@PeasantOpenSource: Go
- The game client composed of multiple archive that contains game data, which are mpq archive (you must have known this though). Any map is based on the structure of an mpq archive, even Lost Temple. Now is this break the TOS if you add another vespene geyser into Lost Temple ? Or adding 10 damage to Marauder in the game client ?
While custom contents does not belong to the client itself and might subject or not subject to the TOS, arguing that adding file to any archive does not break any agreement is just silly. (and sure sounds like from a hacker's viewpoint to me)
Sorry, I don't understand your logic: how does this relate to any agreement I have made with Blizzard (please show quoted evidence)?
Firstly, Lost Temple, being a Blizzard map, is unlocked. If I add another vespene geyser into Lost Temple, I will not be able to play that map with others unless they have also downloaded the exact same map. The map wouldn't be able to be published with the same name/title as the original Lost Temple, nor would it have the Blizzard icon next to it (also, no Blizzard related text in the map). If someone decides to play you in this altered version of the map, it is there fault for not playing the original map which obviously does have a Blizzard icon next to it, and clearly states that it is authored by Blizzard.
If you are referring to altering a file in the archive, such as the mapscript, and maintain synchronisation with others players, then this probably would be scratching at one of the agreements, and such abusers would probably be banned. However, this shouldn't occur as a similar scenario has already occured in WarCraft III, and I would hope Blizzard doesn't make the same mistakes twice.
I am entirely morally against the decision to allow this thread, but irregardless I will simply argue deleting it based on a legal viewpoint.
How is circumventing Blizzard's map protection and circumventing Blizzard's copy protection any different? You may argue that copy protection has a legal side to it, but if you've seen how Blizzard handles third-party programs in World of Warcraft you would know that they are VERY active in stopping people from circumventing their protective measures.
Another example: how is bypassing Blizzard's security on locked maps any different than bypassing blizzard's security to remove fog of war. The creator's of the programs that did that are now facing legal consequences.
By allowing a "How-to" guide on circumventing Blizzard's security measures on this forum you are opening up this forum to potential legal action from Blizzard. They could claim your activities damage the game... we've seen it dozens of times before. I urge you to delete this thread, Sixen.
Sorry, but are you comparing game hacking that involves writing memory to a process, sending false bytes of data to Warden, and creating external modules to a process, to deleting and adding files from an archive?
Please, adding and removing files from an archive in no shape or form breaches any agreement in the ToS or EULA. That's like saying it's illegal to add or remove files from a .rar I have downloaded from the internet.
Before I read this post I didn't exactly know how the maps could be unlocked ... to an extend.
I'm glad that I do now, because this will help me prevent it by obfuscating the map as much as possible.
I'm a web developer and in order to prevent your product to get hacked, you yourself need to know how to actually hack it. That goes for all kind of programming, even map development.
I'm just saying...
Edit: Oh and I haven't posted here since the SC2 beta, but for once I do because I think you guys are overreacting sooo much.... no really, you are!
Thank you! I applaud you.
Indeed, there was a false sense of security, a consensus, travelling around, entering the mind of the general people, spreading rapidly; plague-like it was.
Hopefully, the revelation as to the true nature of the situation will lead to people taking larger precautions, like my quoted friend will do, to prevent hacking.
It also enthuses the map optimization creators, pushing them to create their tools which will make our maps low-file size and create faster loading times.
Think towards the future. It takes two to tango. Lack of innovation destroys a community.
Everyone has their own learning style. For me, opening a map and seeing tangible data far outweighs any gains from reading a tutorial (even though I don't usually read tutorials).
No proof of authorship? The attributes file in the archive has time stamps and the MD5 of the archive. You can't upload a map with the same name as some other persons map. Therefore the one with the original title, and the accurate attributes file is the original author...
All your talk is based on your own opinion, everyone has their own perspective. However, you insist that your perspective is the only correct perspective with your hostile nature.
The aim of this map is to bestow a open source version of the currently
famous map Storm of the Imperial Sanctum to every user.
This version is NOT for online play, please do not upload the map onto
Battle.net 2.0 and use the official version for playing instead.
With the above in mind, the immediate purpose of this map is to
demonstrate the process that has been undertaken by the creator(s)
of the original map, and allow everyone to learn from it.
I strongly discourage stealing so, please, use this for educational
purposes ONLY.
The restoration process was done as follows:
- restored component list;
- reconstructed globals in GUI form (except trigger variables);
- established map script in custom script format;
- repaired MPQ using Ladik's MPQEditor;
- imitated the Game Variants and other Attribute data;
It did not involve:
- GUI trigger reconstruction; I am planning to create a tool for this in the future;
- any intentional changes to the normal function of the original map;
- serious reformatting, lack of time has prevented this;
Use this responsibly! I cannot regurgitate this enough: do NOT upload this
map to Battle.net 2.0 unless serious change to the map has occured, ie.
where the map, in no shape or form, represents the original map. Ignoring
my warnings will lead to possible banning by Blizzard, and if such event
were to occur I hold no responsibility for such bans.
Regards,
Peasant
Unlocking a Map
NOTE: Hopefully, creating this guide will ensure Blizzard increases its enthusiasm in updating its lock map feature. It sure is lacking, compared to the WarCraft III 3rd-Party protectors.
1. The first step, is of course, to find the locked map. Locked maps are stored, among other things, in your cache. This is usually located at C:\ProgramData\Blizzard Entertainment\Battle.net\Cache\. There are tools that search your cache for maps, such as SC2 Map Browser or S2MA Cache Manager.
2. Find the map of your choice, copy it, and paste it elsewhere. I suggest an empty folder. Maps in the cache are of ".s2ma" filetype, so change the filetype of the copied map to ".SC2Map", so the Galaxy Editor can find it.
3. Open the map with a MPQ Editor, I suggest Ladik's MPQEditor, as it is stable and the only actively updated MPQ viewer.
4. You will notice that the Trigger and Trigger.version, and ComponentList.SC2Components are missing. Using MPQEditor, import the default ones found in the uploaded .rar "mapfiles" (attached to this post). Attribute and Attribute.version are also missing, but are not needed to successfully unlock a map. (Attribute stores both Variants and Attribute data, which should be easy and logical to replicate.)
5. The map can now be freely opened in the Editor. Note that the Trigger Editor is now blank, so saving the map will overwrite the current mapscript! This can be fixed in a number of ways. The two simple ways are to either: one, copy and paste into custom scripts, event functions should be pasted in the "Initialization Function (Optional)" box; or two, use include trickery.
Many things in this tutorial could be missing. My original method was more complicated and this has been trimmed as I found faster methods. Copy and pasting into custom script takes a VERY long time due to the nature of the editor's syntax highlighting.
Like the original post states, this should be used for educational purposes only. I really suggest you don't even consider map-stealing, because I can guarantee you: Blizzard will ban your account.
0
Sorry, I don't understand your logic: how does this relate to any agreement I have made with Blizzard (please show quoted evidence)?
Firstly, Lost Temple, being a Blizzard map, is unlocked. If I add another vespene geyser into Lost Temple, I will not be able to play that map with others unless they have also downloaded the exact same map. The map wouldn't be able to be published with the same name/title as the original Lost Temple, nor would it have the Blizzard icon next to it (also, no Blizzard related text in the map). If someone decides to play you in this altered version of the map, it is there fault for not playing the original map which obviously does have a Blizzard icon next to it, and clearly states that it is authored by Blizzard.
If you are referring to altering a file in the archive, such as the mapscript, and maintain synchronisation with others players, then this probably would be scratching at one of the agreements, and such abusers would probably be banned. However, this shouldn't occur as a similar scenario has already occured in WarCraft III, and I would hope Blizzard doesn't make the same mistakes twice.
0
Sorry, but are you comparing game hacking that involves writing memory to a process, sending false bytes of data to Warden, and creating external modules to a process, to deleting and adding files from an archive?
Please, adding and removing files from an archive in no shape or form breaches any agreement in the ToS or EULA. That's like saying it's illegal to add or remove files from a .rar I have downloaded from the internet.
0
Thank you! I applaud you.
Indeed, there was a false sense of security, a consensus, travelling around, entering the mind of the general people, spreading rapidly; plague-like it was.
Hopefully, the revelation as to the true nature of the situation will lead to people taking larger precautions, like my quoted friend will do, to prevent hacking.
It also enthuses the map optimization creators, pushing them to create their tools which will make our maps low-file size and create faster loading times.
Think towards the future. It takes two to tango. Lack of innovation destroys a community.
0
@EternalWraith: Go
Everyone has their own learning style. For me, opening a map and seeing tangible data far outweighs any gains from reading a tutorial (even though I don't usually read tutorials).
No proof of authorship? The attributes file in the archive has time stamps and the MD5 of the archive. You can't upload a map with the same name as some other persons map. Therefore the one with the original title, and the accurate attributes file is the original author...
All your talk is based on your own opinion, everyone has their own perspective. However, you insist that your perspective is the only correct perspective with your hostile nature.
0
Original Thread
The aim of this map is to bestow a open source version of the currently
famous map Storm of the Imperial Sanctum to every user.
This version is NOT for online play, please do not upload the map onto
Battle.net 2.0 and use the official version for playing instead.
With the above in mind, the immediate purpose of this map is to
demonstrate the process that has been undertaken by the creator(s)
of the original map, and allow everyone to learn from it.
I strongly discourage stealing so, please, use this for educational
purposes ONLY.
The restoration process was done as follows:
- restored component list;
- reconstructed globals in GUI form (except trigger variables);
- established map script in custom script format;
- repaired MPQ using Ladik's MPQEditor;
- imitated the Game Variants and other Attribute data;
It did not involve:
- GUI trigger reconstruction; I am planning to create a tool for this in the future;
- any intentional changes to the normal function of the original map;
- serious reformatting, lack of time has prevented this;
Use this responsibly! I cannot regurgitate this enough: do NOT upload this
map to Battle.net 2.0 unless serious change to the map has occured, ie.
where the map, in no shape or form, represents the original map. Ignoring
my warnings will lead to possible banning by Blizzard, and if such event
were to occur I hold no responsibility for such bans.
Regards,
Peasant
Unlocking a Map
NOTE: Hopefully, creating this guide will ensure Blizzard increases its enthusiasm in updating its lock map feature. It sure is lacking, compared to the WarCraft III 3rd-Party protectors.
1. The first step, is of course, to find the locked map. Locked maps are stored, among other things, in your cache. This is usually located at C:\ProgramData\Blizzard Entertainment\Battle.net\Cache\. There are tools that search your cache for maps, such as SC2 Map Browser or S2MA Cache Manager.
2. Find the map of your choice, copy it, and paste it elsewhere. I suggest an empty folder. Maps in the cache are of ".s2ma" filetype, so change the filetype of the copied map to ".SC2Map", so the Galaxy Editor can find it.
3. Open the map with a MPQ Editor, I suggest Ladik's MPQEditor, as it is stable and the only actively updated MPQ viewer.
4. You will notice that the Trigger and Trigger.version, and ComponentList.SC2Components are missing. Using MPQEditor, import the default ones found in the uploaded .rar "mapfiles" (attached to this post). Attribute and Attribute.version are also missing, but are not needed to successfully unlock a map. (Attribute stores both Variants and Attribute data, which should be easy and logical to replicate.)
5. The map can now be freely opened in the Editor. Note that the Trigger Editor is now blank, so saving the map will overwrite the current mapscript! This can be fixed in a number of ways. The two simple ways are to either: one, copy and paste into custom scripts, event functions should be pasted in the "Initialization Function (Optional)" box; or two, use include trickery.
Many things in this tutorial could be missing. My original method was more complicated and this has been trimmed as I found faster methods. Copy and pasting into custom script takes a VERY long time due to the nature of the editor's syntax highlighting.
Like the original post states, this should be used for educational purposes only. I really suggest you don't even consider map-stealing, because I can guarantee you: Blizzard will ban your account.