S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to Require "Permanent Internet Connection"

[Shawn Zipay]

In a recent interview with KP.ua (via DSOGaming), Sergey Grigorovich of GSC Game World revealed that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will need a "permanent internet connection."

Is it as bad as you think?

“Protection from piracy? Part of the content will be located on the server and downloaded as the game progresses. Permanent internet access is required. Text information, code and quests will be loaded through that connection. Software piracy is an issue for us, we try to fight it, but within reason.

"If people can not afford a licensed version, it is to our advantage if they download a pirated copy, and then want to buy a license. In Ukraine, there are different products that people love so much that they buy a license in principle. We want to create just such a product.”

It's a form of DRM that will stream the content to the player if they have a legitimate copy. Does this impact your decision to pick up the next S.T.A.L.K.E.R. title one way or another? Keep in mind that this title is also going to be the first game in the series to also be released on consoles.

[Stev0esque]

Re: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to Require "Permanent Internet Connection"

Okay, so its like Metal Gear solid 4 on PS3, only without the disc... Great... Not going to be too happy about that knowing Australia's shitty internet, but I'm a stalker fan so I guess I will have to... *Sigh*

[K-16]

My guess is that the piracy community will find a way to cache the streamed content (all they need is one cracker to finish the legit copy of the game), and customise their own installer to fool the game into thinking it's streaming content (but done locally on your own computer through the spoofed directory setup). As time goes by there will be patches or updates to include future game-related content (as I would assume not all game content will be streamed on day one), and full copies with various timestamps showing how up-to-date that cracked copy is. Maybe even throw in custom quests for the heck of it (like modding in a way).So pirates get to enjoy faster loading times, with less stress on their internet bandwidth, as well as potential custom quests, on top of the discounted price of free, while legit customers suffer playing what is essentially an MMO or half of OnLive. I thought the cracked servers of various MMORPGS have shown streaming doesn't really discourage pirates... So why are legit customers forced to suffer from draconian measures of DRM, while pirates enjoy the challenge of circumventing it? I swear the people who crack games do it with a trollface mask on, knowing the legit buyers suffer more.

[Stryker]

Re: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to Require "Permanent Internet Connection"

My guess is that the piracy community will find a way to cache the streamed content (all they need is one cracker to finish the legit copy of the game), and customise their own installer to fool the game into thinking it's streaming content (but done locally on your own computer through the spoofed directory setup). As time goes by there will be patches or updates to include future game-related content (as I would assume not all game content will be streamed on day one), and full copies with various timestamps showing how up-to-date that cracked copy is. Maybe even throw in custom quests for the heck of it (like modding in a way).So pirates get to enjoy faster loading times, with less stress on their internet bandwidth, as well as potential custom quests, on top of the discounted price of free, while legit customers suffer playing what is essentially an MMO or half of OnLive. I thought the cracked servers of various MMORPGS have shown streaming doesn't really discourage pirates... So why are legit customers forced to suffer from draconian measures of DRM, while pirates enjoy the challenge of circumventing it? I swear the people who crack games do it with a trollface mask on, knowing the legit buyers suffer more.

This +1

[Stev0esque]

Re: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to Require "Permanent Internet Connection"

Well one thing that I just realised is from you post K-16 is... What kind of effect would a system like that have on the modding community? There are still a great deal of STALKER players who refuse to play without mods, and the modding community also has done some pretty awesome things... This feels like a kick in the teeth while trying to recover from your balls being shattered.

[Basil.]

Re: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to Require "Permanent Internet Connection"

I will not be getting this game. That taking things to far in my book.

[Linux]

I find this funny and dumb. Nothing is going to stop people from downloading games, esp. if they are suck games. Good luck to streaming content; not going to really work well .

[Eagle101]

One word...Skidrow.

[CptainCrunch]

Re: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to Require "Permanent Internet Connection"

Boooooo

I know because of the license agreement, we dont really own anything, but then to purchase a game and not have the content, or majority of it either, thats a bit much.

Then again, look at BF3. It doesnt look like you can play co-op or campaign without being on Battlelog. Everything is loaded on your system, or so it seems, but you cant even launch the title with Battlelog and Origin.

Crunch

[mifdeath]

No I will not be purchasing a product that streams f***ing anything from the Ukraine. Is this the stupidest thing a company can do???GSG literally just signed their own death-warrant unless they back down.From me to GSG;"You are an entity that produces a product not a service. By providing a service wrapped in a product you've only increased your costs and irritated your customer base who just wanted a product, not a service."If you have a bachelors in Business anything, continue your education, it's not enough. Unless you go for your masters or doctorate you're gonna make dumbass decisions like this.

[Stev0esque]

Re: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to Require "Permanent Internet Connection"

Just a minor fix for your statement there: Its "GSC", not "GSG".

Thats the thing though as well Death, Outside the eastern bloc is not actually GSC's biggest customer. A great deal of their sales are actually based inside the russian/Ukrainian region. I'm actually not too sure how many of those have stable internet though. Time will tell both us and GSC that really. Lets just hope that they don't like it either, They like to appease that crowd the most.

[K-16]

Re: S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 to Require "Permanent Internet Connection"

What kind of effect would a system like that have on the modding community?

Probably none if the game can run content from both local and online. I'd like to think the ability to read the text information/code/quests can be done locally, while the streaming is more for safekeeping their own game content. I doubt the game requires streaming of core game features, which should be what mod developers rely on. Would be funny if you had to stream the freaking engine though. That would be a hoot. Cutting edge next-gen technology that goes ever so @$$-backwards. Thankfully this doesn't seem to be case, so it's not all bad. I suppose my last post about custom quests by piracy groups is a bit moot.

[cikame]

Couldn't they just require Steamworks? As far as i'm aware you can't pirate games on Steam.

[Eagle101]

you can pirate games in steam, in fact anything that is sold on steam can be found on pirate websites.