The gawd-almighty merged DRM in Silent Hunter V thread - Page 11

Nordmann · 02-15-10, 06:20 PM

Agreed. I've had no end of trouble with my net for a good number of years, frequent disconnects, extreme bandwidth throttling and total outages are but a few. British ISPs don't give a damn whether or not you can connect to their service, and should problems arise, you are unlikely to receive much in the way of help.

On several occasions, I was without internet for a period of six months, while my providers made excuses and shrugged it off. Any and all games requiring a connection, which was most of my collection at the time, were completely useless to me. I thus spent my time alternating between flight and sub sims, until I managed to get something sorted.

Now, with Ubi's new system, if a similar problem occurs again (my net went down for 15 minutes today), I will not be able to play the single-player game I have paid for. This may seem all well and dandy to Ubi, but it's simply not good enough as far as I'm concerned. What irks me most of all, is the seemingly glib way they have addressed our concerns, dressing their draconian DRM up as something we both want and need. Talk about misguided arrogance!

Still, they are going to learn the hard way, when their sales drop off significantly, perhaps then they will get the message. It's a real shame, because DRM aside, the game does look interesting. I will not however, pay them a sizeable sum of money, only to be told how and when to play. Not going to happen.

If and when they remove this ridiculous net connection requirement, and if the price is right (I only paid £17 for SH4 CE on release, compare that to the £30 or so for SH5 CE!), then I may consider getting it. A pity, but there are some lines I refuse to cross.

TDK1044 · 02-16-10, 09:38 AM

Let's say that someone purchases Silent Hunter 5, and because of his personal availability, he can only actually play the game between the hours of 6PM and 8PM on Saturdays and Sundays.

Because those days are the busiest in terms of server access, every time he tries to log on and play the game during that window, he is denied access.

He has therefore spent $49 on a game that he can't play. He can't get his money back on the game, because nobody offers a refund for computer software/video games, and he can't change his availability in order to try and access the servers at a different time.

In the pre DRM era he would have had no problem, but now he has a $49 coaster and no access to a game he wants to play.

Does he have a legal claim against Ubisoft? I wonder what kind of disclaimer will be written in the mice type on the box?

onelifecrisis · 02-16-10, 09:43 AM

Depends on what country this hypothetical player is in.

Here in the UK? Refund, no problem. Even if it's bought through Steam or any other company who say they don't give refunds. Their terms don't override our laws, and if you know your rights it's easy enough to "bully" the retailer into a refund.

TDK1044 · 02-16-10, 09:46 AM

I have a feeling that the attempted returns will be the highest ever because of the online element. Time will tell I guess.

Diopos · 02-16-10, 09:51 AM

Be assured. There will be some relavent "fine print" in the End User License Agreement....

onelifecrisis · 02-16-10, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Diopos

Be assured. There will be some relavent "fine print" in the End User License Agreement....

Doesn't matter.
If Ubisoft put in their fine print that it's okay for them to murder me, does that make it legal?
Contracts and license agreements cannot and do not override the law. They frequently attempt to, but it's always a bluff.

Darkreaver1980 · 02-16-10, 09:52 AM

What is up with you people?

you will buy the game, come home and play it right away.

why is everyone acting like the world is going to end? lol

Dont tell me that you arent connected 24 hours per day :P

HundertzehnGustav · 02-16-10, 09:56 AM

you know we have to work...and have family...? and hopefully some sex in between?

be real!

This is a theory, how we will put it into practice is another matter, but hopefully not too different.

609_Avatar · 02-16-10, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkreaver1980

What is up with you people?

you will buy the game, come home and play it right away.

why is everyone acting like the world is going to end? lol

Dont tell me that you arent connected 24 hours per day :P

Oh you don't know how wrong you are. Of course the world isn't coming to an end and even though I've liked what I've seen and have all the other version in the series this one I will not buy. Period.

Sailor Steve · 02-16-10, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkreaver1980

Dont tell me that you arent connected 24 hours per day :P

Most of the time I'm not connected at all. You have no idea what you are talking about.

Nordmann · 02-16-10, 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkreaver1980

What is up with you people?

Have you been living under a rock? This DRM rubbish is what is up with us, I suggest you read about it, if that's even remotely possible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkreaver1980

you will buy the game, come home and play it right away.

Who said we are buying it? You? Sure thing mate, if you pay for it!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkreaver1980

why is everyone acting like the world is going to end? lol

Oh, so being concerned about a feature of the product equates to acting as if the world is going to end? Really? Sound logic there!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkreaver1980

Dont tell me that you arent connected 24 hours per day :P

Maybe we are, maybe we are not. The point is, we should not be forced into using a net connection for a single-player game; it's nothing short of ludicrous, and if you had any sense, you would see that.

Honestly, where do people like you keep coming from? You're not a Ubi employee by any chance? I wouldn't be surprised!

Seafireliv · 02-16-10, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkreaver1980

What is up with you people?

you will buy the game, come home and play it right away.

why is everyone acting like the world is going to end? lol

Dont tell me that you arent connected 24 hours per day :P

Man, how I hate this limited, blinkered thinking. If this is how UBI thinks then no wonder they thought up this insane DRM.

Radioshow · 02-16-10, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Darkreaver1980

What is up with you people?

you will buy the game, come home and play it right away.

why is everyone acting like the world is going to end? lol

Dont tell me that you arent connected 24 hours per day :P

I guess you don't know anyone in Australia or anyone who isn't rich.
Many internet providers give you a very limited amount of GB's to download.
Now your SH5 is sucking that too and when your limit is up, your capped and no joy. So now you have to wait the rest of the month for your bandwidth to reset so you can play? A single player game?

Its not having a connection we're worried about its being connected the WHOLE time. A great many people still have slow or limited connections, not everyone has a perfect 24hr connection or unlimited bandwidth which this game WILL apparently require.

Letum · 02-16-10, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by onelifecrisis

Here in the UK? Refund, no problem. Even if it's bought through Steam or any other company who say they don't give refunds.

Yup, OLC is right.

If you buy anything in the UK and have any reason not to be happy with
it, you can return it for a refund; whatever the end user agreement is.

GREY WOLF 3 · 02-16-10, 12:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Letum

Yup, OLC is right.

If you buy anything in the UK and have any reason not to be happy with
it, you can return it for a refund; whatever the end user agreement is.

There will be alot of returns.if drm is like our postal service.

02-15-10, 06:20 PM	#1
Nordmann Commodore Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: England Posts: 628 Downloads: 62 Uploads: 0	Agreed. I've had no end of trouble with my net for a good number of years, frequent disconnects, extreme bandwidth throttling and total outages are but a few. British ISPs don't give a damn whether or not you can connect to their service, and should problems arise, you are unlikely to receive much in the way of help. On several occasions, I was without internet for a period of six months, while my providers made excuses and shrugged it off. Any and all games requiring a connection, which was most of my collection at the time, were completely useless to me. I thus spent my time alternating between flight and sub sims, until I managed to get something sorted. Now, with Ubi's new system, if a similar problem occurs again (my net went down for 15 minutes today), I will not be able to play the single-player game I have paid for. This may seem all well and dandy to Ubi, but it's simply not good enough as far as I'm concerned. What irks me most of all, is the seemingly glib way they have addressed our concerns, dressing their draconian DRM up as something we both want and need. Talk about misguided arrogance! Still, they are going to learn the hard way, when their sales drop off significantly, perhaps then they will get the message. It's a real shame, because DRM aside, the game does look interesting. I will not however, pay them a sizeable sum of money, only to be told how and when to play. Not going to happen. If and when they remove this ridiculous net connection requirement, and if the price is right (I only paid £17 for SH4 CE on release, compare that to the £30 or so for SH5 CE!), then I may consider getting it. A pity, but there are some lines I refuse to cross. __________________ "I must confess that my imagination refuses to see any sort of submarine doing anything but suffocating its crew and floundering at sea." - H. G. Wells

02-16-10, 09:38 AM	#2
TDK1044 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 2,674 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	How does the law frame the DRM issue? Let's say that someone purchases Silent Hunter 5, and because of his personal availability, he can only actually play the game between the hours of 6PM and 8PM on Saturdays and Sundays. Because those days are the busiest in terms of server access, every time he tries to log on and play the game during that window, he is denied access. He has therefore spent $49 on a game that he can't play. He can't get his money back on the game, because nobody offers a refund for computer software/video games, and he can't change his availability in order to try and access the servers at a different time. In the pre DRM era he would have had no problem, but now he has a $49 coaster and no access to a game he wants to play. Does he have a legal claim against Ubisoft? I wonder what kind of disclaimer will be written in the mice type on the box?

02-16-10, 09:43 AM	#3
onelifecrisis Maverick Modder Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: England Posts: 3,895 Downloads: 65 Uploads: 3	Depends on what country this hypothetical player is in. Here in the UK? Refund, no problem. Even if it's bought through Steam or any other company who say they don't give refunds. Their terms don't override our laws, and if you know your rights it's easy enough to "bully" the retailer into a refund. __________________ Freedom of speech - priceless. For everything else there's Mastercard.

02-16-10, 09:51 AM	#5
Diopos Ace of the Deep Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Athens, the original one. Posts: 1,226 Downloads: 9 Uploads: 0	Be assured. There will be some relavent "fine print" in the End User License Agreement.... __________________ - Oh God! They're all over the place! CRASH DIVE!!! - Ehm... we can't honey. We're in the car right now. - What?... er right... Doesn't matter! We'll give it a try anyway!

02-16-10, 09:56 AM	#8
HundertzehnGustav Sea Lord Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Lux, betw. G, B and F Posts: 1,898 Downloads: 66 Uploads: 0	you know we have to work...and have family...? and hopefully some sex in between? be real! This is a theory, how we will put it into practice is another matter, but hopefully not too different. __________________ In conclusion: SH3 is the shizzle, yo. -Frau Kaleun Another negative about using your deck gun is that you are definately DETECTED, which has long term effects on your relationship with aircraft. -snestorm

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02-16-10, 09:46 AM	#4
TDK1044 Ocean Warrior Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Georgia, USA Posts: 2,674 Downloads: 25 Uploads: 0	I have a feeling that the attempted returns will be the highest ever because of the online element. Time will tell I guess.

02-16-10, 09:52 AM	#7
Darkreaver1980 Loader Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Germany Posts: 83 Downloads: 11 Uploads: 0	What is up with you people? you will buy the game, come home and play it right away. why is everyone acting like the world is going to end? lol Dont tell me that you arent connected 24 hours per day :P