Ubisoft Code Cracked...

Well seen it for my own eyes now, (why did i buy it? lol)

Assassins Creed 2 and Silent Hunter 5 have now been fully cracked. Was quite simple really. Just involved setting up a dummy server and editting one .txt windows file, Ubisoft could only hold the pirates back so long, and now i feel like i got stiffed as i can only play mine online and the darn pirates can play wherever and whenever...

I wonder what the chances are that Ubisoft will release that patch for us now?

 

I'm surprised it took so long.

Too bad I swore off piracy, and I still refuse to buy it as long as this silly DRM is in place.

 

So much for uncrackable, why would they even bother investing millions of $ on this crap? People would still pirate the game anyway, one way or another.

 

If you have the original , then would it still be piracy to download the hacked version if it`s only too make it easier to play.

 

Bout time. Now i only have to wait for the release of conviction.

 

technically no its not against the law

thats why backing up your software (at least in the UK) has always been legal.

The crack uses a server emulator, same crack as was applied to C&C 4, just modified for Ubisoft, hence AC2 and SH5 working

 

Glad I got it for the 360. Amazing game too, to bad the piraters ruined it for the PC.

 

ironically the pirate xbox version was out within 24 hours of release lol

 

Orly? Didn't know there was one. Wow, what a fail all the way around.

And I have said this sooooo much it seems, it really is a good game, just wish all of this didn't mess it up.

 

totally agree, i think the rubbish about the DRM has detracted from what a good game it is, as i said

real shame

 

I figured thats how it would be done. I like to learn things so long time back I learned how to setup proxies servers and fake servers and in doing so you could by pass online authentication servers.

It was simple to do back then, so probably took so long just due to a more complicated server handshake with this new DRM.

FYI I tested on Maple Story a free game lol so I was not pirating anything just more less what is called reverse engineering.

 

pretty sure cracks are illegal. you modify the program without the publisher's consent, that's usually prohibited in the eula.
the bad thing is they can right whatever they please in the eula, and most people don't even read it.

 

EULAs won't (and don't) hold up in court. Technically illegal, maybe, but no one would ever call ya on it (remember, Hot Coffee still went against Rockstar, even though that was a modification without the publisher's consent).

However, if you torrent a cracked piece of software, it's the uploading that gets you in trouble. Downloading, no one cares (you can claim to already own the software, so downloading another copy is legal), but uploading means you're giving the software to others illegally (you can't claim that everyone already owns the software). But if there's a crack separate from the game files, that would probably be completely legal (or at least, legal in the way going 56mph in a 55mph zone is legal).

 

So only uploading gets you into trouble not downloading? How come that doesn't sound like it should be right?

 

Ruined what? I think the pigs already got all the money they should have for just making a stupid video game...

 

I don't know the laws of all countries, however usually it comes down to this: It is is illegal, but it is way too much hassle to controll it, so nobody really cares and the chances that you will get in trouble are slim, but you could.

 

in the uk its only the uploading they go after you for

and as of right now they have never proved a case in civil court , only ones they have won are where people havent defended it

or in one case, the defendant was dead...

 

It is right, else you can be sued the moment you come across a youtube video with copyright content.

AC2 is still not fully compromised though, the emulation is still only in beta and could only be played until a certain stage.

 

not this one, can be played all the way through

this is a full crack now it got updated yesterday

 

In Germany we have a law since 2008 that it is illegal to download if it is obvious, that the source is not legally uploading.

What defines obvious is not obvious, however, especially when it comes down to youtube. Generally speaking on youtube, you are safe, because the companies are uploading themselves material, so there was and probably will not be any trouble because of youtube streams in Germany.

 

It depends on the country. In the US it is, but almost never prosecuted, they go after the distributors. I know in Canada it is legal to download, but not to upload.

 

what was the drm used in SC: chaos theory apparently took ages to crack, almost a year... starforce or stardock?

anyway why wasnt that used if it takes ages to crack?

 

Because it was cracked?

 

starforce. Stardock is a game company that never used any DRM, don't even need CD, and their games are some of the best sellers.

 

lol sorry, was under the impression that even if a drm is cracked the same drm principle can be applied using different means it will still have the same effect...


wait a minute ...this really does mean that drm is useless

*gets up in a fit of rage* - kidding

 

Well but this is what DRM is mainly for anyways, game companies never expect their DRM to be uncrackable forever, they just hope that it will hold for as long as possible, so that those players who simply can't wait will buy their game. They simply hope that the cost in the DRM will be offset by the profit gained. Now that it's cracked, they will probably just remove the DRM soon, since it's no longer worth their money maintaining the server.

 

It was waiting to happen though, and unfortunately, it did. Such a pitty too, good games.

 

they have said in the past once it has been bypassed then they would remove it

interesting to see what they come up with next ...

 

Something that has to do with webcams..?

 

It's such a shame. The people who buy the games don't want DRM (fair enough most people don't really care, but a few on here chose not to buy because of DRM, and i'm sure a few more chose not to after servers went down for ages), the people who crack the games (obviously) don't want DRM. The only difference is that once the DRM is bypassed, the piraters are all in on the game but the people who would have bought it but chose not to still won't buy it. All that money spent preventing piraters and it results in a small loss in in amount of people who would buy the game.Then they remove the DRM once it has been cracked anyway, and i bet once they actually remove it there is a small surge in sales. All the money on the DRM wasted.

 

Ubisoft @ Pirates:

<param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Gb4eZ7Z5yk8&start=18&end=31"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Gb4eZ7Z5yk8&start=18&end=31" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width='425' height="344"></embed>

 

So their R&D failed to hold back even the game playing pirates?

 

I sure hope they do release a patch. Just another smack in the face of the honest buyer if they don't. I'm not so much interested in AC2 as I am in SH5 and SC: Conviction. However, from the reviews, seems SH5 is a complete tank too. So here's hoping to a decent DRM free SC: Conviction. Otherwise they're not getting my money either way.

 

I only played the 1st AC on PC and got AC2 for PS3 since it took to many months for them to release the game.

 

sh5 isnt that bad and i do enjoy a game of it

They have simplified some of the controls, but i think the modding community will tinker with it

 

How is this a surprise?

The game makers are horrifically outnumbered and have a limited time and budget framework to create a game. The pirates have effectively limitless resources and time in comparison.

The best any DRM can possibly achieve is slowing the pirates down.

Oh Lithus... ready to admit how wrong you are yet?
Your champion has fallen... again...

 

Lithus is a millionaire. He sold his idea of unbreakable DRM to Ubisoft which Ubisoft will reveal on the release of SC: Conviction.
- I hope they do find some amazing DRM and then they will see that preventing piracy does not equal sales
- AC2 never hitting #1 on release week on Steam is pretty pathetic. Just about any reputable game hits #1 on Steam during release week.

 

if you are talking about the emu spire thing, i heard it only lets you play up to the 8th mission

 

Umm... How exactly am I wrong? I said it's possible to create uncrackable DRM. Not that Ubisoft had done so. Learn to understand what I'm saying before you make a fool of yourselves.

I'm not the one here claiming that hackers have magical powers that allow them to defy computing logic.

Kernel, it's ok if you don't understand data security. It's a very specialized topic, and I don't expect many people to have a good grasp on it. But attacking me on a subject you don't understand - like I said before, when it gets to the nitty-gritty, I'll get you every time.

 

was the case, they released a modified version yesterday which can play the entire game

was another routing server used after section 8, added to the txt file and was job done

 

well, now that it's cracked can only hope they do release a patch to eliminate it... then I might snag a copy of SH5, but no way until they remove it, as it's as much on principal now as anything... I hated that DRM!

 

Uncrackable DRM would mean removing all access to the computer from the end user. That is the ONLY way. Even consoles are cracked regularly, and the manufacturer completely controls the hardware and software there. And you propose that on an open platform like the PC that perfect DRM is possible?

Hackers don't have magical powers... what they have is access to both the keys and the locks, which are both necessary if you're going to actually use anything that is DRM protected. Given access to both parts of the equation, it's just a matter of time before someone is clever enough to get around the protections. If you don't want anyone to have your content, then the only solution is to not distribute it.

BTW, you might want do a bit of reading on the Dunning-Kruger effect.

 

Good Luck to Ubisoft and their sales if they keep this up... good to know the DRM is cracked but they better not have this in the next brothers in arms game...

 

Not true.

Now I'm going to make this distinction loud and clear right now - I am claiming that it is possible to make uncrackable DRM. Uncrackable does not mean perfect, and that's a big distinction. I do not believe that internet access should be required to play a single player game. However, if that is one of the requirements, you can have uncrackable DRM.

That's exactly how you get uncrackable DRM - don't distribute your content. Or at least, don't distribute a vital part of your content. You cannot hack what does not exist.

The previous standard for DRM is that it must wholly reside on the client's computer. In that case, the client is given all the code, they just need to crack it.

Now, Ubisoft has changed that standard. If a developer is allowed to require an internet connection from the client at all times, what you have is a situation where you can withhold data from the client. Thus, uncrackable DRM.

Are you calling me incompetent? I'm not making these claims at a whim. I've thoroughly analyzed - or at least as thoroughly as I would ever analyze a situation for an internet forum - the situation, I've passed on my thoughts with my colleagues, and I have come to a conclusion that yet so far has met no resistance other than people saying that I plain don't know what I'm talking about, or that I'm just lying.

If someone sees a flaw in my theory, by all means, point it out, and I'll gladly address it, and if I can't, them I'm wrong. Plain and simple. But until then, if all your argument consists of is "Lithus is dumb", then go on ahead believing what you want, because I'm certainly not going to change your mind on anything.

 

Not true.

Hey, if you can say things with no facts to back them up, so can anyone else. I can also tell you the moon is made of cheese.

But I'll go easy on you: Ubisoft is not hosting any data on their servers. They're simply sending back a "ok, you can play" message. All the data is on the client computer, so all that has to happen is figuring out how to forge that, or stop the asking at all. It's just the same as asking, say, a local USB token for authentication, except this one uses the magical intertubes.

Again, the ONLY WAY to have uncrackable DRM is to never provide the lock and the key to the same person. If you can manage to do that and still let a "legitimate" consumer unlock the content and use it, please, let us know. I'll give you all the money in my bank account if you can do it without bending the rules of time and space.

 

by witholding code you have the problem of either A) downloading an executable to run the programme

In this case if will just be a case of cracking the algorythm to fool the programme to thinking the key came from source

or B) stream data from the site when loading levels etc -- In this case its just a case of using a programme to record the stream and intergrate that into a fake server to "stream" it to the game

 

Let me post what I wrote earlier in another thread so that people who haven't read the other 12 gazillion threads on piracy aren't left in the dark.

You have to realize that not all data is the same. Yes, you need to pass back data to the client, but what you're effectively doing is making a black box system where the stuff you don't want people to get a hold of is never sent to the client.

 

I don't think you're understanding me correctly.

Ubisoft has changed the standard in that they now require a constant internet connection to their servers while playing a game. Not Ubisoft has changed the standard and is utilizing an uncrackable DRM.

For the last time - the DRM Ubisoft is using is NOT uncrackable. Because they're dumb.

 

thats not far off what Ubi tried to do tbh

SH5 for example needed the code from the server for the campaign to start the missions, for example you couldnt move on without the trigger from the server to move on.

I see what your saying and yes that may delay people

but

A) if you were to make it so that it wasnt a one off authentication that was needed i dont care how small the packet is that is alot of data you are moving around. The server and server side connection needed to deal with thousands of players at any one time will be insane

B) the cost of the above would be prohibitive without passing it onto the consumer, which would encourage people to come up with work arounds anyway

C) after the backlash that has gone on already with online DRM, its widley known AC2 and Sh5 tanked in sales due to it, Is it really worth it?

 

I honestly don't think DRM is worth it period. But there's a distinction between what's possible, and what I believe is worthwhile.

The fact is, I sincerely believe that uncrackable DRM is very possible IF you require a constant internet connection. And I'm fed up with people believing that hackers are the end-all be-all of programmers and that they can do whatever the heck they want to because they're bred from unicorn dust.