Assassin's Creed II now allows offline play

X.nano · 11-25-2011, 08:47 AM

It seems that Ubisoft has finally seen sense and removed the internet connection requirement at startup for Assassin's Creed II, bringing it into line with Brotherhood and Revelations. I don't know if this is old but it doesn't seem to have been reported anywhere yet so I thought I'd make a thread to inform people.

if you start the game without an active internet connection, instead of getting an error message as it did before, you get this: http://i.imgur.com/bjDVs.jpg
Pressing Play lets you into the game as normal and you can load save games as normal.
As well as this, the Uplay launcher options now have an option to force offline mode:
http://i.imgur.com/Azc4b.jpg

I found this also works in Splinter Cell Conviction as well, but the option only came up the second time I tried it, so you might have to be connected the first time to update it. Also you have to have logged in with an account already, so it's not entirely DRM free.

So if you've been holding off on the game until they removed the DRM, now is the time to get it (well when it next goes on sale

).

GrimCW · 11-26-2011, 12:06 AM

yar, they said they were gonna dump the always on officially as of ACR, yet seems they dumped it completely, at least for that game..
ACB still doesn't have that option in its launcher that i can see, and SCC has such a horrid memory leak its unplayable, and not installed atm..

interesting, wonder how long before ubi will officially announce this removal, given they never even mentioned the reduction to 1 time authentication at start until after the players made a huge huffluf about it and sales went up.

gee.. can't imagine why though, right?
i mean, people won't not buy it because of DRM, but because they weren't gonna buy anyways, right ubi? thats what you said before isn't it?!
hmmmm

apdonato · 12-07-2011, 01:44 PM

This might be true for the windows version, but the DRM still doesn't allow offline play for mac users.

bad09 · 12-08-2011, 12:25 PM

Thank you for the heads up X.nano, you seem better at good PR for Ubi than they are!

Why they kept this quiet is beyond me. I've had it sitting on my shelf gathering dust as an unwanted gift (due to their DRM) for a while, installed it tonight.

At a time when Ubi has hit beyond rock bottom with me as a customer this is at last some good news, FINALLY I can continue AC and coupled with a decreasing amount of games using online shackles it's a great step in the right direction for them, there may just be hope for them.

Still not entirely happy with them, I really should not need an "Offline mode" to play what I legally pay for it's one of my main concerns with Steam but that's a different DRM debate! Also their attitude and some of their quality issues here on PC need addressing and I REALLY dislike underway hand they mislead people on their DRMs used in legitimate products by constantly giving wrong info, as examples The From Dust mess or Revelations was described as having "one off activation" as DRM yet you actually need to use an offline mode (similar to this one in AC2 I imagine). Not entirely the same thing and not sure how legally they can get away with misleading people like that.

Still, glass half full I guess I can play my games if and when I have no connection (unless they got a twitchy offline mode like Steam now and again!) so it's a very important step. Looking forward to playing AC2!

twotone8 · 02-09-2012, 10:17 AM

I was totally shocked that this game ran yesterday when my internet cut out. I was just curious how far it would get, and never expected it to actually load up. To my surprise, the game runs flawlessly without an internet connection. Here's one for the good guys.

twotone8 · 03-29-2012, 01:21 AM

has this been rescinded lately? my internet cut out a few hours ago and i got no offline option for assassins creed 2.

edit: weird. i recently built a new computer and that was the one i can't get to play online. the old computer launches into offline mode no problem. is there some sort of hidden cookie somewhere that ties my account to this initially installed machine? that's a bit shifty. i've pretty much retired the old machine, and would still like to play this game offline.

edit 2: figured it out. when i transferred my assassins creed installation over to the new computer, i had copied the "C:\Users\Matt Nitchie\AppData\Local\Ubisoft Game Launcher" folder as well. just had to delete that folder and everything loaded up offline just fine.

JackDownAHill · 07-17-2012, 03:32 AM

Bump for those wondering about the state of AC2's drm.

GrimCW · 07-17-2012, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackDownAHill

Bump for those wondering about the state of AC2's drm.

doesn't really matter... people are still blathering on thinking its running the always on. Somehow they missed the HUGE outpouring of info on when this happened as it happened... i don't think a gaming news site on the net hadn't run a report on it from when it was rumored to when it was confirmed and Ubi finally admitted..

i wouldn't have bought it if this were true personally.

JackDownAHill · 07-17-2012, 06:55 AM

Well there have been 2 stages to getting the offline mode.
The first was just removing the 'always online' requirement. You still needed to log-in each time you play. This is what comes up when you google stuff about AC2 drm.
The second, which actually wasn't stated by ubisoft I don't think, is the actual incorporation of this offline mode.
So as soon as I saw this, I bought it

Darkkrows · 07-17-2012, 07:00 AM

If any, this kind of thread wouldnt be exist, if UBIsoft support insist to the forum moderator to have a SINGLE STICKY Thread to clearly explain how the DRM they had running as of now 2012.

alaskanassassin · 07-17-2012, 08:34 AM

You still have to log into uplay one time to be able to use offline mode. And guess what, the servers are always down. So I still haven't played AC2 yet. Do you know something I don't?

Sir Arun · 10-18-2012, 01:53 PM

F I N A L L Y ....after all these years *sniff* I can embrace AC II for the masterpiece it is without having to think about the DRM taint *sniff*

cheers lads, let us toast this glorious moment that would never have been possible without the immense pressure we, as a gaming community, put on Ubisoft to make them finally realize that they can't play the SecuRom/DRM game with us in the long run. *drinks*

n3krO · 10-20-2012, 06:03 AM

It should be 1 time activation required, but ubisoft completly vanished the online requirement from AcR, you can download the game from anywhere, install it, DO NOT INSTALL ANY CRACK, and play with offline mode.

Plus, using a crack will even make the Desmond memories unplayable.

11-25-2011, 08:47 AM	#1
X.nano Join Date: Aug 2010 Reputation: 317 Posts: 97	Assassin's Creed II now allows offline play It seems that Ubisoft has finally seen sense and removed the internet connection requirement at startup for Assassin's Creed II, bringing it into line with Brotherhood and Revelations. I don't know if this is old but it doesn't seem to have been reported anywhere yet so I thought I'd make a thread to inform people. if you start the game without an active internet connection, instead of getting an error message as it did before, you get this: http://i.imgur.com/bjDVs.jpg Pressing Play lets you into the game as normal and you can load save games as normal. As well as this, the Uplay launcher options now have an option to force offline mode: http://i.imgur.com/Azc4b.jpg I found this also works in Splinter Cell Conviction as well, but the option only came up the second time I tried it, so you might have to be connected the first time to update it. Also you have to have logged in with an account already, so it's not entirely DRM free. So if you've been holding off on the game until they removed the DRM, now is the time to get it (well when it next goes on sale ).

03-29-2012, 01:21 AM	#6
twotone8 Join Date: Sep 2007 Reputation: 7 Posts: 278	has this been rescinded lately? my internet cut out a few hours ago and i got no offline option for assassins creed 2. edit: weird. i recently built a new computer and that was the one i can't get to play online. the old computer launches into offline mode no problem. is there some sort of hidden cookie somewhere that ties my account to this initially installed machine? that's a bit shifty. i've pretty much retired the old machine, and would still like to play this game offline. edit 2: figured it out. when i transferred my assassins creed installation over to the new computer, i had copied the "C:\Users\Matt Nitchie\AppData\Local\Ubisoft Game Launcher" folder as well. just had to delete that folder and everything loaded up offline just fine. Last edited by twotone8: 03-29-2012 at 02:04 AM.

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11-26-2011, 12:06 AM	#2
GrimCW Join Date: Apr 2008 Reputation: 169 Posts: 3,234	yar, they said they were gonna dump the always on officially as of ACR, yet seems they dumped it completely, at least for that game.. ACB still doesn't have that option in its launcher that i can see, and SCC has such a horrid memory leak its unplayable, and not installed atm.. interesting, wonder how long before ubi will officially announce this removal, given they never even mentioned the reduction to 1 time authentication at start until after the players made a huge huffluf about it and sales went up. gee.. can't imagine why though, right? i mean, people won't not buy it because of DRM, but because they weren't gonna buy anyways, right ubi? thats what you said before isn't it?! hmmmm

12-07-2011, 01:44 PM	#3
apdonato Join Date: Dec 2011 Reputation: 86 Posts: 880	This might be true for the windows version, but the DRM still doesn't allow offline play for mac users.

12-08-2011, 12:25 PM	#4
bad09 Join Date: Jun 2010 Reputation: 4 Posts: 121	Thank you for the heads up X.nano, you seem better at good PR for Ubi than they are! Why they kept this quiet is beyond me. I've had it sitting on my shelf gathering dust as an unwanted gift (due to their DRM) for a while, installed it tonight. At a time when Ubi has hit beyond rock bottom with me as a customer this is at last some good news, FINALLY I can continue AC and coupled with a decreasing amount of games using online shackles it's a great step in the right direction for them, there may just be hope for them. Still not entirely happy with them, I really should not need an "Offline mode" to play what I legally pay for it's one of my main concerns with Steam but that's a different DRM debate! Also their attitude and some of their quality issues here on PC need addressing and I REALLY dislike underway hand they mislead people on their DRMs used in legitimate products by constantly giving wrong info, as examples The From Dust mess or Revelations was described as having "one off activation" as DRM yet you actually need to use an offline mode (similar to this one in AC2 I imagine). Not entirely the same thing and not sure how legally they can get away with misleading people like that. Still, glass half full I guess I can play my games if and when I have no connection (unless they got a twitchy offline mode like Steam now and again!) so it's a very important step. Looking forward to playing AC2!

02-09-2012, 10:17 AM	#5
twotone8 Join Date: Sep 2007 Reputation: 7 Posts: 278	I was totally shocked that this game ran yesterday when my internet cut out. I was just curious how far it would get, and never expected it to actually load up. To my surprise, the game runs flawlessly without an internet connection. Here's one for the good guys.

07-17-2012, 03:32 AM	#7
JackDownAHill Join Date: Apr 2011 Reputation: 1 Posts: 39	Bump for those wondering about the state of AC2's drm.

07-17-2012, 06:55 AM	#9
JackDownAHill Join Date: Apr 2011 Reputation: 1 Posts: 39	Well there have been 2 stages to getting the offline mode. The first was just removing the 'always online' requirement. You still needed to log-in each time you play. This is what comes up when you google stuff about AC2 drm. The second, which actually wasn't stated by ubisoft I don't think, is the actual incorporation of this offline mode. So as soon as I saw this, I bought it

07-17-2012, 07:00 AM	#10
Darkkrows Join Date: Jun 2012 Reputation: 0 Posts: 20	If any, this kind of thread wouldnt be exist, if UBIsoft support insist to the forum moderator to have a SINGLE STICKY Thread to clearly explain how the DRM they had running as of now 2012.

07-17-2012, 08:34 AM	#11
alaskanassassin Join Date: Jan 2010 Reputation: 0 Posts: 81	You still have to log into uplay one time to be able to use offline mode. And guess what, the servers are always down. So I still haven't played AC2 yet. Do you know something I don't?

10-18-2012, 01:53 PM	#12
Sir Arun Join Date: Jun 2010 Reputation: 29 Posts: 502	F I N A L L Y ....after all these years sniff I can embrace AC II for the masterpiece it is without having to think about the DRM taint sniff cheers lads, let us toast this glorious moment that would never have been possible without the immense pressure we, as a gaming community, put on Ubisoft to make them finally realize that they can't play the SecuRom/DRM game with us in the long run. drinks

10-20-2012, 06:03 AM	#13
n3krO Join Date: May 2012 Reputation: 30 Posts: 230	It should be 1 time activation required, but ubisoft completly vanished the online requirement from AcR, you can download the game from anywhere, install it, DO NOT INSTALL ANY CRACK, and play with offline mode. Plus, using a crack will even make the Desmond memories unplayable.