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[blueyben]

Hey guys,

backed it up the normal way...ftp'd used qwix to make the iso, patched and burnt at slowest speed.

But won't play world tour, scanned the net but no help, anyone know anything about this? I'm gonna try and update my biso but im running m8 so i don't know if that will help.

Cheers
B

[Loser_guy]

Did you make it into an XISO?


I have a similiar problem with that game, except it won't play off my hard drive, same with greg hastings paintball (works on dvd+r) and GTA SA (also works on DVD).


Also, have you used the same media in the xbox before, and it was able to read it?

[shadow23]

QUOTE(Loser_guy @ Feb 24 2006, 01:41 PM)

Did you make it into an XISO?

He just said he used QWIX.

This post has been edited by shadow23: Feb 24 2006, 04:15 AM

[blueyben]

Yeah, i used qwix have used the media a thousand times before, burnt it three times so no possibility of a bad burn.

I suspect it has something to do with the length of the filenames, i just don't know how to shorten them

Cheers

[Loser_guy]

QUOTE(shadow23 @ Feb 24 2006, 03:45 AM)

He just said he used QWIX.

Oh, I didn't know qwix automaticly made it into an XISO, sorry.

[lenballs]

I've tried backing up the retail PAL version of this game using DVD2XBOX 0.7.1 and it freezes after 18% of the disc has been copied, with a filename of what looks like over 200 characters.

I've checked this on two different xbox's with two different retail discs.

Its not a bad disc, bad laser, cache or anything like that, just wondering how this can be fixed if you can't even get it on the drive. Hmmm

[ibemonty2000]

First off I'd try using DVD 2 Xbox 0.7.4. Check to see if that works.

-Monty

[Dreamcazman]

I got the game today (V8 Supercars 3 in Aus) and I noticed there are 5 files in the root directory of what seems to be random numbers. I've searched the xbe for references to these files but haven't found anything. I will look deeper to see if I can come up with anything.

I'm a bit annoyed I can't dump it to the HDD, but hopefully a fix will come soon.

[cornatbeat]

hi!
this game has a new type of protection, which is PRETTY nasty and NOT very obvious.

1. TYPE : long filenames NUMBERS ONLY
file 1:  01566257402957006257349845861827402934985700405556228485127084850156625740295700

file 2:  07136257127051695622458684857371071362571270516956224586848573710713625712705169


...and so on (5 files with 80 digits each )

i'd guess the sourcecode looks some kind like this :

int main{}

// variable declaration
very_long_integer file1 =  01566257402957006257349845861827402934985700405556228485127084850156625740295700
;

...

int _some_function_to_open_file()
open_file (to_char (file1) );
open_file ("tracks.ini");

...

as you can see, there will be NO reference in the game(default.xbe) whatsoever of the long filenames as they are stored only AS NUMBERS (int,longint whatever) and NOT as CHARACTERS (strings whatever).

2. TYPE : DESTROY YOUR SAVEGAME
the backup of the game will - somehow - notice, that it is a duplicate.
as soon as you pass tier 4 , save, switch off the xbox, power the xbox up with toca and try to reload your savegame it will say "savegame corrupt".

the mediacheck is still in place but somewhere along with the savegame routine there is another, probably hidden, mediacheck.


these protections can only be hard patched with a crack or likewise. you will need a debugkitbios with msdevkit to debug the default.xbe. i don't have a 512k chip so i cant use the debugbios otherwise i'd probably have a "solution" by now.

so if someone has this setup : GET WORKING! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

... and that is all i can say. (in gump words (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) )

cya&hf
cornatbeat

[cornatbeat]

hi
me again.

as i did my weekly shopping some other thing popped in to my mind:

the MAX filenamelength on fatX is 42 characters. so if the files are cut to 42char length , codemasters could also implement a nice "IF EXISTS "check.

for example :

file 1:  01566257402957006257349845861827402934985700405556228485127084850156625740295700

file 1 with 42chars:015662574029570062573498458618274029349857

so not only the number protection itself but also a check if the "file1with42chars" exists, then just crash or do whatever, because the existance of this file would indicate that the game is run from hdd.

because of the fact, that these numbers/filenames can be generated in any possible way ( adding numbers, substracting, multiply, divide, mod and even like this :"stringconcat(to_char(file1_part1),to_char(file1_part2)) ), it will probably take a few weeks until a backup is possible (lots of debugging (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) )

anyway
i've been playing around with my backup and it seems my statement "corrupt savegame after tier 4" was incorrect. i'm now at tier 8 and it still works. i wonder for how long (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) ...
i have to add, that i am NOT just switching the xbox off, but i select "LOAD PROFILE" and then hit "BACK" so TOCA3 shows me the startup-screen with "PRESS START" and the BIG TOCA RACE DRIVER 3 logo.
maybe this has something to do with corrupting/not corrupting the savegame.

cya&hf
 cornatbeat

This post has been edited by cornatbeat: Feb 24 2006, 09:05 PM

[Dreamcazman]

Where did you find out about this save corruption when using a backup?

[cornatbeat]

i found out first hand, as i passed tier 8 (driving with the palmer formula 1 like racing cars). i switched the xbox off at the "SELECT WORLD TOUR" . a few hours later i wanted to continue, but toca showed me "savegame corrupt".

as i stated above this might just be coincidence, but for now i choose the save looking way of quitting all menus and going back to the "PRESS START" screen.

this savegame issue is only speculation for now. i really hope that there are no others with this kind of problem.

but the long filenames with numbers problem is very real and i probably would have implemented the same copyprotection. it keeps away the noobs and requires a massiv amount of work to really get every single filenamecheck (in case they are hidden all over the game - which would be very easy ) hacked out.

one other issue has been confirmed :
if NO savegame exists and you use your backup to create a profile the game will CRASH.
after resetting the xbox and loading the savegame you are able to play but as soon as you select "WORLD TOUR" the game crashes again. so there seems to be another mediacheck in place.

...and all who pirated the game have now a very nice and big demo of toca race driver 3 on their hands *lol* (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

cya&hf
 cornatbeat

[shadow23]

I too have been doing some testing with the game. And it's true when you first run the game from a backup and create a profile you won't be able to play World Tour. But if you run the original game first and create a profile then the next time you try to play the game from a backup, you can play World Tour.

[jonels]

Yes but if you keep playing the backup the save will corrupt at some point. The usual error is that you cannot complete any championships even though winning 2 out 2 races. This definately seems like protection. If all games start using this then backups of our favourite games will become impossible with new releases.

It definately needs investigating.

[shadow23]

QUOTE(jonels @ Feb 26 2006, 12:53 AM)

Yes but if you keep playing the backup the save will corrupt at some point. The usual error is that you cannot complete any championships even though winning 2 out 2 races. This definately seems like protection. If all games start using this then backups of our favourite games will become impossible with new releases.

It definately needs investigating.

It's only a matter of time before someone finds a fix for it.