The gawd-almighty merged DRM in Silent Hunter V thread

[Nisgeis]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Are you saying that it's okay to pirate a game because it was delayed?

No, I'm not saying it. I am saying that the large publishers will not be loyal to their customer base, regardless of the customer bases' loyalty to them. I never mentioned anything to do with piracy or illegal activities in that post. I was addressing the bias of the author, nothing else.

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Not true. Episode 2 was released on it's own, at a suitably low price, at the same time as the Orange Box. I bought it.

Must have missed that - was it in the shops or only on steam? How about Portal, was that released as a standalone game? Or was that only available as an 'outstanding value' product?

[onelifecrisis]

Originally Posted by Nisgeis

Did I say that? No, I didn't. So I'm not saying it. I am saying that the large publishers will not be loyal to their customer base, regardless of the customer bases' loyalty to them.

Okay, so how does that relate to KG's article on piracy?

Originally Posted by Nisgeis

Must have missed that - was it in the shops or only on steam? How about Portal, was that released as a standalone game? Or was that only available as an 'outstanding value' product?

Episode 2 was released worldwide on Steam. Portal was also released separately on Steam, but I don't remember when.

[Nisgeis]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Okay, so how does that relate to KG's article on piracy?

I modified my post slightly, as the Did I say that? No? bit sounded a bit aggressive, which I didn't intend . Like I said in the post I was agreeing with someone else who found the article well written, but didn't agree with some of the conclusions drawn and that was one example.

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Episode 2 was released worldwide on Steam. Portal was also released separately on Steam, but I don't remember when.

I never buy on steam, I always buy a boxed product as I like having the physical disc, which as far as I know was never released. I just prefer having the actual game in my hands.

[onelifecrisis]

I am starting to feel torn on the whole OSP issue.

It now seems possible that the retail version of SH5 may not be as forgiving as the copy Neal has, which would not be good. Furthermore, with Silent Hunter being a fairly niche market, it seems more likely that Ubisoft will shut down our server support sooner rather than later (much like EA did the other day for titles that were only 1 year old) and I'm not sure I trust them to released the promised DRM patches.

On the other hand, it may yet turn out that the final version is as forgiving as the copy Neal has. And the email Ubisoft sent Neal suggested that they really do think that their new DRM might be resilient to cracking, which would be awesome. Of course Jennifer Love Hewitt spinning on my lap would also be awesome, but I don't think that will happen either.

I will have to wait and see.

[Nisgeis]

I was wavering a bit. I am dead against this always on internet connection, but was going to buy the game anyway and see how it was in reality. Then the PC Gamer review of AC2 spooked me a bit, but now I'm back to buying the game regardless. If it is a nightmare to play, then I will be eagerly waiting for a 'fix' to help my retail version work.

[onelifecrisis]

You sound even less decisive than me. Speaking of a 'fix' I'm aware of a conflict in my current line of thinking.

One the one hand, if a 'fix' becomes available and it seems to have no adverse effects then I will probably buy the game knowing that I can fall back on the fix if necessary.

On the other hand I would actually be quite thrilled if a publisher managed to come up with a genuinely crack-proof DRM, even if it is a bit draconian, because I really do think there are some 'lost sales' due to piracy.

So, do I hope for a fix or hope for the absence of one?

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

So, do I hope for a fix or hope for the absence of one?

Will I or won't I....Is it a head or a tail

[onelifecrisis]

Originally Posted by jimbuna

Will I or won't I....Is it a head or a tail

She loves me, she loves me not...

Wait, are we still talking about Jennifer Love Hewitt?

[MasterCaine]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

You sound even less decisive than me. Speaking of a 'fix' I'm aware of a conflict in my current line of thinking.

One the one hand, if a 'fix' becomes available and it seems to have no adverse effects then I will probably buy the game knowing that I can fall back on the fix if necessary.

On the other hand I would actually be quite thrilled if a publisher managed to come up with a genuinely crack-proof DRM, even if it is a bit draconian, because I really do think there are some 'lost sales' due to piracy.

So, do I hope for a fix or hope for the absence of one?

I have no problem at all with using a 'fix' for a game I bought legally. I do have a problem handing over my hard-earned money to a company like Ubi that treats their customers like sh*t.

[horden]

When you know all the WW2 sim's simulation from the begining to SH4, you can see that the most important for hard sim player is never involved in the next product. Year by year, sim by sim.

A real wolfpack war from the german side is a chemaire since 15 years now. Even wolfpack wasn't good for that. When you play to Silent service 1 then go to generic Silent Hunter IV...what's the difference except the candy-eyes !

Really Control the "dive dive dive" sequence of a sub is nothing since the begining of sub simulators. A real using of the sonar, the most important part of a sub when submergered is all the time a joke !

But this time, don't worry, you should play in SH5 with people involved in your sub, some barbies' or better ken's you talk too.

Happy guys

[Nisgeis]

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

On the other hand I would actually be quite thrilled if a publisher managed to come up with a genuinely crack-proof DRM, even if it is a bit draconian, because I really do think there are some 'lost sales' due to piracy.

So, do I hope for a fix or hope for the absence of one?

Crack proof games would be great, because they'd have one less excuse for poor sales figures. There have been lots of number flying around - 10 pirate copies to one legitimate one springs to mind, but that may have been an extrapolation of the MW2 figures. There was a more 'offiicial' looking report, I think from Australia on world piracy rates, can't find the link now, but that said the average rate was 38% world wide, with about 20% is the US and 33% in the UK. I think those figures are more belivable, so the question is, how much do these anti piracy measures cost? Perhaps Ubi is moving to their own system as Starforce is becoming too expensive to license.

The budget lables usually remove DRM not, I suspect, because of phillantropic reasons, but because they don't want to pay the licensing fee to Starforce. For them, piracy isn't much of a threat as I guess most people would have pirated it by then so they would be making a loss on the anti piracy measures.

So what's the cost of DRM versus the cost of lost profit (not revenue!)? I have no idea, but that's your tipping point. The needs or conveniences of the customer don't seem to factor into the equation at all.

[sabretwo]

Originally Posted by Nisgeis

So what's the cost of DRM versus the cost of lost profit (not revenue!)? I have no idea, but that's your tipping point. The needs or conveniences of the customer don't seem to factor into the equation at all.

All of that is true, but you are missing the critical factor of lost customer sales owing to lack of playability (infrastructure, etc.) and lack of good-will. If you make a DRM too restrictive, it will loose sales. Period.

[MasterCaine]

Anyone that thinks UBI will remove the DRM check through a patch should they permanently shut down their servers for whatever reason should read this:

Thirdly, we just don't know what happens when Ubi turn off their servers. Right now, they're promising that they'll patch the games to take the DRM and online features out. I don't actually believe them for a second. Earlier this month, EA turned off the online servers for their 2009 branded sports titles, and there was little outcry. We've seen similar promises made in the music and film industry as DRM formats grew. When they collapsed, no effort was made to alter or patch the DRM out of purchased content. When Microsoft pulled the plug on the MSN Music Store, customers who'd purchased music with their proprietary DRM were left hanging.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=232888

Buyer beware.