Assassin's Creed II - DRM requires *constant* internet connection..

[shaithis]

Ubisoft say it's not true

lol, screams of desperation to me.

They talk about the crasked version not being "complete".......but they also talk as if it runs fine......so regardless of whether all the content is in the cracked version(s), they still run, ergo it is cracked AFAIC.

[jim]

lol, screams of desperation to me.

They talk about the crasked version not being "complete".......but they also talk as if it runs fine......so regardless of whether all the content is in the cracked version(s), they still run, ergo it is cracked AFAIC.

Unless it's a leaked beta/review version like Assassin's Creed

[usxhe190]

From the article:

"You have probably seen rumors on the web that Assassin’s Creed II and Silent Hunter 5 have been cracked," a spokesperson told MCV.

"Please know that this rumor is false and while a pirated version may seem to be complete at start up, any gamer who downloads and plays a cracked version will find that their version is not complete."

They are right. It isn't complete. It doesn't have the DRM feature.

[Saracen]

lol, screams of desperation to me.

They talk about the crasked version not being "complete".......but they also talk as if it runs fine......so regardless of whether all the content is in the cracked version(s), they still run, ergo it is cracked AFAIC.

Well, what it screams of to me is that the reason for the permanent connection is that some part of the complete experience is downloaded, not supplied in the box. And the inference, of course, is that if support stops or the company folds, the game you bought will be incomplete without the bit you only get by downloading .... which is precisely why I will never by a game with this type of restriction.

Three guesses (though only one should be needed) where Ubisoft can shove this idea.

[shaithis]

If that's the case, I give it a week before that piece of DLC is released as an addon.

[j.o.s.h.1408]

http://www.computerandvideogames.com....php?id=235290

Yup, that's right - UBISoft have managed to build a DRM scheme so utterly retarded that you'll literally feel punished for buying the game (whilst pirates won't have to deal with it). To be clear, if you lose internet connection for ANY reason and ANY time you get booted out of the game and lose progress.

What idiot thought this up?

Buy the game and get teh free version. they get ur money and u get to play with no DRM.

[Andy3536]

At the UBI forums ther're saying Silent hunter 5 isn't cracked aswell despite evidence to the contrary.
There's also the odd few that have internet connection but still can't play.
Not a good start from UBI.

[crazyfool]

Apparently the servers in europe were down yesterday... so after a couple of days the drm is hacked and legit customers cant even play the game because the servers are down... LOL

[usxhe190]

"Great" work UBI on wasting money on developing this DRM and not spending any money on what happens when the servers are down and players can't play the game.

[jim]

About 3 days or so ago, the DRM on Assassin's Creed was completely and utterly cracked by Skidrow. No idea how specifically they've done it but it's just using a basic patched executable - so in conclusion, their new DRM method has flopped completely and utterly, and is now no more difficult to override than any other game out there.

Way to go Ubisoft!

[aidanjt]

About 3 days or so ago, the DRM on Assassin's Creed was completely and utterly cracked by Skidrow. No idea how specifically they've done it but it's just using a basic patched executable - so in conclusion, their new DRM method has flopped completely and utterly, and is now no more difficult to override than any other game out there.

Way to go Ubisoft!

Well, we didn't see that coming, did we?

[kalniel]

About 3 days or so ago, the DRM on Assassin's Creed was completely and utterly cracked by Skidrow. No idea how specifically they've done it but it's just using a basic patched executable - so in conclusion, their new DRM method has flopped completely and utterly, and is now no more difficult to override than any other game out there.

Way to go Ubisoft!

So it lasted over 2 months? That's longer than they needed, and will encourage others to use a similar system.

[Andy3536]

So it lasted over 2 months? That's longer than they needed, and will encourage others to use a similar system.

Well, kind of.

Both AC2 and SH5 have been cracked to a degree since day 1. Don't quite know what was missing from AC2 but in SH5 the missions would never complete.
But they've both been playable via a crack, which judging by the feedback on their forums is more than some have managed with the retail copy.

[jim]

So it lasted over 2 months? That's longer than they needed, and will encourage others to use a similar system.

I disagree to be honest... they've built a brand new DRM system from the ground up, and used it on three games I think? Settlers, Silent Hunter and Assassin's Creed. Loads of people have refused to buy the game as a result of the DRM, so they've certainly lost sales. And after only 2 months, the system is completely dead and a waste of time.

Considering the R&D costs - which are now worth nothing of course - I doubt they made much additional profit on those games as a consequence of it.

A lot of people were comparing it to Starforce, which took over a year to crack, or even SecuRom and the like which took a heck of a lot longer than 2 months.

The point is, yet again it's been proven that even the most overbearing of DRM systems will only last a very short length of time - 2 months here. So either they can introduce a brand new DRM system every 2-3 months, costing an absolute fortune, or they could give up. I know they won't, but the point stands.

[jim]

Well, kind of.

Both AC2 and SH5 have been cracked to a degree since day 1. Don't quite know what was missing from AC2 but in SH5 the missions would never complete.
But they've both been playable via a crack, which judging by the feedback on their forums is more than some have managed with the retail copy.

Yeah it's been cracked in three stages. AC2 was cracked on release, but the downloadable content (i.e. most of the characters and missions) didn't appear obviously, so it was barely playable.

Then about a month ago, a server hack was introduced. They spoofed the Ubisoft servers on the computer itself, utilising the hosts file and some 127.0.0.1 addresses - so it was completely playable, although it was constantly being improved as the days went on to include odd bits that had been missed.

The big news as of a few days ago, is that the entire DRM has been circumvented. So now the system is worthless - they can apply it to more games if they wish so, but it's not worth a light because the scene can crack it within a few hours using exactly the same techniques.

So the game was half-playable for the first month, almost completely playable for the second month, and the DRM was completely and utterly removed on the third.

[kalniel]

I disagree to be honest... they've built a brand new DRM system from the ground up, and used it on three games I think? Settlers, Silent Hunter and Assassin's Creed. Loads of people have refused to buy the game as a result of the DRM, so they've certainly lost sales.

Presumably not compared to how many they've gained from not having a complete cracked version out there.

The point is, yet again it's been proven that even the most overbearing of DRM systems will only last a very short length of time - 2 months here. So either they can introduce a brand new DRM system every 2-3 months, costing an absolute fortune, or they could give up. I know they won't, but the point stands.

And my point is preventing piracy for even just two months is more than worth the cost of the system, both in R&D and in the few lost sales from the DRM itself.