Headlines - Spore and Mass Effect require online re-check every 10 days

[QPCloudy]

...and you just lost your wager . It's not an either/or proposition; you can have as many disks as you like, you must connect with their servers every 10 days.

That's still fine with me. Even if my home internet connection is down, I can still to to the book store or a Starbucks and sign in. Orrrr, even my local Taco Bell and McDonald's have wifi, though only as a last resort.

[nichomach]

Absolutely - the X360 environment is remarkably similar to the PC and I desire to play many games that are on that system...

You mean aside from having a completely different processor (a triple cored PowerPC-based unit), a non-PC graphics chipset, GDDR3 memory (non-PC again) etc. etc. It's a completely different platform at the most basic level, so no, it's not analogous at all. Consider this; a PC with a network cable plugged into a router. A PC without a network cable plugged into a router. Are you seriously arguing that they are different hardware platforms? Of course they're not.

[Steven W]

That's still fine with me. Even if my home internet connection is down, I can still to to the book store or a Starbucks and sign in. Orrrr, even my local Taco Bell and McDonald's have wifi, though only as a last resort.

Can I just switch the conversation for one post please. What's a Taco Bell? Mexican take-away place? Is it a London chain?

On the subject of this issue, I have no plans to play Mass Effect on PC, but I will be taking advantage of Spore's online features, on the same PC that I'm always connected to the Internet on, so it's not an issue for me. I can see where it may be for others though.

[kalniel]

*double post!*

[kalniel]

You mean aside from having a completely different processor (a triple cored PowerPC-based unit), a non-PC graphics chipset, GDDR3 memory (non-PC again) etc. etc. It's a completely different platform at the most basic level, so no, it's not analogous at all.

The whole model of the PC is that hardware is largely irrelevant, as long as your software calls are compatible and able to be executed.

Consider this; a PC with a network cable plugged into a router. A PC without a network cable plugged into a router. Are you seriously arguing that they are different hardware platforms? Of course they're not.

Then consider a PC with an X1270 graphics chip and one with a 9800GX2. They're the same hardware platform but one will play modern games and the other won't. Using your network cable analogy we should be jumping up and down complaining because the X1270 chip can't play Crysis.

[QPCloudy]

You mean aside from having a completely different processor (a triple cored PowerPC-based unit), a non-PC graphics chipset, GDDR3 memory (non-PC again) etc. etc. It's a completely different platform at the most basic level, so no, it's not analogous at all. Consider this; a PC with a network cable plugged into a router. A PC without a network cable plugged into a router. Are you seriously arguing that they are different hardware platforms? Of course they're not.

Actually, the guys over at Valve have repeatedly stated that they view the 360 as incredibly similar to a pc from a programming perspective, which is why they feel it would be ridiculous not to produce for both.

lol, yes, Taco Bell is a mexican fast food place here in the states.

[nichomach]

The whole model of the PC is that hardware is largely irrelevant, as long as your software calls are compatible.

In other words, no, it's NOT a similar platform .

Then consider a PC with an X1270 graphics chip and one with a 9800GX2. They're the same hardware platform but one will play modern games and the other won't.

They're variants of a similar open hardware platform, as dissimilar as a Dell Poweredge is from an Alienware laptop, and the limitation will be functional; the former simply won't be powerful enough, graphically, to run a modern game at reasonable frame rates and resolutions, whereas the latter will be. The ME example is of a situation where the hardware is perfectly capable of running the game; it has powerful enough and compatible graphics, a compatible CPU, enough memory and hard disk space. The only thing stopping it from running the game is a completely artificially imposed constraint that is completely functionally irrelevant.

[TiG]

Nichomach, half my telephone software won't run without an appropriate hardware cable (rj48c) link into the system. A usb licence dongle to show i'm licenced to run the software and the licence key code to put in the software. I'm struggling to see the actual point you are trying to make, other than you don't like having to be online to play once every 10 days.....

Is that so much to ask?, compared to the current licencing model of Key + CD in drive at all times?....

Thats all the comparision is, Have CD in Drive or have yourself connected to internet. I prefer internet connectivity every time

TiG

[kalniel]

In other words, no, it's NOT a similar platform .

I guess my idea of what a platform is might be different from yours then

The only thing stopping it from running the game is a completely artificially imposed constraint that is completely functionally irrelevant.

So you're against any game that requires a disk to be in the drive as well then? That's an artificial constraint that has nothing to do with whether the hardware is capable of running the game.

[QPCloudy]

You mean aside from having a completely different processor (a triple cored PowerPC-based unit), a non-PC graphics chipset, GDDR3 memory (non-PC again) etc. etc. It's a completely different platform at the most basic level, so no, it's not analogous at all. Consider this; a PC with a network cable plugged into a router. A PC without a network cable plugged into a router. Are you seriously arguing that they are different hardware platforms? Of course they're not.

Nichomach, half my telephone software won't run without an appropriate hardware cable (rj48c) link into the system. A usb licence dongle to show i'm licenced to run the software and the licence key code to put in the software. I'm struggling to see the actual point you are trying to make, other than you don't like having to be online to play once every 10 days.....

Is that so much to ask?, compared to the current licencing model of Key + CD in drive at all times?....

Thats all the comparision is, Have CD in Drive or have yourself connected to internet. I prefer internet connectivity every time

TiG

Agreed 100 times over.

[nichomach]

Fine, you like the system and trust the companies concerned to never screw you over. I don't.

[educatedfool]

I'd rather be reliant on the disk, because then I am in control of wether it works or not (if I wreck the disk then it's my fault), with the internet I have to rely on the ISP's and the verification servers, which, lets face it, is not a good thing to do.

[QPCloudy]

I'd rather be reliant on the disk, because then I am in control of wether it works or not (if I wreck the disk then it's my fault), with the internet I have to rely on the ISP's and the verification servers, which, lets face it, is not a good thing to do.

What I am saying is that it should be as follows. . . require an internet connection every 10 days, but if you don't have one, then the disc will work if necessary. I think that is fair enough. I have often wondered what would happen if I didn't have a connection, like for games such as Orange Box, and they give you an offline mode.

[TheAnimus]

The biggest concern would be what happens when this autherisation service goes End Of Life (EOL).

In the past, draconian DRM systems have shown a total disregard for the customer when they fold, i think it was walmart's video rental service that did that. When the service was stopped, anyone who'd bought the product was left up a smelly creek with no paddle.

[Whiternoise]

It is a bit stupid, i think monthly would be far more acceptable. But how long before someone cracks it anyway?

I'm not going to say everyone should find a potentially illegal method of getting round the securom system, but i agree with Nichomach's concerns completely. What happens if the servers don't exist in a few years? Age of Empires 2 afaik doesn't work any more - granted that was a good while ago, but the point stands. And as other people mentioned, this is a single player game - albeit with incredible amounts of online content. It's not the fact you have to connect every now and again, but 10 days seems a bit ridiculous.

What really bugs me is this:

Will Wright stated in a GDC conference a while ago that they were going to bundle thousands of pieces of offline content onto the disc so that if you don't want to grab stuff from online, you don't have to. And since you can create content yourself, what is the point if you don't want other people's creatures in your world. Now we have to connect anyway? Spore is NOT an MMO, it can be played as one, but it isn't intrinsically.

What about people who are at university? What happens if your uni blocks outbound gaming connections, is your game locked down?

People have said that it's not as bad as it seems, but i think it's more than as bad as it's being made out to be. Most people won't notice, i probably won't notice as my pc is likely to be online all the time, but it's overly sensitive and they're being foolish if they think it'll combat piracy. What's wrong with a disc for christ's sake? Surely a physical hardware check is better than software?

[kalniel]

What happens if the servers don't exist in a few years?

A similar question was already answered by Bioware's Derek French:

One of two things will have happened. Either the auth servers will still be running or we will have released an update that will have removed the auth system.

What's wrong with a disc for christ's sake? Surely a physical hardware check is better than software?

Try telling that to all the people moaning about having to have the disk in to authenticate the game.