'Watch Dogs' gamers on PC still having issues playing due to uPlay

'Watch Dogs,' easily the biggest blockbuster multiplatform game of the year so far, has been a drag for PC gamers.

Ubisoft uses its uPlay client as DRM to authenticate players, but many gamers cannot log-in, some were unable to create uPlay accounts, and even more saw their game crash in the middle of missions.

The studio has been working on fixes, and most seem to have been fixed, but not everyone is satisfied yet.

As of 7:30pm EST, Ubisoft says the login issues are almost completely resolved.

Watch Dogs came out this week for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.

The authentication issue affecting our online services is almost resolved. Follow @UbisoftSupport for the latest info.
-- Watch Dogs (@watchdogsgame) May 29, 2014

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 28 May 2014 22:38

bobiroc

This is why DRM is bad.. Cannot even play game offline due to server issues which are all too common these days... Has no one learned from all the crap EA has pulled over the years.

AMD Phenom II 965 @ 3.67Ghz, 8GB DDR3, ATI Radeon 5770HD, 256GB OCZ Vertex 4, 2TB Additional HDD, Windows 7 Ultimate.

http://www.facebook.com/BlueLightningTechnicalServices

28.5.2014 22:42 #1

mightyzog

I'll bet that all the pirated copies are working fine. It's just the real customers that suffer.

29.5.2014 00:14 #2

lamain

Unless it changes all uPlay titles will be purchased much much later for $5 or after the extra drm is gone.

29.5.2014 00:31 #3

Jemborg

So you have to be online to pay the PC version?

(I have played other uPlay games without having to be online.)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

VZ300- Zilog Z80 CPU, 32k RAM (16K+16K cartridge), video processor 6847, 2KB video RAM, 5.25" FDD, 16 colours (text mode)!

29.5.2014 04:26 #4

Mysttic

Quote: This is why DRM is bad.. Cannot even play game offline due to server issues which are all too common these days... Has no one learned from all the crap EA has pulled over the years. -
When you play the game offline you don't connect to their servers at all. I dunno where you got that idea... Most crashes from the game happens whether you are connected online or not; and that's due to poor optimizing for AMD/ATI technology. Nvidia GPUs I heard handles this game better, but there's definitely texture pop-ups and a lot of other game glitches, but without the crashing.

From what I've played of it, and I running an ATI/AMD setup, mine crashes from time to time, but sporadically. It could happen in 1 hour, it may not happen at all being left on over a day. Doesn't appear to matter if you idle or not when it crashes, or at what point you are in game either.

Given the above, this game should shouldn't have been released yet; they could have gave it another 6 months to iron out the bugs.

Quote: So you have to be online to pay the PC version?

(I have played other uPlay games without having to be online.) No you don't; that is misinformation. You can set your U-Play to offline mode and still play it just fine; just can't play any multi-player features. Just you need U-Play application on, as it checks to see if you are a registered user on U-Play, but neither game nor U-Play sends code to the internet on offline mode.

Quote: I'll bet that all the pirated copies are working fine. It's just the real customers that suffer.
You bet wrong; I can confirm the errors are on the pirated version as well. (You also need a U-Play account set to offline mode to play pirated versions: if you didn't have a U-Play account created prior to Watch Dogs release, than you would still have an issue playing because you wouldn't have been able to create an account even for the pirated version). In-game errors and crashes are due to poor coding and driver implementation. Updates will fix the issue, and there's no reason for them to ignore it, considering the amount of millions unit sold.

Last note: as of today so far there have been no in-game patches. This is Ubisoft fixing their authentication issues. Most fixes in the actual game have NOT been fixed, nor have they even been looked at as I'm sure Ubisoft's primary concern is getting people authenticated to play the game. (Once you have a U-Play account you can go in offline mode: I repeat, you don't even need to be online at all to play Watchdogs, but it does need U-Play on in off-line mode)

29.5.2014 09:21 #5

bobiroc

Originally posted by Mysttic: Quote: This is why DRM is bad.. Cannot even play game offline due to server issues which are all too common these days... Has no one learned from all the crap EA has pulled over the years. -
When you play the game offline you don't connect to their servers at all. I dunno where you got that idea... Most crashes from the game happens whether you are connected online or not; and that's due to poor optimizing for AMD/ATI technology. Nvidia GPUs I heard handles this game better, but there's definitely texture pop-ups and a lot of other game glitches, but without the crashing. Multiple sites have reported that you need to authenticate the game with your uPlay account before you can play it even if you want to play offline. Since that has been troublesome there are gamers that cannot get their game to work

AMD Phenom II 965 @ 3.67Ghz, 8GB DDR3, ATI Radeon 5770HD, 256GB OCZ Vertex 4, 2TB Additional HDD, Windows 7 Ultimate.

http://www.facebook.com/BlueLightningTechnicalServices

29.5.2014 09:44 #6

Mysttic

Quote: Multiple sites have reported that you need to authenticate the game with your uPlay account before you can play it even if you want to play offline. Since that has been troublesome there are gamers that cannot get their game to work I understand what multiple sites are reporting, and they are reporting it wrong. And I don't care who takes my word for it; the only time it would need to authenticate is if you bought the digital only copy straight from Ubisoft online store. If you bought a disc copy, then you don't need to authenticate if you already have a U-Play account prior to your purchase; just go to offline mode and it works. (However if you never had a U-Play account, than yes that would be an issue, due to Ubisoft's authentication servers; as they were rejecting new users from creating an account.) Otherwise the only other time you need authentication from U-Play is when playing Multi-player component in Watch Dogs, which I already mentioned in my previous post. That said, you can't tell me the game isn't playable offline, cause I been doing it for days.

29.5.2014 11:11 #7

Jemborg

Thanks Mysttic...

How come they are rejecting new users from creating an account?

Its a lot easier being righteous than right.

VZ300- Zilog Z80 CPU, 32k RAM (16K+16K cartridge), video processor 6847, 2KB video RAM, 5.25" FDD, 16 colours (text mode)!

29.5.2014 13:15 #8

bobiroc

Originally posted by Mysttic: Quote: Multiple sites have reported that you need to authenticate the game with your uPlay account before you can play it even if you want to play offline. Since that has been troublesome there are gamers that cannot get their game to work I understand what multiple sites are reporting, and they are reporting it wrong. And I don't care who takes my word for it; the only time it would need to authenticate is if you bought the digital only copy straight from Ubisoft online store. If you bought a disc copy, then you don't need to authenticate if you already have a U-Play account prior to your purchase; just go to offline mode and it works. (However if you never had a U-Play account, than yes that would be an issue, due to Ubisoft's authentication servers; as they were rejecting new users from creating an account.) Otherwise the only other time you need authentication from U-Play is when playing Multi-player component in Watch Dogs, which I already mentioned in my previous post. That said, you can't tell me the game isn't playable offline, cause I been doing it for days. I appreciate clearing this up a little. I know that the bloggers like to over-dramatize things

AMD Phenom II 965 @ 3.67Ghz, 8GB DDR3, ATI Radeon 5770HD, 256GB OCZ Vertex 4, 2TB Additional HDD, Windows 7 Ultimate.

http://www.facebook.com/BlueLightningTechnicalServices

29.5.2014 13:32 #9

Mysttic

Quote: I appreciate clearing this up a little. I know that the bloggers like to over-dramatize things
No problem, glad to assist. I can understand the drama surrounding the internet over Watch Dogs as Ubisoft had already delayed the game once to "polish" it. Since the games' launch it's far from polished; there's a lot of work that needs to be done to fix it, the worst issue the obvious game crashing. Don't avoid the game if you are worried about the DRM, because it's not a threat. Avoid the game because it's freaking unstable to the point of hair tugging. Nothing worse than enjoying a potentially awesome fun game, to only have your PC power off on you at any given moment.

Quote: Thanks Mysttic...

How come they are rejecting new users from creating an account? I don't think that they are purposely rejecting, although that is a possibility. Look at this way, at least 11 million units sold (and that's just a guess from Ubisoft claiming it's outsold Assassins Creed 3): so factor in about maybe half of that already had U-Play accounts: what happens when over 1 million accounts tried to be created in one day? You get an overloaded authentication server issue, hence it's been crashing. The only way to temporarily resolve it, may be to reject new users until they can get upgraded hardware to handle the pay load from so many requests at one time. By now you should be able to create a new user, if not any day now; it would be a mistake if Ubisoft didn't rectify that issue asap. That said, the game crashing is still annoying regardless of what hardware you are on, so you may want to avoid it until patches come out. No game is worth your PC shutting off once every time you load the game.

29.5.2014 19:52 #10

AfterDawn: News