UPlay - Ubisoft's Launcher

I suppose that it's fine if you want to create your own application marketplace, but without third-party content, it will never amount to more than your own niche product.

Steam isn't the largest game distribution platform because of Valve's products; it's the largest because it has the widest selection of games from everyone.

I consider stability to be an evolutionary issue — something you deal with on an ongoing basis, not a deal-breaker because it sucks one time.

edited 19th Oct '15 11:18:53 AM by Fighteer

"It's Occam's Shuriken! If the answer is elusive, never rule out ninjas!"

Well that and it doesn't shit itself nearly as much as Uplay does on launch days.

I've just taken a quick look at the rules, and it's not entirely clear to me on what grounds you feel that this debate threatens a violation. So, to address the possible grounds that I see:

• Derails are only absolutely outlawed in the "On-Topic" and "Frequently Asked Questions" sub-fora.
• This isn't a complaint thread: we're debating an issue.
• I'm not advocating piracy. (See below for more detail on that.)

(If I'm missing something, please let me know!)

[edit]
I just noticed the separate rules thread for this sub-forum, which does indeed indicate that we shouldn't go off-topic—my mistake! However, see my argument below regarding this side-debate not being entirely off-topic.
[/edit]

This isn't even entirely a derail: it's a debate regarding an element of UPlay, and thus, indirectly, a debate regarding UPlay itself. If DRM is rejected, that's a point against UPlay (to me, at least); if it's acceptable, then UPlay is fine.

In all fairness, it is admittedly perhaps a little unfair of me to keep this debate running while posting so infrequently, so I intend that this post be my last for the moment in this particular discussion. Again, my apologies for the delays between posts!

But, as far as I'm aware, DRM is largely ineffective in many cases. Pirates still get games, and, as pointed out previously, occasionally even encounter fewer problems with those games than do paying customers. On the other hand, paying customers have to put up with online validation, DRM failures, and so on.

Consider this quote that I believe comes from the CEO of CD Projekt Red—which admittedly is the company behind GOG, I believe:

Thus I don't think that DRM actually does significantly aid the production of games, and indeed think that it may well be a detriment.

However, even if DRM were perfectly effective at preventing piracy, I'm still not convinced that I'd find it acceptable. It seems pretty anti-consumer to me.

I'm not sure that this is as true as you seem to suggest, actually—and to the degree that it is true, I'm rather dubious of some of the claims put out regarding the degree of harm done by it. I won't say that piracy is by any means uncommon, but I also don't think that it's the threat that some members of the industry have claimed.

I don't. I'm not advocating piracy at all. I'm pointing out that DRM seems to do more to inconvenience paying customers than pirates. I'm advocating against DRM, not for piracy. They're not the same thing, I believe.

Wikipedia has a pretty long article on DRM, including a significant section on its shortcomings, I believe.

edited 23rd Oct '15 5:14:57 PM by ArsThaumaturgis

My Games & Writing

For what it's worth, I started the thread because I got several UPlay games via a Humble Bundle and I read some disturbing articles about UPlay and potential root kit issues, so I figured I'd air my concerns and see if this were still the case, which it fortunately seems not to be.

Oh, but it was. Just google Uplay and rootkits and you get over 71000 results, with the top ranked ones from such reputable sites as The Register, Digital Trends and Forbes. Luckily for Ubisoft's corporate reputation, (such as it is), they seem to have fixed it very quickly when the storm broke over it in 2012. Thing is, prior acts may well be seen as reasons not to trust Ubisoft not to do the same thing again if they think they can get away with it.

And has been repeatedly said, DRM does not work. It doesn't stop piracy at all. It is merely a temporary inconvenience for those that wish to facilitate piracy.

edited 27th Oct '15 5:29:34 AM by TamH70

DRM isn't meant to stop piracy. DRM is actually meant to stop pirates from leaking the game on Week 1 (or in rare cases, Day 0) long enough for most people (ie, would-be casual pirates and thieves) to end up buying the game, because to devs, the first month's sales are much more important than any sales after that because they tend to be higher than in later months. DRM is meant to be a temporary protection, and most devs are smart enough to realize they can never truly eliminate it.

So in that sense, DRM does work. Just not necessarily in the way you think it's meant for.

edited 27th Oct '15 6:10:09 PM by Nettacki