Ubisoft Dump Starforce!
- Thread starter AWPC
- Start date
MNuTz said:
I can assure you it takes nowhere near months to crack.
When the next Starforced game is released i'd be willing to put money on there being a torrent same or next day. I remember distinctly Silent Hunter III was a same day crack and release.
Even Half Life 2 had been cracked and released within a week if you knew what you were doing and where to look.
There are lots of SFgames which are still uncracked like Splinter Cell3. The main reason for this is that SF protects all game DLLs (approx 260) as well as the .exe file so it takes a lot more resource to crack and the people who do this gave up a long time ago. You have to remember that SF has several different levels of protection and the strongest one has still not been cracked only their cheaper less secure ones.
To all of you who say SF does not mess up your system then I would suggest you either do not burn any media to disc or verify it if you do.
SF is known to interefere with most CD/DVD burning/writing as it blocks the verify data thinking it is trying to bypass their protection if it uses a different method to do this (Nero burns a lot of coasters with SF installed for most users).
To all of you who say SF does not mess up your system then I would suggest you either do not burn any media to disc or verify it if you do.
SF is known to interefere with most CD/DVD burning/writing as it blocks the verify data thinking it is trying to bypass their protection if it uses a different method to do this (Nero burns a lot of coasters with SF installed for most users).
AWPC said:
Thats odd - I'm sure that I'd put Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory in the list of games that are Starforce protected and available a couple of posts up.
Oh yes...I did...
So - it is available on the warez scene.
There's also the other little thing of the latest SF3/4 workaround involve running the disk image without any CD/DVD drives attached and having a piece of software running in the background that prevents SF from noticing that you have a virtual drive.
No cracking necessary.
Simon/~Flibster
AWPC said:
It has been cracked, a []ilong[/i] time ago. Easily available.
AWPC said:
Well, every CD and DVD i've burnt in the last year with StarForce on my PC is fine. In fact, I've not had one failed burn yet.
I won't deny StarForce is probably a bad bit of kit, but I think the 'OMG IT DESTROYS EVARY PC j00 INSTALL IT ON 4EVA' is a bit exaggerated.
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divine_madness said:
I think you'll find that Splinter Cell: CT has NOT been cracked yet, and people who say it has are just full of ****. Because Starforce is not just a single protection method, it offers multiple protection models to choose from and the non-crappy (cheapest) ones disabled the external drive loophole many months go. Just try to play Silent Hunter 3 or Splinter Cell:CT v1.1+ from a USB/FW drive: mini-image or not it simply fails.
AFAIK none of the SF 3.5.x protected games using the best two models of protection work with ANY disc emulator, even no-CD cracks are not available for updated versions.
Flibster said:
Sorry should have said Splinter Cell3 Retail version or D2D versions are uncracked as is Prince Of Persia3 (& a few others) as they use the most expensive version of SF which protects every single game file and also checks the file checksums for encrypted SF code when the game is running to prevent tampering with. The main reason no-one has nor probably ever will break it is because the time & effort to do so is enormous. Obviously there are Warez versions of almost everything but some of those are leaked before the copy protection is applied usually by insiders in the disc pressing or distribution chain!
As for the unplug IDE drive workaround (only works with Nforce based chipsets) most people do not want to open their cases up and disable then unplug all of their optical drives just to prevent putting the disc in the drive which is all these no disc cracks are ever designed for in the first place. To save the wear & tear on the physical disc & hassle of getting them out of the case/losing them etc etc.
Another thing I should have mentioned is that games like SC3 & POP3 actually run slower than usual due to all the system overhead SF introduces
when it has to continually monitor the game files integrity.
[QUOTE Well, every CD and DVD i've burnt in the last year with StarForce on my PC is fine. In fact, I've not had one failed burn yet.
I won't deny StarForce is probably a bad bit of kit, but I think the 'OMG IT DESTROYS EVARY PC j00 INSTALL IT ON 4EVA' is a bit exaggerated.[/QUOTE]
Well your lucky then!
I have several PCs and all the ones with SF installed always fail @ the verify stage or mess the disc up when burning. Funnily enough the ones without SF installed work perfectly. Lots of other people worldwide have these issues as well so it is most definately not exaggerated.
I won't deny StarForce is probably a bad bit of kit, but I think the 'OMG IT DESTROYS EVARY PC j00 INSTALL IT ON 4EVA' is a bit exaggerated.[/QUOTE]
Well your lucky then!
I have several PCs and all the ones with SF installed always fail @ the verify stage or mess the disc up when burning. Funnily enough the ones without SF installed work perfectly. Lots of other people worldwide have these issues as well so it is most definately not exaggerated.
Associate
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Ironically, as with all these protections, it's the legitimate users who are pushed through the ringer with always having to have a CD/DVD in the drive and infest their system with starforce or equivalents - while the pirates have apply-once cracks and then no hassle for the rest of their free-game experience.
I am greatly in awe of Steam and Warcraft who use the online system to verify and allow you to run the game without copy protection or CD/DVDs in drives.
This is a great move to get rid of Starforce however, it's funny but that has been a thorn in my side much more than other copy-protection methods.
This has also plagued my Lock On Modern Air Combat experience by forcing me to have a limited number of 'unlock codes' for the flaming cliffs downloadable addon every time i change my hardware significantly, much like Office 2003 does.
I am greatly in awe of Steam and Warcraft who use the online system to verify and allow you to run the game without copy protection or CD/DVDs in drives.
This is a great move to get rid of Starforce however, it's funny but that has been a thorn in my side much more than other copy-protection methods.
This has also plagued my Lock On Modern Air Combat experience by forcing me to have a limited number of 'unlock codes' for the flaming cliffs downloadable addon every time i change my hardware significantly, much like Office 2003 does.
Official Confirmation Now
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6147655.html
Wonder if they will release patches to remove it from existing titles as they are now being threatened with a $5M lawsuit by US gamers!
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6147655.html
Wonder if they will release patches to remove it from existing titles as they are now being threatened with a $5M lawsuit by US gamers!
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I hate starforce, Messed up my dvd-rw last time i installed a game that had this. Same problem as Rilot 
AWPC said:
I wouldn't be so sure...
Anyway, I think the Starforce chap has a point - if a game takes a long time to be properly cracked, then it shouldn't loose the publisher too many sales, since most of the people who really want the game will go out and buy it.
I've always maintained that part of the reason for piracy is because in some cases games will be available illegally before you can buy them in the shops - typically this will happen when games are released on different days in different countries. When a major AAA title like Doom3 is up for grabs a week or so ahead of time, temptation will get the better some people, they won't want to wait. Seriously, I reckon a fair number of those who acquired Doom3 through suspect means would have bought the game instead had it been available.
mysticsniper said:I am quite surprised TBH, as I'm sure all Starforce need to do is upgrade their equipment for the upcoming Vista. I have never had any problems and welcome Starforce protection on all games as its virtually uncrackable for all the Warez losers
wrong games that use starforce are cracked - newgames using it are now done withing a day or 2 (so as usualt beofre they are even released in the shops).
The only game i have is GTR which i did have problems with it keep saying the cdkey didnt match the cd or something like that - same with GTlegends but sorted eventuallt buy disabling virtual cd drives (sorry but why should i have to disable things because of some protection on a game that i paid for.
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reading this thread could explain my broken dvd rw 
i have sc3 and currently my dvd rw wont read a thing and its not old either
now it might be something else but thinking back the times ive installed sc3 and i would have used that drive i just cant pinpoint if it was around same time
i have sc3 and currently my dvd rw wont read a thing and its not old either
now it might be something else but thinking back the times ive installed sc3 and i would have used that drive i just cant pinpoint if it was around same time
CossackNoodle said:reading this thread could explain my broken dvd rw
i have sc3 and currently my dvd rw wont read a thing and its not old either
now it might be something else but thinking back the times ive installed sc3 and i would have used that drive i just cant pinpoint if it was around same time
You can get programs that remove starforce from your Pc get one, use it and see if it helps.
Not only that but also they send out copies to reviewers in advance so they can have the article ready when the game is released, they then sell the pre-release game and the game is pirated before release.HangTime said:
While I understand the reasons for a developer to use Starforce IMO it is just a bit too much, it should not affect your system other than to prevent you using a pirated version.
@CossackNoodle, google for Starforce Removal Tool and run that.