NOTICE: NWN Authentication Server Down

[Legacy_taltamir]

               

UrkOfGreyhawk wrote...
There's actually  no moral problem with the GOG and Steam sales without the master server up. The game can still be installed and played without authentication. It's effectively disabled the DRM, but not the game.

I have purchased ALL the premium modules from the bioware store and none of them are working. This is because they require online activation every time you run the module OR load a saved game (so it verifies multiple times during a single playthrough) from a now non existing server.

I have repurchased the game via GOG not too long ago to support GOG to do away with the CDs.
That gives me access to SOME of the premium modules offline because it inclues the kingmaker CD version of said premium modules (Kingmaker, Shadowguard, and Witch's Wake.).
People who bought kingmaker CD release or GOG version have access to kingmaker, shadowguard, and witch's wake. People who bought those modules via bioware store do not have access to it. I bought it via BOTH and can only use the DRM free version nowadays.

And people who bought Infinite Dungeons, Pirates of the Sword Coast, or Wyvern Crown of Cormyr. All do not have access to their purchased software. I wanted to replay pirates of the sword coast the other day AND COULD NOT becuase the servers are down and the DRM refuses to allow me to play my legally purchased single player game.

This is merely a sign of things to come. Eventually my legally purchased copy of mass effect and dragon age will likewise not work anymore. They NEED to release a patch to remove said DRM from said single player modules for the people who spent the money to buy it. Taking the server down in such a manner and not providing DRM free patches is the reason I will not be buying ME3 and DA2+
               
               

               

                     Modifié par taltamir, 02 août 2011 - 11:37 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Lord Sullivan]

               

Elhanan wrote...

Such a grasp on one's temper; must be like trying to catch fog. I imagine the experience was quite insufferable, as you appear to hold little respect for anyone (and guessing anything) beyond your narrow scope of personal vision.

Helpful hint: If you wish to draw respect, you might wish to make a deposit of it to others along the way.

Why don't you start by seing where you're wrong and remedy it yourself before attempting to chastise others.

Quite ironic, you make assumptions, accuse others of delivering on those assumptions when you're totaly off track... badda bam badda boom! what a joke!
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Elhanan]

               

Lord Sullivan wrote...

Why don't you start by seing where you're wrong and remedy it yourself before attempting to chastise others.

Quite ironic, you make assumptions, accuse others of delivering on those assumptions when you're totaly off track... badda bam badda boom! what a joke!

I admit to mistakes; thought I was wrong once, but I wasn't....
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_UrkOfGreyhawk]

               Taltamir is quite right. Installing premium mods requires authentication and you won't be able to install them unless EA fixes the authentication server. Frankly that's one of the reasons I never bought most of them. But since those mods are no longer sold or even supported I don't think it's particularly egregious ethically to continue to sell the platinum version of the game without authentication.

Still it would be nice to be able to use the one premium mod I did buy. If EA doesn't want to fix the authentication server they could easily disable the DRM on the server side by allowing it to authenticate all inquiries. There are also some other ways to get around the authentication process that may be legally questionable but are also IMO, in the case of abandonware that you've paid for, ethically justifiable.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Elhanan]

               Atari may be involved with the lack of Premium mod support; uncertain. I believe they are a main reason behind much of the difficulty in getting them initially.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Elhanan, 03 août 2011 - 08:29 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Pstemarie]

               

Elhanan wrote...

Atari may be involved with the lack of Premium mod support; uncertain. I believe they are a main reason behind much of the difficulty in getting them initially.

Yeah, it was Atari that pulled the plug on the Premium  Module Program.

Interesting side note, my nephew just bought the GOG version of NWN and when he got the authentication error he emailed Atari Tech Support - as directed by GOG. Atari's response was, "That game is no longer supported."  The email then directed him to the self-help support thread at the old Bioware forums.

Therefore, given the redirection from GOG to Atari, I would say its safe to assume that it was Atari that gave GOG permission to sell the game. If that is truly the case, then wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that it might be Atari that has ultimate control of the Master Server - which perhaps BioWare maintains on that company's behalf?

I know its a lot of conjecture from one short email, but with everyone else making hypotheses - what's one more in the mix?
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Pstemarie, 03 août 2011 - 10:31 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_PlasmaJohn]

               

UrkOfGreyhawk wrote ...

If EA doesn't want to fix the authentication server they could easily disable the DRM on the server side by allowing it to authenticate all inquiries.

It's not that simple.  The client makes an inquiry to the Master Server and it responds with a decryption key based on your cdkeys.  Pretty much requires the full monty.

An easier and possible cheaper alternative would be to negotiate with the authors (or assignees) of the still encumbered modules to re-release them without encryption.

There are also some other ways to get around the authentication process that may be legally questionable but are also IMO, in the case of abandonware that you've paid for, ethically justifiable.

Access to media you've paid for is one of the few exceptions to the US's DMCA.

Pstemarie wrote...

... wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that it might be Atari that has ultimate control of the Master Server - which perhaps BioWare maintains on that company's behalf?

The only reason Infogrames (Atari) was involved was because they negotiated exclusive rights to D&D on electronic media.  Bioware did a lot of things (eg. Master Server, Forums, Customer Support, etc.) that Atari should have but failed to do through sheer incompetence.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Pstemarie]

               

PlasmaJohn wrote...

Pstemarie wrote...

... wouldn't it be reasonable to assume that it might be Atari that has ultimate control of the Master Server - which perhaps BioWare maintains on that company's behalf?

The only reason Infogrames (Atari) was involved was because they negotiated exclusive rights to D&D on electronic media. Bioware did a lot of things (eg. Master Server, Forums, Customer Support, etc.) that Atari should have but failed to do through sheer incompetence.

Yeah, I never did understand the whole tech support thing with NWN. I remember when I had issues with things sometimes it was Atari that handled it (as referred to by BioWare) or BioWare - depending on what the issue was with.

I do recall having a CD key issue when I first bought the game - the key on the manual was invalid (one of the numbers was too poorly printed to read) - which was handled by Atari. They looked up my key and gave me the correct key. However, in retrospect, it is quite possible that they forwarded my issue to BioWare.

I wonder if its a case of where BioWare knows what to do with the Master Server, but is stuck between EA and Atari as far as whose responsibility it is to fix it.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_WebShaman]

               Oh my stars and garters!  I didn't know that the Authentification Server was down for the Premium Mods!

Gak!  I can no longer play my Premium Mods?

Me not like this!

And to those saying I am not "owed" something - oh, but wrong!  I PAID for the rights to play the Premium Mods that I have.  That this is currently not so, is something that needs to be remedied.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Guest_Lowlander_*]

               Premiums in Diamonds still work, but they don't remote authenticate.

I never bought any of the stand alone Premium mods because I simply have a "no remote server dependency" policy to any games I purchase.

I wouldn't buy a car that had to authenticate every time I started and I would buy a game that did this either.  

Time and time again, companies abandon the servers when they no longer make money from them, stranding users. So no way in heck will I ever pay money for this scheme. I don't care if I never purchase another game, I am not paying money for something that can be arbitrarily revoked.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par Lowlander, 03 août 2011 - 09:34 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Gregor Wyrmbane]

               

UrkOfGreyhawk wrote...

Gregor before blowing the same tired rhetoric you've been repeating for this entire thread would you mind doing us the courtesy of actually reading a few other posts? 

Nobody is asking for anything but an update.

And as paying customers (not just of NWN but also of a number of more recent titles), even just as active members of this community, we ARE owed that much.

We're all grown-ups here. Well... most of us. We understand that EA may have made a conscious decision not to fix the master server. If that's the case, FINE. We'll work around it. But grow some balls for God's sake. Just tell us what's going on.

UrkOfGreyhawk, I read every post in this thread before I posted the first time, and I've read every one since. I've seen a few positive, optimistic posts, and a lot of whining, sniveling, and threatening about various things in the rest. Bioware gave this community unprecedented support for NWN for 10 years. Even if they still existed as they did, to turn on them to the degree that I've seen in this thread because they haven't given us an update for a month is childish, unappreciative, and indicative of an attitude of entitlement that is tantamount to a spoiled rotten brat. 10 years versus 1 month is quite a disparity, don't you think? Perhaps if the "adults" here could find a little more patience in themselves, an update will be forthcoming at some point in the future. If I were Bioware, reading this thread, I don't think I'd be inclined to give back anything in the way of an update until I was good and ready. Purely from an emotional standpoint, you understand.

And this is an NWN forum. The other games that Bioware/Atari/EA created that anyone has issues with have no bearing here. I'm sure there are forums for those games that one can vent their displeasure in.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_UrkOfGreyhawk]

               Ah. I see. So only people with "positive, optimistic posts" have valid posts and those of us who are pissed off are "whining" and "sniveling".

Nobody's turned on Bioware, dude. Bioware is dead. What EA is trotting out and calling "Bioware" is a painted lady. Bioware is just her street name. She's really just a sad little **** being pimped out by her corporate daddies. The real Bioware wasn't just hot, she was sweet and kind and and generous and she had a beautiful laugh. The only expression we've seen from this new girl is a vacant stare. And dude, have you played DAL? She's not even hot.

Oops! I'm not supposed to reference DAL, am I? I mean this is a NWN forum, so I guess you want me to post a nasty thread in the DAL forum and link to it in order to make my point?

That's IDIOTIC Gregor. If I post it here I'm off topic, and if I post it there I'm a troll. Like it or not DAL being, well, crappy is relevant to this thread, so I'm posting it here. My hunch is you just don't want to hear it. Well that's just tough.

And stop whining about 10 years this and 10 years that. WE'RE NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT NWN HERE. At the risk of violating your NWN only rule I've had serious technical problems with DAO and ME2 also, and EA support has been useless, at times even downright disrespectful. Are these legacy titles too? Am I being a whiny self entitled brat because I expect a product to actually work when I pay my hard earned money for it?

That, by the way, is a rhetorical question. I don't really care one way or the other what you think, but I'm also not inclined to let some pathetic little self-deluded fanboy call me a "spoiled rotten brat" unchallenged in a public forum.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par UrkOfGreyhawk, 04 août 2011 - 03:12 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_FunkySwerve]

               

UrkOfGreyhawk wrote...

Ah. I see. So only people with "positive, optimistic posts" have valid posts and those of us who are pissed off are "whining" and "sniveling".

Nobody's turned on Bioware, dude. Bioware is dead. What EA is trotting out and calling "Bioware" is a painted lady. Bioware is just her street name. She's really just a sad little **** being pimped out by her corporate daddies. The real Bioware wasn't just hot, she was sweet and kind and and generous and she had a beautiful laugh. The only expression we've seen from this new girl is a vacant stare. And dude, have you played DAL? She's not even hot.

Oh yes, I'm sure all the Biowareans reading this would agree you are clearly in their corner. '> If you want to do something community-minded,, would you just stop posting, please? You're doing a lot more harm than good. Gregor is right - if I were Chris or whoever is responsible for fixing the master server, I would be strongly tempted to leave you in the cold, the way you're carrying on. No one at Bioware - and I'm sure a lot of them still strongly associate themselves with the name, regardless of EA's purchase - has done anything to deserve this kind of invective.

Funky
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_UrkOfGreyhawk]

               Oh REALLY? Gee... I thought this was a BUSINESS. I thought this was all about ECONOMICS. I thought stuff like "feelings" and "loyalty" didn't come into it.

Did all that suddenly change because of little old me?
               
               

               

                     Modifié par UrkOfGreyhawk, 04 août 2011 - 03:38 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Elhanan]

               *"It's my party, and I will cry if I want to" elevator music is heard in the background*

By Thor's rubber hammer, it continues....