Oh ok thanks for the blue info :) I am still holiday already :D I hope it will solve when I return 3 weeks later :D

Thanks for the update, really helps to see a post saying you're still working on it every now and then, just to keep my hopes up!

MOW is the reason the I bought the NVN2 from GOG in the first place.

Ah well, back to playing the first game whilst waiting for this to get sorted!

It's not gonna happen. Ossian didn't add the DRM. It was tacked on by Atari after the game was finished. That's why the game was released a year late.

Atari is no longer licensed to develop DnD titles. That's why they unloaded Cryptic to Perfect World before NWO was done. They would not have been allowed to finish or release it.

If they remove the DRM it could (and probably would) be interpreted as modifying the game in order to increase it's competitiveness in the market. This would be competing with WotC, the legal licence owner, and they will be violating a court order and infringing on WOtC's trademark (DnD) and a number of copyrights (Faerun, Neverwinter, etc). WotC could (and probably would) sue their butts off.

There will NEVER be a DRM free version of MoW. NEVER.

Just FYI the NWN2 master server is down. The cd key isn't actually authenticating on anything so while there is still DRM it's not actually working any more, and you can play it without an internet connection. As long as the cd key on your MoW install matches the CD key on your NWN2 install MoW will work. Legally I think GoG is covered. But if that's not good enough for you than you might not want to buy this particular title.

What are you saying ? There will be no DRM-free MOW ? This is awful :S And this is the main reason why we bought it . Because we already have them boxed copies . I have two boxed copies of NWN1 Diamond and NWN2 Platinum already . The my main buy reason is DRM-free MOW and with this way it's only a lie :S

Really, REALLY, hoping that's not the case, cause I was looking forward to playing MOW.

But in the end there are plenty of other games out there.

Also Impulsedriven already sold it with very good promo NWN Complete Collection . This is our reason (DRM-free) from bought GOG.

I'm content to consider these products as DRM free, anyway. Not because the code has been changed, that would be a violation of the court order arbitrating their licensing agreement with WotC, but because with the master server no longer being maintained the DRM is effectively crippled.

The "master server" is actually the "master matchmaking server" and has never been a part of the DRM in NWN.

The DRM server is a separate entity at the moment is fully acctive, it needs to be connected to every time you load a premium module and if you fail to connect will not let you play.

DRM with a non working server is the worst case scenario people are trying to avoid when they buy DRM free products.

How does the multiplayer aspect of the game function at all with the DRM still included and no DRM server for it to validate with?

I was excited to see this on sale here since I lost my discs a couple years ago when moving, but I'm not going to buy it if I can't go online properly.

The master server provided some limited but not necessarily needed portions of the online play.

People running a NWN server must use a hack (which was posted in bioware's official forums and is a sanctioned modification) which removes a server's dependency on the master server.

They then hand out an IP address which users use to connect to them (in lieu of providing the name they were listed as under the master server). Those servers ask your program what your CD key is and then show you which characters are associated with said key, there is no unique username and password (that functionality was provided by the master server and is no longer available or necessary).

Instead security of your account with each such server is done by keeping your own cdkey a secret. Naturally two people using the same key cannot play at the same time.

The actual process is:
1. Run NWN
2. Go to multiplier
3. Type in a random username and password.
4. Get an error message saying it could not find the master server.
5. Exit out of that error to a screen showing an empty list of servers.
6. Click direct connect and enter the IP of the server you want (will be remembered) and hit connect.
7. Server shows you the characters associated with the cdkey you are currently using (which is stored in a text file you can easily modify in the NWN directory)

Actually you're completely wrong on that one.

You're confusing the master server, which was hacked and taken down about two years ago, with the Gamespy servers that recently discontinued support for NWN and NWN2.

Gamespy provided the server lists (as you say, "matchmaking). You are quite right that they have nothing to do with DRM.

But that's not what I'm talking about.

The master servers were entirely dedicated to supporting the games DRM. It allowed the creation of online accounts (usernames and passwords), and it checked the CD keys of every installation logging in to online play to make sure it wasn't already in use. It was hacked some time ago. Bioware lost a number of usernames and passwords to the hackers. It was a pretty big scandal, and as a result they shut the master server (and the old Bioware website it was attached to) down for good.

With the master server down these DRM functions no longer work.

While the premium modules do try to authentcate, the authentication will fail. Just be patient. Wait a minute or so and the game will open normally.

On the up side it means the DRM is pretty much useless, but on the down side it means those of us who administer online servers have had to take pretty extreme measures to keep griefers from hijacking other peoples accounts. Beleive it or not there are a lot of old school users lobbying to get the DRM fixed, but they are tilting at windmills.

I suppose I should have clarified that I was talking about NWN2, not NWN1. Though I'd guess the process is the same regardless?