Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

DRM Broke Dragon Age: Origins For Days

Posted by Soulskill on from the hope-it-was-worth-the-pr-nightmare dept.

Martey writes "Ars Technica reports that a server problem with the DRM authentication servers has caused Dragon Age: Origins players to be locked out of any saved games that include downloadable content. Quoting: 'Thanks to a combination of DRM idiocy and technical and communications failures on the part of EA and Bioware, I (along with thousands of fellow EA/Bioware customers) spent my free time this past weekend needlessly trapped in troubleshooting hell, in a vain attempt to get my single-player game to load. The problem, it turns out, was the Bioware's DRM authorization servers.'" An update to the article indicates the problems have finally been resolved.

11 of 214 comments (clear)

  1. Once again... by exomondo · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...legitimate *customers* get screwed. What's the bet the pirated version didn't have this problem?

    1. Re:Once again... by RsG · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Obvious question though: Does the pirate version include the game's DLC?

      TFA notes the problem was with savegames containing DLC content. Put another was, legitimate customers who own "DA:O vanilla" were fine, legit customers who owned "DA:O deluxe" were screwed.

      Of course this highlights the real problem. Dragon Age is a single player game. It doesn't need an online component, except for patches and achievements, neither of which should involve any risk of savegame lockout when the servers crash. The sole reason for having severs that can render savegames unloadable in the first place was copy protection for the DLC (not copy protection for the basic campaign), and a fundamental rule all game developers should follow is: Don't let anti-piracy measures get in the way of playing or enjoying the game. Any anti-piracy measure that can fail in this manner should not be included in the first place.

      Also, frankly, they'd have never included DLC savegame lockout as a feature if EA hadn't made it company policy to focus on DLC as their financial holy grail. If they wanted to, they could easily make single player DLC work on a machine that isn't connected to the internet. Do they really need additional copy protection for additional content? Are there really paying customers out there who'll buy the game for $40 and pirate the DLC to save less than $5?

      --
      Erotic is when you use a feather. Exotic is when you use the whole chicken.
    2. Re:Once again... by Kjella · · Score: 5, Informative

      Errr... TFS says it's about savegames with download content activated. If you have a pirated version, you obviously won't have download content in them (at least I'd assume).

      You assume wrong. As usual only the legitimate customers are screwed...

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
  2. Not new... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    I bought the original for my girlfriend and she had serious issues when the DRM server went down. It was so bad she stopped playing entirely.

    If you tried to load a savegame with DLC when the server was experiencing problems, it would silently remove DLC and characters from the game and allow you to continue playing without it. The trouble came when you saved again. The new savegame would be created without your characters or DLC from the originally loaded game.

    Well, when you play a dozen hours of the game before realizing that that character you weren't playing at the time and those neat items you picked up poofed 12 hours ago, it turns out you're not really inclined to keep playing.

    EA: No thanks. You got me once with your useless support for Battlefield 2, and you got me again with Dragon Age. I won't be buying another of your products.

  3. Re:"There is no right to play" by MisterJohnny · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Do we really need to revel in its failure every single time a major game studio screws its customers?

    Yes.

  4. DRM should come with an SLA by Marble68 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    When a software company embeds DRM into an application, there ought to be an SLA they are held to.
    Things like:
    1) Availability of DRM servers
    2) A warning that unavailability of DRM servers could prevent gameplay

    If we must have DRM, can we at least have some level of service with that DRM so we can actually *use* the product?

    --
    /me sips his coffee and ponders a new sig...
    1. Re:DRM should come with an SLA by griffo · · Score: 5, Interesting

      I would add a mandatory third clause:

      3) DRM cannot be used unless a method is made available to remove it through a certified third party in case DRM fails, whatever the reason. (Failure to meet SLA, software company ceases to exist, etc)

  5. Re:Only affected the PC version by RoFLKOPTr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Nuff said. Perhaps playing the game on the PS3 or 360 would be a better thing

    That's the stupidest thing I've ever read.

  6. Took me all of 60 second to fix by dieth · · Score: 4, Informative

    sed -i addins.xml 's/RequiresAuthorization="1"/RequiresAuthorization="0"/g Launch DA, continue playing.

  7. Re:I too have resolved the problem by Gadget_Guy · · Score: 5, Informative

    I am lucky that I didn't get screwed with this. I normally do a quick google search on what the DRM of a game is before I buy, and most of the matches were of the announcements that this EA title didn't have SecureROM DRM. There was no mention of the DLC having it. Is this a tactic to look like they are listening to their users' complaints while stabbing them in the back once they have made their purchase?

    If you look at the game on Steam (yes, I know that adds its own DRM), there is no mention of the usual EA DRM text on the Ultimate Edition that includes the DLC. They sell that version cheaper than the vanilla edition to suck you in (your local prices may vary). It is obvious which version EA want you to buy!

  8. Re:"There is no right to play" by Sabriel · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The game corporations will claim that there is no right to play, and maybe even insert a clause that means roughly that into the EULA. It is their right: if you don't agree with their offer, don't buy it!

    Don't know which country you're in, but mine has a law concerning "fitness for purpose" that overrides anything a business puts in its EULA.

    Do we really need to revel in its [DRM's] failure every single time a major game studio screws its customers?

    (a) Yes. It focuses attention on the problem.
    (b) No. But hey, schadenfreude.