Ubisoft DRM

[tcq]

If that's true, then there's only one option: no UBI DRM.

You don't know how the UBI DRM will evolve in the next months, years. But it's good to know, that nadeo seems on the same wavelenght

[Kakkoii]

No copyright protection in the history of games has ever been able to stop coders from cracking the game. Not even Ubisoft's, who's newest DRM has already been cracked and reverse engineered. Allowing people to make cracks for their latest games. Leaving the paying customers with a worse off game than the pirates who get to play DRM free.

So stay away from DRM, it's a much better business choice. It has never worked, and can't really ever work without making the game itself become completely unusable in the process from a coding perspective.

People still won't be able to play online without a user account that has a legitimate key, and since online racing/sharing is pretty much the main appeal of the Trackmania series, pirating the game isn't that appealing in the first place.

And even still, many of these people who pirate games we're never potential sales to begin with. You're basically fighting off that which can't hurt you. It's actually better not to fight it, and in return get a larger user base, having your game get spread around more through word of mouth, increasing in popularity. Since it would have been cracked regardless, my as well take the easiest and best route, not the ignorant CEO who doesn't know any better route.

You guys sort of understood this by releasing the free "Nations" versions of your games. It was like a pirated copy almost, you had some of the content but not all. And if these free players "pirates" liked the game enough, they would eventually go on to buy it to open up all the extra features.

[weerwolf]

As i am a trackmania no-lifer which only plays trackmania, i was not aware of this DRM system. It scared me a bit, because as i understand well, if there's no internetconnection i wont be able to play offline. Sounds bad. And as some allready mentioned, crackers will evolve too.

[crazytb]

If you really, really, really need an extra layer of copy-protection, maybe you should add Steam inside new *Mania games.

Although Steam is far from perfect (lots of bugs...), it's a lot better than most other DRM schemes. As bonus, Steam already has a huge community of gamers (potential new customers!) and Valve-anti-cheat.

But I still like TMUF/TMNF. Even when my Steam got bugged and refused to start when I once had Internet issues, I could still play Trackmania.

[EntropicLqd]

Since I am quite sure this question will be asked, and I can understand why, I will answer it even before it is done....
.....I will come back to you as soon as I have more information or I am making my choice over this. I would bet around September.
Florent 'Hylis' from Nadeo

Firstly, can I say thank you for the clarification on the current position on DRM. And more specifically thanks for being so honest and actually providing a timescale by which you expect an answer.

To be honest I'm suprised that your evil owners have even let you take the decision about what form of copy protection should be used on the games. That's not really the sort of forward thinking, sensible, behaviour I would expect from Ubisoft.

I can completely understand why you would want to try and protect your product. And I support your right to do so.

All I ask is that you will implement it in such a way that I can play LAN games with my friends without an Internet connection. At the small LAN events I occasionally organise there is no Internet and it's concerning to see the number of different games that can be played at them gradually diminishing.

I await the final decision of your copy protection scheme with patience and some trepidation.

[TheDoctor]

Offline Track editing and content creation is important in my opinion. To do that the game should be able to run without a LAN connection. I will also go as far as to say that any over the wire authentication just to run the game is doomed to failure in the long run. Spoofing, hacking and theft will render it crippled inside of a month and I have little confidence in centralized servers run by UbiSoft as they will fail as they have already with other games.

K.I.S.S. Keep it simple stupid(no offense meant, just completing the acronym:).

[w1lla]

Might have a solution as reading through the last known problems by Ubi.

Make the DRM possible in a way for players with internet that they need to connect to a nadeo.com/tm2/account.php

and players without internetconnection can use the cd-rom or dvd-rom to play offline and make things happen:

source:

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/new ... -games-drm
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/new ... rm-cracked

[EowynCarter]

And by the way, even if our previous publishers still used other protections, we released TrackMania Forever without any. The game reached a particular time and it was my choice at that time to do things like this. Since maniaplanet will be even more online, I see less reason to protect it, but at the same time, I see less reason not to do it.

I can name a few. When you move and are waiting for internet, in holiday where you don't always have internet either, times when you ISP mess up, in the train.
Whatever solo part in games, i want to play it anywhere. Without internet connexion. As a paying customer, I don't want to be treated as the theft I am not.

You want money for your work ? Fair enough. But we as customer, want to play. Just to play, without having to worry about anything else.

Please, Hylis, think before it is too late. Don't kill what sounds like a good game with crap DRM.
I'm all willing to pay the game, but not if the only thing I get as a tanks you is trouble and restrictions those how have craked the game don't have.
DRM hinders the real copy ,thus giving more value to cracked, unrestricted ones. The real copies have to be better, not worse, if you want people to buy it.

The only good DRM is no DRM at all. Music industry got it, will game industry wake up ? Stop making a pain of your customer's life, they will tanks you by buying the games.

Please, please, please, don't murder maniaplanet.

TMUF and the no starforce was one step forward, requiring Internet connexion would be two steps backward.

[Trackmaniack]

Easy buddy...slow down. They already said that they're not going to go with the DRM. They HAVE to have some sort of copy protection...heck, I'd even take StarForce or SecuROM again...(never had any problems with those myself)...as long as I can play offline whenever I please...

So long as ubi doesn't blow wads and make Nadeo do it anyway...

[Zell]

Easy buddy...slow down. They already said that they're not going to go with the DRM.

No they didn't.