What does "no DRM" mean?

Crysis Warhead for instance is sold on Steam as well and uses its DRM. However, you are able to start the 64-bit version of Crysis Wars without having Steam running and it also won't invoke Steam. Well, that's probably technically an oversight though


In any case, it's moot anyway. Planetary Annihilation will be DRM free by itself and will use its own matchmaking system while being distributed over different platforms. If you don't want to use or even install Steam, you do not have to. The only form of DRM will come in the form of having to own a valid key for online multiplayer via UberNet.

I'd like to see account-bound download from Uber website and Ubernet-based multiplayer with Steam being an option, not requirement. I don't use Steam/Origin/UPlay, because I'm not okay with someone being able to take out all of my games in a single click by banning an account.

No DRM means we can happily play this game knowing that any issues that arise are just bad code and not say security software suddenly deciding that your mouse is an attempt to pirate the game and subsequently trying to fry your harddisk

The mane reason I don't like Origin/UPlay/Impulse, but use Steam is that I got Half-Life and other games that forced me to have Steam much earlier and had to put up to play some games I really liked. But i really don't want to be running all the digital distribution software game companies can come up with. So it's not that I like Steam as much as it's the fact I have 115 games on my Steam account and i use it daily, I have 2 on Origin and 1 on Impulse. So I go to Steam instead of the games folder on the start menu no.

But a bit more on topic:
No DRM is just a nice thing to do it's not making it CC (Creative Commons). the game dose sound like it'll have activation with the keys. But as DRM hardly seams to slow down the pirates these days and just pisses people off that have payed for the game they are not going to waste any time in making/using any.

From what I have gathered, games that are locked into Steam are usually released only through steam and no other avenues. It seems it has to be compiled into the binaries to require Steam be running to run the game. But since this game will be released through other avenues, its a good bet there won't be a separate compile just for Steam. When Steam is only used as a distribution platform, you can run the game without Steam running.

And although Steam is DRM, by PA lacking DRM it means you could in theory copy the PA directory in Steam to another computer and simply run it.

Note that a key check between the players in an online game constitutes DRM, so it remains to be seen how this will pan out when PA gets close to release.

Devs already said, that you'll simply need a valid key in order to play online via UberNet.

And you cant blame them for that. Not even checking for a valid key would mean that even pirated copies would create additional server costs for Uber.

Yeah, there is nothing wrong or even intrusive about it.

Supreme Commander and Forged Alliance worked the same way, basically. While the version that comes on the DVD still has SecuROM in it, it is completely removed with the first patch in each case. After that, the only thing restricting you is to have a valid CD-Key associated with your GPGnet account, in order to be able to play via GPGnet.

Just to ease any potential confusion, GPGNet has been shutdown by THQ, so it won't work at all anymore.

Mike

Yes, well, now you are "restricted" to Steam or FAF, for online play .