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Know how people talk about history repeating itself, but you still see zidiots running around committing the exact same mistakes as everybody else? Apparently, in EA and BioWare’s case, that’s more than hitting the bull’s eye. In what seems to be a serious case of having gone Rip Van Winkle during the Bioshock / SecuROM SNAFU, Derek French, the Technical Producer at BioWare for Mass Effect (PC) has the beginnings of a fine mess on his hands, especially after announcing a copy protection system that makes the Bioshock activation mess (or StarForce even) seem tame by comparison.
According to Derek French, Mass Effect, scheduled to arrive on the PC this 28th, will employ the same SecuROM online activation system that was initially put into Bioshock, allowing the buyer to activate his copy of Mass Effect for 3 times before politely asking to him / her to go to hell, that is, contact the customer service “helpline” to get it reactivated. And while the game itself wouldn’t require the DVD to be physically present in the drive, it goes one step further and phones home every 10 days and re-authenticates just to make sure legit customers are not the worst form of criminal scum publishers swear we are.
The authentication, which will be initialized every time you run MassEffect.exe, will send the CD Key and a unique machine identifier to the activation servers, which will be cross-referenced with the data that was sent when the game was initially activated. Well, actually, it runs screaming to Mama every 5 days, but if it can’t connect, it will still allow you to save the galaxy and sleep around with Asari consorts for another 5 days, presumably reminding you to re-activate often with the dogged persistence of a James Bond doomsday death clock.
In all honesty, I don’t really mind an online activation system, even one that requires me to reactivate every time I reinstall the game, but online checks every 10 days for as long as I want to play it? Seems more of a marriage license rather than an End User agreement. And God forbid if EA decides, a couple of years down the line, (like they usually do) to discontinue support for their older titles. Does that mean I can’t play the game that I paid for no more? I still bloody well play Quake II, thank you very much, without having to jump through flaming hoops. What happens when this so-called perfect activation system messes up and sends me bouncing back and forth between the publisher’s and SecuROM’s customer support, like Bioshock ended up doing. Even Steam’s Offline Mode allows me to play the games that I paid for without an internet connection, if need be, without the undue hassles of having to assure Valve every couple of days that I am not pilfering their precious little game.
And what’s worse? When a member at the official forums asked:
Sure, I have an always-on net connection but what happens if I don’t play for 11 days and the moment I want to play my connection is down? Are you saying I’m not going to be able to play my perfectly legitimate purchased copy of the game, even the retail version, until I get permission?
the official answer came back:
That is correct. And I would suggest that you contact EA Support the moment this happens (once you get your internet back) to report the issue. If there are people having problems with the system as designed, then Support needs to hear about it so they can help us evaluate it for the next game title.
Well, excuse me, but gamers and their wallets are not guinea pigs for developers and publishers to “evaluate” how they can tighten the noose around legit consumers while letting the pirates go scot-free. Pay $50 so they can maybe design a better system for the next title they’re developing? Bloody hell, I want the game I paid for now to work without making me run from pillar to post.
Unless they can think of an unobtrusive anti-piracy system that penalizes the wrongdoers instead of the loyal supporters who keep their business running, most gamers would rather stick to the Steam network for their digital game distributions or, dare I say it, end up pirating the games out of sheer frustration less than a week after the initial release. Besides, who says you need a copy protection system in the first place? As far as I can see, it hasn’t stopped people from buying games like Sins of A Solar Empire and Galactic Civilizations II. Whatever happens, one thing’s for sure, this issue isn’t going away without some serious hurt being inflicted all around.
Source: Mass Effect Community
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May 7th, 2008 at 1:27 am
First I thought this was an April’s Fools day joke…. EA should just fucking curl up and die
May 7th, 2008 at 2:23 am
[...] Thanks, the ANGRY pixel [...]
May 7th, 2008 at 6:08 am
The very fact that they are using this virus for copy protection will mean that there will be a crack available for this game before it hits the shelves. If this is the way the game is going to be sold, then I have every intention of pirating the game, just to avoid this so cold “protection” from getting on my machine.
May 7th, 2008 at 7:54 am
[...] Mass Effect for PC System Specs, SecuROM and FAQ [Mass Effect Community via The Angry Pixel] [...]
May 7th, 2008 at 10:18 am
[...] Via: The Angry Pixel [...]
May 7th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
okay so if i was to snatch it from torrent id have an easier time than if i bought at retail. hmm wonder what everyone will do? YAAARG!
May 10th, 2008 at 11:06 am
the ten day bitch has been removed…
May 10th, 2008 at 11:19 am
check out the official forum,s
May 12th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Turns out that SECUROM online isn’t going to be used in the Czech version of the game(which will use SafeDisc), and Russian copies will employ the dreaded StarForce. So I guess we can all invest in some Czech lessons and get our third cousins to bring us a copy from Prague.
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:21 pm
I think I need to correct you a little about the activation part, this text is taken from the Mass Effect Forum.
”
Q: How many installations will SecuROM allow from my copy of MEPC?
A: Since SecuROM has nothing to do with the installer, you can install and uninstall on the same machine over and over again without any problems. SecuROM also allows you to activate the game on 3 different machines.
Q: Q: What happens if I exceed 3 activations?
A: Your first 3 activations will still work, but any subsequent activation will not work.
”
And as far as i can understand this means that i can activate it as much as i want on my computer and a total of 3 computers, mine and two more. So it doesn’t really sound that bad to me. But maybe i misunderstood.
June 17th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
Hey guys chill, EA is actually promoting piracy. Even people who buy it will eventually apply a crack to play it comfortably.
July 18th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
lol harrydeo,
I was all worked up but after you reminded me I relaxed some (some).