SupCom 2 fiasco

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

You guys hear about this?  All desire to get this game is now gone.

Basically, what has happened is that, even if you buy the box version of the game, you must immediately install Steam and download an update from it.  That in and of itself is not a big deal, but the "update" is 4 gigs.  Yes, you read that right, people have to wait hours AFTER installing the game just to play it.  And that's only if the server's aren't too busy, which right now is most of the time.

That's not all, though, it gets better.  Apparently installing the game isn't enough.  You also have to connect to the servers every time you play the game.  The problem is, if the severs are busy, which again, is most of the time, you can't play the game.  At all.  Even single player.

The Amazon rating is 1 and half stars.  Most people can't even play the game.

Talk about a game launch fiasco!

[detourne_me]

Noway!!! that's ridiculous... reminds me of the Penny Arcade toon about pirating not too long ago.
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2010/2/19/
when companies try new tactics to beat pirating it usually just bites them in the butt.

Now Supreme Commander will  have NOTHING going for it until SC2 comes out and will utterly dominate that genre for a good while.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Uh, SC2 DID come out and that is what I've been talking about.

[detourne_me]

sorry,  SC2 meaning StarCraft 2....... *embarrassed smiley*
never realized both had the same initials.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Ah, that explains it. Yes, Starcraft 2 will probably be the dominant RTS of this year, which is a shame, because both games are very different, and could have both been popular.

[GogglesPizanno]

My conspiracy hat is on and between Ubisoft and their new DRM, and executives making creative decisions (like the whole Dedicated servers or lack there of on most new multiplayer titles) I think its a conscious effort to kill PC gaming without coming out and saying so (at least for big AAA titles) in favor of consoles. More control, more money, and more slipping towards the idea of  "leasing" games as opposed to owning them. Why allow mods and other fan improved stuff, when you can charge for it and only allow them if you connect to the company servers?

I will agree that piracy is an issue, but punishing those people who are actually going to spend the money is not the way to deal with it.

[Ares_God_of_War]

See? This is what I hated about Dawn of War 2. To play it I had to download Steam and be connected to steam but on top of that to play DoW 2 you also need to be logged into a MSN Live! account so if you have problems with either of those you won't be able to play. I dislike having to be connected to the internet and two different accounts to play a single player game.

[detourne_me]

Yeah Ares, that's one of my issues too.
For both Fallout 3 and Batman I need to be logged in with an MSN account I believe.  now the thing is I made my MSN account long ago, and in a different country,  now I am unable to change my country settings for my credit card, so even though i WANT to pay for dlc, it won't allow me too.
I have no issue with the Steam requirement though, it's the only way i can legally get games here.

[JeyNyce]

Steam is not bad.  I think it's the best out of the whole bunch.  You do have the option to play the game offline and do not need internet connection (just to connect that first time)

Games For Window Live is so-so.  You can play it without connecting to MSN (LIVE) you just won't get the achievements.  How important are achievements to you?

What Ubisoft is doing is straight up wrong.

I'm guessing companies are going this route because they feel most people have a "always online" connection to the internet.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

I prefer Impulse to Steam. In both cases, though, there are plenty of games that require them without much of anyone complaining too much about it.  That's not the issue for me, it that they 1--are requiring a 4 gig download AFTER installing it from the disk and 2--not allowing people to play even on single player because they're servers are not ready for the load.

On top of that, I saw an announcement yesterday that pirates have already managed to crack the game to get around this, so what's the point?

[lugaru]

If I was not busy and broke I would have gotten caught up in all this, but by the time I get to Supreme Comander 2 it might be months from now.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

By then at least the server shouldn't be overloaded and you can be prepared to wait a couple of hours after installing for a really large download, and plan accordingly.