How Bad Can DRM Get and How Good Can It Get?

[Schofield]

DRM's for online is fine with me, I don't really want to pay for it though, stupid move. But DRM's for single player is bad, I'm a single player kind of guy, and this isn't fair.

[BlitZ, The 57th]

I have an idea, but I don't know if its realistic or not.

Every game installed should be treated as a demo mode or something, with several and many of its functions restricted away. E.g. If I were to buy Fallout New Vegas in the near future, just installing it only allows me to play the first few 30 minutes of the game.
You would need to input a valid CD-Key whilst connected to the internet in order to release your game into the full version. (1 time activation)

It works something like Mount & Blade except you should restrict a lot more. As in, you only get to use a pistol when you have not activated it, or melee weapons only. You are not allowed to level up, nor talk to merchants. (Different restrictions for different games)

This method would probably work well if Keygen created CD-Keys can be easily detected. That way it'd be like a prank to pirates. If FO:New Vegas were to be 25 GB in size, and they were to download it only to find out you can play 30 minutes without the CD-Key.

[Junk angel]

That scheme would take about a day for for bypasses to emerge. Likewise autolimmiting DRM is problematic. Titan Quest tanked because of it (having a black version added a bunch of bugs, which led to the public opinion that the game was extremely bug ridden)

To be honest I consider the best DRM to be - make the game worth more to the player bought than pirated. And find ways to ensure that this stays so. A multiplayer is a good step.

[Zedo Mann]

Originally Posted by Killer Kyle

A) How bad can DRM get beyond Ubisoft's Always-On DRM? It seems that it can't get much worse than a 24/7 connection for SP gaming.

The worst DRM I've personally dealt with is SecuROM 7 on GTA IV. I was even trying to run the game with the disk in a physical drive and everything.
It's not SecuROM's job to watch my computer.

Originally Posted by Killer Kyle

B) How can you make DRM work like it's supposed to? What's the best way to deter piracy w/o inconveniencing the customer, or how do you balance both evils so that your DRM isn't unreasonable?

U.S. Copyright Office - Anticircumvention Rulemaking
Go ahead and break the DRM.

[Nittany Tiger]

I've heard of that law, but it applies mainly to iPhone jailbreaking. They ruled it legal because people were jailbreaking their phones so they could use them with a different carrier (among other things). That doesn't make copyright infringement legal, and though I haven't read the law fully yet, it doesn't make DRM illegal for everything else.

EDIT: After reading the ruling, pretty much what I said above holds.

Originally Posted by relevant portion

(4) Video games accessible on personal computers and protected by technological protection measures that control access to lawfully obtained works, when circumvention is accomplished solely for the purpose of good faith testing for, investigating, or correcting security flaws or vulnerabilities, if:

(i) The information derived from the security testing is used primarily to promote the security of the owner or operator of a computer, computer system, or computer network; and
(ii) The information derived from the security testing is used or maintained in a manner that does not facilitate copyright infringement or a violation of applicable law.

It still doesn't allow copying disks for backups, and again, it doesn't outlaw DRM.