Command & Conquer 4 requires an internet connection at all times to play

[ManaByte]

http://forums.commandandconquer.com/jforum/posts/list/35920.page;jsessionid=FB71ECDFF1FFBFFFE294A197401DF771.015048

-AFTER you install Command & Conquer 4 with the disc on your machine, when you try to LOGIN at the Launcher for the first time, it will ask you for your serial key. You will enter in your serial key to activate your Master EA Account. The serial key, like in our past games, can only be activated for 1 master account. You cannot install multiple EA Master accounts on one serial key. You can create multiple Commander Personas however, so if you and your brothers each want your own Persona account with experience, etc, you can do that. Just has to be under the same Master EA account as in our past games.

-You can install the game from the disc as many times as you want on any machine. Re-install, etc.

-You do not need the disc in your machine to play. Your EA account just needs to have been activated by your serial key. After that, you can play Command & Conquer 4 on ANY MACHINE that has it installed. All you need to do is login.

-To play Command & Conquer 4, the computer needs to be connected to the internet. We've always made that clear as well.

So there ya go, no DRM, no disc in the drive necessary, just activate your account with your serial key and presto, you're ready to go. It's actually much easier than before.

[Fragamemnon]

It's also, as I understand it, the game is terribly short on content and Dawn of War 2 does both the co-op and team game thing better and has a stable, active playerbase.

edit: The online all the time does make sense from the game's standpoint, as it has all sorts of achievement-based unlockables that carry over to the multiplayer part of the profile. This is a bit different than UBI's handling of AC2, for sure.

[tehjaybo]

I still can't get my copy to work.  First time I've bought a PC game in YEARS, and I can't get it to load.  At first I couldn't even log on to the EA servers, but that was opening night so I thought I'd wait.  So I tried a day or two later, and I could log in, but I couldn't start the game properly.  It'd show the loading splash, and then I'd get a "Mode Not Supported" on my tele.  I'm thinking maybe the game originally runs in an unsupported resolution, but I have no idea of how to change it without actually being in game.

[Stoney Mason]

It's also, as I understand it, the game is terribly short on content and Dawn of War 2 does both the co-op and team game thing better and has a stable, active playerbase.

edit: The online all the time does make sense from the game's standpoint, as it has all sorts of achievement-based unlockables that carry over to the multiplayer part of the profile. This is a bit different than UBI's handling of AC2, for sure.

Seems like it was designed this way specifically for this reason imo. Otherwise a different method would have been devised.

Not that I especially care about the issue either way.

[Cravis]

Welp so much for buying this. I'll just grab it off a torrent. For the record I did purchase Red Alert 3 and had planned on purchasing this one. Good job EA. 

[Eel O'Brian]

Kosma nailed it.

[demi]

oh no, not another RTS game

[Eel O'Brian]

Steam without an internet connection is pretty useless!

unless you want to, you know, play a single player game offline or something wacky like that

[demi]

wow that is wacky. DRM for a single player offline game. PC

[archie4208]

I don't see anywhere in Borys' post where he mentioned you have to be specifically online to play the game. You must have an internet connection for Steam in order to get the games you want, which is rather obvious, and Steam without an internet connection is pretty useless!

But if your internet goes down, you can still play your Steam games.

[MCD]

Steam is great?

[Eel O'Brian]

Steam without an internet connection is pretty useless!

unless you want to, you know, play a single player game offline or something wacky like that

I like to buy games on Steam! I need an internet connection to do that. You know, one of the reasons why Steam is so great?

it is also great because after i download games i can set my netbook to offline mode and play games in places without an internet connection

[Great Rumbler]

Steam is great?

Yeah.

[OptimoPeach]

God, Borys is distinguished mentally-challenged

[MCD]

damn slime, you are such a bad boy.

no wonder demi is after your cock.

[Eel O'Brian]

not paying full price for games is called being intelligent

but hey, when you're a penniless hobo scrounging through dumpsters for a chicken bone to gnaw on in your old age  because you blew all the money you made in your youth buying stacks of pure shit like too human, at least you'll have all of those wonderful slip 'n' slide combat memories!

[OptimoPeach]

durrrrrrrrrrrr I was talking about you trying to compare this to Steam. Like Kosma said, you don't have to be online to play any of your Steam stuff

[dark1x]

Steam without an internet connection is pretty useless!

unless you want to, you know, play a single player game offline or something wacky like that

I like to buy games on Steam! I need an internet connection to do that. You know, one of the reasons why Steam is so great?

Yes, you need an internet connection to buy games, but you do not need one to play them.  There are definitely situations where one might want to play a steam game when no internet connection is available.  In particular, it's nice having many of the games available on a laptop on the go.

There should ALWAYS be an offline mode for these games.  There is never an excuse for requiring a connection at all times...especially when losing a connection ends your game.

[dark1x]

Steam without an internet connection is pretty useless!

unless you want to, you know, play a single player game offline or something wacky like that

I like to buy games on Steam! I need an internet connection to do that. You know, one of the reasons why Steam is so great?

Yes, you need an internet connection to buy games, but you do not need one to play them.  There are definitely situations where one might want to play a steam game when no internet connection is available.  In particular, it's nice having many of the games available on a laptop on the go.

There should ALWAYS be an offline mode for these games.  There is never an excuse for requiring a connection at all times...especially when losing a connection ends your game.

I disagree.

You cannot watch TV when the provider (cable/ stallite) is down.
You cannot make phone calls/ txt when the provider (AT&T, Verizon etc.) is down.

In the future you won't be able to play PC games and then later console games (don't kid yourself this won't come to console gaming) without a constant internet connection.

Deal with it.

TV and phone rely on connectivity to function.  The entire service is based upon this.  I *CAN* watch my Blu-ray movies and listen to my own music (including MP3s) without an active internet connection, however.  If I purchase content, I want to use it offline.  It's that simple.  The TV and phone comparison is invalid.

I don't believe that is the future either.  Steam is the most successful digital distribution application on the PC platform and it DOES allow offline gameplay.  It has proven to be a smashing success without stealing away offline gameplay.

I prefer to pay for my games, but situations like the Ubi DRM push me directly towards piracy.  Someone WILL crack their DRM.

[Draft]

-You do not need the disc in your machine to play. Your EA account just needs to have been activated by your serial key. After that, you can play Command & Conquer 4 on ANY MACHINE that has it installed. All you need to do is login.

-To play Command & Conquer 4, the computer needs to be connected to the internet. We've always made that clear as well.

So there ya go, no DRM, no disc in the drive necessary, just activate your account with your serial key and presto, you're ready to go. It's actually much easier than before.

So:

- play without DVD in drive
- play from ANY machine (PC) you want
- must have internet connection
- no other DRM enabled

Sounds... fucking great? Like Steam?

Why is it that when Valve does something PC nerds go "OMGGGGGGGabe!!!" and when other company does it they go "GTFO!".

Steam only gets away with being the biggest DRM system on planet because it has an amazing catalogue and tremendous added service.

And yeah, Valve.

Borys

Fucking stupid PC distinguished mentally-challenged fellows. The most popular PC game in existence also requires a constant internet connection. I have personally sunk dozens (hundreds  ) of hours into the awful thing, and maybe 1% of the time had a connection issue prevent me from enjoying my product.

Total non-issue.

[dark1x]

I prefer to pay for my games, but situations like the Ubi DRM push me directly towards piracy.  Someone WILL crack their DRM.

Hey wow, great idea dark1x! You don't like the services offered by a publisher so you turn to piracy? You're the cancer killing gaming.

derp1x

The cancer killing gaming?  I probably spend more on gaming each year than half the people in this thread combined.

More likely, I just won't play those games.

I can't believe anyone is defending this bullshit.  What the hell?  I maintain that Steam is the example other companies should live by.  It's DRM that works.

FUCK IF I WILL USE 0.000001% OF ITS BANDWIDTH FOR ON-LINE DRM

It's the principle that bothers me.  I dislike the idea of companies controlling the products I own.  As a collector, I hate the idea of potentially being unable to play a game I own a physical copy of down the line. 

I dislike the move towards digital downloads, but if I must support it, Steam is the way to go.

How much money do you spend on gaming, Borys?  How much are you supporting the industry?

[cool breeze]

to be fair, even games that just require "activation" online won't work down the line either.

and as someone who is a greedy consumer above all else, my solution will be to find a way to my cell network to connect my PC to the internet just in-case I want to play.  I have comcast internet right now and it goes out frequently, most of the time at night.  Far Cry 3 will probably be the game that gets me to do all this.

btw, Steam DRM doesn't work.  It is a good solution but I think 4 to 5 million people pirated Modern Warfare 2 on PC and that is a Steamworks game.  Was kinda funny seeing people playing MW2 as a non-steam game when it was impossible to do that legally.

As a consumer I do prefer steamworks drm, though.  Letting me input my CD key and download it from steam whenever I want is just convenient, and it means I can buy the retail product at a discount instead of just being restricted to online sales.

[archie4208]

Steam isn't trying to deter pirates as so much as it is trying to add value to paying customers with unlimited installs and easy access to your library.

[dark1x]

to be fair, even games that just require "activation" online won't work down the line either.

No exactly.

I actually use gamecopyworld for all of my legal games as most games have cracks available (putting the disc in is a pretty big hassle in my setup).  Games with online activation have been worked around.

If someone can at least disable the DRM in Ubi games, I have no problem purchasing them.

[dark1x]

I don't wait for Steam sales, though.  I just bought Metro 2033 this week (retail edition) for full price, for instance.  You're preaching to the choir.  That was indeed a juvenile comment made out of frustration for the situation.

The fact of the matter is, I DO buy games...and I buy physical copies of these games.  The idea that the publisher can control how and when I can play the game pisses me off greatly.  It's difficult to know how to respond to this shit, honestly.  Games are different from other products in that each product is unique.  It's not as simple as buying something else from a competitor.