Before, i refer that devs/publishers don´t think much in a "free protection" patch, because their intention is protect more and more..., and ubisoft have "codegame" version, same game, minor manual and more cheap, then no think in free protection patch in near future, because they release codegame version of SC3 in future.

What version is more difficult to crack, i don´t know, but last patch of SC3 (1.3), is newer starforce version that 1.0, but there are other things more important that version to determine cracking difficult. (number of p-codes for example, or number dlls or data files protected....)

Anyway, all versions of SC3, are extremely hard to crack, and amount a long period of time in it.

I would not expect a lot of cracked games in the next few month because of operation sitedown.

i just noticed file planet are offering this as a direct to drive game http://www.direct2drive.com/170/product/Buy-Tom-Clancy's-Splinter-Cell-Chaos-Theory-Download

if its direct to your hd surely that means all the protection would have to have been changed? ie any cd check or am i wrong about this?

D2D games, are protected by Starforce Proactive, no cd-checks, work with online-activation (or mail or phone activation, need activation key), but *.exe, dlls and data files are protected similar that starforce 3.

At last is the same case that DVD version. bypass online-activation is quite impossible (or extremely hard) and ilegal, and cracked exe and other protected files is quite hard how dvd version.

If you like more information about Staforce Proactive, check this thread:
http://fileforums.com/showthread.php?t=70500

In saturday, DT pro more news :D
http://www.daemon-tools.cc

Sf3
 

I am curious about something. Everyone is saying that StarForce 3 is difficult to defeat. Yet other games claiming to use StarForce 3 seem to have a fixed .exe available for them (Singles 2 and Area 51 to name 2). If they can be cracked, why is it more difficult to crack SCCT?

Nightwing2000

First of there are different versions of Starforce. Not only version numbers but also in how much they protect. There is the super duper heavy version that SCCT uses. It is very hard to crack due to lots of OP codes.
Other games may use a lighter version of starforce with less OP codes and also less general protection of the software. Starforce also encrypts files (if I am not remembering wrong here) and those might need to be decrypted.

Some crackers can crack the lighter versions of starforce but have no real chance against the heavier... Sure they could do it but it would take months of work.