And it’s not by the hour but by the 30 seconds :P
Now it looks like the new Tom Clancy game, Splinter Cell Something, has been cracked as well. It does seem as if it is taking less time now that this DRM has been out for a little while and the cracking groups have gained some experience with cracking them.
Given the length of the game that’s really not a surprise. Linear and short, just takes a play or two I bet to record it all.
Talk about incentives to extend the gameplay duration, hah.
You mean adding value to the customer? Insane!
Or pointless busy-work.
Splinter Cell’s multiplayer is cracked, too again by Skidrow.
Give it up Ubi and drop this DRM.
Regarding the multiplayer cracking, I’m gonna go with “CALLED IT!”
They just totally lost on Splinter Cell, then, and maybe this DRM as a whole. Multiplayer has been one of the major aspects in play with getting someone to buy a game, one of the things that very, very rarely can be cracked. You want that aspect of the game, you have to buy it.
Now people have no reason other than doing the right thing, and doing the right thing isn’t a powerful motivator when it gets you treated like a criminal anyway.
Is this multiplayer crack one that enables pirates to play with legitimate users too, or just with other pirates? I think that makes a difference in the degree of d0medness for this DRM.
I think Ubi needs to step out in front of this. Considering how slammed the DRM was in both reviews and forums, it’s tough to imagine they can actually consider this a success.
I doubt there is any way a corporate entity like UBI will ever admit to failure like that, and drop its DRM. While “face saving” is a japanese concept I think that applies here. We will not see the day where they will remove the DRM from their new games, ever.
Every time something like this happens, I think of The Wire. Public perception of people staying silent is so much worse than actually jumping out ahead of the problem. Unfortunately it’s probably true that people will just throw it back in their faces anyways if they did own up to it.
Ubi might not back down yet but others took note:
SEGA talking about Alpha Protocol’s upcoming protection:
The system chosen for Alpha Protocol is Uniloc: SoftAnchor. The system will allow the user to activate Alpha Protocol online immediately out of the box and once activated the user never needs to worry about activating again. The activation can be used on a limited amount of PCs, and can be deactivated through our online servers allowing the user full control over their license – should they need to re-install, swap machines or suffer a catastrophic hardware failure on their normal PC.
In the future, SEGA will be releasing an unprotected patch of the game to alleviate any fears of not being able to play the game when the Uniloc servers won’t be around anymore.
We also do not use Steamworks – the Steam released version will use Uniloc DRM.
In the FAQ they specify the timeframe of the patch that removes the protection between 18-24 months.
I’m happy as a collector about this commitment which will enable SEGA to protect their game in the critical sales period and enable me to play their game without protection in the future.
That’s how it’s done Ubi!
Yeah that’s DRM I have no objection against. No DVD required, one simple activation, plus nodvd patch coming in later ? good.
Of course, it means that AP will probably be cracked on release day.
…but then again, so was Conviction, wasn’t it?
I’m grumpy about the online activation bit, but given that they’ve committed to patching it out and given a (loose but not unreasonable) time frame that they can be called on, yeah, I can be convinced to buy a game with DRM like that.
Incidentally, it’s a damn shame that Ubi’s decided to saddle ACII with their bullshit. I’ve had a chance to play it now (rented, thank you) and it’s an awesome game. I might have waffled about paying $60 for it but I’d have certainly bought it around $40.
ACII is $25 everywhere, it dropped price pretty quickly.
Yes, but there’s no fucking way I’m buying it at any price with that DRM attached. And I doubt it would have dropped like that if it didn’t.
It’s not necessarily about the duration so much as how many branchpoints are in the game. AC2 is an openworld sandbox where splinter cell is a linear sequence of missions.
Don’t think for a moment this is over. The arms race will absolutely continue.
You post confuses me then.