Here's a little bad news for the folks looking forward to the PC version of Mass Effect. The game's Technical Producer dropped a bomb in the official forums letting everyone know that the DRM used for the PC port of the 360 hit would be similar to the infamous restrictions on the PC version of Bioshock.
Quote:
Mass Effect uses SecuROM and requires an online activation for the first time that you play it. Each copy of Mass Effect comes with a CD Key which is used for this activation and for registration here at the BioWare Community. Mass Effect does not require the DVD to be in the drive in order to play, it is only for installation.
After the first activation, SecuROM requires that it re-check with the server within ten days (in case the CD Key has become public/warez'd and gets banned). Just so that the 10 day thing doesn't become abrupt, SecuROM tries its first re-check with 5 days remaining in the 10 day window. If it can't contact the server before the 10 days are up, nothing bad happens and the game still runs. After 10 days a re-check is required before the game can run.
That sucks hard, but maybe they'll ease up on the DRM later. Didn't Bioshock eventually free up a bit?
This is horrible, requiring people to do online activations, and diverting system resources to security checks, when such things are known to significantly diminuish ingame performance.
Guess this is the first sign of EA's involvement with Bioware, no other bioware game had intrusive copy protection.
That sounds completely different from Bioshock, except for the tech being made by Securom (not Massive - what is that title about?) and needing an internet connection.
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Originally Posted by Kem0sabe
This is horrible, requiring people to do online activations, and diverting system resources to security checks, when such things are known to significantly diminuish ingame performance.
These things usually happen before a game launches.
And yet, within a week (I'd wager 3 days) There will be a cracked version all over the torrent sites that fools it into checking a server that isn't there, and telling itself it works just fine.
That's the part that ticks me off. It never actually stops any pirates, just annoys the hell out of the people who did buy it.
This is horrible, requiring people to do online activations, and diverting system resources to security checks, when such things are known to significantly diminuish ingame performance.
Guess this is the first sign of EA's involvement with Bioware, no other bioware game had intrusive copy protection.
Here's a little bad news for the folks looking forward to the PC version of Mass Effect. The game's Technical Producer dropped a bomb in the official forums letting everyone know that the DRM used for the PC port of the 360 hit would be similar to the infamous restrictions on the PC version of Bioshock.
That sucks hard, but maybe they'll ease up on the DRM later. Didn't Bioshock eventually free up a bit?
So the pirates of the world just need to wait for it to be cracked, then they dont have to deal with the DRM?
While the legitimate suckers, I mean customers, need to reactivate their software every 10 days?
If I did want to buy this (and I now dont) I would buy it and download a torrented version.
What part of "DO NOT WANT" dont companies understand about DRM? This will increase piracy in the long run, not decrease it (it decreases the perceived value attached to a a computer game thus making inviduals to be less concerned that they did not pay for it)
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Originally Posted by Oxonian
The last time someone went around being tolerant of everyone around him, we nailed him to a fucking cross for being a preachy asshole.
EA has used SecuROM for years on its PC titles, so the fact that it's now going to feature on Bioware's PC offerings should come as no big shock to anyone.
Well, people who don't like the DRM always have the option of pirating it a couple days after it comes out. It's a win-win for everyone: They get to punish their customers, and other people have a good excuse to get it for free instead of paying for it.
Personally, I'm glad I'm not attracted to Bioware's idea of what an RPG is supposed to be, so I can avoid it, and all future products (since they're owned by EA), quite easily.
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