Following Backlash, Ubisoft Promises to Ditch From Dust's DRM

Still no point to buy a bad port. That's far
more offensive than the whatever DRM.
Foo bad, I was looking forward to this one. But I know how to vote. $

Hope they remember this for Driver:San Francisco.

Too little too late, after the delay and this fiasco they probably missed alot of the sales they could have had in the release window. Even buyers who don't keep totally up to date with game news heard about this crap.

Big shock, you add an unnecessary always on DRM to a currently Steam-exclusive product and gamers get pissed....

I'm waiting for the article that says:

"Ubisoft promises a patch is coming to make the game completely playable"

This game doesn't control very well on the PC yo.

@Enigma777:  I think your missing a clear difference here a difference that I think is for the better. Ubisofts DRM doesn't really give you anything in return.  Steam on the other hand gives you friends lists  a convenient place to access your games automatic updating and much more. 

Too late... Deus Ex!

I get the issues with DRM, but seriously, everyone has internet connections, everyone is online while playing their games anyways. I feel like DRM issues are always blown vastly out of proportions. 
 
Still though, DRM itself is totally pointless because, specifically in this case, the game was cracked on its release, so anyone downloading it illegally bypassed the DRM completely. Kind of messed up that pirates get the better version of the game.
 
Also, fuck this DRM business, could we please get a patch to fix the fucking mouse controls? Its seriously the worst thing ever.

@Enigma777 said:

Wonder which excuse the pirates will use now when they torrent the game. Ubisoft is too greedy? No replay value? Seriously, let me know!

"Because it costs more than free." -Pirates

now if only there was a patch to make the game not a shoddy console port

Now if they patch in "Hey I'm playing this on a PC not a 360" mode I'll go buy it.

@Paul_Is_Drunk said:

Maybe if they fix the controls so you're not mimicking a thumbstick, or allow the ability to change the resolution settings, I'll take a look. Right now it's a non-buy.

You can change the resolution and there's nothing wrong with the controls...You're not moving a cursor but an entity in the game world which is why it feels a bit odd. If those are your only gripes with the game I'd say you're missing out for no reason.

Too little too late, they already screwed their sales.

if that patch includes a fix for half decent mouse controls ill still get this on pc.

Hope everyone's ready for this exact same sequence of events to occur with Ubisoft's next release.

Had they been honest about the DRM, they could have pitched it as a feature: looks like the game uses cloud saves since the Ubisoft rep comments about how they have to make those locally stored.

Cloud saves are certainly a reason for an always-on internet connection. Not saying a local save synced to the cloud or tolerance for dropped connections aren't better, but it seems less evil to require an internet connection if there's some benefit to it.

Now I can get it in a steam sale and not feel like an idiot. Next one should be thanksgiving right?

Don't you just love all these corporate weasel words in Ubisoft's statements? "Confusion" isn't the same as being angry about being lied to and "misunderstanding" isn't the same as giving contradictory information. "Not [being] clear" is a little closer to reality but still feels like some of the blame is on the customer. None of it comes close to being the apology which they ought to give.

DRM only prevents piracy when it comes to people that don't know how to use cracks. Unfortunately Ubisoft and many other publishers fail to realise that the people downloading games are more than likely going to know how to copy a cracked.exe. 
 
It's a pointless procedure and it only works against complete thickies. It would be more effective on console than it ever will be on PC; since the average PC gamer is going to probably be more able than your average console gamer.
 
At least in my life the primarily PC focused gamers I know are definitely of higher smarts than the console only friends I have. Not a slight at console gamers as I play console myself but it does seem to be the case.

Wow... definitely a case of too little, too late. In two weeks, people are going to be on to big releases, especially considering much of the onslaught towards the holidays begins today with Deus Ex.

Ubisoft, you have failed.

Maybe if they fix the controls so you're not mimicking a thumbstick, or allow the ability to change the resolution settings, I'll take a look.  Right now it's a non-buy. 

Betting they'll do the Driver thing (have to log in/authenticate every time you start the game). For whatever reason Ubisoft feels legitimate users can't be trusted. They may start playing a pirated copy after they've authenticated the game once. Or something.

Hopefully we'll never see Ubisofts terrible DRM again. Please please please! I dont want to see it anywhere near Anno 2070, the next Assasins Creed or Driver. 

Why do they still do DRM when all of these problems happened in the past? More reason to buy PC games from Steam.

TIL going back to an earlier revision before the DRM was put in takes 2 weeks

Patrick should maybe take more credit for intentionally whipping people into an emotional fury.

Betting they'll do the Driver thing (have to log in/authenticate every time you start the game). For whatever reason Ubisoft feels legitimate users can't be trusted. They may start playing a pirated copy after they've authenticated the game once. Or something.

@Rekt_Hed said:

U can't polish a turd and removing DRM from thex pc version won't make it any less crappy

Except it's not a crappy turd type of game.

U can't polish a turd and removing DRM from thex pc version won't make it any less crappy

@EpicReflex said:

What does DRM actually prevent? PC games are cracked without fail - seems like a pointless enterprise. 

Exactly, wasted money on their part, then at some point customers have to pay for DRM costs. Then they screw it up constantly, break games, force us to do as they want, etc. I wish more people could understand how futile DRM really is.   I've argued that point with plenty of dumb fucks, but they just want to spout morality and other horse shit. Some even went ahead and suggested to crack a game I bought because of issues caused by stupid DRM. Seriously what is the point? I buy something i have to fucking fix to be able to use? Shouldn't I get a discounted price for having to work to use my new game?  Newsflash: 2012 is the year all pc games declare some assembly required to play. Give me a fucking break.

The best part? Ubisoft actually already managed a way of copy protection that isn't so fucking obtrusive and actually takes a bit more than 2 hours to crack in PoP: The Forgotten Sands. Every time you enter a checkpoint, the game runs a check on your files and if something is amiss, it fucks your game at a completely random point by making a switch/door not work etc (so you could have your game rigged to blow from the very first checkpoint, but there was a chance you'd only experience it in the last chapter).

Yeah, it still got cracked, but it required some effort this time and pirates who got punk'd had to start a new game, so that was a battle tied.

 Put in the DRM, get your day one protection, then remove the DRM 

@Enigma777: I have no idea what you're talking about. I've never had to put steam into offline mode while having internet access to be able to use it in offline mode. All you need to do is have loaded the game once and you're fine.

Hell, the majority of games on steam don't even need steam to be able to launch them you can just open the games manually.

@hckling said:

@Enigma777 said:

@hckling said:

@Enigma777 said:

@hckling said:

Steam does it the right way, it's DRM but it doesn't get in your way.

What? How is Steam's "Always need to be online DRM" different from Ubisoft's "Always need to be online DRM?"

Well, it's different in that it's not "always need to be online DRM". That clear things up?

Except the fact that you need to be online to enable the said mode... So I ask you again, how is it any different?

Well, this was tiresome. Being able to enable an offline mode which lasts for several weeks, allowing you to play your games anywhere, is preferable to not being able to start your game at all without being online. Do you understand? If not, I am going to have to leave it for someone else to explain it to you, I have work to do.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you think so hard. I can see it's painful. Let me put it in simpler terms: If you never had the chance to put Steam in offline mode before your internet went out, you're just as screwed as the guy who has to deal with Ubisoft's DRM.

My point, if you've failed to grasp it yet, is that there is no such thing as a "right way" to implement DRM. It will always, ALWAYS be a thorn in the customer's side. The only good DRM is no DRM.

You can go back to work now.

@Enigma777 said:

@hckling said:

@Enigma777 said:

@hckling said:

Steam does it the right way, it's DRM but it doesn't get in your way.

What? How is Steam's "Always need to be online DRM" different from Ubisoft's "Always need to be online DRM?"

Well, it's different in that it's not "always need to be online DRM". That clear things up?

Except the fact that you need to be online to enable the said mode... So I ask you again, how is it any different?

Well, this was tiresome. Being able to enable an offline mode which lasts for several weeks, allowing you to play your games anywhere, is preferable to not being able to start your game at all without being online. Do you understand? If not, I am going to have to leave it for someone else to explain it to you, I have work to do.

@metalsnakezero said:

Why do they still do DRM when all of these problems happened in the past? More reason to buy PC games from Steam.

Sad, I bought my version from steam

Silly Ubi still adds their external crap... Ubi should just release games on steam, like other publishers, (-)external DRM.

TWO WEEKS. 
 
lol 
 
Crackers got rid of the DRM in a day :D 
 
Seriously, I am more interested if that 2 weeks is to fix the frame rate etc.

@hckling said:

@Enigma777 said:

@hckling said:

Steam does it the right way, it's DRM but it doesn't get in your way.

What? How is Steam's "Always need to be online DRM" different from Ubisoft's "Always need to be online DRM?"

Well, it's different in that it's not "always need to be online DRM". That clear things up?

Except the fact that you need to be online to enable the said mode... So I ask you again, how is it any different?

@Enigma777 said:

@hckling said:

Steam does it the right way, it's DRM but it doesn't get in your way.

What? How is Steam's "Always need to be online DRM" different from Ubisoft's "Always need to be online DRM?"

Well, it's different in that it's not "always need to be online DRM". That clear things up?

@hckling said:

Steam does it the right way, it's DRM but it doesn't get in your way.

What? How is Steam's "Always need to be online DRM" different from Ubisoft's "Always need to be online DRM?"

The thing that bothers me is this, from the first article:

"[We have seen] a clear reduction in piracy of our titles which required a persistent online connection, and from that point of view the requirement is a success," said an unnamed spokesperson to PC Gamer last month.

The problem is, their DRM doesn't work. It can be downloaded and played just as easily as bought. In fact, more so since you don't have to worry about their DRM shenanigans.

I really can't stand DRM which is more of a hassle to regular customers than it is to pirates. I almost wish people would pirate these games just to prove a point. Steam does it the right way, it's DRM but it doesn't get in your way. This Ubisoft stuff is BS. So I can't take my laptop on a trip and play my legally bought games? But if I pirate them, I won't have an issue? This is meant to encourage me to pay for my shit?

And for all you who think DRM doesn't matter, that Ubisoft are awesome: you sound like the dude in the dungeon from Life of Brian to me. "Oh, HAHAHA! Nice one, Ubisoft, I like it, I like it!"

VICTORY!

Was this all a publicity stunt to increase awareness of From Dust?

YOU DECIDE!

probably a smart decision on their part.

Here's a brilliant idea. 
 
Always have your game make a local save, if nothing else purely for backup purposes in case something horrible happens to the server and server backups, but also just because people tend to like to have a copy of things for themselves, and like to play offline. 
 
 
So game developers: always keep local saves. Have the servers check the local saves to make sure it knows which one it should be using. 
 
 If it's a "competitive" game and they don't want people hacking game saves for a competitive advantage, then make sure to ban offline files for competitive play. That makes sense. I think everyone can get behind that. Otherwise, just don't lock up save games. Especially don't do that in an artificial way as a means of DRM. You're pushing those people who realize that any content they want is technically free a few clicks down the internet road over the edge.

Alright. Sounds like it's worth buying in two weeks then, and no sooner. 
 
Always gotta be on the watch whenever Ubi Soft is dropping a PC game. And Blizzard now, if Diablo III is anything to go by.  I hope that's not Activision's influence creeping into the house of Warcraft....

At least they have admitted to it, and surprisingly doing something about the complaints rather than sticking to their decision.