[FollowSmoke]

So I've been playing Assassin's Creed II for the last few days. I was enjoying it, but I went to load my game and my save was lost. Hours of gameplay had disappeared. Now, I'm new to PC gaming, so I'm sure there are ways to make sure this kind of stuff doesn't happen, but that's for another time.

Fact is, this is the second time this has happened to me. I had it happen with Splinter Cell: Conviction last month as well. I did some searching online and apparently this is an issue with their cloud syncing. So, to whomever uses Uplay, be sure to turn that option off.

Ubisoft is apparently very shitty to their PC audience. Games never get released alongside console releases and they attach this Uplay 'service' to every game, which only serves to get in the way of the experience. To lose that many hours of gameplay on separate occasions is disgusting. I wish some publishers would know what they do well and stop over-reaching.

Anyway, just a warning...

[NinjaBoiX]

I must have about 30 uplay points.

I have no idea what you do with them.

[Jawmuncher]

At lesat with the PC you have numerous ways of recovering that lost time....If you even want to at this point.

[JaseC]

I must have about 30 uplay points. I have no idea what you do with them.

They're used to purchase bonus content. The uPoint system is arguably the one good aspect of uPlay.

[UnblessedSoul]

Yeah same thing happened to me I had to turn cloud sync off for it to work, was really annoyed

[NinjaBoiX]

They're used to purchase bonus content. The uPoint system is arguably the one good aspect of uPlay.

Really? Like what?

Also, if it isn't solely a Ubi loyalty scheme, what else does it do?

[JaseC]

Really? Like what? Also, if it isn't solely a Ubi loyalty scheme, what else does it do?

In-game content, such as missions or vehicles, and external goodies, such as desktop wallpapers. Each uPlay-enabled game (well, each of the ones I've played, anyway) has four pieces of content you can buy with uPoints. The total cost of the content per-game adds up to 100 uPoints, and you can earn 100 uPoints from each uPlay-enabled game. Not the most generous system, to be sure, but it beats paying a few bucks.

Edit: I can't type tonight.

[derExperte]

Really? Like what?

http://uplay.ubi.com/ and click on the Rewards-tabs of the games.

[Glass Rebel]

Thank for the warning. Nothing worse than losing your saves.

[Zaventem]

Really? Like what? Also, if it isn't solely a Ubi loyalty scheme, what else does it do?

Like hats?

[StalkerUKCG]

Uplay maybe a shitty system but Upoints is actually pretty awesome.

The one request i have is that the put ALL the preorder content on the Uplay store and reward people who actually try at the games with this stuff.

[NinjaBoiX]

In-game content, such as missions or vehicles, and external goodies, such as desktop wallpapers. Each game (well, each of the ones I've played, anyway) has four pieces of content you can guy with uPoints. The total cost of the content per-game adds up to 100 uPoints, and you can earn 100 uPlay points from uPlay-enabled games. Not the most generous system, to be sure, but it beats paying a few bucks.

http://uplay.ubi.com/ and click on the Rewards-tabs of the games.

Ah, cheers guys, nice work.

I guess I must have more than 40 then, (i pulled that out of my arse to be honest), I've played Driver San Fran, all the AssCreed's, all the Clancy's, all the PoP's, Tomb Raider, etc.

I'll have to check it out tonight.

[GraveRobberX]

I have 480 uPoints, nothing to buy with them =/

[Dibbz]

I must have about 30 uplay points. I have no idea what you do with them.

You can buy wallpapers with them. So amazing!

[FollowSmoke]

Uplay maybe a shitty system but Upoints is actually pretty awesome.

I have no qualms with the Upoints. The idea is good. But if it's a choice between my game saves and a Rainbow Six wallpaper, I'll take my game save.

[JaseC]

I've been meaning to do the final uPlay achievement for Driver: SF so I'll have enough points set aside for whatever in-game content Ubi offers for AC3. Unfortunately, said achievement is MP-based -- reach level five or some such.

I have no qualms with the Upoints. The idea is good. But if it's a choice between my game saves and a Rainbow Six wallpaper, I'll take my game save.

Haha, don't go giving Ubi any bright ideas!

[not_so_special]

well five euros for five good games was a good deal

[aeolist]

Are they still doing the always online requirement for their new games?

[Prezhulio]

i've only purchased 2 things from ubi-store/digital river/uplay: $1 splinter cell conviction when it was listed wrong 3 years ago and $1 driver san francisco this past weekend.

splinter cell has been a hassle to play everytime they update the client (i've lost my progress twice due to cloud saving fuckups, and thus never finished the game) but i really can't complan too much. at least now uplay offers a way to redownload your purchased shit after 90 days, which their store front was notoriously dickish about not letting you do.

i try to keep my digital purchases to steam/steam keys for conveniance sake, but i'll gladly take advantage of any service that offers a AAA game that has been out for <1 year for $1.

[iNvid02]

Are they still doing the always online requirement for their new games?

only 2 games have always on drm left - settlers 7 and hawx 2. future titles will be integrated with uplay so offline mode will be neccessary, no different from steam or origin

[coopolon]

Same thing happened to me. If when launching from uplay you choose "Safe Mode" from the drop down menu instead of play, you may get all those hours back. I did. After that just always launch it in safe mode.

Before last weekend Uplay was a minor annoyance, but Driver San Francisco and Hawx 2 for $1 each made me a bit of a fan.

[Derrick01]

I can't wait to deal with this shit when AC3 comes out :\

[LonelyGreyWolf]

I have 480 uPoints, nothing to buy with them =/

Like JaseC said, you earn as many points per game as you can spend. So if you have 480 points then there should be items for 480 points that you can purchase.

[Nome]

Yeah I never turn cloud saves on.

But Ubisoft's PC ports are usually pretty good. The AC series in particular has good customization options and looks superb on PC. I like uPlay as well. It'd be nice if it were a part of PSN or XBLA though, and actually make achievements useful :P

[Stumpokapow]

I disagree about uPlay points being awesome. If you believe that the unlockable content that you can use uPlay points to get would have otherwise been sold, I've got a bridge to sell you. None of the content is subtantial--in Assassin's Creed, it includes weapons; in Tintin there's something to give you $1000 extra per level you play; in a few games it's alternate costumes. This content was produced to be free and in-game. There's no actual downloadable content, it's all included with the game.

The only novel aspect is that points earned in one game can be redeemed in another, but with 100 points to earn in every game and all of the achievements linked to uPlay points being dead easy (most are generally "Finish <chapter x>" achievements), you'll get 100 in every game you play through and thus you'll spend 1:1 with what you take in.

Is it objectionable? No, not really, except that you need to choose to launch the uPlay section of the game to use the points rather than having it built into the game itself, so actually, I guess it is a little objectionable--but sure, it's the least bad part of uPlay.

uPlay shouldn't exist. Origin shouldn't exist. GFWL shouldn't exist, at least in the implementation Microsoft delivered. Steam took a while to justify its existence. And to be honest, I'm not particularly hot on Battle.net either.

[Nome]

I disagree about uPlay points being awesome. If you believe that the unlockable content that you can use uPlay points to get would have otherwise been sold, I've got a bridge to sell you. None of the content is subtantial--in Assassin's Creed, it includes weapons; in Tintin there's something to give you $1000 extra per level you play; in a few games it's alternate costumes. This content was produced to be free and in-game. There's no actual downloadable content, it's all included with the game. The only novel aspect is that points earned in one game can be redeemed in another, but with 100 points to earn in every game and all of the achievements linked to uPlay points being dead easy (most are generally "Finish <chapter x>" achievements), you'll get 100 in every game you play through and thus you'll spend 1:1 with what you take in. Is it objectionable? No, not really, except that you need to choose to launch the uPlay section of the game to use the points rather than having it built into the game itself, so actually, I guess it is a little objectionable--but sure, it's the least bad part of uPlay. uPlay shouldn't exist. Origin shouldn't exist. GFWL shouldn't exist, at least in the implementation Microsoft delivered. Steam took a while to justify its existence. And to be honest, I'm not particularly hot on Battle.net either.

I don't think it's a particularly good implementation, but I do think it's an interesting idea. I seem to remember Splinter Cell: Conviction having some good weapon unlocks.

[iNvid02]

edit: @stump
im pretty sure the free content for each game could have been packaged together as a dlc pack and sold, even if it was only a couple of dollars/pounds

also, its clear that some pubs aren't happy with valve taking 30%, if steam is no longer an option for them then i'd rather they try to mimic it with their own client rather than
going back completely to the "launch from desktop shortcut" days and having to keep install files/order info else lose access to a game.


uPlay points/purchases (what the service was originally designed for) are pretty good, the "actions" are very easy to accomplish and remain separate from actual achievements.

you can get some minor dlc for free which is great, better than charging something for it. and they're included with nearly all their games across every platform, all manageable from the client with your account.

this is one thing ubi has done very right imo, only time will tell if they can bring the service/client up to standard though.

[LonelyGreyWolf]

--

Absolutely, UPlay is unnecessary. All the content really should just be available ready to use, rather than just wasting time with UPlay. The way I see, Ubisoft want to appear more generous and want to make it more rewarding to play their games. I'm also sure they want you to finish their games so that you'll buy the sequel. But it's not too bad, it's easy to unlock and whatnot. I just quickly boot UPlay up before starting a new Ubi game as I already have enough points to buy the interesting stuff (that is: extra game modes and such, not costumes and wallpapers).

[NZNova]

I can't wait to deal with this shit when AC3 comes out :\

I will do bloody murder if AC3 is a uPlay store exclusive. Ubi better not be stupid enough to try and pull that shit. It's up on steam right now and it bloody well better stay that way. I can deal with the in-game stuff, I can live with that, but don't try and do a Battlefield/Origin with this you guys, or I'm going to be annoyed that I won't get to finish the AC trilogy.

[RurouniZel]

So I've been playing Assassin's Creed II for the last few days. I was enjoying it, but I went to load my game and my save was lost. Hours of gameplay had disappeared. Now, I'm new to PC gaming, so I'm sure there are ways to make sure this kind of stuff doesn't happen, but that's for another time. Fact is, this is the second time this has happened to me. I had it happen with Splinter Cell: Conviction last month as well. I did some searching online and apparently this is an issue with their cloud syncing. So, to whomever uses Uplay, be sure to turn that option off. Ubisoft is apparently very shitty to their PC audience. Games never get released alongside console releases and they attach this Uplay 'service' to every game, which only serves to get in the way of the experience. To lose that many hours of gameplay on separate occasions is disgusting. I wish some publishers would know what they do well and stop over-reaching. Anyway, just a warning...

I had this EXACT problem a couple weeks ago (and I made some very angry tweets about it as well). Their fucking cloud-saving bullshit cost me an entire day's worth of progress. I had to download a save from a site that got me relatively close to where I had been prior, and turned cloud-saving off. I am NEVER turning that shit on again. Uplay is a fucking broken mess.

[Khold]

Yes. I had some issues with my save files in both HAWX 2 and The Forgotten Sands.

Oddly enough, the Forgotten sands remembered where my character was in the game, just forgot all the upgrades. I was at the 5th gym with the starter pokemon if that makes sense.

Turn UPlays cloud sync OFF.

I do like the upoints, how you can earn points on a pc game and use it to unlock something for a 360 title. Pretty neat.

[Htown]

yeah upoints is maybe the only thing that isn't entirely dumb about Ubisoft's PC implementation. Decent little rewards system.

[mephixto]

In the late 90's and early 2000's we called that unlockables, and some new games still have them.

It won't surprise me if in a near future this turns into this:

"Beat the game on ultra hyper hard and gain access to Cyborg Desmond outfit or Buy 1000 uplay points now($10) and get early access pass!!!"

[Derrick01]

I will do bloody murder if AC3 is a uPlay store exclusive. Ubi better not be stupid enough to try and pull that shit. It's up on steam right now and it bloody well better stay that way. I can deal with the in-game stuff, I can live with that, but don't try and do a Battlefield/Origin with this you guys, or I'm going to be annoyed that I won't get to finish the AC trilogy.

I don't think they're going to pull their stuff from steam anytime soon. They do not have the strong lineup EA does but I guess you never truly know. AC3's been on Steam since April or something so I doubt they'd pull it now.

[lexi]

only 2 games have always on drm left - settlers 7 and hawx 2. future titles will be integrated with uplay so offline mode will be neccessary, no different from steam or origin

Incorrect.

[alf717]

I go through Amazon. I can make my own physical copy and it gets put into my Uplay account to download later. Not mention I can get it from Amazon again if needed. I just wish they would do what Origin does and let you use register your Steam keys with Uplay and bypass Steam altogether.

[BobJustBob]

I've been meaning to do the final uPlay achievement for Driver: SF so I'll have enough points set aside for whatever in-game content Ubi offers for AC3. Unfortunately, said achievement is MP-based -- reach level five or some such.

I did this just a month or two ago on the 360 and there were still enough people playing to get me right into a game. I was just checking out what multiplayer was like and I hit level 5 in one session.

[Snowden's Secret]

I welcome uPlay, Origin, etc, and actually wish each publisher would make their games exclusive to their own platform.

Most of this is me being a cranky old man--I miss the days when the PC was an untamed wilderness and don't care for how it has congealed around Steam, regardless of how convenient and/or cheap it is. I have similar feelings towards Facebook; in my day you'd visit three dozen websites every morning, not just one that aggregates it all for you.

I love uPlay points btw, I just wish they were a little more substantial (harder to earn, better rewards).

[IdreamofHIME]

I must have about 30 uplay points. I have no idea what you do with them.

I have hundreds. I never spend them, coz the rewards are bit crap. I think I spent some on upgrades in Asssasin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood, but that still left me with a huge surplus.

[Derrick01]

I welcome uPlay, Origin, etc, and actually wish each publisher would make their games exclusive to their own platform. Most of this is me being a cranky old man--I miss the days when the PC was an untamed wilderness and don't care for how it has congealed around Steam, regardless of how convenient and/or cheap it is. I have similar feelings towards Facebook; in my day you'd visit three dozen websites every morning, not just one that aggregates it all for you. I love uPlay points btw, I just wish they were a little more substantial (harder to earn, better rewards).

This will never make sense to me. You want to go back to when PC gaming was a dying wasteland only this time it will have dozens of clients each forcing their own awful DRM? Say what you want about steamworks, and it is DRM, but it's the least intrusive of them all and doesn't infect systems with spyware or break things.

[Snowden's Secret]

This will never make sense to me. You want to go back to when PC gaming was a dying wasteland only this time it will have dozens of clients each forcing their own awful DRM? Say what you want about steamworks, and it is DRM, but it's the least intrusive of them all and doesn't infect systems with spyware or break things.

I don't have any issues with Steam, I'm just inclined to not want it to be a monopoly/near monopoly. And PC gaming will never be a wasteland as long as it's as easy to port from consoles like it is now.

[iNvid02]

Incorrect.

what game is that?

edit: ah from dust - this launched with online drm apparently, i remember from the massive backlash, but it works offline now

they explain it here: http://ubisoft.custhelp.com/app/answ...ch-information

[shaowebb]

I must have about 30 uplay points. I have no idea what you do with them.

They're used to purchase bonus content. The uPoint system is arguably the one good aspect of uPlay.

This is really what I think of when people mention Uplay. Awarding me points for my achievements in game that are redeemable for content is LITERALLY what I thought achievement points on the 360 were supposed to do before I bought the system back in the day. Seeing Ubisoft implement the "you play more you earn more" system in their games is one of the things I felt was done right with this system. To this day I wish this was how achievements worked on the 360 or Steam. I'd play a lot more and invest more time into certain titles if it would net me points to spend for more stuff elsewhere.

[AppleMIX]

what game is that?

From Dust.

[Aaron]

From Dust.

So it's a non-issue. That game is beyond awful. Staring at that screen is better than playing it.