Ubisoft's new DRM cracked in under 25 hours

I'm one of the last people you will see promoting piracy (I was a game developer myself and have many many friends that still work in the industry). I am simply happy that this horrible DRM was cracked. If it had worked the way Ubisoft wanted it too, we would then see a huge trend to where every other publisher would make their own version of it.

I still want Silent Hunter 5 and the Settlers 7 very badly, but wont be playing them till this DRM is removed by Ubisoft.
 
Wow. Amazing. :applause:

I hate what Ubisoft is doing, what happened to them being DRM-less (Prince of Persia)?

I like Ubisoft games... I own 5 games from them, but with their new DRM... I don't think I'll be buying new games from them. I'm definetly not getting Assassin's Creed 2 until they change their ways.
 
[quote name='Hydro2Oxide']I wasn't herp derping at you, I was herp derping at the people rationalizing piracy for DRM reasons.[/QUOTE]

Fair enough, yeah, if you don't want to buy it then you shouldn't play it, that is what I believe regardless of your reason not to buy it.
 
[quote name='Hydro2Oxide']I wasn't herp derping at you, I was herp derping at the people rationalizing piracy for DRM reasons.[/QUOTE]

While I too dislike piracy, I'm glad that this awful drm was cracked so easily. I won't be buying any Ubisoft games until they change the way they do business. And really other than the crackers, who is rationalizing piracy? Infoaddict.com was just showing how pathetic Ubisoft is. And the pirate(s) Skid Row, well they'll crack games no matter what. I don't think that they were making any kind of statement.
 
DRM usually means a pain in the butt for paying customers, and just one more file to patch over for pirates. It ALWAYS gets cracked. I can't believe developers are still wasting time and money on trying this kind of crap.
 
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I don't think anyone thought that this DRM would actually work. Setting something up like this was just putting out bait for pirates. The pirates probably dropped whatever they were working on just to crack this and rub it in Ubisoft's face.

Moral of the story is, don't doubt determined people.
 
[quote name='Salamando3000']I find it pretty ironic that DRM like this will probably do more to promote piracy than discourage it.[/QUOTE]

ya seriously, you think gaming companies would learn after what happened with Spore... (seems like EA learned)
 
If you are releasing a game on the PC, you should release it via Steam. Convenient, efficient, and a bitch to pirate.
 
[quote name='Duke Vandal']If you are releasing a game on the PC, you should release it via Steam. Convenient, efficient, and a bitch to pirate.[/QUOTE]

Steam games are easy to pirate actually. The way Steam has been combating piracy in their own way is with sales, make the product cheap enough so people are willing to pay, you'll always have people that steal regardless if the games were a penny.
 
I am glad it got cracked to prove a point that this shit doesn't work. Actually it's pretty much proven the more DRM on a disc the more pirated it becomes. Actually I think all PC games should go through steam (even retail ones) or at least offer the choice to because quite frankly steam is fucking nice with no cd's.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Guess which platform won't be getting the next Assassin's Creed?[/QUOTE]

The Wii?

Publishers aren't blind to what other publishers are doing. If Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age sells enough on the PC to make a profit with little DRM, they will notice it.

So don't go buy AC2 thinking that if you don't buy they'll stop making PC games. Buy PC games from publishers or developers that support us.
 
The PC is nearly a high profit platform if you are porting a finished project over from the consoles to it. The port doesn't cost much at all. Ubisoft makes money on the PC, but they feel they can make a lot more if they can slow down piracy, thats the whole reason behind this. They wont pull out of the PC market since it is icing on the cake for console ports.

Just remember though, the first months a PC game is out don't show the whole picture of the games sales, which on the console side it normally does barring a few exceptions. PC games in general have a much longer life due to the communities and mods for the games. It isn't unusual to see older titles for the PC in the top selling lists.

Besides, think of this, Silent Hunter series, a very niche game series that is a PC exclusive has continually done well enough to warrant a few sequels still comes out, why wouldn't they do a console port to the PC when that is just icing on the cake (like I said ports don't cost much to do generally, especially the way they been coming out half assed lately).
 
[quote name='KaOTiK']Steam games are easy to pirate actually. The way Steam has been combating piracy in their own way is with sales, make the product cheap enough so people are willing to pay, you'll always have people that steal regardless if the games were a penny.[/QUOTE]

Well said.

[quote name='Actionhank']The Wii?

Publishers aren't blind to what other publishers are doing. If Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age sells enough on the PC to make a profit with little DRM, they will notice it.

So don't go buy AC2 thinking that if you don't buy they'll stop making PC games. Buy PC games from publishers or developers that support us.[/QUOTE]

Exactly!
 
[quote name='Actionhank']So don't go buy AC2 thinking that if you don't buy they'll stop making PC games. Buy PC games from publishers or developers that support us.[/QUOTE]

You know, one of the most interesting forms of protest I heard about this DRM move was that anyone interested in AC2 for PC go out and buy the game. Don't play it, don't open it, just buy it. At the end of the return period for the game, return it, and make it as clear as possible to the clerk that you're returning it do to it's DRM. Done on a large enough scale, the retailer gets mad, and the complaints work their way up. Sends a pretty clear message that the interest in the game is there, but not with the DRM.

I eagerly await the day when companies learn that any DRM you put out will get cracked by someone. If they want to kill piracy, they need to start figuring a way to entice pirates to buy the game. If the money they spent on DRM development went toward an Assassin's Creed multiplayer mode or something, it'd go alot farther in reducing piracy than the DRM will.
 
That might actually work. The only thing wrong I see with taking stuff back is some places around here don't want to take it back if they get to much of it back or if one person has a history of taking stuff back that they think is to much.
 
[quote name='sendme']That might actually work. The only thing wrong I see with taking stuff back is some places around here don't want to take it back if they get to much of it back or if one person has a history of taking stuff back that they think is to much.[/QUOTE]

Just do a quick readup of their return policy, make sure you're right. If they don't take it back tell them you'll contact the BBB.
 
It seems to be that breaking a DRM only results in Ubisoft making an even more complicated and user-unfriendly DRM...

This war is getting ugly.
 
its interesting they did it to SH5. I like the SH games but really, how popular can that series be? I'd think they'd want to sell as many copies of that game as possible, not turn people off from it. Its not like its got some massive following. Certainly what i'd call niche anyway.
 
[quote name='mykevermin']Guess which platform won't be getting the next Assassin's Creed?[/QUOTE]

[quote name='Actionhank']The Wii?

Publishers aren't blind to what other publishers are doing. If Mass Effect 2 or Dragon Age sells enough on the PC to make a profit with little DRM, they will notice it.

So don't go buy AC2 thinking that if you don't buy they'll stop making PC games. Buy PC games from publishers or developers that support us.[/QUOTE]

You guys are both correct. In a perverted way Ubisoft is trying to justify marginalizing the pc market. Maybe even enough to leave it. This whole drm scheme that they're using was set up to fail. Then they don't have to answer any embrassing questions from stockholders on why they've left a whole market.

But there are a lot of developer/publishers that will continue with pc games. I'll continue supporting them. And if they happen to be indy's, so be it.
 
[quote name='mogamer']You guys are both correct. In a perverted way Ubisoft is trying to justify marginalizing the pc market. Maybe even enough to leave it. This whole drm scheme that they're using was set up to fail. Then they don't have to answer any embrassing questions from stockholders on why they've left a whole market.

But there are a lot of developer/publishers that will continue with pc games. I'll continue supporting them. And if they happen to be indy's, so be it.[/QUOTE]

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[quote name='Hydro2Oxide']Apparently the game downloads necessary files in between levels so the cracked copies aren't working.[/QUOTE]
Apparently they haven't dealt with pirates before.
 
[quote name='Hydro2Oxide']Apparently the game downloads necessary files in between levels so the cracked copies aren't working.[/QUOTE]

That's what they are reporting (Ubi). I saw a working pirate copy on a patron's laptop today in my store...so there goes that.
 
if they really want to reduce piracy they should crack down on places more like isohunt or vuze. that stuff is so easy to get even i can do it.

i actually use to download a lot of movies and tv shows but i stopped that because every time i accidentally leave seeding on for an extended period of time i'll get reported and my isp will shut off my internet till i call a 1800# to restore it hehe.
 
[quote name='Megazell']That's what they are reporting (Ubi). I saw a working pirate copy on a patron's laptop today in my store...so there goes that.[/QUOTE]

Even if what Ubisoft said was true, and the game ships incomplete and needs an internet connection to download extra parts, it's still quite vulnerable. What's to stop a guy from buying the game, intercepting those parts, and leaking them to the 'net? As long as the game runs all calculations on the machine it was installed on, it will be vulnerable to piracy. Might not be easy, might not be fast, but it can/will be cracked.
 
[quote name='Salamando3000']Even if what Ubisoft said was true, and the game ships incomplete and needs an internet connection to download extra parts, it's still quite vulnerable. What's to stop a guy from buying the game, intercepting those parts, and leaking them to the 'net? As long as the game runs all calculations on the machine it was installed on, it will be vulnerable to piracy. Might not be easy, might not be fast, but it can/will be cracked.[/QUOTE]

Yeah.

I don't support piracy but I know one thing...Words like can't, safe and never are dreams.
 
Yay! Down with DRM. Stupid developers trying to protect their games. Now I can go download AC2 for FREE! Take that Ubisoft, that'll show you from releasing your games on our platform.

[quote name='KaOTiK']I'm one of the last people you will see promoting piracy (I was a game developer myself and have many many friends that still work in the industry). I am simply happy that this horrible DRM was cracked. If it had worked the way Ubisoft wanted it too, we would then see a huge trend to where every other publisher would make their own version of it.

I still want Silent Hunter 5 and the Settlers 7 very badly, but wont be playing them till this DRM is removed by Ubisoft.[/QUOTE]

Oh I know. Thank god. Wouldnt that suck if I could never steal another PC game again? What the hell would I do then?

[quote name='Jodou']Cool. Looks like I'll try out the new Splinter Cell afterall. Now to cancel that order. . .[/QUOTE]

fuck yea man! Download that shit up! Not like those greedy SOB's at Ubisoft deserve any of that money for making the game. Wish I could punch their children in the face and be like, "DRM suckah!"

[quote name='Kevfactor']if they really want to reduce piracy they should crack down on places more like isohunt or vuze. that stuff is so easy to get even i can do it.

i actually use to download a lot of movies and tv shows but i stopped that because every time i accidentally leave seeding on for an extended period of time i'll get reported and my isp will shut off my internet till i call a 1800# to restore it hehe.[/QUOTE]
Welcome to the boards! Feel free to hang around here, we are a Pro Piracy forum that likes to download as much as we can. Because it's awesome!
 
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[quote name='Hydro2Oxide']I wasn't herp derping at you, I was herp derping at the people rationalizing piracy for DRM reasons.[/QUOTE]

Piracy is always appropriate for any reason.

420 smash the capitalist pigs everyday~~
 
[quote name='Xizer']Piracy is always appropriate for any reason.

420 smash the capitalist pigs everyday~~[/QUOTE]

[quote name='DarkNessBear']Yay! Down with DRM. Stupid developers trying to protect their games. Now I can go download AC2 for FREE! Take that Ubisoft, that'll show you from releasing your games on our platform.



Oh I know. Thank god. Wouldnt that suck if I could never steal another PC game again? What the hell would I do then?



fuck yea man! Download that shit up! Not like those greedy SOB's at Ubisoft deserve any of that money for making the game. Wish I could punch their children in the face and be like, "DRM suckah!"


Welcome to the boards! Feel free to hang around here, we are a Pro Piracy forum that likes to download as much as we can. Because it's awesome![/QUOTE]

This thread needs some music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PaoLy7PHwk
 
DarkNessBear is a living joke. His 'ideals' and his arguments never correlate properly.

He's pro consumer rape at any cost. Shameful.
 
[quote name='DarkNessBear']Yay! Down with DRM. Stupid developers trying to protect their games. Now I can go download AC2 for FREE! Take that Ubisoft, that'll show you from releasing your games on our platform.[/QUOTE]

There's a line between "Protecting your games" and "fucking over the consumer". DRM like this skips merrily over the line, turns around, lights it on fire, puts a few rounds into it, smiles, and runs away. It's punishing the consumer for doing nothing wrong. "Hi, we're Ubisoft, thanks for buying AC2! Now, as a fun gift, here's some limitations. Did your internet go down? Have fun playing! Did our servers die? Have fun playing!"

The problem with all these clusterfuck styles of DRM, is that it does NOTHING to stop piracy. Cracking teams are smart. They've plowed through every other type of DRM ever invented, which were all "THIS WILL STOP PIRATES. WE HAVE WON". And for every new type of DRM that comes out, it will be cracked.

Buying games that include shit like this only supports the developers decisions. Do you REALLY think if they get a large amount of sales, the first thing they are going to think is "Hm, people really enjoy are game, time to remove this here DRM and make it better for the consumer". Nope, it's going to be "Hm, our game sold well, which means it's popular, which means more people want to steal it, which means more DRM. Great plan guys, coffee break time."

I, for one, will not be buying the game. I refuse to support a company who fucks over the consumer because they think "OH JEESE MAN EVERYONE WANTS TO PIRATE OUR GAME QUICK QUICK THINK OF WAYS WE CAN PUT PROTECTION ON THAT WILL RUIN THE GAME BEFORE PEOPLE EVEN PLAY IT"

It's games like Mass Effect 2 that did DRM right. A simple disk check is perfect, and really, all that is needed. You can't beat pirates, quit trying to do so, because in the end, you're only losing customers, which was you were trying to prevent with your DRM in the first place.
 
This kind of practice is pretty good at controlling criminal behavior in the real world. For instance, those stupid red "clubs" people put on their car steering wheels? Whether they worked functionally or not, would-be car theives wouldn't bother with the added effort of getting around it. Of course, with car theft, time is a major factor that isn't present in the digital world.

But historically, efforts at "target hardening" in the digital era have virtually always hurt the consumer and have been, at worst, mild nuisances to those who criminally steal anyway - at best, they're efforts for those folks to hone their skills and test their abilities. For cracking communities, new DRM measures are a welcome thing, as it gives them an opportunity to practice their hobby.

I'm not necessarily against or in favor of DRM - I certainly think any "rape" metaphors are crude and vastly overstated here - and I also believe any "woe is me" arguments about how you as consumers are harmed is vastly overstated. But I do recognize that DRM attempts are largely futile. I don't think they always will be, though.
 
Mykevermin- I think you are on the right track with your post. It was a level headed look at the topic.

I really think "It hurts the consumer" bit is a bit over exaggerated. People who buy it, will play it, beat it and move on. If your net goes down, figure it out. If its down then you have more problems than if you can play AC2. I have never lost the net, its like electricity now a days. Cant be without it. Ubisoft servers are down? How often really? Come on.

PC gaming as a platform is starting to dwindle sales wise and number of releases for this very reason. Its like opening a Jewerly store in a sea port where pirates dock.
 
[quote name='Lice']PC gaming as a platform is starting to dwindle sales wise and number of releases for this very reason. Its like opening a Jewerly store in a sea port where pirates dock.[/QUOTE]

Bad Company 2 PC has more users than the 360 and PS3 combined. You just have to be good to your customers (Aside from the connection issues, they have been) and your customers will be good to you.
 
[quote name='Lice']PC gaming as a platform is starting to dwindle sales wise[/QUOTE]

1) thanks

2) I've used Apple computers exclusively (except for a brief affair with a Dell laptop in 2002) since the late 1980's. It's hard for me to imagine what "PC Gaming" is, since Macs and gaming have never really hit it off. Now that we're getting Steam, though, that might change.

That second point is more of a full disclosure thing - sure, I've dealt with DRM/license issues before (we all have), but not in terms of gaming.
 
Ugh!

I think too many of you are missing the point.

In the end games are WANT products. Not NEED products.

The great thing about PC Gaming is that unlike our Console counterparts - We have choices. Many of those choices don't require PC Gamers having to spend any money.

If you have an older game...chances are you can find mods, maps, models, mutators and total conversion for it. For Free.

If you don't like was X Corporations is doing to 'protect' their IP...you don't have to buy that product and you can turn to indie developers in the genres of your choice and give their products are spin...sometimes for much cheaper than the average retail price and with no pesky nonsense running in the background.

Shoot, if you don't like piracy and don't want to install games that put software in your machine you don't want...Get your games elsewhere...there is always a place to go.

fuck Piracy.

fuck Retail.

fuck Fanboys.

The End!

PS - 'Free And Legal PC Games' is now @ 600 games ;)
 
[quote name='mykevermin']I have no idea what your point is, Megazell,[/QUOTE]

It's his typical trolling posts about not buying games or some nonsensical stuff.

DRM getting cracked, PC games getting downloaded... how is this news? Are we going to make new threads for every new game that appears on torrents now? At least the PC subforums are going to get more active if just by a little bit.

Everyone get your bats
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[quote name='mykevermin'][. . .]I also believe any "woe is me" arguments about how you as consumers are harmed is vastly overstated.[/QUOTE]
The point is that sales are harmed because people don't want the headache of server connection issues. Look at BFBC2 and how the forums light up when servers are down, or any online game for that matter. This should be a non-issue when it comes to offline games and having that added element will harm experiences. It's the same reason why I avoid Steam whenever possible and buy retail.

I'll support devs who understand these things and don't implement draconian DRM. Not everyone bites the hand that feeds, but they're making a mistake thinking they can do the same to us.
 
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