DRM Issue - Response and FAQ

[EAUK_Baker011]

There has been a lot of discussion in the past few days on how the security requirements for Mass Effect for PC will work. BioWare, a division of EA, wants to let fans know that Mass Effect will not require 10- day periodic re-authentication.

BioWare has always listened very closely to its fans and we made this decision to ensure we are delivering the best possible experience to them. To all the fans including our many friends in the armed services and internationally who expressed concerns that they would not be able re-authenticate as often as required, EA and BioWare want you to know that your feedback is important to us.

The solution being implemented for Mass Effect for the PC changes copy protection from being key disc based, which requires authentication every time you play the game by requiring a disc in the drive, to a one time online authentication.

This system has an added benefit of allowing players to seamlessly play the game without needing the DVD in the drive.

Key points---

•This solution allows gamers to authenticate their game on three different computers with the purchase of one disc. EA Customer Service is on hand to supply any additional authorizations that are warranted. This will be done on a case-by-case basis by contacting customer support.

• Games are authorized to the machine when the player installs and launches the software for the first time.

• We’ve all had those times when the discs get lost or scratched and you can’t play a game you’ve bought because you need a working disc in the drive. With the new system players will no longer need the disc to play the game, but can instead simply retain the disc as back up for re-installation.

FAQ---

Q: What is the difference between the old PC disc authentication solution and the new online model?

A: Two things have changed:

• First, authentication of discs has now gone from the physical format to the online format, freeing the need for consumers to have a disc in the drive at all times.

• Second, with online authentication consumers now connect to the Internet the first time the game is launched and are required only to reconnect if they are downloading new game content.

Q: Will EA or BioWare take any personal information from my computer during an authentication?

A: Absolutely not. We do not take any personal information from your computer. The system simply verifies that a valid CD key has been provided and assigns that activation to that PC.

Q: What happens when I’ve reached the maximum # of computers for my game and I need more, say due to theft of computer, computer crashes, etc?

A: EA customer service is on hand to supply any additional authorizations that are warranted. This will be done on a case-by-case basis by contacting customer support.

Q: Why are BioWare and EA implementing this new authentication process?

A: This serves to protect our software from piracy. It has the added benefit of allowing consumers to activate the game on multiple machines without needing the DVD in the drive when playing the game.

Q: Did BioWare and EA change their mind on requiring that the game be re-authorized every 10 days?

A: BioWare has always listened very closely to its fans and we made this decision to ensure we are delivering the best possible experience to them. To all the fans including our many friends in the armed services and internationally who expressed concerns that they would not be able re-authenticate as often as required, EA and BioWare want you to know that your feedback is important to us.

Q: If the game isn’t going to require an authentication every 10 days, will it ever require re-authentication?

A: Only if the player chooses to download new game content.

[lmimmfn]

Still contains the same DRM as Bioshock and that was horrendous to get working, and im unfortunately speaking from experience. I had to get a pirated cracked .exe file just to be able to use my legit copy of the game.

3 activations in total before ringing tech support, taking photos of your receipt and DVD and what not and sending them every time you need a new key( and those pix probably have to be new each time to ensure you havnt sold the game on ). I wouldnt even have enough keys to just install it on my current PC's at home( especially seing as installign and running on 2 seperate user accounts on the same PC uses 2 activations ) which means by default having to ring EA support, sending in my email with the pix of proof of purchase and waiting for 3 days to play again

Ill never go through that again, much as i seriously wanted to play this and contempleted getting a 360 just to play it when it was originally released, ill pass. If its ever removed or usable ill buy the game, but meh, no thanks, its an absolute disgrace, and ruined a really good game. Its completely unusable, at least 2K games saw fit to up the activations to 5 and allow deactivation of keys via a tool

Maybe it will get removed someday and we can all try it

Apologies for being vocal on it, but the PC version has been ruined and unfortunately ill be voting with my wallet

[Spidery Yoda]

In Bioshock didn't you get the key 'back' when you uninstalled it?

What happens with this if you uninstall it and then install it again later on? Does it use a anoher one of your authentications?

I really dislike the limitations they give you on this. They should have a look at Steam if they want to see how to do online authentication properly.

[lmimmfn]

Originally Posted by Spidery Yoda

In Bioshock didn't you get the key 'back' when you uninstalled it?

What happens with this if you uninstall it and then install it again later on? Does it use a anoher one of your authentications?

I really dislike the limitations they give you on this. They should have a look at Steam if they want to see how to do online authentication properly.

No, you wouldnt get the key back by uninstalling it, thats why they had to bring out the deactivate tool( which didnt work for a lot of people ).

You can uninstall it and install it again as many times on a PC as you like because the Securom encryped key will never be removed. However if you reinstall your OS for any reason ->new harddrive, new motherboard, new processor, or the PC has just died then you WILL lose an activation. Likewise if you install it on your account then want to install it on another users account on the same PC then thats 2 seperate activations. Dual boot of course will also mean 2 activations.

[Spidery Yoda]

Likewise if you install it on your account then want to install it on another users account on the same PC then thats 2 seperate activations.

.........

Ok that's retarded. The whole thing is retarded. Limits on the number of installs = no buy.

[lmimmfn]

Originally Posted by Spidery Yoda

.........

Ok that's retarded. The whole thing is retarded. Limits on the number of installs = no buy.

yep, pretty much, im busy enough to be spending time taking pix, opening a support ticket and annoying EA tech support to get another key when 3 activations would be used up( i estimate 4 weeks tops before id have them used, even less as i have dual boot=activations and im getting a new mobo soon = 4 activations required in total lol ), not to mention the fact that i have 2 gaming PC's, i.e. 5 keys in total

Oh and just to clarify above, by installing i mean installing and running it as the key isint used up until you actually run the game and then it authenticates

Much as it pains me to not get to try Mass Effect, there are far too many great PC games on the horizon to get myself annoyed trying to run this - Race Driver: Grid, Stalker: Clear Sky, Fallout 3, Devil May Cry 4, GTA 4( ok still unannounced ), Alone in the Dark, BF: Heros, Far Cry 2, GTR: Evolution, Project Origin Burnout Paradise, Left 4 Dead, World In Conflict: Soviet Assult, Witcher: The Enhanced Edition, Dead Space, Tom Clancys H.A.W.X., Bionic Commando, Mercenaries 2, Brothers In Arms: Hells Highway and most of them are out in the next 6 months. Obviously if any of the EA titles in that list have this sort of protection( i.e. like Spore also ) ill be avoiding also

[Spidery Yoda]

You know you could just buy it and use a cracked .exe which will inevitably appear within a few days. Save everyone a lot of hassle.

[lmimmfn]

Originally Posted by Spidery Yoda

You know you could just buy it and use a cracked .exe which will inevitably appear within a few days. Save everyone a lot of hassle.

i could, but i cant support this becoming a common DRM, it really serves no purpose as it will be cracked anyway. Supporting the game then getting a cracked .exe from the scene that the DRM was implemented to protect against in the first place is crazy. It means if this becomes common place then PC gaming will be stuck in a catch 22 of gamers needing to rely on the pirates for every game

If i need to get the torrent and use the .exe from it( downloading of course costs money indirectly ) then the game is in fact costing me more, on top of that as id have the torrent, why not just download the full game? I wouldnt do it as its against my principles but im sure there will be alot out there that will just do it

If it means not buying the game then so be it, absolutely no game that has this level of DRM will make me part from my cash, had enough with bioshock. Ill spend my games cash on something more worthy and less crippling

[Markt75]

Sigh, and some people wonder why PC gaming is in decline.

limited activation = no purchase.

Yet another example of a company punishing the people who actually pay for the product. The sad thing is that this game is widely available for people to download and copy for the 360, yet they wouldn't dare try and impose these draconian copy protection systems on console gamers because all hell would break lose. I just do not understand where they are coming from with being so strict, infact I'm sure it is a money making scam, I bet you end up having to call some premium rate number in the states where they keep you on hold for ages just to unlock your game.

As an avid PC gamer who likes to upgrade bits of his pc every few months, and who is forever wiping and reinstalling the OS, as well as running multiple OS's (Vista + XP dual boot). How long do you think it will be before I hit the 3 install limit ? I realise that I am an extreme case and most people don't do things like this, but the principle remains the same. I would be punished for purchasing this game, and forced to jump through hoops in order to re-activate my game and this is simply not acceptable. I have no problems with a game installing copy protection, DRM, onlince checking etc, just as long as it does not impact me as a customer. By limiting activations you are making an unnaceptable impact.

2Kgames tried it with Bioshock and guess what, I immediatly cancelled my order for both the PC and 360 versions of the game. I was looking forward to getting Mass Effect on PC, guess I will just not bother now.

[Putnik]

I am cancel my ME preorder.Sorry but a cant spend my money on some restriction.
I have patience and can wait ME version without online registracion if this possible.If not I'll total ignored that game, and not purchase ilegal copy.
brw;some people playing ilegal copy, game without DRM two days after USA release,here in souteast Europa.I am not sure is this true,but,here is all possible.

[EAUK_Phenom]

Why does having to register the game, one time, online deter you from buying the game?

Phenom

[Putnik]

Limit of activation is my problem,I am not sure how that working with hardware changing(motherboard...).If you have support like windows(local suport,phone call),I can accepted that, or mail suport.
I have understanding for antipiracy fight,but draconian non funcionality DRM,confusing me like legal software consument.My personal mind is, game industry must working on global campagne against gouverments who ignoring that problem.In my country piracy is ilegal but ilegal software can buy on street.
Sorry on my bad englis writing.

[Spidery Yoda]

The point is Phenom that it can only be activated 3 times before you have to go through (what i can see as being a long drawn out process) of getting another 'activation'. It's unfair on the customers.

Bioshock used the same system and everyone hated it. On a semi-related note, I installed Bioshock the other day and played it for a while. I loaded it up again yesterday and it wants me to activate again. So is that one of my 5 activations just gone? I said no and didn't play it, and haven't since.

Limiting the customers like this is obscene, and i'm not suprised it's putting people off buying it altogether. I wasn't going to buy it anyway because I have it on my 360, but if I didn't I wouldn't buy it on the PC either because of this rubbish.

And lets not forget that the DRM crap doesnt stop the game being pirated at all. I dunno if its been cracked yet or not, as I don't hang around those parts of the internet, but it's absolutely inevitable that its going to happen. Sooner rather than later. And then the pirates get the hassle-free version of the game while all of us paying customers are having to ring up EA support so we can install our game.

I think it's pretty obvious why people are put off dont you?

If they gave every customer infinite activations then i'm sure there wouldn't be an issue. Look at Steam. It requires a net connection and it's wildly popular. People (myself included) love it. Because you can install your games as many times as you like on as many machines as you like. There are no petty restrictions.

[lmimmfn]

Originally Posted by EAUK_Phenom

Why does having to register the game, one time, online deter you from buying the game?

Phenom

its the activation limit of 3 thats the problem, i personally couldnt care less about online activation as most games now require that.
However a lot of PC gamers have dual boot( 2 activations used there ), reformat and reinstall regularly( another 2 used or the first time thats done and 2 everytime thereafter ), change hardware regularly( another 2 activations for a dual boot system per piece of hardware - which has not yet been disclosed what changes would require that but im guessing new mobo, cpu, or system disc replacement ) and overclock( resulting in corrupt installs usually meaning a complete reinstall losing 2 activations in a dual boot case )

If i was to get this on release the following would happen:
Install on my gaming rig on XP and Vista Ultimate -> 2 activations
Install on my second rig hooked up to the tv -> 1 activation.

Thats all the activations used up however im getting an evga 780i in 3 weeks which requires another 2 activations for my main gaming rig( as i will need to completely reinstall XP and Vista ). To get those activations i have to ring EA support/contact via web, open a case, take pix of my receipt and disc( as proof of purchase ) then wait a few days to get my activations.

Not to mention i overclock a lot and doing so usually ends up in Vista or XP getting corrupted, requiring a system recovery or complete new install -> another 2 activations

I personally hated the hassle i had with Bioshock, i couldnt play it after 2 weeks, because it would no longer activate, ended up downloading a crack for it and ive reinstalled it several times since with no worries because my cracked .exe doesnt require an activation

There should be 5 activations and an activation revoke tool and everybody would be happy and have no problem purchasing the game. Its already been said about a million times on the bioware forums, but noone from Bioware/EA is listening and now any talk of DRM is directed towards the Off Topic forum.

Id love to play ME, as i said i was even thinking of getting a 360 when it originally came out, but 3 activations is only going to cause me grief and tbh i have enough to do without tearing my hair out in my fun gaming time, and on principle im not buying the game and using a crack to save me all the hassle. Community grief wont start on the activation limit for a few months until people actually run out of activations

Besides it means keeping the game receipt indefinitely so you wont have problems getting new activations off EA support

I had it on pre-order off play.com but canceled it due to the hassle i know ill have with it, i bought Grid instead. If things change regarding the activation limit and revoke tool, ill be the first to buy it

[EAUK_Phenom]

I understand that limiting the number of activations could cause problems further down the line (as has been discussed in this thread) - this is something I have included in reports back to the developers - but I was curious as to why the fact that having to register the game online would deter someone from purchasing the game (as some have said it would).

lmimmfn, what do you mean (specifically) by a "revoke tool"? I take it to mean: a tool which would allow you to uninstall the game (and the activation code), so that you could reinstall it later (after re-installing Windows, for example) and use the same activation code? If I'm mistaken, please enlighten me!

I'd be interested to hear any other suggested improvements anyone may have, too. Thankyou for your continued feedback on this issue, ladies and gentlemen.

Phenom

[Spidery Yoda]

I'm pretty sure thats what he means, yeah. Bioshock has one.

And then you can in theory get as many activations you need. Barring crashes etc.

[Braidedheadman]

I've posted this elsewhere, but it's worth repeating:

Online Activations = Good
Limited Installations = Bad

In so far as online registration support is not discontinued without providing an offline activation tool, I have no problem with online activations. The 10-day dialhome idea was bogus, but apart from that I have not problems with this system. The limited activations, however, are a serious, serious concern of mine. I'm one of those PC gaming hobbyists that has games from 20+ years ago that I continue to play to this day when feeling nostalgic. The combination of online activations and limited installations pretty much trumps that possibility for me with games like ME, Spore and any other games making use of SecuROM's latest devil-spawned incarnation. I cannot - will not - justify the expense of renting a game in this manner, nor shall I be treated like a common criminal (or criminal of any other kind, for that matter). Period.

[lmimmfn]

Originally Posted by EAUK_Phenom

lmimmfn, what do you mean (specifically) by a "revoke tool"? I take it to mean: a tool which would allow you to uninstall the game (and the activation code), so that you could reinstall it later (after re-installing Windows, for example) and use the same activation code? If I'm mistaken, please enlighten me!

I'd be interested to hear any other suggested improvements anyone may have, too. Thankyou for your continued feedback on this issue, ladies and gentlemen.

Phenom

By revoke tool i mean the tool that 2K games also brought out for Bioshock. If you are going to reformat a PC or install new hardware requiring a full OS reinstall then you can just run the tool beforehand which deactivates your original activation basically leaving you with 3 again, then you can go ahead and reinstall OS/install hardware and but you still have your initial 3 activations free. Basically the only time you lose an activation is if your harddrive/PC dies, which is acceptable for most folk as Windows XP/Vista etc. requires reauthentication at that stage.

Theres a thread on it on the bioware forums - Mass Effect Community - Deactivation tool? and one of the progs. said they currently cant comment on it

The system has been tried and failed with Bioshock and they ended up bringing out the revoke/deauthenticate tool and increasing the number of activations to 5.

Sorry, but the whole thing has annoyed me( and countless others no end ), i want to buy this, i want to play and enjoy it, but im not going through Bioshock hassle again. Most people have stated on guru3d/cvg forums and a few others that they would be happy with what eventually happened bioshock and its relaxations of the DRM for common folk

The game was cracked and up for download 1 day after release( which annoys me ), but what we're left with is folk like myself who are not interested in buying the game due to the current restrictions but are sitting on the sidelines due the current restrictions and waiting until/if they're relaxed.

In fact this game is worse than Bioshock to have the current restrictions because of the proposed future downloadable content will mean that in a years time or whatever your game will need to be active to actually play new content you've paid for.

How long are we expected to keep our original receipts for to get more activations? i dunno, but im still playing my 2001 copy of Metal Gear Solid 7 years on

I appreciate if you can do absolutely anything on the matter because i was really really looking forward to this,

[EAUK_Phenom]

Thanks for clarifying, lmimmfn, and thank you to everyone else who has provided their opinions and feedback on this issue so far.

Phenom

[lmimmfn]

Originally Posted by EAUK_Phenom

Thanks for clarifying, lmimmfn, and thank you to everyone else who has provided their opinions and feedback on this issue so far.

Phenom

cheers, appreciate you passing the info on

[Con-oh-ley]

Its DRM like this that has prevented me from buying several games I enjoyed as well. I was gonna buy BioShock till I heard about the activations - even over Steam - I have bought the game, why should I not be allowed to install it as many times as I please, technically, no, it is my property.

A fine example as well of DRM would be Starforce, which really annoyed me when I had to install it to play Funcom/Empire's Dreamfall: The Longest Journey. Ubisoft learnt from its mistakes with Starforce (albeit at first only released Starforce "Lite") and eventually removed it from their products. Another example lets bring up is the The Witcher, its protection was so **** retentive that it would ignore SATA DVD drives.

The point is DRM screws people over into products they invest their money into. I was incredibly excited about the Mass Effect PC port until I saw this copy protection.

Of course, with most developers its a vicious circle of "we'll stop pirating your games when you stop putting in copy protection, "we'll stop putting copy protection in our games when you stop pirating". As for the registering online, as of past that was a completely optional choice. Why force it upon us now? If it wasn't because of th