Windows Live problems and workarounds

[garethmcc]

I sincerely hope that some technical person at Eidos might actually read this.

I recieved Batman: Arkham Asylum as a gift for christmas. While it is a great game I have some severe problems with it that essentially make it unplayable. B:AA uses Windows Live as its DRM technology. While I understand and respect an IP creators rights to protect their IP, this technology is overly draconian in its activities.

I live in South Africa, where the game is distributed and sold through regular retail channels. Unfortunately, Windows Live, as I found out after hours of patch downloading both for the game itself as well as Windows Live, that Windows Live is not supported in my country and I could not log into a Windows Live account and use my profile. What this meant was that the game would not save. I could not save my progress and come back to the game later to continue where I had left off.

I am asking Eidos if there is anyway that this serious problem can be resolved so that it can bypass the Windows Live restrictions that prevent me from enjoying this perfectly legal and purchased game so that I can actually use it.

In addition, if there exists no method to allow me to bypass the Windows Live restrictions, would Eidos seek to prosecute me for using third party tools and/or methods in order to accomplish this?

I would finally like to ask that Eidos refrain from shipping products that do not work properly . Failing that at least do not attempt to sell products in a region where the draconian DRM measures used inconveniences your customers to the point where the product is essentially unusable.

I eagerly await a response.

[Marcus]

You should be able to create an Live "offline profile", which will allow you to save. You won't have access to leaderboards or DLC, but that still leaves the overwhelming majority of content available from the disc.

I've not done it myself, but I understand that the option to create an offline profile exists as a link somewhere in a chunk of text you encounter while attempting to log in/create an account - hope that is enough information for you to find it...

Third party tools to circumvent the DRM should be an absolute last resort, since the game has multiple copy-protection measures that greatly reduce enjoyment if they are triggered.

[garethmcc]

I have looked for this feature and find no reference to it whatsoever. And as I was just searching for more info in these forums I saw a post by an Eidos Moderator that GFWL is in fact required to save your games ... online .. not offline.

If I am missing something can someone please be more descriptive in what steps I need to perform. Personally, I think that GFWL is an abomination and any developer that continues to use it is really just giving themselves more trouble than benefit from it.

[Marcus]

It's sneakily hidden:

http://forums.gamesforwindows.com/t/7889.aspx

Create a new profile, but instead of clicking Continue, scroll down to the bottom of the window full of text about GFWL. There should be an option to create an offline profile there as a blue link within the text.

[garethmcc]

Thank you for that and I will take a look when I get home.

This then begs the question whether those countries not supported by GFWL should be getting a discounted price simply because we cannot use all the games "features". If you include GFWL in your game then you are offering those online services as a part of the package, a part that no one in South Africa can use.

[GB619]

Originally Posted by garethmcc

What this meant was that the game would not save. I could not save my progress and come back to the game later to continue where I had left off.
I eagerly await a response.

I have posted in the grapple hook thread,similar to this,about the saving issue,yes you need to creat an offline account,and you dont have to be signed into an online account to save game,as i said in the other thread a mate has got an illegal copy and he can save his progress,so it shows the protection does not work,i dont endorse illegal downloading of games,but he has a point when he can play the game without issues,yet people who bought the game legally have problems,maybe its time to look at more protection and suppport

[garethmcc]

Originally Posted by GB619

I have posted in the grapple hook thread,similar to this,about the saving issue,yes you need to creat an offline account,and you dont have to be signed into an online account to save game,as i said in the other thread a mate has got an illegal copy and he can save his progress,so it shows the protection does not work,i dont endorse illegal downloading of games,but he has a point when he can play the game without issues,yet people who bought the game legally have problems,maybe its time to look at more protection and suppport

I have blogged about this same topic myself many times but didn't think this was the time or place for that particular topic. Simply put, the more barriers that developers of any IP, be they games, movies, books, whatever, put between a VALID user and the content they have paid for the more attractive the pirated and easier to access content is.

I am not against DRM, copy protection, whatever you call technology that is designed to protect content. What I am against is pissing off paying subscribers that don't want to use pirated materials, even if its just out of principle. Soon those principles get eroded away and you are left with a disillusioned consumer who will either just stop buying altogether or move to the dark side.

There is a lot more to this topic but I will leave it at that. What I have said so far is enough for my specific issue I have experienced with this game.

EDIT: Just to add, I work as a software developer and I have yet to see ANY DRM or copy protection mechanism that actually works, no matter how invasive or draconion they happen to get. There is always someone out there that will find a way to break it. And in that case, seeing as it is impossible for copy protection to actually accomplish its goal, all you are doing is bloating your software and annoying people who AREN'T pirating the game anyways.

[GB619]

I meant to add to my previous post about creating an offline account,now you say windows live is not supported in your country,so do you meen you cant even download windows live,if you can then like the other guy said,once you load up the game,just scroll down to where you create an account and you should be able to create an offline account,i did ,as i dont like being hooked into an outside netowrk just to play single player

[georgio]

I have recently purchased and installed BAA onto my computer but when I go to launch it I have a problem and I am still baffled as to what it is.
What happens when I launch it is that the monitor screen goes black and a message on the screen reads "INVALID FORMAT" and when this happens in the background you can hear the game but you can't see it.
So I have tried something which I saw if there were any updates for my video card and downloaded the latest drivers for it but that has not worked.
I would appreciate it if you could help me with this problem because I do not know what else I can do.
I have heard that this is a great game but I can't play it.
Thankyou for your time and help

[Linda87st]

Create a new profile, but instead of clicking Continue, scroll down to the bottom of the window full of text about GFWL. There should be an option to create an offline profile there as a blue link within the text.