BKGaming: I am specifically talking about multiplayer. If single player phoned home or required a key then this would be DRM. Do you not understand the difference?
The problem here is not me not knowing the difference between singleplayer and multiplayer. The problem here is you
arbitrarily saying one thing is a "service" (and therefore by your logic not DRM) and in another case not a "service" (and therefore potentially DRM). If you are going to make the argument that "is service" means "not DRM", then you have to either accept the logical ramifications of that argument or recognize that the argument itself is wrong. You can't just grab the meaning of "is service" and spastically flail it around to suit your purposes.
BKGaming: In multiplayer they are providing you a server that provides matchmaking, high scores and other online features... this is a service they provide to you for buying the game for free.
Your use of "for free" here is very telling. These things are not even remotely "for free". They come with a significant cost. That cost is just not in $.
And here's the thing -- I don't give a shit about matchmaking or high scores. Those things are just
cover for the DRM. They are something to fool naive individuals into believing "the networked multiplayer
had to use Triumph's servers". They are there to be the scapegoat when people point out that when Triumph's servers are down or unreachable the game's networked multiplayer feature won't work. They are a trivial
pretext for keeping everyone's ability to play networked multiplayer under Triumph's thumb -- right where they need it so they can impose DRM. I already alluded to these being pretexts in my
original post when I talked of using the publisher's servers for doing addition -- that was the most "obviously a pretext" thing I could think of.
And are you now saying that tracking high scores is a "BKGaming Approved Service"? So it's OK if every single game adds such a service (and if a game doesn't currently have a concept of "score" it can just add that), and then it can say in order to play you'll need a key and authenticate with the publisher's servers in order to get to the "high score service", and if our servers are down or don't like you then you can't play (because we can't record your score or tell you the highest scores), and that's not DRM at all -- BKGaming says so? And that goes for single player as well because high score is a single-player-applicable service.
BKGaming: Singleplayer is not a service... at all.
Why is networked multiplayer a service? There are plenty of networked multiplayer games that don't rely on publisher's (or other 3rd party) servers. How can they do that if multiplayer is a service?
And why can't single player be a service? In fact, I'm pretty sure it's
already been done.
Furthermore, there is even an example case that hit GOG that I can point to, and that is
SpaceChem. That is a purely single-player game. Before it came to GOG (and even a bit afterwards!) it required a key. It would use that key to authenticate with whatever server(s) Zachtronics set up. And that was ostensibly for the purpose of letting people see/share high scores and best solutions.
So was their score/solution sharing system a "service" or not? It sure seems like a service to me. But since you would then (according to your own "if service, not DRM" logic) have to say it's OK for them to end/deny such service, and by doing so break people's single player gaming. You would then be contradicting yourself when you say things like
"If single player phoned home or required a key then this would be DRM." BKGaming: There is nothing in single player that needs the internet to function
First, there can be (see above).
Second, needing a network and needing Triumph's servers to be up, reachable and cooperative are two very different things. Networked multiplayer needs a network of some sort -- obviously. In most cases where the amount of network traffic (i.e., number of players * traffic/player) can be handled by a single box, networked multiplayer does not need a publisher's servers -- unless of course the publisher
artificially programs that requirement in.
BKGaming: and there is no service they are providing you
What do you mean "no service"? They are providing an
"adding two numbers over the internet" service! (Egads! I just realized I forgot to apply for a patent!) All you need is any old pretext to add some trivial service and
boom, no more DRM according to you.
BKGaming: stop trying to twist what was said
What you said was twisted before I ever laid eyes on it. I'm just pointing out the "twists" so you can see them. I am doing that by showing you the inconsistent conclusions your logic reaches. Apparently you can see the problem with the conclusions, and you don't like them, but you still can't see/accept that you are the ultimate source.
BKGaming: You trying to prove this is true because this is how you feel about it.
My views on "what is or is not DRM" don't have jack to do with feelings -- they are based on logic. And I'm not trying to "prove" anything. I'm just seeing whether or not I can figure out how to open your eyes.
