DarkStone 1.0.13 CD Check removal inquiry
 

http://www.sendspace.com/file/4dut2q

Can anyone please try to remove the CD check from the file above? I'd be very grateful for that. Thanks in advance.

Please make list of the files on disc.
The disc check is called twice.
First time, for determining where to load the files.
At second time, it checks for disc authenticy and displays the nag screen.

Also please make a miniimage.

This function is called by a dozen of functions.

004E0723 /$ 55 PUSH EBP
004E0724 |. 8BEC MOV EBP,ESP
004E0726 |. E8 E3120000 CALL darkston.004E1A0E
004E072B |. 8B40 04 MOV EAX,DWORD PTR DS:[EAX+4]
004E072E |. 85C0 TEST EAX,EAX ; darkston.0062A168
004E0730 74 15 JE SHORT darkston.004E0747
004E0732 |. FF75 10 PUSH [ARG.3]
004E0735 |. 8B10 MOV EDX,DWORD PTR DS:[EAX] ; darkston.004E6B6C
004E0737 |. 8BC8 MOV ECX,EAX ; darkston.0062A168
004E0739 |. FF75 0C PUSH [ARG.2]
004E073C |. FF75 08 PUSH [ARG.1] ; darkston.0050FB60
004E073F |. FF92 8C000000 CALL DWORD PTR DS:[EDX+8C] ; darkston.004E063C edx+8c = 4e063c without disc, same bad boy like below, whats edx with disc?
004E0745 |. EB 10 JMP SHORT darkston.004E0757
004E0747 |> FF75 10 PUSH [ARG.3] ; /Arg3 = 00000000
004E074A |. 33C9 XOR ECX,ECX ; |darkston.0062A168
004E074C |. FF75 0C PUSH [ARG.2] ; |Arg2 = 00000000
004E074F |. FF75 08 PUSH [ARG.1] ; |Arg1 = 0050FB60 ASCII "Sorry, Insert DarkStone CD Please..."
004E0752 |. E8 E5FEFFFF CALL darkston.004E063C ; \darkston.004E063C call bad boy
004E0757 |> 5D POP EBP ; darkston.004E0745
004E0758 \. C2 0C00 RETN 0C

Well, it's no sense making a miniimage since I'd have to upload an ISO of the entire game to work - an empty image won't help.

File list:

<root>:\voices0.mtf
<root>:\music.mtf
<root>:\data\darkstone.exe
<root>:\data\data.mtf
<root>:\data\config\keyboard.txt
<root>:\data\config\cursor\<various BMP and CUR files>
<root>:\data\mdata\cristal.avi
<root>:\data\mdata\data7.avi
<root>:\mdata\cristal.avi
<root>:\mdata\cristal_bleu.avi
<root>:\mdata\cristal_bleuvert.avi
<root>:\mdata\cristal_gris.avi
<root>:\mdata\cristal_jaune.avi
<root>:\mdata\cristal_rouge.avi
<root>:\mdata\cristal_vert.avi
<root>:\mdata\cristal_violet.avi
<root>:\mdata\data1.avi
<root>:\mdata\data2.avi
<root>:\mdata\data3.avi
<root>:\mdata\data4.avi
<root>:\mdata\data5.avi
<root>:\mdata\data6.avi
<root>:\mdata\data7.avi
<root>:\mdata\data8.avi
<root>:\mdata\data9.avi
<root>:\mdata\data10.avi
<root>:\mdata\data11.avi
<root>:\mdata\data12.avi
<root>:\mdata\data13.avi
<root>:\mdata\data14.avi

Now, thing is, if AVIs are found in the Darkstone's MData folder on HD, the game won't look for them anymore, but the CD check remains. I insert the disc and the movies play... from HD, but the disc must remain.

@WaltonSimons
Have you already tried the European Patch 1.03 with this crack: http://www.sendspace.com/file/ub2kv4

Zulu, your file gives me "not a valid win 32 app" error, it was protected with safedisc 1.
WalterSimons file does not have (or had) safedisc.
Start making an image, abort at 3% and upload the files.
The game does not work, but the TOC should be enough for let the game pass the checks.

I've made several attempts of making a mini-image, none were successful. Either I'm doing sth wrong, or this game dislikes mini-images. IDK. You know what? Try removing the *second* call first and give me a cracked exe to test. I have a hunch this might work. It's just a hunch, but hell... ;P

Just send me the first 3% of the image.
Of course it wont start with a miniimage
Removing second call does have not effect at all, it asks still for disc

Due to
004E073F |. FF92 8C000000 CALL DWORD PTR DS:[EDX+8C] ; darkston.004E063C edx+8c = 4e063c without disc, same bad boy like below, whats edx with disc?

it does not matter if the
004E0730 74 15 JE SHORT darkston.004E0747
is taken or not...

Can you make a file list of the gamedir?

darkstone.exe
data.mtf
config\keyboard.txt
config\cursor\<various BMP and CUR files>
mdata\cristal.avi
mdata\cristal_bleu.avi
mdata\cristal_bleuvert.avi
mdata\cristal_gris.avi
mdata\cristal_jaune.avi
mdata\cristal_rouge.avi
mdata\cristal_vert.avi
mdata\cristal_violet.avi
mdata\data1.avi
mdata\data2.avi
mdata\data3.avi
mdata\data4.avi
mdata\data5.avi
mdata\data6.avi
mdata\data7.avi
mdata\data8.avi
mdata\data9.avi
mdata\data10.avi
mdata\data11.avi
mdata\data12.avi
mdata\data13.avi
mdata\data14.avi

That's after the full installation.

Copy <root>:\voices0.mtf
<root>:\music.mtf from disc to hdd.
I will check on further at weekend.

I did so. Waiting. ;) Forgot to mention those two, actually.

Let think the game the disc in drive is easy, but useless due it loads some files from disc. The ones on hdd are not even touched. So it crashed without disc check.

I found way to play it by coping all the content from the the disc on the hdd with the lowest drive letter anyway (in most cases C:\).

Can you send me the registry keys, maybe the game looks here what installation it got and does look on hdd first if you made full install?

Latest version is 1.5.0.0 of course, i dealt already with Safedisc 1.35 R2.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\DelphineSoft\Darkstone \CurrentVersion\Darkstone]
"DataPath"="C:\\Program Files\\Delphine Software\\Darkstone\\"
"SavingPath"="C:\\Program Files\\Delphine Software\\Darkstone\\"
"Language"="ENGLISH"

Even with that reg keys game loads files always from disc and crashes without disc check.

At least you can play without disc that way.

1. Copy content of disc to hdd with lowest drive letter (e.g. C:\)
At the end, it should look like this:
C:\music.mtf
C:\voices0.mtf
C:\data\*.*
C:\mdata\*.*
2. Copy cracked files to gamedir, update 1.5.0.0 is already included.

@Cowsheep -> hmm are there any %s:\data strings in the exe? if so, the %s could be changed to .\ which would allow a 'cleaner' way to do this :) (haven't looked at the exe.. unfortunately i got other real life crap to sort out)

Yes, for example.
0040B027 |. 68 00345300 |PUSH darkston.00533400 ; ASCII "%c:\\music.mtf"

At first, %c is replaced with the letter of the first cd drive.
If loading from there fails because no or not the gamedisc in inside, it will try to load it from the next higher letter.
If all failed, "insert disc" message appears.

The exe and some .mft files are inside the "data" subdir, others are in the root dir.

After replacing the %c: with .\ getdrivetypea results always in 1 and ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND. Game crashes then.

This version is NOT compatible with the standard updates I'm afraid. Please focus on the EXE included only ;)

What language version you have?
I included all updated files (i know that the original patches are bitchy) in the archive at first page.
If it does not work, i can patch old 1.0.0.13 exe, too.

I'd like the 1.0.13 exe patched, please. It's English/French OEM (bundled with some MSI product a good while back).

Here, but dont forget to copy game disc content to hdd, like i already posted.

Works like a breeze as long as MData dir is in C:\ and the MTFs in the gamedir. :D But it does work so I don't bother about anything else. Thankees.

It should also work with the game files on other hdd letters, as long as the files are in the root dir.
And try the fixed updated files i posted earlier, it really fixes a lot of bugs.
Dont care about official patches, simply overwrite all files.

There must be a way to force the game to load the files from its own gamedir...

There must... I have a repack of my own... I remember to have used a fixed 1.05 Update that once was on MegaGames w/ the regular DarkStone CD and everything went fine. Only this OEM... but meh... it works. That's the main point :D

Don't work for me :(


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[ [email protected] ]

What error you get?
What version you have?
System specs?

Hah! The good old cd-checks with rerouting :D

Give this exe a try.

Nice, can you teach me that?:)
Modern games dont have disc checks of that sort.

heh nice one the-s-owl, seems the old skewl can show the new skewl some tricks :)

Unfortunately the new EXE - although allows me to run DarkStone - crashes upon the menus. Black screen - unknown error that I cannot read because the game dislikes AltTabbing - and I had to do a reboot. Some missed checks perhaps?

WaltonSimons: the exe I attached is supposed to find all data files (*.mtf and mdata\*.*) in the game folder, not somewhere in the root. Is that the case?
If so, I will have another look at this.

Yep TippeX, we are getting old :)

Well... It looks up the MData folder... and it works WITH the MData folder not the avis themselves in the gamedir. But it crashes at the menu... as if some bytes were wrongfully patched?

Weird, I re-checked all patches and they all look fine to me.

I have noticed the game tries to open DARKSTONE.INI in your Windows folder. Maybe some traces to your CD drive in there? Just guessing.

Or perhaps ProcessMonitor can help? But you say you can not do anything as soon as the game crashes. Then you should use DxWnd to force window mode, so you can 'escape' this... hmm this is getting tricky :)

More suggestions by other people here are always welcome, too.

Darkstone.ini is empty in contents. As for the rest of the suggestions... Just if I knew what DxWnd means....

DxWnd is a useful utility to force some games to run in windowed mode, so that you can try to catch some error messages when the game crashes.