AfterDawn: Tech news

Ubisoft removes always-on DRM from 'From Dust'

Written by Andre Yoskowitz @ 25 Aug 2011 6:02 User comments (4)

Ubisoft removes always-on DRM from 'From Dust'

Ubisoft's highly anticipated "From Dust" has been met with massive criticism since launch.
The game, like all new Ubisoft titles, comes with the draconian "always-on" Internet connection DRM.

If you ever have a connection hiccup, or just plain lose service, you are returned to the main menu. With the DRM, you cannot play games offline, even in "single player" modes. This has happened multiple times where an Ubisoft authorization server has gone down, leaving legitimate players standing idle while those with pirated copies play happily.

Additionally, From Dust is currently missing graphics options, is extremely buggy, and is capped at 30fps, no matter what GPU you are running.

As of writing, Ubisoft has listened to the significant outcry about the game and will be sending out a patch in the next two weeks to remove the always-on DRM. Furthermore, they are offering a full refund to Steam users who purchased the game and "are dissatisfied."

Previous Next  

4 user comments

125.8.2011 18:10

They say insanity is repeating the same behavior over and over again expecting different results. Quite clearly Ubisoft is insane..

225.8.2011 21:08

Originally posted by hikaricor:
They say insanity is repeating the same behavior over and over again expecting different results. Quite clearly Ubisoft is insane..
yup they are insane, always on DRM will never work....Ubisoft just ends up alienating their fanbase, who in turn will seek other means to bypass it.

and on top of that release a buggy game that clearly should not even be out.

326.8.2011 00:36

Anyone who still buys from Ubisoft deserves what they get. Maybe they didn't know that the game was buggy (if they read any of the reviews they would know)...but supporting always-on DRM and anti-customer/pro-pirate policies is reason enough to wish harm on them by itself.

Now Ubisoft releases a crack for THEIR OWN DRM...but from the sounds of it, they have no plans to release any bug fixes.

426.8.2011 11:57

Sounds to me like this game was never intended to go to the PC market to begin with. 30fps capped rate? That's console only fps & still arranged for the now defunct analog NTSC format of the CRT style televisions.

This behavior obviously lends itself back to Ubisoft's complaint about console manufacturers stifling programmers due to technology constraints. If this is a visit back to that debate, why is Ubisoft dumbing down their product to this level? Are they that eager to go bankrupt? Because they certainly aren't making a good impression for a merger or buy out that's for sure.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

News archive