Ubisoft

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Renegade_Turner
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Ubisoft

Post by Renegade_Turner » Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:16 am

Wow, I really hate Ubisoft. They implement DRM into all of their games, including Assassin's Creed II and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, which require PC users to be connected to the internet at all times, or they will be disconnected from the game. You can imagine this can get annoying. It is meant to dissuade piracy of the game, as it apparently makes it impossible for pirated copies of the game to work...

However, this is untrue, as on THE WEEK OF RELEASE of Assassin's Creed II, which was apparently "uncrackable", a working crack for the game was released and it was being pirated like crazy. I know a number of people who would have bought it otherwise but had just decided to pirate it because Ubisoft had started to really treat their customers like shit. No regard for their customers, just interested in attacking piracy.

Then, not only were all the pirates who would want to download the game able to pirate the game successfully anyway, but there was a DDoS attack on their DRM servers, effectively rendering people who would want to play their titles which were running on those services unable to even play the game they had just spent money on. In essence, what they were doing was punishing the people who legitimately acquired their game, and not the pirates. The pirates were still able to play the game where legitimate purchasers were unable to. How does that make any sense?

One way to avoid this is to purchase the games on XBox 360 and PS3. Those platforms don't feature any DRM bullshit with their relative copies of the games. There's no denying Assassin's Creed II was a brilliant game from start to finish (I know this because the working cracked version which I downloaded a matter of days after the game was released not only worked but ran through until I finished the game without a single bug, hitch or crash). The quality of the game is not what's under discussion. If Ubisoft could just stop being complete assholes to their customers they'd have a much better reputation. Their aptitude in games development is undeniable, it's their integrity as a business which is severely questionable. Rant over.

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Freshbite
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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Freshbite » Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:54 am

I completely agree. Ever since they went this far, they only loose in the long run.
Personally, I haven't purchased a single retail game from Ubisoft direct from the shelves since 2003. Back then, they didn't have these silly methods to keep people from pirating, it was of a much smaller scale at the time.

I actually do this with all games, but I tend to download a cracked version of their games as a first, both to skip the DMR, but also to filter away the ones that I wouldn't actually want to buy after I've tried them. The newest Prince of Persia game, "The Forgotten Sands" I played for about 30 minutes, and uninstalled it the next time I happened to notice it.

I used the same method with Assassins Creed II, I tried out a cracked version for the PC before deciding whether to buy it or not. This game however, I really enjoyed, despite my computer at the time being complete yunk. I played for about 2 hours or so, and purchased it for the Xbox 360 the next day.


I'm not a complete jerk, I just want my gaming collection to actually contain games that I really enjoy. Image

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Endoperez
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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Endoperez » Tue Nov 30, 2010 9:11 am

DRM isn't supposed to prevent piracy. Everyone knows that's impossible. It's meant to keep people from

A) getting a cracked copy BEFORE the release, because most sales are made on the first days after release and many people who really want to play the game would get it from the first source they can
B) getting a cracked copy DURING the release, because most sales are done immediately after release
C) getting a cracked copy WHILE YOUR FRIENDS ARE PLAYING IT FOR THE FIRST TIME. This doesn't matter as much with Assassin's Creed 2, because it isn't a competitive multiplayer FPS game, but it still means those who bought the game on day 0 or so, get to enjoy the story before the pirates.


Ubisoft DRM doesn't affect their sales negatively, according to the statistics available. It does keep pirates away for at least the first few days, possible more than a week. That's why they use it.

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Zhukov
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Post by Zhukov » Tue Nov 30, 2010 9:26 am

Indeed.

I currently refuse to pay for Ubisoft PC products. The best thing to do is buy the console version second hand. That way you don't have to resort to pirating and Ubisoft doesn't get your cash.

Hopefully they will get over it by the time the release Beyond Good and Evil 2.

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Renegade_Turner
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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Renegade_Turner » Tue Nov 30, 2010 1:39 pm

That's a good idea, Freshbite. I think I might get Assassin's Creed Brotherhood for the XBox 360 because I'm told the multiplayer is quite good. I'm not such a stubborn asshole that I wouldn't play a great game just because the developers are assholes. Dave Mustaine is an asshole but I still listen to Megadeth.
Endoperez wrote:DRM isn't supposed to prevent piracy. Everyone knows that's impossible. It's meant to keep people from

(Yada yada yada)

Ubisoft DRM doesn't affect their sales negatively, according to the statistics available. It does keep pirates away for at least the first few days, possible more than a week. That's why they use it.
So you basically said it wasn't supposed to prevent piracy, and then said it WAS supposed to prevent piracy.
Zhukov wrote:I currently refuse to pay for Ubisoft PC products. The best thing to do is buy the console version second hand. That way you don't have to resort to pirating and Ubisoft doesn't get your cash.
Hahaha this is the perfect solution to my dilemma! Thank you, I hadn't thought of that. Second-hand version of AC:Brotherhood it is so. =D

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Endoperez
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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Endoperez » Tue Nov 30, 2010 2:14 pm

Renegade_Turner wrote:So you basically said it wasn't supposed to prevent piracy, and then said it WAS supposed to prevent piracy.
That was a bit unclear, yes. It doesn't stop all piracy. It does prevent some piracy for some time.

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Assaultman67
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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Assaultman67 » Tue Nov 30, 2010 3:33 pm

I remember when Ubisoft first started pulling this "always connected DRM"

I was posting on their forums laughing to myself while reading over complaints of not being able to play the game due to the ddos attack ...

I pretty much vowed right then not to buy anymore games from ubisoft with this DRM on it ...

The whole ordeal kinda made me much more cautious about DRM methods altogether to be honest ...

Its interesting though, because people fucking LURVE steam ... and its pretty much a drm :?

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Renegade_Turner
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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Renegade_Turner » Tue Nov 30, 2010 5:10 pm

...but if you disconnect from the internet games on Steam won't disconnect, that's the primary difference. I'd have no problem about a program which verifies that you have a legitimate copy of the game. That's all good. Steam is very friendly. Ubisoft is not.

That said, I don't have a Steam account and I don't plan on having one, either.

Venatir
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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Venatir » Tue Nov 30, 2010 5:48 pm

Renegade_Turner wrote:I don't have a Steam account and I don't plan on having one, either.
How can one not own Half-Life/hl2? Not feeding Gabe is like not pleasing your God with the smell of burnt goat

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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Gifted » Tue Nov 30, 2010 6:16 pm

This always online bullshit reminds me of a fiasco with Starcraft 2.

It was the national finals at MLG Dallas. Two of the best Starcraft 2 players in the world were poised to do epic battle. If this game was won by the Terran player, he would go home with $6,000 while the Protoss player went home with $2,000 (or something like that). If the Protoss player won, the series would be extended.

The game starts, and both players do some pretty incredible early-game antics. At first it looks like the Protoss is ahead, but then the Terran player catches up using some nice micro and harass, and even lands his factory in the opponents base. The game is a nail-biter, it looks like it could go either way! Protoss is ahead... no way... Terran has the supply lead and better economy! But wait, Protoss just got out a counter to Terran's ground force. Oh GOD! Huge deciding battle! Protoss is pulling ahead! Perfect micro by Terran, though!

WHAT THE FUCK?

LAG?!!!!!

WHAT THE FUCKING FUCK DISCONNECT?!!!!!!!

Nice one, Blizzard. Your nice little anti-piracy policy just ruined the biggest North American Starcraft 2 tournament. In case anyone is wondering, the final game was delayed two hours. When it finally did happen, the Protoss player made a huge mistake that cost him the game within 10 minutes.

When will these bastards learn.

PS - hope you liked the commentary.

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Renegade_Turner
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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Renegade_Turner » Tue Nov 30, 2010 8:46 pm

Venatir wrote:
Renegade_Turner wrote:I don't have a Steam account and I don't plan on having one, either.
How can one not own Half-Life/hl2? Not feeding Gabe is like not pleasing your God with the smell of burnt goat
I do have copies of Half Life and Half Life 2...

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Freshbite
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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Freshbite » Tue Nov 30, 2010 9:15 pm

I can imagine the two players screaming at the screen like: "COME ON!! WTF IS THIS!?"
I would have lol'ed. Image

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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Gifted » Wed Dec 01, 2010 1:27 am

Well, they both looked pissed off. They went from a very intense situation to nothing for two hours, then they were forced back into a game, which must've been pretty terrible. I was pissed, and I'm sure thousands of others were as well.

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Endoperez
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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Endoperez » Wed Dec 01, 2010 1:32 am

Venatir wrote:
How can one not own Half-Life/hl2? Not feeding Gabe is like not pleasing your God with the smell of burnt goat[/quote]

I have Steam, but I haven't played HL or the sequel. I did buy Orange Box, so I might have gotten HL2 or something with it, but I'm not sure.

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Freshbite
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Re: Ubisoft

Post by Freshbite » Wed Dec 01, 2010 2:11 am

The Orange Box comes with Half-Life 2 and both of the Episode releases. (As well as Portal and Team Fortress 2)

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