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It looks like the controversial DRM for the PC version of Mass Effect is rearing its ugly head once more. Prior to the game’s release, many gamers were upset when they learned that Mass Effect’s copy protection software essentially required internet re-authentication every ten days. After a fierce outcry from the gaming public, EA dropped the authentication aspect of the copy protection, but did still limit the game from being installed on more than three computers. Many assumed that this would be a similar case to BioShock’s DRM, which would allow you to install the game on another computer, provided you uninstalled it from another first. Apparently though, this is not the case with Mass Effect.

Recently, a few consumers have noticed that simply uninstalling the game doesn’t give you an activation back. A thread on Mass Effect’s forums shows the odd runaround one consumer was given in his efforts to find out if this really was the case. Finally, he received this simple answer:

Unfortunately, you will not gain an activation by uninstalling the game.

So essentially, you get to install the game three times. That’s it. Any more than that is probably going to involve you contacting EA Support line, which is probably inviting unnecessary pain.

Of course, this raises almost as many issues as the previous DRM controversy. For one, it pretty much kills the used market for this game, since the disc is basically worthless after three installs. For another, PC gamers tend to uninstall and re-install programs all the time, so this is something that’s bound to affect a lot of people. Besides all that though, this just comes back to how ridiculous it is to treat legitimate customers like criminals. I’ll bet the people who bought Mass Effect on the PC are real happy to learn all this after the game’s been on store shelves for awhile.

Via The Consumerist

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Piracy is a subject that has PC gamers, developers and publishers all on edge these days. The games industry estimates that 50% - 90% of players of any given game have pirated the title and are instituting Draconian measures to protect their investments that have legitimate customers up in arms. Twenty Sided has broken the whole sordid mess down into an analogy that almost anyone can follow.

Comparing software piracy to sneaking in to a movie theater, the author takes an amusing look at The Truth About Piracy that plagues PC gaming today.

Since realizing the great influx of people into the theater through the fire door, the theater managers have gone nuts. Now they have a new policy every week. Strip searches. Restrictions on what you can wear. Restrictions on where you can sit. You can no longer buy a ticket for a friend. Usually you have to pay for a ticket before you can find out what they’re going to do to you before they let you in, and you can’t get a refund if you refuse.

The author, like many of us, is collateral damage in this whole war. He has a lot to say about EA and 2K Games in particular and none of it is very pleasant. Unfortunately, as he fully admits, he is mostly “preaching to the choir;” but it’s good to be able to laugh at the whole situation.

I should qualify “PS3 appearance” — it’s the lack thereof that’s noteworthy.

BioWare head honchos Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk spoke with Wired about Mass Effect in the wake of its release on PC. By now you should know what’s different about the PC version of the game, so I won’t bother rehashing that.

A key topic was of course the controversial SecuROM DRM that was (purportedly) announced to be shipping with the game. Zeschuk claims that BioWare never made any official announcement about SecuRom, though. “BioWare is always committed to its fans and we always listen to them,” said Zeschuk.

“There was certainly a lot of speculation and rumors about what was planned for Mass Effect in terms of DRM but we hadn’t officially given any word about the DRM plan until we made the one official statement in our community and overall the response was very positive. We really appreciate our loyal fans that buy our games and keep us in business, but frankly we’re appalled by piracy and its advocates — those people aren’t part of our community.”

Since that crisis has been averted, PlayStation 3 owners might be wondering when they might see Mass Effect on their system of choice. When asked if there was a PS3 version of the game in the works, Muzyka replied, “Mass Effect is an Xbox 360 and PC title.” He didn’t, however, say that the Mass Effect series is only on Xbox 360 and PC.

BioShock for the PS3 may be great news for some people and a testament to how well the game was received, but it is a while off and these for BioWare news that we can actually “use” look no further that the release of Mass Effect for the PC.

Having arrived in stores yesterday, Mass Effect is also available for purchase online and can be downloaded from major digital distribution sites. Including a new tactical heads-up display, higher resolution visuals, an enhanced inventory system, fully optimized controls designed specifically for the PC, individual squad control and a new decryption mini-game.

“Bring Down the Sky,” already available for the Xbox 360, is just the first in a series of planned downloadable content that will further expand the Mass Effect story and universe for the PC and will soon be available free of charge for registered BioWare community members to download. “Bring Down the Sky” contains an uncharted world that introduces the deadly Batarian alien race, and is approximately 90 minutes of additional gameplay.

When Mass Effect came out, I was really wanting to play it but had so many unfinished games going on my 360 that I decided to put off purchasing it until I could devote the time needed to such a game. Then when the news broke that it would be coming to the PC, I was even more excited because I would actually rather play it on the PC. I guess what this means is that I finally have something new and cool for my PC that will give me a much needed break from MMOs.

Via: Press Release

Not a bad week for the release of games especially if you are a PC user and have been awaiting the arrival of Mass Effect or the new Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies expansion. Also, whether you are a console or handheld gamer there is something for everyone this week, so without further ado, here is what you can expect to see on shelves this week.

PC

• Lost Planet: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition - May 27
• Mass Effect - May 27
• Bus Driver - May 27
• Stronghold Crusader Extreme - May 28

PS3

• ET: Quake Wars - May 27

Xbox 360

• ET: Quake Wars - May 27
• Lost Plane: Extreme Condition Colonies Edition

Nintendo Wii

• Death Jr: Root of Evil - May 27
• Emergency Heroes - May 27
• Kawasaki Snowmobiles -May 27
• Monkey King: The Legend Beings - May 27

Nintendo DS

• The Metallic Rose Nintendo DS is available on May 27
• Super Dodgeball Brawlers - May 27
• USA Today Crosswords Challenge (GameStop Exclusive) - May 29

PSP

• World Championship Cards - May 28

All release dates are subject to availability, so some may be in stores on the day listed, the day before, or the day after so check with wherever you purchase your games because shipping times vary.

With the PC launch of Mass Effect just over a week away, it seems appropriate to give PC gamers a look at what the story of Mass Effect has to offer. I don’t think many people will argue that it’s the most utterly original piece of fiction you’ll ever see, but BioWare does execute it damn well. I found myself really engrossed, enough so that I even went and read the prequel novel, and now I’m sitting here awaiting the sequel with baited breath.

Even if you have played Mass Effect before, the trailer above is worth watching. It gave me goosebumps, even knowing exactly what was going to happen throughout the game.

AND! You get a brief look at the game’s controversial sex scene.

(See, that’s how you sell something.)

As Microsoft has been revealing more and more information about their top-tier titles for 2008, a few glaring omissions to their lineup seem to hint at some news they may not be revealing. For starters, they’ve been curiously silent about Halo Wars this year, indicating the game may have been pushed back into 2009. Along with this, it seems like Alan Wake is getting delayed again, and probably competing with Duke Nukem Forever for the title of “most delayed game.” Finally, the complete lack of information on Mass Effect 2 is being viewed as a sign that EA is indeed taking the franchise multi-platform. Good news for PS3 owners, but also a sign that EA may be further tightening its grip on BioWare. Of course, all these companies could just be waiting until E3 to make their huge reveals; but I’m already betting on the worst.

Via Xbox Evolved

When it was announced that the upcoming PC versions of Mass Effect and Spore would make use of a ridiculous security feature that would automatically re-authenticate the users CD key every ten days — and lock the game entirely if for some reason it couldn’t do so — gamers responed almost unanimously with outrage. Boycotts of the game were organized and many people stated they would illegally crack the game than make use of a frustrating security feature. Well, luckily EA has seen the error of its ways and realized that it’s not a good idea to treat your paying customers like criminals. As such, both Mass Effect and Spore will no longer require authentication on a regular basis. Instead, you’ll authenticate your copy once after installing it and each time you choose to take the game online or download new content, like most other PC games. You’ll still be limited to having the game on three computers max, but the new system will allow you play the game without the disc in the drive and without being online. So basically, they reverted it back to a security program that’s more in line with that of other popular games out there. And yes, this decision comes from listening to all the complaints from gamers. There will probably still be a fair number of people pirating the games — that’s to be expected — but at least most of them won’t be out of spite.

Via Kotaku (Mass Effect, Spore)

Remember how many people were up in arms about the PC version of BioShock’s copy protection, SecuROM, which limited people who bought the game legitimately from having it installed on more than two computers at once? Well apparently EA and BioWare don’t, since they’re using an even more restrictive version of the software in the upcoming PC release of Mass Effect. This version of the game will automatically authenticate your CD key with your PC every time you run the program, and will actually run this check on its own every five days as long as your computer is connected to the internet. If the game can’t find a connection, then it will still allow you to play the game for five days before locking up. At that point, you’ll have to contact customer support to get your beloved game unlocked again. Bottom line: you’ll have to re-authenticate your copy of Mass Effect online every ten days…forever. In other words, don’t leave your internet unplugged, don’t toss out an old computer without uninstalling the game first, and God forbid you should ever go on vacation and take the precaution of leaving your electronics unplugged.

Naturally, this raises a lot of issues with gamers. For one, nobody likes being treated like a criminal for legally purchasing a product for their own entertainment. Besides that, this makes you wonder if people will even be able to activate the game years later — seriously, I still crack open the original Fallout every few years without a fuss. At least they’re disclosing this now rather than after the game hit store shelves, like with BioShock. Of course, some people with enough free time won’t even need the ten days to finish with the game (hell, it took me three days to plow through it around Christmas time). Unfortunately though, it sounds like SecuROM isn’t going anywhere as far as EA is concerned, seeing as Spore will apparently use similar copy protection methods.

Via The Angry Pixel

BioWare has announced several bonuses are now being offered for those who pre-order the PC version of Mass Effect from certain retailers. People who pre-order the game through Electronic Arts’ online store will receive promotional items for the upcoming Dead Space game, including the first issue in the comic book series and a poster. Probably the best bonus though is a $10 discount jsut for pre-ordering the game from places like GameStop, Amazon.com, and GoGamer.com. The PC version will involve enhanced visuals and controls, as well as the opportunity to download the “Bring Down the Sky” expansion absolutely free. PC gamers will fianlly get a chance to check out this awesome RPG on May 27th.

Via Press Release

BioWare and EA have announced that Mass Effect for the PC will be available for digital Download from the EA Store. For those of you who don’t want to worry about picking a copy up from your local retailer, or pay shipping from one of the many huge online retailers, your problems are solved. No scratched DvDs in your future.

Ironically, pre-ordering Mass Effect from the EA Store will get you the first issue of the Dead Space comic book and a Dead Space poster sent to you by Free Shipping. Supplies are limited so if the bonus Dead Space material appeals to you, get that pre-order in fast.

Honestly, there are times when I think digital downloads aren’t so bad after all. There are quite a few examples around my house of games that are no longer playable because of scratched, cracked or missing CDs. However, I have too many other issues with digital content to go completely digital at this point.

via BioWare Community; EA Store Online

PC gamers can breathe a sigh of relief now. You may not be getting BioWare’s RPG, Mass Effect, until later next month; but when you do, you’ll also be getting some bonus DLC free of charge. BioWare has announced that the “Bring Down the Sky” add on for the game will be released for free at the same time as the full game. As with the Xbox 360 version, the extra content will introduce a side mission involving the Batarians, an alien race set on destroying a colony of civilians. My guess is that this is part of the reason the PC version was delayed, so that’s a small price to pay for some extra free stuff.

Via Press Release

It appears that the PC release of Mass Effect is shaping up to be big news. While 360 owners got the original release everything about the PC product is looking superior and more polished. Jay Watamaniuk, Bioware’s Community Manager let loose the system requirements and minimum specs earlier this week and its looking like any moderately powerful gaming rig will be sufficient to run Mass Effect. Its amazing to see the difference in requirements among these console to PC ports and how some have ridiculously high requirements - like Assassin’s Creed - while games that don’t have a significant visual difference like Mass Effect will run on very reasonably built systems.

Minimum System Requirements:
Operating System: Windows XP or Vista
Processor: 2.4+GHZ Intel or 2.0+GHZ AMD
Memory: 1 Gigabyte Ram (XP) 2 Gigabyte Ram (Vista)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 6 series(6800GT or better) ATI 1300XT or better (X1550, X1600 Pro and HD2400 are below minimum system requirements)
Hard Drive Space: 12 Gigabytes
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card and drivers

Recommended System Requirements:
Operating System: Windows XP or Vista
Processor: 2.6+GHZ Intel or 2.4+GHZ AMD
Memory: 2 Gigabyte Ram
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX or higher or ATI X1800 XL series or higher
Hard Drive Space: 12 Gigabytes
Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card and drivers – 5.1 sound card recommended

PC gamers hoping to experience BioWare’s newest RPG are going to have to wait a little longer than expected it seems. Previously the game was meant to ship to North America on May 6. Now BioWare is reporting that the PC version won’t be hitting North America until three weeks later, on May 28; Europe will also be getting the game on June 6th. The developers stated that the game was delayed so they could further ensure a quality product was released. So basically it’s kind of lame that the game is being delayed, but it should be worth it once the PC version does see release. And BioWare’s never given me a reason to doubt them, so they can do whatever they feel is best.

Via BioWare

Co-founders of BioWare Greg Zeschuk and Ray Muzyka talk about how they do that voodoo with their RPG titles. BioWare has proved time and again that it has the magic touch when it comes to developing excellent RPGs. The Baldur’s Gate and Neverwinter Nights series, Knights of the Old Republic, Jade Empire and Mass Effect are testaments to this developer’s prowess. 

The article talks in detail about writing for Mass Effect and KotOR. From the character “bibles” to adding revelations about characters, the team continues to utilize the latest technology to create entertaining stories.

“Getting to the same level of quality as film is good,” says Laidlaw, “but just trying to make a film isn’t the right direction. Interactivity gives us something no other medium has.”

Karpyshyn agrees: “We’re finding that the technology is finally reaching the point where it’s starting to feel very realistic - we can actually have interactive conversation where you talk with people rather than them just talking at you.

Zeschuk and Muzyka also talk about the role of the voice acting and sound; one of the last elements to be added to a game. Readers will also glean some more information on the upcoming MMORPG under development. Read the entire “The BioWare Technique” article on CVG.

It seems like everything that comes out nowadays is a trilogy. Is there actually a reason behind that, is it just a way of being like Star Wars (or how it should have been, at least) and Lord of the Rings, is it a marketing ploy, or what? MTV Multiplayer spoke with both BioWare and Denis Dyack of Silicon Knights to find out just why it was decided on that Mass Effect and Too Human would be trilogies.

Denis Dyack explained that Too Human was meant to be a trilogy from the outset: “I would strongly contest that Star Wars was ever meant to be a trilogy. So the only true trilogy in the movie industry that I’m aware of, to date, has been Lord of the Rings. It was meant to be a trilogy from beginning to end. And I’m very very leery of these games that are successful and are suddenly called a trilogy when they’re on the third one. Because that’s just marketing.

“Too Human, from when we started to work on the game for the 360, has been a trilogy. For the first game, the theme is discovery; the second game, the theme is revenge; the third game is enlightenment. We know exactly what’s going to happen from beginning to end. It’s planned out in such a way that there is without question a reason for the three parts. If there would have been a reason for four parts, we wouldn’t call it a trilogy, we would call it a… canto, I guess.”

BioWare co-founder Ray Muzyka seemed to think it was just the right thing to do, although it, too, was decided at the game’s conception. “At the lunch we decided that we want something that really feels epic. It’s like you’re the tip of the spear of humanity on a galactic stage. Something that’s big and ambitious. What about a trilogy?

“Great science fiction arcs often occur in trilogies. It seems like it’s sort of the way of it. Maybe it’s a convenient number. But it allows you to have different pacing in parts of the story. So we’re excited about the next installments. We haven’t announced them formally, but we’ve talked about how we have grand ambitions and we want to [c]ontin[u]e to build.”

I’m all for trilogies, and Mass Effect did a fine job of really closing up the plot of the first game. I think the problem is that when you run into situations like Halo 2 or Assassin’s Creed where the story is left unfinished so that it can be picked up in a subsequent game. At that point, I think gamers feel cheated – there’s a difference between leaving us wanting more and leaving us with nothing BUT to want more.

Recently, a bit of a spark was lit under the debate over the place of writers in the games industry. Adam Maxwell, a game designer, wrote a piece that was run on Gamasutra which proclaimed that writers don’t have a place in this business, and that they’re essentially an obstacle in the path to creating a good game. I vehemently defended writers, pointing to examples of cases where writers had a dramatically positive impact on a game – Portal, BioShock, and so on.

A new analysis of the value of a good writer by developer James Portnow dives into the subject of how he believes videogame writing should be done. He starts off bluntly enough, as he asserts: “I’ll be blunt.  Videogames are terrible at making statements.  You want to tell a person what they should think?  Go write a book or appear on daytime TV or compose an epic poem…don’t make a videogame.”

One of the subjects he discusses is the problem of binary choices in games. I’ve written before about how it’s this sort of thing that really detracts from the overall experience of a game like BioShock or Mass Effect, and there’s no doubt that Portnow agrees that binary choices need to go.

EPIC FAIL!  Binary choice is one of the worst things in gaming.  It keeps us from being an art and, more importantly, it takes away “fun” from any game it is in.  This one ridiculous cop-out has sabotaged more masterpieces than I can name.  What is it?  Glad you asked…

A binary choice is a choice between two extremes.  Do you want to be Mahatma Gandhi or the lovechild of Satan and Hitler?  Do you want to save the world or blow it up for all eternity?  Do you want to get laid or not (always a stupid question)?

HUMANS SIMPLY DON’T INTERACT THIS WAY!  In case you didn’t get the emphasis on that previous sentence, please take a moment to go into a quiet room and shout it as loud as you can.  Done?  Good, now maybe you’ve got it.

For the full read, head over to Next Gen.

Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, top execs and founders of BioWare, talk about Mass Effect PC version and working with EA in this Q&A with Venture Beat.

The piece might have been a hostile interview due to the author’s SNAFU on his original “Mass Defect” review. Since he made a massive apology for his grievous errors, he’s reviewed Mass Effect favorably twice more (after actually allocating his earned talent points and realizing he actually had companions). Muzyka and Zeschuk held nothing against him and gave an insightful entertaining interview.

Players will get a look at what’s in store for the Mass Effect PC version. They’ll also get a feel for the working environment for BioWare as the company adjusts to being part of EA and the rising cost of game development.

Muzyka: The market has changed but we as developers need to change with it. We still try to stay true to our vision of delivering the best storylines in the world. A human emotion. A real connection with the player. Everything else is mutable.

via Venture Beat

Anyone who has played through Mass Effect knows that there are definitive events that happen in the game which come as a result of choices you make. As a result, BioWare has a real challenge on its hands with how exactly to proceed with the story.

“How do we make what you did in the first game affect what’s happening in the second game?… Who is the main character? Who will re-appear in the game?” asked Matt Atwood last week.

While the specifics of the story to this degree may not be worked out, BioWare does know where it’s going. “There is a story arc already written for the whole thing… I do know that the level of impact from a wow factor, a dramatic factor, is going to be really quite compelling in the next game. I think people are going to be thrilled.”

Atwood also said, “Mass Effect really is all about dramatics and cinematics and choices and exploration and I think we’ll expand in each of those areas.”

As for when we can expect to see Mass Effect 2, “it won’t be three and a half years or four years, which is what the first one took to create,” explained Atwood.

“The team’s working hard already but they’re going to make sure it’s just right… hopefully [it will be] sooner than later… I don’t know if it’s sooner that you expect, or what you expect, so we’ll just wait and see and once we’re ready to divulge the date, we’ll let you know.”

I can’t wait for the game, but some new novels fleshing out the backstory in the meantime wouldn’t be a bad holdover.

Since Mass Effect was announced for the PC, people have been wondering whether the upcoming sequel would also be a timed exclusive for the Xbox 360 or if it would just be released at the same time. Senior manager with BioWare, Matt Atwood, responded to these inquiries in recent interview:

“We haven’t announced plans for timing on Mass Effect 2, period, so at this point we’re not really ready to talk about it, but because we’ve got a really great PC fan base we think it’s really important to deliver the PC experience as quickly as possible. Look for more news on that soon.”

From that and the fact that EA is now holding the reins, I’d say PC gamers can expect to see the sequel at about the same time as Xbox owners. At the very least, they might not have to wait around for months to find out what happens in the latest adventures of Shepard and Co.

Via VideoGamer