I remember the two issues at release being bugs and Ubi's always-on DRM. Have they been addressed in subsequent patches? Gamestop has the Gold version on sale for $17.50, and I'm wondering if it's safe to take the plunge (pun intended).
I also remember reading that it was friendlier to non-simheads than previous versions. Is that the case?
Because of the DRM I've never bothered to look into it, but if they've done away with the ridiculous crew management crap it would be difficult to resist.
They did add an offline mode to the Uplay front end client that you have to go through. In order to use the offline mode, you have to be online to change the game settings to offline mode and then disable the cloud-save sync. Once you've logged online and registered once, you should be able to play in offline mode after that. (Although I did run into some problems when UPlay updated itself.)
At least, that's how it worked the last time I fired it up which was months ago. I did read that the dinks from Ubisoft quietly went in and re-enabled the always-online requirements for some of their games just prior to the last Steam summer sale. They also had an issue with the UPlay client shutting down and making it impossible for those who hadn't already set offline mode to play any of their games until the service was brought back online over a day later.
Anyway, $17.50 is too much, IMO. SHV is not as good of a sim (or game) as SHIV. Wait until it drops to $9 or so. It'll probably be on at that price at GG sometime in the next couple of weeks as part of their summer sale.
All that hassle; for paying customers. Sad.
https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/help/gameplay/article/decommissioning-of-online-services-september-2022/000102396
Silent Hunter 5. You will be unable to link Ubisoft accounts in-game or use online features. Additionally, the installation and access to DLC will be unavailable.
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/ubisoft-to-turn-off-online-features-for-some-old-games-meaning-players-lose-access-to-dlc
https://www.bluesnews.com/s/249631/ubisoft-games-ending-online-services
There are 15 games in total which will have their online features "decommissioned", eleven of which are on PC. Switching off online features means that players will no longer be able to play these games in competitive multiplayer or co-operative modes, should they have them, or in some instances make use of in-game rewards, statistics or news services.
Singleplayer modes should remain available.
The PC games which will lose online features on September 1st are:
Anno 2070
Assassin's Creed 2
Assassin's Creed 3 (original release; remaster not affected)
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed Liberation HD
Driver San Francisco
Far Cry 3 (original release; remaster not affected)
Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Silent Hunter 5
Space Junkies
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Assassin's Creed 3, Brotherhood, Liberation HD, Driver San Francisco, Far Cry 3, Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands and Silent Hunter 5 all have DLC which will apparently be unavailable to install or access after the switch off.
Cutting access to multiplayer after 10 years I can understand, cutting access to single player DLC ...
The only time I'll ever endorse cracks.
Quote from: Ian C on July 03, 2022, 06:13:34 AM
The only time I'll ever endorse cracks.
This is why I still like buying books, cds and movies physically. They can take away a digital version of anything at anytime and your pretty much fucked.
With games it's much harder and pc almost impossible. That said I wish the gov would modernize copyright laws for abandonment. Hell, roll it into the "right of repair" laws.
One would have thought they would learn a lesson when they pulled this stunt with Might & Magic X a few years ago. It was the exact same situation... shutting down serves made the DLC inaccessible. There was such an uproar that they had to patch the game a few months later to re-allow DLC access. There is absolutely no excuse for denying people access to single player content for which they have already paid.
Most of those games are still very fun to play to this day, yet here we are again, denying access to *singe player* content that has no need of a server in the first place. What a crap company.
Quote from: Pete Dero on July 03, 2022, 03:26:12 AM
https://www.ubisoft.com/en-gb/help/gameplay/article/decommissioning-of-online-services-september-2022/000102396
Silent Hunter 5. You will be unable to link Ubisoft accounts in-game or use online features. Additionally, the installation and access to DLC will be unavailable.
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/ubisoft-to-turn-off-online-features-for-some-old-games-meaning-players-lose-access-to-dlc
https://www.bluesnews.com/s/249631/ubisoft-games-ending-online-services
There are 15 games in total which will have their online features "decommissioned", eleven of which are on PC. Switching off online features means that players will no longer be able to play these games in competitive multiplayer or co-operative modes, should they have them, or in some instances make use of in-game rewards, statistics or news services.
Singleplayer modes should remain available.
The PC games which will lose online features on September 1st are:
Anno 2070
Assassin's Creed 2
Assassin's Creed 3 (original release; remaster not affected)
Assassin's Creed Brotherhood
Assassin's Creed Liberation HD
Driver San Francisco
Far Cry 3 (original release; remaster not affected)
Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Silent Hunter 5
Space Junkies
Splinter Cell: Blacklist
Assassin's Creed 3, Brotherhood, Liberation HD, Driver San Francisco, Far Cry 3, Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands and Silent Hunter 5 all have DLC which will apparently be unavailable to install or access after the switch off.
Cutting access to multiplayer after 10 years I can understand, cutting access to single player DLC ...
Guess I'll never buy anything Ubisoft again.
Turning off coop gameplay when it was in the original release?
This is annoying for sure, and does show the trouble with licensing as a form of sale to consumer, requiring an online connection to play and the use of third-party DRM systems...however, I don't necessarily agree with the scorched earth "I'll never buy anything from Ubisoft again" approach. I won't fool myself. I know if they make games like Ghost Recon Wildlands/Breakpoint and ANNO 1800 and Assassins Creed: Odyssey, i will continue to buy them and if I only get 10 to 15 years of enjoyment out of my $40 to $60 investment, I think I'll live to play another day.
I understand the frustration and anger though and respect the decision not to buy their games over this. Personally, I'm just not prepared to cut my nose off to spite my face over the above circumstances.
Heh, 10-15 years...this is true. Ubi's games are massive and I do play many of them for literally years.
Quote from: Gusington on July 03, 2022, 06:22:20 PM
Heh, 10-15 years...this is true. Ubi's games are massive and I do play many of them for literally years.
Yeah, I'm starting to come around to AC Valhalla after resisting for a while (he said, with 136 hours played). I'll be opting out of "never play Ubisoft again," too.
^I'm still playing AC Odyssey. I think I have roughly 60 hours invested there. Also about 60 hours invested in Valhalla. I just finished Origins last summer. I loved that one.