Ubisoft FarCry 1.33 serial key or number

FarCryTM
README file - Patch 1.4
Visit wwww.CryMod.com for the latest updates on modding FarCry(tm)



Getting Started

We would appreciate it if you would read this readme file in its entirety, and make sure your PC configuration and specs meet those reported below. This may help you more accurately assess your problems before reporting them, and help us serve you better. For more information on technical issues, please search
the Ubi Soft Solution Center at http://www.ubisoft.com/support.

Minimum System Requirements for Single Player only

- Computer: AMD Athlon 1 GHz or Pentium III 1 GHz (AMD Athlon XP 2000 / Pentium 4 2 GHz recommended).
- Operating System: FarCry(tm) is supported on the following operating systems: Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000, and Windows XP.
- Memory: The game requires 256 MB of RAM.
- Controls: A keyboard and mouse are required.
- Drives: 4 Gb of free hard disc space are required to install and play the game. 4x DVD or 16x CDROM is required to install the game.
- Video: A 3D accelerator video card with support for DirectX(r) 9.0b and at least 64 MB of video memory are required.
- Sound: A DirectX(r)-compatible 16-bit PCI sound card is recommended.

For Multiplayer play only, the following configurations are supported

Recommended System Requirements

- Computer: A 2 GHz AMD processor or better is recommended.
- Memory: We recommend 512 MB of RAM.
- Drives: 4 GB of free hard disc space are required to install and play the game. 8x DVD or 32x CDROM is recommended to install the game.
- Video: A 3D accelerator video card with support for DirectX(r) 9.0b and at least 128 MB of video memory is recommended.
- Multiplayer Connectivity: Access to UBI.com online gaming service, requires a low-latency, active Internet connection, rated at 64 Kbps upstream or faster. Multiplayer games played over a LAN require an active connection to a TCP/IP network. We recommend the use of a cable or ADSL connection with 512 Kb/s in downstream and 128 kb/s in upstream.

High System Requirements

- Computer: A 3 GHz AMD processor or better is recommended.
- Memory: We recommend 1024 MB of RAM.
- Drives: 4 GB of free hard disc space are required to install and play the game. 16x DVD or 32x CDROM is recommended to install the game.
- Video: A 3D accelerator video card with support for DirectX(r) 9.0b and at least 128 MB of video memory is recommended.
- Multiplayer Connectivity: We recommend the use of a cable or ADSL connection with 512 Kb/s in downstream and 128 kb/s in upstream.

Multiplayer Server Requirements

Dedicated Server:
- Computer: A 2.4 GHz AMD processor or better is recommended.
- Memory: We recommend 512 MB of RAM.
- Drives: 4 GB of free hard disc space are required to install and play the game. 16x DVD or 32x CDROM is recommended to install the game.
- Multiplayer Connectivity: We recommend the use of a cable or ADSL connection with 512 Kb/s in downstream and 128 kb/s in upstream.
Non Dedicated Server:
- Computer: A 2.8 GHz AMD processor is recommended.
- Memory: We recommend 1 GB of RAM, however we do not recommend connecting many players to a non-dedicated server.


Installation

To install FarCry(tm), insert the FarCry(tm) CD 1 into your CD-ROM drive. If your computer is AutoPlay capable, a FarCry(tm) splash screen will appear. Select "Install" from the list and follow the on-screen instructions.

If your computer is not AutoPlay capable, open the "My Computer" icon found on your desktop or Start menu. Open the drive letter that corresponds to your CD-ROM drive, double-click the "Install" icon, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Quick Start

MAIN MENU
Campaign: Click here to start the game
Options: Click here to choose options
Multiplayer: Click here to play online
Mods: Click here to load a MOD
Quit: Click here to quit the game.

Patch Patch 1.4 & 1.3 & 1.31 & 1.32 & 1.33

Patch 1.4 change log

? This patch supports 32 bit only.


General changes

* Added remakes of assault maps (Project FiXit)
* Closed several security holes
* Joypad support has been added
* Several console commands have been deactivated and are only available in DEVMODE


Multiplayer General changes

* Added automatic kicking of team killers for violating default limit (integrated with Punkbuster)
* Added broadcast and spawn message capability
* Added center red dot to the scope of the sniper rifle
* Added command which allows the gameplay to start at a specific flag for training
* Added first person spectator view. It is considered beta and will not be officially supported
* Added GUI buttons for players to easily vote
* Added GUI voting panel to initiate votes for map changes and kicking players
* Added ingame server administrator panel for real time GUI admin capability
* Added ingame text flood kicking (integrated with Punkbuster)
* Added IP and server name to scoreboard
* Added Join server by IP function
* Added option to disable voting
* Added option to remove enemy nametags from cross-hair
* Added team kill punish and forgive system
* Fixed "CD Key In Use" issue with automatic server kick
* Fixed binocular/sniper rifle bug
* Fixed bug in mp_airstrip which lead to a server crash
* Fixed bug where players were missing their scoreboard (getting refreshed automatically now)
* Fixed gameplay issues on mp_jungle
* Fixed grenade bug
* ?Fixed scoreboard so that it now properly shows ping
* Increased amount of damage inflatable boat can take
* Server browser list updated for easy navigation. Many filters and a favourite server section added


Multiplayer Gameplay changes

? Added MP5 and Shocker to Assault game mode
? Added occlusive damage to vehicle explosions (player cannot die due to an explosion while behind a solid object any more)
? Fall damage reduced
? General weapons balancing
? Health and armor adjusted amongst the classes to give the Grunt the most, Engineer medium and Sniper least.
? New OICW grenade launcher interface
? New RL fire mode
? Server and client optimizations for smoother gameplay
? Stamina increased 50%
? Sticky bombs replaced with "Beta" C4
? Wrench now has melee capability


Documentation

? Features Manual for FarCry(tm) Patch 1.4 (A detailed description about the newly added features)
? Server Command Table (Lists all the new commands available for FarCry(tm) multiplayer with explanations)
? Project Fixit (A detailed explanation of changes to the stock assault maps)


Special Thanks fly out to all test teams, especially [00] Die Doppelnullen, [22nd SAS], -=UBW=-, W]M[D and Sÿ /)


Patch 1.33 change log

? This patch supports 32 bit only.
? This patch will update versions 1.31 and 1.32 to FarCryTM 1.33.
? FarCry(tm) patch 1.33 contains all the fixes found in 1.32.
? Fixed issue with extended characters in player names causing server crashes.
? Included version checking so that only 1.33 clients can connect to 1.33 servers.
? Resolved some online cheating issues.


Patch 1.32 change log

? Fixed a Shader Model 3.0 issue that caused graphics corruption on new ATI hardware.
? Set the game to detect nVidia hardware to avoid shaders being compiled at run time.
? Recompiled the 32bit version with a different version of STL to address some server slowdowns.


Patch 1.31 change log

? Fixed an exploit where going prone while carrying scoped weapons disabled weapon sway.


Patch 1.3 known issues

? Save games created with the recalled patch (1.2) are not compatible with patch 1.3.
? Users with ATI Catalyst 4.9 drivers may experience some graphical anomalies when lighting quality is set to high. If this occurs either set Lighting Quality to Medium or Texture Quality to Low. Alternatively use ATI Catalyst 4.3 drivers.
? Connecting to LAN games via the \connect console variable does not always work. Users should connect to LAN games using the LAN menu only.
? Windows 2000/XP only: Make sure your keyboard is in lower case mode before starting the game.
? Beware of machete attacks when underwater. You will not see an animation but the attack will still do damage.
? On the map mp_monkey_bay_n there is a solitary P90 pickup without extra ammo boxes nearby. More P90 ammo is located next to the garage on the other side of the map.
? Do not attempt to reconnect to a server that you have just created. Creating a server and then attempting to reconnect to it will only display the message "connecting to 127.0.0.1..." This is the IP address of your local host server.
? ?f player numbers are low, do not attempt to switch teams during PREWAR countdowns after a match has been won
? Non NV40 nVdia graphics cards display a water reflection bug when water details are set to 'Ultra High.' Lowering this setting in game will fix the problem
? It is not possible to ban players from LAN servers. Banning is only available to Internet servers.

Patch 1.3 change log

? Fixed a crash with the ForkLift when loading some levels.
? Fixed a bug that prevented levels from loading after saving in a previous level.
? Returned surround 5.1 sound option to the menu.
? Fixed a mounted weapon traverse problem.
? Fixed problems related to shaders1.pak and scripts1.pak not being removed on installation of the patch.
? Fixed a delay relating to tagging enemies in binocular mode.
? Normal Map Compression. Requirements: NVidia: Geforce FX Family or better, ATI: x800 card or better. This feature is disabled by default. To enable it, type r_TexNormalMapCompressed 1 in the console after loading a level. Enabling this feature during the game may take some time - the PC may appear to freeze. This variable will not be saved when restarting the game. Enabling normal map compression will have prolonged execution the first time running through a level due to initial compression phase occurring in real time through the level. Subsequent reloads of the same level will yield better performance and therefore we recommend that you run any benchmark twice and to take the second of the two runs for benchmarking purposes since this most closely represents the usual user experience.
? SM 3.0 and SM 2.0x are now enabled by default when graphics settings are set to 'Very High.' To see performance increases you must have Direct X 9.0c installed.
? Improved tangent-space calculation to improve bumpmap quality.
? Anisotropic filtering disabled for some textures (light-maps, several lookup textures, fall-off maps) for increased performance.
? When attempting to connect to PunkBuster regulated servers, make sure you are not running with -DEVMODE enabled. Run the Farcry.exe itself (not a shortcut) if you are unsure.
? If you are kicked from a PunkBuster enabled server with the reason "No packet flow," make sure the Windows XP internal firewall is disabled.
? Improved syncronization in multiplayer.
? Fixed bug in leaning with different player classes.
? Fixed an invisible wall exploit in mp_freighter.
? Please ensure you have your graphics card's latest drivers installed.

Patch 1.2 change log

Current changes:

? Made the run speed about 15% faster
? Made sprint last 30% longer
? Adjusted damage to vehicles

(Vehicles now survive longer in multiplayer and behave consistently between weapon damage types) Bullet damage can be disabled by "g_vehicleBulletDamage" cvar: 0 = no bullet damage (default), 1 = bullet damage; this works only in MP.
MP vehicles take the same damage from every kind of bullet (no distinction between sniper rifle and the deagle). This value is set by 'dmgBulletMP' variable inside 'DamageParams' table of the vehicle.

-buggy, humvee and gunboat can be destroyed with one rocket.
-bigtruck can be destroyed with three rockets.

-buggy and gunboat can be destroyed with 100 bullets (if g_vehicleBulletDamage = 1)
-humvee can be destroyed with 150 bullets (if g_vehicleBulletDamage = 1)
-bigtruck can be destroyed with 500 bullets (if g_vehicleBulletDamage = 1)

-vehicle damage code cleaned and made more consistent.


? If punkbuster is not installed, the "punkbuster enable" togglebox will not be disabled
? Fixed a number of serious issues with headshot detection
? Ported a number of sensitive routines into non SDK sources
? Fixed some issues with ladder animations appearing odd to other players
? Added quicksave support for single player (still in process)
? Fixed a bug where the player's name tag didn't show up
? Fixed a bug where console would accept letters as variable states
? Fixed a number of ladder related issues
? Fixed an error with a warning message in connection dialogue
? Fixed a significant number of bugs relating to quicksave (~100 bugs)
? Fixed a connection dialogue error
? Fixed an incorrectly localized HUD message
? Fixed a bug with server shutdown dialogue error
? Addressed a number of issues with the server list UI
? Fixed a bug causing the cancel button to stop working
? Server created sessions are now saved
? Fixed a bug causing game freezes when player joins and player rotates
? Fixed a rendering issue with Radeon 9600 graphics cards
? Fixed Punkbuster crash when switching from punkbuster online server to hosting LAN server
? Fixed an issue with the punkbuster icon not showing up in the server listing
? Fixed random crashes related to punkbuster server listing info
? Fixed an issue with punkbuster refusing connection to a server that is destroyed and then re-hosted
? Fixed a number of crash problems related to punkbuster server creation with non-dedicated servers
? Fixed an issue with punkbuster enabled in multiple server profiles
? Disabled e_vegetation_min_size in multiplayer (used as cheat)
? Added optimizations for character effects including invulnerability shader
? Added optimizations for scoreboard performance. Scoreboard no longer updates fields that have not changed
? Fixed an issue where radar would not be drawn correctly with certain game type changes
? Fixed a framerate issue when player touched assault ammo pickups
? Fixed an issue with password protected servers not removing the password after restart
? Fixed an issue with spectators not being able to hear ambient sounds
? Fixed the message printout for multiplayer statistics (was only working with log_verbosity 1, now it works with 0 (default) as well)
? Fixed listplayer on the client (was only working on the server)
? Changed the multiplayer scoreboard system for less bandwidth and easier extendibility
? Fixed a bug in scoreboard that reported ping incorrectly by a factor of 2. Pings now appear correctly (half the old values). Note: ping is still the same; the output value was inaccurate
? Fixed check in server/client version check (now you cannot connect to servers with old network code)
? Fixed a bug in submitted Punkbuster ID causing random CD Key hash to be generated. Global ID unique to CD keys is now parsed correctly
? Added MultiplayerUtils:OnChatMessage, a script function which is called on the server for every chat message (to enable saving out chats)
? Made several changes to improve network packet scheduling
? Separated multiplayer and single player weapon code for better functionality with mod developers, and with support for changes to MP balance, without affecting single player.
? Made a number of changes to multiplayer weapon parameters, outlined below:

All weapons - Increase accuracy while standing still by 25%
Made the medic packs give 50% more health for the engineer class
Reduced rocket launcher clip to 1, no change to lethality
Increased MP5 damage by 30% with full auto, 50% increase with semi-automatic
Adjusted AG36 damage to head and torso
Reduced AG36 grenade radius
Increased OICW accuracy by 30% when zoomed
Reduced OICW grenade clip to 3 with max carry of 3 in the gun and 3 in reserve
Increased Pancor damage slightly
Reduced P90 damage by 10% and reduced max range by 25%
Increased lethality of mounted weapons

? Improved detection code for player name tags, fixed issue causing name tags not to appear if cross-hair was on arms and legs
? Fixed collision detection on the dedicated server with different arm positions because of different weapons. Hit detection is now more accurate
? The record console variable was marked as protected because it opened up some cheat possibilities
? Fixed a bug that sometimes caused players hit by a buggy not to credit the driver with a kill
? Fixed a number of issues with discrepancies between player cameras in 1st and 3rd person
? Fixed a crash relating to Rcon commands with a dedicated server
? Fixed a bug with FarCry(tm) MOD version number being incorrectly displayed as 1.0
? Reworked a number of installer issues
? Fixed a number of bugs relating to Linux dedicated server porting
? Fixed a bug causing mercenary reinforcements to behave incorrectly

With regard to a problem with punkbuster updates during LAN play:

Note: If you experience connection issues during LAN play or your connection is refused by punkbuster, you can disable the connection checking with the following command (as the server);

pb_security 0

This may be caused if punkbuster is trying to update itself with an incorrectly configured firewall or unavailable internet connection.

Troubleshooting


Sound Cards


Q) I have sound issues...what should I do?
A) First of all make sure you have the latest drivers for your sound card.

The most satisfactory sound can be obtained by setting the main output volume fairly high in the Windows Volume Control and reducing the Wave Out/DirectSound/Wave output volume to avoid saturation.

Creative SoundBlaster Live and Audigy, nForce2 and onboard AC97 users:
If some audio clicks or saturation problems appear, try to reduce the hardware acceleration of your soundcard (advanced properties).
Set the quality of the sampling rate conversion to "optimal."

Try to disable EAX in the sound options game menu.

If audio clicks appear during the game, go in your configuration panel/sounds and multimedia/audio/advanced/performances and set the hardware acceleration to the second position (2 out of 4). Set the quality of the sampling rate conversion to "optimal."

Select the "Compatibility mode" in the sound options menu to help solve these driver issues.

Click Start, then Run. Type: dxdiag and then click "sound." Move the hardware slider down one notch to Standard Acceleration, then close DXDiag and try FC again. If this doesn't work, continue to lower the hardware acceleration until you can find a suitable setting.

If you continue to experience sound problems, please ensure you have the most recently updated and DirectX / DirectSound compatible sound card drivers from the sound card manufacturer.

To verify that you have the latest DirectSound drivers available for your sound card, contact the sound card manufacturer.
If necessary, obtain and install the latest DirectSound drivers for your sound card. This is usually done by visiting the manufacturer's website, or contacting their technical support for help updating drivers. For more information on obtaining drivers, please search the Ubi Soft Solution Center at http://www.ubisoft.com/support for "update drivers."

Once these drivers have been downloaded and installed, reinstall the version of DirectX that is installed on your system.

Some short sound losses can occur with the sound cards based on the NForce2 sound chipset.

When sound volume is set to zero, sounds are not played anymore. This may help game performance on slower computers.


Graphic Troubleshooting

We strongly recommend installing the latest versions of the drivers for your video cards.

When installing new graphics card drivers, use the Windows Uninstall program to remove any previous drivers.

FarCry(tm) officially requires 800x600 resolution or higher.

Q) The game crashes on startup or after I have reinstalled Directx, what can I do?
A) The 3D acceleration option is not available or not supported by your video adapter. The machine thinks that Direct3D functionality is not available; the Microsoft knowledge base article 191660 explains how to solve this issue (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=191660)

Please check that your computer meets the minimum requirements for the game.
If your computer meets all the minimum requirements the problem is with your drivers.

Please make sure that you have the latest drivers available for your graphics card and soundcard.


Q) What DirectX version and graphics drivers should I have installed?
A) The following drivers are required:
? DirectX 9.0b, Retail version, must be installed
? NVIDIA based cards must have the latest NVIDIA drivers (www.nvidia.com)
? ATI based cards must have the latest Catalyst drivers (www.ati.com)

For more information on obtaining drivers, please search the Ubi Soft Solution Center at http://www.ubisoft.com/support for "update drivers."


Q) My machine is overclocked and I have issues playing the game or the game doesn't start at all.
A) Overclocking the machine could cause a number of issues, not only for FarCry(tm) but for other games and applications as well.

Ubisoft/Crytek are not responsible for machine crashes or slowdown caused by overclocking.
Contact the HW manufacturer of your machine for support.


Q) Looks like FC is running with 16 bits colours...what should I do?
A) Make sure to set your desktop to 32 bits colours.


Q) When I enable AA or FAA, the game runs significantly slower...is this normal?
A) Yes it is normal. FAA uses a great deal of graphics power.


Other known issues:

-Some users with onboard sound may experience white noise "hiss" creeping in after playing for a while. [4330]

-The enable fog table emulation box must be checked in the NVIDIA control panel on some NVIDIA chipsets. If this option is unchecked, the quality of the fog in game may be negatively affected. [4809]

-Some nForce onboard sound cards can cause gun and environment sound to be lost. [2965]

-Some ladders do not behave correctly. The player may be able to move to the left or right of the ladder which may look odd in some cases when viewed in third person. [4733]

-Some combinations of terrain textures may cause graphical glitches when viewed from a distance due to the texture LOD. [4169]

-In some cases, users with Geforce 3 cards using low graphic settings may experience odd colorization of environments and characters. [7091]

-r_waterrefraction does not work on the geforce 5900 fx card when Dualscreen is on. When users want to use HIGH spec and have dualview enabled they should type r_waterrefraction 0 into the console.

-There are issuses with dual monitor support (refractive shader).

-nVidia Quadro graphics cards are optimised for professional OpenGL applications. In our DX9 game environment Quadro cards may not be detected properly. Please set up manually.

-Alt-Tab mode is not 100% supported in FarCry(tm). There may be some instabilities caused when using it. When shooting at an enemy in Win ME, alt-tabbing can cause flickering and graphical glitches. With WinXP this may cause stalls or even a crash when looking at the body.

-For NVIDIA Users of GeForce Cards up to GeForce 4 whose framerate feed is choppy or slow, edit the file system.cfg and change the line r_Driver = "Direct3D9" to r_Driver = "OpenGL" to try the unsupported OpenGL Version. This may run faster in specific cases.

-On GeForce 3 cards ONLY, setting the AntiAliasing settings to anything other than 'none' may crash the game; we recommend that you keep the settings to none. [8769]

-In Windows98 and Windows ME, the game may be automatically minimised after it is installed and started the first few times. If this occurs simply maximise it again.

-If you load the game and let it run in the menu for a long period of time, it may lock up.

-Sometimes a checkpoint can get corrupted and crash the game. To work around this, reload an earlier checkpoint to continue playing

-On Windows ME, after installation, the Install button is still active.

-On Windows 98 and Windows ME, visual bugs might appear on some systems if the graphics quality is set to "High" or above. Please contact your driver manufacturer to obtain updated versions of graphics drivers to support FarCry(tm) in these higher settings.

-Due to code optimization to fix existing and implement new graphical features, the following object will look very polygonal with this patch:

Objects\Natural\coastal_objects\cst_square_rock_ar c_A.cgf

Unfortunately this issue can't be addressed with this patch.

-If you create a profile with no name, it will never save any checkpoints. We recommend you do not create a profile with no name.

-Some unexpected behavior may occur when switching profiles during game play. We recommend you quit before selecting a new profile.

-Initial tests did not show any problems with FarCry(tm) and Microsoft's Windows XP service pack 2. However there might be some unknown issues left. If you encounter any problems after installing service pack 2 please contact the Microsoft customer center.



Supported Cards

Video graphic cards based on the following chipset:

- ATI: drivers on http://mirror.ati.com/support/drivers/powered.html

- NVIDIA: drivers on http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=drivers

General Instructions

- We recommend closing all applications when playing the game.
- We recommend not installing the application in the Windows folder or in the root of the C: drive.
- Microsoft(r) DirectX(r) 9 included in the CD-ROM.

DirectX Latest Runtime: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/directx/downloads
http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=drivers

Miscellaneous

Q) Win ME users only: On my machine sometimes the game seems unstable.
A) After many hours of playing under Win ME on some specific machines, the video memory could get corrupted up to various degrees. Restarting the game should solve the problem. Also disabling EAX under Win ME in the sound options menu could help stability.


Q) I have occasional or constant slowdown if I run FC while "X" is running in the background (replace "X" with the name of any application).
A) Close all other running applications before playing the game, because they consume CPU power, memory and other machine resources; in particular, antivirus and video editing applications running in the background will have a serious negative impact over FC performance.

Please read the Microsoft Knowledge Article 331796:
Games: How to perform a clean boot to prevent background programs from
interfering with play.
(http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=331796)


Q) I have issues with the cybercom multimedia keyboard CC40529, wireless
with optical mouse. What should I do?
A) This happens if you have installed the cybercom memory resident software
which allows you to use the extra keys. Disable it before starting FC.


Q) Is my cross-hair "lagging?"
A) The weapons on the screen feature a "lazy" or "lagging" effect when the player turns his head around quickly, but not the cross-hair. This could be perceived as a delay by some users. Type "cl_lazyweapon 0" in the console to disable this effect. Check mouse sensitivity as well.

Disable the "mouse smoothing" option in the game menu options.

Try setting VSYNC on or off. Having vsync off or on can cause this "mouse lag" and sometimes keyboard lag.


Q) Can I dig holes in the terrain by using grenades, rocket launcher etc.?
A) Yes, however please notice that holes are not created if the explosion is too close to trees or other big objects. This keeps them from "floating." Also, the deformable terrain is disabled in multiplayer.


Q) While playing FC on Windows XP, the game sometimes minimizes and I get a box that pops up asking if I would like to enable Sticky Keys. What is causing this?
A) This is a feature built into Windows XP that is triggered by pressing the Shift key five times quickly.

If you continue to have trouble with this, you may want to reassign the action to another key in the options menu or disable the sticky key feature in Windows.

To do this:

1. From the Windows XP desktop, press the Shift button five times in a row to bring up the sticky keys option box.
2. Click Settings, and, under the sticky keys heading, click on Settings.
3. Uncheck the 'use shortcut' box to turn off this feature. Click Apply and OK to save the setting.


Q) My monitor goes into power saving mode when I start the game. What can I do?
A) Please make sure that you have the latest drivers installed for your monitor. Visit the website of your monitor's manufacturer to get the latest driver update.


Other:

DVD Drive LG GDR-8161B: Needs the latest drivers or the game is incompatible with this DVD drive.
Win 98/ME does not support F12 screenshot capture
Win 98/ME does not support Alt-Tab window switching
Win 98/ME does not support switching between window and full screen mode
Cut scenes can be skipped by pressing F7
There is no 'mutual check' for key bindings - key configuration must be done carefully

Binoculars and Motion tracker:

Players can enable and disable the motion tracking feature of the binoculars with the following console commands:

cl_motiontracker 0 - disables motion tracker
cl_motiontracker 1 - enables motion tracker

When using binoculars and the motion tracker is enabled, an icon appears at the lower right corner of the screen.


Multiplayer


Multiplayer known issues

-Clients will not be able to see a LAN session if they are not on the same hub/switch as the hosted server. [2122]
-There is no 3rd person multiplayer animation for holding binoculars. [1581]
-Multiplayer blood decals on dead bodies do not move with the corpse when it is moved by a player. They may appear to float in the air. [5507]
-Occasionally with ATI cards and FarCry(tm) config set to low lighting quality, users may experience lowered FPS in multiplayer when there are 8+ people in a game, and when smoke grenades are active. [6744]


Gameplay notes

Deathmatch

Players compete for the highest number of kills in this game type. Players spawn randomly around the level equipped initially with a pistol and a knife to defend themselves against other players. Other, more powerful weapons are available scattered around the map and can be collected along with ammunition, health and other items including binoculars, flash grenades and smoke grenades. These items respawn after 15 seconds, or longer depending on the value of the item - for example, armour respawns in 60 seconds. The winner is the player with the highest score at the end of a round found on the scoreboard (default key - TAB).

The following information is contained in the scoreboard:

Name - The name of the player. Your name is highlighted in yellow. Spectators are listed below the scoreboard.
Kills - The number of people you have killed.
Deaths - The number of times you have died.
Efficiency - A calculation based on the kills/deaths ratio to demonstrate the player's efficiency.
Ping - The ping time to the server.

Team Deathmatch

Teams compete for the highest number of kills in this game type. Gameplay is similar to that of Deathmatch, however the players are split into teams that fight together to win the game. These teams are the blue team, and the red team. Each team is represented by an icon in the top right of the screen. The team with the most kills wins.

The following information is contained in the scoreboard:

Name - The name of the player. Your name is highlighted in yellow. Spectators are listed below the scoreboard.
Kills - The number of people you have killed.
Deaths - The number of times you have died.
Efficiency - A calculation based on the kills/deaths ratio to demonstrate the player's efficiency.
Ping - The ping time to the server.
Score - The number of times the team has won a game.

Assault

Two teams, attackers and defenders, compete to control three strategic points in a level. The attackers must touch a capture point to begin a countdown to take the point. The defenders can stop the capture at any time simply by retouching the capture point and so cancelling the countdown. When a point has been captured, the spawn points will shift to the next section and allow players to spawn nearer to the next point. When all the points have been captured, the attackers win. If the points have not been captured before the timer runs out, the defending team wins the game.

Defenders have the ability to construct defensive structures to protect the capture point. Here are the types of structure, and their statistics:

Structure
Build points
Hit points
Repair points
Wall
1000
2000
2000
Gate
1000
2000
2000
Barricade
1000
1500
1000
Mounted weapon
2500
2000
2000
Small bunker
3000
2000
2000
Large bunker
3200
2000
2000
Large bunker with MG
3500
2000
2000
Tower with machine gun
5500
3000
4500


The following information is contained in the scoreboard:

Name - The name of the player. Your name is highlighted in yellow. Spectators are listed below the scoreboard.
Class - An icon displaying the class of the player. Three cogs represent the support class, a scope represents the Sniper, and the bullets represent the Grunt.
Kills - The number of people you have killed.
Support - A number based on the amount of support contribution you have accomplished for your team.
Score - Your overall score in the game.
Ping - The ping time to the server.

The score points are as follows:

Starting a capture - 5 points
Averting a capture - 5 points
Capturing a point - 25 points
Building a structure - 5 points
Destroying a structure (that was built by the enemy) - 5 points
Healing a teammate - 2 points
Killing an enemy - 5 points

All multiplayer levels have the capacity for vehicles. Vehicles typically reset when destroyed or abandoned. The abandoned reset time is 60 seconds, while the destroyed reset time is 30 seconds.

FarCry(tm) multiplayer may have a degraded gameplay experience when more than 16 players are connected to a server. Although the game supports up to 32 players, we strongly advise limiting servers to no more than 16.



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Technical Support


Before contacting UBISOFT's Technical Support Department, please browse through our FAQ listings or search our support database at our website, http://support.ubi.com. Here you will find the most recently updated information since the game's release.

Also please make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements, as our support representatives will be unable to assist customers whose computers do not meet these criteria.

Whenever you contact the Technical Support Department, please include the following information or have it available if you are calling:

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Contact Us Over the Internet

This is the best way to contact us. Our website is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week and it contains the most up to date Technical Support information available, including patches that can be downloaded free of charge. We update the Support pages on a daily basis so please check here first for solutions to your problems:

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Don't forget - visit www.CryMod.com for the latest info on creating and distributing mods for FarCry(tm)

Crytek will support version 4 and 5 of 3DStudio Max, as well as Maya 4 and future Maya versions. Max 6 is not currently supported by Crytek. The preferred and officially supported package for content creation within the CryEngine modding system is Maya.

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All trademarks belong to their respective owners.

Some Far Cry 4 and Assassin’s Creed Unity Uplay registration keys are being deactivated by Ubisoft. Why? Because according to the publisher the keys were fraudulent.

Eurogamer has a fairly detailed account of the situation, where users complained about their games on Uplay no longer working. According to a Ubisoft representative…

“We regularly deactivate keys that were fraudulently obtained and resold. In this case, we are currently investigating the origin of the fraud, and will update customers as soon as we have more information to share. In the meantime, customers should contact the vendor from whom they purchased the key.”

So who are the vendors most responsible for the allegations of selling fraudulent keys? Well, a lot of people have pointed to G2A.com as the source of their troubles, which is a code supplier and mediator for resellers.

If you head to the official G2a.co website, they explain their business operation as such…

“G2A.COM is mainly an innovative platform that offers comfortable and swift access to wide range of products such as software activation licenses for Steam, Origin, Xbox Live cards, PSN codes and time-cards for online games in unique prices. The company is focused on digital distribution. G2A.COM is also a game supplier.”

“Our mission is to provide the best digital game licenses and retail service to all our Partners and Customers.”

Given that G2A is a marketplace vendor rather than a direct distributor like Steam, Origin or Uplay, it means that users are getting codes from people who may have obtained said codes in a fraudulent manner. Users can buy products on G2A in the same way that they can sell productions on G2A.

As you can see in the image below, a lot of the games are available for prices that vastly undercut their suggested retail and digital market value.

The prices may be extremely tempting, but as one user, named JacobVandy, pointed out in the comment section of Blues…

“Buyer beware. This is why I don’t shop at G2A or any number of other dirt cheap key sellers. Use some common sense and ask yourself, how is it they’re able to sell so cheaply? Why doesn’t everybody do that? Because there’s a catch…

“Holy shit, I didn’t even know this until just now (I’ve literally never even been to G2A before), but they’re not even a store! G2A is a marketplace that hosts transactions between buyers and sellers. Like eBay for back-alley video game deals! Random dudes from god knows where are selling you that key or promising a Steam GIFT! Lmao…

”Ubisoft is not responsible for this. You reap what you sow, sorry.”

I reached out to G2A.com to find out if vetting seller keys would become part of the process after reports of keys being banned surfaced from angry consumers, and G2A support representative Aneta stated that…

“Indeed, we have had reports of Uplay banning the codes that haven’t been purchased directly from them. Our customers don’t need to worry, though. We are [verifying] each case carefully and that kind of problems are being solved with the highest priority.”

As someone pointed out in one of the comment threads: if you unknowingly buy a stolen car and the police come and take it away, it’s not the manufacturer’s fault you ended up with a stolen car.

While prices from places like G2A may seem worthwhile, you still have to exercise caution given that some of those keys may have been acquired via nefarious means.

As Jacob said… buyer beware.

Warez groups are teams of individuals who have participated in the organized unauthorized publication of films, music, or other media, as well as those who can reverse engineer and crack the digital rights management (DRM) measures applied to commercial software. This is a list of groups, both web-based and warez scene groups, which have attained notoriety outside of their respective communities. A plurality of warez groups operate within the so-called warez scene, though as of 2019 a large amount of software and game warez is now distributed first via the web. Leaks of releases from warez groups operating within the "scene" still constitute a large amount of warez shared globally. Between 2003 and 2009 there were 3,164 active groups within the warez scene, with the majority of these groups being active for no more than two months and with only a small fraction being active for many years.^[1] The warez scene is a very competitive and volatile environment, largely a symptom of participation in its community being illegal in most countries. Groups are generally not driven by profit, but by reputation.^[2]

Groups[edit]

3DM[edit]

3DM is a Chinese video game cracking group. Their founder and leader is reported to be a woman using the pseudonym "不死鸟" (pinyin: bù sǐ niǎo; meaning in English: Phoenix) but the identity or gender has never been confirmed. Unusual for piracy groups, 3DM's members have public profiles on the social network Sina Weibo, and use a blog to inform the public about their activities. Some members of 3DM have previously been part of NETSHOW (now known as ALI213), a group which released Chinese language copies of games using stolen cracks directly to warez scene FTP sites.

3DM were one of the first peer to peer file sharing groups to offer cracks for games which utilized DRM produced by Denuvo. As newer versions of Denuvo DRM became more challenging to reverse engineer, 3DM gave up trying to crack games with Denuvo DRM.

In 2016 the group claimed that piracy of games produced by large developers and publishers would be impossible in the coming years, due to the technological challenges of reverse engineering and ultimately cracking the virtualization and licensing schemes employed by new DRM solutions like Denuvo. One of the most notable groups on the web at the time, they publicly announced a year hiatus from developing cracks for games. Since returning in 2017, 3DM have only released games which use Steam licensing, only releasing copies of better protected games which include cracks made by other groups. This practice has been criticized by the groups whose cracks were included in releases under the 3DM name.^[3]

Automation[edit]

Automation was one of the largest cracking crew associations on the Atari ST. Several cracking groups were gathered under this label, most notably LSD, Was Not Was, The Lost Boys and Bad Brew Crew. They famously released their compact discs with each disk typically containing several games. Automation split up in the early 1990s after the release of Compact Disk 512. Several members founded a new cracking group called D-Bug.

Centropy[edit]

Centropy, founded in January 1999, was a warez group which specialized in releasing copies of films, many of which were still in theatres. Touting many "0-day" releases and releases prior to commercial availability, Centropy released and pre-released numerous films.

CLASS[edit]

CLASS (also known as CLS) was a warez group which was the target of federal raids such as Operation Fastlink. They were a global group with members worldwide, often releasing game "rips". The group ceased operations in 2004 after their 1,234th release.^[4]

CODEX[edit]

CODEX (also known as CDX) – is a warez group founded at the end of February 2014. They are known for releasing copies of games which use Steam licensing and also for emulating Ubisoft'sUplayDRM protection. They were accused^[5] by the warez group SKIDROW of stealing their code to crack Trials Fusion, something CODEX denied,^[6] stating that they had written their own code for the DRM emulation. From 2016 to 2020 they have been one of the most active warez groups releasing commercial computer games with over 3700 releases in less than 6 years, compared to older groups like SKIDROW having fewer than 2500 over more than a decade of activity.^[7][8]

In late 2017 CODEX gained notoriety by becoming the third scene group (and fifth overall entity) to crack Denuvo DRM when they released a cracked version of Middle-earth: Shadow of War on its release date.^[9][10] CODEX collaborated with STEAMPUNKS on at least one game which used Denuvo DRM, South Park: The Fractured But Whole, which they released under the name "CODEPUNKS".^[11] In February 2018 CODEX began releasing cracked copies of games from the Microsoft Windows Store.^[12] In mid-2018 CODEX began releasing cracked copies of games featuring the latest versions of Denuvo DRM, including updated versions of Assassin's Creed Origins and Far Cry 5, both of which used Uplay licensing DRM and contained additional anti-modification and anti-debugging code through the use of VMProtect. On February 1, 2019, CODEX published a cracked copy of Resident Evil 2, which used Denuvo DRM, 7 days after the worldwide commercial release of the game.^{[13][14][15][16]} In late June 2019, CODEX released two cracked copies of games which utilized Denuvo DRM, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and a cracked updated version of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. These cracks were previously released by an independent cracker on the web, attributed to the group "EMPRESS". Later, a cracker who self-identified as C0000005 began releasing cracks under the name EMPRESS as well, suggesting that they are one in the same and that C0000005 had access to source code for CODEX's cracks. On June 27, 2019 CODEX released a crack for Star Wars Battlefront 2, about 527 days after its commercial release. On October 29, 2019 they published a cracked copy of Borderlands 3, another game distributed with Denuvo DRM, 46 days after release.

In late 2019, a crack developed by CODEX for Need for Speed: Heat, which uses Denuvo DRM, was leaked online, likely through their network of testers. Normally, the final cracks published by CODEX made use of anti-debugging tools like VMProtect or Themida, to impede reverse engineering efforts. This unfinished crack was not similarly protected. Subsequently, CODEX did not release any cracks for games using Denuvo DRM until June 2020, when they released cracked copies of Team Sonic Racing, Trials of Mana, The Quiet Man, and an updated version of Far Cry: New Dawn.

CONSPIR4CY[edit]

CONSPIR4CY (releasing mostly as CPY) is a warez group founded in 1999 in Italy. They rose in notoriety after releasing Rise of the Tomb Raider andInside in August 2016 under the name of CONSPIR4CY,^[17] though they resumed using the 'CPY' tag shortly thereafter with the release of their cracked copy of Doom in September 2016.^[18] They became the first group to create proper cracks for games protected by the third iteration of Denuvo DRM software.

They cracked Resident Evil 7: Biohazard only five days after its release, at the time the shortest amount of time taken to develop a crack for a Denuvo DRM-protected game.^[19] They also cracked Mass Effect: Andromeda,^[20] only ten days after its release. In July 2017 the warez group SKIDROW criticized the methods used by CONSPIR4CY to crack games using Denuvo DRM.^[21] In early 2018, CPY released cracked copies of Assassin's Creed Origins and Far Cry 5, which were compiled with the most recent version of Denuvo DRM, and had additional anti-modification and anti-debugging features through the use of VMProtect software and EasyAntiCheat. In November 2018 CPY released cracks for HITMAN 2, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, A Way Out, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Pro Evolution Soccer 2019, FIFA 19 - all of which featured the latest version of Denuvo DRM, with some using additional custom DRM or off the shelf DRM such as EACore and VMProtect. In December 2018, CPY published a cracked copy of Just Cause 4, which used the latest version of Denuvo DRM, on the day after its release. They also released a crack for Battlefield V on December 22, days after its official release. In January 2019, CPY released cracked copies of Ace Combat 7, Mutant Year Zero, and Strange Brigade, as well as the first episode of Life Is Strange 2 (titled "Roads") - all 4 titles using the latest versions of Denuvo DRM.

In February 2019, CPY released Metro Exodus, which used the latest version of Denuvo DRM available, within 5 days of its release, as well as the second episode of Life Is Strange 2, titled "Rules". In September 2019, CPY published a cracked copy of the game Octopath Traveler, 93 days after its release. In November 2019, CPY released a cracked copy of Heavy Rain which featured the latest version of Denuvo DRM.^[22]

DARKSiDERS (DARKZER0)[edit]

The information in this entry has been improved although citation is needed in order to verify said text.^{[citation needed]}

DARKSiDERS (also known as DS and DARKZER0) is a warez group releasing media formats under an application known as "0day" and ISOs under the tag of "-DARKZER0". The group have supposedly released since 2016 under DARKSiDERS (shortened as DS), although their first recorded release on Crackwatch was Iridescence on December 2018 under the name DARKZER0. ^[23] DS released numerous other formats of pirated content including CD and Vinyl rips of Shows and Anime, MP3 and FLAC rips of music and music videos, eBook rips under the tag-dbOOk and various other Pornographic content under the tag -JAVSiDERS.

Notoriety of DARKZER0 among anime and otaku culture has been quite positive among the releases of DARKZER0. They have cracked numerous adult games as well as adult novels, anime and other Japanese pornographic content. Additionally, DS has released rips of shows and content from Asia. DARKZER0 has been criticized by other crack groups, namely, SKIDROW, HOODLUM and CODEX (also known as PLAZA) for not adhering to cracking tradition and using more modern techniques and programs the likes of InnoSetup.

DEViANCE[edit]

One of the most prolific warez groups active from 1998 to 2006. Their dissolution has been described as the end of an era, and the current affiliation of ex-DEViANCE members is a reoccurring argument between groups.^[24][25][26] Describing members of a modern warez group as ex-DEViANCE became something of a joke within the warez scene.

DrinkOrDie[edit]

DrinkOrDie (also known as DoD) members were targeted by law enforcement in raids stemming from Operation Buccaneer.

Echelon[edit]

Echelon was a warez group which specialized in the release and distribution of console games, such as DreamcastISOs.

EViLiSO[edit]

Released American Pie on the Internet 3 months before its theatrical release.^[27][28] They branded their releases with a digital watermark of the letter "Z" which appeared in the corner of the frame.^[29] The bootleggers were associated with a web site in Argentina devoted to Quake.^[30]

FAiRLiGHT[edit]

FAiRLiGHT (releasing cracked games as FLT) is one of the oldest groups in warez scene, founded in 1987. As of 2017 the group seemingly focuses on demos and art,^[31] with their most recent release of cracked software in December 2016. FAiRLiGHT members were apprehended in raids stemming from the law enforcement Operation Fastlink.

Hoodlum[edit]

Hoodlum (also known as HLM) mainly focused on cracking games which utilized digital rights management solutions offered by Safedisc and Securom. They were targeted as part of the Operation Site Down raids in 2005.^[32][33] In July 2018, some group using the HOODLUM name resumed releasing unauthorized copies of games.^[34]

The Dream Team[edit]

The Dream Team (also known as "TDT") were the first warez group on the IBM PC to introduce intros or "crack'tros" to their game releases. It was one of the first IBM PC groups founded 1988 in Sweden and run by Hard Core or also known as HC/TDT.

The Humble Guys[edit]

The Humble Guys (also known as THG) were the first warez group to make use of NFO files to document their releases.

HATRED[edit]

Founded in late 2006, HATRED was very active during 2006 to 2007. ViTALiTY has claimed that HATRED were former members of DEViANCE.^[35] Some of their major releases included Rainbow Six: Vegas and Resident Evil 4. Their last release was in August 2008.^[36]

HYBRID[edit]

HYBRID (also known as HBD) was founded in 1993.^[37] HYBRID later split up when the US-members founded DYNAMIX (later PRESTIGE and PARADIGM).^[38]

International Network of Crackers[edit]

International Network of Crackers (also known as INC) was one of the premier cracking/releasing warez groups for the IBM PC during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The majority of their releases during 1993 were educational games for children. By early 1994, INC had completely disappeared from the warez scene.

Kalisto[edit]

Kalisto is a console warez group established in March 1998 which specializes in the release and distribution of PlayStation and PlayStation 2ISO images, briefly moonlighting on the Dreamcast platform in mid-to-late 2000.

maVen[edit]

maVen were a film release group from October 2005 until the summer of 2006. Releases from maVen stopped when the FBI caught Gérémi Adam, one of its key members. The 27-year-old Montreal resident has been sentenced to two and a half months in prison and was also ordered to complete 100 hours of community service. He pleaded guilty to distributing two major motion pictures: Invincible and How to Eat Fried Worms^[39][40] After the bust, releases ceased and another group called maVenssupplieR immediately took up the slack.^[41] In April 2010, the 28-year-old Gérémi Adam died of a drug overdose at the Pointe-aux-Trembles home he shared with his girlfriend, Cynthia Laporte.^[42][43][44]

mVs (Maven Supplier) released a workprint of Halloween three days before its official release on August 27, 2007.^[45]

Myth[edit]

Myth was a warez group, focused on cracking and ripping PC games. Besides ripped games, the group also released trainers and cracked updates for games.

PARADOX[edit]

PARADOX (also known as PDX and sometimes PARADiSO) was founded in 1989, mainly cracking games for the Amiga. They went on to crack software for the Windows operating system and other consoles. They were one of the earliest groups to successfully crack Windows Vista, which was supposed to be a difficult task based on changes Microsoft had made to the activation scheme for the software.

PARADOX attracted attention from 2011 to 2012, as they published files for playing unauthorized copies of games on the Sony PlayStation 3.^[46] These copies required the use of a commercially-available USB dongle, which has been criticized as a form of commercial copyright infringement, and described as a "ReDRM" dongle because copies of game binaries were essentially decrypted using Sony's official keys, and then re-encrypted using the keys stored on the dongle, requiring the use of the dongle to bypass the DRM which had been added back to the games.^[47] It is unclear whether groups like PARADOX had any affiliation with the creators and distributors of so-called "ReDRM" dongles, including potentially having profited from the release of these dongles by drumming up demand by releasing copies of games which only worked when used with the dongle.

PARADOX is well known for developing a utility known as "Preee",^[48] which automates the creation of NFO files and the packaging of warez releases into multi-part RAR archives and subsequent creation of ZIP archives containing those RAR files depending on the warez scene rules being followed.

In July 2020, after 3 years of inactivity, someone published a cracked copy of Monster Hunter: World, a game utilizing Denuvo DRM, with its Iceborn DLC using the name and NFO template of the group PARADOX.^[49]

Phrozen Crew[edit]

"The Phrozen Crew: one of the larger and more prolific Crackz groups" – PC World Magazine 1999^[50]

Phrozen Crew (PC), founded in 1993 by tKC,^[51] was one of the most popular groups of computer softwarecrackers, utilizing the tagline "We always get what we want!" .^[52]

Pirates With Attitudes[edit]

The Pirates With Attitudes (also known as PWA) were a major international warez release group from 1992 until 2000. The group was formed by two former INC members known by the pseudonyms Orion and Bar Manager. PWA members were the subjects of law enforcement raids after the passing of the No Electronic Theft or "NET" Act.^{[53][non-primary source needed]}

Project X[edit]

Project X exclusively released games for the Xbox.^[54] In 2004, Project X was named as one of six groups targeted as part of Operation Fastlink by the United States Department of Justice.^{[55][non-primary source needed]}

PROPHET[edit]

PROPHET is a subgroup of or otherwise affiliated in some way with RELOADED, whose cracks they re-use in releasing multi-language versions of games. They also tend to release copies containing the latest game content such as DLCs. These are often stylized as MULTi. For example, MULTi7 meaning the release is a copy containing 7 languages - usually some combination of English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Polish, Czech, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, or some other European language.

Rabid Neurosis[edit]

Rabid Neurosis (RNS) was an MP3 warez release organization which was founded on June 6, 1996.^[56]

Radium[edit]

Several verses of the rap song Hackers and the Crackers by Zearle are devoted to the group Radium. In 2004, evidence was presented that some of the system sound files included with the Microsoft Windows XP operating system, such as , were authored using an unlicensed version of Sound Forge which was supplied by Radium.^[57]

Razor 1911[edit]

Razor 1911 (also known as RZR and RazorDOX) was founded in 1985 in Norway. Its primary bulletin board system was based in Norway. The group's main focus was to crack software for the Commodore 64 personal computer, but they also released Amiga and the IBM PC software. They were subjects of raids in Operation Buccaneer and Operation Fastlink.

The group made a comeback in June 2006,^[58] and since then has cracked modern copy protection schemes such as Rockstar Games Social Club,^[59] Ubisoft's persistent Internet connection requiring DRM,^[60] and Battle.NET.^[61] In March 2012, Razor1911 announced that their tester and coder DYCUS, who had an active role in making trainers and testing the group's releases, had died of cancer.^[62] Since then, the group has seldom released cracked games, focusing on DRM-free titles from GOG.com, as well as games for Linux and macOS.

RELOADED[edit]

RELOADED (also known as RLD!) was founded in June 2004.^[63] Their founders are believed to be ex-DEViANCE members, though their rival group HOODLUM claimed in December 2004 that none of DEViANCE's previous leaders had ever been part of RELOADED.^[64] The group has cracked several modern protection schemes like SecuROM 8, Blizzard's Battle.NET, and Arxan Anti-Tamper.

REVOLT[edit]

REVOLT gained popularity for creating solutions for cracked games to have working multiplayer features, and later for cracks of games using Denuvo DRM which were released by its founder. REVOLT was founded by a Bulgarian teenager, who used the online handle Voksi. In July 2018 the REVOLT website began redirecting to the website of the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior.^[65] The same month, Voksi, then in his twenties, reported having been raided by Bulgarian law enforcement in response to a complaint filed by Denuvo parent company Irdeto. In comments made to media organisation TorrentFreak, Voksi alleged that "five or six officers, including two from Bulgaria's General Directorate for Combatting Organized Crime (GDBOB) and others from a local police station" entered his home and seized personal computing equipment.^[66]

Risciso[edit]

Risciso (stylized as RISCISO) was an online warez group, founded in approximately 1993, dedicated to distributing newly released copyrighted software, games and movies.

SKIDROW[edit]

SKIDROW is a well-known cracking group originally formed in 1990, cracking games for the Amiga platform, and having used the motto "Twice the Fun - Double the Trouble!" since then. A piece of cracktro software released by SKIDROW in 1992 with the game 10 Pinball Fantasies contained a complete list of their membership at the time.^[67] The most recent incarnation of SKIDROW began releasing unauthorized copies of games in June 2007, when they announced their return to cracking software.^[68] They were the first scene group to crack the version of Ubisoft's Uplay DRM which required players to have a persistent Internet connection to Ubisoft's licensing servers, first in Assassin's Creed II^[69] and then in Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands.

The group has released cracks for Denuvo Anti-Tamper protected games, Yesterday Origins and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - A Criminal Past. It is believed the former had a bad implementation of Denuvo which made it easier to reverse engineer, mostly due to a lack of support from Denuvo for protecting games written in C# and specifically games using the Unity game engine, with this lack of support having been previously demonstrated by an anonymous independent cracker having developed a crack for Syberia 3, which also used Unity. The crack for the latter was actually determined to be a modified executable file from the game Deus Ex: Breach, a free game which did not incorporate Denuvo's software, released by the same developers and utilizing the same engine, which had been modified slightly to load the assets from Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. A plurality of SKIDROW's current releases are cracked versions of games that make use of Steam licensing.^[70]

In July 2017, in a statement released to commemorate their 10th consecutive year of releases since re-emerging in the PC game cracking scene, SKIDROW made cryptic remarks that the techniques used by CONSPIR4CY, STEAMPUNKS, and members of the Steam Underground warez forum to crack modern copy protections are not proper.^[21] These criticisms were themselves criticized on the web, as SKIDROW's apparent standards for a proper crack would seemingly disqualify both their most notable crack of Ubisoft's persistent online connection requiring DRM, which they emulated, and their most recent notable release of a Denuvo-protected game, which they cracked by modifying the executable from another game.

Steam Underground[edit]

While not precisely a group, the community centered around the Steam Underground web forum (also known as cs.rin.ru and its members have been a notable source of warez development, releases, tools, tutorials, discussions, and information pertinent to other groups since at least 2008. The forum has both Russian and English language boards, and is the home to a number of projects primarily focused on cracking, emulating, and otherwise extending the capabilities of Steam and games released on Steam. Games on other platforms may also be discussed on their own board.

The Steam Underground forums are auxiliary to the warez scene, however the formal and informal collaboration between its users arguably constitutes a warez group. Members of Steam Underground have individually and collectively cracked games featuring DRM schemes such as the version of Ubisoft's Uplay which required players to maintain a persistent Internet connection to their licensing servers, Steam Custom Executable Generation, Arxan Anti-Tamper, Denuvo Anti-Tamper, and more - both generic digital distribution licensing schemes as well as custom protection, such as the copy protection triggers implemented by game developer Croteam in The Talos Principle and their Serious Sam franchise. Tools and techniques released on the forums have been used to make multiplayer game modes accessible in cracked copies of games, usually enabling pirates to play with other pirates. The cracker known as Baldman released the vast majority of his cracks for Denuvo-protected games on Steam Underground. A Bulgarian hacker known as Voksi used the Steam Underground forums as a point of distribution for cracks of games with advanced virtual machines, such as Denuvo. In early 2018, Voksi, in collaboration with another Steam Underground user and with material support from a member of Chinese cracking group 3DM, began releasing cracks for previously uncracked games and updated builds of titles which utilized Denuvo DRM. Voksi alleged in July 2018, after his personal site began redirecting to a Bulgarian government site, that he was raided by Bulgarian law enforcement at the behest of Denuvo's parent company. This parent company claimed responsibility for the law enforcement inquiry into Voksi in a press release.

The forum and its members have often been referenced as some variation of "the Russian site/forum"^[21] or directly by name by warez scene groups in statements which mention the site.^[71] At least one prominent member of the forum has been in contact with warez scene release group members, as they published several non-public cracks for The Sims 4 which they attributed to tools or methods obtained from the cracking group RELOADED. This individual was then given access or knowledge related to EA's Origin licensing scheme and DRM, as they began to release their own cracks for updated versions of The Sims 4 based on the same cracking technique.

Notable users of the Scene Underground forum include various individuals who have cracked Denuvo DRM: Baldman, Voksi, DeltaT, FCKDRM (not to be confused with the anti-DRM activism campaign begun by GOG.com), and C0000005 (a former CODEX member, also known as EMPRESS). Other notable members are syahmixp (creator of SmartSteamEmu), UberPsyX (author of the kernel mode driver used by Voksi to crack Denuvo games), Steam006 (creator of LumaPlay, a generic Uplay DRM Emulator, and GreenLuma, a tool for accessing unlicensed games and content with a running copy of Steam) and Mr_Goldberg (creator of an emulator for Steamworks multiplayer to add LAN-based multiplayer functionality to games, as well as having developed cracks for games using Arxan and Rockstar Social Club DRM).

STEAMPUNKS[edit]

STEAMPUNKS released unauthorized copies of games which utilized Denuvo digital rights management solutions in 2017, with their first releases being copies of Dishonored 2, ADR1FT, Planet Coaster, and ABZU. Releases by STEAMPUNKS include a license generator which creates a valid hardware ID-based license file. These licenses appear to be identical to those generated by the web-based activation servers operated by Denuvo, and they do not trigger Denuvo's DRM copy protection. This method attracted some attention upon its debut, while license generators and "keymakers" were fairly common in commercial software piracy, they had fallen out of use in cracking games as most games moved to the license management capabilities provided by Steam and other digital distribution platforms. One negative reaction to STEAMPUNKS' license maker came from the warez group SKIDROW in a statement from the group released in July 2017.^[21] In late September 2017, STEAMPUNKS became the first warez group to release cracked copies of Denuvo DRM-protected games within 24 hours of their commercial availability, releasing both Total War: Warhammer II and FIFA 18 on the same day they were made available for consumers. STEAMPUNKS collaborated with CODEX to crack South Park: The Fractured But Whole upon its release, with the cracked release appearing under the portmanteau group name "CODEPUNKS". Following this and one other collaborative release, STEAMPUNKS became inactive, while CODEX continued to publish cracked versions of games. At least one of STEAMPUNKS' crackers was originally a member of X-FORCE (known for their Adobe software keygens), and at least one other member of STEAMPUNKS would become a member of CODEX after the group became inactive.

Superior Art Creations[edit]

Superior Art Creations (SAC) is an underground artscene group which caters primarily to, and is well known within, the warez scene.

SSM[edit]

Space Sound Music is a private music affiliated with some music collectors in psytrance/dark/hitech and some more alternative styles.

Tristar and Red Sector Incorporated[edit]

Tristar and Red Sector, Inc. (also known as TRSI) began as an alliance between two warez groups: Tristar and Red Sector Incorporated. They were formed in 1990 as a cooperative Commodore 64 demo coding and cracking group. TRSI migrated from the Commodore 64 release platform to the Amiga and IBM-PC, and eventually branched off into the console gaming scene before finally disbanding their warez division. In late 2003, TRSI became inactive and remains so today.^{[third-party source needed]}

United Software Association[edit]

The United Software Association (also known as USA) was a prominent IBM PC games and applications warez group during the 1990s. USA formed an alliance with the PC warez division of Fairlight which was known as "USA/FLT". In late January 1992, several members of USA were arrested by the United States Secret Service and the Farmington Hills, Michigan police for credit card fraud.

VACE[edit]

VACE was founded in September 2003, and focused on cracking and ripping PC games. Besides ripped games, the group also releases trainers.

ViTALiTY[edit]

ViTALiTY (also known as VTY) was founded in May 2005. It has been suggested they were former members of DEViANCE.^[25] The group was considered blacklisted by many in the warez scene in October 2007,^[72] something ViTALiTY claims was orchestrated by rival groups RELOADED^[73] and FAiRLiGHT,^[74] though the latter claim they were against it.^[75] ViTALiTY was accused of either reporting or threatening to report members of other groups to the FBI,^[72] though ViTALiTY claimed a senior member of RELOADED threatened to do the same to them.^[73] ViTALiTY's last release was an update to Dragon Age: Origins on 7 January 2011.^[76]

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References[edit]