Games/applications which require a dongle to run

[Supamax]

Hi mates,
it would be interesting to know which games/applications require a dongle to run.

I have these ones:

- Italy '90 Soccer (Simulmondo) ITALIAN
- Logistix v1.12A (Grafox) ITALIAN (*)
- Superbase Personal v1.0 (Precision Software) ITALIAN (*)

(*) these two applications share the same type of dongle

EDIT: it would be very interesting (and useful) if someone had some dongle schematics, too

Here's the updated list, thanks to you:

SPS ID  PROGRAM                                    PUBLISHER               PORT TYPE
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----    Aladdin 4D v2.1                            Adspec                  Joystick 1 or 2 ?
----    Aladdin 4D v4.?                                                    Joystick 1 or 2 ?
----    Allcopy System 2 [!4]                      Hi-Tec Inventions       Disk drive
0434    B.A.T. II (DE)                             Ubi Soft Entertainment  Serial
1635    B.A.T. II (FR)                             Ubi Soft Entertainment  Serial
1835    B.A.T. II (EN)                             Ubi Soft Entertainment  Serial
----    Brilliance v1.0                            Digital Creations
----    Caligari v?.? (not v3.0x)                  Octree
1244    Cricket captain (EU)                       D & H Games             Joystick 1
----    Cyclone I/II/III (X-Copy) [!3]             Cachet                  Disk drive
NYD     Dames Grand-Maître                         Cobra Soft              Joystick 2
0664    Dyna Blaster (EU) [!5]                     Ubi Soft Entertainment  Parallel    The "dongle" consists in a 4 players adapter
2798    Hotball (EU)                               Satory                  Parallel    The "dongle" consists in a 4 players adapter
NYD     Italy '90 Soccer (IT) [!1]                 Simulmondo              Joystick 2
?       Jeanne D'Arc FR or GE ?                    Chip
0523    Leader Board (EU) [!2]                     U.S. Gold               Joystick 2
1474    Leader Board tournament disk #1 (EU) [!2]  U.S. Gold               Joystick 2
NYD     Leviathan [!7]                             English Software        Joystick 1
----    LightWave 3D v3.0                          NewTek                              The dongle was called "LightRAVE" or "RAVE"
----    LightWave 3D v3.1                          NewTek                              The dongle was called "LightRAVE" or "RAVE"
----    LightWave 3D v3.5                          NewTek                  Parallel
?       Links: The challenge of golf
----    Logistix v?.? (EN)                         Grafox                  Joystick 2
----    Logistix v1.12A (IT)                       Grafox                  Joystick 2  Uses the same dongle as Superbase Personal v1.0 (IT)
----    PowerCopy - all versions                   Geoff Lohere            Disk drive
----    Real3D v2.0 (2.35)                         RealSoft
0805    RoboCop 3 (EU)                             Ocean                   Joystick 2
0251    Rugby Coach (EU) [!6]                                              Joystick 2
----    Scala Multimedia MM200                     Scala
----    Scala Multimedia MM210                     Scala
----    Scala Multimedia MM300                     Scala
----    Scala Multimedia MM400                     Scala
----    Scala InfoChannel 400                      Scala
----    Scala InfoChannel 500                      Scala
----    Superbase Personal v1.0 (IT)               Precision Software      Joystick 2  Uses the same dongle as Logistix v1.12A (IT)
----    Syncro Express I/II/III                    Datel                   Disk drive
----    Tornado 3D v2.1a
----    Tornado 3D v3.0
----    TV Paint v2.0 Professional                 Tecsoft                 Joystick 2
----    X-CAD Designer v?.?                        Cadvision

NYD = Not Yet Dumped by SPS team

[!n] = known schematics:
[!1] see post #11 of the thread http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=42687
[!2] see post #10 of the current thread
[!3] http://aminet.net/package/docs/hard/Cyclone / http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/9003/schematidt3.png
[!4] http://www.ntrautanen.fi/computers/h...c/allcopy2.htm
[!5] http://www.hardwarebook.info/Amiga_4_Joysticks
[!6] see post #36 of the current thread
[!7] see post #63 of the current thread

[Peter]

Scala
Brilliance
Robocop 3

Someone will have to confirm which actual versions of the top two...

[Galahad/FLT]

Links Golf
BAT II

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by Peter

Robocop 3

Hi Peter,
which release of RoboCop? Retail, budget, ...?
In other words, which SPS ID (if possible/exists)?

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by Supamax

Hi Peter,
which release of RoboCop? Retail, budget, ...?
In other words, which SPS ID (if possible/exists)?

Original release was dongle, later budget was doc check

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

Original release was dongle, later budget was doc check

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

Links Golf

Which release of Links? Retail v1.5 or Retail v1.53?

[gulliver]

Scala Multimedia MM200
Scala Multimedia MM210
Scala Multimedia MM300 (There were some non dongle versions)
Scala Multimedia MM400 (There were some non dongle versions)
Scala InfoChannel 400
Scala InfoChannel 500

They used a HASP dongle, with different colors for the different versions.
I cant remember correctly, but i believe both raytracers, Tornado 3D and Caligari, at some point used dongles for copyprotection purposes.

[dlfrsilver]

caligari24 is not using a dongle, i own a 3.0x version without one. Brilliance v1.0 use a dongle. The version 2.0 has it removed due to customers complains.

[gulliver]

@dlfrsilver

Caligari was realeased in three different flavours: Caligari, Caligari 24 and Caligari Broadcast. So you are only reffering to only one particular flavour at a specific version.

[Toni Wilen]

Leaderboard and Leaderboard tournament disk 1 (523 and 1474)

EDIT: dongle check code only does following (C-pseudocode):

v1 = JOY1DAT;
v2 = v1 >> 1;
if ((v1 ^ v2) & 0x0101) == 0x0101) -> dongle ok

In other words, dongle is a "joystick" with both up and down directions switched at the same time. (note that emulation does not support up/down or left/right at the same time or it would have been really easy to bypass the dongle in emulation..)

EDIT2: simultaneous up/down works with input panel configuration, also game seems to work only with KS 1.1 (freezes when clicking right mouse button) and chip only (player and trees disappear)

[Toni Wilen]

Can you also add port type? (joystick, serial etc?) Makes reverse-engineering easier

I guess most are joystick port but for example B.A.T.II dongle is connected to serial port.

EDIT:

B.A.T.II dongle operation (from disassembly):

Set DTR high
Check CTS. Must be one.
Wait a little (short cpu timing loop..)
Check CTS again. Must be zero.

[Toni Wilen]

Robocop3 (disassembly again)

Read JOY1DAT
Pulse Firebutton line
Read JOY1DAT

JOY1DAT bit 8 must change state (either 0 to 1 or 1 to 0)

I guess this dongle is only a simple wire (!) between fire (left mouse button) line and either left or forward joystick line. Pulse basically increases mouse counter by one. (mouse counter low bit toggles)


btw, I expected something more complex..

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Toni Wilen

btw, I expected something more complex..

Most users would. I guess that's why the dongle which Supamax dimantled was so comprehensively encapsulated. Without this safeguard, it would have been all too easy to duplicate and distribute together with copy disks...

[Mad-Matt]

Cricket Captain had a little black joystick dongle. Dont have the game anymore(Apart from disk image) to look more into it.

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by Toni Wilen

Can you also add port type? (joystick, serial etc?) Makes reverse-engineering easier

Ok (whenever possible )

Originally Posted by Toni Wilen

btw, I expected something more complex..

If you think about it, it's clear: games are generally sold at (much) lower prices than applications, so the dongles are much simpler. It must be so, if the Publisher needs to remain within a reasonable budget.

[Toni Wilen]

Italy'90 Soccer: POT1DAT POTX must be between 0x32 and 0x60 (tested multiple times) I guess at least some analog joysticks can be used to pass this test

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by gulliver

Scala Multimedia MM200
Scala Multimedia MM210
Scala Multimedia MM300 (There were some non dongle versions)
Scala Multimedia MM400 (There were some non dongle versions)
Scala InfoChannel 400
Scala InfoChannel 500

They used a HASP dongle

Hi gulliver,
How exactly is a HASP dongle? Does it plug on a parallel/serial/joystick port?

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by Toni Wilen

Italy'90 Soccer: POT1DAT POTX must be between 0x32 and 0x60 (tested multiple times) I guess at least some analog joysticks can be used to pass this test

Hi Toni,
Is this compatible with the 220Kohm value I found? I'm 99% sure of the resistor's color codes I could see after having scraped off all the resin, but not 100%... and I cannot measure it with my multimeter because the resistor broke in two during the cleaning process.

Based on your disassembly, can you tell in which joy port (1 or 2) do these games expect the dongle to be?
Leaderboard (I suppose joystick port 2)
Leaderboard tournament disk 1 (I suppose joystick port 2)
Robocop 3

[Toni Wilen]

Originally Posted by Supamax

Hi Toni,
Is this compatible with the 220Kohm value I found? I'm 99% sure of the resistor's color codes I could see after having scraped off all the resin, but not 100%... and I cannot measure it with my multimeter because the resistor broke in two during the cleaning process.

I don't know, I don't have real Amiga analog joystick, no idea of real world resistor values

Try to measure both halves separately. (just stick the multimeter probe to broken end, it "should" work)

Based on your disassembly, can you tell in which joy port (1 or 2) do these games expect the dongle to be?
Leaderboard (I suppose joystick port 2)
Leaderboard tournament disk 1 (I suppose joystick port 2)
Robocop 3

All in joystick port 2

[andreas]

Not sure (too long ago!) but...
could be that Bars & Pipes had one. (sequencer software like Cubase/Cakewalk)

And what about Aegis titles?

I think one of them had a dongle, can't remember which though...

[dlfrsilver]

I know that BAT 2 use a resistor. I will post the value of it, and the place where it's solder
on the dongle.

[Toni Wilen]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

I know that BAT 2 use a resistor. I will post the value of it, and the place where it's solder
on the dongle.

Single resistor can't work (can't make time delay) but I guess capacitor is possible.

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by Toni Wilen

Try to measure both halves separately. (just stick the multimeter probe to broken end, it "should" work)

He, I tried it... with no success. I'll try again

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by andreas

Not sure (too long ago!) but...
could be that Bars & Pipes had one. (sequencer software like Cubase/Cakewalk)

hmmm,
according to this online manual it shouldn't seem so:
http://fromwithin.com/liquidmidi/doc...1/chapter.html

(see the "Check Your Package" chapter)

[Supamax]

The LightWave 3D v3.5 dongle is visible here:
http://www.lightwiki.com/images/e/e6...5_packshot.jpg

but I cannot tell if it's for parallel or serial port...

EDIT: the visible side of the 25p connector is female, so - since this is a pass-through dongle - the other side (the one which goes into the Amiga port) is male.
Hence the dongle is for the parallel port .

[cosmicfrog]

heheh but arnt the A1000 ports switched round, no just kidding hehehe

[dlfrsilver]

Originally Posted by Toni Wilen

Single resistor can't work (can't make time delay) but I guess capacitor is possible.

Yep you're right, in fact it's a Resistor + Capacitor (round and flat model).

Both are hidden in a gray matter (won't break it, afraid to kill it).

the resistor is connected in pins 20 and 5 and the round capacitor in pins
5 and 7.

Can it help ?

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by cosmicfrog

heheh but arnt the A1000 ports switched round, no just kidding hehehe

You seem to be right .
I report here what you showed to me:
http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showha....cgi?HARDID=12
1 x 25pin Serial (FEMALE)
1 x 25pin Parallel (MALE)

Strange and stupid...

However, as you supposed, LightWave 3D v3.5 came out looong after the A1000, so what I wrote about the dongle remains valid.

[thor]

HOL also lists Leviathan, Dames Grand-Maître and Rugby Coach.

[dlfrsilver]

yes about Dames Grand-Maître, absolutely (i'm the owner).

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

yes about Dames Grand-Maître, absolutely (i'm the owner).

Does the dongle need to be inserted in joystick port 1 or 2?
Generally it's port 2, but for example Cricket Captain needs it in port 1.

P.S. if the original disk has no protections, could you upload an adf dump of it to the Zone?

[Supamax]

@ Toni

I updated to the Zone the adf dumps of these two original programs of mine:

- Logistix v1.12A (IT)
- Superbase Personal v1.0 (IT)
(they use the same dongle)

Could you perhaps (when you have time etc.) disassembly the dongle check routines, as you did before for some of the games ?
I would be grateful, since so I wouldn't have to dismantle my dongle...

[Toni Wilen]

Originally Posted by Supamax

@ Toni

I updated to the Zone the adf dumps of these two original programs of mine:

- Logistix v1.12A (IT)
- Superbase Personal v1.0 (IT)
(they use the same dongle)

Could you perhaps (when you have time etc.) disassembly the dongle check routines, as you did before for some of the games ?
I would be grateful, since so I wouldn't have to dismantle my dongle...

Could you measure resistance between pins 5 and 7 and pins 9 and 7?

Dongle code reads both POT1X and POT1Y values, does simple calculation, result must be between 12 and 33.

I think the formula is POT1X * 10 / POT1Y, I am not yet sure because routines used for multiplication and division are some complex 32-bit versions, program is clearly written in some high-level compiled language, most likely C)

Also second firebutton/right mouse button signal must be high.

EDIT: formula is confirmed correct. (still need resistor values)

[dlfrsilver]

Toni, dames grand maitre is zoned

[Toni Wilen]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

Toni, dames grand maitre is zoned

Thanks. Again two resistors (like Logistix)

POT1X != POT1Y
POT1Y * 256 / POT1X must be between 450 and 500

Again, it is impossible to find original resistor values without having original dongle. (for example 80 and 43 is acceptable, 100 and 54, and so on..)

[Toni Wilen]

Rugby Coach: "joystick" with left, up and down directions switched at the same time.

Anyone have non-cracked Leviathan? I quickly checked common cracked versions but didn't find any dongle-like mouse/joystick port accesses. (or perhaps it isn't mouse port dongle..)

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

yes about Dames Grand-Maître, absolutely (i'm the owner).

Didn't I crack that one?

[dlfrsilver]

i never got it........

[Toni Wilen]

Cricket Captain: JOY0DAT bits 0 and 1 must keep toggling continuously and they must never be 0 simultaneously. (btw, game has mouse pointer which is only controlled by joystick, I can guess why..)

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

i never got it........

http://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?...ighlight=dames