Originally Posted by
WCP
Actually, I've heard that this new method that they are using could make pirating the game "extremely" difficult. I will admit to not understanding the whole technical method behind it, but the way I understand it, in laymans terms it works like this:
The reason you need a constant internet connection for the game to work, is that bits and pieces of the game are streamed to your PC, and installed "temporarily", seconds before they are needed for the game to function properly. Thus, you lose your internet connection temporarily, and the game is automatically paused. The reason the game is paused, is because the game needs these "bits of code", to function. If you lose your internet connection, then it doesn't get these bits of code, and the game becomes unplayable. Another way to think about this is kinda similar to the whole "OnLive" thing. With OnLive, you aren't actually playing a game on your computer, the game is streamed to your computer, and you're playing it from a remote server. This isn't exactly how the Ubisoft thing is going to work, but it's somewhat similar in theory. Supposedly, about 95 percent or more of the game code will be on your computer, but the other 5 percent (or less), won't be. This small amount of data that is critical for the game to function, will be streamed to you, just ahead of the time in which it's needed for the game to function. This is why you need to "always" be connected for the game to work.
Now, will it be completely impossible for hackers to get around this type of security? Probably not. But, I've heard that if hackers are able to get around this issue, to play the game, they might actually be able to play the game, but they will end up playing a busted, incomplete game. Imagine, playing certain levels where the enemies are completely missing from the level. It could end up being something along those lines.
I will say that everything that I've said above could be 100 percent inaccurate, but I was on another message board, and this is what people were talking about. This is how they kinda explained what Ubisoft is actually doing here. It's sounds really harsh for Ubisoft to take such measures, but hey, I don't really blame them. Piracy on PC is pretty rampant. Probably almost half the people playing their latest games on PC aren't paying for them. They feel like they got to do something drastic to change this, and this is definitely a drastic measure, but I give them credit for having the balls to actually try this. The key factor is whether or not this actually truly eliminates the ability for pirates to hack it. If it really does, then I think their efforts are justified considering the climate of piracy on PC. If it doesn't work, then it's just something that is going to really piss off their legitimate customers.
We'll have to wait and see what happens. The bigger question is when is this going to hit the home consoles? Could Sony or Microsoft or Nintendo get away with requiring an always active internet connection to be able to play your games?