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Why origin..
SereneMoss
Posts: 128 Member
origin has been the worst thing to happen to the sims. we used to be able to play wherever and whenever and now we gotta be shackled down by origin 24/7. so now here I am waiting for some stupid glitch to be fixed just so I can play. origin is a NIGHTMARE. what happened to us being able to just play the game without worrying about being online or not. some people could care less about online mode, we just wanna play. AGH. why cant it be an option to use it or not. we shouldn't be forced to use it.
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Also, for the companies, it becomes an advantage. As a player, I could argue that Origin is great because all my games are stored in one place, and I don't have to worry about losing them if my computer/harddrive crashes. Just get a new computer, log back onto Origin, and there they are.... all my games nice and safe. But for the gaming companies.... its much more of an assest. Its the one place where they know we will all go. Its the one place with just 1 advertisement they can reach all of us. And... the one place where they can fix/update our game without needing to chase us all around the internet.
..... I agree, Origin is a nightmare. For me, it's a contributing reason why I don't buy many games anymore. Everything is digital, and controled by some third party site. Origin/Steam for games, iTunes for music. I still have a PS2 console and games. I used to love buying new games, not only to play, but also to see added to my collection up on the shelf. It's like when I play the sims and I place a shelf to decorate with stuff. I did that in real life too. And I'd decorate some of my shelves with games and music. I can't remember the last time I bought music. I just go to youtube now and listen for FREE. But there was a time when i'd spend hundreds of dollars filling up my CD tray with music CDs. Same with games. But... those days are gone. Now, I just buy the odd game on Origin or Steam, and I don't buy music at all.
But..... change is inevitable... we just have to deal with it.
That's the problem the OP is talking about. When Origin has problems it can trickle down to playing games. People were having issues getting their game library to launch. And if the player doesn't have the Sims 4 pinned to their task bar or know where to find the actual .exe for the game, it leaves them unable to play the game because Origin has issues. Or Origin wasn't kicking in enough to do what it needed to launch the game even in offline mode. I didn't try to play Sims 4 during the affected time period so I can't really say what the exact problem was.
When I have internet problems I can't play my Mass Effect 3 saves because it can't verify that I own the DLC that are used in those saves. And I don't play the multiplayer. And I get 🐸🐸🐸🐸 at EA for not letting me play my saves because of that. I shouldn't be punished for having internet issues just because of a small portion of players who pirate.
Anti-piracy measures also need to make sure that they don't turn around and create more pirates due to people wanting to bypass the problems the anti-piracy measures create.
I wouldn't use the term "small portion" when describing the piracy concern companies need to deal with. I trust they would use a different term to describe this group of people.
Also, I don't like it when the stores I shop at increase the price tags on things I purchase to account for the lost merchandise encouraged by shoplifters... but hey. That's what happens.
Your last statement just sounds like a ready-to-use excuse for torrent users to keep stealing things. It's great to be able to justify it I guess.
Correction: it only makes piracy harder. It's not a 100% protection, that's impossible. Both TS3 and TS4 are/were pirated despite Origin.
@muzickmage there were some games where the anti-piracy software had a large impact on performance, though I forgot which one it was. It can backfire. As for stores... where I live, they more often inflate the prices so discounts seem larger even when they drop just a bit below the real price, rather than make up for stealing (which is greatly limited by CCTV).
I've seen a theory saying that the companies inflate the piracy just as the pirates deflate it. The true scope is likely to be somewhere in the middle. Probably because it's not possible to determine how many people who pirate a game actually play it - I knew people who pirated so much stuff it was physically impossible for them to play all of them even if they slept only 2 hours each day. Not to mention that very few games have any kind of free trial and/or demo (and demos were frequent in the 90s) so those who want to try a game before buying are often out of luck (and delivered to pirated by that lack of demo/trial). That's not just about gameplay/enjoyment but also performance. I am not advocating for piracy but there are ways the industry is contributing to that and the lack of trials is one of them, especially given the wide range of available hardware and possible compatibility issues (for those on older machines).
Yes, digital distribution has significant advantages: not worrying about losing the physical copy, physical copies not taking precious space (and gathering dust on a shelf), or a bit of ecology (no packaging being made, no need to transport the CD/DVD to a store and then to the user). On the other hand, technical troubles with connectivity or the launcher are a pain if it blocks you from playing a single-player game.
As for yesterday's trouble, I was fortunately already in-game when it happened and so, apart from a few messages about Origin disconnecting, I was unaffected.
I also like wandering the hills.
Generally, I understand the need to protect the game from piracy, as long as it's not too intrusive. And I actually do find Origin to be a convenience in terms of buying DLC and installing it. I was not a happy camper yesterday, though, at least until I was finally able to get into my game.
Wasn't justifying it. Just saying that companies need to make sure they don't treat their paying customers like they are pirates just because of a portion of players. And I said small because I doubt a majority of people pirate.
That is not the reason for Origin. Origin gathers data about your habits on your pc and your web browsing. It then compiles that data for EA to share your personal info with other companies, yes, EA may say they don't sell your info, but they share it. Even when you don't link Origin to your game, (inside the game) it will still transfer all your pc usage to EA. What did you open today on your pc? Origin knows and transmits that to EA. In turn EA uses that data or what you searched or looked for on the internet to give to third party companies about you. Just like Face Book and Google you are the product, not the game.
Ugh that just puts a bad taste in my mouth.... This is why I don't have a facebook anymore... I used to log in and would see ads from websites I had just visited it was creepy. Makes me think of this movie called, The Circle.
Download Process Explorer to find out who dials out to send your data to somewhere.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/process-explorer
I downloaded it but I'm not sure what I'm looking at hahaha
For some it was Securom back in the day and there is various anti-piracy tools used today and I think Denvu or Denvo is now being used by some developers.
There are laws regarding what data can be collected from children. I'm generally not too worried about data-sharing - they don't share personally-identifiable data (such as your actual name, address or credit card number). What companies generally share is data about the web sites your log-in or IP visits, especially shopping sites, your zip code and any general information you've given them, such as your age range and income range. Any professional web site will have a statement regarding what they are sharing and in most cases, you can opt out. EA's says:
Obviously, they have to share personally-identifiable information with your credit card company.
And yes, Origin does function to prevent piracy. From EA's privacy statement:
Have you been keeping up with yes, FB and Goggle share your personal info lately? They all do.
Wow... Super shady. The data 'sharing' (stealing through loopholes) is why I quit FB and all the other social media. Is there a way to block them?
I remember the good old days when friends would get a game and they would lend it to another friend to play- it was never stealing, it was sharing (good for those who grew up poor, and didn't have the privilege that wealthy kids did). It just seems that there is far too little kindness, enjoyment sharing, and general 'good human-ing' in the past ten+ years (except for thoughtful modders,and gracious cc creators- who are doing so much for free, out of the kindness of their hearts).... I digress.
Dual booting so far is one of the best solutions to this problem, although obviously it's not ideal since it won't prevent companies from collecting your data if you plan to use the Internet, but you still can secure some of your private/sensitive data unless you don't plan to share it through the Internet (and only hardware companies would be able to have your data in this case, assuming you'd use trusted software/websites and VPN). You could just use your Windows for video games and do your usual stuff using second OS that is not connected to the Internet or if you don't care about Intel/AMD getting your data and still want to use the Internet for various stuff, you could just use Linux and other trusted software that does not collect your info (other websites may collect your info though, keep that in mind, but you can use trusted VPN to secure yourself). Encryption is a good way to secure data as well and no one would be able to reach it except for you, but it's better to browse such data offline only.
In fact, you can also go even more hardcore and get older CPU with no backdoor or even just IBM CPU, but it would take some good efforts and money to do that (well, besides the fact that old CPUs are not as powerful and won't allow you to play modern video games or use some software, but hardcore would overcome this problem). The positive thing about it is that it allows maximum security.
Companies were always like that, the reason why it's getting this bad now is because the Internet with digital software is very accessible and thus it allows more control for the companies, but not total because there are still laws that can prevent them from doing some things, this is the reason why they want game service to be come a huge thing, that would allow them to have total control over software, they would be even able to take their games away from you absolutely legally since those games are not good but a service.
Playing off line doesn't stop data feeds. You are still connected to the internet - regardless of how you play your pc still gathers info that it is designed to gather and sends it where it needs to go. You would need to shut off all internet that you use - hard wired and wifi to stop info being sent. When you install a game and click "I agree" to their terms of service so you can play the game - you give them permission to gather and collect the info.
Usually it is just game info with big companies - I cannot speak for the small ones - but the info is usually just to see how their players play and things to do with that. But if you believe playing off line stops that - it doesn't stop it at all. Also choosing to play any game you actually gave them an okay to do it. Besides that - if you do not agree and try to circumvent any of that - you cannot play their game. But you want to actually see what you have agreed to let them do when you install their game - Read the Terms of Service - before you click okay.
Keep in mind big companies like EA are far more secure then little fly by night Indie studios too. EA is also a public company - they have stock holders - people like you and me - so they are not trying to hurt you. Their interest is mainly in your playing habits an their game.
Data gathering has been going on long before Origin - but thanks to Origin and Steam and these services - it is far more safe then some people here realize. We had data gathering well before EA had Origin in place. Origin keep others though out of your data and encrypts it... so you are actually safer.
But like I said all games now a days gather info - they send the info to their companies the minute you go online. Your computer will store that info until you go online. How you play - off line or online makes no difference at all but apparently you think it does so it gives you a since of some kind of sense of security - that really does not exist.
Don't buy and install games - don't ever go online or have any form of internet or cable or satellite - in other wise do not use any electronic devices - including phones and apps is the only way to truly not get info gathered in todays world and for the last 15-25 plus years. Keep in mind todays gatherings are far safer than they used to be.
ETA - My husband is a pc technician and Security in networks are his specialty. He sets up systems the most secure they can be for all kinds of companies - its what he does most of, and he thinks EA does a good job at keeping their players safer and their info protected than some companies do.
"Games Are Not The Place To Tell Stories, Games Are Meant To Let People Tell Their Own Stories"...Will Wright.
In dreams - I LIVE!
In REALITY, I simply exist.....
That is also why my family has what we call a junk google account that is connected to the computers and internet for when we go online. We confuse the data mining and algorithms so much that they really get confused. The data mining only works well if it is single user. I know there is no way past all the data mining, but there is a way to confuse it.
Anyway, it's worth noting that besides sharing data with other companies, EA and many IT companies in US do share your data with American and in some cases with Israeli government (mainly, Intel and AMD) just as well, but I'm pretty sure anyone knows that already. Of course there are also Chinese that also collect your data and share it with their own government. But same happens with your Internet provider and VPN providers too.
There were plenty of Origin user data leaks (mainly passwords what actually matters) that happened through various backdoors/exploits/security breaches. In fact, even Intel & AMD CPUs backdoor opens possibility for security risks from hackers, but closed and hard to reverse-engineer technology kind of serves like a protection against them, at least for now. There are some issues with Google too, actually, mainly it's related to a couple of specific things which are not that easy to figure out, but otherwise all your data (like emails and other stuff) is freely available to anyone on the web.
They might be better than some, but there are still better companies when it comes to this, Steam is definitely one of better ones, though Steam too (but rarely) had security breaches that were caused by bugs. The last one I remember was related to all users being able to access other random user accounts instead of their own by clicking on "account details" link.