Mass Effect PC requires net connection

By Robert Purchese Published 7 May, 2008

Online authentication every 10 days.

BioWare has said you will not be able to play the PC version of Mass Effect without an Internet connection.

This is due to SecuROM copy protection features that try to revalidate your CD key online every 10 days after installation. Miss it and you will not be able to play the game until a successful check is made.

SecuROM, you may remember, was at the heart of authentication problems in the PC version of BioShock.

However, BioWare assures us that EA is "ready and confident there will be no server problems". And if there is, then all the necessary customer support is in place to answer your calls.

Priestly was also keen to point out that previous PC titles Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire all used SecuROM in one form or another, and that this wasn't a product of the recent acquisition by EA.

Pop over to the official Mass Effect PC forum for a full FAQ and the recently released system requirements.

For those wondering, Mass Effect PC will be a conversion rather than a rushed port, featuring improvements such as plenty of hot-key slots, individual squad commands, faster loading times, less texture pop-ups, speedier elevators, and free Bring Down the Sky content.

Head to our Mass Effect PC interview for plenty more on that game and others BioWare is working on, or digest our Mass Effect Xbox 360 review for an idea of what to expect.

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 (121) Latest comment 4 years ago

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

  • des #1 4 years ago

    This is madness

  • krudster #2 4 years ago

    Way to make people want to pirate it to bypass the protection.

  • rotmm #3 4 years ago

    Sounds like Steam.

  • Tejstar #4 4 years ago

    Were they asleep when the Bioshock fiasco kicked off last year?

  • AcidSnake #5 4 years ago

    That's just wrong...

  • jonfon #6 4 years ago

    What??

    *Cancels Play.com order*

  • DDevil #7 4 years ago

    And what about people who don't have a Internet connection? There will be people like that out there.

  • aldo_14 #8 4 years ago

    Phew, good thing I wasn't intending on buying this......

  • viper_h #9 4 years ago

    @DDevil: Then they won't be able to read this news! Haha! I see BioWare's evil plan!

  • robg #10 4 years ago

    I'm going to head out to Californy way, I hear they still have some Internet out there.

    Oh wait, Internet is incredibly cheap and ubiquitous. I'll stay here!

  • ZuluHero #11 4 years ago

    "Sounds like Steam. "

    At least steam doesn’t require you to keep logging in all the time and once registered you can play the game offline forever (as long as you only play it on a single pc).

    I did that when HL2 came out as I only had a 56k modem at the time.

  • Xerx3s #12 4 years ago

    "and that this wasn't a product of the recent acquisition by EA."

    O'RLLY?

  • GamesConnoisseur #13 4 years ago

    This may drive more people to piracy to bypass the protection hassle, it is simply piracy itself that caused the protection to be featured in such PC games!

    Chicken and Egg?

    /Daydreaming of playing Chuckie Egg on BBC Micro at school

  • Eraysor #14 4 years ago

    Pain in the arse, but I'm sure someone can easily make a patch to eliminate it anyway.

  • Schiraman #15 4 years ago

    It's about time that software companies woke up to the fact that adding these kind of security checks does essentially nothing to deter piracy but does really annoy their paying customers. Not only that, but they're paying security companies to make their products worse - hard to think of a better example of throwing good money after bad.

  • DyingAtheist #16 4 years ago

    I raise my hand with the legions of others before me to say 'I was going to buy it, but now I won't. Good strategy Bioware.'

  • dsmx #17 4 years ago

    It gets worse there using a similar scheme for spore as well.

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #18 4 years ago

    If it's noticable in any way that'd be a real pain, but if it's just chugging away in the background and you can't tell I don't really see the problem. On a practical level, that is, there's certainly something to be said for loss of liberties and ethics and whatnot...

    Like DVDs that have unskippable ads against piracy that the nefarious pirates edit out when copying the DVDs...

    I completed ME on Xbox last week and seriously wanna go back. It ain't perfect but I love it to bits.

  • foamy #19 4 years ago

    "This is madness"

    Madness? THIS IS SPARTA


    /laughs

  • Farfarer #20 4 years ago

    Well, I won't be buying it now on general principals.

  • anomagnus #21 4 years ago

    christ, who the fuck was smoking crack when they signed of on this hair brained plan?

  • MaxiSleep #22 4 years ago

    Epic stupidity.

    I hope that people are informed enough not to buy this game and I really hope it falls flat on its face.

  • Perjoss #23 4 years ago

    whats the big deal? why is it such a pain to be connected to the net to play your game?

  • dsmx #24 4 years ago

    I'm still failing to see how anti piracy measures are doing anything to stop piracy, the only thing I can see is that they cause more piracy as people get more fed up with intrusive copy protection schemes. Any game with securom I will not buy so I guess that means I'll be getting the pirated copy of mass effect and spore since they've decided to put securom on that as well. Great decision EA you just lost 2 sales.

  • chrisjm #25 4 years ago

    i remember a spectrum game that had some wierd eye piece so you could read an on screen code to get the game to load. if you failed you had to reload the game (which took like 3 minutes at least).

  • monkie_king #26 4 years ago

    Perjoss, I think the complaint is that EA is treating genuine owners of the game like criminals. Having to submit to surveillance in order to use something you've already paid for really isn't very consumer-friendly.

    The thing publishers need to realise is that the people who pirate a game were never going to pay for it anyway. They'd either copy it, or just not own it. A pirate copy doesn't represent a lost sale, and you're certainly not going to increase sales by adding draconian security measures.

  • Salaman #27 4 years ago

    I buy all my games but I may make an exception for this one.
    Of course, as I have zero experience with pirated material I probably won't be able to find a pirated copy or if I do I'll be unable to figure out how to get it to work.
    :-)

  • kestral #28 4 years ago

    Good thing seems like a step forward to keep pc games viable with minimum issues for the legitimate owner. The people that had to apply no-cd cracks can now stop complaining.
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 12:37

  • QPRHOOPS81 #29 4 years ago

    Damn it this is the reason ive not picked up bioshock. I really want it but no way in hell im filling my PC with this crappy spyware. Really wanted this too, shame.

    I agree this sort of behaviour makes people who would never nomally pirate a game very very tempted.

    I really dont see what it solves as pirate copies remove it anyway so it does nothing to stop pirating, infact boosts it.

  • conkdonk #30 4 years ago

    I have two PC's, an internet one and a gaming one which isnt online at this time. Looks like I'm just going to have to stick with the 360 one for now.

  • varsas #31 4 years ago

    Does this mean that the authentication servers will run forever? What happens when the servers are no longer running? You will have spent money on a game you can't play!

  • hbunny #32 4 years ago

    To all the people who are saying, "what's the problem with rolling online activation?", what happens if the company goes out of business? No more activation means no more playing the game.

    The company doesn't even need to go out of business. Look at Microsoft: they're switching off their servers for their old "plays for sure" music DRM. Come August you won't be able to re-activate your music if you re-install Windows or buy a new PC.

    My immediate reaction is they can go fuck themselves.

    Onerous DRM will lead to lower sales and more pirating. They'll then say that the PC is dead for games because of this. Doh!

    Do these businesses not see the irony in the pirate version offering a better experience to the consumer than the purchased one?
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 12:49

  • Fallen_Angel #33 4 years ago

    Overzealous Piracy protection is a problem, like Bioshocks, whereby you could only have it on a certain number of systems etc, or Starforce. This on the other hand seems like a decent halfway point. Yes not everyone has always on internet, but of that demographic, how many are going to have a system that can run Mass Effect? As long as this isn't overbearing and is simply a case of "Your game is still official - ok done", then there is no reason it should be a problem.

  • L42yB #34 4 years ago

    @Perjoss -

    1) Not everyone has internet at home
    2) Many people still have non-continuous connection where they have to pay for the time they are logged on (like dial up or pay as you go connections)
    3) Even people with broadband experience problems and the internet can go down - why should I be unable to play my single player game just because my router is having a fit?

    I got more. This is the dumbest idea ever. At least with steam, you download the game and then activate it ONCE immedietely. If you donwloaded it from steam, your internet is obviously working and activating it at the end of the download is not annoying at all.

    Very, very, very unwise move...

  • Fullvacation #35 4 years ago

    I was holding up on this one (the 360 version), waiting for the pc version of the game. Now, I'm not buying it of course. It's not that it's hard to be online every ten 10 days, It's just that I hate the idea of being forced to do it. Are we on probation now?

    It doesn't really matter how good a game is, I just don't like this kind of crap.
    The orange box, for example, is the kind of game I don't think twice about buying, great games, great value. But I skipped it due to steam.

    EA sucks

  • miiiguel #36 4 years ago

    More and more I'm happy with my decision of quiting office-desk gaming for good. "Insert DVD; sit confy on couch; play" is priceless.

  • nilay #37 4 years ago

    really now u shoulda bought the orange box..
    and stream isnt that bad u can play games whiles not online :S just run steam in offline mode

  • hjarg #38 4 years ago

    This is so forcing me to put on my eyepatch, put a parrot on my shoulder and go yarring over internet for a crack. Yay to prevent piracy! Hmmm, while i have to get some things off the, i might as well cancel my pre-order and get all the stuff from there.

  • tripitaka #39 4 years ago

    Congratulations.

    1 lost sale.

    When will people realise that fucking over your paying customers isn't the way to combat piracy?

  • swede #40 4 years ago

    Ahh I remember the first anti-piracy system I came across... that matrix grid of cell colours which came with Jet Set Willy.... It only took about 20 mins to copy the grid by hand whilst the trusty ghettoblaster handled the tape to tape.

    Memories...

  • neuroniky #41 4 years ago

    Up to like 6 months ago I didn't have a flat connection to the net, as I had only a 56k modem. This would have meant that I had to pay something each time I wanted to start the game. Baaaaaaaaaad thing.

    Now I've got flat and nonetheless I'm glad I have this on my 360 :D

  • Shrui #42 4 years ago

    All the problems with this on grounds of principle I agree with. Like the war on terror the war on piracy is filled with measures that have no impact on the problem, only antagonise and criminalise the innocent.

    Also there are practical issues. As someone who is sent to other places now and then for a time with no guaranteed internet connection I need two things:
    1. My laptop with the games I want to play on it. It's that or madness (and having to talk to the sweaty guy from projects as he eyes up women he can never have in the hotel bar. I know my limits, learn yours big boy!).

    2. Preferably games that don't require me to lug all my CDs round with me but DEFINITELY don't require the internet to run.

    This is why Steam works for me and this game, which I was considering, and sadly Spore will not be bought.

  • hiddenranbir #43 4 years ago

    Dumbest thing ever.

  • tigerdazzle #44 4 years ago

    @ perjoss

    I'm assuming that there are plenty of people who would of installed this game onto a laptop and played while on the move. So authentication every 10 days prevents this.
    Another stupid EA idea and another lost sale!!

  • Kropotkin #45 4 years ago

    Once again we have a publisher assuming their customer base are a bunch of low life thieves with no concept of copyright ownership. By making this assumption they lay down draconian rules to alienate them further. What bothers me most is how Bioware, a long standing supporter of PC gaming has agreed to these measures? Didn't any of these people see how the people behind Sins of a Solar Empire didn't have any copy protection yet still sold shed loads of copies? To quote from that game's developer 'We don't like treating our customers like criminals'. Instead they release updates exclusively to those that have bought the game and lock out online multiplayer modes to those that have copied the game.

    This cannot go on. I was going to buy the game but now I'm not so sure. In fact I'd rather get an illegal copy now as at least it saves me the hassle of having spyware on my PC. See what you did there EA? You made me consider getting a pirated copy of the game because youb are morons. Good job.

  • des #46 4 years ago

    You know EA,people are going to laugh at you when Mass Effect gets cracked,pirated a week before release.

  • Nithron #47 4 years ago

    Well, i'm still gonna get it. I just aint gonna pay for it.

    This is retarded for multiple reasons. Firstly: It wont stop piracy. Steam uses virtually the same method. Did it stop piracy? Nah.

    Secondly: The whole time that companies like this treat their customers like shit, their customers just wont care about pirating their software. If these software companies released decent games at a reasonable price and didn't arbitrarily mess about with your computer in the name of copyright protection, it'd be a lot harder to justify ripping them off through piracy.

    As it stands, they treat their customers like crap, so you know - why should anyone care if they're costing them money by downloading copied games?

  • [TR] #48 4 years ago

    "You know EA,people are going to laugh at you when Mass Effect gets cracked,pirated a week before release. "
    I'm laughing right now!

    Think of all the money and effort that goes into this for really no benefit for EA.
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 13:36

  • Skeletor #49 4 years ago

    Good to know. Now I can spend my money on something else while I'm waiting for either Bioware dropping their plan or a pirated version showing up that doesn't require such nonsense.

  • mkreku #50 4 years ago

    Ok, if they want me to pirate the game, fine. I can send some money to the Red Cross or something instead.

    Dumbest copy protection decision ever. And I'm probably gonna get a huge virus from my pirated version :(

  • asphaltcowboy #51 4 years ago

    and steam isnt that bad u can play games whiles not online :S just run steam in offline mode

    yeah, but you have to be online first before you can activate offline mode... so what happens if your internet goes down? I love steam, but this did happen to me recently and you can't play anything...

  • RuudVanPistolrooy #52 4 years ago

    "Congratulations. 1 lost sale."

    Make that two. Can you imagine someone coming round to your house every ten days checking the tags to see if your Levi Jeans/Diesel Trainers were still 'legit'. Madness.

    Guess I'll spend the cash down the pub instead.

  • Wite_Noiz #53 4 years ago

    Make that more than two.

    I was quite looking forward to this, but I decided to boycott SecuROM, Starforce, et al long ago :/
    Apart from the hassle and the shear disgust at being treated as a criminal-in-waiting, I lost more than one optical drive to dodgy copy protection methods (and numerous boot-sectors).

    I haven't pirated a game since I left school and earned my own money, but I might consider it for this.

  • kangarootoo #54 4 years ago

    "Way to make people want to pirate it to bypass the protection"

    Utter truth.

    I seriously don't understand who makes these decisions. I could almost suspect backhanders being paid, its so damn stupid.

    Here is my take on things, and I tell it to anyone I work with if the subject comes up.

    Stringent piracy protection only really affects (i.e. inconveniences) legitimate users. Pirates DON'T BUY THEIR GAMES IN SHOPS!! It seems bloody obvious, but pirates use pirated versions, which by their very nature have this sort of crap disabled.

    All you need to stop the casual purchaser from burning copies for their friends is a reasonably basic level of disc copy protection. Local piracy where people physically exchange discs barely exists any more. Its all about downloading ripped copies from the internet these days, which as I've said have this sort of bollox removed as a matter of course (often by far more skilled coders than those who wrote the tech in the first place).

  • ilmaestro #55 4 years ago

    Add me to the "would have bought it" (rebought, in fact, as I have it on 360) "won't be doing so now" camp.

  • Fitzmogwai #56 4 years ago

    Oh well, at least there'll be more space on my shelves in the gap where the Mass Effect and Spore DVD cases would have been.

    Idiots, idiots, idiots.

  • Bitkari #57 4 years ago

    I was really looking forward to this, but this has disappointed me. As with others here, I'm questioning whether I'm going to buy this now.

    When a pirated copy is more convenient than the retail version, the competency of the publisher must be called into question.




  • WinterSnowblind #58 4 years ago

    My feelings for this matter have all pretty much been summed up by others already, so I'll simply add that I will now no longer be paying any money for Spore. Which is a shame, because it's looking like a really fantastic game and the developers really do deserve money for it. Unfortunately, I'm not going to waste my money or time on such a ridiculous system.

    I know it's supposed to stop piracy, but this only encourages it.

  • hiddenranbir #59 4 years ago

    A lot of people are cancelling their orders. Good on you. Use the power of your dollar/pound to send the message to EA/Bioware.

    They shouldn't be focusing on pirates...

    They should be focusing on the paying customer. Rewarding them.

    Stardock are the only people left that have sense in the world.

  • jebus #60 4 years ago

    @DDevil
    07-May-08 12:01:45 And what about people who don't have a Internet connection? There will be people like that out there.

    Get an xbox or an internet connection I guess. Your point?

  • UncleLou #61 4 years ago

    Well, that's probably not quite true, kangarootoo. Copy protection systems that manage two last for the crucial period before a game's release and the next few weeks seem to have a positive influence on sales. Which seems to be exactly what EA are trying here. Don't get me wrong though, an online check every 10 days is one step too far.

    There might be people where pirating is a character trait, but to assume that none of the people who can conveniently download pirated games is just as black and white as to assume they are all lost sales. The truth will be somewhere in the middle.

    edit:

    Spelled your name wrong, how impolite! :-)
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 14:21

  • Valver #62 4 years ago

    I think all the other posters have already said everything that need saying.

    So I'll just give this thread a huge +1

  • jebus #63 4 years ago

    Schiraman
    07-May-08 12:07:22 It's about time that software companies woke up to the fact that adding these kind of security checks does essentially nothing to deter piracy but does really annoy their paying customers.

    Apart from the fact that HL2 suffered virtually no piracy you mean? Now I agree that SecuRom is rubbish it always has been but really I have no problem with games needing online authentication. The only people who seem to moan about it are the people who intend to copy it anyway.

  • Perjoss #64 4 years ago

    "A pirate copy doesn't represent a lost sale"

    sorry thats wrong, I have a friend who will not buy PC games, but he buys all his console games, I know he would CERTAINLY pay for PC games if there were not available for download.

  • hiddenranbir #65 4 years ago

    He's right, though.

    "Potential sales" is a nonsense issue in the realm of piracy. My grandmother is a "potential sale" too. I blame piracy!
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 14:21

  • L42yB #66 4 years ago

    @asphaltcowboy -

    You only have to activate a steam game the very first time you play it. After that you are able to launch it without the internet. I know this 100% because I have to borrow a wireless connector at home to be online, and I have played the entire sam & max season 1 offline (I only activated them straight after I downloaded them - haven't been on stream since).

  • kangarootoo #67 4 years ago

    "Copy protection systems that manage two last for the crucial period before a game's release and the next few weeks seem to have a positive influence on sales."

    This is true, and I didn't really consider that pre-release period. The madness of his particular solution just made my mind fill with red mist.

    I think the issue is summed up well by "Copy protection systems that manage two last for the crucial period before a game's release and the next few weeks seem to have a positive influence on sales." written above. This kind of approach is all stick and no carrot.

    If I had a solution myself I'm sure I'd be rich, but we can all see the flaws in this approach and I think krudster's initial post makes the point we are all repeating. This method of protection is giving a legitimate user with a heart of gold a reason to just pirate the game and just donate the cost to a charity of their choice.

  • L42yB #68 4 years ago

    1 pirated copy of a game != 1 lost sale

    some lost sales, maybe... but it's definitely not a 1:1 relationship. of course, it's impossible to know what the ratio is... could be easily be more like 1000:1 IMO ;)

  • UncleLou #69 4 years ago

    This method of protection is giving a legitimate user with a heart of gold a reason to just pirate the game and just donate the cost to a charity of their choice.


    If someone is ideologically against this, he should have the balls to not play the game. Or admit that he's a cheapskate. But using it as an excuse to justify downloading it is the coward's way out, in my opinion. ;-)

  • Fallen_Angel #70 4 years ago

    Nithron: Well, i'm still gonna get it. I just aint gonna pay for it.

    Wow. Just wow. Arn't you the fucking genius. Lets see, the game gets pirated more, therefore, the companies think they need stronger protection, and we get even more draconion protection. See I don't agree with DRM, but with complete and fucking numpties like you around, I can see why its still in place. Same goes for anyone who reckons pirating the game is the same as giving a massive fuck you to DRM. Its not, it just makes it more fucking convoluted.

    If you really hate the DRM THAT much that you possibly couldn't play the game on PC, you got 2 choices. Either a) Buy the game on 360 b) Don't buy the game at all

    Either buying games or not buying them will show developers they don't need as stringent DRM, or that they're going to lose sales through it. Pirating the game just proves them right.
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 14:29

  • kangarootoo #71 4 years ago

    "A pirate copy doesn't represent a lost sale"

    ""Potential sales" is a nonsense issue in the realm of piracy"

    I think the truth actually lies somewhere in the middle. It is nonsense to assume that ALL pirated copies are lost sales, but it is also nonsense to assume that NONE of them are.

    When iTunes started selling tunes individually for a cheap price, some people pirated anyway as they were always going to, some people never pirated music and so started simply buying online instead of in a shop, and some people who were on the line stopped pirating and started buying tunes again.

    Accessibility and price are key factors. If all games cost 1p piracy would almost disappear. If all games were £100 piracy would be the primary method of obtaining titles. A balance point is needed, and perhaps we are not currently at it. Maybe PC game development can't easily support the high devs costs that can be more easily secured on console platforms?

  • hiddenranbir #72 4 years ago

    More carrot less stick.

  • Nithron #73 4 years ago

    @Fallen_Angel

    Right, so the only way to prove to these people that the completely idiotic and needlessly restrictive measures they're using don't prevent piracy, and aren't acceptable, is to not pirate it and accept them? Hmm...

    Also, if I'm not going to buy it out of principle, and then i pirate it instead, how the hell are they even gonna know? Are they sitting there staring at my computer from a hidden CCTV camera going "Look! See! He's pirating our games again! Quick, add even more restrictive copy protection!"
    Edited by 2 at 07/05/08 @ 14:35

  • kangarootoo #74 4 years ago

    I wonder how companies determine the actual impact of piracy on their sales.

    They can predict sales, but if they fall short of their predictions how do they know the difference between piracy and simple bad predictions?

  • SeesThroughAll #75 4 years ago

    Dear BioWare and EA,

    With this simple "anti-piracy" bullshit, you have managed to make me lose my interest in the PC version of Mass Effect.
    If do the same shit to Dragon Age, you can **** ** ****.

    Thank you

  • tripitaka #76 4 years ago

    [link url=http://w ww.bioware.com/bioware_info/contact/
    ]http://ww w.bioware.com/bioware_info/cont...[/link]

    I suggest people get in contact and let them know what you think.

  • NickD7 #77 4 years ago

    Yes blame games developers for trying to protect their hard work from thieves who are killing PC gaming. Maybe you should be blaming all those PC gamers who steal everything that isn't nailed down. You've been thieving games since torrents were created, now you cry when games developers try to put measures in place to slow piracy down.

    cry me a river

  • YourMessageHere #78 4 years ago

    I'm torn. Part of me says:

    Buy it, keep it in the shrinkwrap for possible added value down the line, download a pirate copy and play that!

    But part of me says:

    Download a pirate copy and play that!

    And another part of me says:

    Although this runs fine on an XBox, I'm sure they'll have carefully made it run like a dead dog on my ageing PC, and it's bound to not actually be that great anyway, and it's not like I'm fabulously wealthy, so I'll just ignore it, and that'll send them the best message.

    Option 3 is currently winning.

  • tripitaka #79 4 years ago

    The point is that this isn't going to protect their game from pirates though.
    I have no doubt that somebody will have cracked this within a week or so...

    Meanwhile their paying customers have to put up with this intrusive shit, and also their game failing to work completely in future if the company involved happen to go out of business.

  • UncleLou #80 4 years ago

    Right, so the only way to prove to these people that the completely idiotic and needlessly restrictive measures they're using don't prevent piracy, and aren't acceptable, is to not pirate it and accept them? Hmm...

    Eh, you're not accepting them if you don't buy the game. You boycot the product. Send them a mail, let them know. Just don't try to take some idiotic "moral" highground by downloading it to "stick it to the man".

    I'd seriously rather have an honest pirate who admits he just can't be arsed to pay than this pseudo-ideloogical bullshit about downloading it out of spite. That's ok if you're 8 years old or younger, if I am generous. Some common sense is all it takes.

  • Subquest #81 4 years ago

    oh you kiddies and your 'idealogical opposition' to DRM, who do you think you're fooling. I applaud any method a publisher wishes to take to protect the pc gaming industry, which is currently on life support thanks in no small measure to piracy. Multiplayer games suffer far less from piracy thanks to online checks, all this is doing is adding a 10 day check for an offline game. Don't like it? Don't buy the game.

    I do think, however, that anti-piracy methods need to focus less on having the disk, and more on verifying an online ID, like a MMORPG would. Sure it requires an internet connection, but seriously, how many PC gamers are playing without an internet connection these days? 1 - 2%?

  • SeesThroughAll #82 4 years ago

    @ All the "Righteous Developer Rights Defenders" out there:

    I buy my games both on console and PC. It was a pain for me to start playing Half-Life 2 back in the day, when Steam required internet connection at all times at a time I didn't have it at home. Once it became possible to activate my copy once without having to log anything since, only then I started getting the fun I had paid for.

    I'm not going to have EXECUTIVES impose INTRUSIVE copy protection measures on LOYAL COSTUMERS such as myself. By only seeing hampered goods available, I will vote with my wallet and not buy a game that I wouldn't even to able to use without an internet connection. By doing this, developers are losing money, not saving any.
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 15:49

  • YourMessageHere #83 4 years ago

    "blah blah blah thieves blah blah killing PC gaming blah blah blah torrents blah blah blah cry me a river blah blah blah"

    Hooray, finally someone sympathetic to the problems of legitimate consumers. Presumably you'd advise shopkeepers to require all customers to wear strait jackets on their premises to guard against shoplifting too?

  • dsmx #84 4 years ago

    For those who think that this measure is perfectly reasonable what if someone came to your house every 10 days to make sure everything there was a legitimate product searching through everything you own delving into every corner of your home. Wouldn't you think thats a little draconian, this is exactly what EA are doing with mass effect. Treating customers like criminals is not the way to get them to purchase your product, a good product sells on it's merits. By trying to stop piracy all you do is increase it, the music industry has been trying to stop it for 8 years and during that time it has only ever increased as there methods got more draconian. Why do people continue to think that by persecuting pirates there going to improve sales?

  • mjhoward #85 4 years ago

    Disapointing.

    I've already played Mass Effect, but was quite interested in Spore. Now I'll just give it a miss - I won't put up with them treating me like a criminal after paying for their game, nor will I allow shitty DRM programs to dirty up my PC they can't be trusted.
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 16:18

  • Fallen_Angel #86 4 years ago

    @Nithron: No, you don't accept it. You just have the fucking backbone to not act like a spoiled 5 year old brat and demand that you have the game anyway. Either put up with the DRM or make a stand and don't buy it. Don't do some fucking half way bullshit and think that you're "fighting the good fight" or some other shit to justify pirating the game.

    And they can't tell that you individually are downloading the game, but you think they're retarded enough that they don't look at sites like Pirate Bay and Mininova and see just how many peers/seeds there are? Then they DO go "Oh shit, 100,000 people are torrenting our game. We'll need stronger anti-piracy for our next title".
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 16:19

  • paketep #87 4 years ago

    Fuck you, EA.

    Cancelled both preorders.

    And as long as they mantain this scheme, I'm not buying anything else from them.

    Ok, now... Twilight of the Arnor.

  • Nithron #88 4 years ago

    Okay, okay, you've converted me. I'm just not going to buy it, rather than downloading it and not buying it.

    What difference has this made to the world i wonder?

    absolutely bugger all.

  • Fallen_Angel #89 4 years ago

    I'm still trying to figure out the big deal here. It dials home every 10 days? Oh noes, whatever shall I do? I know I'll go bitch and moan on my 24/7 internet connection.

    Everyone who says that its spying on users is damn straight. And go look at TPB or Mininova and the amount of people downloading PC games. Once you consider those numbers, they have every right to try and protect there product at all cost.

    But, on the flipside, its useless trying to code in something like this, since, as has been said before, someone will be able to code it out of it. Steam works as its not coded into the game, its something separate that the game won't work without. I still can't understand why more publishers haven't taken to using Steam, since they can still retail and insist on using it. The only reason I can think is they have there own online service to compete against Steam (EA, I'm looking at you), and don't want to give money to their competitors, which is, frankly, retarded.

    I think what I'm trying to say is don't pirate games and then piss and moan when games become more console-based, are delayed by six months or aren't released on PC at all.

  • Ryuken #90 4 years ago

    Doesn't sound that bad, if you have internet you can always play, if you don't have internet all the time then you must plan things ahead for those 10 days you can play offline. Anyway, never planned on buying ME, if Dragon Age has this as well I will buy it regardless though.

    The only question that remains is whether we'll see Mass Effect not being cracked (before release) because of this. I think they should be going after the crackers, the "leaks", torrentsites and newsgroups.

  • jaywalker3010 Verified Mastering Manager, Square Enix #91 4 years ago

    I love the fact that people moan about having to do a simple online check.

    Surely fact you are reading this means, you are ONLINE, and that your connection works. Therefore whats the problem in the game just confirming things. Would be nice if it also updated your client with new version if it released etc (oh wait how much does that sound like steam hehe)

    Altho i will admit if it was 100% in the background then fine, but the wording doesnt give me that confidence that its not . Oh and no explanation about what if you are with Tiscali therefore without the internet on a regular basis (spot the tiscali user here)

    As i've said on other comment areas. What's the problem if you are legit.
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 16:47

  • ps3owner #92 4 years ago

    sounds like windows to me :)

    and they hacked that one ...

  • Cyclone #93 4 years ago

    Disappointed. I was looking forward to this. But there's no way I'm installing a copy protection rootkit on my machine. SecuRom installs like malware, acts like malware, and is quite difficult to get rid of. Like malware. It prevents users deleting certain types of executable programs (16 bit executables). The newer versions install services to take more control of a machine when initially installed in non administrator accounts. As mentioned previously it also interferes with other programs already installed on a machine, as well as often blacklisting virtual drives. While I have no love for it I can tolerate DRM, as long as it stays on the cd or dvd. I don't really mind steam; various issues aside it is quite handy for keeping games up to date. But SecuRom is just a step too far. Hopefully a cheap budget version (red label, white label, etc) will be released in a year or two without the DRM; I'm similarly waiting for a DRM free version of BioShock.
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 23:35

  • sirtacos #94 4 years ago

    Well done on making what appears to be the most unsubtle and obnoxious piece of security software ever.

    If I were to buy PC Mass Effect - God knows why, since I already own the xbox version - I'd either a) not buy it, making this whole hypothetical scenario redundant, or b) pirate it.

    Either way, BioWare loses, and I, the paying customer, am annoyed and feel intruded upon. Congratulations.
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 17:44

  • Feanor #95 4 years ago

    "Surely fact you are reading this means, you are ONLINE, and that your connection works."

    A lot of people are reading this at work, and may have no internet at home, limited internet access at home, or just have a gaming PC or laptop that isn't always connected to the internet.

  • Darren #96 4 years ago

    Wow, what a clever idea... make an offline-only game completely dependent on being online in order to play it. Genius! LOL

  • dsmx #97 4 years ago

    Justify to me how DRM of a copy protection scheme improves the experience of playing the game over the non DRM version, if they can manage to do that then I'll agree to having it on my comp.

  • mkreku #98 4 years ago

    It's not the fact that I have to have my computer checked every ten days that bothers me (except if they try to stealz my porn!!). It's the fact that I won't make the same mistake I did with Bioshock again, namely PAY MONEY for a game that will not work in five years time when the authentication server is long gone.

    I bought the Collector's Edition of Bioshock.. What a joke.

  • Melan #99 4 years ago

    bastards. :) Yes screw the paying customers, well bioware is EA now, so ...

    Well hope this means that you do not have to insert the DVD to play the game. That would be fair.

    Anyway the pirated version will be hassle free. It should be the other way around.

  • Madlax #100 4 years ago

    For some reason this reminds me by the way microsoft forces consumers to pay to play online. when they are already paying for an internet connection.

    These 'restrictions', we must ensure they stop.

  • Inigo #101 4 years ago

    I already have it on the 360 but planned on getting it for the PC as i prefer games like this with a mouse and keyboard. Plus it was my way of supporting Bioware for making so many great games.

    I've just cancelled my pre-order. Hopefully by the time Dragon Age comes out they will have changed there mind. Its a really sad day :(

  • Melan #102 4 years ago

    chocadoodlepoo wrote:
    "If we don't change our attitudes towards piracy now....we may not have PC games in the future.....seriously!!"


    PC gaming is not dying. We have more games than we possible will be able to play in a lifetime.

    Look at the fps market. Its overcrowded. There are so many good games, even the older ones (like 4 years old) looks good and play well.

    anyone remember the day where you could play quake or duke nukeém and that was about it.

    Your were stuck with C&C until TA came. The konsole market is getting larger YES, but does that mean that the pc market will shrimp until we only have WOW and flash bejewelled left. I really don´t think so. I could be wrong...

  • Guv #103 4 years ago

    Now that's just stupid...

  • VMerken #104 4 years ago

    Wow, we sure could have used a lot of you people on the barricades at the 2K forums back when Bioshock was released and its stupendous, not-mentioned-on-the-box DRM scheme was revealed to all =)

    But enough about old cows... here's a spanking new one to char! At least EA had the decency to tell us about it before the game release, unlike 2K. Therefore, we can vote with our wallets and simply not buy idiocy like this - without the hassle of going back to the shops to demand a refund. I mean, how long will those "check" servers last? What kind of data will they extract? What kind of things will EA do with this data? Will we get another EULA like Hellgate: London's which basically says, "Yo, we're extracting whatever data we want and spreading it to whatever companies we want to deal with"? I'm not dying to find out, though - the game doesn't interest me as much as Bioshock did back in the day.

    "Priestly was also keen to point out that previous PC titles Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire all used SecuROM in one form or another, and that this wasn't a product of the recent acquisition by EA."

    I would like to be also keen and point out that those previous PC titles didn't feature this particular, "utter bollocks" incarnation of SecuRom. It was bad enough that those things prevented you from running the games they were attached to from certain DVD-writer drive models (my newly bought AOpen DVD-RW drive keeps me from playing my legitimate copy of F.E.A.R. because the SecuRom version haunting it now hates me, for example =), at least we could install them on any machine as much as we liked and not rely on a virtually constant, working internet connection to play them.

    But hey, SecuRom team, keep going at it, you just might find the perfect DRM scheme one day. A scheme which works, reliably, not too intrusive - every software company will want it and we could live with it. I don't think this version's it, though =).
    Edited by 3 at 07/05/08 @ 20:28

  • Nill #105 4 years ago

    So much for EA 'having changed their ways'. John Riccitiello can eat my arse.

    Apparently all future EA PC games will have this 'feature' as well. Starting with Mass Effect and Spore.

    EA deserves all the hate they get, and then some.


    Oh, and yes. It's really irony at its' best that the very pirates this is intended to combat will actually have less of an hassle with the game than those that bought it. Logic fails.

  • VMerken #106 4 years ago

    Nill, Riccietello's statement was about being more supportive towards creativity and let branches such as Bioware do their thing more freely than they would let their branches in the "old days". A statement which is still out in the open, as far as I am concerned.

    You can be pretty sure that he wasn't talking about DRM, because that's what will keep EA's games - and thus EA's profit margin - "safe". Or so the consensus among software houses goes =).

  • Subquest #107 4 years ago

    It's the fact that I won't make the same mistake I did with Bioshock again, namely PAY MONEY for a game that will not work in five years time when the authentication server is long gone.

    I would imagine that prior to the server shutdown they would release a simple patch to change to a CD check or even better none at all. Revenue would be dried up by then anyway.

  • Nill #108 4 years ago

    Yeah, I may have misread his statements for a general "we're going to be a much more likable company from the gamer's point of view from now on".

    I'm not so sure DRM is what'll keep their margins safe though. This DRM will be hacked and cracked as everyone before it has been - it presents no problems for pirates in the long run, only customers. As such, it just about threatens their margins as much as it protects them. Word of mouth is rather negative after this announcement and people are canceling pre-orders - all in all not a very optimal position. Depending on how persistent and wide-spread the negativism we're seeing towards this issue at the moment is, it may very well turn out something that EA will have to regret.

    Indeed, minor DRM is probably a must, this is going too far though.

  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #109 4 years ago

    Well if the protection doesn't make the game impossibile to install and use who gives a &*(&?

    Bioshock's 'proctection' was flawed and buggy thats the reason why it was an issue as long as Mass Effect works i'm still intending on buying it, may hold off a few days to see if it does in fact work, but i'm still buying it.

  • AOFanboi #110 4 years ago

    Ah, the joys of "Treat-paying-customer-as-a-potential-criminal"-RO M. Buying a game on "borrowed time" - as long as we bother to authenticate it for you - is probably a nice "feature" to have in a game. I wish the dying non-MMO PC game industry good riddance.

    Oh, and pirates have no problems with it: http://ww w.gameburnworld.com/protections...
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 22:38

  • YourMessageHere #111 4 years ago

    wait, hang on, I thought this had some sort of multiplayer aspect for PC or something...if this is a purely singleplayer game that requires a net connection, isn't that exactly the conditions behind the immense swell of internet-wide Steam-hatred that was caused by the same requirement for HL2 at launch, and subsequently forced Steam to change away from that model?
    Edited by 1 at 07/05/08 @ 23:45

  • miiiguel #112 4 years ago

    I didn't know SecuRom was developed by Sony..., shame on you Sony! Treating potential customers as thiefs!

  • Windsong #113 4 years ago

    Subquest said..
    "oh you kiddies and your 'idealogical opposition' to DRM, who do you think you're fooling. I applaud any method a publisher wishes to take to protect the pc gaming industry, which is currently on life support thanks in no small measure to piracy"


    By all means sir! Will that be the right hand, or the forehead? We do have to authenticate our game you know!

  • SbEguy #114 4 years ago

    so if my net happens to be down on the day it needs to be verified, i will in fact not be able to PLAY THE OFFLINE GAME I PAID FOR?

    I was gonna buy mass effect, but that ain't happening after seeing this shit, i'll download the cracked (read: fixed) version instead. have fun with your considerably reduced sales thanks to the retard who thought this would be a good idea, EA.

  • Meho #115 4 years ago

    Just to chip in:

    An obvious insult to legit customers and something that the people who usually pirate games will have no problem with. Making legit copies less convenient to use than pirated ones ONT TOP of being more expensive is hardly going to win more people to the cause.

    A point to be considered is obviously that most/ all copy protection/ DRM schemes are there to stop/ prevent/ decrease casual piracy. Hardcore pirates always find ways to circumvent any copy protection - it's simple math: more people with more time working on cracking the code in comparison with less people who had less time to develop the code. I should know, I have four hacked consoles at home who all run non-legit software.

    So copy protection schemes are there to stop a 13 year old kid from just burning the copy of his new game for his friend next door, not to stop a person who gets their warez off usenext/ piratebay/ rapidshare/ whatever. This means that the very simple copy protection that prevents the DVD to be copied into a working copy without meddling with the code is enough to stop 99% casual pirates. Hardcore ones will always find their way to the website that hosts cracked executables for the games, regardless of the complexity of the copy protection. There is NO way (empirically speaking) to create working copy protection that will stop hardcore piracy. I was playing Bioshock on my PC for seven days before I was able to buy it in a shop (which I did). I was playing uncensored version of Manhunt 2 on my PS2 weeks before it hit shops (it never hit shops in my country, incidentally).

    And, this also means that the critical period of time immediately during and after the release in which the existance or absence of pirated copies might mean a difference between make or brake is a nice thing in theory. In practice, the only game I remember having any of the sort in the last 3-4 years was Chaos Theory with its StarForce protection. Since starforce was dropped, there has not been the game that was not pirated on the day of release and frequenty several days before. Not just PC games, let's dispell a few myths here, all platforms have pirated software. Sure, it's cumbersome to mod your Xbox 360 and PS3 might still be a tough nut to crack due to the media it uses, but it's out, check out the torrent sites. Xbox 360 titles are pirated on the day of release just like PC games, the difference of course being that there are probably less modded Xbox 360s out there than PC owners ready to play pirated games, but that's just a difference in quantity, not in principle. GTA IV was VERY heavily pirated on the 360 (still is) - I was playing it four days prior to the release and in fact I am still waiting for my preordered legit copy to arrive to the local shop.

    So, the consoles also suffer from piracy and it would be worth investing into a survey determinign how much piracy actually hurts platforms according to their vulnerability (PC being most vulnerale, 360, Wii or PS3 being less vulnerable) and the convenience of use (PC being the least convenient, consoles being more, but this gap is now obviously decreasing). I think we might come to some surprising discoveries. I mean, GTA Vice City sold millions of copies on consoles and significantly less than a million on a PC. Is this only due to piracy?

    And, another myth that definitely needs deconstruction: Steam does NOT prevent piracy. Who told you that? There are tons of Steam games on burned DVDs you can buy from street vendors in appropriate countries and certainly there are steam games regularly cracked on all the usual warez spots on the Interwebz.

  • Dirhael #116 4 years ago

    Having me activate a store-bought copy of a game at the end of installation bothers me but I can accept it. I don't think it helps at all towards preventing piracy but if the publisher feels the need for it and it's a game that I want, I will still make the purchase.

    This thing with having to re-validate my game every 10 (or whatever number) days is to much to accept though. The likelihood of me getting locked out of the game before I've completed it isn't all that big, but the very concept of publishers treating paying customers like pirates by default in this way isn't something I'm willing to support with any amount of money.

    And no, I'm not going to pirate it either. Completely ignoring this game and all other games from the same publisher, on any platform, is the way I'm choosing to respond. After all, there's no lack of other companies that will accept my money without treating me like a thief.
    Edited by 1 at 09/05/08 @ 02:52

  • Rudrick #117 4 years ago

    I am canceled my preorder.Copy protection are ok, but that way...10-day network checking is stupid.Mass Effect will be my first ilegal copy in my collection.It is my protest.Good job for peple from EA.
    Edited by 1 at 09/05/08 @ 20:25

  • tripitaka #118 4 years ago

    Sadly when people refuse to buy this on principle, the lack of sales will no doubt be put down to piracy...
    That's why everybody that finds this unacceptable should contact BioWare and let them know.
    I did, although they haven't even bothered to reply.

  • sirtacos #119 4 years ago

    This is generally true, tripitaka, but BioWare has a history of having an ear to their fanbase - actively participating in forums and so on. If this creates enough indignation amongst customers, I'm sure BioWare will know about it.
    The suits at EA may have other ideas, however, so you're right.

  • conkdonk #120 4 years ago

    Looks like they listened

    [link url=http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/v iewtopic.html?topic=629059&forum=125
    ]http://ma sseffect.bioware.com/forums/vie...[/link]

    Mass Effect PC is back on the menue.

  • Elliander #121 4 years ago


    I placed on pre-order Spore Creature Creator, Spore, and the Spore guide on Amazon some time ago. I am subscribed to the Spore news letter too. Why isn't any of this on the product information or on their website? If I didn't read gaming news often I would not have known about this and would have been in for a big surprise. I am sure by not disclosing this fact on their product information pages they are breaking the law somewhere.

    I do not have consistent internet access. This is why I did not and will not buy Windows Vista. The only people who would be capable of changing this information this DRM checks for would be able to get around that too, so basically, I sort of feel like I am being accused of being a thief by products that do this.

    I also feel ripped off. Because if I cannot get on-line with the computer I would use to play, or if their servers have any problems, I will not be allowed to play. Meaning I will not get what I paid for.

    I double checked the product information pages on Amazon.com and none of this is on there. I am considering filing a report about this with the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive marketing practices.

    It goes without saying that I also intend to cancel all my pre-orders too. Maybe I will buy it in the future when someone releases a crack to fix this problem. But I won't touch this game now with a 10 foot pole. And it's a real shame too, because I have been looking forward to it for at least 3 years now. But no matter how good of a game it might be, it's not worth it to go through this.

  • Madder-Max #122 4 years ago

    "BioWare assures us that EA is "ready and confident there will be no server problems". And if there is, then all the necessary customer support is in place to answer your calls."

    LOLL! Wow. I'm definatley gonna buy it just for this!

    "Hi. Pay us money for a game that may not work consistently and may causeyou to need to ring our customer supportline.....0870....."

    Lol