Spore to require online validation...every 10 days in PC gaming GAMES http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r20442118 en Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:33:13 EDT Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:33:13 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20481371 EUS : Agreed. Good catch.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20481371 Wed, 14 May 2008 13:20:29 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20476342 IamGimli : Good old bait-and-switch. Create an uproar with something outrageous (like 10-day validation) while you slip in a limit of three activations and hope nobody notices when you proudly announce that you won't be doing the outrageous thing anymore.

Sad thing is, there's still consumers who will advocate in favour of the greedy publishers because they don't feel there's any chance they'll ever be affected.

Here's a news flash: no DRM has ever kept someone who didn't want to pay for a game from playing it. They all have kept legitimate owners from being able to play though.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20476342 Tue, 13 May 2008 15:44:46 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20475916 Nightfall : I went back and reread the article. I wonder if Spore really had that kind of validation system. Mr. French says it does, so obviously it must. :P

Either EA relented to the pressure, or they were just called out for something they had no plans to do in the first place.
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My domain - Nightfall.net]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20475916 Tue, 13 May 2008 14:24:22 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20474521 quanta : This is good news, but not much better. Only 3 activations? Even BioShock was less draconian with 5 activations.

The issue also remains as to what happens in the future when EA decides to shut down their authentication servers.
--
Happy customer of TOROON08CGO | Silentblue.net
Canadian DSL Troubleshooting and Why Can't I Get It? FAQs]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20474521 Tue, 13 May 2008 10:01:28 EDT Re: EA Backs Down From 10-Day Authentication http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20465384 TigerLord :
said by LaZ3R See Profile :

And EA say the same goes for Spore.

Wow thank god, I was beginning to think EA really had no brains at all. :huh:
Monkey see, monkey do.

No brains required :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20465384 Sun, 11 May 2008 13:12:28 EDT EA Backs Down From 10-Day Authentication http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20465297 LaZ3R : »www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=1726

Good news, loud, complaining denizens of the internet! Bioware have backed down on their draconian copy protection for Mass Effect.
And EA say the same goes for Spore.

Wow thank god, I was beginning to think EA really had no brains at all. :huh:
--
Life is a game of blackjack. You keep playing until you bust.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20465297 Sun, 11 May 2008 12:43:17 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20458567 Kearnstd :
said by JIGA See Profile :

said by pp03 See Profile :

All the more reason to get a console,
Hardly... :uhh:

The day I buy a console is the day PC's are illegal... well, maybe I'll still have a PC even after that :D
dont give the RIAA/MPAA/Electronic Arts any ideas, their dream world is one where PCs are illegal and we all suffer under fully locked down boxes that are fully patchable to the latest policeware DRM.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20458567 Fri, 09 May 2008 18:35:33 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20458429 Dandy :
said by MrMaster See Profile :

They just reversed their decision. It will only validate on downloads of updates and new contents.
yup, atleast we know people actually still a voice in this.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20458429 Fri, 09 May 2008 18:05:00 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20458311 JIGA :
said by Rogue Wolf See Profile :

Y'know, this particular method of validation opens up another problematic scenario. What happens if a key generator happens to come up with your particular key, and it ends up being distributed? Your key ends up on the list, EA decides you're a naughty naughty pirate, and you're out $50 with a game you can no longer play and no way to prove your innocence.

The chances may be slim, but they're there, and attempting to keep me from stealing from them does not give a company the right to steal from ME.

I guess Spore is off my must-have list. :huh:
Well, in that instance I always keep the UPC code and receipt of a game that requires such. Then you have absolute proof of purchase.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20458311 Fri, 09 May 2008 17:29:30 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20458032 MrMaster : They just reversed their decision. It will only validate on downloads of updates and new contents.
--
One never notices what has been done; one can only see what remains to be done. -Marie Curie]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20458032 Fri, 09 May 2008 16:26:32 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457529 Rogue Wolf : Y'know, this particular method of validation opens up another problematic scenario. What happens if a key generator happens to come up with your particular key, and it ends up being distributed? Your key ends up on the list, EA decides you're a naughty naughty pirate, and you're out $50 with a game you can no longer play and no way to prove your innocence.

The chances may be slim, but they're there, and attempting to keep me from stealing from them does not give a company the right to steal from ME.

I guess Spore is off my must-have list. :huh:
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I have learned to ignore such naysayers, when... quelling... them... hm?... was out of the question.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20457529 Fri, 09 May 2008 14:43:33 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20456335 Somnambul33t :
said by JIGA See Profile :

said by pp03 See Profile :

All the more reason to get a console,
Hardly... :uhh:

The day I buy a console is the day PC's are illegal... well, maybe I'll still have a PC even after that :D
the day i buy another EA game is the day every single other publisher is illegal...]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20456335 Fri, 09 May 2008 10:57:55 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20456014 JIGA :
said by pp03 See Profile :

All the more reason to get a console,
Hardly... :uhh:

The day I buy a console is the day PC's are illegal... well, maybe I'll still have a PC even after that :D]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20456014 Fri, 09 May 2008 10:11:19 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20455455 Nightfall :
said by salzan See Profile :

said by Nightfall See Profile :

You and others on this site, on the other hand, choose to see a nightmare in the making. Some people even choosing to see the "Chicken Little" aspect of things by crying out "The sky is falling!"
Nah, the sky fell on Spore (for me) when EA got involved in the game. They have a terrible habit of dropping support right after release (NFSMW and Carbon) and ignoring customer complaints. When the next version comes out, the forums are even deleted. Check out the EA forums for older games like the Sims2... »forums.ea.com/mboards/index.jspa

IMO, EA's support will depend entirely upon how succesful Spore is. If it doesn't make enough money quickly enough, they'll walk away. If it's incredibly buggy they'll release a do-nothing patch or two and walk away. If they release Spore2, they'll forget Spore ever existed.

As someone mentioned previously, what happens if they take the validation servers down? Do you really think EA will release a patch to cover the validation issue first?
The support from any of these gaming companies has been lackluster at best. The customer service aspect is the last thing considered by these companies. I am surprised that people like pulling the "lack of support" card on EA when it could easily be pulled against any of these companies that put games out.

I have been on the phone with numerous companies because of problems with their games. Most recently, I had a friend trying to get a hold of Rockstar games for the GTAIV problem that was causing his system to lock up. After waiting on hold for 45 minutes, he was disconnected. His emails are going unreplied to. He is finding more help on various forums.

Oh, and that was on a console game. I had an issue with GTA San Andreas for the PC and never got a response back from emailing them about it. I won't go into all the other companies that have crap support, but I will go into the ones that are actually good. Blizzard and Valve are probably the best I have seen as of recent. Valve was on my crap list until about a year ago when I had a Steam issue and they helped me fix it right away. Before Steam though, I had an issue with HL2 and they didn't lift a finger for me.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20455455 Fri, 09 May 2008 08:03:50 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20455062 salzan :
said by Nightfall See Profile :

You and others on this site, on the other hand, choose to see a nightmare in the making. Some people even choosing to see the "Chicken Little" aspect of things by crying out "The sky is falling!"
Nah, the sky fell on Spore (for me) when EA got involved in the game. They have a terrible habit of dropping support right after release (NFSMW and Carbon) and ignoring customer complaints. When the next version comes out, the forums are even deleted. Check out the EA forums for older games like the Sims2... »forums.ea.com/mboards/index.jspa

IMO, EA's support will depend entirely upon how succesful Spore is. If it doesn't make enough money quickly enough, they'll walk away. If it's incredibly buggy they'll release a do-nothing patch or two and walk away. If they release Spore2, they'll forget Spore ever existed.

As someone mentioned previously, what happens if they take the validation servers down? Do you really think EA will release a patch to cover the validation issue first?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20455062 Fri, 09 May 2008 02:35:16 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20454211 ablack6596 : All you have to do is flash the DVD drive of the Xbox 360 with new firmware. If you've ever installed or taken out a HD or CD/DVD/etc drive in a computer, it's extremely easy to hack a Xbox 360.You can play online, you can play copies of games online. CD keys have worked very well in the PC world, you can't play pirated PC games online.

Personally, I was planning on buying Spore and I wouldn't be if this affected me. But hopefully the Mac version won't have this.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20454211 Thu, 08 May 2008 22:10:29 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20452633 Hardcore : The games haven't been ours for a long time, quanta. Ever since SecuROM and other DRM started pumping their mess.

Lord forbid someone who doesn't have broadband tries to buy one of these games.
--
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Only Team Starfire spams more than me!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20452633 Thu, 08 May 2008 16:34:45 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20452013 quanta :
said by Airwolf See Profile :

said by quanta See Profile :

It's a slippery slope, Nightfall. This DRM treats legitimate customers like criminals, which is unfair.
So I suppose metal detectors are insulting as well?
Yes, I do, in cases that don't involve national or personal security. Let me ask the question in a different context: Do you suppose having someone frisk you every time you walk out of a store is insulting? Because that's what DRM is increasingly like.

In an age where we're forced to keep CDs in drives, have rootkits, corporate engineered trojans and stealth drivers, I'm surprised you guys think it's perfectly fine for a game to demand you be on a constant Internet connection.

Heaven forbid you're on the plane, or your cable modem goes down, or you live in a place with no broadband.

And one of these days that game's authentication server is going to go down for whatever reason, and you're screwed. Sounds improbable? It happened to Microsoft with people registering their new installs of WinXP. It happened when Xbox Live went down for two weeks last year, preventing people from watching their DRM'd Video Marketplace movies. You trust a game developer to keep a server up 24/7?

Even if you believe they'll have that down pat, you think they'll still have it running for years to come? Heaven forbid that five years later, you decide to play that game again for old time's sake, and you're locked out because the game developer shut down their authentication server years ago to save money.

The question really is, is the game you bought yours or not? ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20452013 Thu, 08 May 2008 14:30:26 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20452002 Nightfall :
said by salzan See Profile :

said by Nightfall See Profile :

You are speculating what the DRM is like though. Heck, everytime you play online, your CD key is checked. Is that considered intrusive?
You seem to be forgetting that this is EA.

I'm seeing a nightmare for some when their game suddenly won't validate and they maybe even lose their profile...

Ever dealt with EA's support?
I have dealt with support from EA, Valve, Microsoft, etc and I haven't been happy with any of them.

That being said, Battlefield 2 is an EA game with a cd key checking utility and that isn't intrusive at all. I am not saying that it won't be intrusive, I just choose to wait and see what happens.

You and others on this site, on the other hand, choose to see a nightmare in the making. Some people even choosing to see the "Chicken Little" aspect of things by crying out "The sky is falling!"

I guess our questions will be answered in the coming months.

Oh, and I don't subscribe to the pessimist view of this checking mechanism. We are talking about a form of copy protection that hasn't been released yet. There is a ton of speculation out there on how it is going to work with some people, even Karl our very own news guy jumping on the bandwagon.

When I read reactions like this, it reminds me of fearmongering on Fox News. It reminds me of the Amber alerts that are so easily tossed around saying to "be aware" of what is going on because the terrorists could attack at any moment.

If this DRM screws up peoples computers or makes them click through windows over and over again every 10 days to reactivate, then I won't be buying the product. However, if its something I don't even notice because every 10 days it checks the cd key online like Battlefield 2 or just about any other game out there, then I may buy it depending on how good the game is.

There is nothing wrong with a concerned stance on this issue though. I am taking that stance, but I won't subscribe to "The sky is falling!"]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20452002 Thu, 08 May 2008 14:28:53 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20451907 salzan :
said by Nightfall See Profile :

You are speculating what the DRM is like though. Heck, everytime you play online, your CD key is checked. Is that considered intrusive?
You seem to be forgetting that this is EA.

I'm seeing a nightmare for some when their game suddenly won't validate and they maybe even lose their profile...

Ever dealt with EA's support?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20451907 Thu, 08 May 2008 14:09:07 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20451352 IamGimli :
said by quanta See Profile :

It's a slippery slope, Nightfall. This DRM treats legitimate customers like criminals, which is unfair.
Vote with your wallet. I haven't paid for a poor EA or Ubisoft console port riddled with useless DRM in over five years. If I'm gonna do the time regardless I'm damn well not gonna pay for it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20451352 Thu, 08 May 2008 12:26:06 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20450742 Somnambul33t :
said by Kearnstd See Profile :

this is exactly why consoles will beat the PC for day to day non MMO gaming. there is no frickin drivers to make sure you have up to date. if a game needs an update it applies it or connects to the net and gets it. but you never have a game not run on your console because you dont have the right sub version of directx or geforce drivers.
it also means your gfx will never get better or faster without those newer driver updates.

cd key verifying isnt that bad itself, but the SecureROM program most newer games use is the most intrusive and inconvenient form of authentication currently available on the PC.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20450742 Thu, 08 May 2008 10:31:37 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20450696 Kearnstd : this is exactly why consoles will beat the PC for day to day non MMO gaming. there is no frickin drivers to make sure you have up to date. if a game needs an update it applies it or connects to the net and gets it. but you never have a game not run on your console because you dont have the right sub version of directx or geforce drivers.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20450696 Thu, 08 May 2008 10:23:24 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20450423 Nightfall :
said by Mtav80 See Profile :

Only a matter of time until you have to be online EVERY time you play, even a single player game.

Will get to the point is will have to talk to a master server all the time kinda like MMO with out the monthly MMO fee.

I'm not surprised, its beyond easy to Pirate a PC game. So easy in fact I see more companies going Console first then PC ports. So easy to steal a game these days if I was in the business I wouldn't make a PC only game anymore.
I agree here.

As much as I love PC Games, consoles are where the money is which is why gaming companies are moving to that platform. Pirating games on consoles is done much less than PCs because it requres a mod chip. The PS3 hasn't even been hacked yet. Then, even if you do hack your Xbox 360, you can't play online with it unless you switch the modchip off and buy a legal copy of the game. Lastly, you make 1 copy of the game that works on every PS3 or Xbox 360 out there. Unlike PC games where the developers have to constantly bring out new drivers and patches for new hardware combinations and so on.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20450423 Thu, 08 May 2008 09:17:45 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20450403 Nightfall :
said by quanta See Profile :

It's a slippery slope, Nightfall. This DRM treats legitimate customers like criminals, which is unfair.

Besides, not everyone in the world has constant Internet access.
You are speculating what the DRM is like though. Heck, everytime you play online, your CD key is checked. Is that considered intrusive?

Point is, if something is going on behind the scenes that checks for a valid cd key every 10 days, its no big deal so long as I don't have to hastle with it. Now, if its something that pops up on the screen every 10 days, I have to click through windows to get it to validate, then thats another issue.

How about we wait before we draw conclusions. Every game we play online on the PC has some form of check and balance when it comes to checking the CD key.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20450403 Thu, 08 May 2008 09:12:48 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20450275 Airwolf :
said by quanta See Profile :

It's a slippery slope, Nightfall. This DRM treats legitimate customers like criminals, which is unfair.
So I suppose metal detectors are insulting as well?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20450275 Thu, 08 May 2008 08:34:47 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20449549 Somnambul33t : i enjoy steam a lot. it has great copyright protection. other games use SecureROM and are a HUGE PITA. SecureROM sometimes requires a legit owner to uninstall (not just exit/deactivate) all virtual-drive programs, such as Daemon-Tools, and run the original game DVD just to play single player. i had to do with this WiC, except i used a no-cd crack just to bypass the damned securerom BS and to keep daemon tools.

mainly it's all the major publishers that arent valve...

god i love steam
--
Somnambulator - t3h 5133pw41k3r


SEyE TF2 Server
~Choosy moms choose Jif~]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20449549 Thu, 08 May 2008 00:52:02 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20447139 Mtav80 : Only a matter of time until you have to be online EVERY time you play, even a single player game.

Will get to the point is will have to talk to a master server all the time kinda like MMO with out the monthly MMO fee.

I'm not surprised, its beyond easy to Pirate a PC game. So easy in fact I see more companies going Console first then PC ports. So easy to steal a game these days if I was in the business I wouldn't make a PC only game anymore. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20447139 Wed, 07 May 2008 17:04:24 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20446094 quanta : It's a slippery slope, Nightfall. This DRM treats legitimate customers like criminals, which is unfair.

Besides, not everyone in the world has constant Internet access.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20446094 Wed, 07 May 2008 14:12:03 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20444713 Nightfall : I feel like doing a Lewis Black impression right now where he runs around the stage and cries out "Holy Crap! We are all gonna die!" because thats the impression I am getting out of the posts here so far.

Validation every 10 days? I say, who cares. If I bought the thing, if it silently validates behind the scenes, I don't give a crap. Now if the validation is obtrusive, thats another story all together. I guess we will wait and see what happens. My gut is telling me it will be an unobtrusive system where it will check your cd key to a server and make sure the same key isn't used more than once.

Oh, and while it may be a single player game, it downloads content over the internet. Other races that people make will automatically download to your system. So really, its a single player game with multiplayer content.
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My domain - Nightfall.net]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20444713 Wed, 07 May 2008 10:15:45 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20444699 Kearnstd : im sure the pirate bay will have nice drm free cracks available.

buy the game, crack the EXE and you remain legal because you bought the game.
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[65 Arcanist]Filan(High Elf) Zone: Broadband Reports]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20444699 Wed, 07 May 2008 10:13:33 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20443313 LaZ3R : Wow What the FUCK?

That's absolutely retarded. The game is a single player game, yet requires a visible connection every 10 days otherwise the ability to play the game is lost until validated. Brilliant... This is what the dumb shits over at EA must have delayed the game for a year and a half or more for. Now it all makes sense. :uhh:
--
Life is a game of blackjack. You keep playing until you bust.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20443313 Wed, 07 May 2008 00:08:05 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20443121 Dandy : why do they keep trying to come up with these ways to block hackers! They ALWAYS find a way to hack it.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20443121 Tue, 06 May 2008 23:23:46 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20442712 bruce48 : You can play any steam game without being connected.
You need a net connection to validate the game but once that is done all you need to do is log onto steam and play in the off line mode.

It is necessary to validate every Steam game online before it can be launched, although an offline mode is available. There are no alternate methods of activation such as via telephone or fax, which causes the system to deny access to those without Internet connections.

By default, to play a game offline, Steam and the game itself must be fully updated. When Steam starts online, the system checks to see if there are updates available. Steam can be set to stay offline and not attempt a connection, but this offline mode has its own restrictions and limitations, including preventing games which have not been updated from running in offline mode.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20442712 Tue, 06 May 2008 22:02:03 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20442485 davidcb13 : well it depends how obtrusive the validation is....as someone said before with steam you cant play at all without an internet connection....]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20442485 Tue, 06 May 2008 21:14:20 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20442411 mrchris : lol validation....but this is going too far...every 10 days??]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20442411 Tue, 06 May 2008 20:58:49 EDT Re: Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20442231 Mchart : Why is this all the more reason to get a console? What kind of person with a PC this day in age does not have internet access. It is the same way with every ultra-successful Valve game on Steam. I think this is great. Of course this will be easily hacked anyways, but still.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20442231 Tue, 06 May 2008 20:18:00 EDT Spore to require online validation...every 10 days http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20442118 pp03 : All the more reason to get a console, with each new generation of PC games the copy protection is getting worse for legit buyers. This is not going to affect people pirating...at all, cracks will be out within hours of release, yet now if I go on a trip or don't have access for whatever reason I can't even play single player...

»www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/52547
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The History Channel rocks! ... you know it!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,20442118 Tue, 06 May 2008 19:57:10 EDT