Fans of V-sync and acceptable frame rates unite: Mass Effect coming May 2008

True Bioware fans should always wait for the true version of the game to come out.

No matter what you hear, Bioware will always eventually release a PC version, and it will be better than the console version.
 
nelsonhahaex1.gif


http://kotaku.com/381399/bring-down-the-sky-free-with-pc-mass-effect

I thought I had sold my 360 copy already, but it was there when I opened my cabinet...
 
If Bioware has any influence with EA, Mass Effect will be the last Bioware RPG I buy on the 360 considering the premiums It's getting on the PC.
Which will be a first because I never thought I would buy a console series/game exclusively on the PC, but Bioware is making the choice pretty easy between extra content, cheaper price point and the like.
 
I was really pumped for this port, until this.

Mass Effect uses SecuROM and requires an online activation for the first time that you play it. Each copy of Mass Effect comes with a CD Key which is used for this activation and for registration here at the BioWare Community. Mass Effect does not require the DVD to be in the drive in order to play, it is only for installation.

After the first activation, SecuROM requires that it re-check with the server within ten days (in case the CD Key has become public/warez'd and gets banned). Just so that the 10 day thing doesn't become abrupt, SecuROM tries its first re-check with 5 days remaining in the 10 day window. If it can't contact the server before the 10 days are up, nothing bad happens and the game still runs. After 10 days a re-check is required before the game can run.
Click to expand...

It's not as brutal as BioShock's system, but Jesus Christ. These companies don't get it yet.
 
Nother game I'll just download a crack for after I buy it. I really should just start pirating this shit since the companies are being so goddamned stupid. I am not putting up with this bullshit.

And this really is worse than Bioshock's bullshit. With that, you could at least install it and then have an image of the game that you could use however you want. With this, they just want to make things difficult for you all the time.

Honestly, I hate the fact that the PC gets the best version of games like this.
 
Are you referring to the anti-piracy measures that Mass Effect (and Spore) will use? The one where it phones home every 10 days?

Hopefully the combined power of the interweb will deliver a proper crack; no way will I put up with that crap after paying $50 for it.
 
Yeah, I was referring to the anti-piracy measures. It's amazing, though... they're pushing people like me who buy everything to consider pirating. It's like they want their sales to drop.

I'm just glad that there's usually a crack out within a day or two.
 
They are so worried about piracy that they make it harder for normal people to just play the fucking game. Guess what assholes, pirates just crack the shit anyway. The only people who have to deal with this nonsense are the honest people who fork out the cash to buy their games. Has any antipiracy bullshit ever worked?
 
[quote name='Monsta Mack']If Bioware has any influence with EA, Mass Effect will be the last Bioware RPG I buy on the 360 considering the premiums It's getting on the PC.
Which will be a first because I never thought I would buy a console series/game exclusively on the PC, but Bioware is making the choice pretty easy between extra content, cheaper price point and the like.[/QUOTE]

Don't worry, at least you won't have to authenticate your copy every 10 days on the 360.. and if the EA authentication servers crash, well, looks like you'd be fucked on the PC unless you decided to crack it.

Looks like you get what you pay for, in that case... because you know there will be massive problems with this. This type of bullshit will stop me from getting Spore at all. Hopefully the backlash is so severe EA drops this shit.

Because, yea, all they are doing is punishing the people who DON'T pirate, while all the pirates laugh.

You want a pretty good method to keeping something legit? Just release it on Steam, problem solved.
 
Well, guess who isn't going to buy this game anymore? Me.

fuck these developers/publishers and their DRM. I've always bought my PC games, but if the only way to get it without DRM bullshit is to pirate it, then avast matey!
 
Ignoring ethics and legality for a second, it's clear that the pirates offer superior products:

no nagware
no DRM
no requirement to have the CD/DVD in tray

The retail version, on the other hand, will usually have all of that and maybe more. The guy who forks over half a c-note is once again the guy getting fucked.
 
[quote name='Serik']Ignoring ethics and legality for a second, it's clear that the pirates offer superior products:

no nagware
no DRM
no requirement to have the CD/DVD in tray

The retail version, on the other hand, will usually have all of that and maybe more. The guy who forks over half a c-note is once again the guy getting fucked.[/QUOTE]

What's funny is that Stardock uses NO DRM at all, Sins of a Solar Empire still sells like hotcakes, and companies don't learn at all.

I doubt EA cares, but unless they fix this shitty DRM, they'll lose a sale of Spore. I'll just wait for a console version without all the shitty DRM.
 
Ya, and how can they blame piracy for poor sales this time? By saying there's not enough DRM?

Stardock's CEO basically says that pirates aren't customers and therefore can be ignored.
 
huh? I didn't even realize what's going on till I read some of the new replies. Glad I didn't pre-order my Mass Effect yet. Guess I'll be waiting till they drop this issue or someone cracks it. I don't have enough time to beat Mass Effect right now anyways. I'm working on Okami and Mario Kart and just picked up PGR4 off of clearance. Oh, and I still haven't opened my copy of Persona 3: FES. Oh, and I just pre-ordered Ninja Gaiden 2 which will cause me to throw my controller multiple times. Needless to say I can wait.

Leave it to EA to fuck over the audience as usual. Guess Assassins Creed will be my next cheap PC pick along with Orange Box till they fix this.
 
They won't fix it.

You need Windows to play the game. Windows checks up on you to make sure you're not a pirate, even if you've already paid for it or got it OEM. Now games will phone home every 10 days to make sure you're not a criminal either. Personal computing built on the solid foundation of distrust in the customer. Joy.

I can play ball with one-time authorization via keycode. Fine. But this "check up on you every 10 days" stuff is ridiculous. Ya, it wouldn't be all that annoying if you've got a 24/7 broadband connection, but it's the principle of the matter.
 
How I Learned to Stop Worrying And Love DRM

Whatever. If Steam and DRM and all that jazz will make developers continue to make PC games, I'll swallow it. The reality is that this will get worse before it gets better (imagine playing a single player game and having a window pop up asking that if you are a real person please type the word "maudlin" or whatever).

I just have to let it go because I WILL be playing the superior version of Mass Effect, and I won't be pirating it.
 
I really like Steam, but you know that this is gonna just be like the Steam version of Bioshock. Original game DRM stacked on top of Steam DRM. Unacceptable.
 
I would've bought Bioshock from Steam if not for the DRM. I never would have pirated it -- it didn't discourage a pirate, it discouraged a buyer.

This doesn't seem as bad, but publihers need to learn that DRM loses them as many customers as they gain.
 
[quote name='Serik']They won't fix it.

You need Windows to play the game. Windows checks up on you to make sure you're not a pirate, even if you've already paid for it or got it OEM. Now games will phone home every 10 days to make sure you're not a criminal either. Personal computing built on the solid foundation of distrust in the customer. Joy.

I can play ball with one-time authorization via keycode. Fine. But this "check up on you every 10 days" stuff is ridiculous. Ya, it wouldn't be all that annoying if you've got a 24/7 broadband connection, but it's the principle of the matter.[/QUOTE]

Want to see annoying? I pulled this off another forum which pulled it off an EA / Bioware guy...
Derek_French

Without any significant hardware changes to your system, you will be able to install and play Mass Effect without any problems. Swapping out one part will not trigger it. For the vast majority of people, they will not encounter any problems and for others, they may be required to contact EA Support to get assistance.
Click to expand...

Hope no one is planning to upgrade their system after they get Mass Effect!

It also looks like there may be install limits on the game as well... I've been hearing 3.

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1303830&page=2

Some of the memebers of Hardforum are doing a ton of digging.

To summarize what Mass Effect's DRM entails -

1) You will to reactivate the game every 10 days through EA's servers... if you don't do that, you can't play until you reactivate.
2) You will have 3 install "credits" per copy of the game.
3) You use an install credit if you make any significant hardware changes, because it leaves a footprint on your hardware config.

I had no intention of buying Mass Effect, but I did want Spore, and EVERY EA game from here on out will use this DRM.. as well as all THQ / Take Two stuff (so if GTA 4 ever comes on the PC, expect this same exact set up). I just don't like the fact they are putting the customer through all of these hoops and hassles, while the pirates, who they are trying to stop, get to play a clean version of the game with no intrusive / spyware DRM.

Plus, I can think of a ton of situations where someone will use the install credit's quickly.. they put it on a home PC, on a laptop, they upgrade their home PC (which will take another credit) and bam, you're out of credits right there.
 
Wow, as if I needed more reasons to utterly hate EA.

If this SecuROM business doesn't die a quick death like Starforce, then PC gaming will be dead to me. Funny, I thought the pirates were the ones ruining PC gaming (though pirates are pretty smart, ignoring all the annoying DRM and everything)

And before anyone accuses me of being overdramatic: this trend needs to die sooner rather than later. Imagine a future where every consumer electronic device needs internet connection so it can connect to a server to verify that the content is legit. The hackers and geeks, of course, will find ways around this, leaving everyone else totally fucked.

Edit: Looks like MS is leading the way. According to the NYT, Microsoft may build a copyright cop into every Zune.
 
[quote name='Serik']Wow, as if I needed more reasons to utterly hate EA.

If this SecuROM business doesn't die a quick death like Starforce, then PC gaming will be dead to me. Funny, I thought the pirates were the ones ruining PC gaming (though pirates are pretty smart, ignoring all the annoying DRM and everything)

And before anyone accuses me of being overdramatic: this trend needs to die sooner rather than later. Imagine a future where every consumer electronic device needs internet connection so it can connect to a server to verify that the content is legit. The hackers and geeks, of course, will find ways around this, leaving everyone else totally fucked.

Edit: Looks like MS is leading the way. According to the NYT, Microsoft may build a copyright cop into every Zune.[/QUOTE]

A little known fact is that MS *already* had this DRM implemented, but since nobody cared about Halo 2, nobody cared about this DRM.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/927007

Two installations per copy, they did this for Halo 2, MSFX, and Shadowrun... not real sure about Gears of War.

Welcome to the future!
 
This is off their Q&A board about SecurROM

Q:You did say that SecuROM re-authenticates silently and we don’t need to do anything at our end to make this happen. Is that right?

A: Correct, when you go to run the game, the re-authorization takes mere moments during the game startup. There are no dialogs, no progress bars, nothing for you to enter or confirm. It just works.

So your not going to have to enter your key every time you play the game every 10 days. It's hidden and you'll never see it.

The problem still lies here though:

Q: What happens if I install and activate MEPC with an internet connection, but then do not have an internet connection after 10 days? Can I still play MEPC?

A: No. After 10 days the system needs to re-authenticate via the internet. If you do not have an internet connection you will not be able to play until you are reconnected to the internet and able to re-authenticate.

If for some reason your in the stone age your fucked. It requires "da internet".

Q: How many installations will SecuROM allow from my copy of MEPC?

A: Since SecuROM has nothing to do with the installer, you can install and uninstall on the same machine over and over again without any problems. SecuROM also allows you to activate the game on 3 different machines.

This is where I'm confused. You people stated if you change your MOBO four times your copy is basically fucked, yet they are acting like if you have the same machine/VISTA key you should be able to reinstall it multiple times.


Q: Q: What happens if I exceed 3 activations?

A: Your first 3 activations will still work, but any subsequent activation will not work.

Sorry folks no copy sharing.

Still not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, don't think I'm defending EA one bit because I don't care for them. But this is pretty livable for me as long as I don't plan on upgrading my MOBO every year/ re-install Mass Effect in 20 years.
 
I just don't like the company trying to take away my right to use the product that I bought. Caveat emptor, indeed.

But yeah, as long as I can download a crack, I'm fine (if annoyed.) I can wait for it, too, since I'll be busy with Ninja Gaiden II and MGS4 around the time that ME is out.
 
The entire premise behind recurring validation is that you, the customer who just spent $50 on our product, is to be distrusted. Why should my play experience be contingent on my ISP and EA's authentication servers, especially for a single-player game? Why should I have to pollute my PC with Sony's DRM sh*tware just to enjoy a game, especially when the pirates are enjoying the same game sans sh*tware?

Removing SecuROM is also unnecessarily complicated. This forum post is typical:

If you want to completely remove SecuROM after uninstalling this game, including the 'SecuROM User Access' Service it installs in Windows, follow these steps:

1. Uninstall the game as normal.
2. Manually delete the game directory (typically \Program Files\Atari\Crashday-demo\
3. Go to Start>Run and type "Services.msc" (without quotes) and press Enter.
4. Go to the 'Securom User Access' Service, double click on it, click Stop and then set it to Disabled.
5. Go to \Windows\System32\ directory and delete the UAService7.exe file.
6. Go to Start>Run and type "sc delete useraccess7" (without quotes) and press Enter.

Note: This Service may be recreated by one of your other SecuROM games, in which case you will have to keep it running to play them.

The following steps are very risky and only for people who are certain none of their currently installed games use or need SecuROM:

7. Go to \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\ and delete the SecuROM sub-directory.
8. Go to Start>Run and type "Regedit" (without quotes) and press Enter. Then find the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\SecuROM] key and delete it if possible.
Click to expand...
Seriously WTF. And if you installed the Bioshock demo, the folks at Toms Hardware have these user-friendly instructions on how to remove SecuROM. Hope you enjoy registry trolling.

And what's the point? Oh ya, to punish paying customers and discourage people from ever giving two craps about PC gaming.
 
I'm very glad to hear this news. I skipped on the Xbox 360 version because of its technical issues and was bummed that I wasn't going to buy the PC version either because of the SecuROM bullshit.

Bioware/EA just got themselves a sale because they dropped the DRM. That, and ads, will stop me from laying down cash for media.
 
If by awesome you mean, riddled with bugs, slow ass frame-rate, horrible texture problems, shitty inventory, then yes it was awesome.

I will play it again on pc and actually enjoy it this time.

You don't have to steal every game on release like you, and your urge to feel hip to the scene, and your ever longing quest to create new stupid memes like SO CASH, and $$$$, which were actually made up at 4-chan long ago. Lemme guess SAUCE is going to be your next claim to fame right?

Get out of here you filthy pirate. Your opinion is invalid because you steal all of your games.
 
I pre-ordered it through Amazon.com they give you a $10 instant discount, no tax and free shipping. Between this, Ninja Gaiden, PGR4 and actually opening Persona FES along with finishing Okami I should be very busy.
 
[quote name='InuFaye']If by awesome you mean, riddled with bugs, slow ass frame-rate, horrible texture problems, shitty inventory, then yes it was awesome.

I will play it again on pc and actually enjoy it this time.

You don't have to steal every game on release like you, and your urge to feel hip to the scene, and your ever longing quest to create new stupid memes like SO CASH, and $$$$, which were actually made up at 4-chan long ago. Lemme guess SAUCE is going to be your next claim to fame right?

Get out of here you filthy pirate. Your opinion is invalid because you steal all of your games.[/QUOTE]

SO cash. :cool:
 
[quote name='zewone']SO cash. :cool:[/quote]

Exactly the type of response I expected from you.

Go steal a game or something you scum.
 
will def get this when it drops in price. too much other shit to play right now.
 
If anybody is interested, if you preorder Mass Effect at the EA store they are giving out a Dead Space Comic and poster. Or you can preorder at GS, Amazon, GoGamer, GameCrazy to get $10 off instantly.
 
tagged for later as my copy should arrive from amazon by Wednesday. I'll post my specs and framerate and such.
 
[quote name='level1online']yeah, can some of you guys with those SLI / Quad Core setups post some screen shots?[/quote]

I heard it hasn't been optimized yet for SLI, actually heard it runs slow FPS when SLI is enabled?

Anyways I installed mine and it wouldn't launch under Vista, just trys to and says "encountered a unknown issue" pop-up box and closes.

But I think you have to disable UAC/ Run as Admin first time, will see when I get home from work.
 
AMD Dual Core 2.3 GHZ
3GB RAM
8600 512MB OC DDR3
Windows VISTA 32 Bit

It takes about 20 seconds to fully load which is a bit annoying.

With Fraps I get the following:

Ani filter is on and shadows off unless otherwise noted. All FPS are full screen.

1024x768 Medium Settings gives 45FPS.
1152x720 Medium Settings 40FPS
1152x720 All High Settings 35 FPS
1280x960 All High Settings 29FPS

So it seems very possible to get a good 40FPS while the game still looks good on my 8600GT. However, I see no reason why a 8800GT could not easily put out a solid 60FPS+ average over a 8600GT. Just saying old/cheap cards like mine can still run the game well.
 
Anyone with the game bored and feel like taking some screens to satisfy my curiosity? :) I want to see how stuff looks on the lowest settings, of stuff like character creation, the Presidium, and the galaxy map.

Oh, and a review I read mentioned there's a new hacking minigame. I'm sort of wondering how that looks, too.
 
I haven't installed this yet with Age of Conan eating all my playtime.

I've heard bad things about how it doesn't do widescreen correctly. With all the hoopla over Bioshock's widescreen support I woulda hoped anyone using the Unreal engine would take note...

This is especially bad for me since I like to game across three monitors... if the aspect ratio is wrong on one monitor, it'll be awful across three.
 
Has anyone had problems with this game freezing up on the opening cut scene?

It used to lock up right before the conversation w/ Joker, but now it locks up in the middle of the converation w/ Nihlus.

I think the problem may be that I have Alcohol 120% (emulation software) installed and that my game directory is on the E:\ drive, not C:\

I'll post some screenshots later tonight.

specs:
AMD X2 5200+
8800 GTS 512
2GB DDR2 800
XP PRO, no overclocking
 
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