Hired guns = Copy protection ?

[Maverick357]

Can somebody tell me if is a copy protection on Hired gun ?
The copy that i have downloaded is cracked by 'The loons' and it is a 6 disks game.

I have installed on my hd (Amiga HD_File) without problem and played a time.
After a while, the game crash (guru's meditation) and i reset the Amiga.
But when i try to load the saved game, all the saved games are unreadable because the game say that is an illegal copy.

The loons group pirate seem have not (good ?) cracked the game and just add an music on the bootblock.

Is there another version of this game better craked ?

Here is an snapshot of the load game function:

Here is a screenshot of saving a file (no problem):

Here is after save a game:

[Maverick357]

When i try to reload a game, i get this screen (again):

See the first screenshot please

[Ian]

Look at the Startup-Sequence on Disk 1 of the game as this gives clues as to what's loaded before the game, I know for a fact that some cracks of the Sierra adventure games won't run unless another file is loaded beforehand, so installing to HD probably doesn't run the crack file and in most cases is just the installer that came with the original game.

Check what is written in the Startup-Sequence, copy those files into your game directory and run those files first and then run the game.

Also before you try that I should really ask you, does it work fine from ADF's??

[Codetapper]

IanCharge is right - the way the majority of these cracks work is they copy a little routine to VERY low memory (from $c0-$400 usually) and then that routine sits there waiting to be run. Later in the game where it would normally ask for a password or check something, the crackers don't have room to crack it properly or they wanted to force you to run their (usually non aga fixed) intro first so they replace one line in the game with a jsr $c0 (or whatever) to wire in the correct password or whatever the game wants.

If the game is crashing, it's possible it is calling this crack routine in low memory which isn't installed (as you didn't run Loons first or whatever file it is).

The other thing is they may have never tested the load/save game stuff so never found out that there is a problem.

[Frog]

the protection is located on the main executable. You have to copy the "Hired Guns" i attached into your Hired Guns drawer, better do a copy of your own version. Normally i think the Loons copy works. If you still have some problem then i think it could be some others data on the disks which are damaged ?

Oh yep, also copy the included icon or set the tooltype unpack=no

Hope that works and enjoy this really nice game on your HD The atmosphere of this game is really great and the musics... rhhhha i like them !

I've decided to link the file here instead of posting it to the ADF Zone so if some people got the same trouble they could use it again

PS : if you could give the link where you get the adf, it could prevent some others users to leech them from this site

[Maverick357]

Ok, now i have understand what is going on.
In fact, it is a very underhand copy protection

You can play a little (like a demo) but if you try to save more than 5 time... crack, the protection is crashing all you saved game and make a gurus meditation.

IanCharge:

No, there is nothing special in the startup-sequence.





When you load the disk 00, (the boot disk with options to install on hd), you go to the workbench.

Play with adf disks is boring and slow (you must change the disk a lot) and the save on disk is not working (Copy protection not mad, there is only one option for disk that work, it is the format for making a hired gun saved game disk and he never save the game).

CodeTapper:
I don't know if he is calling the crack because when i save to ram disk, i have no crash (but is useless when iquit the game or reset the Amiga, i loose my saved game).

I think that they have never checked the save option.

Sorry frog, i can't remember where i got this copy, i have downloaded 6 weeks ago and there whas no readme.txt file with.

[Maverick357]

Thanks frog

You copy is better cracked than the mine, if you can upload the disk adf with the main file (the exe), i will be happy.

With you copy, i have made 8 save without crashing.
It work fine

[Frog]

well i've a little pb as i use a real Amiga 1200 not an emulator and so the game is install on my HD since ages. The .LZX file is about 3.2Mo, i could eventually post it to the ADF Zone but it seems the game run fine now, isn't it ?

[Maverick357]

yes Frog, it is okay then, i will just add your files in the zip with the 6 adfs.

Thanks again

The game comes on 5 disks originally, the loons made a six disk version as when they cracked the game they decrunched the main file but after cracking it they didnt have the cruncher to recrunch the file so they created a six disk version.

I have a cracked 5 disk fully version If your interested.

[Shatterhand]

I don't know if you are interested in knowing that, but I do have this 6 disk version cracked by the Loons. As I didn't have an HD for my Miggy, I played it from the Floppies, and I could save the game without any problems, many times I wanted. So, probably the problem really is in the HD install...

[Maverick357]

Yes Mok, i am interested in your 5 disks craked version
If you can upload it in the adf zone, i will be happy

Shatterhand:
Your 6 disk copy is maybee very good, but i prefer to play from the hd because it is more easy (no disk to swap)
The copy that i got before starting this thread whas bad cracked after a number of save, the copy protection erase the savegame.
Well you can play the whole game without saving if you need but realistic (the game seem to be very long and after all, bad luck can be there too: you can die or you can have a system/emulator crash/ or no more electricity ).

So, if you can save without problem, then your copy is good cracked

[Twistin'Ghost]

Shatterhand, can you post the 6-disk Loons version? I only have three of the disks from that version and that is rather useless. TIA!

[Maverick357]

Mok, you have forgotten to upload the 5 disks set this week-end.
Do you still can do it ? or you have a problem maybee ?

Sorry for posting in such an old thread, but I am looking for a working version of Hired Guns. Haven't played that game in 15 years now!

Does anyone know if it is part of Amiga Forever? I have not been able to find any listings of the games that come on their CDs.

[jaycee]

This is a bit of a late answer to the problem but I thought i'd put it in anyway

The reason for this error is revealed in Scott Johnstons review of Bloodwych:

"I've seen a few pirated versions of Hired Guns about, but none of those
have actually cracked the game properly. One week I came up with a cunning
plan, I figured anyone who cracked the game would take out the manual
protection, play the game a bit and leave it at that. But I included a
routine that detects if the game has been altered, it then does nothing
until you make a certain amount of saves at which point it messes up your
save files, just when you're getting into the game."

Basically the game has a time bomb in it which detects it has been tampered with and trashes your saves. It's quite a simple concept and I've seen it used today on software.

There is a 100% cracked copy (I found it named Hired Guns v1.08 rev39.25 (1993)(Psygnosis)(M5)[t +11 MST](Disk 1 of 5)[f Bowen].zip), also you can use the WHDLoad version which removes the protection correctly.

[dlfrsilver]

The game also has protection codes !!!!

[andreas]

Blah! The TOSEC list is a bloody mess!
And as mok stated back 5 (!) years ago in this thread, the Loons crack is a 6-disk version. However, you can only see (Disk x of 5).

Best way to start would be to start with 5 (or 6) DMS images and identifying an unmodified, (scene-)original set and re-renaming all the stuff. Currently no one can see through this mess ...

[jaycee]

I can confirm the version I mentioned in my previous post is 100% deprotected, as I completed the game with no savegame trashing

[brett71]

As much as I hate bringing a dead thread back to life, a question occurred to me about this and was hoping someone had some insight.

Couldn't someone figure out what Bowen did and then properly crack the game based off that information so that it can be installed to hard disk and work in the way it was intended to be without having to resort to things like WHDLoad?

Perhaps the better question is: What made the copy protection so difficult to remove? What was it that Scott Johnston did to confound the crackers of the day?