Ubisoft Removing DRM from PC Version of From Dust
by Craig Getting on August 23, 2011 8:36 PM ESTFrom Dust, the much-hyped “God game” from Out of this World developer Eric Chahi, hasn’t had the smoothest launch on PC. It currently lacks graphics options, has an arbitrary performance cap of 30 frames per second, and many bugs. From Dust also comes with always-online DRM, despite Ubisoft telling their forumgoers earlier that From Dust would only require a one-time authentication.
Ubisoft recanted on the DRM issue earlier this week. “We recognize that one of our posts in the From Dust forum regarding the need for authentication in the game was not clear,” said the publisher in another forum post Monday. “We sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding. Our tech teams are working on a patch that should release in approximately two weeks that will eliminate the need for any online authentication.”
The post goes on to explain that the patch won't go live until Ubisoft is sure that removing the DRM will not ruin erase or contaminate save data for those who’ve already begun playing.
No word yet on whether or not the patch will fix the other issues plaguing From Dust on PC, but the full removal of DRM shows that Ubisoft is at least aware that their game isn’t working properly.
Update: Giant Bomb reports that Steam is now offering refunds of From Dust to dissatisfied customers at Ubisoft's instruction.
Source: Ubisoft, Rock Paper Shotgun
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MarkLuvsCS - Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - link
I ran into one issue where my saved games wouldnt sync with ubi which didn't bother me since i don't anticipate my comp dying, nor would losing my saved game data destroy me. For a $15 game it's actually a lot of fun. It isn't a long game but it does have replay value through the challenge mode (I love the fact in one you have to burn down one of your villages to save 3 others or at least seemed easiest to me :-] ) and sandbox building for fun. I personally would like more graphics options just to take full advantage of the PC but it does look pretty, albeit a little small in scale.I REALLY want a new populous with refreshed graphics (hell even 5 yr old HL2 type graphics could fit the bill) but massive worlds. Populous 3 the beginning was much smaller than the dos Populous in size and it did take a little away from the world not seeming soo massive.
I may have been a lucky one that didn't have any problems, but I won't be sad to see the DRM go away because I definitely have run into problems before with DRM. I love purchasing on steam though I never seem to run into trouble anymore, and that is one reason why I rarely ever buy anything not available on steam. Random sales are great, they keep my catalog that i can pick and choose when to install/uninstall as well as stream patches for the catalog, and if i ever need to go to another pc i can always login with my credentials and have access to my stuff when my main PC isn't connected.
B3an - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
You're an idiot for buying this amazingly poor port and supporting such a disgusting company.gevorg - Tuesday, August 23, 2011 - link
What about Assassin's Creed Revelations?Craig Getting - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Ubisoft called their DRM policy "a success" (http://www.videogamesblogger.com/2011/08/12/assass... just weeks before the From Dust fiasco.Days before From Dust, they scaled back the Driver: San Francisco DRM from always-on to only requiring an Internet connection every time you launch the time.
Odds are that the next Assassin's Creed, one of their flagship franchises, will include some form of always-on DRM.
Zingam - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
Didn't Ubisoft say recently that their DRM plot was a crushing success???TheSev - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
The only thing the DRM is crushing is sales and PR.mcnabney - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
That's the truth. I haven't bought anything from Ubi since the original Assassin's Creed.My reasoning is related to how I game. I like to play old games. I am playing NWN2 right now and I can guarantee that almost any game over 3 years old would likely have their 'authentication' servers shut down, turning legally purchased software into an expensive coaster. I don't trust software companies to do the right thing, so I don't buy software that infringes on my perceived rights as a consumer.
LordanSS - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
I did the same thing regarding Ubisoft, but once their titles "age" (over a year or something), they remove their always-on DRM scheme.That, plus a good sale price on the game, gets me to buy it. Waited a bit, but I eventually bought Assassin's Creed II and Settlers 7 on sale, with their DRM off.
It still tries to sync your savegames to their cloud, but if it fails it's no biggy, really. Works fine for me, still.
But yeah, brand new game with herculean DRM: nope, I ain't biting into that. Once they remove it and put a decent price on the title, I'll snag it from Steam or D2D.
inighthawki - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
If their scheme is "so successful" why did it only take me 1 minute to find a copy of the game from skidrow stripped of all DRM? Unless people have just gotten lazier over the years, or there are just more people buying games due to other reasons (such as steam being a pretty decent platform) then I cannot imagine how their new scheme is working any better than before.Shadowmaster625 - Wednesday, August 24, 2011 - link
So all you have to do is install the game, log in to their stupid crap so you can authenticate, then download the patch and remove the need to authenticate? Dumb. Ubisoft is a company that needs to die before they kill gaming any further.