[QUOTE="RobertBowen"][QUOTE="-Origin-"] But one MAJOR issue with mass effect is the DRM. How the activation and registration for that game is going to be is the following. You buy the game, activate it online and there you have it, it's over with!... NOT! The game requires you to activate your game once every WEEK !!. That means if you buy mass effect and decide to go on vacation and it's been over a week, well sir, you are out of luck because EA has just terminated your cd key and you have wasted your money. I mean how does EA possibly think they're going to get away with this!
df853
That is incorrect. The way it works is this:
1. You need an internet connection, because when you install the game you have to authenticate it online. If you do not have access to an internet connection you cannot play the game. Period.
2. You have a limit of 3 activations. You can install the game on 3 different PCs, or make 2 'significant hardware' changes on the same PC before you use up your activations. Note that the developer has said you can install/uninstall the game on the SAME hardware as many times as you like, as long as you have not changed any hardware or reformatted your hard disk. Changing your OS will also probably trigger using another activation.
3. If you need a fourth activation, you have to contact EA customer support. EA will deal with requests for further activations on a 'case-by-case' basis and will require proof of purchase. They may say 'no', in which case you have yourself a shiny coaster.
4. There is no information on what constitutes a 'significant hardware' change.
5. SecureROM copy protection software will be installed in the background. There will probably be no information whatsoever telling you about this. This software is similar to a virus in that it buries itself deep in your system, putting null values in your registry, hidden files and directories on your hard disk, and it is difficult to remove. SecureROM is NOT uninstalled when you uninstall a game using it. If you use a Limited account to play games, you will probably trigger UAService7.exe which is a SecureROM file intended to give Admin rights access to Limited accounts so that the game can be played. This opens a potential back-door for hackers to exploit. SecureROM also does not like monitoring/debugging software running in the background, and is believed to interfere with totally legal CD burning software (including Nero), and virtual disk software (Alcohol, Daemon Tools etc). Because it does not like 'virtual disk' functions, it is also reported to have an issue with SCSI drives, and some RAID setups. If your CD/DVD drive has problems reading the game disk, SecureROM is directly to blame for that.
6. There will be no revoke tool to buy back activations (it is not in the FAQ on the official forums).
7. All future EA PC games will be using the same DRM scheme, including Spore, Mirror's Edge, Dragon Age and many others.
8. People on dial-up connections will be paying a telephone call every time they activate a game using this DRM.
9. If you telephone customer support for new activations, you will be paying for the calls, hence incur 'hidden costs' to play your game. For those with no local EA offices in their country, they will be charged international call rates when trying to get an additional activation. You can, of course, opt to use Email - and will probably have to at some point to send EA a digital photograph of your game CD, manual, case or receipt and send that as proof of purchase.
Enjoy playing your future EA games (and probably games from 2K as well which use a similar system). Personally, I will be avoiding them like the plague.
Thank you. Someone has stated the truth. Everyone keeps thinking you can only install the game 3 times, and that is clearly bs. The whole concept of activation binding to a specific hardware profile is not new. Win XP with a non-corporate key does this only you get 1 activation, not the 3 this game will provide.
I was unaware that this game did #5 you listed above. That sux. I don't want games messing with low level parts of my OS because I don't know what they are doing and I don't know how to revert back aside from reformatting which is bs. If something starts randomly failing I may have no way of fixing it. Well... I wasn't so against SecureROM before, but now I guess I am...
#5 makes me upset, too. I will still probably buy Mass Effect, but I'll wait until Gogamer has a big sale. Still, I'm apprehensive. Similar protection programs have previsously screwed up other software I've run on my pc, and I had to go to a computer shop to have them remedy the situation. Those programs do truly get deeply ingrained in your system and it's pretty hard for the average guy to troubleshoot and fix them.
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