Ubisoft Patch Makes its Internet DRM Less Painful

By Marcus Yam
published

A softening of DRM hits Assassin's Creed II just in time for launch.

The DRM scheme that Ubisoft intends to use on Assassin's Creed II isn't one that PC gamers are looking forward to.

Last month, PC Gamer UK reported that "If you get disconnected while playing, you're booted out of the game. All your progress since the last checkpoint or savegame is lost, and your only options are to quit to Windows or wait until you're reconnected."

While autosave points are frequent in Assassin's Creed II, it still stings to be taken down by your ISP failing, your wireless signal being weak, your router on the blink, or simply just someone pulling any number of plugs. Even worse, what happens when Ubisoft's Master servers are down?

Perhaps in response to the public outcry, Ubisoft has released a v1.01 patch before the game's retail release (set for March 9).

The most notable of fixes are:

  • Game can now be continued from the exact same point when connection is restored
  • Added support for ATI Eyefinity technology
  • Fixed minor performance issues related to some multi-core processors

The top point shows that Ubisoft, while not backing off from its 'Internet-connection-required' stance, is still trying to make things less harsh on the legit gamer.

On the other hand, the copy protection scheme may have already been hacked (at least partially) by software pirates.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
46 Comments Comment from the forums
  • toorudez
    So now you can have save points anywhere you want. Just pull the plug when you're finished for the day. Great job Ubisoft!
    Reply
  • underpatch
    woopdy ducking dooo
    Reply
  • sunzeal
    as far as i know, DRM protection has already been cracked by crackers.

    Now the problem is that most of people who does not have good net connection or no net connection or wanna play game in their laptops while they are outside will download the pirated copy instead of buying the original one.

    Ubisoft will repent their decession.
    Reply
  • valcron
    Just give it up Ubisoft. No DRM you create will actually curtail any pirates from downloading a game if we want it. Your copy protection will always be hacked and your just hurting legit gamers. If you want to reduce piracy give us a reason NOT to download your game rather than a reason TO download it.
    Reply
  • vicsrealms
    Rolls eyes. I still have to sign in on Ubisofts gaming site, plus remain connected to actually enjoy playing the game. I'll pass, and I won't even buy the book on the off chance that I need to be logged in on the internet to read it. Your not making your loyal fans (not that I purchased an Ubisoft game in years) very happy.
    Reply
  • icepick314
    and this is supposed to make it all better?

    for real????

    can't I play games that I PAID for WHENEVER and WHEREVER I want?????
    Reply
  • Ubisoft press release: "In our arrogance, we thought our DRM was unbreakable. After a very short time, the pirating community effed our arrogance in the A. Now to save face we are releasing a patch that removes one pound of DRM bullsh-t from a multi-ton bullsh-t package. Paying $60 to play our game is a privilege. You, as legit purchasers of our game, should be extremely thankful for what we, in our benevolence, have granted you in this patch."
    Reply
  • underpatch
    the bit that i dont understand is ... when EA did something anus like this with spore it got universal hate from everyone .... what makes ubisoft think that they are so "special" and will not get all the hate ... thier games realy arnt all that great ... i cant remember the last time i was excited for anything coming from that studio ...

    why not focus on makeing good games that people want ? ... try that ... maybe that is the secret to selling units ? .... i know that consept is a little far fetch ... but it just might work ... you sure have not tried it yet ....

    you "speTHal" people you
    Reply
  • False_Dmitry_II
    It does seem supremely silly. They have to pay for this kind of stuff too. DRM is not cheap.

    Did Prince of Persia just fall on its face in sales or something? Because that was released with no protection. And they were all "this is your chance to prove to us DRM is not needed"
    Reply
  • techguy911
    On the other hand, the copy protection scheme may have already been hacked (at least partially) by software pirates.

    Yes it has even before the games release there is a hack to fix it and they wonder why people pirate stuff.

    I sell games at my computer store alot of people who buy the game run cracks on it to remove drm that causes game to crash, or in this case not able to save while you not connected to net.

    Alot of people complained about the drm in this game and would not buy it if there was no crack to fix this silly drm.
    Reply