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

Positive or negative, slap DRM in the headline and expect a flood of comments.

The response to From Dust's DRM, however, has been exceptionally negative, fueled by Ubisoft's poor communication of what kind of DRM would be included in the PC version of Eric Chahi's latest. Ubisoft suggested there would be no DRM, but when the game arrived, there actually was DRM, asking players to be online to start the game.

Ubisoft's been buried in criticism ever since (including from myself), and it appears the publisher is cutting its losses.

"We recognize that one of our posts in the From Dust forum regarding the need for authentication in the game was not clear," said Ubisoft forum manager bukowski113 on the company's boards.

To try and make things right (or at least better?), Ubisoft is working on a patch for the PC version, scheduled to be released in about two weeks.

"This development time is required as we are working to ensure that those who have already started the game, and who’s progress is currently saved on our servers, will receive and save their game information locally," continued the post.

After the patch is installed, players will apparently be able to play offline--no questions.

"We sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding," reads the post.

If players will still be there two weeks from now, however, remains to be seen.

Now I might actually pick it up.

Yeah Ubi really dropped the ball on this one.

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

Isn't that the problem?

This proves that there is such a thing as bad publicity :)

Nah I think I'm done with ubisoft.

I assumed this was only a problem for people without Internet access? How does a patch which is inaccessible to those users fix the issue?

Damage done, get your head out of your ass Ubi.

Glad to hear it.  It's about time.
 
Hopefully they'll finish the fix sooner than planned.

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

Misunderstanding my bollocks... Ubi is trying to recoup from their total scew up >:(

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

Well....its still a shitty port but...I really wanna play the damn game so ill take their little gesture, don't pull this again Ubi I love Assassin's Creed but you've done your dance and jig on DRM one to many times.

I'm not sure the title is right?

Wow...wow. Laughable, LAUGHABLE.

I'd buy it if this all pans out. The DRM misshap was pretty shitty of them but can't say I was surprised.

This should be a lesson to all you saying pirating is the answer. No it's not, not buying the game and telling the publisher where they went wrong is the answer. Affect their sales, then you'll make them care.

I think the sub header is supposed to say offline not online...that's confusing.

Good job Ubisoft, fuck you and stuff, you suck boo. I'm never playing your games again, this shit is retarded. I'm gonna go play better games while I wait for Assassin's Creed: Revelations.,. hold on wait a minute /turns off idiot mode

People crying are the funniest people ever, keeps me entertained :D

"Guys please, listen, I'm sorry...you gotta believe me. I didn't think it would turn out like this!"

.... i really fucking hate you ubisoft maby even more than ea and activison

I assumed this was only a problem for people without Internet access? How does a patch which is inaccessible to those users fix the issue?

Doubt the patch will fix the half assed nature of the port.

Cool, but are they gonna fix the actual game part? The controls and frame limit can't be fixed as easily as applying a crack for the DRM. The port is fundamentally flawed, and the DRM has nothing to do with it.

Hey, if this patch comes out, then I'll buy From Dust. Until then, eff off Ubisoft.

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

I mean, I get it.  
In this day and age of constant cutthroat Activision/EA battles, companies are trying to compete to get a slice of the pie and offer gamers a choice.  They want to protect their property and profits, and nobody can fault that desire.  
 
But everything from SecuROM, to Tages, to StarForce to... this... has been a rolling history of years that prove intrusive, draconian DRM schemes only serve to frustrate and lose customer loyalty over and over again. To state the obvious, piracy is inevitable. They know it, we know it. It's not some obscure, strange new internet phenomenon.  
 
I wouldn't claim to magically 'know' an answer to their problem... after all, I'm just a mere 'consumer'. What I can say, though, is that this approach just isn't viable. Any release with shenanigans such as this don't get my bucks.  
 
While the patch is a good gesture, it makes me gun shy about Ubisoft's future releases, no matter what IP it is.  
Not sure you can just patch in trust. 

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

Isn't that the problem?

"No, no, you misunderstood us! We said that we were implementing intrusive DRM, and you took that to mean that we were implementing intrusive DRM."  
 
@ZeForgotten said:

Good job Ubisoft, fuck you and stuff, you suck boo. I'm never playing your games again, this shit is retarded. I'm gonna go play better games while I wait for Assassin's Creed: Revelations.,. hold on wait a minute /turns off idiot mode

People crying are the funniest people ever, keeps me entertained :D

@Elusionar said:

How is DRM different than Steam?

People like Steam.

@Elusionar said:

How is DRM different than Steam?

well in my opinion there's a huge diffrence, you can use steam offline for one thing (ofcourse not the multiplayer games, but you get the point). Secondly i also think that the way they do it is as good as it gets, the only time you have to hassle with the "DRM" is just when you type in the cdkey (unless the game is on GFWL or like from dust, on ubisofts own stuff) and it leaves you alone after that, it also doesn't deny you to play the game on diffrent computers, just download it again and there you go you play the game. I may be biased just because i love steam, and how it works but then again there must be a reason i love it, right?

Are they going to fix the part where it's a shit port too?

THIS is how you enact change. You write/email/post on the publisher's forum (WITHOUT using the words "fucking dipshits") and you get results. You don't just throw up your hands and say "Oh well, I'll just pirate it COMPLETELY justifiably!"

Did they mention anything about fixing the locked framerate and shoddy mouse control in the patch?  Even when the DRM is lightened, these issues still hobble what seems to be a pretty good game.

Can they release a patch to make From Dust completely playable... on a PC?

So, what does one do?
 
Give them the finger, or buy the thing after the patch hits so they hopefully get the message?

@EpicReflex: if they mange to download the game they'll manage to get a patch

@Elusionar said:

Unless i am mistaking, you need to be online to play a Steam game, no one is bitching about that?

You are able to put steam in offline mode. It only requires you to connect to the internet once every few weeks to revalidate your ticket. If ubisoft did a similar system with their games I wouldn't mind.

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

@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!

Suck on egnigmas titts, as he will use it. as for he's question? YTorrent? I have to agree. People whill blame ANYTHING!!!

this sounds like a reasonable response to the drm issue, and if it took them this long to make sure they got it right, i can see that too.  now i just wish they'd make other parts of the game better, like the mostly identical, unskippable cutscene between each level and not being able to save during a level.

@Rolento said:

Now I might actually pick it up.

Same here. I always play smaller downloadable games like this on my laptop at campus where I don't have an internet connection (or at least a reliable one)

Too late... Deus Ex!

The DRM crap doesn't bother me, it's the framerate, the lack of AA, the control issues. That and the fact that Bastion launched on Steam with basically no major issues and already there's been three or four patches, but From Dust seemingly isn't going to have anything for two weeks.  
 
That said, the fact you have this intrusive DRM launcher system for ubisoft games even on Steam is kinda silly. Sure, you get cloud saves, but Steamworks gives you that. Achievements? Steamworks. Patching? Steamworks... I understand that Steamworks doesn't even require the game to be on Steam, but at this stage, why wouldn't you just have it run on Steam anyway? Every single thing this uPlay thing (or any of these DRM-launcher things) does, Steam does better.

@misterhaan said:

now i just wish they'd make other parts of the game better, like the mostly identical, unskippable cutscene between each level

That's just the way this game handles in-between level loading screens. The migration video plays while the game is loading in the background, and it switches to real-time rendering when they crawl out of the hole. Beats a spinning circle or low resolution fog. I still think I'd prefer reading Tribe Memory entries during that time though since there's no reason to read them outside of the game.

How about all the other problems, especially the glaring lack of true mouse support? It feels like an emulated analogue stick.

They really need to make up there mind on there DRM stance.

I'm probably one of the few people who doesn't mind DRM. Because I know if people were stealing my shit I would be pissed and try to find a way to stop it. I think people just need to understand while it may be of more hassle to you the legal consumer, it is a necessary thing to have. And until someone comes up with a better solution it is going to be the norm.