[Unknown Target]

This is to all the software pirates out there:

http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99994248

Looks like they got the damn thing right.

[demon442]

NOOOO!!!!!!!!

Alcohol 120% does 1:1 copying, so FADE is useless.

[Kamikaze]

Is the error correction built into the computer, the OS, or the burning software? The article isn't too helpful on that point. (i.e. does this work on Sparc systems? Does it work on unix? Does it work on VMS? Does it work with non-standard CD burner software?)

[Blue Lion]

I get the feeling this will work like all the other ones, not at all.

[Turnsky]

i'll give some Genius a week (maybe two) to crack this..

[mikhael]

This is Old Tech^tm.

The only thing new they are doing is letting the player actually play (albeit degraded) when the damaged areas are not found. Eventually, however, someone, like always, will either figure out how to skip the 'scratch' check, or just make Nero/Roxio/etc just copy the fake "scratches" verbatim to the target disc.

Kamikaze, it doesn't matter whether this works on VMS, Solaris, Linux or BSD. It'll work (until cracked) under WINE and under Windows. This check doesn't come up during a COPY operation, only during play.

[Kamikaze]

Hrrrm. However if it's copied right, it'll play right under Windows. I'm saying they didn't specify what they meant by the computer correcting during copying. Does this "scratchless" copying apply to everything?

Or is there something I'm missing?

[Setekh]

Clever, but as Mik points out, not new at all. Won't take long for someone to get past it.

[Bobboau]

maybe it would have lasted a bit longer if they hadn't posted a big long article describing in detail how they made this uncrackable security system that no one can break

[demon442]

*points to my last post*

It has already been cracked, it's been cracked before they announced FADE, the company that makes Alcohol 120% already knew about this practice because it's been implemented before with no impanct on copying.

Once can pay $30 (or not pay) and burn/rip/mount as many games as they want forever, or one can sit and worry about the latest clone of a worthless copy protection scheme.

As I sad before, Alcohol 120% makes a perfect 1:1 clone without error correction or any form of pre-burn error checks.

Simple, Easy, Effective.

[Ashrak]

i week or 2? lol right more like a few days for guys like fairlight hehe

[Turnsky]

Originally posted by Ashrak
i week or 2? lol right more like a few days for guys like fairlight hehe

i was being Generous:p

[Zeronet]

Um, Fade is years old, this isnt new. It came out with Operation Flashpoint, which is years old.

[Kazan]

*yawn* it's impossible to do such things - 1:1 bitwise copy has existed on CD burners for years - they're just blowing smoke out their butts

this worked once : some game back-in-the-day had two sectors reversed on it's disk - it took a month for software companies to make burner software that didn't have a problem with it, from then on all cd-to-image and cd-to-cd copying was 1:1 bit for bit

[aldo_14]

Ask yourself this - how do you know if FADE is working or not on your copied version?  Are you crap, or does the game know it's copied and is ****ing stuff up for you?  It's a perfect psychological weapon, because the only way to be sure is to actually buy a legit copy.

Incidentally, i believe the PS2 uses deliberate bad blocks for it's copy protection - as far as I know (i.e that can be found at the Barras), there's still no cost effective way for pirates to make runnable copies of PS2 dvds - they need to use CDs and a chip.  I'm not too sure on this, admittedly.....

[Fineus]

There is a slight other problem with FADE.. what if people with the legit copy of the game run into bugs or keep thinking that something is wrong, they have no way to know for certain that their FADE isnt on the blink so they might legitimately call up and see why their legal copy of the game is messing up - when it could just be a bug or their bad aim or whatever... or it could be FADE breaking down...

[aldo_14]

Das is true.  Something I wondered about too...........