stoibs: Eh? Now I’m intrigued. Googled borderlands 2 achievements and browsed the Steam forums for a time and came up empty, unless your referring to the ‘challenge’ in-game system; which STEAM achievement in that does something? First I’ve heard about it.

Yes, the challenges. The challenges are just achievements by another name and they reward you for pursuing them.

In any case, community shared achievement/trophy system was created so the developers could track what people were playing and how they were playing it and what they were spending their time on without ever having to spy on anyone (and we give it freely)…

There is also an updating bug i get where uplay downloads an update, closes and reopens and download the update again and again and again. I’ve had to reinstall that piece of crap 3 times already.

I guess the only way we can change it is by voting with our wallets, I’m already giving AC3 a miss and any future UBI games.

As an anti-pirate measure its failing anyway, a quick search brings up many farcry 3 and AC3 downloads with easy Uplay hacks. The only people they are hurting with this stuff is the people that pay for their games. Same can be said for most intrusive DRM programs, they are just pushing more people to pirating.

Btw: It took me 15 minutes and 3 restarts of FarCry3 yesterday to be able to accept a game-invite from a friend. Maybe they should rename it to “uwontplay”

This way, stores like uPlay and Origin can still exist but they’d only need to provide activation keys for the main activation system (similar to how GMG and the like provide Steam keys for activation). This service doesn’t even have to sell games at all.

Some may cry “MONOPOLY!” but when you think about it, it takes a bit of complexity out of PC gaming by removing the need for multiple DRM client applications. By removing complexity, you get more people into PC gaming which in turn means more heads to shoot.

Since Steam is the closest to this ideal system, it should be used as the baseline for creating such a system.

Haven’t had to use uPlay yet, thank goodness; but just like with Steam prior to the latest build you can easily get around Point 4 with a symlink, you don’t need to be ‘computer savvy’ to make one.

Also, Origin is better than STEAM. STEAM is to focused on all the community stuff, and while its nice to have, it takes away from more impotent things, like the download manege, witch is SHIT on STEAM.

Also, Origin deals DLC 1000% better, and I really wish Uplay and STEAM would move to the Origin way of doing things in that regard. STEAM just makes them a patch, witch is the WORST thing it could do. Mean while, I can download DLC on Origin, and then play the game why I wait, cos the DLC is a separate download, NOT a patch.

Also, having more places to buy the games is a GOOD THING not a bad one. STEAM has a monopoly on the market, and its about time some people started to try and compete with it. The more there are, the less likely we are to loss all our digital games if any one of them goes under.

PinothyJ:
On another topic, Borderlands 2, and games like it, have made in-game achiements worth something…

Eh? Now I’m intrigued. Googled borderlands 2 achievements and browsed the Steam forums for a time and came up empty, unless your referring to the ‘challenge’ in-game system; which STEAM achievement in that does something? First I’ve heard about it.

The biggest problem for Uplay/Origin is that they won’t get the following of Steam. Steam has annoyed less people and opened up more avenues for gamers in the last decade than any other distribution mechanism for PC owners. EA and Ubisoft not only have bad reputations but have a history of bad business decisions/practices too. Currently the only way they’ve garnered any real support is by force. Steam doesn’t need force.

I’m not an advocate of DRM in any form. So technically even Steam is on my craplist. However the thing Steam does right is it stays out of the way for the most part. Something both Origin and Uplay do not do. If anything I think linking EA, Ubisoft and Valve to Game Ranger’s management of online servers and actually supporting their customers would be a good start.

Now just need to solve the pesky DRM issue…

On another topic, Borderlands 2, and games like it, have made in-game achiements worth something…

Not that that makes it a whole lot better though.

And the movement of game files… yeah this is why I will have no problem running 2 layers of DRM (steam+Uplay) when I finally decide the price of Farcry 3 and ACIII are low enough for a steam purchase. (hopefully steam redeemable keys on an amazon sale :D)

I disagree with point 5 and actually see this as something unique that Uplay does right over everyone else. What use do my Steam achievements have? Can I cash in my microsoft points and/or PS3 Trophies? No? Saying that they’re “trivial” or that they lack quality is still a quantitive value greater then zero – which is what my “pat on the back” rewards are worth to me on every other client/platform. I had fun in my various AC unlockable missions/outfits that didn’t cost me a single extra real life cent ;)

It would be able to compete with origin and steam.

The reason steam is so vastly used, is the sales & the amount of titles available.

I’d prefer to just use steam personally, they got their foot in the door first and I have used them for many years now. I don’t understand how these other companies think they can compete at this late date – I guess they have the long view of it.

And yes, it is easy to centrally manage games, but it’s the idea of buying digital content that makes Steam work. And yeah, a quick look at torrent sites shows how many steam-only games are on there and cracked. But for someone like me (who’d like to think he wouldn’t pirate anyway) there’s no way I’d use a game like that for fear of losing my entire steam account. Hell, I got nervous enough buying a key for Syndicate on Origin seeing as it was banned in Australia and it was the first time I’d ever bought a key!

I understand your first point, which is why I’ve started using Steam again after a long hiatus. I just comfort myself in the knowledge that if Steam dies/account buggers up, I’ll just crack everything I’ve got. Morally I’d feel vindicated since I paid for it all.

You’re also making the mistake that not having DRM = not being able to centrally manage your games. There is no technical reason why Steam can’t do everything it does (launching, updates, cloud saving, community, etc), but with no DRM whatsoever. The DRM exists solely to keep developers/publishers happy such that they’ll invest in using Steam. It does nothing on its own to help the end-user.

As for your final point, you’ve got it wrong. I’m not going to say “make good games and people won’t pirate” – I’ll say “make good games and people will BUY THEM”. Steam DRM has been cracked for ages, it doesn’t protect against anything.

You make a good argument for using more online platforms… I’ve already lived through the change from Stardock Impulse into Gamestop, and UPlay and Origin are both back by large and healthy publishers.

At the end of the day, what is the anti-DRM movement suggesting? That I have a separate log-in for each game? Even a separate exe is a PITA, I’d much rather a single launching platform… and how do you suggest I buy digital content? Straight from the developer? I have no desire to add more complexity to my numerous logins.

And at the end of the day, DRM does provide some measure of protection for content, primarily because it’s disincentive enough for some people to not use it (what with concerns about being ‘discovered’ and locked out of, say, Steam, or just that digital content is now cheap enough to be a real alternative to piracy). There will always be the hardcore that will torrent/usenet/whatever and the current standard answer of “make good games and people won’t pirate” is completely bullsh** (just in-case you wanted to trot that out).

Thankfully just putting uPlay into offline mode kicked some sense back into it, but that kind of thing annoys me greatly. I have no trouble with DRM when it works. But when it doesn’t? I hate it. With a fiery passion. There are pages of me railing about Steam on the day of the Half Life 2 launch. I’ve hated Steam at other times when it decides that “nope, offline mode isn’t working for you” when I have been travelling or otherwise without net. Or when it just decides that a game is unavailable for whatever reason.

Until DRM is transparent and unobtrusive I’ll always have issues with it. But the benefits that Steam provide as a platform and a service (never having to track down patches and version numbers again!) far outweigh it’s current issues. uPlay is not there yet, not by a long shot.

debri:
The love for Steam is really too much.

Didn’t anyone click disagree to the new ToS (even just for a laugh) a couple of months back?
Feel that chill when they locked you out of all your purchased games? Nice, right.

I do have major concerns about DRM. However, it’s a compromise. You either use Steam or you forgo the extreme vast majority of PC games out there. It’s a compromise, and since I’m not going to be able to change how the world is shifting, the best I can do is find a balance between Steam and other non-DRM vendors like GOG.

As for those who are aware of DRM and aren’t bothered by it, if your games are ever denied because your account is locked out or Steam is down/disappears (purely hypotheticals), you’ll probably change your opinion. But by then it’ll be too late, hence the anti-DRM movement.

yeapal: The only way these other ‘services’ are going to steal a large amount of steam loyalists is to offer them all the games they already own on steam and add them to their uplay/whatever account.It’ll never happen.

Origin already do that with some of their titles, I agree with you that it’s a nice touch.

Was quite surprised when I logged in for FarCry3 to see Ghost Recon Future Soldier sitting their, had entirely forgotten about it (and at the time didn’t have to login to Uplay to play it, just had to enter username and password).