Mass Effect PC and Spore Use Recurring Validation
Validation every 10 days intended to thwart piracy.
By Mark Whiting, 05/07/2008

It's no secret that the PC gaming scene is suffering because of rampant software piracy. We've all heard the recent horror stories coming from developers like Crytek, Epic, and Infinity Ward, bemoaning the high cost-to-return ratio of PC game development and the fact that it was driving studio efforts away from the PC platform and to consoles.
Keeping this in mind, it's not really a surprise to learn that at least two of the big incoming PC titles in 2008 will carry one of the strongest forms of copy protection we've seen yet -- a recurring 10-day validation window.

According to a note posted on BioWare's official forums by technical director Derek French, both the PC version of Mass Effect and EA's upcoming Spore have been outfitted with a new type of augmented SecuROM technology designed to re-check your copy of the game every 10 days (starting on the fifth day of installation) to validate and make sure that the CD key hasn't gone public.
continued: http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3167711

So I guess unless you have an internet connection, you won't be able to play games on your PC soon? Or WTF?

Its a sad state of affairs but if its what it takes to keep games coming on the PC then so be it. Lots of people protested steam when it first got going this sounds like someone else's version it won't be too bad IF they can get a smooth launch of their copy protection.

I buy all my games and have an internet connection and I understand why they do this sort of thing perhaps im naive but stuff like this really doesn't bother me too much.

angryhippy said:

I wonder about their criteria to determine a key has "gone public".

If a malicious someone just kept "publishing" extremely long lists of arbitrarily generated "keys", under this authentication scheme could that result in disabling a whole bunch of legitimate users? In a long list of "keys", wouldn't at least some of them match legitimate keys?

Unless a game is a multiplayer game that I actually want to play online, it doesn't get outbound access in my firewall anyway ...

Well it sounds like if it doesn't have access it gives you a 10 day grace period then the securom shuts it down. They may even put a warning on the box that you need connectivity to play.



I go by EA's headquarters all the time. From the looks of the building piracy isn't hurting them that much. Nice view across the wetlands to the ocean.

Just a hop, skip, and a jump until they start pulling this crap with DVD players...requiring a landline phone or cable internet connection for real-time authentication...something I predicted some years ago.

All part of the ultimate goal of pay-per-bit per view strategy. Eventually, you will have to have an account or credit card that can be accessed to debit each time you want to watch a DVD, watch a digital TV show, etc.

It'll get cracked! But more to the point, what's the difference with piracy on consoles
compared to PC's? I'd say the consoles are worse for piracy.

Sure it will. Just another example of how the honest customers get forked over while the pirates live the high life.

TamTheBam said:

Exactly. Worse as in more difficult to do since you have to mod the console and stuff like that. For the Pc all you need is an internet connection and a torrent client.

As long as this Phone Home doesn't install any additional crap on my Pc or uses extra resources then I'm good with it, since my internet is DSl it's always on. I hope the servers don't crash like they did for the activation of Bioshock.

I'm willing to make some extra clicks when I install the game if it means that we'll get more titles, then by all means bring on the Anti-piracy methods.

Meats of Evil said:
agreed... did they ever get Bioshock fixed or is it still a DRM nightmare?

Establishing anti-piracy methods like these only fosters more illegal activity and as a result, screws over the legitimate customers. Although this may seem completely opposite to what should happen, the mentality formed from strong anti-piracy methods is anything but anti-pirate.

There's so many things wrong with that...

a) SecuROM is a Sony product. We know how Sony thinks/works in regards to protecting their stuff...

b) I have a lot of SecuROM v7 protected software titles. Even if they are completely legit, it can (and often does) produce false positives and not allow you to run their software.

c) SecuROM v7 is relatively easy to defeat. I highly doubt this will change it. In fact, it probably would not be very hard to make an application that intercepts and authenticates the software without ever even leaving the computer.

d) Just as Ubisoft learned with Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory (among others) that there is such thing as being "too secure." The result is the exact opposite of what the software was intended for in the first place:
1) More people pirate it because the pirated copies run smoother.
2) The people that do buy it have a high rate of return because the anti-piracy code blacklists many legitimate cases.
3) Pirates love it because it is actually a challenge to break.

Ultimately, they're digging their grave deeper. I've noticed more and more games are coming out with little to no protection (especially in the way of keys/serials). The more they push, the more consumers push back. Staying the course leads to their demise. The clock is ticking...

Or if they want protection just publish the games directly from steam, although that would suck for me who's download speed is roughly 120kb/s. But it's the best security I can think of and the most liked.

I think that is one reason why Assassin's Creed for the PC doesnt have a serial key at all.

Meats of Evil said:
I only purchased one game via an online service (Hard Truck: The Rise of Clans) only because that is the only way to get it. I would much rather have a disk in my hand and not have to rely on some third party's dodgy software. Imagine if Valve's server got fried, how much of a wreck would the average user be in that used their services? I also don't like waiting three hours to download a game I could have installed in less than 15 minutes. I really hate the idea of any corporation playing big-brother (you can't download unless I tell you, you can't burn an install disk unless I tell you, if I say you pirated then that's too bad for you, etc.).

WTF, this wont work.

Just like Windows Activation failed.

So far, Games for Windows is cutting down on piracy but it also does a lot of stupid things. For instance, a lot of Games for Windows games require you to be connected to the Internet to save. How stupid is that?

Since multiplayer/online games are pretty much the only thing keeping PC gaming alive, it is quite successful at securing it from pirates.

Wont happen:
http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/05/10/ea-backs-down-from-draconian-copy-protection/1

sounds like horse s**t, but beyond that, they blame piracy for bandwidth hogging, highly doubt it now with games phoning home every 10 days.

Sean Costello said:
SWEET! You know I have Splinter Cell Double Agent which I purchased and downloaded on line. That game has 4 different codes. A game code for installation, confirmation number to download, Activation request code to go online, and Unlock Code to use if I'm not on line. Pain in the ass. I'll never buy and download a ubi soft game on line again, even if it's something I really want to play, and that's the only way to get it.