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EA Patches Spore, Eases DRM

Posted by Soulskill on from the slowly-but-surely dept.

EA has released the first patch for Spore, the purpose of which is to fix a number of bugs and tweak some gameplay settings to be more entertaining. Some of the visual effects were upgraded as well. They've also officially responded to the complaints about Spore's DRM, stating their intention to increase the number of allowed installations to five and to set up a system to "de-authorize" systems in order to reclaim the installation credit. They plan to allow multiple screen names per account, which was an issue for many families trying to play the game. This comes not long after EA made similar changes to the DRM of upcoming RTS Red Alert 3, and after Spore's DRM protest spread to in-game creature designs. Reader SoopahMan notes that users in EA's Spore tech support forum are reporting a number of new issues caused by the patch.

39 of 161 comments (clear)

  1. How gracious of them by Verteiron · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I wonder if they actually believe this is going to change how people feel about the DRM, or if they just don't care and are trying to curb the Amazon comments?

    --
    End of lesson. You may press the button.
    1. Re:How gracious of them by calmofthestorm · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Easy. You make enough people happy that the protesters can be comfortably ignored. Deactivation isn't enough for me, but it's no longer renting the same way it was. Add in a promise to completely disable all drm if/when they shut down the servers and I think you could get most people onboard.

      Not me, but enough of the mainline gamers for it to matter.

      --
      93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
    2. Re:How gracious of them by hairyfeet · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Well,the limited activation BS equals no sale for me. When I buy something I want to actually BUY,and the limited activations make this an expensive rental. I still have games from the old DOS/Win9X era that I like to break out and play by companies long gone which I couldn't do if they had this crap. Which,of course along with killing the right of first sale is the point. To turn the whole business into an expensive rental so when a company gets bought out the buyer can simply kill the activation servers and get paid all over again for new keys.

      And any promise to get rid of the DRM when they shut down the servers is just a lie. Today most of the companies get bought out,which means their promise is worthless unless it is written in the EULA,which I'm willing to bet it's not. So sorry EA,but this is one customer that won't be buying your product until the limited activations are gone,period. This is a game,NOT iTunes.

      I would STRONGLY suggest everyone spread the word and keep as many folks from buying the game as possible,because in case you haven't heard other games are going to end up with this crap. The next one to have the limited Activation stench is Crysis:Warhead. So please spread the word and keep EA and the other major players from stealing your right of first sale!!! And as always this is one old gamers 02c,YMMV

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    3. Re:How gracious of them by CSMatt · · Score: 2, Funny

      The next one to have the limited Activation stench is Crysis:Warhead.

      I wouldn't worry, since no one is going to be able to run the game anyway.

    4. Re:How gracious of them by Drantin · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The only company I could believe shutting down the DRM when they die is Valve's Steam, and I'm still fairly skeptical of that.

      LGP has stated that everyone in the company is authorized to release patches disabling DRM if the company goes under...

      All LGP employees have the authority to produce, on their own, and without the order of the company, such patches, should the company be unable to produce them or to request their production, on the event that LGP ceases trading.

      --
      Actio personalis moritur cum persona. (Dead men don't sue)
  2. Are they really that naive? by MindlessAutomata · · Score: 4, Insightful

    We're willing to evolve our policy to accommodate our consumers. But we're hoping that everyone understands that DRM policy is essential to the economic structure we use to fund our games and as well as to the rights of people who create them. Without the ability to protect our work from piracy, developers across the entire game industry will eventually stop investing time and money in PC titles.

    Not only does this sound hilarious ("essential to the economic structure...") but not once in the history of software piracy, as far as I know, has DRM -ever- stopped piracy.

    I have to wonder if the CEOs and the decision-makers are out-of-touch and naive. Who do they think is actually going to believe this shit? Do they? Frankly, I don't think any actual malice is going on, just complete stupidity by non-techies easily wowed by the DRM snake oil.

    People like to go "ugh EA is fucking us!" and also complain "But the DRM actually hurts sales!" (probably true) and yet they STILL bang their head against the wall. If DRM worked, then the EA fucking us thing might be true. But given how worthless DRM is and how hackers break it the day it comes out (and often, before, as was partly the case with Spore) I frankly have to wonder if someone is simply just out of touch.

    Actually, I have a better idea. DRM is being used not because it works, but because someone (or some group, the people responsible for fighting piracy or such?) in the corporate structure ants the people up top to think they're doing their (impossible, and they likely know it) job so they don't get sacked. DRM stinks of a product of bureaucracy.

    1. Re:Are they really that naive? by calmofthestorm · · Score: 5, Insightful

      To stop piracy they crack down on BT through various means. The purpose of this DRM is to destroy resale value and make people need expensive reactivations/buy new copies if anything goes wrong/so they can shut down the servers and switch to a new model any time they want.

      This is similar to how child porn is used to justify measures that do nothing to prevent the people who make it, but seem to have an awful lot to do with curtailing protest against the gvmt.

      --
      93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
    2. Re:Are they really that naive? by Paradigm_Complex · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Not only does this sound hilarious ("essential to the economic structure...") but not once in the history of software piracy, as far as I know, has DRM -ever- stopped piracy.

      (1) The goal isn't to completely stop all piracy of the product, just curb it. Some people would prefer to just buy the game rather than waiting for a crack or having to hassle with it. While it varries, this is the case sufficiently for companies to consider it worth the downsides. Of course this isn't the case when the DRM more trouble than just waiting a bit more for a clean crack, or if the crack is out before the game actually launches (as happened with Spore).
      (2) BD+ is still pretty locked down.

      --
      "A witty saying proves nothing." - Voltaire
    3. Re:Are they really that naive? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Your first paragraph sure nails this thing. That is precisely what DRM is about. Not pirating software but to make it harder to resell games. Games companies have already mentioned that places like Gamestop that sell used games hurt the developers.

      Sony and Microsoft are combating it in a similar way with the PS3 and XBOX360. They are trying to push for more games being sold through PSN or XBox Live. Your reselling of games at that point is pretty much toast. What they don't seem to realize is that in the long run this hurts them too because by not being able to trade in the online purchased games they users are not able to afford purchasing as many new games.

    4. Re:Are they really that naive? by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Actually DRM is working.

      I don't buy, or download the game.

      So, even tho they are losing a sale, they aren't being hurt by me pirating.

      Now, if I could just put the game on the hard drive of my non internet pc and play, I'd buy the game - but even I know that's just silly talk.

      YAY DRM!

      --
      _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
    5. Re:Are they really that naive? by Aereus · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I wonder what they have to say about the fact that the game was already cracked before the release date, and more than half a million people pirated it in the first week alone? How do they still justify that it prevents piracy?

      In many cases the crack lets you get the game running faster than trying to mess around with driver and firmware upgrades to get the DRM functioning.

    6. Re:Are they really that naive? by Malevolyn · · Score: 2, Informative

      And it was promptly usurped by the HBC and WadManager (and Wii ports of FCE Ultra, Snes9x, etc). I'm not sure about the 360, but there's a similar case with the PS3 as well. Just because downloads are being pushed doesn't mean they're selling. Obviously they are, but the point is one doesn't necessarily equal the other. Just a thought.

      --
      Your ad here.
  3. Too little, Too late. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They could have acted sooner. alot sooner. now it's too late. they put me off, and I wont be swayed with this pathetic "fix"

  4. To borrow a phrase... by lowlymarine · · Score: 5, Insightful
    From Benjamin "Yahtzee" Croshaw of "Zero Punctuation" fame:

    "They could not have missed the point further if they had fired in a completely different direction and the point was in another country altogether."

    The point is, EA, I WILL NOT be treated like a criminal. 5 activations is more than 3, yes, but it's still less than infinity, the number I should have. The number every other game (BioShock and Mass Effect aside) gives me. And I will not buy a single-player game that you can turn off at any time for any or no reason. Period. So back off the insane DRM or you will never get another penny out of me ever again. And I doubt I'm alone in that sentiment.

    1. Re:To borrow a phrase... by calmofthestorm · · Score: 3, Informative

      They say "let us manage your rights, you can trust us." I say "let me manage my rights, you can trust me."

      The difference is, I've never helped someone pirate a game I bought, and I don't buy games with DRM (aside from dumb shit like cd keys/anything that is replay vulnerable)

      They screw over honest players time and time again.

      Until the free (pirated) version is harder to make work than the expensive broken version, I'm not buying.

      Or rather I'm buying from competitors and skipping Spore because it is, as noted below, a shallow, tedious clickfest.

      I hate half baked games nerfed to appeal to the IQ of 60

      --
      93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
    2. Re:To borrow a phrase... by lowlymarine · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Seeing as all of my Steam games are installed on all of my computers at once all the time, and have been reinstalled countless time without ever jumping through any special hoops to "refund activations," I'd say it's not much of a comparison. And while Steam is pretty restrictive DRM, it comes with upsides - I can install any game I own at any time on any computer without needing the disc. I can even play against other people on my account at LANs. Spore's DRM, however, doesn't offer any upsides. It's all restrictions, and only on the legit users. I'm pretty sure that despite the online activation and phone home nonsense, you even still need the cocking disc in the drive to play!

    3. Re:To borrow a phrase... by wirelessbuzzers · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I bought Spore. The DRM is irritating. But you don't need the cocking disc in the drive to play.

      --
      I hereby place the above post in the public domain.
    4. Re:To borrow a phrase... by malkavian · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I'm on death row. The death is irritating, but at least they're not using the electric chair.

      Somewhere along the line, you've missed the point; This DRM cripples your rights to resell a game (if it stinks, you can sell it on and recoup some of your losses, if it's not one you want to hold on to and play again and again, you can resell it). It cripples your ability to do anything with it that you'd normally expect to do with something you buy (you can lend a book to your mate; CD in the drive protection allows you to do this with a game, DRM doesn't).
      There is a whole historic section of law that guarantees the purchasor's rights to do what they want with items they have bought. Software companies, and DRM in particular have been trying VERY hard these last few years to work their way around the law, so that technically, you do still have the right to sell on the game (you can put the install DVD on Ebay or whatever), but it will be useless to the person who purchases it, making your legal rights useless.
      In other words, yes, these companies are effectively stealing from you (yes, exactly what they're saying pirates do to them).
      They are deliberately killing the resale market, ensuring you have no ability to recoup any of the money you spent on the item (or donating it to charity in the way of charity bookshops etc.), in any way the law says you should be able to do with such an item (as it was fair to be able to do such a thing).
      Yes, I know the first sale doctrine is confused because the software companies say that software is 'licensed'. The day they turn round and say that they'll replace all media once it's broken, and allow perpetual updates, and not tie it to any particular machine, and vastly reduce the cost, then I may think twice (actually, I use Steam, as it lets me do most of that).
      As it stands, the companies are way too greedy and grasping, feeling quite at home screwing over their customers in the attempt to create larger sales. The sooner this ends, and a 'fair' market resumes (in the same way it happened with books and such) the better.

  5. I fixed it a week ago already by unity100 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    and it works great. no issues with drm at all.

    --
    Read radical news here
  6. Re:Still a shallow, tedious clickfest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    So the DRM is gone

    Read the summary again. Or at least the full title.

    Hey it WAS "ERASES DRM" but they eased the the "R"!

  7. Who chose this title? by pembo13 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I read that as "EA Patches Spore, Erases DRM"

    --
    "Thanks for all the money you paid to us. We've used it to buy off ISO among other things" -Microsoft
  8. Nah, they actually believe it by Moraelin · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I have to wonder if the CEOs and the decision-makers are out-of-touch and naive. Who do they think is actually going to believe this shit? Do they?

    Actually, from the very limited sample I've seen (two people, for two different products, to be exact) they actually do believe that it'll help. That somehow _this_ time, surely people won't find a crack for their hare-brained protection scheme, at least until the first weeks have passed and the sales went past their peak.

    Frankly, I don't think any actual malice is going on, just complete stupidity by non-techies easily wowed by the DRM snake oil.

    Both people I'm talking about were techies. One was a _brilliant_ programmer, in fact.

    Actually, I have a better idea. DRM is being used not because it works, but because someone (or some group, the people responsible for fighting piracy or such?) in the corporate structure ants the people up top to think they're doing their (impossible, and they likely know it) job so they don't get sacked. DRM stinks of a product of bureaucracy.

    In both cases it didn't come as a requirement from the publisher. Well, I suppose it probably would have, sooner or later, but it didn't even have to come to that. People a heck of a lot lower down that food chain were already convinced that (A) they need some copy protection or people will steal their preciouss... err... I mean their work, and (B) that this time theirs will work. Even if you point out that every game before had been cracked before it even hit the shelves, they'll retreat into faith that surely people will be too stupid to find that crack.

    (Especially us nerds are good at building stupid arguments based on "everyone else is stupid.";)

    I guess the moral is: don't underestimate the power of wishful thinking. Faith may not really be able to move mountains, but it sure can make one run head first into a mountain, believing right until the impact that it'll yet move out of the way for him.

    I guess it's just a subset of a more general observation I've made some time ago: the easiest way to get someone to do stupid stuff, to get even an otherwise intelligent and logical person to warp their logic into wishful thinking, is greed. You can see it in this, pyramid scams, advance-fee (a.k.a., Nigerian 419) scams, stock tip spam, both recent bubbles, or the occasional idiot gambling himself into debt. At some point the temptation is so big that the brain kinda shuts down. Well, ok, maybe not "shuts down", but goes into a failure mode where all logic is warped and it starts using fallacies and lies on itself. The carrot on a stick of "man, if I were that lucky..." is perverted into "yes, I _know_ I am that lucky, and here's the string of fallacies and bullshit that 'proves' it."

    Especially when one has already invested a lot of personal money, and stands to lose them if things don't go as planned -- be it having already paid the first advance fee in a 419 scam, having already bought the started kit in a pyramid scheme, or merely having taken a loan to start that small games studio -- it's a depressing thought that you could lose it all for nothing. At some point you start lying to your own damned self just to allay your fears. Yes, you know you'll be that lucky, this time the hare-brained scheme will work, even if the universe has to bend its rules for you. Or even if half the world has to be hit by an access of stupidity and forget how to google for a crack. You know it'll happen for you.

    Of course, that's just armchair-shrink conjecture, but it's the best I've come up with, to explain the real observation that otherwise intelligent and logical people can become utterly stupid and illogical about such a topic. They can do advanced maths just for fun, they can calculate advanced probabilities and exponents in their head, but they seem to genuinely believe that they can join a pyramid scam in some point where they still win big and everyone else loses. Something doesn't add up.

    --
    A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
  9. Meh by alvinrod · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I'm honestly not entirely sure what I've been let down by. Perhaps it's something to do with the DRM or maybe it's just a random bug in the game. Whatever it is, I haven't been able to actually play the game for over a week now. I've Google searched the problem endlessly, but haven't been able to come up with a solution and I've even resulted to dealing with EA support (albeit comically*) to try and figure out what's wrong.

    I purchased the game the day it came out, installed it without a hitch and had a generally okay time playing the game. It wasn't everything I had dreamed it would be, but I found it fairly entertaining in its own right. For whatever reason, on the third day the game stopped working. I hadn't updated my system, changed any settings, or done anything that should suddenly stop the game from working; but for whatever reason, it just stopped working.

    I've pretty much stopped caring and even if I were to get it working again I'm not entirely sure how much more I would play the game after having to deal with as much crap as I have. I looked over the patch notes and it seems as though there might be a potential fix, but of course I'm running the Mac version of the game so who knows when they'll actually patch that. After dealing with EA, it hasn't even been the DRM that's turned me off so much as the customer support in general. I've finally become a casualty to this monster that people have been decrying for so long. I guess I'll take my number and join the group.

    * In case you were wonder I've been undergoing support through EA's online support system. This entails me submitting my problem and them getting back to me sometime within the next three days with generally unhelpful advice. The last piece of advice I got was from a guy (every time someone has got back to me, it's been a different person) who instructed me to follow steps which started with "Go to Start -> Run ..." despite the fact that I'm on a mac. I got a pretty good laugh out of it, but at this point I really have to question how much EA has their shit together. From my end the answer seems to be, "Not very."

    1. Re:Meh by Ruud+Althuizen · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I looked over the patch notes and it seems as though there might be a potential fix, but of course I'm running the Mac version of the game so who knows when they'll actually patch that.

      It just uses a Windows binary within a 'compatibility layer' from Transgaming (known for Cedega). So you don't have to wait for a Mac-specific patch.

      --
      **TODO** Steal someone elses sig.
  10. Re:Installation limits by QuantumG · · Score: 4, Insightful

    What ever happened to The First Sale Doctrine? You have a right to resell that game when you've finished playing it.

    They're just trying to kill the second hand market.

    --
    How we know is more important than what we know.
  11. Nope. Still going to pirate it by 91degrees · · Score: 2, Insightful

    That gives me infinite installations!

    For god's sake! I could see a limit to the number of installs in a certain time making some sort of sense, but they've still removed any resale value.

  12. Re:Installation limits by 91degrees · · Score: 2, Insightful

    A lot of people have come up with this theory. It certainly fits the facts, but is the second hand market really that big a problem?

  13. Unfortunate by Thyamine · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Unfortunately I was looking forward to trying this game, especially since it was available for OS X, and of course the interesting hype and all. And while I don't think they are going to notice that I don't purchase it, the limit on installations just seems beyond silly. I will accept some DRM if it makes them feel better but doesn't limit me beyond keeping a CD in the drive or perhaps a serial number around. But just as other people here have said, I can't tell you how many times I've installed Starcraft or Warcraft or Quake.. You get the point. Unfortunately, working in the computer consulting industry, I have very much seen this type of attitude from managers/owners/PHBs where they are really too far removed to know how bad it is or they get sucked in by some 3rd party explaining how great (in this case) DRM will be for sales and helping combat piracy.

    --
    I will shred my adversaries. Pull their eyes out just enough to turn them towards their mewing, mutilated faces. Illyria
  14. Though this has already been hinted at... by Etrai · · Score: 3, Insightful

    ...no one has said it outright: DRM (and plain old copy protection if you care for the distinciton) only punishes those who care to buy the software. While this might not have been the intent this is the reality of the matter.
    Stardock saw it, why can't EA (et al.)?

  15. Re:How gracious of you by bky1701 · · Score: 4, Informative

    "You are publicly admitting to larceny and I hope you're nailed to the wall for it."

    Copyright infringement, at best. I am getting tired of having to point this out to those who ether refuse to acknowledge the difference, or are simply too brainwashed to tell.

    --
    Great Intellect...
  16. Overwhelming Gall by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful
    From Frank Gibeau's open letter:

    ... we're hoping that everyone understands that DRM policy is essential to the economic structure we use to fund our games and as well as to the rights of people who create them. Without the ability to protect our work from piracy, developers across the entire game industry will eventually stop investing time and money in PC titles.

    I can't believe the gall of EA to speak about the PC game industry like this. Here is the largest third-party game publisher in the world (unless Ubi Soft has them now), holding exclusivity contracts with multiple major sports franchises so their yearly Madden installments have no competition - who routinely releases malfunctioning games to the end consumer - who has been called out for overworking and underpaying its employees - who would rather charge you a buck to unlock a cheat code, or put ads in your game, than respect you as a customer - and this guy has the nerve to speak about what is good for the industry?

    No, EA. Not buying it. Not buying your game, not buying your bullshit. Cry me a fuckin' river about software piracy -- no way I'm feeling sorry for you being hoisted by your own SecuROM petard.

  17. Re:Installation limits by 91degrees · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Didn't realise just how much profit they made on second hand games (never having sold one and if I did I'd use eBay).

    Still, there's supply and demand here. Presumably you have no stats as to how many times games are resold on average.

    Honestly, I don't fault Gamespot for doing this. Games are expensive, and they're serving an apparent market niche here. I think people are insane for paying so much and selling for so little but they have the choice.

    The developers themselves tend not to receive royalties anyway (the studio does but it tends not to trickle down to the actual coders, artists and designers), so I'm not really too fussed.

  18. Re:Installation limits by sqlrob · · Score: 2, Informative

    There's one flaw with your argument.

    They don't sell used PC games, only used console games.

  19. Re:How gracious of you by calmofthestorm · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Oh did my rental expire? My dad bought the games decades ago and gave them to me. Or was the right of first sale retroactively abolished too.

    --
    93rd rule of Slashdot: No matter how obvious my sarcasm is, my comment will be taken seriously by someone.
  20. Obligatory Star Wars quote: by Lank · · Score: 2, Funny

    C3PO: Surrender is a perfectly acceptable alternative in extreme circumstances! The Empire may be gracious enough to...

    (Han nods at Leia who promptly turns him off)

    --
    Gotta get me one of these!
    1. Re:Obligatory Star Wars quote: by Froboz23 · · Score: 2, Funny

      "The more you tighten your grip, EA, the more customers will slip through your fingers."

      --
      Take off every Sig. For great justice.
  21. Fortunately for anti-DRM, it's not a great game. by Gavin+Scott · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Spore has two problems. First of all it has rather annoying DRM that probably actually has negative effects on about 1% of its players. But more importantly it's just not that great of a game. It's style of play and features will probably appeal strongly to about 10% of players.

    So the game is not going to do anywhere near as well as they hoped. But the gameplay problems are probably at *least* 10x more the cause of this than the DRM issues.

    But who are the developers going to blame? Which do you think is more likely:

    A) Developers admit "The game wasn't that good really. Next time we'll try harder. Sorry about the $50M we spent over four years."

    B) Developers blame DRM protests saying "This game is a failure only because of the DRM related issues. We are saddened by the fact that so many people were pushed into bootlegging the game which prevented its being a commercial success."

    Anyone else think "B" is slightly more likely?

    The net result is that everyone blames the DRM stuff so that they don't have to take any personal blame for the failure. And so the anti-DRM crowd gain a huge win that will dramatically reduce DRM use in the future, even though DRM probably had little to do with the relative success of the game.

    G.

    P.S. After wandering through a computer store and seeing hundreds of copies of the game in both regular and collector's edition versions this weekend, I have a new tag-line for it:

    Spore: It's what's in stock.

  22. Re:How gracious of you by ultranova · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Copyright infringement, at best. I am getting tired of having to point this out to those who ether refuse to acknowledge the difference, or are simply too brainwashed to tell.

    More importantly, calling things which aren't stealing stealing is slowly but surely making the concept meaningless, or at least not carrying the negative overtones it once did. That can and probably will have nasty consequences, when someone does the obvious conclusion that since downloading abandonware is OK, so is looting a store, since they are both stealing.

    It's a bit like how the word "sex offender" is losing its meaning due to being used in every conceivable and inconceivable context: guy who pees in the bushes, guy who walks in the street naked, guy who rapes little girls... These are all "sex offenders" if caught, so the last nasty critter gets to hide behind the first two harmless ones. Not to mention the guy who was proven innocent in a court of law but is still kept in the registry...

    --

    Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

  23. EA/Maxis threatening to ban Spore accounts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Over on the official Spore forums all threads about SecureROM, DRM, or questions about these threads are now being instantly LOCKED by EA/Maxis moderators. Also, this was edited into one of the threads by a moderator:

    http://forum.spore.com/jforum/posts/list/3869.page

    quote:
    SecuROM as been discussed and discussed so much and it causes arguments in threads. If you want to talk about DRM SecuROM then please use another fansite forum. If there is any change you will be able to read it on the official Spore site.

    Please do not continue to post theses thread or you account may be at risk of banning which in some cases would mean you would need to buy a new copy to play Spore. /quote:

    So it would appear EA/Maxis's OFFICIAL stance is that if you question them, they will lock your account and force you to purchase another copy.