The facts of life: A heartfelt defense of Ubisoft and DRM

Galanti · 03-09-10, 01:15 PM

Is that you, Trenken?

AVGWarhawk · 03-09-10, 01:20 PM

Watch for the can of worms coming!

Yep, piracy sucks. We pay. Stealing/shoplifting sucks. We pay extra to cover for those that shoplift. Insurance fraud sucks. Somehow we pay for that. However, not much is said about those issues. Bring up DRM and all of a sudden the fart in the space suit has just been discovered.

I'm ok with DRM. I'm not ok with having to connect every time I play. I should connect once upon installation and verify my CD code. Thats it. And, if I'm forced to connect all the time make sure the servers work all the time.

pythos · 03-09-10, 01:26 PM

Stated sometime in the 60s
"We needed to destroy the village to save the village"

Stated by a Ubi suit March 2010

"we needed to kill the franchise to save the franchise"

I am sorry. This DRM was a disaster in the making. It is over the top, and badly implemented. A validation of the game for each session is fine. Having to be online all of the time you are playing.

Stupid. Pure and simple.

I hope the one that came up with this stupid scheme never has a good night's rest again.

Ziggy · 03-09-10, 01:27 PM

Facts of life: A businesses only concern is providing value to the customer. If it fails in that then it fails in everything.

emtguf · 03-09-10, 01:34 PM

The thing is there is already a crack for the DRM, and there is already a work around for the missions not updating when bypassing the DRM.

So the pirates are able to play the game with no problems, and the legal paying customers are stuck trying to play.

Hurting your paying customers by using a protection scheme that does not stop piracy is not the way to do it.

Codemasters had it right with their protection of the original operation flashpoint game.

If you used a crack the game made actually hitting a target impossible by degrading the program over time.
This did not punish the paying customer, and punished the pirates.

This is how it should be. Punishing customers punish the people who pay you money. That is a bad business decision.

IanC · 03-09-10, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pythos

I hope the one that came up with this stupid scheme never has a good night's rest again.

Thinking about maybe putting a horse head in his bed?

mookiemookie · 03-09-10, 01:32 PM

Gabe Newell of Valve destroys your argument in one short interview on piracy, and how DRM only creates more pirates:

03-09-10, 01:37 PM

As i said there is no real way to prevent piracy, DRM is simply a delaying action, like sending a squad to die to buy a platoon 20 more minutes of quality retreating time. If i had a solution to internet piracy, i wouldnt be wasting my time talking on a forum, i'd be counting my ferrari collection

Oh and screw gaben, he games 2 games in 15 years that everyone and their dad buys and they think he's some kind of gaming messiah. He has good ideas but that doesnt mean i agree with all of them. He now keeps his food habit going licencing his engine to smaller, more talented game companies, with the clause that he gets to take credit for it the minute it looks promising and hire the entire development team into his ever-expending valve organization. He didnt make portal, and i dont think he made left for dead either. (could be wrong)

You guys do know that somewhere out there a game developer probibly is losing his house right now because his company couldnt afford to keep him on, right? Or do you guys not care about hypothetical people?

martes86 · 03-09-10, 03:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattDizzle

You guys do know that somewhere out there a game developer probibly is losing his house right now because his company couldnt afford to keep him on, right? Or do you guys not care about hypothetical people?

As a real software developer, I can tell you I'd prefer to lose my job a 1000 times over than screwing with my customers, which I think is unprofessional and plain wrong. And even if I lost my job, there'd sure be lots of IT jobs I could get in, it's not like we're in some undeveloped industry, there's a great demand of IT professionals in this modern world.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattDizzle

[...] and made a commitment to support this game years into the future (another benefit of episodic releases)

Wrong... the game is actually supported for as long as patches are being developed, and not all things are necessarily fixed. In Ubisoft, I think that's no longer than 1 year. Sure, other titles keep getting released, which shows some support of the franchise (and the will of the Devs to keep doing cool stuff), but... would you say that SH3 is still being supported? Or SH4? They could have used at least an additional patch or 2. SH5 is out so continued support of older titles is probably pointless, but it's not like support was dropped today.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MattDizzle

I have better things to do with my life than post about fake submarines 5000 times.

Is it me, or does it smells like trolls?

Schunken · 03-09-10, 03:18 PM

You get a Point John, thats true...

...but should it not be in the official SH5 Ubi Forum than on Twitter or 3rd party webpages???

The UBI Forums would be the 1st place where a apology should be adressed, isnt?

...at least its my foul as a german not read the Toronto Globe and Mail....

Andreas

Faamecanic · 03-10-10, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Gabe Newell of Valve destroys your argument in one short interview on piracy, and how DRM only creates more pirates:

^^^This^^^ "What we saw more and more is that piracy is the result of BAD SERVICE ON THE PART OF GAME COMPANIES" - Gabe

When companies like Ubi and EASports continue to release garbage... piracy goes up.

Whats sad is those companies then either rush the next release to market because they dont have the revenue forcasted to support a long dev period (Case and point SH3, Sh4, now SH5) OR they stop the franchise all together and blame the poor sales on the market not being there (MADDEN FOOTBALL.... for cripes sakes how can they say this is a "niche" market?!).

I HATE piracy. I LOVE to buy my games and support the devs that work so hard on them and create a game that I can immerse myself into and forget my REAL world.

Instead of piracy I just dont buy the game...period...end.

Nordmann · 03-10-10, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faamecanic

Instead of piracy I just dont buy the game...period...end.

Agreed. I have bought and paid for all the games in my collection, always have, always will. If Ubi insist on using OSP, then I will insist on avoiding their games completely. As far as I'm concerned, there are others far more worthy of my time and money.

It is a pity that some people are turning to shadier methods to play the game, but for those who have purchased, only to find they cannot play because of the OSP, it is excusable. There are no such excuses for those who have not legally bought the game.

quantumpawn · 03-10-10, 07:21 PM

I, too, hate piracy. But an invasive DRM that hurts legitimate paying customers and does not stop piracy, but instead encourages it, comes in a close second place.

Ducimus · 03-10-10, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mookiemookie

Gabe Newell of Valve destroys your argument in one short interview on piracy, and how DRM only creates more pirates:

QFE

Faamecanic · 03-11-10, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ducimus

QFE

Ducimus.... your signature line is QFT...and a GREAT LMFAO to boot

03-09-10, 01:20 PM	#2
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,253 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	Watch for the can of worms coming! Yep, piracy sucks. We pay. Stealing/shoplifting sucks. We pay extra to cover for those that shoplift. Insurance fraud sucks. Somehow we pay for that. However, not much is said about those issues. Bring up DRM and all of a sudden the fart in the space suit has just been discovered. I'm ok with DRM. I'm not ok with having to connect every time I play. I should connect once upon installation and verify my CD code. Thats it. And, if I'm forced to connect all the time make sure the servers work all the time. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

03-09-10, 01:32 PM	#7
mookiemookie Navy Seal Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 9,404 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 1	Gabe Newell of Valve destroys your argument in one short interview on piracy, and how DRM only creates more pirates: __________________ They don’t think it be like it is, but it do. Want more U-boat Kaleun portraits for your SH3 Commander Profiles? Download the SH3 Commander Portrait Pack here.

03-09-10, 01:15 PM	#1
Galanti Captain Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Ottawa Posts: 536 Downloads: 106 Uploads: 0	Is that you, Trenken?

03-09-10, 01:26 PM	#3
pythos Grey Wolf Join Date: May 2005 Location: Somewhere over there Posts: 834 Downloads: 46 Uploads: 0	Stated sometime in the 60s "We needed to destroy the village to save the village" Stated by a Ubi suit March 2010 "we needed to kill the franchise to save the franchise" I am sorry. This DRM was a disaster in the making. It is over the top, and badly implemented. A validation of the game for each session is fine. Having to be online all of the time you are playing. Stupid. Pure and simple. I hope the one that came up with this stupid scheme never has a good night's rest again.

03-09-10, 01:27 PM	#4
Ziggy Torpedoman Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 111 Downloads: 14 Uploads: 0	Facts of life: A businesses only concern is providing value to the customer. If it fails in that then it fails in everything.

03-09-10, 01:34 PM	#5
emtguf Machinist's Mate Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 128 Downloads: 44 Uploads: 3	The thing is there is already a crack for the DRM, and there is already a work around for the missions not updating when bypassing the DRM. So the pirates are able to play the game with no problems, and the legal paying customers are stuck trying to play. Hurting your paying customers by using a protection scheme that does not stop piracy is not the way to do it. Codemasters had it right with their protection of the original operation flashpoint game. If you used a crack the game made actually hitting a target impossible by degrading the program over time. This did not punish the paying customer, and punished the pirates. This is how it should be. Punishing customers punish the people who pay you money. That is a bad business decision.

03-09-10, 01:37 PM	#8
MattDizzle Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	As i said there is no real way to prevent piracy, DRM is simply a delaying action, like sending a squad to die to buy a platoon 20 more minutes of quality retreating time. If i had a solution to internet piracy, i wouldnt be wasting my time talking on a forum, i'd be counting my ferrari collection Oh and screw gaben, he games 2 games in 15 years that everyone and their dad buys and they think he's some kind of gaming messiah. He has good ideas but that doesnt mean i agree with all of them. He now keeps his food habit going licencing his engine to smaller, more talented game companies, with the clause that he gets to take credit for it the minute it looks promising and hire the entire development team into his ever-expending valve organization. He didnt make portal, and i dont think he made left for dead either. (could be wrong) You guys do know that somewhere out there a game developer probibly is losing his house right now because his company couldnt afford to keep him on, right? Or do you guys not care about hypothetical people?

03-09-10, 03:18 PM	#10
Schunken Medic Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 168 Downloads: 20 Uploads: 0	You get a Point John, thats true... ...but should it not be in the official SH5 Ubi Forum than on Twitter or 3rd party webpages??? The UBI Forums would be the 1st place where a apology should be adressed, isnt? ...at least its my foul as a german not read the Toronto Globe and Mail.... Andreas

03-10-10, 07:21 PM	#13
quantumpawn Nub Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 4 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	I, too, hate piracy. But an invasive DRM that hurts legitimate paying customers and does not stop piracy, but instead encourages it, comes in a close second place.