JohnHusky JohnHusky

New copy protection comming for Spore and Mass Effect (EA)

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New copy protection comming for Spore and Mass Effect (EA)

requires activation every 10 days

http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=628375&forum=125
from Sins Forums
let me quote from Source


Mass Effect uses SecuROM and requires an online activation for the first time that you play it. Each copy of Mass Effect comes with a CD Key which is used for this activation and for registration here at the BioWare Community. Mass Effect does not require the DVD to be in the drive in order to play, it is only for installation.

After the first activation, SecuROM requires that it re-check with the server within ten days (in case the CD Key has become public/warez'd and gets banned). Just so that the 10 day thing doesn't become abrupt, SecuROM tries its first re-check with 5 days remaining in the 10 day window. If it can't contact the server before the 10 days are up, nothing bad happens and the game still runs. After 10 days a re-check is required before the game can run.
End of quote


on page 2 he says:

Yes, EA is ready for us and getting ready for Spore, which will use the same system.
End of quote


They made a FAQ about the copy protection, heres a quote of the most relevant stuff

Q: Why does MEPC need to reactivate every 10 days?

A: MEPC needs to authenticate every 10 days to ensure that the CD key used for the game is valid. This is designed to reduce piracy and protect valid CD keys.


Q: What happens if I want to play MEPC but do not have an internet connection?

A: You cannot play MEPC without an internet connection. MEPC must authenticate when it is initially run and every 10 days thereafter.


Q: What happens if I install and activate MEPC with an internet connection, but then do not have an internet connection after 10 days? Can I still play MEPC?

A: No. After 10 days the system needs to re-authenticate via the internet. If you do not have an internet connection you will not be able to play until you are reconnected to the internet and able to re-authenticate.


Q: Does the game re-authenticate every 10 game play days or every 10 calendar days?

A: It re-authenticates based on calendar days, not game play days.
End of quote


WTH is this all about?? :( ha, they seem to be asking for people to pirate there game so they can play without an internet connection.

And whats with the every 10 day activation?? so if your internet is gone for more then 10 days, you CANT play your legal bought game... :(

worst copy protection in history
786,347 views 313 replies
Reply #176 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Stardock loses sales too. They just had fantastic timing to come out with their game with no protection after starforce was basically pushed out of business, and was the talk of the town. Now stardock uses anti-anti piracy as a form of advertising and guess what it works. It's pretty funny actually because I find that most people are just parrots on this whole issue, it's not really objective anymore.
End of quote


1. I dont like their company
2. I dont like their 10 day activation policy
3. THEY CALLED ME A PARROT! (I guess companies have a hard time believing that there is a good game out in the market so they will make up excuses. I will agree that anti-anti-piracy is a good form of advertisement though.)

even if this is the best game ever made
I refuse to play it, I wont even pirate it, they just dont deserve my time.

PS i have heard lots of people have canceled their reservations after hearing about the new copy protection.

Reply #177 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
sry bout the double post, didnt know that quote was not by a mod in bioware :S
still refuse to buy a game with 10 day reactivation crap :)
Ashes of the Singularity II
Reply #178 from Sins Forums Top
I also thought he'd said they were lucky, but I think it's because the way he worded it (fantastic timing), there's no doubt that's exactly what he meant. Unfortunately people like him are slippery and you can't paraphrase them (or misremember their wording) or they'll jump all over it like he did.
End of quote


He did post it and it was this

Stardock loses sales too. They just got lucky to come out with their game with no protection after starforce was basically pushed out of business, and was the talk of the town. Now stardock uses anti-anti piracy as a form of advertising and guess what it works. It's pretty funny actually because I find that most people are just parrots on this whole issue, it's not really objective anymore..
End of quote


It was changed or edited by an admin as this would start a good war IMO.
Reply #179 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
Everyone knows that those guys will bring the activation servers down in three-four years, especially if they stop making money from sales. Essentially, you would be buying a game that would disappear from your computer at some point of time.
End of quote


Anyone remember Earth & Beyond? It was a nice-looking sci-fi MMORPG that EA published several years ago. It had about 22,000 subscribers according to Wikipedia, which is moderately successful as far as western MMOG's go. Anyway, back in 2004, EA decided to pull the plug because the game wasn't making enough money. Not because it wasn't making money, mind you, but because it wasn't making enough money. And this was an MMOG that people were paying for on a continuous basis!

If they shut down that game, do they really expect us to believe that they won't ever "cancel" a game you only pay for once, now that they have the ability? Would it be so surprising if they quietly turned off the authentication servers a few years from now, just in time for you to buy the sequel?

(I also found it telling that EA would shut down a MMORPG with 22k subscribers at the same time I was playing Jumpgate, another MMO that had mere hundreds of subscribers. Jumpgate's publisher went bankrupt, their outsourced in-game support team managed to alienate most of the playerbase, and there was a period of a few months where part of the billing service went down and you couldn't even sign up, but still they scraped by with enough revenue to pay the server bills and keep a programmer supplied with chips and soda. And then here comes EA with their players and their profits, and they just throw it all away...)

ridiculously expensive cat powered lawnmowers
End of quote


DO WANT
Reply #180 from Stardock Forums Top
So if you went on vacation, and came back to play Spore, it would be disabled?

And idiots are actually DEFENDING this in this topic?
Reply #181 from Sins Forums Top
It was changed or edited by an admin as this would start a good war IMO.
End of quote


It was not changed by an admin. Trust me, it would show if the post had been edited, even by an admin. I know how their forums work. Toss me a PM if you want to know exactly how I know this.
Reply #182 from Sins Forums Top
So if you went on vacation, and came back to play Spore, it would be disabled?And idiots are actually DEFENDING this in this topic?
End of quote


It would be, yes, but as soon as you fire up your rig, the 'anti-piracy' software would contact the EA security server and re-activate your game. Or, so they say.
Reply #183 from Stardock Forums Top
This is EA. You really think so?

This is the return of starforce >_<

You do know you also pay for the Spore DEMO.
Reply #184 from Stardock Forums Top
When these games end up with low sales, the developers will obviously bitch and moan about piracy.

Why would anyone buy into this horrid scheme?
Reply #185 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
C'mon guys, If you buy the game why worry about any copy protection method at all? Besides you can have internet access everywhere even in Burger King.
Reply #186 from Stardock Forums Top
Go away for 11 days or go on vacation, and then tell us how your bought game does.
Reply #187 from Sins Forums Top
C'mon guys, If you buy the game why worry about any copy protection method at all? Besides you can have internet access everywhere even in Burger King.
End of quote


Predator, I don't know if you read the last 8 pages, but it's been laid out earlier. Specifically (and this is only part of it):

1) It's the principal of the thing. Why should we put up with a phone-home game, designed to check whether or not we're pirates, when we've paid money for it?

2) Constant and unceasing required re-activations mean you cannot be disconnected from the internet for long intervals. What about people with no internet access? What about people that are travelling? What about those who are deployed and can't get access to internet? what about... the list goes on. What happens when the servers are down?

3) 3 game activations before you're forced to call in to tech support and beg for another. The game is tied to your hardware. What happens when you change hardware often (as many, if not most, gaming enthusiasts do)? Who wants to be forced into the Tech Support merry-go-round time and time again?

4) Why a constant re-validation for a single player game!?

5) This heavy-handed 'copy protection' will, once again, be cracked and serve no purpose whatsoever. The end result is (some) paying customers will be inconvenienced due to connection issues, some will have the inevitable problems that are packaged with any DRM scheme, and all will end up with EA-sanctioned malware on their computers which many times will force you to either shut of or uninstall perfectly legitimate programs (Process Explorer, some burning programs, Daemon Tools, etc.) No bloody game software should be able to tell you what you can and can't run on your own computer.

So, pirates end up with a trouble free and completely clean gaming experience, while paying customers have to eat a s**t sandwich and smile.

Basically, I (and most others I've seen that are discussing this on various forums) have had enough. This is where we draw the line and say "No more. I'm not going to be treated this way anymore and I'm not going to accept it".

TheDarkKnight: win/win for them isn't it? If the game sells well, they can point to the DRM and say "See, it works". If it sells poorly (no matter what the reason), they can point to pirates and say "Despite this great DRM, the pirates have ruined the sales of our great game." It would never be because the draconian protection scheme drove away customers in droves. Oh, no.
Reply #188 from Sins Forums Top
This is EA. You really think so?This is the return of starforce >_


Just to clear some misconceptions. There is no announcement on a spore 'DEMO' yet. The creature editor which is due out in about a month or two will come in two flavours, basic(free) and a more bigger editor which will not be free(it is a full editor).
Reply #189 from Sins Forums Top
Go away for 11 days or go on vacation, and then tell us how your bought game does.
End of quote


I do not think this is how it works. I think if you just run your computer, you will be fine...running the game without an internet connection 10 days after you last had access may be the problem.
Reply #190 from Sins Forums Top
If you read an official response from Bioware, all the reactivation's occur on the same server, so games in the future will use the same activation process and they will have no reason to remove old games from it because it isn't costing them any more upkeep money. Granted, maybe when the game is "that" old, they will release a patch that removes this reactivation.
Reply #191 from Sins Forums Top
EA already decides when *YOU* have had enough of a game - search for lists of games whose support is shut down. In the case of server-dependant titles like various EA sports games (particularly with those) the game stops working because it cannot authenticate with the central EA server... it has been taken offline.

Wait for this to happen with Battlefield 2. Only a matter of time.

The whole point here is that *I* decide when *I* am done playing something *I* purchased. That is my choice, and I will never support a system/people that strive to take that away from me.

All of the potential technical difficulties are just additional nails in the concrete coffin.
Reply #192 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
If you read an official response from Bioware, all the reactivation's occur on the same server, so games in the future will use the same activation process and they will have no reason to remove old games from it because it isn't costing them any more upkeep money. Granted, maybe when the game is "that" old, they will release a patch that removes this reactivation.
End of quote


Yeah no reason other than the belief if they take away the game you will go and buy a new one, hopefully from them. Most likely a sequel.
Reply #194 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I was looking forward to buying both of these titles.
Along with Kings Bounty: The Legend that is already out in russia and using Starforce and Disciples 3 who is going to use the same.(So its not dead yet sadly)
Edit: I dont plan to buy them anymore.

I dont think any other game interests me comming out this year...
Except maybe Warhammer online.
Reply #195 from Sins Forums Top
Disciples 3 using StarForce Oh god not another one. Well time to hit Strategy First Forums now. When with the stupidity end :( 
Reply #196 from Sins Forums Top
Well first off I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to both Stardock, and Ironclad Games for not including DRM in their games. In part, this is why I bought your game. I loved how you treated your customers like human beings, not drones easily manipulated by hype. *cough*Halo3*coughcough*

I used to be very.. meh, regarding PC games. I will admit, I pirated games like Doom 2 back when it used floppy disks, and Duke Nukem 3D... but then as I grew up, and got to know people who worked in the industry, it dawned on me that there are human beings that are affected. Fast forward to now, where now I am... an informed consumer, and quite frankly I am proud to have been part of the SoaSE launch, I was glad I got to talk to the people who helped develop the game, from the producers, and even to the lady who gave me my verification code. ^_^

It saddens me that Spore has now resorted to using DRM, Will Wright is amazing in his ability to defy conventional thinking, and push the limits in terms of our human potential. If there were a way for me to control where my $60 goes to when I buy the game, I would make sure EA saw not one dime. I will be taking a stand against the intrusions of SecuRom, in fact, EA's tactics have left me quite cynical in regards to the gaming industry. Were it not for people I talked to on Stardock, were it not for their helpfulness, I'd be torrenting games right now.
Reply #197 from GalCiv2 Forums Top
I'd rather put up with internet authentication every 10 days than have to have a DVD in the drive. It's also much better than SUCUROM virus-type "protection" that messes up your DVD player too (or at least it does for me, I have to reboot just to watch a DVD (that I own, thank you) after playing a SUCUROM protected game (that I own too, thank you)).

I also prefer it to something like Steam or webtangent that runs in the backround at all times when playing a steamed/wt game. Way lame.

So, ultimately, I see this as no big deal.

I feel sorry for the 10 or so PC gamers out there who aren't permanently connected and who wanted to play these games. :P



Reply #198 from Sins Forums Top
I'd rather put up with internet authentication every 10 days than have to have a DVD in the drive.
End of quote


I wouldn't. At least with the DVD in the drive I choose when the game decides it's going to validate - and if necessary or desired, I can find something to bypass it.

It's also much better than SUCUROM virus-type "protection" that messes up your DVD player too (or at least it does for me, I have to reboot just to watch a DVD (that I own, thank you) after playing a SUCUROM protected game (that I own too, thank you)).
End of quote


You do realize that this protection scheme is a SecuROM product as well, don't you? And you also are aware that your number of allowable activations is restricted to three?

You'll forgive me if I'm not willing to embrace SecuROM's good will when they tell me they're not monitoring/installing anything on my system other than the game.

I feel sorry for the 10 or so PC gamers out there who aren't permanently connected and who wanted to play these games.
End of quote


I can guarantee you there are a lot more than '10 or so PC gamers' who aren't permanently connected to the internet.
Reply #199 from JoeUser Forums Top
I can guarantee you there are a lot more than '10 or so PC gamers' who aren't permanently connected to the internet.
End of quote

Especially when the paranoid among us disconnect in single player games so we can turn off our security programs for better performance.
Reply #200 from Sins Forums Top
Especially when the paranoid among us disconnect in single player games so we can turn off our security programs for better performance.
End of quote


Bingo. I know a number of gamers that don't even have their gaming rigs connected to the internet at all.