Question of the Day, Feb. 19, 2010

[alfrodul]

Never. If I'm playing a PC game, it's *because* my internet connection has failed and won't likely be fixed by my ISP (sub-contractor) until the next week-day morning. So, even if I buy AC2 (and I was quite tempted), the only way I could play it would be to download a cracked copy... But if I have to do that for a game I legally purchased but then am not allowed to play because I don't have reliable internet access, there is a strong temptation to just cut out the middle-man. This is part of why my current #1 PC game is still Oblivion. I never need an internet connection to play the full game and all of its expansions.

 

[ravensshade]

wait... is the poll on behalf of ubisoft!? (joking )

 

[LeonLethality]

I see no reason not to be connected. But sometimes my internet dies as my wireless modem isn't the best.

 

[300lb. Samoan]

I love being connected, my PC is connected to every thing! My monitor, my stereo, my printer, my mouse and keyboard... But seriously:

I want to say this definitively: even though I am always connected physically to the internet (well, ok, wirelessly then physically) that doesn't always mean I have access. The wifi faulters, the router has problems, the modem often loses signal, the weather goes bad and the cable signal loses integrity, other people on the same node decide to all start streaming episodes of The Office at the same time and their bandwidth demands eclipse my game's packet flow so it just shuts off... There are lots of things that keep and internet connection from being constant! Mine is consistent enough that I could enjoyably play, but the first time the connection dropped and I lost a half-hour or more worth of unsaved progress I would be horribly pissed! And I live in a major metro area, I have a friend however who lives in a much smaller city twenty minutes from here and his internet quality is horrible. Most nights we want to play TF2 together, it depends totally on whether or not his connection will be suitable that night. Sometimes he promises to get on and never does, and it turns out his connection was never live that evening. This just isn't fair to some people, although most of those people will just play AC2 on console like I did.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

I am, but the internet sucks. It randomly cuts out and will go days without working.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Always. My home's internet starts at my computer. Now my wireless internet...yeah...that's far from consistent. I couldn't even get it to stay long enough to download a Wii System Update until after a few tries.

 

[Jared]

Im always connected but thats only because genrally doing something in the BG anyway.

 

[tgcPheonix]

Constantly connected most of my games are online, but I like having SPG around just incase my net goes down and have nothing to do.

 

[Kaymish]

i would love to be connected all the time but its just not possible the lines are shocking and if the lines are not playing up its the modem and if its not the modem its the software that the modem uses when im typing forum posts i keep note pad open so when the net dies i can quickly reload paste and post when ive fixed it

even if i didnt mind the draconian DRM for assassins creed 2 i couldn't play it anyway

 

[Earthmonger]

I think this is a heinous new scheme. Living in a rural area, the only internet service available is ADSL, and it goes up and down like a roller coaster. Do you know how damned annoying it would be to drop your game every hour or two? Screw Assassin's Creed 2.

(My connection is another reason I do not party in MMOs, yet still play them. I can't be relied upon.)

 

[antidonkey]

My machines are always connected but having to have an active connection to play a single player game is bull shit. Yes, I know this will have little to no effect on me but I still think it's wrong. Besides, if you run a laptop, you might find yourself bored with lots of time to kill but lack an internet connection which means you're screwed unless you can tether you cell phone. It's a crappy practice and I hope Ubisoft figures this out sooner rahter than later.

 

[jimduckie]

gee i usually don't connect to the net when gaming on the 360 , i always exceed my limit and my isp sucks , the main reason i don't connect to the net when gaming is cost and i don't like online gaming very much

 

[uppitycracker]

I always stay connected, but here's my issue. At least once a day, my modem resets, and I have to do the unplug and wait 60 seconds bit. Sometimes, this happens up to 3 times a day. It's just something with my service, I've exchanged modems, tried different routers, ect. They can't tell me why it happens, but honestly, it's never been a big enough deal for me to really care about it too much.

Now enters the age of DRM, where the games you purchase come with strings attached. Now, I can understand something like Steam, where I have to be connected when I first boot up the game, or hell, even the program my games come with. That's no problem at all. But then enters the types of DRM that only allow a limited number of installations, contain programs that I must allow to permanently attach itself to my registry, and the worst, require me to be connected at all times.

With my internet issues, it's very plausible that I'll end up, on more than one occasion, having to backtrack through my game because a certain company doesn't trust me, the paying customer, to do the right thing. Hell, I already paid for the damn game, why should I be under such strict policing after I've done what's right?

For this reason, and this reason alone, I have made a conscious effort to avoid any PC games with types of DRM like this. It isn't fair to me to have to suffer because the company is afraid they won't make an extra million off of their game. Working in the industry, I've seen the types of DRM that work, and the types that don't. I'm proud to say that the company I work for has the integrity to not force standards like this on our paying customers. Granted, it's based mainly on the multiplayer experience, and I know games like Assassins Creed don't have the same luxury, but there are always better alternatives.

The day a publisher decides that their profits are more important than the desires, or needs, of the customer, and let that get in the way of the customers personal gaming experience, is the day I stop supporting that publisher. It sucks, because this in turn hurts the developers, but it's the only way I can do anything to voice my opinion on the matter. Vote with yer wallet, people.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

Since I frequently use my laptop for gaming, whether or not I'm connected depends on where I am at that moment. I'd say I'm online while gaming 60-70% of the time.

In webdesign we've got the concept of "Occasionally Connected Computing", which (very basically) means that online applications don't totally crap out on you the moment you go offline for whatever reason. Ubisoft and other DRM-loving publishers would do well to take a hint there, especially since there is no technical reason a single-player game should be online all the time, unlike traditional web-applications. They're deliberately creating a 'solution' that in any other field would be seen as a problem to be solved.

 

[Fayathon]

Most of my PC gaming is online, but even then, while my computer is on, it's on the internet.

 

[ssgt splatter]

Oh that sucks. Another reason why I'm a console gamer.

 

[thenumberthirteen]

Always as I have a desktop, but that is not precluding my use of games when the internet is down.

 

[xxnightlawxx]

=.= Running out of interesting questions.

 

[BioTox]

I am always on the internet since the game I play is WoW. LoL That's the only way. If I am playing other games, I usually have STEAM, Xfire or Ventrilo running in the background. There's always my FireFox playing Pandora radio too. =P I would die of boredom without the internet.

Doesn't help that my job is web developing/design. ;D

 

[snow]

Having to remain connected online to play a games' single player content has always felt silly to me...

We were more or less tricked into having to deal with this sort of thing when half life 2 came out because it was overly hyped and was a must have for many half life or fps fans... Ubi is only hurting themselves for trying to do the same for a game that feels like it has been out for quite some time now.

Doing this just pushes people to challenge themselves to crack the games, and creates a much uneeded headache for those like me who purchase games legally.. Whenever I get stuck in the middle of a situation like this.. I can't help but think of the hundreds and thousands of players who cracked the game and are enjoying it right now, while a legal "owner" of the product has to sit at his computer chair and deal with an extra hassle just to enjoy the same content...

It's unfair treatment to those who spend good money to play their games, and is slowly being less tolerated day to day. Ubisoft is only hurting themselves by trying to mimic this... Especially by doing it for a game that seems like it has been released for quite some time now on console without the uneeded hassle..

This is one of the many reasons I'm slowly slipping away from PC gaming.. If any company decides to try their hand at doing this with a console game, allow me to be the first to slap them upside the head.. It's stupid, and it's unfair...

It's like having a janitor watch you pee in the public bathrooms to make sure you don't get anything on his toilet seat... I doubt anyone would feel comfortable with that...

Edit:

I feel like they're somewhat trying to blame ME for others who steal their games... Kind of like how you're in a classroom full of bad students who won't sit down and be quiet, and you get lumped into the punishment for being placed into that classroom... Detention for being at the wrong place at the wrong time..