Command & Conquer 4's gives "uknown error" message when attempting login
First of all, my copy is from Origin, not Steam. I know people who bought the Ultimate Collection on Steam often face problems. My problem is similar to theirs, but they get "General system error", which is different than the error message I get.
I bought C&C Ultimate Collection back in 2015. I haven't tried C&C 4 because of its reputation but I want something fresh to play and am curious to see how I like it. So, I install it. I boot up the game and am presented with a login screen. I put in my email and password as it requests, and click log in. I am greeted by a lovely UKNOWN ERROR. And yes, my email and password are typed correctly. Because of EA's infinitely wise decision to make C&C 4 require always-online connectivity, I can't even effing play a skirmish. I contacted EA's customer support twice, but the solutions they provided were not remotely useful in fixing the problem and they don't seem to know why it is happening. I also made sure that the program is allowed through Windows Firewall before I even contacted them.
Does anyone have any idea what is causing this issue, or how to fix it? Or is this simply another game in the collection that's broken and doomed to never receive any patches or support?
