Videochat September 2020

[Ross Scott]

September videochat with fans, I tried to go more quickly through the questions this time, but it didn't seem to change anything! Lots of rambling again, also a GOG giveaway at the end.  Details on the giveaway here.  More Freeman's Mind and Game Dungeon coming!

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[ScumCoder]

6/10 the YouTube preview is not psychotic enough, can't recommend

[Isaiah]

@Ross Scott Regarding crackwatch being inaccurate: A "cracked" game is not necessarily fully or even partial playable. This is because there can be multiple parts that need to be cracked to make it actually run. The first "crack" is often just extracting the encrypted game files to gain access to them. But that step alone doesn't mean the game itself is now playable, etc.

 

For Darkspore they just got a basic server emulator working (Resurrection Capsule) which allows you to get in-game, but you can't actually play the game... yet. So the game is technically "cracked", just not completely.

 

 

It would probably be very helpful if crackwatch also listed the playable state of the games as well ( Just like emulator sites often do) to make their actual status more clear.

 

[Ross Scott]

  On 9/8/2020 at 7:52 PM, Isaiah said:

@Ross Scott Regarding crackwatch being inaccurate: A "cracked" game is not necessarily fully or even partial playable. This is because there can be multiple parts that need to be cracked to make it actually run. The first "crack" is often just extracting the encrypted game files to gain access to them. But that step alone doesn't mean the game itself is now playable, etc.

 

For Darkspore they just got a basic server emulator working (Resurrection Capsule) which allows you to get in-game, but you can't actually play the game... yet. So the game is technically "cracked", just not completely.

 

 

It would probably be very helpful if crackwatch also listed the playable state of the games as well ( Just like emulator sites often do) to make their actual status more clear.

 

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Their report showed it cracked as of day 1.

[Isaiah]

  On 9/8/2020 at 8:12 PM, Ross Scott said:

Their report showed it cracked as of day 1.

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Actually it's day -4 if you look at the date! Which is an obvious error by whoever posted that, but the crack status is still accurate and that's what I was talking about. The bottom-line being that a "cracked" game isn't always playable as you thought. So I was just trying to explain why that is.

 

But regardless of accuracy, crackwatch is still not great because all they can report on is the status of the games (for obvious legal reasons). But it's completely up to you to actually find and learn how to use these cracks and some may even stop working or just vanish. So the site seems pretty useless in any case.

[Ross Scott]

  On 9/8/2020 at 9:45 PM, Isaiah said:

Actually it's day -4 if you look at the date! Which is an obvious error by whoever posted that, but the crack status is still accurate and that's what I was talking about. The bottom-line being that a "cracked" game isn't always playable as you thought. So I was just trying to explain why that is.

 

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You're giving them way too much credit and assuming evidence that isn't there.  Here's the chain of progression:

2011:  Game released, no crack exists.  A group "IND" claims it's cracked.  There is no evidence of this.  They're lying.  People sometimes lie on the internet.

Whenever crackwatch added the entry:  They repost the same false information.

2018: a proof of concept server emulator is released with no affiliation to IND

 

You say the cracked status from crackwatch is accurate.  No, it's not, for 2 reasons:

1. Crackwatch's claim is that Darkspore was cracked by IND, not by Resurrection Capsule.

2. Resurrection Capsule says on their very site they haven't cracked all DRM, nor do they intend to, from their site "this project will respect every layer of DRM that is above the Darkspore application."  I have NEVER heard someone declare a game "cracked" that still leaves DRM checks in that prevent the game from functioning.  The very definition of a crack is that it REMOVES or circumvents DRM. 

 

If a piece of software has multiple DRM components and only one of them is circumvented, but the rest of them prevent the program from functioning, no one would ever call that "cracked."  That would be the same as declaring an unfinished alpha of a program "completed"

 

The thing to remember is requiring the client to connect to a defunct server by EA is a form of DRM in itself. Now if all DRM involved with preventing a game from running was removed, but the game still didn't run due to some other reason, like an OS incompatibility or something, then sure, you could call the game "cracked, but unplayable"  Darkspore isn't cracked by any known definition.

 

Edited September 8, 2020 by Ross Scott (see edit history)

[Im_CIA]

So I broke up with my gf a few months ago, and there is someone at my office I'm considering getting on with,
What's the official AF policy on dating in work place for people who should be first pick to star in a live action Shrek movie?

[Im_CIA]

  On 9/8/2020 at 11:42 PM, RaTcHeT302 said:

either die alone or just get to know that person like a normal human being, who the hell cares if it's at work or at the luna park?

if you have an opportunity take it

 

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Eh, I don't know. Typically it's bad to shit where you eat.

Also I don't really get the fascination with games and "saas is the devil". 
Video games had their wild west days, and now the suits are making a billion dollar dream machine to gauge wallets.

That's the way of the world. Product gets refined to make more money and I get my curry Thai hot from the fusion joint down the street.

[BTGBullseye]

@Ross Scott

 

https://github.com/Sycnex/Windows10Debloater

 

Give that a try to debloat Win 10.

[Ross Scott]

  On 9/8/2020 at 11:36 PM, Im_CIA said:

So I broke up with my gf a few months ago, and there is someone at my office I'm considering getting on with,
What's the official AF policy on dating in work place for people who should be first pick to star in a live action Shrek movie?

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To maybe move this to its own thread.

[Im_CIA]

  On 9/9/2020 at 2:56 AM, BTGBullseye said:

@Ross Scott

 

https://github.com/Sycnex/Windows10Debloater

 

Give that a try to debloat Win 10.

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I have a more elegant solution. Giant magnet to the hard drive. 

It's actually not bad if you buy it off the shelf instead of pre installed.

 

Edited September 9, 2020 by Im_CIA (see edit history)

[Im_CIA]

  On 9/9/2020 at 9:10 AM, Ross Scott said:

To maybe move this to its own thread.

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Reasonable. 

As stated in another thread, I've been playing bozos night out in real life as of late.  I should probably just stay off the internet 

[MarlFox]

I second the Idea of using https://github.com/Sycnex/Windows10Debloater

Its a script that removes pretty much all of the non needed extra software M$ likes to incorporate with Win10.  However Windows10Devloater goes the extra mile as it offers you choices in its use via GUI.  With it you can hand select what you want removed.  The de-bloater also takes steps to remove or at the very least suppress the windows telemetry/spyware.

[Oplet]

fuckin youtube gettin agressive as hell: an ad before ANY and EVERY video and can't even enter it now if i'm not logged in. Good thing that doesn't apply if i'm watching from here.

[BTGBullseye]

  On 9/9/2020 at 5:18 PM, MarlFox said:

I second the Idea of using https://github.com/Sycnex/Windows10Debloater

Its a script that removes pretty much all of the non needed extra software M$ likes to incorporate with Win10.  However Windows10Devloater goes the extra mile as it offers you choices in its use via GUI.  With it you can hand select what you want removed.  The de-bloater also takes steps to remove or at the very least suppress the windows telemetry/spyware.

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Yup. Just remember to run CCleaner after, and do a registry clean, or some of it can still mess with your system.

[Im_CIA]

  On 9/9/2020 at 10:37 PM, BTGBullseye said:

Yup. Just remember to run CCleaner after, and do a registry clean, or some of it can still mess with your system.

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and don't forget to enable bash

[BTGBullseye]

  On 9/9/2020 at 11:43 PM, RaTcHeT302 said:

eh?? a registry cleaner?? why tho?? there are only program settings stored in there, it wouldn't accomplish anything

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Because if the registry entries are still there, they direct the system to do things it's not supposed to. With them gone, it just errors out, and skips doing anything that could cause serious errors.

  On 9/9/2020 at 11:43 PM, RaTcHeT302 said:

plus how does ccleaner know what to delete anyway

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It knows what to delete because it either directs to something that isn't there, or is directed to by something that doesn't exist. If it has connections of some sort on either side, it doesn't delete it.

  On 9/9/2020 at 11:43 PM, RaTcHeT302 said:

it's nothing more than a dumb placebo program

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Not in my experience. It has corrected several odd issues I've had over the years, ones that no one anywhere had been able to diagnose or fix.

  On 9/9/2020 at 11:43 PM, RaTcHeT302 said:

hell i never had to delete entries from the registry, unless i wanted to do a 100% clean install, and it happens so rarely, i just don't see the point

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If that is your experience, then that is your experience.

  On 9/9/2020 at 11:43 PM, RaTcHeT302 said:

plus why would anybody install ccleaner, just push win + r, type %temp%, push enter and delete whatever is in it and boom that's about the only "maintenance" you can do on windows

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That is not very comprehensive. It misses a LOT of stuff than can be cleaned out. (especially logs that are sent in telemetry if you find a way to delay sending the telemetry)

  On 9/9/2020 at 11:43 PM, RaTcHeT302 said:

the windows registry sucks donkey kong anyway, why do computer programs even bother with it, just keep your damn settings self contained, it's so annoying having to open ten thousand entries just to turn off some annoying bullshit, i hate it, bleh

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I don't disagree, but it's here for the foreseeable future, for better or worse.

[Isaiah]

  On 9/8/2020 at 10:48 PM, Ross Scott said:

You're giving them way too much credit and assuming evidence that isn't there.

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You're totally right, I just assumed crackwatch was referring to the same crack I found and that the details were just incorrect without actually investigating any of this properly. But that is not at all true, so I just spoke out of complete ignorance. My bad.

 

  Quote

2011:  Game released, no crack exists.  A group "IND" claims it's cracked.  There is no evidence of this.  They're lying.  People sometimes lie on the internet. Whenever crackwatch added the entry:  They repost the same false information.

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Your assumption here about what happened is not exactly correct. I rechecked the site and if you click on "NFO" you can actually see the scene release data the crack status is based on. There it lists an iso file called "Darkspore.MULTi5.CloneDVD-iND" and the readme says "Crack: KEINER ENTHALTEN" which is German for "Crack: NONE INCLUDED". So they never claimed it was cracked but the crackwatch aggregator either misinterpreted this or just assumes every scene release is cracked.

 

  Quote

Resurrection Capsule says on their very site they haven't cracked all DRM, nor do they intend to, from their site "this project will respect every layer of DRM that is above the Darkspore application." I have NEVER heard someone declare a game "cracked" that still leaves DRM checks in that prevent the game from functioning. The very definition of a crack is that it REMOVES or circumvents DRM.

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You don't seem to understand what they're talking about on that page at all, or maybe you just didn't read the whole thing? Because if you did you should understand this doesn't actually prevent them from making the game fully functional offline. That is the primary goal of the entire project after all.

 

As for Darkspore crack status: I realize now that I basically jumped the gun and defended crackwatch's status of the game without actually researching any of this properly and just assumed the resurrection capsule project was what they we're referring to and that the crack status was "technically" correct. I now see this was just complete hasty stupidity on my part. In hindsight even the claim that a cracked game isn't always playable at all seems absurd to me now, so I really don't know what I was thinking when I wrote any of that. I've been under a lot of stress for a lonnng time now, so it may finally be starting  to affect my thought process.

 

I think the point I was trying to make was that "cracked" is not always a simple true/false condition, so it's not always easy for a site to list the status. For example, project resurrection capsule does exist and some progress has been made, but the game isn't playable yet. So how would you even list that on a site like crackwatch, and how much progress has to be completed before you can consider the game really "cracked"? RaTcHeT302 thinks it needs to be completely beatable, but what happens if that's impossible? What if they can only make it 90% beatable, or it's 100% beatable but some features are missing/broken. This is why I suggested a crack status description. I Hope this better helps you understand where I'm coming from here.

[Ross Scott]

Isaiah: You're right, I made a mistake: so IND distributed the files, but didn't crack anything, crackwatch declared that as cracked.  The end.

 

As for the latter portion, I thought of the perfect analogy: a locked door.  If a door has 3 locks, and only one of them has been picked, the door isn't considered unlocked.

 

I guess your not being a true/false condition is valid though, in the case of a server emulator, it's often never fully emulated, but still playable.  For traditional cracks, sometimes the game is made playable, but additional checks are still present that cause problems later, that would also be a partial crack.  I think in cases where the game isn't playable in any form and all you get it a login screen, that still counts as uncracked. 

 

In any event, the bottom line here is crackwatch isn't a reliable source of information.

[Isaiah]

 

  On 9/11/2020 at 10:08 AM, Ross Scott said:

In any event, the bottom line here is crackwatch isn't a reliable source of information.

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And I totally agree with this and already said the site is mostly useless. Guess I was just trying to explain why that is, and that it's not just people intentionally lying about stuff. Which was not actually the case here as I thought.