Actually as a former gamedev guy I recognize a necessity for some form of DRM. The purpose of DRM isn't in making unbreakable protection but in first two weeks sale, preferably without before release date leaks. In fact no DRM vendor claims to have it's protection/solution unbreakable, they are never held liable if it is broken.
But I think this is very extreme method trying to fight piracy. When DRM harms accessibility, like in this case, it creates a dangerous precedent.
Most of all it'll make games protected this way inaccessible for people with unstable internet connection or those who travel a lot, people who have a nice laptop and go countryside where there is no internet. Besides connection stability is something I wonder about too. How really stable they expect it to be? From what I've heard it hangs at smallest hiccup that at normal online game would just be a minor noticeable lag. That's what magazines who were given preview copies featuring it reported.
All of them are denied to play a game that essentially doesn't require any connection at all as game data is present on computer and not streamed unlike real online games.
Then again, not that I'm interested much in aforementioned titles either. Especially after playing "wtf is this?!" C&C4 demo at games expo earlier in October.
@Malexa: actually that new DRM is like a one big candy for cracking groups - there is definitely going to be a big competition among them on who beats it first. They like such challenges.
Don't forget, its in Starcraft 2 also.
Gotta be connected to BNet at all times for both SP and MP.
But yeah, devs should force you to use the internet to activate to play to prove its authentic.
But you should NOT be forced to be connected all times just to play. Master Servers die or something or downtime that expensive PC game (Game (AC2) Retails for 59.99 instead of regular 49.99 prices) becomes useless until they are back online.
I sure hope SC: Conviction doesn't have this, most likely it will though :(
Edit:
CnC4 is fun (Beta Right now but Lots of fun).
Yes it is VERY different from any other CnC before it. Basebuilding and Harvesting Eliminated or Stripped Down, unit cap reduced greatly, faster pacing and the likes. But if your a action junkie looking for a RTS (Like Me). This and World in Conflict take the cake.
I really won't complain if they definately get rid of the permanent online connection after the first 2 or maybe even 4 Weeks after release.
After this time it is most likely that the talented crackers of this world bypassed this protection and the game is no longer secure.
Once done, they can simply hand in a patch which removes the online thingy and the guys who refused to buy the game due to this, can finaly buy it.
But in most cases the damage is already done since those people downloaded it already, to just throw a F-Bomb and "Thats what you get for your idiocy!" at the game development studios.
' Wrote:CnC4 is fun (Beta Right now but Lots of fun).
Yes it is VERY different from any other CnC before it. Basebuilding and Harvesting Eliminated or Stripped Down, unit cap reduced greatly, faster pacing and the likes. But if your a action junkie looking for a RTS (Like Me). This and World in Conflict take the cake.
Gorram it, this had better be a Generals style change in gameplay.
Y'know, one that was fair epic.
Basebuilding is perhaps THE reason I play (And love) CnC.
On topic though, as a current user of dial up, DRM like this is almost criminal.
Sure, It's almost unheard of to have such crappy internet, but it's still cutting out that piece of the money pie for the developers. If someone on highspeed internet really wants game, but is poor, they can download a pirated copy of it. A user on low speed internet can't do jack except save, as it would take a good... lemme work this out...
48 days.
To download a 9GB game on my current speed. Not even going into the reliability of the connection.
But I digress.
But honestly, taking your game back to the retailer and getting a refund isn't going to impact the Developers in any way. The retailer would have bought hundreds if not thousands of the copies beforehand, depending on the size of the chain.
I cant save the game with Bioshock2 for the pc without being logged in to microsofts live game service, i can play offline but the game isnt saved on my local pc. Partial online drm is already here and on retail shelfs. Had i known i would have pirated Bioshock2 instead of purchasing since i cant play during lunch time at school due to lack of internet connection.
I cannot understand your crying, as long as YOU keep buying, They keep pushing you.
It like with MW2, all sayed, no i never go along with that, then everyone bought it, was happy with the new Grafics, and after a month or so, they were all back on the good old BF servers.
One has to get used to the idea, that both modern Gameing and modern PC Useing in general will need a networkconnection, and will keep relyeing more and more on them.
Soon you wont even notice...
Well, I didn't buy MW 2 because of that, I will not buy SC2 and get an unofficial copy because of that. And guess what, they won't be able to do anything about it.
Let them remove that collar, and I will go and buy WILLINGLY the original copies.