The copy protection DRM information for Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3 has been made public on the Red Alert 3 forums by Executive Producer Chris Corry. It is…interesting, there are some things which I like the sound of, yet some things which I am still disappointed are being put upon us. The rundown of the DRM policies for Red Alert 3 now and a bit of analysis to follow.

- We will authenticate your game online when you install and launch it the first time.

- We will never re-authenticate an installation online after the first launch. In other words, no reaching out to a central server post-install to see if you’re “allowed” to play.

- You will be able to install and play on up to five computers. If you uninstall the game while connected to the Internet, the entitlement will be preserved and that install can be transferred to a different computer.

- This system means you don’t have to play with the disc in your computer. Personally, I think this is a huge improvement over our previous copy protection requirements, which have always required a disk to play.

- Life happens. I know it’s unlikely, but for those unlucky few who install the game and have their machines nuked (virus, OS reinstall, major hardware upgrade, etc.) five times without being able to do a clean uninstall first, EA Customer Service will be on hand to supply any additional authorizations that are warranted. This will be done on a case-by-case basis by contacting customer support.

-You can, of course, play offline without impediment or penalty.

First off this is a much better system than what is currently being used with Spore. With a maximum of five simultaneous installations of the game you get two more than with Spore, and as ever if you uninstall the game while being connected to the internet then you will redeem an install. I must say that I hope that anyone who needs to get in touch with customer support for new keys doesn’t get shafted too much, I have no experience with EA but many support teams just don’t care.

The online activation is to be expected in this day and age, there may be a minority of people who will be affected by this, but hopefully not too many. It is also good to note that only one activation is required, none of this reactivation malarky that we nearly had with Mass Effect and Spore.

The one shining light to come out of all of this is the simple fact that after installing the game we will no longer require the disk to be in the drive to play the game. This is a great move, and while it may only be a small step to cutting back on the shit we often have to put up with in regards to DRM, it is a good sign.

EA RTS Community Manager Apoc’s comment regarding how the game is tied to EA account as follows:

You can only go online with one serial key at a time. So if you have the game installed on multiple machines, only one can go online on multiplayer at a time if that’s what you mean.

Tags: DRM, EA, Red Alert 3

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 at 12:43 am and is filed under General News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.