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

Fix the anti-aliasing, i cant play without it!

@Rolento said:

Now I might actually pick it up.

As soon as it's on sale on Steam....

Don’t be surprised if some time after the release of Driver:SanFran the DRM in that magically goes away as well.

Put in the DRM, get your day one protection, then remove the DRM a little while after release and suddenly you’re doing everyone a huge favor because you love your customers and value their feedback so much


And just to throw some more cynicism into the mix, From Dust has gotten quite a bit more attention from this than it probably would have otherwise.

@Branthog: I doubt it, but what IS the solution, then?

Good. I hope they learn from this.

I don't care about the DRM! Fix the controls! Gah!

It's like they themselves missed part of the point. Bad port aside, the DRM itself isn't the whole issue; it's that they made a mistake/lied about information and went back to (try to) cover it up. And now they're not even acknowledging that and leaving it as "misunderstandings?"

This entire thing is just... A PR nightmare. Okay, Ubi, I get the message. No more PC purchases from you. No more new copies for console games from you. You will no longer receive a single cent of my money. I have better people to give money to.

At least the situation will be rectified. Ubi needs to learn that communication with customers is key in keeping them satisfied.

hummm

@doe3879: Exactly. This will be the first and last time I extend myself out to Ubisoft and preorder one of their DRM laden ports. I've made it roughly through half of the game...chances are that's where it will stay.

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

bad DRM or not

still a bad port

Fuck you Ubisoft. You aren't getting a dime of my money now or ever. How many times are you idiots going to try to insert DRM and then have to remove it? People who don't learn from their mistakes don't get my money.

Now I might actually pick it up.

The irony is that DRM solves absolutely nothing, and causes a mess of problems. Pirates still get the game, and the experience for the law abiding is worse.

Frankly, I've never understood the uproar. I've never had any internet intermittency issues in the past 5 years. I understand the idiosyncrasy of requiring constant connection for a SP only game, but honestly if my internet is down, I'm not on the computer anyways. I'm using internet on my phone.

idk. Maybe it's just that it doesn't really affect me and that's why I'm indifferent.

Meanwhile people who pirated it for free have been enjoying a faster loading, faster running, non-nagging, DRM free version since launch day. LONG LIVE DIGITAL RIGHTS MANAGEMENT. THANKS FOR FUCKING YOUR CUSTOMERS IN THE ASS, UBISOFT!

Aw Ubi... pick a side. If you wanna use DRM just do it, if not then don't. You already knew there would be people whining about it anyways, it shouldn't have been a surprise etc. Taking this back just seems even worse to me. 
 
Maybe don't take my words though, I'm one of those 'has internet' and 'doesn't play video games in weird places like airports or the gym' etc. I have 'always on' internet in my house, which according to the internet people isn't common :(

@EpicReflex said:

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?

Surely they couldn't download it in the first place if they had no internet? It's not a game you can buy at retail after all.

proof that you should never buy a ubisoft game on release day.  well at least they are going to patch it out. 

OK now everyone who complained is buying it right?

RIGHT??

@random_guy23 said:

@SeriouslyNow: that there might just be the best gaming related news story i've ever read.

It gets better.

Too many things to mention. Worst port ever. Incredible really.
 
GiantBomb - please find a picture of the dude that greenlighted this. The dude that said "That's enough, IT'S READY". I want to see his face.

@SeriouslyNow: that there might just be the best gaming related news story i've ever read.

@EpicReflex said:

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?

No the issue was having to be always online just to play single player which is a problem if you dont't have "always on" internet, if they didn't have internet access at all, then they wouldn't have the game period because you can only buy it online.

Companies never learn do they? That's the second time in a week where I've seen negative reaction to these restrictions from consumers have forced companies to reverse the decisions. First it was the PC-boxed version of Deus Ex: Human Revolution being region-locked and then subsequently changed (which made me lose my pre-order from Ozgameshop) now From Dust. Please guys, think before you do anything stupid.

It's swell that they're taking their criticisms to heart and all that, but it's because of nonsense like this happening at all that I'm always wary of buying PC games, particularly Ubisoft ones. Treating paying customers like criminals is never, ever acceptable, no matter how much time you spend trying to justify it.

I wonder if this 'patch' will be made by a Pirate Group again.

I think this is a case of too little too late for me.

The DRM wasn't the worst part. it was jsut the icing on the cake that sent most everyone over the edge. 
 
The mouse control was godawful. I've had better results playing Army Men sarges heroes on an N64  emulator

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.

It's hard to imagine anyone but the suits making these silly decisions over and over. I hope someone didn't get in trouble over that post. If I spent any amount of time working on this particular project I'd be cringing. Unwanted attention and a bad impression hurt From Dust in a very important opening week!

Now early adopters are punished, and the pirates punish everyone no matter what DRM is there. The individuals who decide how Ubisoft games are published need to seriously reconsider that topic in the future. It's frustrating because it isn't the first time and it won't be the last. Every single time we as gamers put up with this corporate political crap it hurts their reputation, and creative developers pay the price when we don't want to over those decisions.

It's not a new problem, but in the year 2011 it is getting pretty old.

i reallly had no problem with the drm , it was the shoddy port that made me mad , wouldnt even load the title screen of the game properly , then like 2 days later it was fine , and i was able to play the game , so i finished it in one sitting and had a thoroughly GREAT exeprience , and within a few levels i had forgotten about the 30fps cap , and gotten used to the mouse controls ... it makes me sad that ubisofts mismanagement has cast a shadow on what is a truly unique and fun take on the god game genre .. even on pc in its current form i would reccomend it to anyone whos slightly a bit more mature and can handle a bit of frustration with the drm and getting it to work .. the last level of the game is so trancendatly awesome you wont give a fuck about how much shit you went through to get there.. THATS IF you get past the loading screen eheh

Thank you angry people on the internet!

2 weeks lol, as patrick said... a lot of players would of moved on already or given up from the shocking controls

@EpicReflex said:

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?

The patch also affects those who might, say, play the game on an airplane or other similar location with no internet access. Or those on dial-up.

this changes nothing with me. i can (and will) live without ubisoft games.

Fantastic, fantastic news!

So -- see you all when the PC port of Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes comes out, then?

Whats realy stupid about most DRM's is that they are cracked within days of release, if not before and the crack removes all the crap the DRM forces you to deal with.
The Assassins Creed DRM backfired so badly that the only pople who could play the game at release were the pirates because the login servers were DDOS'd
 
oh and another good one was Portal 2(if i remeber correctly), although that wasent DRM, there was a bug in the game that made it unplayable and the pirates fixed it before Valve put out a patch for it :p

I don't know if I can ever accept DRM in games (well excluding Steam, I suppose). However, every other implementation that I've come across has felt too restrictive or cumbersome. Even after this change From Dust is still  a pretty crappy port. Playing it offline should be a given and the fact that we had to fight for seems unnecessary.  
The Humble Indie Bundle, GOG are proof that DRM-free can be commercially viable. Pirates will always pirate so just give paying customers a good product :/ 

Seriously when it comes to Single Player games like this, I don't see the point in having to log in online all the damn time

@McShank said:

@Yamoto said:

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

Why? DRM sucks but why do you hate them? I always thought DRM was a reason to dislike someone and possibly not buy their game as internet is not always available but to Hate them for it.. wtf. Get over yourself. They make games and you buy them, they never forced you to.

OR do they..? They have the mind controls man, you gotta wear your alfoil.

@Rolento said:

Now I might actually pick it up.

Only if they fix the weird mouse issues and capped framerate as well.

@Undeadpool said:

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!"

The only change they accomplished here is that while they'll capitulate this time, they will simply have a very strong policy against ever commenting on DRM being excluded from a product.

They wasted their time putting it in and now they're wasting their time taking it out.  Development resources that could have been more properly applied.
 
It's a shame, you'd think they'd know better after the last several times they alone have had this exact same backlash. Really doesn't make sense. Well I might actually buy it now during a steam sale.

I don't understand why they would throw something like this out there only to back peddle on it so quickly. All it does is piss people off.

@Yamoto said:

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

Why? DRM sucks but why do you hate them? I always thought DRM was a reason to dislike someone and possibly not buy their game as internet is not always available but to Hate them for it.. wtf. Get over yourself. They make games and you buy them, they never forced you to.

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.

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