Skaut Kwatermaster

[Shoonay]

Cool little adventure game, with them graphics kinda Day of the Tentacle styled.


Original disks: http://www.ppa.pl/rodzynki/skaut-kwatermaster.html

[Irek´72]

A long time ago I sent my original version + a few icons to Jeff.
Unfortunately, to date I have not heard anything from him about it.

[Irek´72]

A WHDLoad patch for the game would be really nice, because the own HD installer only works well on small Amiga configurations.(If necessary, I can upload my original version in the zone )

[jotd]

Irek I remember the strange protection scheme of this game (but now I'm not sure anymore). And also that I don't have the original disks but just copies...

Maybe you could create an extended .adf. If the game runs within UAE with the extended adf, then it'll be easier to fix.

And not sure I still have the data now... but with the link, yes, it's probably doable. Let me check that.

[Irek´72]

Hello Jeff, thanks for the reply.
I'm not sure now but I think the stuff from the link is not original it is a crack version.
So I just uploaded the ADFs from my original with some box icons in the zone.

[jotd]

thanks. I confirm that there's a big difference between crack & original version (executable changes a lot, and there's a CRACK boot program). Probably not so trivial a protection.

[StingRay]

Had a quick look, there are a few interesting ideas but the protection shouldn't be that hard to break as it's pretty obvious what happens and it's pretty easy to spot the (slightly modified) (PowerPacker I think) decruncher code anyway.

[Piter]

Hello everyone is not welcome, I'm new here, but to the topic, I have this game and works perfectly on the real Amiga 1200, but you have to turn off the AGA bones, I tested two versions of this adventure game, of course broken, and the best version is for Wandted Team installation, no corrupt.
On my Apollo 040/32 / 50Mz card after adding a generic slave, the game loads in NTFS, I can not comprehend it, unless I have to sell 040 because a lot of games on it does not work

[jotd]

I just saw that the executable is titanics cruncher packed, twice...

It searches for DF0:, even the "hd installed" script. Can you run that?

[Don_Adan]

Originally Posted by jotd

I just saw that the executable is titanics cruncher packed, twice...

It searches for DF0:, even the "hd installed" script. Can you run that?

Executable file is packed only once, but main file is crypted. Perhaps you have xpk decoder for LK Avalon games written by Mr.Larmer.

[jotd]

if you unpack executable, it's just 1000 bytes bigger, then unpack again, then it's 500k now

main file? which one?

[Don_Adan]

Originally Posted by jotd

if you unpack executable, it's just 1000 bytes bigger, then unpack again, then it's 500k now

main file? which one?

Main game file. I told you this file is packed and crypted. Not packed twice. Normal Titanic Packer decruncher is added when file is decrypted. Then after decryption main file is bigger. This game was cracked by WT and used standard LK Avalon protection at track 80, something like copylock.

[jotd]

I apply XFDDecrunch twice on the program and it unpacks twice (possibly decrypts at the same time). Maybe not titanics twice but packed twice, definitely.

I'm just wondering why the HD version is still asking for a disk in the drive...

[Irek´72]

Originally Posted by jotd

I'm just wondering why the HD version is still asking for a disk in the drive...

I can remember that the original version of the game had problems even on a simple 020 CPU to work properly.(I mean the HD version)

@all: Does anyone know if there was an English version of the game? I'm sure there was a PC version of the game, maybe that was in two languages?

[StingRay]

Originally Posted by jotd

I apply XFDDecrunch twice on the program and it unpacks twice (possibly decrypts at the same time). Maybe not titanics twice but packed twice, definitely.

That can't be right! I have manually decrypted and decrunched the first hunk and it contains valid C code, i.e. it's not crunched twice.

[jotd]

anyway, I got the game running here (having completely skipped some problematic routine at startup & adding ram handler, it runs on kick 1.3, load/save game work 100% without swap...). Apply XFDDecrunch twice on the game, and I get the 500kb decrypted executable.

XFDDecrunch makes the decryption trivial. Another example of "cracking" a game just by using xfddecrunch (even easier was Night Shift)

That doesn't look like C to me either. Rather easy to read asm code.

To sum it up: expect a whdload install in a few the cracked version runs, and the original isn't that different. The hook that "cracks" the game isn't even called so I think I have skipped at the proper level.

It will need some testing, though.

[StingRay]

Originally Posted by jotd

That doesn't look like C to me either. Rather fine asm code.

The code in the first decrypted and decrunched hunk is definitely compiled code and not asm.


XFDDecrunch doesn't recognise the file on my system, probably missing an external decrunch slave.

Edit:

The hook that "cracks" the game isn't even called so I think I have skipped at the proper level.

The crack patch modifies the decruncher code so if you have a fully decrunched binary it's automatically skipped.

[Don_Adan]

Originally Posted by jotd

anyway, I got the game running here (having completely skipped some problematic routine at startup & adding ram handler, it runs on kick 1.3, load/save game work 100% without swap...). Apply XFDDecrunch twice on the game, and I get the 500kb decrypted executable.

XFDDecrunch makes the decryption trivial. Another example of "cracking" a game just by using xfddecrunch (even easier was Night Shift)

That doesn't look like C to me either. Rather easy to read asm code.

To sum it up: expect a whdload install in a few the cracked version runs, and the original isn't that different. The hook that "cracks" the game isn't even called so I think I have skipped at the proper level.

It will need some testing, though.

I told you already without external xpk depacker called "LKAvalon" (if i remember right), you cant depack main file from this game. This depacker/decoder was written by Mr.Larmer only for Wanted Team members. Perhaps later when Mr.Larmer left the Amiga was spreaded. You CANT depack/decode main file without this file. Remove this external depacker and try if you want. Then this is not easy to crack, why Corrupt used extra crack file for own crack? Because cant depack main file. And having depacked file is only first step to apply crack for this game. Main protection is checking copylock.

[jotd]

Hey stop lambasting me. It's not my fault if it works straight out of the box

8.RamDisk:T> xfddecrunch KwaterMaster 
xfdDecrunch 1.9 (09.09.1999) © 1994-99 Georg Hörmann, Dirk Stöcker

Reading "KwaterMaster" (86096 bytes)...
Decrunching "Titanic fake Cruncher" file...
Writing "KwaterMaster" (85912 bytes)...

8.RamDisk:T> xfddecrunch KwaterMaster 
xfdDecrunch 1.9 (09.09.1999) © 1994-99 Georg Hörmann, Dirk Stöcker

Reading "KwaterMaster" (85912 bytes)...
Decrunching "Titanics Cruncher 1.2" file...
Writing "KwaterMaster" (537308 bytes)...

With the original game (that I don't have), I could have recreated the decryption, but why wasting that time?

I don't give a damn about doing it myself. The wheel has already been invented. So was decryption. I'm using it now.

@Stingray: interesting. I have to find which plugin is required and provide it in the install if not present. Seems that xfdmaster.library v39.15 does that natively. The link just in case http://aminet.net/package/util/pack/xfdmaster

[jotd]

BTW I have zoned the install, can be done with original or cracked disks.

I'll publish it in a few days on whdload page, so you can test it first