General Discussion

Treat your customers with respect. And you will be rewarded with respect and loyalty

Treat your customers like potential criminals , and watch them turn on you....

Again  -  i do not blame Bioware's at all

Its all EA

   I already use SecuRom with my downloaded version of a few EA games with no noticeable problems. Ive changed my hardware a few times and the game still runs fine. Ive uninstalled and reinstalled, patched and so forth, no problems. Most of the issues people have with SecuRom seem trivial to me.

 What isnt trivial is the fact PIRATES WILL PIRATE! For the love of god! Im seriously tired of EA putting security in that doesnt have a purpose! Stardock doesnt have any copyright protection to speak of and people bought tons of copies of that game. People will be loyal to nice companies. The only reason companies like EA can keep doing this is people are Lemmings. They will take crap tell the crap kills them.

I buy all my games legit. But I have a 360 so if its not a mmo i dont play it on the comp(at least till i get my new one) But this would not put me off. I would buy the game anyways. The game is amazing and your missing out by now buying it.

i will not support this. i will not purchase mass effect for the pc. i will wait for all of these measures to go away. and if i cant wait there are alternatives.

Originally posted by DeaconX

AN analogy for this god-forsaken DRM would be this:


You have two theaters across the street from each other, the facilities are the same and they are both showing The Dark Knight at 8:00pm.

Theater A has a line going around the block, and admission costs $12

Theater B is is free, has no line.

Now you're a fan of Bale, Nolan and the deceased Ledger and you want to support their work so you decide to go to theater A. While waiting, the head of Warner Brothers comes out and informs the people in the line that because theater B is taking business away from theater A during the course of the film an usher will need to use a flashlight to check your ticket stub and identification, every 25 minutes, oh and if his flashlight runs out of batteries you will need to leave the theater and wait outside until he gets it working again. A person in line mentions that theater B is not only free, but has no strings attached, you just go in, watch your movie and go home, so why should we give our patronage to theater A?

The answer? Because it's the right thing to do.

So what happens? 95% of the people in line go to theater B, 3% go home and say they'll just wait for the DVD, and the remaining 2% stay and watch the film at theater A and afterwards, half of them decide never to come there again.

Credit goes to MickeyKnox from the NeoGaf forum for this analogy.

Some big name stars put out a movie.  The movie goes into theater A and Theater B.  Theater A shows the movie on a normal screen and the proceed for the movie go back to the makers of the movie.

In Theater B they let everyone in for free and hence don't give anything back to the company.

So when the movie company looks at their numbers they show that their numbers are so little, so perhaps the movie wasn't very good at all.  Eventually the movie company won't have enough money to put out quality work.  The Movies Theater B enjoyed watching for free will no longer be there, and all they'll have to thank are themselves.

Now one day the Movie Company decides that from now on, for a theater to show their movies they have to show their movie tickets at the door going into the theater and then again when they go into the actual movie.

Maybe they even have to show their tickets when they sit down. But in the end, The Movie Company gets paid for their work, and doesn't show a large hit in revenue. 

As for Pirates will still Pirate.  Yeah, theres a chance they might still be able to.  But it will make it damn hard, and will decrease the chance of piracy the more security they put in.  Just because they have increased protection it won't make people run to Pirating. It's illegal for one.  For two who's to say a large base of the population playing this game  will be smart enough to Pirate the game successfully? 

Only time will tell, thats for sure.

Originally posted by DeaconX

Official discussion thread: http://masseffect.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=628724&forum=125&sp=0

Almost 35 pages of displeased honest PC gamers already... this is sad... my post:

"How Orwellian...

I only got to reading about 14 of the pages but I bet there are fires and alarms ringng at the Edmonton office right about now... at least I really REALLY hope so because I expect them to be smarter and more morally responsible as a company towards their fans and honest gamers.

I really love BioWare.  You could go as far as to say I adore the company and everything they have accomplished.  However, this really hurts.

I'm cancelling my MEPC pre-order. :(  I hate piracy as much as the next gamer and a few weeks back actually posted asking about the security Mass Effect would use ... but THIS is beyond words.  I'd basically be buying a game with an expiration date / limited use.  That is complete BS and illogical.  I have enjoyed KOTOR for years on many of my PC's/upgrades and still do.  MEPC obviously couldn't be the same.

I am so absolutely sad and surprised by this.  Just a huuuuge mistake it doesn't take a genius to realize that... pirates WILL pirate the game.  Honest gamers will now either steer clear, or put up with this bs.  I won't be one of them as much as I love you guys and gals at BioWare and the wonderful games you create.

Do what you think is right.  But in the end, I honestly think this just destroyed the massive sales MEPC would have enjoyed... and a part of BioWare's credibility/rep.

Every great empire sows the seed of its own destruction... I hope this won't be yours.  Either way, I'm feeling like one hurt honest PC gamer right now and maybe that's all my fault and not your concern or business... but this kind of stuff is NOT PROGRESS.  It's more harmful than it is good...

I'd put up with the DVD check if I had to.. but the constant 'ARE YOU A CRIMINAL?- background check and the 3 instal bs is ridiculous.

Please BioWare, come to your senses.  I hope the damage is not too far done for my favourite company..."

-Sad day for BioWare. And me.  Time to change my sig...

Good words, I fully agree.

I really am starting to think theres something wrong with you people.

C'mon guys its about the game not the developer, if you're really badly looking forward to a game but you hate the developer it's no reason not to play it, gaming should be foremost about fun not some jaded values on consumerism.

Besides as a poster mentioned earlier, give this game a month tops (if even that) and this game will be cracked and ready to play hassle free without intrusive checkups. But I guess that makes you a scum and an asshole apparently lol.

I'd just like to ask everyone posting to please read the following so they understand what this is all about:

SecuROM

SecuROM is the copy protection and security program included in Mass Effect PC.

Mass Effect PC uses SecuROM which requires an online activation for the first time you play Mass Effect PC after installation. After the first activation, SecuROM requires that it re-check with the server within ten days in order to revalidate the CD key. If it can't contact the server before the 10 days are up, the game still runs and it will re-check until it is successful.  If the check is not successfully performed within the 10 day period, Mass Effect will not run until an online check is successful. [effectively screwing all gamers who do not have internet connection for whatever reasons...a huge inconvenience that makes you feel as if you were RENTING the game, rather than owning something you paid full price for.]

Each copy of Mass Effect comes with a CD Key which is used for the SecuROM activation and for registration here at the BioWare Community.
SecuROM does not require the Mass Effect DVD to be in the drive in order to play, it is only for installation.

F.A.Q.

Q: Will my PC (or a specific element of my PC) run Mass Effect?

A: As long as your system is above the minimum requirements, you will be able to run Mass Effect for the PC.


Q: Where do I get help for any problems with MEPC?

A: Official support for Mass Effect PC will be handled by EA. There will also be a technical support forum in the Mass Effect community for fans to help each other.


Q: Why does MEPC need to reactivate every 10 days?

A: MEPC needs to authenticate every 10 days to ensure that the CD key used for the game is valid. This is designed to reduce piracy and protect valid CD keys. [Ridiculous hassle, as pirates will get around this in no time and will have a version with ZERO hassle which will never shut down if you can't validate it online within 10 days, unlike the paying customers.]


Q: What happens if I want to play MEPC but do not have an internet connection?

A: You cannot play MEPC without an internet connection. MEPC must authenticate when it is initially run and every 10 days thereafter. [Single player game, must have internet to play or you're out of luck.  Waita cut down your potential customers... again, the pirated version will remove this BS so you can play without the internet thus making it a superior product.  Good job.  You have just encouraged Piracy some more...]


Q: What happens if I install and activate MEPC with an internet connection, but then do not have an internet connection after 10 days? Can I still play MEPC?

A: No. After 10 days the system needs to re-authenticate via the internet. If you do not have an internet connection you will not be able to play until you are reconnected to the internet and able to re-authenticate.
[Just freaking baffling...]

Q: Can I play MEPC on my laptop PC?

A: Yes, as long as your laptop meets the minimum system requirements and, periodically, has a connection to the internet to authenticate your game.


Q: How many installations will SecuROM allow from my copy of MEPC?

A: Since SecuROM has nothing to do with the installer, you can install and uninstall on the same machine over and over again without any problems. SecuROM also allows you to activate the game on 3 different machines.


Q: Q: What happens if I exceed 3 activations?

A: Your first 3 activations will still work, but any subsequent activation will not work. [Where to even begin with this absolutely retarded idea... You pretty much own a crippled game... with limited installations.  If you change hardware in your machine, it COULD count it as a whole new system thus using an activation.]


Q: When does this authentication check occur?

A: The check is ran automatically when you start the Mass Effect PC exe. In other words, it tries to authenticate when you start to play the game.


Q: There were some problems with authentication servers for games like BioShock. Is EA ready for the influx of MEPC players? Will we be able to play our games when we get them home? [More like will EA's servers be ready for a lack of expected MEPC players, as many are now cancell