Wargame: Airland Battle trailer details dynamic campaign
Halo 'Bootcamp' confirmed by Microsoft
Weekend PC download deals: Tomb Raider for $14
Game Dev Tycoon studio outlines future plans
Baldur's Gate 2 Enhanced already has 350,000 words of new content
Contrast casts shadows on vaudevillian Paris
EA puts Fight Night on hold in favor of UFC
Sanctum 2 review: friendly fire
Grid 2 sets world record for most expensive Special Edition
ITC rules Xbox did not infringe on Motorola patent
Assassin's Creed 2 DRM Tweaked in First PC Patch, While Crackers Reportedly Break DRM Outright
by Alice O'Connor, Mar 04, 2010 6:40am PSTWhile Ubisoft Montreal's open-world murder simulator Assassin's Creed 2 won't hit North American PCs until March 16, a patch has already been issued with changes including a tweaking of the controversial DRM scheme that requires players be online.
Rather than being kicked back to the last checkpoint should their connection drop out--as was originally the case--players will be able to resume the game "from the exact same point" when they reconnect. The 19MB patch is over on FileShack now.
Meanwhile, a cracking group claims to have successfully circumvented the DRM solution's implementation in Silent Hunter 5, enabling Ubisoft Romania's submarine sim to run irrespective of the player's online status--or the legitimacy of their copy.
Ubisoft has responded on Twitter saying "any gamer who downloads and plays a cracked version of [AC2] and [SH5] will find that their version is not complete"--a statement that seemingly confirms the crack is functional in some manner.
While Ubisoft does not specify in which way cracked copies are "not complete," it's a safe bet that online saved game storage is one such unavailable feature.
Comments
Also, Silent Hunter 5 (cracked) works fine. It is not an "incomplete version". Ubisoft used what is commonly refered to as 'triggers', gameplay-altering code that kicks in when the protection is removed improperly. A good cracker will find that and remove. That is exactly what occured in this case.
The only thing that legitimatly qualifies it as being incomplete is the non-functional multiplayer, but that is just a way of life when it comes to PC piracy.
Oh, and the lack of the drm. Without that wonderful drm, gamers aren't getting the full experience!
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 58 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
http://www.tweakguides.com/Piracy_1.html
Food for thought:
"This is not the same as saying that every pirated copy is a lost sale. What it actually means is that firstly some proportion of the people who are pirating a game would have bought it in the absence of piracy.
Equally as important however is the fact that even those who would never have paid the full purchase price for one reason or another may still have paid some lower amount to purchase and play the game which they pirated. This is because by the very act of obtaining and playing a game, they've clearly demonstrated that they place some value on that game. After all, if something is truly 'worthless', consumers won't bother to obtain or use it in the first place, regardless of whether it's free or not."
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 22 replies.
Poor choice of words, Alice.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 14 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
However, at this point I don't see what the difference is between this DRM or a traditional one-time-internet check - both prevent casual piracy, neither prevent piracy altogether. Except that one is a significant hassle for legit customers.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
Still have assassin's creed 2 pre-ordered but goddamn is this stupid
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 5 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
This assumes people have always-on internet. What of those people that still have dialup? There are some out there that even use the limited time ISPs. There is no reason to force internet connectivity in order to just PLAY a game.
They did ok with the Dragon Age game making it an option should people want to download DLC or upload honors.
This will come back to bite them in the ass. This is so very wrong.
I like Ubisoft's developer arms. It's a shame their publishing arms are so bass-ackwards.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 2 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 3 replies.
Thread Truncated. Click to see all 4 replies.
You must be logged in to post.