DRM News

As reported on the Battlefield Blog, the DRM information for the game has been detailed. The basic system being used is SecuROM. The details are :

-The Closed Beta will use SecuROM. However, this sentence is interesting as it could indicate a change in how SecuROM operates.

When the Closed Beta is uninstalled, all traces of the game and SecuROM will be removed from your machine.

Previously, SecuROM remained on the system after the associated game was uninstalled.

-The final game will use SecuROM. The game’s executable will be ‘wrapped’ with the DRM, and some support files will also be installed in the game directory. The game will need authentication the first time it’s run, which can be done one of two ways :

1. Offline mode will function as a disc check. There won’t be a need for any online authentication from SecuROM, but you will need the disc in the drive every time you wish to play.

2. Online authentication will function as it normally does. SecuROM will check with the Master DRM server to see how many computers the game is activated on (it can be activated on 10 systems at one time). Once the initial authentication is done, SecuROM will not go online to perform server checks for 10,000 days after activation on that system.

-De-authorizing of an activation is finally built in to the game’s uninstall. It’s about time! It’s also integrated in to the Windows Vista (and presumably Windows 7) Game Explorer. Just right click the game’s icon in there and choose the “Deauthorize this machine” option.

-Changing ‘a lot’ of hardware in your system may cause it to be seen as a new computer. In that case, you’ll need to re-install the game, using a new activation. Not much detail on how much represents ‘a lot’, though they do mention that a processor or graphics card swap won’t be enough to cause it.

-The Steam version will also use SecuROM.

-While the game can be enabled for play on ten systems (eleven really, if you have ten set up for online activation and an eleventh for disc check), only one of those systems can be logged in to the EA Online account needed to access multiplayer (it sounds like this is the same service that was needed to play Battlefield 2).

So there you have it. Definitely a lot of changes in how SecuROM has previously run. I’m definitely curious to see how the final product turns out.