How Do Pirates Hack a Game ?

[Nisgeis]

Originally Posted by Herman

One of the rationale put forth for the implementation of DRM is the prevention of launch-day piracy.

It doesn't really work well, if the crackers are getting their hands on copies of the game before it is released, when the pirate version is available before the retail version is.

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

Well there's got to be an answer how to stop this.

For the niche genres, of which subsims definately are, I'd personally like to see a new type of model set up, where the player buys the main game for the same or slightly reduced cost, then every x months, the game developers release a new 'content' add-on with some extra features. This add-on could address some previous bugs and also add in new tech, like in the SH5 example, $10 for the tech and campaign of 1944. Then 1945 and all the high end tech. It could keep going on and being expanded, with more ships, more weapons, more stuff that there just isn't time for in a $40 / £40 (can't find the euro symbol) game.

The advantages would be the same dev team and engine could be kept on, which would minimise disruption and time lost in setting up a new titile and maximise the knowledge of the game engine being developed for. Also, there would be a steady income stream for the developer and steady improvements for the community. Even if people didn't want to play it, they could decide to 'donate' their money to support the genre. If the same title were continuously developed then we'd have, after a while, a very deep sim, with most of the issues addressed.

Of course this would have to be done properly, e.g. not have the same bugs ignored over and over, like in the patches. It would have to be a serious attempt to better the product, not just dash for the cash.

[Herman]

Originally Posted by Nisgeis

It doesn't really work well, if the crackers are getting their hands on copies of the game before it is released, when the pirate version is available before the retail version is.

I think that it can work well. Let's use the Storm Eagle Studios example. They claim that their server-chained DRM scheme is unbreakable and that may very well be the case since every installation must always call home to SES pretty much every time the customer wants to play.

Now, those games have been out for months/years. So, it is conceivable that the launch-day piracy 'threat' has long passed. Why not take it off and go with a less intrusive protection mechanism like simple ID#s the way Matrix does it? I think that there are plenty of folks who would gladly sit out a launch-day piracy scheme and patiently await the DRM-free version.

[Heretic]

The Storm Eagle DRM model caused me to pass up Jutland. They're such a small studio, I didn't think I could risk getting that final patch to make the game playable, if they went belly up.

Matrix games uses a serial number model. It seems to work pretty well, but they're an even smaller niche than sub sims and their games are cheap to make, relatively, and sell only a few thousand copies.

I don't know the answer to this. Maybe there isn't one. I think it will end with the publishers just getting out of the PC market.

[FIREWALL]

Originally Posted by Nisgeis

It doesn't really work well, if the crackers are getting their hands on copies of the game before it is released, when the pirate version is available before the retail version is.



For the niche genres, of which subsims definately are, I'd personally like to see a new type of model set up, where the player buys the main game for the same or slightly reduced cost, then every x months, the game developers release a new 'content' add-on with some extra features. This add-on could address some previous bugs and also add in new tech, like in the SH5 example, $10 for the tech and campaign of 1944. Then 1945 and all the high end tech. It could keep going on and being expanded, with more ships, more weapons, more stuff that there just isn't time for in a $40 / £40 (can't find the euro symbol) game.

The advantages would be the same dev team and engine could be kept on, which would minimise disruption and time lost in setting up a new titile and maximise the knowledge of the game engine being developed for. Also, there would be a steady income stream for the developer and steady improvements for the community. Even if people didn't want to play it, they could decide to 'donate' their money to support the genre. If the same title were continuously developed then we'd have, after a while, a very deep sim, with most of the issues addressed.

Of course this would have to be done properly, e.g. not have the same bugs ignored over and over, like in the patches. It would have to be a serious attempt to better the product, not just dash for the cash.

Originally Posted by Herman

I think that it can work well. Let's use the Storm Eagle Studios example. They claim that their server-chained DRM scheme is unbreakable and that may very well be the case since every installation must always call home to SES pretty much every time the customer wants to play.

Now, those games have been out for months/years. So, it is conceivable that the launch-day piracy 'threat' has long passed. Why not take it off and go with a less intrusive protection mechanism like simple ID#s the way Matrix does it? I think that there are plenty of folks who would gladly sit out a launch-day piracy scheme and patiently await the DRM-free version.

Originally Posted by Heretic

The Storm Eagle DRM model caused me to pass up Jutland. They're such a small studio, I didn't think I could risk getting that final patch to make the game playable, if they went belly up.

Matrix games uses a serial number model. It seems to work pretty well, but they're an even smaller niche than sub sims and their games are cheap to make, relatively, and sell only a few thousand copies.

I don't know the answer to this. Maybe there isn't one. I think it will end with the publishers just getting out of the PC market.

Great thoughts on this guys.

Run with it.

[Dowly]

Publishers would have to come up with new unique DRM for every new title. That is the only way I can see DRM semi-working (i.e. slowing down the piracy for the first few days/weeks).

But that would be costly and given the fact that the games would be most likely cracked anyways, I dont see publishers spending money on that.

Best way to fight piracy is to a) have no DRM at all (intrusive DRM makes people pirate more) and b) make a game that is worth buying, put in some carrots why people would want to buy the legit game.

For example, Steam is doing pretty good job with it's Steamworks thingy. Want to play the game online? Buy the game. SP portion has been cracked ages ago for these games, tho.

[NeonSamurai]

Online play can be broken into too (this goes for steam as well), so called hacked servers which remove the check to see if the game is legit. But that is a side part of the scene, the main groups don't touch multiplayer in games. All they care about is the challenge of breaking the next hot DRM before anyone else does.

Also server chained and all the variations are defiantly breakable (there is nothing under the sun that cannot eventually be broken given time and desire). A lot of these small name companies' games haven't been broken, not because they can't be, but because the crack groups don't consider it worth their time to bother (not worth the effort).


Anyhow there is no solution to this problem (other then some ultra draconian anti piracy system built into the computers themselves), the crack groups are not likely to stop any time soon (they are the entire reason piracy exists, as they are the ones that defeat the latest DRM). If gaming shifts almost entirely to consoles I would bet piracy will go up in those categories though it is harder to do then on a pc. People pirate for several reasons, the most obvious being why pay for something when you can get it for free. Some pirate to try before you buy (which I can't blame them for, we have all been burned by bad and/or broken games that aren't fixed before). Others pirate and buy what they can afford.

There is no magic software based DRM, or even hardware (hardware does cut back on the number of potential pirates though, barring a hardware emulator).

[kiwi_2005]

Edited: How to crack a game? Go ask your mom!

How to stop piracy? Buy the software!

[FIREWALL]

Originally Posted by kiwi_2005

To crack software you will need the right tools like a disassembler - W32Dasm, Softice to name a few. Mainly comes down to cracking the exe file of the game. You do not need any programming skills.

Lets not get to technical. It might be taken the wrong way.

This threads purpose is to discuss how to Stop it.