Ishar AGA protection fails

[dlfrsilver]

Easy to reproduce, you started the game from the beginning, and you just need to advance, you meet a bridge, than you advance again a bit, and the password protection appears, and there's no way to pass it, and finally the game freeze, and the only exit is the whdload quit key.

Can you help Bertrand ?

[CFou!]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

Easy to reproduce, you just need to advance, you meet a bridge, than you advance again a bit, and the password protection appears, and there's no way to pass it, and finally the game freeze, and the only exit is the whdload quit key.

Can you help Bertrand ?

hi Denis,

it's can be long investigation (game coded in C+ not ASM)

so i will look it in june...

contact me at this period.

i'll try to finally fix it

[CFou!]

Originally Posted by CFOU!

hi Denis,

it's can be long investigation (game coded in C+ not ASM)

so i will look it in june...

contact me at this period.

i'll try to finally fix it

ps:
if it's no already done, can you upload savegame on Nantis whdload's bug report page with short desciption of action to do to launch protection ?

[dlfrsilver]

it's already done and it's written here in my first post too

[CFou!]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

it's already done and it's written here in my first post too

ok

If i forget thar in june (call me or email me )

[dlfrsilver]

maybe i can at first use the debugkey ? And then prepare the coredump ?

[CFou!]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

maybe i can at first use the debugkey ? And then prepare the coredump ?

it will don't really help me if i can reproduct easy crash or to go to protection screen

for 100 miglia i can't reproduct it without play long times....

so it's interesting to have dump/reg file to look for memory location of protect code.

more over fo ishar it's C+ code so it's more complicate to understand it

[Gaula92]

@CFOU! : Interesting... I didn't know there were Amiga games coded in C++ or C. Is plain C suited for fast Amiga games using the chipset? I don't know a thing about 68K asm, but I work with C often.

[dlfrsilver]

in fact, under winuae, you can access the debugger too, via Shift+F12.

for what i saw, it's stuck in an ASM routine (nothing like C+ code).

We will check this deeper next time you're available

[CFou!]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

in fact, under winuae, you can access the debugger too, via Shift+F12.

for what i saw, it's stuck in an ASM routine (nothing like C+ code).

We will check this deeper next time you're available

it's possible it's perhaps old silmarils games which was coded in C langage

i will quick looks that...

[StingRay]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

for what i saw, it's stuck in an ASM routine (nothing like C+ code).

Ishar is definitely coded in C!

See post below.

[dlfrsilver]

Yes but this game has asm routines but i can be wrong

[StingRay]

Yes, you're right. I actually remembered it wrong, at least first Ishar seems to be coded in Assembler, just checked it.

[CFou!]

Originally Posted by StingRay

Yes, you're right. I actually remembered it wrong, at least first Ishar seems to be coded in Assembler, just checked it.

in my memory manual passwords protection code is not localised in main program but in somes other crypted data files.

so better way to crack is to use generic research code to localised protection code which is inserted after decrunch code...

i thougth have to do it..

but perhaps protection code is a bits differents after..

i will soons fix password protection check...

[StingRay]

Originally Posted by CFOU!

in my memory manual passwords protection code is not localised in main program but in somes other crypted data files.

Ishar is interpreted so the manual check is "hidden" in the interpreter data files. Have fun reversing the interpreter.

[CFou!]

>denis

have you same problem with ECS version?

(i don't know if savegame files are compatible between ECS/AGA=>never try)


if yes i will fix both versions

[dlfrsilver]

the ECS version doesn't seem to have a problem. But on my AGA multilingual version, i trigger easily the password protection.

Is there any program to decompress and access the files outside the main executable ?

EDIT : and in June, once you'll have more time, ishar 2 AGA will need investigation, because there is a serious bug/problem on the AGA release which actually kill the game. Even the IPF has the problem so far.

[CFou!]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

the ECS version doesn't seem to have a problem. But on my AGA multilingual version, i trigger easily the password protection.

Is there any program to decompress and access the files outside the main executable ?

i don't know but in my memory it's classic silmarils cruncher (i will look, if i had not already done generic decruncher for that)

StingRay are right, it's interpreter, for this reason manual protection request is in data files...

it's more complicate, if we want not forget one protection test.... only solution to be sure all protection are removed is to finish game

i am never done ishar serie (perhaps a day....)

[CFou!]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

EDIT : and in June, once you'll have more time, ishar 2 AGA will need investigation, because there is a serious bug/problem on the AGA release which actually kill the game. Even the IPF has the problem so far.

it's perhpas simple problem

if problem is only in french it can be caused by long french sentence (french colonisation or civilisation cracked for this reason...)

have you try in english to compare

[Marcuz]

Originally Posted by CFOU!

>denis

have you same problem with ECS version?

(i don't know if savegame files are compatible between ECS/AGA=>never try)


if yes i will fix both versions

I know I have tried that swap of savegame files, but it was years ago and I don't remember anymore.
But I remember that the ECS pirated version I used had the maze corrupted in the fortress part (walls that could be passed like they were not there, party got stuck soon afterward).