Update: Lo-Ping are claiming that Steam is offering discounts to those who apply. Edit: A claim which is increasingly proven to be false.

Astonishing. Ubisoft have yet to respond to our questions today, when we asked why From Dust was requiring an internet connection to launch despite their making it very clear it would not. They also have yet to respond to our queries as to why it hasn’t been properly ported, despite the weeks of last-minute delay for the PC version. And now, incredibly, rather than apologising to the huge numbers of people who had been deceived by the previous untrue claims about the game’s DRM, they’ve instead just deleted the post, and put up a new one. From Dust requires an internet connection to launch, and tough shit if you bought it when they were saying otherwise. (Edit: They’ve now somewhat confusingly edited in the original post to the new post.)

This comes hot on the heels of Ubisoft’s previous struggle with sticking to their statements, after Driver: San Francisco was given a delay on PC last week, despite their having promised otherwise. I’d link to the tweet where this was promised, but would you believe it – it’s been deleted.

Now we’re told, without a hint of humility,

“Due to the recent confusion over the type of DRM used in From Dust, please find the following explanation of the type of DRM used. ‘From Dust’ requires an internet connection when you start the game. Make sure you are connected to the internet when you attempt to start the game. After you have signed in and the game is running, you no longer need the internet connection and can disconnect from it if you so wish.”

“Confusion.” What an incredible choice of word. The way this almost mockingly mimics the phrasing of the original post –

“We are aware of some confusion over the inclusion of DRM in the release of From Dust on PC. To prevent any on-going confusion we would like to clarify From Dust PC will release with DRM requiring a one-time only online activation. After which you will be able to play the game offline. We hope this clears any outstanding confusion on the matter”

– just seems doubly insulting to anyone who wasted their money on a product with such a built in redundancy.

There’s no apology for misleading customers, no explanation as to why the DRM was changed – hell, there’s not even an acknowledgement that they ever told a different story.

The game was delayed without explanation on PC, and has been given a pathetically shoddy port (no GFX options, barely sound options, awful mouse controls, 30fps artificial limit), and a working crack for the idiotic DRM was released just before the game came out.

It is such a horrendous shame that a game from such a legendary creator has been treated this way. We are so deeply disappointed that such a game, in a genre we adore, has been allowed to become tangled in such a nasty mess. Again, we strongly suggest that until these many issues are resolved, you do not spend your money on From Dust.