cogadh: I laugh at this, but inside, I'm really crying. :(

Delixe: I'm still not buying this hacker story, it simply is too convenient. Ubisoft have announced specific times that their servers were under attack but then why were players unable to connect and play in the times they were not under attack?
Ubisoft have contradicted themselves on a number of occasions now. First they claimed the server problems were due to "unprecedented levels of demand". Well that can't be true as they knew how many copies of the game were shipped and how many to expect would be looking for authentication. Customers demanded an explanation and with Ubisoft unable to say "Erm... we f**ked up?" they have decided to invent this orchestrated attack which they do not need to provide proof for. Almost every server based game is assaulted by hackers at some point in fact it was only a few months ago that both Twitter and Facebook were brought crashing down by hackers. Why were Ubisoft not prepared for this?
What Ubisoft need to do now is patch this stupid DRM out of the game and offer some DLC free to everyone who owns the game as compensation.
At the end of the day the hackers are too busy playing the cracked version of AC2 to bother DDoS attacking Ubisoft's servers.

Delixe: I don't see why I shouldn't to be honest. They have already been caught out lying once already today about no crack being available. Remember that if this problem is not due to a hacker attack then it will be an utter disaster for Ubisoft. Given that, you can understand them lying through their teeth or potentially writing off hundreds of thousands of dollars to mass refunds for selling a product which is defective.
Rep for you sir. They are awsome.

Gundato: So by drawing conclusions by assuming the worst, you are being "honest". Be a politician :p
And there still IS a lot of murky related to the crack. It looks like it works for some people, not for others. Apparently has to do with getting other files. So they are well within the range of saying "There is no perfectly working crack". Since, if we consider the effective purpose of a crack (letting people pirate the game and play it), they are sort of failing on that part.
Beyond that: You can also understand how they are a huge target for "1337 haxxorerz!" because everyone wants them to fail.

Delixe: I've been following this since about 8am GMT and believe me Ubisoft have contradicted themselves several times already, it out there on the net for all to see. Yes the world does want to see their new DRM fail with GOOD reason.
Yesterday the s**tstorm began on the Ubisoft forums. A moderator said the situation was unacceptable as the system was constantly monitored. He then said that he had to wait until the online support guys were in the office!!! CONSTANTLY MONITORED??
Then this morning as reported by RPS Ubisoft claimed the problem was due to unprecedented levels of demand. As I said it can't possibly be unprecedented as they know how many copies were sold and how many would be playing. A system they told both cutomers and journalists that they were well prepared for. Tomorrow the US version goes live. Oh how I am going to lulz then.
During the next hour or so several sites like RPS and Joystiq were getting comments saying that Ubisoft were probably under a DDoS attack. Lo and behold Ubisoft announce that they are under a DDoS attack. It's not our fault its the filthy crackers.
We then had an announcement from Ubisoft saying that the crack circulating does not play 2 cutscenes!! Thats hardly a problem really for people who have paid nothing for the game. THEN another announcement from Ubisoft claiming there is no working crack at all. But there is! You just said there is!!! Not playing 2 cutscenes is not rendering a game unplayable.
And the latest from Ubisoft?
"Due to exceptional demand, we are currently experiencing difficulties with the Online Service Platform. This does not affect customers who are currently playing, but customers attempting to start a game may experience difficulty in accessing our servers. We are currently working to resolve this issue and apologize for any inconvenience."
So where has the hacker attack gone??
I see no reason to believe anything Ubisoft is saying.

Gundato: That is just it. You know how many copies are out there. But you then factor in time zones, when the peak times are, and you can guesstimate how many will be on at a time. You make estimates to save money on servers.
As for the 2 cutscenes: It doesn't make the game unplayable by our standards. But it is enough to save face. That is called spinning things. You seem pretty familiar with the concept :p
I am not saying that it is a fully clean-cut thing. But I also suspect this has more to do with an idiotic PR department. And before you scream that Ubi is horrible and should be burned because their PR department sucks: Relic is STILL notorious for the incompetence of their PR people (Buggo was fun, but the dude who came before her was just horrifying).
And it is bad to say that they are overloaded. But it is also bad to say that they are getting hacked (as evident by everyone here who feels that Ubi are idiots for not having a DDoS-proof system). So both could be true.
Just saying, don't instantly assume the worst. I know it makes logical sense, but I am sure you can understand that you might be more prone to draw one conclusion to another.

Delixe: Saving money is the problem here. If this was simply a multiplayer issue like BFBC2 people could simply play single player while they wait for updates. With Ubisoft's system your game is dead until the system is fixed. People cannot play AT ALL. They have not only implemented the worst DRM since Starforce but not put in the infrastructure to manage it properly. It's inexcusable.
There are two parties that sign a contract. In this case the purchaser and the publisher. The purchaser has agreed to be always online to play and Ubisoft has agreed to always allow the purchaser to play as long as they are online. Ubisoft is in violation of its own agreement here. Thats why people are so angry. Server issues and hacker attacks and all this crap thrown up by Ubisoft do not disguise the fact that thousands of gamers have paid money for a game they cannot play. The game and the service is defective all due to Ubisoft cutting costs.
There is no spin here its just facts. As for the crack issue, the whole point of this silly DRM was that paying customers would be able to play and pirates would not. As has happened with almost all DRM in the past the opposite is now true. Ubisoft can claim there is no working crack but it's a lie and a lie that has been confirmed.