EA's Origin DD service (not that Origin)

Scratched wrote:

As far as I remember, Origin is pretty dumb in terms of installing/managing a game's files in comparison to steam or impulse. They've moved away from just letting you download the setup files, and it seems to pretty much be an alternative to that, downloading a v1.0 of a game to your hard drive and just dropping the registry entries in place. What it severely lacks is any kind of file verification, built in (as in, fully integrated) patching, and recognising and repairing an install. Installing straight to the latest version would be good for games like BFBC2, as the game's own patcher is dumb and downloads whole new versions of changed files.

I guess their bandwidth costs are lower than the costs to develop something nice, and they're satisfied with just 'good enough'

Recently they've been harking on about getting 3rd party games on Origin, I guess through a similar thing to their partners program, but I wonder if they can keep those developers/sub-publishers happy. MS has got some bad press recently from a few developers calling them a nightmare to work with. 'Whiney little gamers' are one thing, but when it's the people on the other end of the supply chain it's another.

They've actually had a lot of revisions to the Origin client lately, so it seems they are putting more resources to it than they did EADM. So maybe it will improve with time.

The latest update seems to have removed the option to not load it with Windows, though. At least I can't find it. I think I was in a rush through the install when I just launched the client to find that "register games" option and might have left that on. So when you update, watch for that.

MannishBoy wrote:
WipEout wrote:

After finally getting Origin to finish downloading and install my second copy of Bad Company 2 (Steam version being the first copy, which Origin fails to recognize as existent), it now believes that there are once again no copies of Bad Company 2 on my PC, and requires a re-download/re-install. This, after a week and a half of it seemingly losing large chunks of the installer and starting over again from further back in the process. That is, it might get up to a 30% complete download one night, only to begin at 12% on reboot the next night. What a PITA.

You should have been able to take your Steam code and input it into Origin to have a copy there as well. When I did that for Dragon Age, it even recognized I already had it installed, and I could launch it from either Steam or Origin. Is that what you're saying it didn't recognize?

Looks like they changed where you put the code in now with the new version. It's under settings>redeem code.

Yup-- I never double dipped. I entered my Steam key into Origin easily enough, but the install process after that was borked as mentioned previously. Origin never recognized that the game was already installed elsewhere (Steam folder) so it assumed that the game was never installed to begin with. I still can't figure out how to point it to my Steam folder. Maybe your copy of Dragon Age installed outside of the Steam folder? Oh well. Looks like I really won't be using this beyond BF3. At least not until they can get their act together.

WipEout wrote:

Origin never recognized that the game was already installed elsewhere (Steam folder) so it assumed that the game was never installed to begin with. I still can't figure out how to point it to my Steam folder. Maybe your copy of Dragon Age installed outside of the Steam folder?

Nope, it's in Steamapps.

MannishBoy wrote:

The latest update seems to have removed the option to not load it with Windows, though. At least I can't find it. I think I was in a rush through the install when I just launched the client to find that "register games" option and might have left that on. So when you update, watch for that.

Yeah, I just now used CCleaner to keep it from starting at boot.

(Note that as of the last time I updated it, even CCleaner tries to install crapware. Which is beyond wrong. I'd be grateful if someone could recommend a better utility to take its place.)

I'm finding that it doesn't do the job.

Temp space: drive D.
Origin installed on: drive D.
Tells me there's not enough space to download the game I paid for on: drive C.

Just the stock regedit and checking the contents of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run* and HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run* from time to time. No one seems to use the Start Menu's Startup folder like I thought they were supposed to. I guess msconfig still exists, even on Windows 7.

The new sneaky way to start things up at startup is to use the Task Scheduler. I found this out the hard way after I installed my new motherboard drivers, which also happened to include some always-on crapware. When I uninstalled, the crapware wasn't gone, and I couldn't find it in the Startup folder, Services or MSCONFIG. After a bit of googling, there it was, in Task Scheduler, set to load on every login. Yuck.

BadKen wrote:

The new sneaky way to start things up at startup is to use the Task Scheduler. I found this out the hard way after I installed my new motherboard drivers, which also happened to include some always-on crapware. When I uninstalled, the crapware wasn't gone, and I couldn't find it in the Startup folder, Services or MSCONFIG. After a bit of googling, there it was, in Task Scheduler, set to load on every login. Yuck.

This one's actually in HKEY_CURRENT_USER. MSCONFIG will generally let you find it quickly.

I think there might have been an option I blew by in the update. It used to actually be exposed in the settings section, but I can't find it after this update. Maybe I just overlooked it.

MannishBoy wrote:

I think there might have been an option I blew by in the update. It used to actually be exposed in the settings section, but I can't find it after this update. Maybe I just overlooked it.

When the update finishes installation, it gives you a tick box asking whether you want to run Origin automatically at Windows start. Normally the programs give you an option to run the program when setup finishes so you might have just glanced over it - it's also ticked by default. I cannot seem to find the startup option in the Origin options as well. Very sucky programming.

I just checked. They definitely used to have the 'launch on start up' option, and now they removed it. Given that a lot of people just keep clicking next to blast through an installer I'd say that's a little underhanded and anti-user.

Also just for fun when it was trying to update itself, it tripped itself up on EAProxyInstaller which I had to manually kill before the proper updater could run, fun times. And while we're talking about poor user experience, having the program update by downloading and installing over itself using a full copy of the initial installer, requiring user interaction (plus task killing) doesn't strike me as great, how about something completely silent and behind the scenes, or only getting the user to acknowledge it's going on. It fits in with how Origin can't sort out patching for the games under it's wing yet.

So much work for EA to do to make something that isn't disappointing. I imagine by the time Origin is looking decent the new consoles will be out and EA cast PC gaming aside again like a forgotten toy.

wanderingtaoist wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:

I think there might have been an option I blew by in the update. It used to actually be exposed in the settings section, but I can't find it after this update. Maybe I just overlooked it.

When the update finishes installation, it gives you a tick box asking whether you want to run Origin automatically at Windows start. Normally the programs give you an option to run the program when setup finishes so you might have just glanced over it - it's also ticked by default. I cannot seem to find the startup option in the Origin options as well. Very sucky programming.

Scratched wrote:

I just checked. They definitely used to have the 'launch on start up' option, and now they removed it. Given that a lot of people just keep clicking next to blast through an installer I'd say that's a little underhanded and anti-user.

Thanks for looking. I know they used to have the "start with windows" setting exposed in Settings, because that was always the first thing I did once I did an update (knowing it was there was part of the reason I wasn't paying much attention when I did the update).

Maybe once I'm playing BF3 daily I won't care that it's running, but right now I don't need it.

I bought Crysis 2 today in the gamersgate sale. So I load up Origin and Origin tells me it has to be updated. Fine, I click install, and it downloads the update and proceeds to install, then I get this message:

IMAGE(http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/ziffel66/forum/origin.jpg)

EAProxyInstaller IS the Origin updater. So basically, Origin is telling me that the origin updater needs to be closed so that the origin updater can continue to install the update. Bloody brilliant.

So now I'm stuck in this loop, and can't use Origin to download Crysis 2.

Jeff-66 wrote:

I bought Crysis 2 today in the gamersgate sale. So I load up Origin and Origin tells me it has to be updated. Fine, I click install, and it downloads the update and proceeds to install, then I get this message:

EAProxyInstaller IS the Origin updater. So basically, Origin is telling me that the origin updater needs to be closed so that the origin updater can continue to install the update. Bloody brilliant.

So now I'm stuck in this loop, and can't use Origin to download Crysis 2.

Did you try killing it from the task manager processes list?

MannishBoy wrote:

Did you try killing it from the task manager processes list?

Yep. Doing that just starts the process over.

Jeff-66 wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:

Did you try killing it from the task manager processes list?

Yep. Doing that just starts the process over.

Then I'd either reboot, or uninstall/reinstall Origin.

*shrug*

I finally got it to go. I just kept removing the .exe from task mgr, and clicking next, eventually it just magically worked.

Jeff-66 wrote:

I finally got it to go. I just kept removing the .exe from task mgr, and clicking next, eventually it just magically worked.

PC Gaming! Brought to you by EA.

Scratched wrote:
Jeff-66 wrote:

I finally got it to go. I just kept removing the .exe from task mgr, and clicking next, eventually it just magically worked.

PC Gaming! Brought to you by EA.

It's like a meta game.

EA's software is the kind where you can see that it could be great, but you know things like that problem probably get pushed down the list so they can work on adding a facebook button or similar. I can appreciate that some bugs are hard to solve, but when they're pushing Origin as a big alternative for their games, they really need to get things right. When my first impressions of a program after launching it is that it doesn't give any feedback that it's launching, freezes my computer for a few seconds while appearing to do nothing, and a slow glitchy compulsory upgrade that requires a fair bit of user input, all before I get to actually use it, I start thinking what else I can do with my time instead of using EA software.

Scratched wrote:

...I start thinking what else I can do with my time instead of using EA software.

Aye. Right now, Origin is a necessary evil. I don't want it on my PC, and would love to swear off buying anything that was exclusive to it, but I'm a typical gamer, I guess .. I'm weak. I wanted DA2, and Crysis 2, and I know I'll want BF3. At least Origin doesn't need to stay running, or even load up at all to launch one of their games (at least not yet), so that makes me feel better. Right now I'm just using it as a downloader (or should I say, TRYING to use it as a downloader, when it's not being idiotic)

Jeff-66 wrote:

At least Origin doesn't need to stay running, or even load up at all to launch one of their games (at least not yet), so that makes me feel better.

It will run in the background with BF3.

MannishBoy wrote:
Jeff-66 wrote:

At least Origin doesn't need to stay running, or even load up at all to launch one of their games (at least not yet), so that makes me feel better.

It will run in the background with BF3.

Ah yes, the privacy invading, data-mining thing. Forgot about that.

Jeff-66 wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:
Jeff-66 wrote:

At least Origin doesn't need to stay running, or even load up at all to launch one of their games (at least not yet), so that makes me feel better.

It will run in the background with BF3.

Ah yes, the privacy invading, data-mining thing. Forgot about that.

No, it's an authentication thing. Like Steam does.

MannishBoy wrote:
Jeff-66 wrote:
MannishBoy wrote:
Jeff-66 wrote:

At least Origin doesn't need to stay running, or even load up at all to launch one of their games (at least not yet), so that makes me feel better.

It will run in the background with BF3.

Ah yes, the privacy invading, data-mining thing. Forgot about that.

No, it's an authentication thing. Like Steam does.

Oh, I guess I need to catch up on what's going on with Origin then. Last I read, it's EULA said it would be gathering user data.

Jeff-66 wrote:

Oh, I guess I need to catch up on what's going on with Origin then. Last I read, it's EULA said it would be gathering user data.

Kind of like Steam does (although Steam has an opt out). But specifically what Origin does when you launch BF3 is authenticate the client. At least that what it appeared to be doing, which matches up with what they've said about the game.

Did anyone really expect something different from Origin? I'm not even going to bother with it, but if you couldn't see all the problems coming, come on...

MannishBoy wrote:
Jeff-66 wrote:

Oh, I guess I need to catch up on what's going on with Origin then. Last I read, it's EULA said it would be gathering user data.

Kind of like Steam does (although Steam has an opt out).

Kind of a big difference there.

Jeff-66 wrote:

Kind of a big difference there.

But it's not starting up with BF just for the purpose of reporting home on your activities, which was what your first post implied. It's doing game specific stuff in the case of BF3.

People can dislike Origin for a lot of valid reasons, just trying to be accurate.

MannishBoy wrote:
Jeff-66 wrote:

Kind of a big difference there.

But it's not starting up with BF just for the purpose of reporting home on your activities, which was what your first post implied. It's doing game specific stuff in the case of BF3.

People can dislike Origin for a lot of valid reasons, just trying to be accurate.

I'm genuinely ignorant on it, I didn't mean to sound too snippy on that first post. I thought that's what all the rigamarole was regarding Origin, that they are data mining and/or spying, and that the EULA was pretty aggressive.

So if it's not data-mining during BF3 play, when does it do that? (or have they changed it?)

Obviously i'm not too bent over it, I've got it installed

Jeff-66 wrote:

So if it's not data-mining during BF3 play, when does it do that? (or have they changed it?)

Obviously i'm not too bent over it, I've got it installed :)

As I understand it, it's authenticating the client. Kind of like Steamworks games do via Steam. It also does the screen overlays (think Shift+Tab in Steam) that allows cross game chat, etc.

If you launch the game and don't have Origin running, it will just also launch an Origin service silently.