Is it against Steam TOS to crack a bought game ?

kingdom9214

kingdom9214

Limp Gawd
Joined
Apr 3, 2011
Messages
270
We'll to be simple and short I bought Assassins Creed 1 a long time ago and just got the push to play it after seeing AC3. Only thing is I play most of my games while at school when in between classes where I don't really have internet.

For the last few weeks steam's offline mode has been giving me problems. It keeps telling me I have to sign in again before playing in offline mode. So this has happened alot in the last fews weeks. So I'm left wasting my few free hours a week to play not playing lol

I was wondering if it is illegal or against steam TOS to use a crack on a legit bought game.

I posted this pic for proof that I actually own the game and I'm not trying to pirate a game.

AC1Legit-1.jpg
 
You used the word "crack" and then actually asked if it would be illegal or against the TOS to use it? Really? More shocking than that, is your willingness to install 3rd party, unsigned code, from an unknown source on your computer.

All I can say is, if your going to do something stupid then, at least be smart about it.
 
I was under the impression that bypassing and cracking any programs copy protection was illegal. Like i care though, i crack all the games i own unless it keeps me from playing multiplayer.
 
Chrisroman that's why I asked the question in the first place. That usually happens when someone doesn't know the answer. A simple "yes it would be against the ToS" would have done the job, rather then leaving a Smart Alec remark practically calling me stupid. I come on here for help and support from a community not be insulted.
 
Yet another example of DRM actually breaking legitimate functionality for a paying customer.

I say, with offline mode borked, it is Steam that has broken the terms of your purchase.
 
I'm not sure about the question being answered yet. Are fixes .exe's really illegal? And how are sites like game copy world still existing?
 
Paramenides Gamecopyworld is still up and running, finding the AC1 exe isn't a problem. I just want to make sure I'm not going to get steam banned for using it.
 
kingdom9214 said:
Paramenides Gamecopyworld is still up and running, finding the AC1 exe isn't a problem. I just want to make sure I'm not going to get steam banned for using it.
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I know, I was just asking about legality and such. As for Steam, wouldn't it be in the EULA?
 
The word crack is against USA TOS and the FBI will come and buttrape you because we are at the mercy of IP.

"You cant say cracker, only we can say cracker. You can say Cracka" - Mike burbigaboo.
 
I have had to use "fixed" executables for a couple of steam games to be able to use mods and steam has never given me any trouble over it, in fact I believe in one case there was a stickied thread in the steam forums discussing it. If you're really worried about it you could probably just move the game directory somewhere else, sometimes registry edits are required to get a game working in another directory though.
 
It's rare that steam requires me to login even when chosing offline mode and it for some reason it does, I plug in the cell phone and let it authenticate and then disconnect.
 
I would recommend against cracking any games active on Steam that you bought. Steam does check for such things and has been known to ban people for it.

Also thanks to the recent revisions of the DMCA , I'm pretty sure NO-CD type .exe's are no longer in the legal grey area but firmly in the red. However I'm just guessing that.
 
I don't suppose it's as easy as copy the game dir to a new locatien, remove it from steam, mod the copy, no longer runs via steam?
 
It is against the EULA. But, many people have resorted to using cracks for legally acquired games. I have. The 'insert CD to continue' crap from long ago to the offline issues you're experiencing keeps the crack industry working fine (different than pirate cracks).

I'd try and avoid it as much as possible, but when stretched to the limit, you gotta do what you gotta do. I've been there and used cracks on several games. I really appreciate when developers release a patch (FSX, AoE, etc.) that gave up the CD check in the old days. Now, with Steam (and others), there is just more difficulties. I'd wait and visit support and see what they can offer... Maybe there is a glitch in the offline mode or something right now.
 
It's against the HardForum rules to discuss cracking, and I'm surprised the mods have allowed it to go this far:

"(18) You will not discuss, suggest, engage, or encourage any ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES. Links provided to locations that deal with any such activity are also expressly forbidden."

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=760666

You would have done better to make a thread asking for solutions to the problem rather than an illegal workaround. You might have gotten directed to threads with possible solutions like this one.
 
@evilsofa

This seems like a thread with a legitimate questions. You've never actually seen a thread that Rule#18 is referencing to have you? :p
 
evilsofa said:
It's against the HardForum rules to discuss cracking, and I'm surprised the mods have allowed it to go this far:

"(18) You will not discuss, suggest, engage, or encourage any ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES. Links provided to locations that deal with any such activity are also expressly forbidden."

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=760666

You would have done better to make a thread asking for solutions to the problem rather than an illegal workaround. You might have gotten directed to threads with possible solutions like this one.
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Did you even READ the thread........He OWNs the game and showed PROOF. He should be able to do whatever he wants with HIS game........nothing illegal going on here.
 
Evilsofa is correct in that this thread is toeing the line of unacceptability. Since he is just trying to get a purchased game to work, though, I think we can let it ride so long as you guys are circumspect when discussing potentially illegal activities. If the discussion wanders too far into the red, though, it will get closed down.
 
Did you try to disable your laptop's networking and see if you can restart Steam in offline mode? That's what I did few weeks back when my internet service went down. All I did was disable both LAN adapter in Network Connections and restart Steam.

I don't know if Steam have a means of detecting crack files but to be on the safe side, I would never attempt to crack anything inside Steam itself. As a last resort, I would have a separate cracked copy of the game elsewhere rather than modifying the copy in Steam.
 
Cracking a game inside Steam screams bad idea to me. But if you get banned or not, I have no idea. Most likely if the Steam application automatically (or if you start the verification process yourself) detects something is changed in some game file when you are online, most likely it will just redownload the executable and replace your cracked one with original.
 
MaZa said:
Cracking a game inside Steam screams bad idea to me. But if you get banned or not, I have no idea. Most likely if the Steam application automatically (or if you start the verification process yourself) detects something is changed in some game file when you are online, most likely it will just redownload the executable and replace your cracked one with original.
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Yeah I personally gotta advise against this. I would not crack a steam installed game. There's no real evidence that you could get banned for this behavior but it's not worth the risk imo.

I'll tell you one thing though I'd like to disable the directx check on my games. I hate installing games then forgetting to launch them before I go on a trip.
 
Can't you disable Steam checking for updates for a specific title? I've been forced to modify files in my Steam directory many times because the game I purchased failed to launch. I always told Steam to not check for updates on that particular title after I modified files to make it run. If you're concerned then I would suggest copying the Steam files for the game else where on your HD and performing surgery there.
 
IMO the better route is to figure out what is wrong with Steam's Offline Mode..

i've used steam's offlinemode for months at a time and never had to re-login..

infact for a while i ran my laptop in strictly offline mode for a while just because i hated to forget to put it into offline mode before i went somewhere.


go into offline mode and then turn off your wifi..
 
just following D3 and always connected to play offline.
IF no one stands up and says no they will make it worse as time goes on.

just stand there like the american people and watch it all fall apart because no one will say no more.
 
sparks said:
just following D3 and always connected to play offline.
IF no one stands up and says no they will make it worse as time goes on.

just stand there like the american people and watch it all fall apart because no one will say no more.
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Dude what the hell are you talking about?
 
Since Assassin's Creed hasn't had an update in a very long time, turning off automatic updates & modifying the game shouldn't cause any issues with Steam. OP, I say go for it & enjoy your game. :)
 
Parmenides said:
naw, dev/publishers use cracked exe's when they release the DRM free version.
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Yep. :) I remember that some big dev gave a DRM-free version & it wound up having a [strike=blam]cracked[/s] "modified" EXE from a major release group. It was rather funny.
 
I would start with getting help with the offline mode problem. Start there and maybe you won't have a guilty conscience by the end of it.
 
Gilbert_pwns said:
I would start with getting help with the offline mode problem. Start there and maybe you won't have a guilty conscience by the end of it.
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Ha ha nothing guilty about trying to get what you paid for to work. It's all about making sure that Valve appreciates your dedication too.

:)
 
You should be fine. Steam doesn't keep track of whether or not your game is cracked BUT if you try to run the game via Steam, Steam will see that something isn't right (the CRC?) and it will redownload the original executable and run from that.

I think this is a good example:
I have DOOM 3 in Steam, that I purchased. I decided I wanted to play with the source code so I did; I compiled a doom3.exe with my changes made to it, copied that new exe to the Steam/DOOM3 directory, and I launched it from there, not from Steam. If I launched from Steam, it would just redownload the original executable.

That was long ago and my Steam account is fine. Valve isn't going to keep a database of CRCs of cracked executables and then punish people for having them.

If DRM is breaking the game that you own, get the 'fix' and play what you rightfully own.
 
jason3009 said:
Guess what? Would you develop a game and allow it to be cracked to be used for free?
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What are you talking about?

1. He already owns it. The cracks are out there, no denying that. Given the cracks exist already and the person already owns the game, why should the developer care if he cracks it, he's using the product he's already paid for "for free". :rolleyes:

2. A lot of developers are against DRM. I think you'll find it's often the publisher who is more concerned with piracy than the developer. CDProjekt removed DRM from their game within a short time after release and then got in trouble with the publisher who had mandated the game should have DRM.
 
I'd go to steam first, not because of guilty conscience, you shouldn't have any guilt. But you might get in trouble. I don't think you ill, but you might.
 
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