I've just been informed (by a well informed source) that SH3 was never cracked at all. The downloadable Reloaded SH3 distribution is actually (supposedly) made from an unprotected release, meaning the data was somehow acquired before Starforce was applied.
Silent Hunter 3 and Splinter Cell 3 are both using the same, or very close, versions of Starforce. Both, are as of yet uncracked. It can be worked around via a USB 2.0 external drive (which I have personally confirmed), or (reportedly) using a driver to force your SATA controller to emulate an IDE controller, but those are the only workarounds I have heard more than three people confirm.
Earlier versions of Starforce were crackable, but the time it takes us to crack and the time it takes them to patch vulnerabilities are disproportunate. Physical disc protection is gone.... Starforce cometh..... Now the makers of Starforce have downloadable protections in which even DEMOs are being protected, so the demo .exe file can no longer be compared to the retail to snatch out the Starforce code. Starforce works VERY closely with the developers all along the way.
I'm a big time game buyer, I personally own 139 PC games & a gaming laptop (Alienware Area 51m-7700). I like to use mini-images & NO-CD cracks as it keeps me from having to take all my originals in my case with me. Sure as hell, the only physical discs I have to take, ever, are Starforce protected. As a programmer, and a mathematical & encryption hobbyist, I can tell you it's TOUGH to crack Starforce in it's current state. Public key encrytion alone is simply hard to crack. Period.
Hopefully more developers take the same path as LucasArts, who only use physical disc protection. LucasArts still makes big money on games. Remember also, the descision to use copy protection isn't typically the developers, it's the publishers. Publishers get hypnotized by dollar figures, and almost never understand the technological aspect of copy protection. They see 80,000 pirated copies = $4,000,000 lost to piracy or just pay $20,000 for Starforce protection and keep the $4,000,000. They honestly believe that every pirated copy is a lost sale. Oh well. Rant done.
