The anti-DRM thread

[MoragaBlue]

Reading this thread's been interesting and helpful getting up to speed on what I've missed.

RE: Bethesda

I didn't think much of it but when loading Doom Eternal for the first time via Steam, I had to set up some kind of account with them before I can play. Now, because the game was "free" from my GPU purchase, I tolerated it. I mean, nothing in life is truly "free," and one can expect having to jump through some hoops for it. On the other hand, had I paid for it, I would have quit and immediately gone to Steam Help and requested a refund.

RE: XBox

You guys remember when that disastrous launch when they wanted internet connection as a requirement? Well, I'm in an industry where it's imperative to read the tea leaves and understand trends, and since that launch, I thought it was a good bet they'd eventually try to implement the scheme again. As such, I had decided to never purchase an XBox, ever. You know, the fool me once adage at play here.

Not that it matters to anyone what I do, but given the console shortage, I noticed that the new XBox is now readily available. If it weren't for this crap, I'd likely have bought one.

 

[DrMrLordX]

I'd probably have bought some or all of them had it not been for the Denuvo & using another app warnings.

Just an FYI but all the Assassin's Creed games sold on Steam are just links to Ubisoft's own online store/service, uPlay/Ubisoft Connect. Buy it on Steam and it appears in your Ubisoft library elsewhere. That's the "other app" warning.

From a force of habit, unless I'm multi-playing, which I'm not really into these days (had my fill during a misspent youth on Starcraft, Quake & Unreal), I always block not only games but any app that I don't need to access the net via my firewall.

If that's the case, you won't have much to worry about then. Some people on GoG lose their minds over stuff like Horizon: Zero Dawn collecting information for Sony.

 

[MoragaBlue]

If that's the case, you won't have much to worry about then. Some people on GoG lose their minds over stuff like Horizon: Zero Dawn collecting information for Sony.

LOL...I'm sure they have valid reasons.

However, for me, I mostly just don't want Apps "phoning home" absent of my consent, knowledge or a valid reason to. Regarding having my info sent to Sony, I really couldn't care less per se, especially since I'm not all that interesting. But, because I'm what you'd call an ardent free-market Capitalist, for the same reason that I'd never respond to a survey unless there's some kind of compensation for doing so, I'm not giving them my info for free, if I can help it.

They want it? Pay me, just I do their games--tit-for-tat.

 

[DrMrLordX]

LOL...I'm sure they have valid reasons.

Well they might. But they don't have to grant it firewall access. It might not work 100% but even Windows Defender picks up stuff like that.

 

[Aikouka]

I can't really speak for what Sony is doing, but at times, some of the data that is collected can be used to help better the overall experience. You can tie hooks into software to capture information such as how buttons are pressed, etc., and that information can be used to clean up a user interface based upon how users behave with it. There's a term for this, but its name escapes me at the moment. Although, if you give me the option, I'll generally turn it off, because unless you tell me exactly what you're collecting, I'm not interested. In my experience, most people don't tell you the extent of what they're collecting.

I don't use a Microsoft Account either, but that had to do more with how using a Microsoft Account can mess with the ability to automatically log into shared folders and such. It is kind of annoying how they keep pushing it harder and harder and trying to make you use one. There are some advantages, but in general, I don't really need those extra features.

 

[MoragaBlue]

I don't use a Microsoft Account either, but that had to do more with how using a Microsoft Account can mess with the ability to automatically log into shared folders and such. It is kind of annoying how they keep pushing it harder and harder and trying to make you use one. There are some advantages, but in general, I don't really need those extra features.

I more or less share your views. I'm obviously not a Microsoft fanboy but I'm also not a MS hater either; it's just over the years for most of my everyday stuff, I prefer the Mac iOS' ecosystem--if you use iPhones, Mac iOS is really the way to go. Microsoft has only been necessary for games and work stuff--even now some legacy apps are necessary. That's it.

However, as I'm getting up to seed on this DRM age, I've been taking a look at XBox Game Pass. Ah, this strikes me as pretty good deal. I mean, if I don't "own" games anyway, why not just do it right and SaaS it a la Netflix. This way, I can run them all on my PC, don't own them anyway, play the newest games and only subscribe when I have the time or mood to play games. When I don't, like the other services, just cancel or pause, and resub later. Obviously, with their $1 trial, I'm going to try it.

Am I missing anything? I'm assuming that even with a PC, you can play all of their games?

PS - On Win 11 Pro (I like to pause updates), I've noticed that the XBar App (whatever it is) is always there and returns even if you uninstall it, which I have many times. Until now, never thought I'd ever have a reason to do anything even remotely to XBox.

 

[Aikouka]

I more or less share your views. I'm obviously not a Microsoft fanboy but I'm also not a MS hater either; it's just over the years for most of my everyday stuff, I prefer the Mac iOS' ecosystem--if you use iPhones, Mac iOS is really the way to go. Microsoft has only been necessary for games and work stuff--even now some legacy apps are necessary. That's it.

I'm a little mixed on MacOS. I bought a MacBook Pro (13" M1) a year or so ago (got it on a nice open box deal), and I've been fairly happy with it. I think a lot of that opinion stems from it being very good hardware-wise and battery-wise. I'm a little mixed on the OS, but that's arguably because I'm also very used to Windows. For example, I prefer the way that Windows deals with window sizing and maximizing versus the weird, full-screen-esque method that MacOS uses.

I also wish that Apple would be more open to certain technologies. For example, MacOS doesn't support touch-based input. To get that, you have to use third-party tools that require some configuration to make work well enough. I have a PC in my kitchen that is largely used for recipes or playing media while in the kitchen, and I use a 24" touch monitor with it. I was tempted to switch to a Mac Mini due to it allowing for easy use of AirPods, but getting touch to work on it was just too much of a hassle. I'd rather just stick with the NUC.

However, as I'm getting up to seed on this DRM age, I've been taking a look at XBox Game Pass. Ah, this strikes me as pretty good deal. I mean, if I don't "own" games anyway, why not just do it right and SaaS it a la Netflix. This way, I can run them all on my PC, don't own them anyway, play the newest games and only subscribe when I have the time or mood to play games. When I don't, like the other services, just cancel or pause, and resub later. Obviously, with their $1 trial, I'm going to try it.

Am I missing anything? I'm assuming that even with a PC, you can play all of their games?

GamePass can be especially good if you tend to lean toward newer releases as Microsoft has pushed for all of their titles to be released on day one on GamePass. It does include third-party titles as well, but it is worth noting that games are sometimes removed just as they are also added. For example, one of my favorite puzzle games, Lumines Remastered, was recently removed from GamePass.

In regard to the free trial, in the past, you were able to bank up a considerable amount of Xbox Live Gold and have it convert to GamePass Ultimate via the $1 trial. I do not know if this is still available, but you were able to bank up to three years -- importantly, not even a single day beyond three years!! -- and convert it. I originally did that with about two years, and now I usually pick up renewal cards around Christmas time.

In regard to PC games, it is worth noting that PC and Xbox GamePass are technically two different things, and they don't both get the same games. Typically, Microsoft's announcements for upcoming GamePass games will include denotations for which platform(s) get the game. Also, in their basic form, PC and Xbox have separate subscriptions for GamePass; however, if you have GamePass Ultimate, you get both PC and Xbox in addition to game streaming.

PS - On Win 11 Pro (I like to pause updates), I've noticed that the XBar App (whatever it is) is always there and returns even if you uninstall it, which I have many times. Until now, never thought I'd ever have a reason to do anything even remotely to XBox.

It's probably getting reinstalled as part of an update as the update likely doesn't check to see if the default app has been removed or not. I do believe the Xbox app is used to download the games for PC GamePass. I don't use it because -- at least in the beginning -- Microsoft heavily locked down where the games were stored. I do believe they're still locked down, but just to a lesser degree. It's to the point where mods that normally get installed in the game's directory would need to be installed in a separate directory that the game has to then check.

 

[MoragaBlue]

In regard to the free trial, in the past, you were able to bank up a considerable amount of Xbox Live Gold and have it convert to GamePass Ultimate via the $1 trial. I do not know if this is still available, but you were able to bank up to three years -- importantly, not even a single day beyond three years!! -- and convert it.

Still works, at least it did for me tonight. Thanks for the heads up! Basically, just bought 3x12 month XBox live gold pass things from Amazon, then converted all of them at 1:1 to Ultimate.

Heck of a deal, 3 years Game Pass Ultimate for around $150.

 

[BFG10K]

It comes as no surprise that anti-cheat software is being exploited for ransomware:

Hackers are using Genshin Impact's anti-cheat software in ransomware to kill antivirus processes

At least one hacker is using anti-cheat software included in the tremendously popular free-to-play MMOPRG Genshin Impact to help mass distribute ransomware. The file is named 'mhyprot2.sys'...

www.techspot.com

It's funny, we were told the whole point of killing private servers was to stop cheating, yet players still have to install rootkit malware locally which is then exploitable by bad actors.

 

[DrMrLordX]

It's funny, we were told the whole point of killing private servers was to stop cheating

Who told you that?

 

[BFG10K]

Skyrim Now On GOG

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition

The Anniversary Edition includes: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition The Elder S

www.gog.com

Since game launch, auto-updates have been a constant problem for a huge chunk of players because they break mods. Now with the GOG version you can perpetually run any version offline that you please.

Also GOG's Anniversary Edition includes all 74 CCC items directly baked into the game. There's no trace of Bethesda.net or CCC, even the menus have been removed from the game.

That's the difference between game ownership and a "service".


Call Of Duty Needs A Phone Number

Upcoming Call of Duty has annoying phone number verification requirement

The upcoming game launches October 28th.

www.theverge.com

"Oh it's no big deal, just setup a free throw away email!"
"Oh it's no big deal, just setup a free throw away logon!"
"Oh it's no big deal, I have 32GB, I can run 10 launchers at once!"

And now it'll be "oh it's no big deal, just setup a free throw away phone SIM!"

Except you can't because phones / prepay are not usually "throwaway" unless you're a movie criminal robbing a bank. Also prepay might not even work, and VoIP won't work.

Why should customers pay for an extra number to play the game they legally purchased while pirates just double-click the exe? Then when they're hacked it'll be a "we care deeply about security, khai thx bhai!"

It's only a matter of time before they start asking for more telemetry like fingerprints or facial recognition. You'll have no rights and you'll continue to pay to have no rights, and for the privilege of being data-mined so they can sell your info to China et al.


2K Support Hacked

A hacker used 2K Games’ support desk to send gamers malware

We don’t yet know how many people were affected.

www.theverge.com

2K Support admits customer support hack, warns affected users to reset passwords

2K Games, the publisher behind franchises such as Borderlands and BioShock plus sporting series such as NBA 2K and WWE …

www.eurogamer.net

What a surprise! Who would've thought collecting customer telemetry was a risk?

 

[DrMrLordX]

What a surprise! Who would've thought collecting customer telemetry was a risk?

That could happen to any company that has your phone number. A lot of them do. It has very little to do with telemetry. It's a bad look for 2k regardless.

Call Of Duty Needs A Phone Number

It's unpopular already. Blizzard had to back off of a similar scheme for OW2. At least in the case of OW2, it was touted as an anti-cheat measure, which is why they weren't going to allow prepaid and Textmail-like services to be used as a verification number. The idea is that you can't make throwaway accounts for cheating. Too many people out there have prepaid phones for a scheme like this to work. Why anyone would implement the feature for a $$$ triple-A title is anyone's guess, thought. OW2 is f2p while in the CoD-iverse, only Warzone is f2p.

 

[Borealis7]

weren't going to allow prepaid and Textmail-like services to be used as a verification number.

and just-like-that it has also become a de-facto "poor people filter". many people don't have post-paid phones in poorer regions.

 

[DrMrLordX]

and just-like-that it has also become a de-facto "poor people filter". many people don't have post-paid phones in poorer regions.

Pretty sure that includes anyone on plans like Straight Talk, and a ton of people use that service. Or similar.

 

[Aikouka]

and just-like-that it has also become a de-facto "poor people filter". many people don't have post-paid phones in poorer regions.

I wonder how many people just don't consider that. Honestly, I didn't even think of it until I saw someone mention it in regard to Overwatch 2's phone number requirement.

One reason why I might not want my phone number to be associated with my account is possible hacks. Generally, it's not the worst idea to keep PII away from any sort of anonymous identifier (i.e., your online username). It can be worse when people have been able to sim-jack someone's phone through social engineering and a naive carrier customer support agent. The last thing you need is someone getting mad at you because you spawn camped them in a game, and they try to get back at you using leaked information.

 

[BFG10K]

Call of Duty Modern Warfare disc is just a payload to download full game @ 150GB.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Disc Version Doesn't Actually Have the Game on it, Serves as Hardware DRM

So you live in Randomville in the middle of nowhere, with a slow ADSL that's barely a few Mbps fast, and thought you could enjoy Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II on PlayStation 5 with its disc version? Think again. It turns out that the disc version of this game doesn't actually have the game on...

www.techpowerup.com

Not surprising since this has been around thanks to Steam. What's new is you still need the disc in the drive to play the game.

That's right folks, digital download-only games now have disc-check hardware DRM. So in addition to owning nothing, paying customers get the worst of both worlds. So much for "digital is more convenient because I don't have to hunt for my disc!"

A new level of lunacy.

 

[DrMrLordX]

So much for "digital is more convenient because I don't have to hunt for my disc!"

There is a non-disc digital download version of the game that requires no disc. Still kinda funny that there is a disc version that is completely unplayable offline. Seems like a waste.

 

[BFG10K]

Quake remastered is now DRM-free on GOG.

 

[BFG10K]

Madden NFL 23 cloud saves wiped, up to ten year's progress gone: https://hothardware.com/news/madden...-after-save-data-wiped-but-there-may-be-a-fix

Yet another example of the problem with "games as a service". Remember folks, cloud means "it's on someone else's hard-drive and you have absolutely no control over it".

 

[QueBert]

Got MW2 free with my CPU a few weeks ago, didn't wanna play online but I did want to try the single player campaign. Phone required regardless. (I unchecked MP & Co-Op when I installed) I don't have a cell, and according to a lot of what I read on Google, even some people with a phone on a plan had their number come up as pre-paid so they can't register. I'm not about to go get a phone on a plan just to play MW2, which sucks because the single player looks pretty decent.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Got MW2 free with my CPU a few weeks ago, didn't wanna play online but I did want to try the single player campaign. Phone required regardless. (I unchecked MP & Co-Op when I installed) I don't have a cell, and according to a lot of what I read on Google, even some people with a phone on a plan had their number come up as pre-paid so they can't register. I'm not about to go get a phone on a plan just to play MW2, which sucks because the single player looks pretty decent.

That's weird. I can play Warzone 2 without a cell # (and mine is prepaid so meh). I haven't tried MW2 though.

 

[BFG10K]

Ladies and gentlemen, introducing Redfall:

Redfall To Launch With Denuvo, Will Require Constant Online Connection

A Redfall Q&A has revealed that it will require a constant online connection to play, with a Steam update pointing to Denuvo as the cause.

www.kotaku.com.au

Steam account DRM: yes.
Bethesda.net account DRM: yes.
Denuvo DRM: yes.
Constant internet connection for single player DRM: yes.

Yet in the other thread we told Steam is good because it "saved" consumers from this sort of thing.

On the plus side, these companies are making it very easy for me to keep my money.

And in other news, Epic has pulled all classic Unreal games (and many others) from digital storefronts:

Epic Puts Several Unreal Games And These Other Titles On The Chopping Block

Epic Games has decided to remove several titles that are based on what it defines as 'out-of-date online services' like Rock Band and Unreal Tournament from all storefronts.

hothardware.com

There's absolutely no reason to do this for singleplayer games or those that allow LAN multiplayer. Of course there's no way to get micro-transactions or lootboxes into them, so they don't fit the new world order(tm).

Epic were once the pillars of PC gaming, now they're an excrement-sucking, orifice-licking 50 cent army.

 

[DrMrLordX]

Has Arkane done anything good since Dishonored 2? I don't see why I would want to play Redfall. Maybe they'll de-Denuvo it later on. For now it looks like a day 1 must not buy.

 

[JujuFish]

Has Arkane done anything good since Dishonored 2? I don't see why I would want to play Redfall. Maybe they'll de-Denuvo it later on. For now it looks like a day 1 must not buy.

I never played them, because they're not really my cup of tea, but Prey and Deathloop were both very well received.

 

[CP5670]

There's absolutely no reason to do this for singleplayer games or those that allow LAN multiplayer. Of course there's no way to get micro-transactions or lootboxes into them, so they don't fit the new world order(tm).

Epic were once the pillars of PC gaming, now they're an excrement-sucking, orifice-licking 50 cent army.

Really dumb move. Many people still play all the UT games. They are widely available elsewhere, with many third party servers.

And Unreal 1/2 are primarily singleplayer games (and very good ones for their time). What was the point of delisting those?