Fade protection

[DazDep]

Ok i heard someone saying something about a fade protection?? Codemasters uses it in the game: Operation Flashpoint?

Could someone please explain what happens when you have got such a protection, and what it is??

thank you in advance,

DAZDEP

[fwuirehiwor]

Instead of the Rungame (And sometimes the Install) exe,s being protected, digital codes are placed throughout the disc area, and are regularly #####ed while the game is being played. If a copy is detected, rather then simply asking for the CD to be inserted, the game will beigin to develop anomolies, eventually making it unplayable. How these game anomolies manifest themselves will be down to the programmers, but copies will be harder to produce, as errors only show up over time, and not straight away. As no games yet exist using this system (Operation Flashpoint being the first I think), we don't know what the backup situation will be. I suspect C or assembler guys will have to look closely at this code and how it works, to determine how it can be worked around (If indeeed it's possible). One thing is for sure - backing up your software is going to get a lot more complicated.

[crispy]

Correct to a point.
Codies are (so they say) using FADE in conjunction with SD2. The game does "appear" to alter the outcome if it knows the CD is a copy. This is the crux of it though. If you already can copy 1:1 SD2 titles (and more and more of us can as Phillips based CD burners get snapped up!) then there is no way that the game code can tell if it's a copied disc.
I.e. the code within the game is only as good as the protection it relies upon. Break the protection to create a 1:1 copy, and they can write what the hell they like.
Don't forget also that SD2 titles have had serious problems loading from ORIGINALS, so it takes some balls to actually put a code in that will ruin the gamers experience.
Me thinks there is a little smell of BS and propaganda from Codies.