

like in football its the second guy that always goes too far.

this is why i try and ask people to use code words instead of saying "crack" so it helps remind others to watch how they speak about a very taboo subject.

Am I going to buy the game with the new DRM? To quote the lame trailer we got: "HELL NO"

We're a niche group in a niche market. We're not their target audience anymore. If it's a choice between having a sub sim with all the baggage that a mass market product comes with or no sub sims at all, I'll take what I can get. Going forward, in any hardcore genre, having a base to mod from is probably the best we can hope for. The Devs say this game is moddable. I see no reason to believe the DRM prevents that. Time will tell.

The DRM will not succeed or fail based merely on SH5. It will be determined by all the titles using the same scheme. If it fails, it'll be removed. If it doesn't, well, that's life. I've spent thousands of dollars over the years to play my games. I don't like it, but if this DRM is the price I have to pay to play, so be it.

I'm sure I'll be cursing UBI if I can't play when I want. But I'll buy this game for the same reason I've bought pretty much every WWII sub game since my Atari 800 days and consider myself fortunate they're still being produced. I think it has great potential.


heretic

I have previously said i wouldnt buy sh5 with drm but if this is true then i might change my mind .
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.

Will wait untill its either in the retail bin or untill the online service **** is patched out of the game.

Hoping GWX will make their SH4 mod in the meantime :)

A little late to the party but until they remove the online requirement, hell no.:down:

Hi AS

In case I wasn't clear, I didn't think you were advocating anything. I was just offering a bit of friendly advice that someone might misinterpret what you were saying and take it as "don't buy it or wait until it's available off-line, legitimately or otherwise".

Again, not having a go at you at all. As Webster said, the danger is someone else 'building' on what you wrote.

Anyway, not looking to cause any grief, nor looking to dissect to the nth degree what you wrote.

Cheers

A little provocative thought... :03:

http://support.uk.ubi.com/online-services-platform/

They say you can install it on as many pc's as you like.
They say you can only play with your individual Ubisoft account on one computer at a time.

But do they say that each copy of a dvd is attached to a specific Ubisoft account anywhere?
Meaning can one family member play with his/her account each monday on the family pc and the other family member with his/her account each tuesday?
If the answer is no, does Ubisoft provide a MultiSH5 function?
If the answer is yes, doesn't this open a door to "you know what"? :doh:

So can a couple of parents buy one dvd only, install it on two pc's for each of their kids, let them log on with each their account and play simultanously on the two pc's? :hmmm:

I know where this discussion can be going, and if you know that too, then don't even go there. This is meant as a hammering of the DRM/OSP decision... I wish they would realize they need to use an alternative.