Mass Effect's DRM

[flameboy118]

As you may well know, Mass Effect fatures a new DRM system by which each user is treated as a potential pirate. Though they went back on the idea that users would need online verification every ten days, you are only allowed three installs, and online verification is required on install as well as every 30-60 days. the reviews on amazon are outraged http://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-Arts-Mass-Effect-PC/dp/B0015M0PYI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1212006225&sr=8-1.

are you outraged?? in some way, we should try to stop this- its really annoying and a violation of user rights. thoughts?

[cw695356]

Why is it a violation of your user rights?

[MurdersGalore]

DRM is wrong on multiple levels. And frankly, Why is it a violation of your user rights? is a silly question. You pay for the game fair and square. If I shell out up to $60 for a game I should be allowed to reinstall it as many times as I like. Also, Dont you get sick of these companies treating you like you are already guilty of pirating when you pay for their products honestly? Maybe if these lazy pricks would get off their asses and prosecute the people who are actually pirating their software instead of treating all their users like criminals they might actually put more of a damper on pirating. They can come up with all the copy protection software they want. Piracy will still happen because they are using software to prevent it. With enough time and smart enough hackers on it any software can be cracked.

[flameboy118]

Lol well said.... I understand that everything can be cracked anyway, so the only people the DRM affects are those who pay for it.... thats pretty nonsensical.

very few pirates actually get prosectued, so they just affect us, the users (and yes i have bought mass effect on pc) instead. they need to simply shut down sites like the pirate bay, though actually there is some legal stuff e.g. linux distros

[cw695356]

You still didnt say how it affected your user rights. You buy a copy of their product. They can do what they like with it, why shouldnt they try to protect their property? I agree that a limited number of installs is a bit harsh but online registration is hardly an issue if you have legally purchased the game.

[MurdersGalore]

Why should the legitimate purchaser be so inconvenienced? Like Flameboy said (and he said it pretty well I think) it only effects legit purchasers. No pirates have ever been bothered with DRM, only the inconvenience of having to defeat another type of copy protection. Online registration is fine but these install limits are ridiculous. And what about users that are still on dial-up? (and yes, there are still plenty of locations where broadband is not available). They pay the same as every other user but have to wait for hours, sometimes days, for downloads to complete. I have had to install HL2 on dial-up before. It took almost 24 hours before I was able to play the game. Prosecuting paying customers is not the answer. DRM and copy protection that is this harsh is just laziness.

they need to simply shut down sites like the pirate bay, though actually there is some legal stuff e.g. linux distros
I agree. As for places like pirate bay and their users claiming legitimacy because they also share legally distributable stuff like linux distros, that's not much of an excuse for these websites not to be shut down and/or prosecuted. I've never seen a Linux distro that didn't have it's own website with a list of mirrors. If you wanna share legitimate software there are plenty of places not centered around torrents and pirating to do it. There are places like CNet and SourceForge for people who develop software and want it distributed via the net. Personally, If I developed Open Source software, why would I choose torrents to share it anyway?

Here's a good thought....
.....How about clothing manufacturers design thread that will only hold seams together for about a month to defeat the shoplifting of clothes? And if you paid honest money for your pants all you have to do is go back to Wal-Mart each time the legs of your pants fall off and show them a registration card so they can sew them back on. :P

[cw695356]

Dial up would be irrelevent. All the protection would need to do is send 1 encrypted message between the game and the manufacturers server.
Your analogy doesnt really hold as the DRM would have no effect on the legal user. Surely all it would do is check in the background that your game is a legal copy and the user would never notice.
This only ever seems to bother people who prefer not to buy games and just download them instead.

[MurdersGalore]

Dial up would be irrelevent. All the protection would need to do is send 1 encrypted message between the game and the manufacturers server.

Have you ever installed a steam game? You buy the cd/dvd which has only part of the game on it and after validation the rest has to be downloaded. Bioshock is the same way, you install the game and then have to wait for not only an online validation but you have to download the actual EXE to run it. That's inconvenient when it shouldn't be.

Your analogy doesnt really hold as the DRM would have no effect on the legal user.
How does it not? Like DRM on mp3's for instance. I buy a song from iTunes legally....My iPod fails or I buy another music player...DRM prevents me from using the song that I PAID FOR on another device. That's DRM having an effect on a legal user.
Install limits are bull**** and are exactly my analogy. Hardware and Software both eventually always fail. What happens 10 years from now when or if the servers do not exist? You might want to play that game 10 years from now.

This only ever seems to bother people who prefer not to buy games and just download them instead.

Are you insinuating I pirate my games? this type of copy protection effects me each time I try to run HL2 or re-install Bioshock. I paid for both of these games...should I photocopy the sales receipt for you?

I see it in reverse. The only people who aren't bothered by DRM and copy protection are the people who hack it. They dont have to worry about downloading the rest of some exe of a server when they pirated a hacked version. They don't have to worry about paying twice for a DRM protected album when they just download a torrent. In the end it just punishes the user who cares about doing what's right. If you don't see that then you choose to be blind.

[cw695356]

Just because thats how steam and bioshock do it that doesnt mean its the only method. Theres plenty of methods of encryption that could be used without forcing a large download on the user.iTunes songs are for using on your computer or your iPod. You dont buy the song you buy an iTunes format version of the song. By trying to use it on a different device you are not using it how it was intended to be used and thats just tough.
Your analogy says that something you buy breaks every month and then you get it fixed by proving you bought it. Thats not what DRM is at all, the DRM just wants you to prove you bought it legally when you install it. Install limits are also not your analogy as you would only be able to return the clothes for a limited number of times.
I see all your points but I think you are making a big fuss out of nothing. Other than downloading for steam and bioshock have you ever had another problem? Im not insinuating you pirate your games but in my experience the people who whine about it are the ones who dont pay for it.

[flameboy118]

Lol murdersgalore you are SOOO right. i could quote what you say which is right, but then it would be everything ;).

drm has no effect on the end user only pirates? well, for pirates it makes no difference because it gets taken out of the .exe, for us it has effect. what about for those who dont always have internet access? should they just not be allowed to play a single player game? And god i hate steam (although valve ftw!)

Were not saying that this is the only way to do it- thats the whole point, they should either find a way to do it which actually hinders pirates and not us, or not do it at all.

the walmart analogy works though- doesnt matter for pirates because somebody else changes the clothes so they dont denature (change the .exe), for us it does matter because we have to go to walmart every month (online validation. what about those with no internet at home, they will physically have to take their computer to a wireless hotspot lol....)

[MurdersGalore]

My sentiments exactly. I am not saying that there should be no protection but there are better ways of doing it. Some sort of quick online validation is ok. For people without internet, give them a number to call. But these install limits, large exe downloads and such is going too far. It is laziness because what really should be happening is the developers working with law enforcement to track down serious pirates and make an example of them.

[flameboy118]

yeah they need to nip it in the bud by getting the people who upload the pirated games, not use security which affects everyone. either way, THIS is way too far