Ubisoft pirates game fix... from pirates!

[neilthecellist]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/07/18/ubisoft_pirates_fix_from_pirates/


http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/07/18/ubisoft-distributes.html
http://digg.com/pc_games/Ubisoft_releases_no_CD_fix_stolen_from_piracy_community
http://fileforums.com/showthread.php?p=359340
http://darkzero.co.uk/game-news/ubisoft-releases-stolen-illegal-piracy-crack-for-their-own-game/
http://www.n4g.com/pc/News-171867.aspx
http://www.quartertothree.com/game-talk/showthread.php?p=1412775
http://www.gamezine.co.uk/features/game-types/first-person-shooters/ubisoft-cracks-own-game-with-stolen-patch--$1232690.htm



Ubisoft, in an effort to fix their own game for customers unable to even get the game to run, stole software crack team ReLoaded's no-dvd crack and called it their own.

Only Twingo and I were there to catch it, and now it's all over the news.

Companies that take an iron fist approach to fighting software piracy are generally best served by not lifting a pirate group's code themselves to fix their own product.
Ubisoft, the French video game developer and publisher, was recently caught with its pants down, releasing a pirated hack as an official fix.

Ubisoft sells the PC version of its game Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 (RSV2) in a boxed copy format and through the online store, Direct2Drive.

When the publisher released a new patch for the RSV2 this month which added play modes and other goodies, customers were eager to update.

Unfortunately the patch also added a check to confirm that a CD was in the PC before the game could play. This was obviously a problem for customers who downloaded the game through Direct2Drive and lacked physical media to validate.

Naturally, this theft prevention tool was meanwhile no problem for software pirates. A hacked executable removing the CD-check was soon readily available — although Ubisoft understandably forbade and punished discussion of the crack on its website forums when Direct2Drive customers came for help and advice.

Complaints about the physical media snafu kept coming, so a zip file was eventually uploaded by an Ubisoft employee to the help/support site, named "R6Vegas2_fix.zip."

But then Fileforums.com user Twingo discovered (http://fileforums.com/showthread.php?p=359340) Ubisoft's little secret. The fix was, in fact, a cracked version of the .exe file modified by the pirate group 'Reloaded.'

Users on Ubisoft's official forums have provided proof, (http://forums.ubi.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1991064316/m/1381029176/p/1) the "official" fix was Reloaded's crack by running the executable through a hex editor.
http://kthxbye.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/r6vegas2.png

The file has since been removed from the website, so can't verify the claims. The initial response from Ubisoft via a forum post by a "UK Community Manager" was disbelief: We're looking into this further as this was not the UK Support team that posted this, however if it is an executable that does not need the disc I doubt it has come from an external source. There'd be very little point doing so when we already own the original unprotected executable.
As soon as we find out more about this we'll let you know.
That was followed up later today with: The file was removed from the site over a week ago now and the matter is being thoroughly investigated by senior tech support managers here at Ubisoft.
Needless to say we do not support or condone copy protection circumvention methods like this and this particular incident is in direct conflict with Ubisoft's policies.
Given that Reloaded is an illegal piracy group that regularly strips copy protection from video games and distributes them on the internet, it's extremely unlikely it will be crying foul by official means.
But at least it's an opportunity to laugh at yet another company that loads its software with so many copy-protection hoops to jump though that it ultimately only encourages piracy. ®

[neilthecellist]

I'm trying to report news here guys.

People deserve the right to hear this news. No one should have to pay $50-80 for this crap.

I couldn't get the game to run for the longest time ever because apparently the game won't even read from a SATA dvd drive. I had to use other means.

[Morety]

I think it's funny :)

[T2A`]

It's on Ars too.

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080720-ubisoft-drm-snafu-reminds-us-whats-wrong-with-pc-gaming.html

I saw this story break a few days ago on reddit and I was like, "Wait. I know that guy. D:"

[JaFO]

pfft ... if you don't respect other people's property then they won't respect yours.

ie : So ff-ing what that Ubisoft 'stole' from the crackers.
Go Ubisoft !
And please take them to court ... let's see who will get pwned then.

[neilthecellist]

Guys, quit trolling. (But thank you Morety/T2A)

It's not just me who couldn't get the game to work. The game won't run on SATA DVD drives. Ubisoft releases a fan pack, gloats about it on all the gaming websites (Gametrailers/IGN/Eurogamer/etc) and claims they've fixed bugs but... they didn't. This is straight-up LYING to customers.

Among other things. But I'm having a chat with Kantham at the moment.

[neilthecellist]

Er, what?

Response to Rambowjo's edit: Uh... Read the article again.

[Jacks:SmirkingRevenge]

If I was UbiSoft I'd take the easy way out too.

[Airmoran]

Hey, what can I say? neilthecellist is our pimp of the week.

edit:
I read your forum topic a few days ago, and from what I can tell, the exe fixed things, so what is the problem?

I don't think there's so much of an actual problem, but it's embarrassing and sends mixed messages. It's sort of like, oh, an anti-gay activist caught giving a man a blowjob. I mean, kuddos to the guy for exploring his sexuality, but ehh...

[neilthecellist]

I read your forum topic a few days ago, and from what I can tell, the exe fixed things, so what is the problem?

... You really missed the point, or you are trolling.

[dotnetbeast]

Eh, good for Ubisoft.

[DeeperShade]

Ubisoft suck more. Not entirely news, but funny none the less.

[Skakruk]

Didn't this same sort of thing happen with another game a while back?

[Nemephosis]

Rambowjo, seriously, is being that obtuse natural to you or did you have to work at it all your life? I'll assume you're not too bright and not just playing around, it's easier that way. And more fun.

Let's go over this slowly.

Ubisoft. Is a game company. That doesn't like piracy. Okay?

Ubisoft loaded their game with anti-copy protection to the point it hinders the people who bought it. This one is easy to follow, because that's the PC gaming standard these days: "Customers are thieves, so treat 'em like it."

Ubisoft decides to fix the problem by removing the CD check. All well and good... but the way they did it was to use a crack that piraters use. The best part is that they stole it from the people who steal.

[neilthecellist]

Nemephosis already went over this very simply.

LOL if Rambowjo really doesn't get it after this... I really don't know what to say [right now] ;) Unless he's trolling. In any case, not understanding what the problem is is just as funny as Ubisoft's initial PR reaction to the news,

[paraphrased]
"What crack? I see no crack! *sifty eyes*"

[Nemephosis]

So the problem is...?

With you, evidently.

[dotnetbeast]

Umm...can the piling on of Rainbowjo stop?

[Haarg]

It's not only hypocritical, it is illegal.

[B]

So what exactly did you do Neil?

[rex]

why reinvent the spork?

[Plutonia_Experi]

The game won't run on SATA DVD drives.

That means I should add Raibow 6 Vegas 2 to my black list :eek:

[Balton]

The only problem I see, is you being butthurt over **** that nobody cares about.

Not true, I laughed. Finally R6V2 news from Neil that I enjoyed. Stop being a dick for the sake of getting some dick.

[Kantham]

Rambowjo is in his period again?

[SleepyHe4d]

Lol, +1 to everything Rambo said. Damn babies, go ahead and cry when a big company does something like this. It's basically their property anyways. Yeah Ubisoft F'ed up on handling the mess up, but I don't see anything wrong with them taking software made to pirate their games. That's like saying it's wrong to steal back from someone who stole from you instead of calling the cops. I don't think so, but I guess it depends on the persons ethics or whatever.

[dotnetbeast]

Thread has gone to hell.

[SleepyHe4d]

Thread has gone to hell.

Because I posted? :lol:

[Kokensu]

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Troll_nicht_fuettern_gruen.png

[neilthecellist]

It's funny what Ubisoft did here. Ubisoft has banned me on Facebook if I'm not mistaken, and nearly all Ubisoft employees on Facebook (i.e. Facebook users within the "Ubisoft Entertainment" network) have blocked me entirely.

Figures, though. ;)

It's nice to see the news grow and spread to different places everyday though.

(@ Rambowjo and others that apply): You know... trolling can get you a lot of infraction points. This ain't a contest. If you still think that infraction points make you "look cool" then you really don't belong on these forums.

[SkaarjMaster]

Ubisoft caught in the act..........classic! oops, someone got fired.;)

[Kokensu]

Ubisoft manager: You see the problem is you lied on your resume

Employee: I don't understand

Ubisoft manager: Right here, where it says "Are you a pirate?"

Employee: YAR!

[Balton]

It's funny what Ubisoft did here. Ubisoft has banned me on Facebook if I'm not mistaken, and nearly all Ubisoft employees on Facebook (i.e. Facebook users within the "Ubisoft Entertainment" network) have blocked me entirely.

Figures, though. ;)

It's nice to see the news grow and spread to different places everyday though.


I too want a cello playing stalker!

[neilthecellist]

I too want a cello playing stalker!

Hmm... That reminds me, I need to post a sample of me playing the cello. Of course, this is off topic, so I'll save it for another thread. :)

[shadow_dragon]

... I'm still trying tow ork out why this piece of news, which is not really any different to other random pieces of news I see posted up on buF OT, makes the OP a nazi?

[Nemephosis]

ITT: People with no understanding of how "an eye for an eye" is wrong makes comments on it

[SleepyHe4d]

Me too!

ITT: People with no understanding of how "an eye for an eye" is right call people trolls.

:lol:

[Kokensu]

Because they were trolling...plain and simple

[neilthecellist]

Wonders if Rambowjo even knows what trolling is.


Reminds me of Ubisoft not knowing how to spell "executable". ;)

[Sirius]

Wow, I don't understand some of these posts. neilthecellist was pointing out the hypocrisy of Ubisoft and people are giving him a hard time?

Personally if that's what the coders do who work for Ubi then maybe they should get rid of B.S. copy protection all together....yea, like that will ever happen :rolleyes:

[neilthecellist]

Wow, I don't understand some of these posts. neilthecellist was pointing out the hypocrisy of Ubisoft and people are giving him a hard time?

Personally if that's what the coders do who work for Ubi then maybe they should get rid of B.S. copy protection all together....yea, like that will ever happen :rolleyes:


Just Rambowjo really. You should've seen the amount of tags that were directed about him. Incompetence of understanding, or he was purposely trolling. Either way, waste of webspace.

[Rambowjo]

Just Rambowjo really. You should've seen the amount of tags that were directed about him. Incompetence of understanding, or he was purposely trolling. Either way, waste of webspace.

I was gonna write something long about how stupid this entire thing is, but I now realize that you've been spamming this all over the internet for so long, that you're not gonna change your mind.

Ubi is a bunch of morons and they have pretty much always been that. Get over it.

[dotnetbeast]

Just Rambowjo really. You should've seen the amount of tags that were directed about him. Incompetence of understanding, or he was purposely trolling. Either way, waste of webspace.

Rainbowjo or this thread?

Nevermind I just answered the question.

[neilthecellist]

Rainbowjo or this thread?

Nevermind I just answered the question.


LOL! Rambowjo thinks that I went over and spammed on the internet. First you troll, then you try to come back with a flimsy defense that the internet begs to differ. :lol:

Now you're demonstrating that you don't know how the internet works. News isn't where ONE GUY goes on EVERY WEBSITE and posts news. It's called DIFFERENT JOURNALISTS and INTERVIEWS from THE REGISTER. It's called DIGG. It's called SLASHDOT. It's called N4U. It's called (list goes on and on)

[Rambowjo]

Sorry :(

[Nemephosis]

Sorry :(

Yeah, you sure are.

[Rambowjo]

No, really, I've been a real ass to everyone lately. I need to cut down on WoW and that stupid 4chan.

[SleepyHe4d]

Lol, you deleted your posts. I didn't think the first two were bad at all, you were just messin with him, and the rest were just disagreeing which I don't see anything wrong with. :\

[Nemephosis]

No, you need to cut down on life.

[Nemephosis]

ahaha, he did delete them. Now he doesn't even have the balls to keep what he wrote there, either. Just gets more and more pathetic :lol:

[SleepyHe4d]

Lol now you're trollin man. :lol:

:lock:

[Rambowjo]

I removed them because I realized how stupid they were. I'm not trying to hide things.

[Nemephosis]

Not me, I'm just explaining things in a way he can get. You know, because he displayed his smarts so well in this thread already. He acts like an idiot, I'm gonna assume he's an idiot. That'd be his problem if he doesn't like that.

[Nemephosis]

I removed them because I realized how stupid they were. I'm not trying to hide things.

Sure you are. By removing them, you are hiding what you said to anyone else who may view this thread. Chalk that up to something else you don't get, I guess. That's quite the recurring theme, though, so no surprises there. Thanks for delivering on expectations.

[Rambowjo]

Ok, listen. I understand everything that has been going on in the entire Ubisoft scandal. I played stupid, because I was trolling Neil for some kicks. Now I realize how stupid that made me look, so I deleted it and said sorry. I've even apologized to him privately.
Also, I knew you'd give me that response. You don't need to "chalk" up things. However, you know this, and what you are doing right now, is an attempt to make me look stupid in eyes of others, because you want to make me suffer as much as you can.
Stop it, it's a waste of time.

[Nemephosis]

Attempt? You did that all on your own.

[Rambowjo]

Quite right. Doesn't mean you have to point and yell.

[Nemephosis]

Not funny when it happens to you?

Did you at least get all the "lulz" you wanted? I mean, surely it was worth making yourself look bad to everyone who saw it, yes?

[Rambowjo]

Not funny when it happens to you?

Did you at least get all the "lulz" you wanted? I mean, surely it was worth making yourself look bad to everyone who saw it, yes?

I still don't get where you are going with this? I'm theorizing that you're a pro-troll, but then not really.

[Nemephosis]

I still don't get where you are going with this?

You don't say. :lol:

[Rambowjo]

Stop being a douche. I already admitted that I was stupid to troll Neil and I've apologized to him personally. Right now you're just bullying me in an attempt to make me feel worse about myself, and to turn more people on me. Or more simply put, you are getting "lulz".

[Nemephosis]

Sure am. Sucks, doesn't it?

[Rambowjo]

Not really.

;)

[Nemephosis]

Cause I believe that after all the complaining you did about my doing what you were doing :)

[Renegade Retard]

Closed