From Dust does have Ubi DRM afterall
Ubisoft has silently reneged on promises to remove draconian DRM from the PC version of From Dust.
As reported on RPS, users are in uproar on Ubisoft's official forums, with the game apparently suffering from a spate of technical issues too.
Despite Ubisoft originally claiming that users would only need to sign in once to register the game, the PC version of From Dust actually requires a constant internet connection.
On top of that, the PC version of the game lacks any graphical settings, is without anti-aliasing and is locked to 30FPS, according to reports.
Ubisoft has amended posts on the official forums to reflect the reality of the situation and is advising users to contact Customer Support if they have problems.
Check out our review of From Dust on consoles to see that we didn't like the game anyway, then let us know your thoughts in the forums.
Check our GamesCom 2011 news hub for all the information from Cologne this year.
Here's a look at what the fuss is all about. Well, the game over which the fuss is all about:
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Discuss in the forums ReplyEdit: I think this was in the other From Dust thread.
Steam offering From Dust return/refund
http://lo-ping.org/2011/08/18/steam-offering-refund-for-ever-sold-copy-of-from-dust/
Or suing the guy across the street from me for doing the same thing for stealing my potential profits. Or suing people who do the same service that I do for free/lowered price.
They're suing competition for being competitive??
All sarcasm aside, this is a pretty **** move, and while DRM is necessary, a CD-Key is usually (and probably) the most effective way of piracy prevention, no need to tether everyone to yourself, just use a CD authentification. The legit sales won't be too bothered and the pirated versions would lose out pretty badly.
Or just lock the game via updates. Updates check for a specific file and allows it to update from there. Something simpler eh?
Worst part is, between Steam's built in online activation and the provided CD key it's already more pirate proof than Uplay.
Given Ubisoft's past antics, I do wonder that people still buy their products. Companies that go to this level to inconvenience customers are hardly going to bother about things like quality gameplay. Treat them as the software industry's equivalent of a drug addict - prepared to tell any lie to finance their next fix - and you'll avoid disappointment. :)
That leaves the option of a credit card chargeback for the item in dispute as a last resort - but Valve have a nasty habit of terminating Steam accounts (and blocking access to every past purchase) in response.
So, you're enjoying the game, and the DRM doesn't affect you..... Why would you want a refund?
It has already been cracked and has something like 1728 Seeders and 1700 Leechers on TPB and it is already up on cyberlockers since 16.08.2011...
the devilUbisoft, they do have a number of older games available DRM-free on GOG (such as Far Cry and the Heroes of Might and Magic series). I wouldn't hold my breath waiting on this though, it's likely to take a while...Freaking gamer ragefest over nothing. Who doesn't have broadband internet these days? If you're raging on the internet about the game making you authenticate with Ubi's servers, I fail to see your "problem." And the lack of graphical settings? That's not a Ubisoft thing, since lots of games are like that, and Ubisoft generally has decent to very good options. For the pile of crap the story in it was, FarCry 2 had great graphics options, I never had to force anything through cp or anything. Same can be said for any of their AAA titles. However, the lack of any real settings may be worth a -1 to the game's rating.
I just think it's pathetic that the PC gaming community hears the word "DRM" and is suddenly up in arms without knowing wtf their talking about.
The game requires you to be online to log in, but to say it requires a constant internet connection is talking out of your ass.
Ubisoft lied.
And what happens when the game hits the bargain bin? Ubisoft will no longer be making money on it so will have no incentive to spend money on continual activation (and read Shamus Young's Authorization Servers article on why there's unlikely to be a DRM-removal patch once the game is more than 2-3 years old).
Now maybe you're the sort of gamer who's yet to build up a collection of cherished games and therefore has never considered replaying something purchased more than 2-3 years ago. The key point about activation systems like this is that you can't expect to - they are tied to the publisher and will die when that publisher goes - or decides to cancel support (see the Two Worlds activation thread for an example of the problems purchasers have run into, for a 2007 release).
"Activate when you play" raises other problems like privacy (the company can collect data on where and when you play), inability to play when offline (e.g. ISP problems, playing on a laptop with poor wireless/3G reception or on a tightly secured network blocking activation traffic) and loss of access if the company close your account for "breaches", real or imaginary, to their TOS (as Electronic Arts did a few times).
The question shouldn't be about a "gamer ragefest over nothing" but why anyone would pay (presumably) hard-earned money for something almost guaranteed to give them grief in future - especially when every such doormat serves as encouragement for other control-freak publishers to follow suit.
- http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2011/08/20/drm-research-continues-at-fubisot-hq/
- http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2011/08/ubisoft-lied-about-from-dust-drm-ubis-war-on-pc-gamers-continues.ars
http://lo-ping.org/2011/08/18/valve-to-offer-refund-for-every-sold-copy-of-from-dust/
Its Steam, they have a way of doing the right thing.
Edit: according to RockPaperShotgun's article, Valve's change of heart has been at Ubisoft's request. So credit should go to Ubisoft here, not Valve.
So whether it "makes sense" isn't the issue - people buying from Steam have a contract with Valve, not Ubisoft, and it is Valve that should be taking the initiative when they sell a product that is mis-described. Here they didn't.
When a manufacturer goes bust (as with Realtime Worlds/APB) and fails to provide the contracted service, the retailers have to claim compensation from the company liquidators, and bear the loss for any shortfall. That's the risk of doing business, and one justification for the (often significant) margins retailers charge on products.
You have the same problem with the limited activations DRM, even if you bought the game in Steam you need to contact the publisher to get more activations, Steam cant help you.
Limited activation (or any online) DRM doesn't really fall into this category as long as it is disclosed prior to purchase. The situation here though was misdescription and Valve only "doing the proper thing" when prodded by Ubisoft.