Just wanted to let you know. Installing as we speak. I hear the game is not that good, but at least I can check that for myself. 
I hope this turns into a thing, companies putting out mostly done betas on Steam. It is a great way to test the game on different rigs, and also a great way to get people interested.

I was just about to make a thread about it. Out of the two hours I've put in I'm liking it so far. The loot aspect has got it's hooks (and hands, and eyes, and guns, ect) in me and making a game based more on expanding your comfort zone over specializing into that specific role is surprisingly refreshing.

I played the game during the closed beta a couple of weeks back and I really enjoyed what I played. I agree with @Driadon about the collection aspect (everyone I had ended up having giant robot eyes and crazy spikes just because they looked cool) and the idea that you can remove the stats from an item and turn it into something that is purely cosmetic is brilliant. I'm sure that has been done in games before but this is the first time I have experienced it. The game itself seemed pretty simple but with lots of room to expand into a more challenging one. The PvP also sounds enticing but I didn't get a chance to experience it during my play time. Overall, I'm, much more excited for this game than I was when it was first announced.

Awesome, I've really liked what I've seen of the game so far.

" The beta only lasts till 4/1 so you shouldn't tarry if you have an interest in it.   Also a question for the people in it.  Does the Steam beta have any DRM with it?  I'm leery of blithly grabbing EA product these days.  "

" @YoungFrey said:

" The beta only lasts till 4/1 so you shouldn't tarry if you have an interest in it.   Also a question for the people in it.  Does the Steam beta have any DRM with it?  I'm leery of blithly grabbing EA product these days.  "

It requires an internet connection. It's built kind of like how C&C 4 was in that when you're playing you're always in a chat room/ready to jump into multiplayer  "

"@YoungFrey said:

" The beta only lasts till 4/1 so you shouldn't tarry if you have an interest in it.   Also a question for the people in it.  Does the Steam beta have any DRM with it?  I'm leery of blithly grabbing EA product these days.  "

It requires an internet connection. It's built kind of like how C&C 4 was in that when you're playing, you're always in a chat room/ready to jump into multiplayer  "

" @Driadon said:

"@YoungFrey said:

" The beta only lasts till 4/1 so you shouldn't tarry if you have an interest in it.   Also a question for the people in it.  Does the Steam beta have any DRM with it?  I'm leery of blithly grabbing EA product these days.  "

It requires an internet connection. It's built kind of like how C&C 4 was in that when you're playing, you're always in a chat room/ready to jump into multiplayer  "

That doesn't bother me, it's just having applications secretly installed to my machine that bugs me.  "

This is the official line, anyway.  I think they really  learned their lesson with all the backlash over Spore.

Hey guys,

I’ve gotten some questions about DRM and Darkspore and want to clear up any confusion.  

Many of you already know this, but I just want to underscore again that Darkspore will not include DRM.  

I’ve seen some confusion about the requirement of being connected to the internet to play.  As an online game that we’re happy for you to play on multiple machines, we’re storing your progress on our servers.  The point of this is to make it easier for our players to get to the game, not harder.  :)

Hope that clears up any mixups!

-MaxisCactus