Mass Effect 3 PC requires Origin if you want to play

[MOnk]

So, yeah, I just wanted to install Mass Effect 2 through Origin to avoid having to use the disc to start the game.. Didn't go so well..

While downloading it I also decided to install it from the disc, so I could play while I was waiting. I'd then reinstall whenever it finished downloading.
Origin's download speeds are pretty horrible, so I had to have something to do while waiting.

Now, I've set Origin to keep game installers, just in case something goes wrong, which I kinda expected would happen.

While playing, Origin apparently finished downloading and supposedly also finished installing ME2.
Turns out it just saw that the game was already installed and didn't bother installing into the Origin directory.
And launching the game through Origin made it complain about a missing disc..

I had kind of expected that to happen though, which is why I ticked the option to keep installers. But look at that, the installers directory is completely empty.

So, it seems it downloaded the installer, saw it was already installed and then deleted the friggin' installer again Argh!

So frustrating...

Seems like your problems were your own doing.

There is no separate Origin version, so if you install ME2 on your system as far as Origin is concerned it's installed. Did that with a few of my EA games I had already installed, I just added the keys to my Origin account and bam the client picked up where they were installed. Even worked for EA games I had bought through Steam. So what you probably should have done is to install the game and then just delete the .exe and set it to redownload.

[Lycanthrope]

Seems like your problems were your own doing.

There is no separate Origin version, so if you install ME2 on your system as far as Origin is concerned it's installed. Did that with a few of my EA games I had already installed, I just added the keys to my Origin account and bam the client picked up where they were installed. Even worked for EA games I had bought through Steam. So what you probably should have done is to install the game and then just delete the .exe and set it to redownload.

Origin doesn't work like that. It downloads a single 10.8GB installer file; it doesn't download individual files.

Origin failed Dentar in multiple ways:

1. It deleted the installer file REGARDLESS of being set to keep it
2. It downloaded at a max speed of 350kB/s on a 10Mb line (this is Denmark)
3. It cannot differentiate between its own installations and that of a retail copy.
4. Even if a retail copy is found, and a copy is registered on Origin, it still requires a disc?

How is his problem his own doing? I don't recall ever needing to bend over backwards to get a game on Steam to tell the difference between its installation or that of a retail copy.

[Dentar]

Seems like your problems were your own doing.

There is no separate Origin version, so if you install ME2 on your system as far as Origin is concerned it's installed. Did that with a few of my EA games I had already installed, I just added the keys to my Origin account and bam the client picked up where they were installed. Even worked for EA games I had bought through Steam. So what you probably should have done is to install the game and then just delete the .exe and set it to redownload.

Oh, I expected something like that to happen when I started it all. The problem was that the installer was deleted without doing anything, leaving me with a game that still requires a disc.

I'll try removing the .exe to see what happens though.

EDIT

Nah, that just made it start redownloading 10 gigs.

Seems like there's no way to start playing without a disc without redownloading everything.

Honestly don't really feel like bothering doing that all over again.

[MOnk]

It downloads a single 10.8GB installer file

That's quite fail.

[Lycanthrope]

Yeah. That's why I keep saying it's a glorified download manager

I tried deleting my launcher executable in my ME2 folder, it wanted to redownload everything, same story for D. Basically it says "Error, cannot detect somethingsomething, please try reinstalling." Then when you click "redownload" well, it wants to redownload

Fortunately sticking the launcher back and clicking "Reload My Games" fixed that.

I don't trust this daft program at all

[MOnk]

Yeah. That's why I keep saying it's a glorified download manager

Well that's because it is. I've been using it since it was still called EA Download manager and NOTHING has changed.

[Lycanthrope]

Well that's because it is. I've been using it since it was still called EA Download manager and NOTHING has changed.

I only knew EA Download Manager from The Sims 3 (shut up, don't you judge me!) updates. It sucked then, it sucks now

D edited his post (I like how he thinks we'd notice that ).

I just hope ME3 launch goes smoothly. Or maybe I don't. I'm actually not sure if I want it to be an absolute fail so that I can say "HAH! I TOLD YOU SO!" and sit crying quietly in a corner because I can't play ME3, or if I want it to be a success so that I can play ME3 but cry quietly in a corner because Origin's existence will be justified (in EA's eyes).

Either way, I'll be crying on launch day

[MOnk]

OK, so I tested it out myself!!!

My way does work BUT only for the newer 'Origin specific' games, which so far only include Battlefield 3 and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning [Demo]. (let me know if you find more)

What I did was rename the .exe and then went into my Origin client and there was an option to Repair Install. I went through that option and it checked all my files and after it was done it just redownloaded the 8mb exe file.

So if you right click on a game in your Origin library and you have the Check for Updates or Repair install option then it should have proper per file rverify/repair/update features.

[Lycanthrope]

OK, so I tested it out myself!!!

My way does work BUT only for the newer 'Origin specific' games, which so far only include Battlefield 3 and Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning [Demo]. (let me know if you find more)

What I did was rename the .exe and then went into my Origin client and there was an option to Repair Install. I went through that option and it checked all my files and after it was done it just redownloaded the 8mb exe file.

So if you right click on a game in your Origin library and you have the Check for Updates or Repair install option then it should have proper per file rverify/repair/update features.

Yeah, problem with that is that ME2 (or in fact any of the games I have linked on Origin) don't have that option. Which kind of defeats the entire point, doesn't it?

Now I can't wrap my head around what the point of some games working/downloading differently to others using the exact same platform is.

EA works in such arse-backwards ways.

Thanks for at least confirming that SOME games download the way you'd expect

[MOnk]

I guess it's because they didn't bother to 'retrofit' the new features to the older games and only add them to the new stuff, which yeah does defeat the point if those features have to be coded in by the devs instead of just being inherent to the platform.