107 réponses à ce sujet

[Miriel Amarinth]

dan107 wrote...

That's what happens when an idiot tries to speak in official-like corporate lingo.

Clearly he forgot to read the customer service 101 manual which states that he's only allowed to use copy-paste responses.

[DarkAp0stle]

Yeah it seems EA is the same as Blizzard/Activision, Had a problem with one of their products a while back and contacted the tech support...They preety much just told me to post on the forums..useless..

And here I was hoping atleast Bioware would aknowledge the problem..but no..

honestly there shouldn't be such incomptence, I mean come on? we are paying customers here, and last I checked you don't ignore clients, especially once they have paid for a good/service and it doesn't perform...I guess we could possibly enforce legal action?

but let's just hope this problem gets resolved soon.

[ftbscreamer]

I got a pm from yleon, who says and who's profile says he/she 's from Bioware, They are trying to re-create the problem, and wanted my ipconfig printout.

[Evilnut]

ftbscreamer wrote...

I got a pm from yleon, who says and who's profile says he/she 's from Bioware, They are trying to re-create the problem, and wanted my ipconfig printout.

What would revealing your IP config accomplish?

The problem is clear: our computer is not online and save game refuses to load. If they want to recreate the problem, go online, logon Cerberus, start a new game with DLCs, save, quit, pull the network cable out, then load the game.

If they have problem reproducing the problem they should say so, and ask for more data (like our config files and a save game with the problem). Why sneaking around in PM when a lot of people are having the same problem and waiting for an official response?

I think you should direct this "yleon" to this thread instead.

[Jenyar]

Miriel Amarinth wrote...

revenant_13 wrote...
I would like to inform you that it doesn't authenticate permanently as it only requires to get the additional content in your game as it can be played offline as well but but the additional contents can be available only when you are connected to internet as it depends upon the policy's maintained for the game.

That sentence is so derailed it's almost funny. Gotta love customer service reps who have no clue what they're talking about...

Is that even English?

So... now the people who've been able to play their game OFFLINE have a bug?

[Miriel Amarinth]

Jenyar wrote...
Is that even English?

So... now the people who've been able to play their game OFFLINE have a bug?

I think what the cust. service guy is trying to say is that since he hasn't got a clue what's wrong this 'problem' is obviously a 'feature' and not a bug.

[Evilnut]

I'm analyzing the data transferred when Mass Effect 2 launches. There are a lot going on.

Before the test I set ME2 to not connect to Cerberus and not auto login my EA account. Then I went online, and double-clicked ME2 shortcut.

The launcher made a connection to http://accounts.biow...ewsID=1&lang=en, to obtain news. Funny thing is it replied with HTTP error code 404, which means "Page not found", as well as sending back a literal "404" in the content.

Then the game connected to gosredirector.ea.com [159.153.235.22], likely to obtain a list of Cerberus servers to use. Then a lot of UDP and TCP traffic started. The UDP traffic is pretty static - game sent a bunch of data, servers replied with the same data with a fixed response appended to the end.

The TCP traffics were more interesting. The game and the servers started doing SSL.

The thing is, I'm not logging on to Cerberus. The game doesn't have my EA account password and need to prompt me to enter it (or at least I hope it doesn't cache account password).

With that I assume in the SSL traffic the game is verifying with the EA servers that it is an authentic, unhacked copy of Mass Effect 2.

So while not as restrictive as the DRM used in Spore, it is a DRM nonetheless. It is online activation; EA's servers are required for you to play/load a save with DLCs.

That would explain why EA/Bioware's reluctance to answer us. They lied -- actually, they weaseled out of it.

Chris said here that the boxed PC retail will not have DRM. What he forgot to mention is DRM is present in the DLCs.

While I have a much less problem with this kind of arragement, I'd hope next time they will at least be honest and upfront about it, so that I can save the money and trouble by buying the normal version instead of the collector's edition, thinking once I downloaded the DLCs I can play them without calling up EA's server for approval every time I want to play my single player game.

Modifié par Evilnut, 13 février 2010 - 12:33 .

[Jenyar]

Very interesting indeed. Thanks Evilnut!



Now if only EA would come clean...

[Evilnut]

Be noted that the above is just my guess. I haven't tried to look at what data is being sent over SSL yet.

[Miriel Amarinth]

Evilnut wrote...

I'm analyzing the data transferred when Mass Effect 2 launches. There are a lot going on.

Before the test I set ME2 to not connect to Cerberus and not auto login my EA account. Then I went online, and double-clicked ME2 shortcut.

The launcher made a connection to http://accounts.biow...ewsID=1&lang=en, to obtain news. Funny thing is it replied with HTTP error code 404, which means "Page not found", as well as sending back a literal "404" in the content.

Then the game connected to gosredirector.ea.com [159.153.235.22], likely to obtain a list of Cerberus servers to use. Then a lot of UDP and TCP traffic started. The UDP traffic is pretty static - game sent a bunch of data, servers replied with the same data with a fixed response appended to the end.

The TCP traffics were more interesting. The game and the servers started doing SSL.

The thing is, I'm not logging on to Cerberus. The game doesn't have my EA account password and need to prompt me to enter it (or at least I hope it doesn't cache account password).

With that I assume in the SSL traffic the game is verifying with the EA servers that it is an authentic, unhacked copy of Mass Effect 2.

So while not as restrictive as the DRM used in Spore, it is a DRM nonetheless. It is online activation; EA's servers are required for you to play/load a save with DLCs.

That would explain why EA/Bioware's reluctance to answer us. They lied -- actually, they weaseled out of it.

Chris said here that the boxed PC retail will not have DRM. What he forgot to mention is DRM is present in the DLCs.

While I have a much less problem with this kind of arragement, I'd hope next time they will at least be honest and upfront about it, so that I can save the money and trouble by buying the normal version instead of the collector's edition, thinking once I downloaded the DLCs I can play them without calling up EA's server for approval every time I want to play my single player game.

Hehe, yeah this kind of  sneaky stuff is why I always advise people to use a 3rd party software firewall - most people think firewalls are just there to protect you from malicious things dialing in, but they're just as much designed to give people a handle on the stuff that's trying to dial out. On principle I never let any singleplayer game or non-crucial application dial out to the internet unless it has a damned good reason to.

Ofcourse in the case of ME2 and DAO if you don't let them dial out you can't get your DLC up and running (well, not officially anyway), but the fact that it dials out even before you connect to the Cerberus Network, that's exactly the sort of stuff that's a grey area. It could be something completely harmless, but as a user you really have no way of knowing that. All they would have to do is slip in an activation check that won't work unless you succesfully connect to their servers and you're suddenly in that black area of what most people consider 'invasive DRM'.

Ofcourse the latter is already happening with the DLC as this thread shows. It's a real shame after all the trouble people had with the DAO DLC that EA/Bioware seem to have learned absolutely nothing. I'm not sure what's worse - having DLC randomly disappearing and refusing to download/install or having DLC that doesn't register at all unless people are logged in all the time.

[Dartack]

Been fighting with same problem, but least I know what's going on now. I can see them wanting to cut down on pirate games, but I cannot log on every time I want to play.

[dan107]

Interesting. However, this still doesn't answer why this isn't affecting everyone though. There seem to be some people for whom DLC works just fine when they're offline. And it doesn't seem to be linked to any particular source, since there are people in this thread that have problems with retail, D2D, and Steam versions. This is just really odd. Maybe they picked some serial numbers at random, to test the DRM on us?

Modifié par dan107, 13 février 2010 - 04:37 .

[dan107]

Just sent a PM to Chris Priestly asking whether or not this is intended behavior. So far I'm 0/2 when it comes to Bio responses on this issue though..

[Jenyar]

Miriel Amarinth wrote...

Jenyar wrote...
Is that even English?

So... now the people who've been able to play their game OFFLINE have a bug?

I think what the cust. service guy is trying to say is that since he hasn't got a clue what's wrong this 'problem' is obviously a 'feature' and not a bug.

A feature one way is a bug the other way... either way, EA has some PR to do!

[smokey_bacon]

Dartack wrote...

Snip. I can see them wanting to cut down on pirate games, but I cannot log on every time I want to play.

so much for that, it certainly seems to me they are trying to actively encourage piracy, for me especially as, without the DLC, there is absolutely nothing about a legal version that i wouldnt get from pirated copy. EA/bioware needs to sort this out quickly or it will bite them in the arse. I for one feel punished for forking out for a legal copy of the game, and quickly regretting not getting a pirate copy.

Modifié par smokey_bacon, 13 février 2010 - 06:10 .

[Miriel Amarinth]

smokey_bacon wrote...

Dartack wrote...

Snip. I can see them wanting to cut down on pirate games, but I cannot log on every time I want to play.

so much for that, it certainly seems to me they are trying to actively encourage piracy, for me especially as, without the DLC, there is absolutely nothing about a legal version that i wouldnt get from pirated copy. EA/bioware needs to sort this out quickly or it will bite them in the arse. I for one feel punished for forking out for a legal copy of the game, and quickly regretting not getting a pirate copy.

Yeah, there used to be a time when pirated copies were significantly more prone to all sorts of weird complications and you were almost always better off buying legal, but that's not been true for a long while now. With some of the latest games due to the random DRM restrictions, disc checks and online activation systems it can actually be harder to get a legal copy to work than a pirated one.
The worst part is that even the DLC isn't a reason to buy the game since new DLC usually takes no more than a day to appear online somewhere. That's how easy it is to bypass the security stuff that's messing up people's legal installs... it's beyond sad, it really is.

Modifié par Miriel Amarinth, 13 février 2010 - 06:48 .

[zippie151]

Well I'd personally liek to see some numbers (if at all possible) of games sales before and after DRM. I mean if no more are buying than were before (ie similar amount of pirated games) then why bother with the DRM? Seems like it is some illusion publishers create for themselves and an excuse to chrage extra/recharge when things f*ck up.

[OneBadAssMother]

Evilnut wrote...

I just bought ME2 CE tonight, and already I got bitten by the same problem. I login my EA account, download and install the DLCs, tested the game for a bit, then went watch TV.

When I was back I was not connected to internet anymore, and I can't load the save, because I was not logged on to the network.

And I thought EA said they will have no more monkey business with DRM? Why must a single player game requires you to go online every time you play?

I think for now my soultion would be to start a new game without ever logging in to Cerebus Network. That way my saves won't be *contaminated*.

Does that work? If thats the case, looks like I wont be playing with DLC then until they fix this (if they decide to). I play with AMD Fusion on - which increases performance and shuts down the internet including firewalls. Not to mention I'll be going offline soon with the change of ISPs.

Just started a new game with it on. Going to test whether this works, if not... I would be pissed.

[schwerttau]

adding one more post to this thread to keep it up and going:

I posted my issue with some screenies here: http://social.biowar...1040189#1040189

I'm online all the time (behind a standard-router and using cable instead of dsl), newsticker ingame tells me: hey there is shiny new dlc just for you! Yeah nice, but when I install any DLC I can't load ANY GAME AT ALL. So I have to screw it and miss all the stuff.

Seriously Bioware: IT'S SAD. How can DLC break a game at all? Without ANY information whats going on? A broken image-reference in the loading-menu is all I get. You made a fantastic "oh shiny"-game and fail at the basics and even worse: you don't even (seem to) care. No responses at all, this forums are just bull**** ("how to reply a bug" - "there is search function" -> yeah? where?)

Is this what EA finally made out of you? A profitcenter with a minimum to no effort on support?

Modifié par schwerttau, 15 février 2010 - 11:00 .

[Varenus Luckmann]

Had a similar problem, and found a solution:

1) Turn off auto-connect and auto-feedback in the options.
2) Download this file; http://rapidshare.com/files/350899880/giveme2entitlements.exe.html
3) Run it from your ME2 directory.
4) Run ME2. Never, ever connect again.

The file can only be downloaded 10 times. I'd love it if someone could re-host at a better host, but rapidsh!t was the only one that immediately came to mind.

Modifié par Varenus Luckmann, 15 février 2010 - 11:41 .

[Miriel Amarinth]

Varenus Luckmann wrote...

Had a similar problem, and found a solution:

1) Turn off auto-connect and auto-feedback in the options.
2) Download this file; http://rapidshare.com/files/350899880/giveme2entitlements.exe.html
3) Run it from your ME2 directory.
4) Run ME2. Never, ever connect again.

The file can only be downloaded 10 times. I'd love it if someone could re-host at a better host, but rapidsh!t was the only one that immediately came to mind.

That's basically the workaround I've been PMing people in a nutshell, although it looks like that's the original version of the giveme2entitlements file you're linking, which doesn't contain the fix for the cerberus armor/weapon. There's a version 2 of the file which also includes the cerberus DLC. I've put both versions on megaupload already:

version 1: www.megaupload.com/
version 2: www.megaupload.com/

If a mod sees this the file links will probably be edited out, but oh well at least they'll be up here as long as it lasts.

[dan107]

Somehow I'm not terribly concerned about devs actually reading these threads..

[Varenus Luckmann]

Miriel Amarinth wrote...

Varenus Luckmann wrote...

Had a similar problem, and found a solution:

1) Turn off auto-connect and auto-feedback in the options.
2) Download this file; http://rapidshare.com/files/350899880/giveme2entitlements.exe.html
3) Run it from your ME2 directory.
4) Run ME2. Never, ever connect again.

The file can only be downloaded 10 times. I'd love it if someone could re-host at a better host, but rapidsh!t was the only one that immediately came to mind.

That's basically the workaround I've been PMing people in a nutshell, although it looks like that's the original version of the giveme2entitlements file you're linking, which doesn't contain the fix for the cerberus armor/weapon. There's a version 2 of the file which also includes the cerberus DLC. I've put both versions on megaupload already:

version 1: www.megaupload.com/
version 2: www.megaupload.com/

If a mod sees this the file links will probably be edited out, but oh well at least they'll be up here as long as it lasts.

Ah, yes indeed. I suspected that there was a newer version, but I haven't had any need to use it myself (yet). I probably will have to use it once my profile resets again, so thanks for sharing.

As for the files myseriously disappearing or the links being edited out; Yeah, probably. But I want to stress that there's nothing illicit or illegal about the files. It's not actual cracks. They just mod some profile files, as far as I know.

[Miriel Amarinth]

dan107 wrote...
Somehow I'm not terribly concerned about
devs actually reading these threads.. [smilie]../../../images/forum/emoticons/tongue.png[/smilie]

They were pretty active in the first few days after the game was released - some links would be *snipped* within 5 minutes of posting, but yeah it's calmed down a bit now. Let's hope it's because they're busy working on a patch. xD

Varenus Luckmann wrote...
Ah, yes indeed. I suspected that there was a newer version, but I haven't had any need to use it myself (yet). I probably will have to use it once my profile resets again, so thanks for sharing.

As for the files myseriously disappearing or the links being edited out; Yeah, probably. But I want to stress that there's nothing illicit or illegal about the files. It's not actual cracks. They just mod some profile files, as far as I know.

Well tbh I haven't personally tested it, but because the version 2 file came out just after the new cerberus stuff, I can only assume the file had to be updated to include it, otherwise people could just keep using version 1.

And although I agree that they're not really cracks, they do edit an ini file that isn't straightforward to modify by hand. The real issue though is that the files can be used for the wrong reasons by less legit users. So the Mods are unfortunately more or less obligated to remove them. *shrug*

[dan107]

Well, the PM to Chris Priestly seems to have gotten attention. I just received a PM from yleon at Bioware asking for details about the problem. Looks like they ARE aware of it and trying to fix it, so I'll stop with the wisecracks for now.