Mass Effect & DRM - Should I be disappointed?

[jaguarskx]

I was looking for a new PC game. I saw Mass Effect and I figured that was the game to get since it was developed by BioWare; KOTOR I and KOTOR II (Lucas Arts; thanks for castrating KOTOR II).

Unfortunately it uses SECUROM (generally not too bad) and the activation key can only be used 3 times; afterward that it becomes inactive. BioWare/EA's spin on things is:

The solution being implemented for Mass Effect for the PC changes copy protection from being key disc based, which requires authentication every time you play the game by requiring a disc in the drive, to a one time online authentication.

This system has an added benefit of allowing players to seamlessly play the game without needing the DVD in the drive.

I rather type in the activation key and keep the DVD in the drive.

Q: What happens when I’ve reached the maximum # of computers for my game and I need more, say due to theft of computer, computer crashes, etc?

A: EA customer service is on hand to supply any additional authorizations that are warranted. This will be done on a case-by-case basis by contacting customer support.

Ummm... okay does that mean I need to bribe someone 'cause additional authorizations are not guaranteed. This sorta reminds me of those DIVX DVDs released by Circuit City (not referring to the DivX codec which did not exist at the time) which were basically rentals. You purchase a DIVX DVD movie and play it in a DIVX DVD player for a very limited before the DVD becomes a coaster.

Oh, below is the official forum link:

http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=629059&forum=125

I would like to buy the game, but the DRM is serious making me have second thoughts. That's similar to EgoSoft's X3: Reunion, the publisher (Enlight) decide to use StarFarce (StarForce) DRM. I enjoyed X2: The Return a lot and was looking forward to X3. But as soon as I read that I was using StarFarce I backed off. It wasn't until about 1.5 - 2 years after the release when Enlight final relented and allowed EgoSoft to release an official StarFarce removal utility. I that point I decided to buy the game.

I guess my options are:

1. Buy the damn game and just deal with EA "support".
2. ABORT ALL INTEREST IN THE GAME
3. Buy the game after finding an appropriate crack for the game (bypass authentification).

I am leaning towards option 2. Option 3 would prevent me from download official expansions and/or bonus material.


I guess EA wants to punish potential buyers for supporting them. I guess they basically telling everyone:

We love you for buying our products, but we hate you because you own a legal copy of them.

For those of you looking forward to Spore (I was kinda interested), it will use the exact same type of DRM as Mass Effects.

 

[limpman]

That's why i haven't buy game.i hate DRM.i don't mind to put game cd every time when i play game but limited install is fu***g ****.

 

[stemnin]

Haven't bought the game yet because of it. I had to reinstall Bioshock after a driver reinstall.. and with even less activations, I ain't gonna bother with ME.

PS I wonder if Dragon Age will have securom..

 

[amdfangirl]

Nah, I'm gonna wait until it hit $10 and under bargain bin... then if it does die, it $10 who cares?

 

[radnor]

Having the CD on the drive ? Sure thing
Having to put codes from the manual ? Sure thing !! (Old games were like that)
Having only 3 installations possible ? A Hardware upgrade can make my license void ? No way.
Having the be online for validation? No problem, what about their server ?

The only thing that keeps me off that game, its i don't like any software to send data outside without i say so.
I don't like it.

If a software house wants my Directx reports specs so it can make better games for the general populace?
Sure.

If a software house wants to monitor my Equipment with a Warden program while i play ?
Hell no.

There is a line that MUST be drawn. And I have already drawn mine. their product goes beyond that line ? no prob, more money for me, or another game to play. Its a matter of principle yes.

 

[atrain]

Wow.

I wasn't going to be real active in the forums until I built my first rig, but this BS motivates me enough to say something...

EA, **** you. I've already decided almost a year ago that I would never buy another EA game, and this makes me sure that I will stand by that decision. Seriously, 3 installs per copy of the game? That's ridiculous. What if I uninstall it cause I need more room on my HD for something else? Like some other people said, what if I get a new comp? I'm supposed to go out and buy another copy? Hell no. Why do they release this crap? People will always find a way around it with cracks/etc, which may make my rant seem, well like a rant, but it's a major inconvenience.

In addition, EA really provides NO, as in ZERO customer support, so the chances of them approving your 4th install, or even getting around to your request, is slim to none.

Thanks again EA, for galvanizing my hatred of you.

 

[snarfies1]

1. Buy the damn game and just deal with EA "support".
2. ABORT ALL INTEREST IN THE GAME
3. Buy the game after finding an appropriate crack for the game (bypass authentification).

I went with option #2.

 

[vvhocare5]

I know it gets said over and over, but the only people who are affected negatively are the ones who purchase this crapware. The ones that rip these games off do not suffer from the "copy protection" that gets installed on your system.
I too have decided to avoid these products until they remember who pays their bills - yep thats me.

Rant
Consider that Securom's products do not seem to have stopped anyone from copying games. It has only caused blue screens, performance issues, malformed files or reg entries or they install rootkits on peoples systems that are trying to comply with their dysfunctional rules. If you complain you are told to reinstall windows (knowing full well most cant or wont). And yet the publishers get in line to use these mediocre products.

The publishers need to change their mindset to one that takes care of their customers and not inconvenience them. Make it easy for me to use your product, not painful. On one hand I think they view all gamers as liars and thieves, but on the other, every nickel that comes in is from a legitimate paying customer who is also hoping you EA/Securom will do the right thing for them.

So far you (EA) have proved them wrong.
/Rant

that was probably more than anyone wanted to hear - sorry

 

[khaydin]

Securerom is the least of this game's problems, check out the technical self help forums:

http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewforum.html?forum=127

A lot of people can't even install the game, a lot of people can install it but can't launch the game without it crashing immediately, a lot of people can launch the game but get a nice black screen, a lot of people can play the game for like 5 min before the screen goes black and if they're lucky they can hit ctrl+alt+del and kill it but most of the time you have to hit your reset button.

At first I was not able to install the game, it would get to a certain point and tell me saferun.exe was corrupt, this is a common problem and they even have a workaround on their tech self help forums to install. So got it installed but then it would crash constantly, I was hitting F6 (quicksave) constantly while in game so when it crashed i wouldn't have to do that part over again, it was horrible.

Well, after i upgraded my motherboard all my problems went away. I had a BFG nForce 680i SLI motherboard with p32 bios. Couldn't play MEPC on that for more than 30min without crashing. Got my new Asus P5Q-Deluxe and the game worked fine. It installed with no problems, didn't tell me saferun.exe was corrupt and the game never crashes now.

I think this is basically another case of a publisher rushing a game out the doors way too quickly. It looks like there was very little testing of the game on various hardware configs. There's also still no patch out yet to address all the issues people are having.

I finally beat the game and the story is amazing, suck it up and just buy it. How many times are you realisticly going to play this and install it on your computer? I don't play a game again after I beat it, seems like a waste of time when there's tons of new games I could be playing. Did you also not buy Vista because of activation? After I installed my new motherboard I had to call MS up and re-activate over the phone. It just seems kind of silly to me to miss an amazing game like this just cuz you can only install it 3 times before you gotta call someone up to activate it. If you can't get over it then get it for 360, it's worth it.

 

[SnareSpectre]

Oh heavens, yes! The 360 version of the game is awesome, if you prefer to play your games at super-high frame rates, like 15 fps! I watched my roommate play it, and wondered how on earth he could stand Mass Effect: Slide Show during any point where there was more than just walking around. Here's my suggestion - go buy the game, then pirate it. Pirated copies are so much easier to work with than all of your DRM problems.

 

[San Pedro]

I'll probably get the game when I have the disposable cash. I can deal with the DRM.

 

[magicandy]

Oh heavens, yes! The 360 version of the game is awesome, if you prefer to play your games at super-high frame rates, like 15 fps! I watched my roommate play it, and wondered how on earth he could stand Mass Effect: Slide Show during any point where there was more than just walking around.

I know exactly what you mean. I don't know how many times I've been watching my friends play Halo 3, GTAIV, this or any other graphic-intensive game on the 360 and seen the frame rate drop to single digits.........I mean come on devs. Stop worrying so much about making cluttered scenes that look pretty at the expense of an enjoyable frame rate. But I don't wonder how they can stand it because I know they're used to it. I'm a PC gamer so I've been used to 60fps gaming for a long time. I can't stand anything below 30, honestly. But I'm not being close-minded when I say 10-15 fps in an intense scene is inexcusable, and the fact that nearly all high-profile 360 and PS3 games suffer from these types of slow downs is pretty sad. Performance should come first, unfortunately the popular opinion is that graphics do.

 

[Flakes]

I went with option #2.

ditto.

 

[infornography42]

I had no problems with the framerate of the 360 version. When Mass Effect came out, our 360 didn't get a break for weeks. If I wasn't playing it, one of my 4 roomates was or one of my friends would be. It was going 24x7.

When I heard about the interface tweaks on the PC, I considered picking it up and had even pretty much decided I would (partly to make use of any user created mods that came along) until I heard about the DRM. Now I won't buy it until they provide a DRM free copy, a DRM removal tool, or a patch that unlimits the number of installations. Limited installations is going too far and I will NOT support it.

Same with spore. If it has limited installations when it comes out, I won't buy it either. Though I've had a bit of fun with the creature creator demo.

 

[Flakes]

i know, im actually really looking forward to spore.

 

[Guest]

ok well get this ****. I bought crysis, i paid my money PLUS extra because apparently the download from ea is more money than the physical game, whatever. Ive reformated my computer a few times in the past few months tried different oses all that good stuff. I go to install crysis on my server08 install, it lets me download the entire 6gb client and install but once installed it says CANNOT PLAY BECAUSE ONLY 3 CONCURRENT LICENSES ARE ALLOWED PLEASE WAIT FOR ONE TO AUTOEXPIRE. i cant even go to my old ones to uninstall and have it recognized. So now i have to download the no cd crack but guess what v1.21 the newest version doesnt have a 64bit no cd crack. so im **** for buying this game. If i had originally pirated this game atleast i would have known there wasnt cracks for the newest 64 bit and i wouldnt have updated the **** game. arggg.

 

[SnareSpectre]

Magicandy, I'm completely in the same boat. I'd much rather have a game look smooth at 45+ fps than have photo-realistic graphics that are unplayable. Several games on the 360 do slow down - GTA IV is bad at points but bearable, and honestly I played a lot of Halo 3 and never noticed a slowdown that dipped below 30 fps. (Except of course in like the map editor when you place like 40 jazillion explosive barrels together and shoot them all at once) However, I honestly don't know how infornography42 dealt with the frame rate in Mass Effect. It has the most noticeable frame rate drops I've ever seen in any [fairly recent] game in my life! My roommate would be driving the Mako and it would be at like 25, then he'd hit some enemies and as he fought them, it would literally drop to maybe an average of 10 until they all died. And that wasn't just here and there - it was like every single time there were more than 1 enemy on the screen! He and I go back and forth about frame rates (I like 45+ and nothing less; he's fine at 30 because he's a console junkie and it really is easier to play a 30 fps game with a gamepad that controls smoothly, whereas mouse aiming is jerky), but even HE noticed it big time in the game. I do think they could have turned down at least 1 or 2 settings to have it looking a little smoother...gameplay wouldn't have suffered at all.

 

[jalek]

Another vote for screw 'em.

I only make a cursory search for no-cd cracks, I can live with that requirement.

I've had to call MS when overclocking and having trouble getting a stable configuration...should that indicate piracy? If services crash due to instability, it apparently does. Activate, then a month or two later, change video cards and start bumping settings again.. and make another phone call.

So, if I upgrade, that's one necessary call to be expected. Add another for this game.. then if this crapware's accepted, that'll mean more will have it. Eventually it'll mean many phone calls for everything you have when you upgrade or reformat. It may sound like 'the sky is falling' ranting, but it seems all too slippery a slope.

Not worth it for a game.

 

[jaguarskx]

Apparently, 2K has decided to remove the installation restrictions on BioShock (after 1 year).

Maybe EA will follow 2K's move after 1 year. Of course, I may loose interest in Mass Effect by then.

 

[tallguy1618]

Is this by any chance the crap that was in KOTOR 2 that prevents me from playing it in Vista?

 

[infornography42]

Same brand of crap I think. Different flavor though. That was was merely crap flavored, this one I think is called Sewage Slushie.

 

[tallguy1618]

Same brand of crap I think. Different flavor though. That was was merely crap flavored, this one I think is called Sewage Slushie.

I knew I reconized it! I don't care how many different flavors those bastards can come up with, they still all smell the same. Agreed?

 

[amdfangirl]

^ Yup they all prevent you from playing games you've bought so they can give boring talks on how piracy effects them... all whilst pirate are happily enjoying DRM-free stuff. If you want to compete with pirates, even the playing field... (I don't support piracy tho...)

Another vote for screw 'em.

I only make a cursory search for no-cd cracks, I can live with that requirement.

I've had to call MS when overclocking and having trouble getting a stable configuration...should that indicate piracy? If services crash due to instability, it apparently does. Activate, then a month or two later, change video cards and start bumping settings again.. and make another phone call.

So, if I upgrade, that's one necessary call to be expected. Add another for this game.. then if this crapware's accepted, that'll mean more will have it. Eventually it'll mean many phone calls for everything you have when you upgrade or reformat. It may sound like 'the sky is falling' ranting, but it seems all too slippery a slope.

Not worth it for a game.

Wait if M$ was a phone company...

Seriously I remember "your copy of Vista is not vaild/real, now we are gonna BSOD you" I have the legal retail box! Can't believe that pre-SP1 poilcy! I lost one good itunes activation thing! Now don't even get me started on Apple...

Is this by any chance the crap that was in KOTOR 2 that prevents me from playing it in Vista?

Whoa, good thing Vista died on me earlier... couldn't have imagined hearing Team Gizka finishing the project and me not being able to play it...

Whoever made Kotor 2 so filled with DRM that it became a hollow story with quests that go nowhere and got cut really badly... Whoa I see a pattern... Kotor 3: Attack of the legal DRM laywers! The Jedi Exile and Revan have to figure out why their game was cut so short in an epic court battle... maybe the game designers spent too much money trying to make a buck, so some nice community effort gets used to make the game for them.

Same brand of crap I think. Different flavor though. That was was merely crap flavored, this one I think is called Sewage Slushie.

Sure that's not the cream filing...

 

[tallguy1618]

You know smething is screwed up with Obsidian when their version of KOTOR (Sith Lords), though newer, won't work at all but BioWare's (KOTOR) works just fine. And you want to know the difference? The first KOTOR didn't have any of this crap in it.

 

[amdfangirl]

^ Hey did you get to the "telos polar zone" were one option meant Kreia and Atton would just stand there and say PC cheat node?