Settlers DRM problems not yet resolved

By Robert Purchese Published 7 April, 2010

At least, not completely, says Ubisoft.

Ubisoft's told Eurogamer that DRM problems in The Settlers 7 are still not "completely resolved", even though it has been nearly two weeks since launch.

Many owners are having trouble establishing and maintaining a DRM-required connection to the game's online verification servers. A thread on Ubisoft's forum has 50 pages and 10,000 posts expressing the community's displeasure.

"Settlers 7 players have encountered difficulties playing the game over the [Easter] holiday weekend due to issues with servers that do matchmaking in multiplayer mode and that keep track of profiles, campaign progression and stats in both solo and multi modes," the publisher told us.

"Our technical teams have made progress but we are not yet able to say that the issue is completely resolved."

Further comment, Ubisoft added, would be made in The Settlers 7 forum.

Ubisoft's DRM caused similar problems recently with Assassin's Creed II and Silent Hunter V on PC. The publisher blamed server stability on digital "attacks" and claimed that 95 per cent of players were unaffected.

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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. @Clert on Twitter.

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

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Comments (41) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Scrumhalf #1 2 years ago

    We finally got to play last night and the single player game is fantastic - can't get the wife off the iMac now :(

    But they really do need to sort this out - there was quite a bit of anger on Bank Holiday Monday.
    Edited by Scrumhalf at 07/04/10 @ 08:50

  • OnlyMe #2 2 years ago

    Please, Ubi, please keep the DRM. It's so awesome that you found a way to destroy your company so quickly.

  • Krusty #3 2 years ago

    Shame it's a good game, since I won't be trying it.

    Ubisoft really are mugs if they persist with this DRM scheme.

  • jellyhead #4 2 years ago

    Sorry Ubisoft but i'm not interested in any of your products while this horrid system is in place. Shame as i would have bought SH5 & Settlers otherwise. I'm just not interested in being limited to playing Single Player games on the whims of your server reliability and availability.

  • Aerschtuner #5 2 years ago

    The thread at the Ubi-forums has approx. 1000 posts. Not 10k, that would be insane ;-)

  • bad09 #6 2 years ago

    I have found Ubi's DRM excellent TBH....

    / pats games bought in March well happy with games probably not bought if the DRM was not there

    EDIT - erm you people marking me down Ubi staff? Or do you not realise I mean I've bought great games from other publishers I probably wouldn't have as I would have bought Ubi games if DRM free
    Edited by bad09 at 08/04/10 @ 10:13

  • pacifika #7 2 years ago

    Looking forward to a review.

  • GamesConnoisseur #8 2 years ago

    You need to ponder WHY company such as Ubi who is in it for business is doing all this?

    Purely out of motiviation of just causing trouble and miseries for gamers? No.. they are just reacting against the problem that is piracy and yet the 'solution' of DRM is professed to cause piracy to be more attractive.

    Still if piracy is at a very high level already and easy to get off torrents, and we yet felt it is preferable for Ubi or other companies to accept the reality and make their gamers non piracy proof/no DRM and also cheaper to attract us back to legal purchases?

    What about the basic question of piracy itself being a simple theft as if we would walk into any tesco and lift off the DVD/music/game of our own choice?

    All these points had already been debated over and over, but I still feel that the debate currently on forums is mostly that protectionist measure are simple utterly wrong and without any causes?

    The way forward from this tired issue seem to me is simply to do away with over the counter physical retails and let everything go online distrubtion ie Steam, Apps, XBL Games on Demand and so forth.

    Bet you that this is more and more attractive to the games publishers as each year go by.

  • bad09 #9 2 years ago

    "The way forward from this tired issue seem to me is simply to do away with over the counter physical retails and let everything go online distrubtion ie Steam, Apps, XBL Games on Demand and so forth. "

    Exactly, these stores have a record of who is buying the games surely they would be able to somehow track WHERE the torrent comes from, rather than pissing on paying people all the time. Things is most games hit torrents before they hit the shops from leaks so although people are getting it free someone on the inside is putting it out there for them.

  • jellyhead #10 2 years ago

    Oh, i understand Ubisoft's reasoning, GC. I'm just not keen on my legitimate purchases only being usable when i am able to contact Ubisoft's servers. It also assumes a perfect net connection which not many people have, if you do, fine go for it but for me it's not a restriction i welcome and i will not support publishers who attach these conditions to their products. Who's to say they don't remove the servers for products just before the new version get's it's annual release either?

    Nah, i'm not interested in being at Ubisoft's whim as to when i can play my SP games regardless of their motivations.

    They can continue to blame piracy for poor sales but i can guarantee that their DRM has put potential customers off purchasing too.

  • ignatiusjreilly #11 2 years ago

    Download-only games won't magically fix piracy...

  • Eraysor #12 2 years ago

    I just really hope they give up on the DRM before Massive brings out a new game. If Ubi slaps this DRM on World in Conflict 2 (if it ever arrives) I will probably cry.

  • booner #13 2 years ago

    When are you going to review the game Eurogamer? I won't buy it until you review it!!!

  • Rirekon #14 2 years ago

    The games industry needs to wise up to what the music industry realised a long time ago and has only recently remembered - you can't stop someone copying and distributing content once it's in their hands, so why waste money trying

    The only possible solution, even theoretically, is a service like OnLive where you, the user, never get your hands on the actual game code. Even that system has flaws of course, even streaming MMOs (which are a lot like OnLine) get copied and have "pirate" servers set-up.

  • TheTingler #15 2 years ago

    For god's sake Ubisoft, give it up. You have sufficient data to prove that you are utterly incapable of maintaining this highly-criticised system of DRM.

    None of your customers want it, no one supports it, the only affect on piracy will be an increase as people who want the game don't want the DRM, the pirates themselves won't be affected, it's costing you sales, your sales will continue to decline as people who have bad experiences spread the word, and you yourselves cannot support it.

    There is no good reason for it to exist.

  • nuanimal #16 2 years ago

    I'm disapointed in Ubi. DRM only serves to annoy legitimately paying customers, while pirates will eventually find a way to get at the games.

    Funnily enough, the pirated copies, without DRM will offer the better experience for the end user - in this case, not needing a bloody stable net connection so you can play on your laptop out and about.

    I do also wonder what the cost/benefit analysis would be for investing in thios DRM solution and also how much it would save on piracy...?

  • GamesConnoisseur #17 2 years ago

    I dont argue that for end users the piracy offers far better alternative to DRM mess of a game BUT that doesnt refute that the DRM exists in first place as a reaction to piracy harming their business.

    Still the question may remain, should Ubi gracefully gives in and go DRM free, their business would still be 'wracked' by the general sales being reduced due to piracy and the extra sales from the happier legitmate users may not be actuallyenough for the bean counters at UBI HQ?

  • jellyhead #18 2 years ago

    Whereas now they have piracy AND reduced sales. Win-Win for the bean counters eh?

    Oh wait, no, it isn't.

  • GamesConnoisseur #19 2 years ago

    So they should just acknowledge that piracy is envitable and just FOCUS on what remains of the market the legitmate users and get extra sales from that?

    Problem is I think every year the piracy get wider and wider, as would you a consumer pay for games if half of people in your street doesnt?

    Looking at the 8 bit era, the game sales did reduce in a big way before the 16 bit came along, and all that was mainly due to the widespread and ease of piracy. Of course the games were mostly shite in those days and too simplistic a comparasion but should game publishers all ignore piracy seem a lot to ask.

    The digital bill debate is in a big part due to the concerns of the industry at the rampant piracy/torrenting of everyman joe. I pirate DS games and movies myself and know quite a lot of friends does.

    I m just being realist and hoping we can enter this debate with open mind. If we want everything to be equal for everyone and therefore everyone should be able to pirate off games for free or no one should!

    Publishers only play a part of the equation and the rest is and always have been in the hands of us consumers and we are what drives the market or kills it.

  • ChaK #20 2 years ago

    take it of my splinter cell or it's a no go.

    And I mean it, I already boycotted MW2, so I know I can resist. Really.

  • Emth #21 2 years ago

    It really is a retarded system, especially for laptop users. Games that you can't play atall on a plane, train and any other public place without Internet access, it's madness.

  • ignatiusjreilly #22 2 years ago

    Games that you can't play atall on a plane, train and any other public place without Internet access, it's madness.

    For the last two weeks, you can't even play it if you are sat at a desk with a unbreakable T1 internet connection.

  • sneetch #23 2 years ago

    @GamesConnoisseur

    No, they shouldn't give in, but they also shouldn't go for such draconian DRM. There's a balance to be found here, other forms of DRM exist that don't prevent your customers playing their games if their 'net connection or your servers fail, forms that don't require constant uninterrupted connections to your servers. DRM this harsh actually encourages piracy because the pirate's experience is superior to the legitimate customers experience (I can't believe I actually typed that sentence :) ). I think it would be far better to emulate EAs project 10 dollar or Steams system with online activation but with the ability to play offline and to try to build a community or service where there are advantages to having legitimate copies of games, basically turn it into a "carrot" rather than this "stick for everyone" method.

    I really wanted Settlers, I loved those games ever since I played the first one back in the dawn of time, I bought ANNO 1404 because of the similarities while waiting for 7, but I simply can't bring myself to submit to this kind of DRM and I won't pirate games. So I'll just miss it and Splinter Cell and probably PoP too (although I may get that on XBox or PS3). They claim that every pirated version is a possible lost sale but I believe a lot of pirates wouldn't buy it one way or the other. Even if you had perfect, unbeatable DRM that was completely unobtrusive I wonder what percentage of those who would normally have pirated it would buy it, a very low percentage I bet but those are two actual sales lost because of their DRM.

    Taken in isolation two lost sales are no big deal but you can be sure I'm not the only one refusing to buy them because of the DRM.

  • oceanclub #24 2 years ago

    Is it terrible to have absolutely no sympathy for those who went ahead and bought this game knowing that it had draconian and quickly-implemented DRM?

    P.

  • sneetch #25 2 years ago

    @oceanclub
    Is it terrible to have absolutely no sympathy for those who went ahead and bought this game knowing that it had draconian and quickly-implemented DRM?

    Those who knew about it? No, it's think it's quite all right to have no sympathy for people who walk open-eyed into these things. :)

    I do feel sympathy for those who didn't realise it was there, though, I guess they'll know next time.

  • dsmx #26 2 years ago

    This problem was solved before the game came out the first step involves travelling to any torrent website.

  • Rirekon #27 2 years ago

    @GamesConnoisseur ; You mean like the music industry right? Piracy is bad, don't get me wrong, but anything which hurts your customers will ultimately hurt you just as much.

  • Spekingur #28 2 years ago

    Ubisoft should go "DRM free" yes. Meaning, stop inventing new ways to harass their own (possible) customers. Stick with simple ways that annoy the customers as little as possible. Will it stop piracy? No. It is something publishers must aknowledge exists and something that they will probably never get rid of - come to terms with much like most of the music industry seems to have done. I remember the "old days" when all you needed was a serial key. Then you could register your purchase at the publishers site to get something extra (some had that option at least).

  • gmjapan #29 2 years ago

    If you do get connected for the DRM and manage to play S7 theres also the issue that if the connection drops at any point you lose all progress from the last save.

    Is the review for this coming or did the last 2 put EG off Settlers forever? Maybe you cant get past the DRM...

  • Optyk #30 2 years ago

    But the pirates can enjoy the game uninterrupted.

  • Keivz #31 2 years ago

    @Optyk & dsmx
    I don't believe the game has been cracked.

    The problems in AC2 don't seem to compare with the Settlers' problem (they were axed out before the game was even released in the US. I played the full game for 30 hrs with absolutely zero problems). Sounds more like a problem with their multiplayer matchmaking servers than with the DRM.

  • GamesConnoisseur #32 2 years ago

    Sure there would be a sizeable sales lost from legitmate purchasers wanting DRM free - and its down to those bean counters to work out and I m sure they would already have factored that in previously... against the general loss of doing nothing at all and allowing easier piracy.

    There are different views here in this thread and elsewhere, I know by posting as I did would get negged, but felt it has to be said that its not just so one sided argument and that its as simple as Ubi being a totally bad guys in this.

    Mistaken in their decision with the particular approach taken perhaps, but we here dont also necessarily have the right answers but still believe that we have a lot more to do with this. Including all the individual decisions not to buy DRM enabled games and perhaps that would pressurises enough for a reconsider with the options of DRM/piracy preventions measures.

    Sure pirates have a worry free response to DRM - such an easy life and an easy choice to make?

    Of course when the numbers eventually reaches a critical mass - the result would be predictable.

  • Macdory #33 2 years ago

    I'm amazed that this many people were dumb enough to buy into this stupid DRM. It's not as though ubisoft would be a great loss to the PC market in any case - do they have an original IP? Settlers 7, Silent Hunter 5, Assassins Creed 2, etc ... after this many iterations of the same IP you would think they would actually make something fun to play, and not just bug ridden messes like Settlers 7 and Silent Hunter 5

  • modo_komodo #34 2 years ago

    Whilst I completely understand their intentions, I think they have got this VERY badly wrong.

    I'm not buying any Ubisoft games until this is removed or radically changed.

  • jellyhead #35 2 years ago

    I don't mind DRM in some forms, GC, i have Steam and Impulse games in my collection it's the always online requirement that ties your ability to play to the availability of Ubisoft's servers. In an ideal world DRM wouldn't be necessary but it isn't an ideal world, i just feel that being at the mercy of Ubisoft to play a Single Player game is a step too far. If they implemented an offline mode like steam then i would be more inclined to consider their products but as it stands, they've got no chance of getting any money out of me and no that doesn't mean i'll pirate their stuff.

    If anything i'd buy the game second-hand for the 360, i get the game legitimately, Ubisoft get nothing.

  • alcides #36 2 years ago

    is there a ubisoft DRM that works?

  • Scrumhalf #37 2 years ago

    It appears to be down again.

    Ubisoft are now making a HUGE mistake, the forum hardly works to actually post any anger and they never reply to any support tickets. The forum manager is desperately trying to defend the indefensible!

  • faselei #38 2 years ago

    Oh man. Another game I can't buy becuase of DRM. The list is getting longer.

  • vegard #39 2 years ago

    ...and it would still be nice to see EG voicing it's concern over this kind of DRM.

  • curtlikesmeat #40 2 years ago

    This is a game I'm actually quite interested in, the graphics look fantastic for the style of game. Perhaps if they bring out a version without the DRM in the future I'll pick it up then.

  • jacko14630 #41 2 years ago

    hay ubisoft HITLER died years ago and so will your so called DRM stands for--DIED--RIPPING OFF---MEMBERS.