The joys of online-DRM (Steam, Origin etc.)

[nameless hero]

Steam is down in Germany for 17 hours now.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forum...2#post30372172

OK, downtimes can happen, that's why we have the offline mode! But to my terror the praised offline mode does not work at all. 4 million (lol dunno where i got that number from, but it's probably much less ^^) users are not able to play their bought games at the moment.

This topic might be senseless, but i had to vent. Maybe you can share your experiences regarding online-DRM and why it does (not) suck?

I learnt my lesson for sure: Don't buy games you can't play offline.

[pool7]

I gladly never really suffered from DRM issues, though I admit it's probably because I try to avoid DRM'd games.
For instance, when I want to buy a game, I look at all possible purchase options to see if there's one with no DRM. I also compare the different versions to see if the non-DRM version has less features or something like that. I even prefer buying the physical game and have it shipped internationally to my place (even if I have to wait up to 4 weeks) if that's what it takes to avoid DRM.
As for Steam, so far I have only purchased Limbo and some Valve games; all others I have were purchased DRM free elsewhere and got the Steam key as well (ie. Humble Bundle).

The problem nowadays is that some developers/publishers like to choose 1 distribution point and that's it... and the user gets no choice, and has to suffer this kind of issues.

Anyway, I guess this has been long discussed here and elsewhere; not sure if there's much more that can be said.

I hope they fix it quickly.

[GodofHardcore]

This is why you hack a game to holy hell

[Cyantist]

Offline mode worked fine for me when steam was down before :/

Starforce and Securom are real bastards when it comes to DRM.

Here's a fun quote I found when trying to get Postal 2 to work on Vista and Windows 7:

Here's something that might help. Certain parts of the world got Postal 2 with Starforce on it instead of the more widely spread discs with Safedisc as protection. Postal 2 Apocalypse Weekend even has all copy's of their expansion protected with that crappy program. Now Vista has picked up on the dangers of ring 0 driver programs like Starforce and multiple other virusses, and doesn't allow this type of core access to any program any more. So Starshit can't run and your game won't run basicly.

Unfortunately this means that all SF games can't be played in Vista any more, but I do want you to keep in mind this is not the fault of Microsoft. The game publishers use this type of malware and are responsible for their own mistakes. The only way this game will run in Vista is with a no cd patch that should be distributed by the publishers instead of the so called "scene". You didn't pay 40-50 dollars for a game just to have it not run on your pc and as a decent publisher they should respect their customers and do as you ask.

Notice needing a CRACK to play a game I legally bought (and still is quite buggy on Vista and 7)? Securom can have the EXACT same shit with FEAR if you have A. DaemonTools installed. B. Nero installed. C. Two DVD drives.

So yeah, to play a game I LEGALLY bought I have to download a crack and pray to god it isn't a piece of malware and actually works.

[GodofHardcore]

SF IV PC has Securom.........

GOD Capcom are such dicks

[-=FamilyGuy=-]

For steam you can lookup steamemu by hCUPa, it's a dll that emulates steam and let you play your legally downloaded gcf from steam in real offline/lan mode.

[Druid II]

This is why you pirate games.

[Vosse]

This is why you pirate games.

Yeah. I buy PC games but then I either find a pirated cracked version, or I make a backup of the CD/DVD and then find a crack for it just to be able to play DRM free.

[Flash]

No crack/nodvd = no buy.

[CrAzY]

Regarding Steam and it's supposed "Offline Mode", that shit hasn't worked for me in years! It is a real bother, due to me needing a giant amount of resources tied to Steam through their SDK, meaning that even with a work-around "hacked" Steam, I wouldn't be able to get all my mod's work done due to many of the functions requiring the real Steam. So this means that every time my internet is down (Which is quite often lately), I am unable to start Steam. It comes up with the box saying, "Retry connection to Steam or start in Offline Mode?" I click Offline Mode.
And I dare you to guess what the next little prompt box that pops up says.... "Couldn't connect to Steam network"
Well no shit! Am I misunderstanding Offline Mode? I swear it used to work awhile back.

But yes, cracked versions of PC games are always less of a hassle, especially now-a-days with this garbage. Same has always been for movies too. Download it, watch it instantly. Buy it, Rent it, Go to the Theater and put up with unpassable Gov. Warnings, Trailers, Ads etc.

Paying consumer should get less pointless shit thrown at them, but it will never be that way.

[XxHennersXx]

my first steam accout was hacked back in 2004 and valve was no help. wanted to charge me money to recover it.

[MottZilla]

This is a big reason why PC gaming has suffered. It's so easy to copy games, so they try to stop people. Then the protection fucks over the legitimate user and not those they were trying to stop. Good job!

[HEX1GON]

I've never liked steam at all, I'm forced to use the crappy software! It's an internet application and so if you're internet is down, you're screwed. I'm in the same basket as the many of you - Offline mode doesn't work, even some games contact steam so even starting steam in offiline mode doesn't do shit.

exactly why I just don't like buying PC games any more, legit customers just get screwed and it's more safer to pirate them.

[ThetaSigma]

^^^Not too long before the same happens to consoles. Brace yourself.

[HEX1GON]

^^^Not too long before the same happens to consoles. Brace yourself.

Some games have already "Driver: San Francisco"

[BahnNZ]

Oh yes, that'll be coming next gen.

Steam needs to loosen the corsets a bit. If you've had a good login in the last 48 hours, you're all good to go, you can play your games. Internet can be spotty this side of the world, having your whole game collection unavailable can be disturbing for the addicted! I have lots of problems getting into my Steam games when the connection goes spotty.

Ubisoft are the worst DRM freaks. Soon you'll only be able to play their games at their offices with a security guard standing over you.

[Vosse]

This is a big reason why PC gaming has suffered. It's so easy to copy games, so they try to stop people. Then the protection fucks over the legitimate user and not those they were trying to stop. Good job!

Pretty much this. And very few of the dimwitted corporate jar heads running big name gaming companies these days don't even have the common sense, to realize it.

In steam's defense though Offline mode has always worked very well for me. As long as the game doesn't require some sort of online connection or you want to play an online game.


I am terrified what the next generation of consoles is going to be like....

[7Force]

Dunno why people think Steam is so bad when Games for Windows Live exists. I bought Bulletstorm a while ago and can't even play it because GFWL is such a pile of crap. At least it was a good reminder of why I rarely buy PC games.

[nameless hero]

Lots of interesting answers, thanks for your input.
Steam works again as it should, and i hope they learnt their lesson. What bothers me is their information politics, saying "some german customers can't connect" when ALL germans were affected by this and not giving any status updates at all.
http://forums.steampowered.com/forum...php?p=30372172

On the bright side i got into Dota2 beta, not sure if for compensation or what?