Command and Conquer 4 requires always-on internet

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/07/forced-to-connect-eas-cc-4-requires-always-on-internet.ars

by scotth • 17 years ago

16 13 17 years ago

Do they really think that this will allow DRM that will take more than two days to crack?

The only way they can truly use this to effectively DRM the game is if all game logic was handled server-side (as in an MMOG), which for a popular game like Command and Conquer would require a gargantuan and costly server farm.

tptacek2• 17 years ago

I don't think this is about DRM, it's about content protection; they want to do "interesting" (read $) things with achievements, but can't trust clients to do offline attestation.

(I say this only because we've worked on content protection systems for other game titles from other publishers where protecting achievements was the goal, not preventing unauthorized copies. I don't really know what CC4 is really trying to do.)

Still, titles like this should require warning stickers. "Will not play on airline flights."

vaksel• 17 years ago

this won't stop anything....the pirates will just setup a few servers in china and make all those achievements free.

blasdel• 17 years ago

Steam's DRM is actually useful to me for multiplayer games -- losing your license is a pretty compelling cheating deterrent! They also devilishly only make bans randomly several days after you are caught, to dramatically slow the iteration cycle of someone trying to evade the detection system.

buugs• 17 years ago

This kind of makes me want to pirate a game when (not if) it is cracked.

It will probably end up being a simple patch to install as well like the no-cd patch for games like starcraft

javanix• 17 years ago

Why would it make you want to pirate the game?

How many times will you be using a computer that is powerful enough to run C&C4 but doesn't have a persistent internet connection?

The current crop of DRM is horrible (and in my opinion, makes pirating less ethically sketchy), but an always-on internet connection doesn't really seem to be that horrendous to me. Provided that they don't start charging a subscription fee or devaluing players who don't play one (granted, a reasonable concern given EA's track record), the internet connection idea seems to actually provide some benefit to the user, and would probably not be all that intrusive.

If implemented correctly it might make moving around your legally purchased copy to a new computer much easier, for instance, and could probably help cut down on the cheaters present in a lot of online games these days.

embeddedradical• 17 years ago

as the article mentioned, on a laptop.

kuzux• 17 years ago

I have problems with my connection pretty often and mostly that's when i play games - when i'm offline.

lawn• 17 years ago

And I thought you couldn't sink lower than the limited installs spore-style. I guess this is an new era of dumb.

wenbert• 17 years ago

Always-on internet?! The creators are out of touch with reality.

philwelch• 17 years ago

I wonder what we're going to do about this in ten years, when the servers have been switched off and everyone has forgotten C&C 4 except a few retrogamers.

windsurfer• 17 years ago

Many flash games that I play require an always-on Internet connection.

Command and Conquer 4 requires always-on internet

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