C&C4 DRM causing problems

By Robert Purchese Published 22 March, 2010

Internet requirement to blame.

Command & Conquer 4's requirement of a permanent internet connection is causing problems, with some purchasers unable to play properly since the game's release last Friday.

One reader wrote to Eurogamer describing numerous crashes after "unexpected loss" of internet. Repeat failures were met with the message, "We will contact you with a solution." Crashing loses in-game progress.

This apparently occurred on both Saturday and Sunday. And this experience doesn't appear to be isolated; the game's forums are awash with complaints.

EA community manager "EA_APOC" Tweeted that Russian and French clients have been patched. But they seem to be the only ones.

We'll chase EA for comment.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (30) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • doulema #1 2 years ago

    Fuck them and their evolved DRM requirements.

  • bad09 #2 2 years ago

    Ubifail. Been doing so well lately EA to. Oh well not my bag really anyway C&C so no bother for me but come on EA play fair with people who actually PAY you. It looks like DRM, it acts like DRM, it IS DRM.

  • Hermiod #3 2 years ago

    Happened to me twice while playing on Saturday.

  • tossetaz #4 2 years ago

    If you bought the game, get the crack which will enable you to run the C&C4 server locally and thus not needing a stable internet-connection.

    Regarding that patch that was tweeted about, that was due to installation issues:

    " This is a hot-fix patch to address special characters issues with installation for the French and Russian versions. "

    http://goo.gl/UqzO

  • ArchiRag #5 2 years ago

    I'm still waiting to buy this, a lot of people on the forum have put me off. Really enjoyed C&C3 + Kane's Wrath despite their lack of support/ridiculous bugs, it really annoys me that the game has recieved such a bad reception considering C&C3 was fairly innovative for the series.
    I would have been happy with more of the same but hopefully it'll be good to go once it reaches the bargain bins.

  • kipper #6 2 years ago

    It seems like every week there's some news which makes me glad I abandoned pc gaming for a console.

  • Rizo #7 2 years ago

    Lets say you bought this game from HMV. Could you return it after this happened as a non working product?

  • LFace #8 2 years ago

    If you bought this and are experiencing problems then I say you have no right to return it for a refund. You were dumb enough to purchase this with all the news of the godawful DRM being released before launch so live with your pitiful excuse of a broken game. You knew what would happen if your internet went down yet still filled the pockets of the publisher and voted with your wallet that you are happy to put up with this crap. Unlucky.

  • LHH #9 2 years ago

    I thought C&C4 was an online only game anyway? Mind you my ignorance is due in part to not giving a shit for a C&C game with no base building.
    And there was me thinking EA had redeemed themselves after the excellent C&C3... Nope, the franchise is now officially dead to me.

  • kaylon #10 2 years ago

    Rizo...

    You could probably take it back claiming it was 'Not fit for purpose' you must use that exact term though. Under the Sales of goods and consumer act of 1979 a product must be fit for purpose upon transaction of the sale. Regardless of any 'company policies' that a retail chain has you are entailed to a full refund or product replacement.

    This is a statutory right and is not effect by what the shop might think they can do. If you can prove a product is not fit for the use it was bought for you get you're money back.

    K

  • Mike1980 #11 2 years ago

    So is PC gaming dead now?

  • Silvervein #12 2 years ago

    @Mike1980

    Yup. Same as xbox and ps gaming.

  • FortysixterUK #13 2 years ago

    This was always going to be an issue.
    Time for EA to go away and re-think their DRM strategy methinks.
    Incidentally, did you know Jon Van Cangham , the person who created the might and magic franchise, is now the franchise manager ( or production manager) for the CnC series now ? I was kind of hoping he would be able to bring some sense to the fray....obviously not.
    Another nail in the coffin of PC gaming? I bloody hope not...but it don't look good.

    Prediction- EA will release a patch that lets people play this offline within 2 months ? I may even buy it then !

  • Sunyavadin #14 2 years ago

    I wasn't going to be stupid enough to buy a C&C game and have to crack it to play it a second time around.
    Looks like I was proven right.

  • abigsmurf #15 2 years ago

    Just watch the ending on Youtube and avoid this.

    Can't believe they thought it was a good idea to completely overhaul the game and alienate fans of the series in the conclusion to Kane's story.

    From what I understand the single player is short and boring and multiplayer comes down to spamming a single unit type as fast as possible.

  • konniehuqfan #16 2 years ago

    As long as mugs continue handing over their cash then EA and Ubi will stick with the DRM.

  • sneetch #17 2 years ago

    @konniehuqfan
    As long as mugs continue handing over their cash then EA and Ubi will stick with the DRM.

    I think that failures like this and UbiSofts will dissuade a lot of people from buying the next EA or UbiSoft title, especially those who feel they were "fooled" into buying a game that won't work for them (in fairness, how many people would think to look for a permanent internet connection required on a single player game like AC2).

    Only time will tell how much damage they've done their business and their reputations.

  • sneetch #18 2 years ago

    @STKD
    "Ubifail. Been doing so well lately EA to. Oh well not my bag really anyway C&C so no bother for me but come on EA play fair with people who actually PAY you. It looks like DRM, it acts like DRM, it IS DRM."

    Except call it Steam and everyone just remarkably overlooks it.

    Except Steam does not have an always online requirement, does it? It also doesn't boot you out of a game if you lose your connection to the Steam servers. Apples and oranges.

    I'd wager that most people don't care about DRM at all unless it's obtrusive.
    Edited by 1 at 22/03/10 @ 12:53

  • stuarty_2003 #19 2 years ago

    At least the music industry is dropping DRM.

    Also, the person/people that dreamed up this DRM scheme deserve to have a lubricated horse cock shoved up their cumulative arse holes.

  • Matfink #20 2 years ago

    And I thought EA were coming round with their slightly better DRM policy on BC2 :(

  • actionfitz #21 2 years ago

    I am so shocked and surprised I think I may seek medical attention.
    /not really.

  • ignatiusjreilly #22 2 years ago

    Except call it Steam and everyone just remarkably overlooks it.

    What that proves is that it's not the idea of DRM itself that people hate, it's the bad implementation of it. There were plenty of bad words said about Steam when it came about (and for good reasons - it had plenty of problems), but Valve have turned that DRM into something people actually want and enjoy.

    Which is of course what PC gamers have been pointing out for some time - make the legal version more desirable than the pirated one. It seems so obvious, but Ubisoftt and EA seem to prefer just smacking all their customers around the head while hoping they manage to hit a few pirates along the way.

  • krisskross #23 2 years ago

    EA fell on his sword like UBI.
    They never learn that by hitting legitimate players they encourage piracy.

    Note to self: NEVER buy something that comes with DRM inside!

  • Bremenacht #24 2 years ago

    So the DRM doesn't work properly, which leads to greater demand for cracking, which renders the DRM useless, which begs the question - why bother in the first place? Nice one.

  • butler` #25 2 years ago

    What's the point in putting DRM on a game so bad no one's going to want to pirate it anyway?

  • Dexter2015 #26 2 years ago

    PC gaming is not dead so long World of Warcraft is running! :)

  • bad09 #27 2 years ago

    "Except call it Steam and everyone just remarkably overlooks it. "

    Sure Steam is a form of DRM as your games run through Steam but does it ever stop you playing your games if not online? No. In fact, Steam is actually a good form of DRM giving people proper services (and great savings!) not while not restricting them or the games they play. I don't even think of it as DRM TBH, more an essential for my PC.

    Personally I don't know why more don't just use Steamworks for their DRM on PC, Steam holds something like 70% of DD sales anyway, other DD sites can compete on price to pry people away from buying on Steam like they are doing now (as an example I bought the download version of Total War for a tenner off Game and just unlocked on Steam this weekend).

    / hugs Gabe
    / spits on Ubi and EA

  • Hermiod #28 2 years ago

    +1 to bad09 here.

    A week after Valve announce that they're porting all their games over to Mac OS X and then letting people who already bought them on the PC have them for free and we're already on to "Valve are teh evil!!!1!!!!".

    With Steam, you log in, you select "Go Offline" and you're done. No Internet connection necessary and it certainly doesn't dump you back to the menu or refuse to save your progress if your connection goes down.

  • faselei #29 2 years ago

    Total feckwits. And too think I nearly bought this as an impulse purchase at lunch w/o realising i would be breaking my vow never to buy DRM infested tripe.

    Damn you.

  • FooAtari #30 2 years ago

    /nitpick mode

    @watkins
    ....Yea, PC gaming has gone about 10 years backwards with this 'new' feature. It was exactly what caused everyone to despise the early Steam back in Half Life 1 days, and it still doesn't work now.

    HL1 was released in 1998, Steam 2003. Not really early HL1 days. Although Steam did indeed suck when it first came about