Does Cloanto bundle cracked games?

rsn8887 · 23 January 2021, 23:04

Is it true that Cloanto bundles cracked games complete with cracktros with some of their Amiga Forever packages?

If true, that would be pretty brazen.

I just heard the Amigos mention this in their podcast. I might have misunderstood the sentence in the podcast.

Or are the bundled games all original unmodified .ipf versions, as it should be?

I knew that they bundled hacked and broken (unofficial and unreleased) kick roms in the past, because I owned an old Amiga Forever CD where that was the case, which I also hated. At least that was fixed in later releases, and the bundled kick roms are now official.

lesta_smsc · 23 January 2021, 23:11

Yes it is true... in fact, one of the bundled games is Flight of the Amazon Queen which boots up to Workbench screen with this message:
"cracked october 1995 by HOODLUM!"

apex · 23 January 2021, 23:15

The game is free!

rsn8887 · 23 January 2021, 23:15

Unbelievable.. and somewhat unprofessional imo.

Just that one game or more than one cracked game, though?

Minuous · 23 January 2021, 23:25

More than one.

jotd · 23 January 2021, 23:31

Flight of the Amazon Queen has no protection either...

But as long as they acquired the rights, using the cracks is legal and the best way to make sure the standard adf can support the games.

(at some point Cinemaware offered some of them games as adf on their site for free, and guess what? most were cracked copies)

rsn8887 · 23 January 2021, 23:31

Scandalous, but yes it is not illegal if you own the rights.

Still, it seems like a punch in the user's face after they purchase a commercial package, to slam some cracked games into their faces, instead of original unmodified versions.

lesta_smsc · 23 January 2021, 23:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by jotd

Flight of the Amazon Queen has no protection either...

But as long as they acquired the rights, using the cracks is legal and the best way to make sure the standard adf can support the games.

(at some point Cinemaware offered some of them games as adf on their site for free, and guess what? most were cracked copies)

That's quite interesting! I suppose it makes sense though...

Matt_H · 24 January 2021, 01:21

Until the invention of IPFs ~15 years ago (or whenever), cracked versions were usually the only versions of copy-protected titles available for distribution. Rights holders may have granted permission for another publisher to distribute a game having lost their original files. Thus, the new publisher can distribute a cracked version or none at all. I remember this happened with a Gremlin compilation CD in the early 2000s. And as jotd points out, the entity that bought the Cinemaware name did the same thing.

A lot of the stuff distributed with Amiga Forever has been bundled in since before IPFs were invented and probably hasn't been looked at closely since. Cloanto is pretty diligent about rights clearances so I imagine they've got the necessary permissions.

Galahad/FLT · 24 January 2021, 02:18

Its been going on for years, lots of Oceans Hit Squad titles are cracked versions.

Pyromania · 24 January 2021, 04:18

This thread is cracking me up.

chip · 24 January 2021, 09:52

That's really incredible news for me !

jotd · 24 January 2021, 10:04

who said pirates were useless parasites ?

chip · 24 January 2021, 10:13

I LOVE cracktros (logically) but i would never except to find it in a purchased package ..... it is completely out of sense for me

jotd · 24 January 2021, 10:31

Surprising for Flight of the Amazon Queen as I remember that this game never had any protection whatsoever. Those crack text are easily removed. But hey that requires editing the .adf file, maybe too much work when you bundle dozens of games.

Galahad/FLT · 24 January 2021, 11:56

Might also be a legacy of knowing that some releases will crash if the cracktro isn't present because the cracktro puts the actual crack routines into memory.

Probably a case of, leave well enough alone because they don't have time to playtest everything.

sparhawk · 27 January 2021, 13:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsn8887

Still, it seems like a punch in the user's face after they purchase a commercial package, to slam some cracked games into their faces, instead of original unmodified versions.

Does it have a cracktro? If yes, then I would rather have this version, then an unmodified one. I love cracktros.

ma693541 · 27 January 2021, 23:26

I took this up in an old thread about using cracked games in AF for many years ago here at EAB, but can't find it again. One person from Cloanto claimed that they have asked the copyright holders of the games to get the rights to include the games in AF. Still today I wonder why they use cracked games in their AF package and not the protected .IPFs with manuals in .HTML form.

DamienD · 28 January 2021, 00:23

Not being funny; but it really makes no difference if they use .IPFs or any tyoe of .ADFs.

They don't have the rights to do so; especially in a commercial product sold to make money...

If it was free, then slightly different kettle of fish.

sparhawk · 28 January 2021, 13:17

Do they have the rights to sell the crack?

Even if they have the lizenze for the original game, this doesn't include the cracks or cracktros, right?

23 January 2021, 23:04	#1
rsn8887 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,058	Does Cloanto bundle cracked games? Is it true that Cloanto bundles cracked games complete with cracktros with some of their Amiga Forever packages? If true, that would be pretty brazen. I just heard the Amigos mention this in their podcast. I might have misunderstood the sentence in the podcast. Or are the bundled games all original unmodified .ipf versions, as it should be? I knew that they bundled hacked and broken (unofficial and unreleased) kick roms in the past, because I owned an old Amiga Forever CD where that was the case, which I also hated. At least that was fixed in later releases, and the bundled kick roms are now official. Last edited by rsn8887; 23 January 2021 at 23:11.

23 January 2021, 23:15	#4
rsn8887 Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,058	Unbelievable.. and somewhat unprofessional imo. Just that one game or more than one cracked game, though? Last edited by rsn8887; 23 January 2021 at 23:20.

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23 January 2021, 23:11	#2
lesta_smsc Registered User Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 3,173	Yes it is true... in fact, one of the bundled games is Flight of the Amazon Queen which boots up to Workbench screen with this message: "cracked october 1995 by HOODLUM!"

23 January 2021, 23:15	#3
apex Registered User Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Amigaplanet Posts: 645	The game is free!

23 January 2021, 23:25	#5
Minuous Coder/webmaster/gamer Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Canberra/Australia Posts: 2,630	More than one.

23 January 2021, 23:31	#6
jotd This cat is no more Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: FRANCE Age: 52 Posts: 8,162	Flight of the Amazon Queen has no protection either... But as long as they acquired the rights, using the cracks is legal and the best way to make sure the standard adf can support the games. (at some point Cinemaware offered some of them games as adf on their site for free, and guess what? most were cracked copies)

24 January 2021, 01:21	#9
Matt_H Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 943	Until the invention of IPFs ~15 years ago (or whenever), cracked versions were usually the only versions of copy-protected titles available for distribution. Rights holders may have granted permission for another publisher to distribute a game having lost their original files. Thus, the new publisher can distribute a cracked version or none at all. I remember this happened with a Gremlin compilation CD in the early 2000s. And as jotd points out, the entity that bought the Cinemaware name did the same thing. A lot of the stuff distributed with Amiga Forever has been bundled in since before IPFs were invented and probably hasn't been looked at closely since. Cloanto is pretty diligent about rights clearances so I imagine they've got the necessary permissions.

24 January 2021, 02:18	#10
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 8,986	Its been going on for years, lots of Oceans Hit Squad titles are cracked versions.

24 January 2021, 04:18	#11
Pyromania Moderator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 3,375	This thread is cracking me up.

24 January 2021, 09:52	#12
chip Registered User Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Italy Age: 49 Posts: 2,942	That's really incredible news for me !

24 January 2021, 10:04	#13
jotd This cat is no more Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: FRANCE Age: 52 Posts: 8,162	who said pirates were useless parasites ?

24 January 2021, 10:13	#14
chip Registered User Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Italy Age: 49 Posts: 2,942	I LOVE cracktros (logically) but i would never except to find it in a purchased package ..... it is completely out of sense for me

24 January 2021, 10:31	#15
jotd This cat is no more Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: FRANCE Age: 52 Posts: 8,162	Surprising for Flight of the Amazon Queen as I remember that this game never had any protection whatsoever. Those crack text are easily removed. But hey that requires editing the .adf file, maybe too much work when you bundle dozens of games.

24 January 2021, 11:56	#16
Galahad/FLT Going nowhere Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: United Kingdom Age: 50 Posts: 8,986	Might also be a legacy of knowing that some releases will crash if the cracktro isn't present because the cracktro puts the actual crack routines into memory. Probably a case of, leave well enough alone because they don't have time to playtest everything.

27 January 2021, 23:26	#18
ma693541 Computer Wizard Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Ramberg/Norway Posts: 928	I took this up in an old thread about using cracked games in AF for many years ago here at EAB, but can't find it again. One person from Cloanto claimed that they have asked the copyright holders of the games to get the rights to include the games in AF. Still today I wonder why they use cracked games in their AF package and not the protected .IPFs with manuals in .HTML form.

28 January 2021, 00:23	#19
DamienD Banned Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: London / Sydney Age: 47 Posts: 20,420	Not being funny; but it really makes no difference if they use .IPFs or any tyoe of .ADFs. They don't have the rights to do so; especially in a commercial product sold to make money... If it was free, then slightly different kettle of fish.

28 January 2021, 13:17	#20
sparhawk Registered User Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: Essen/Germany Age: 55 Posts: 463	Do they have the rights to sell the crack? Even if they have the lizenze for the original game, this doesn't include the cracks or cracktros, right?

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