AfterDawn: News

Eidos plays trick on Batman: Arkham Asylum pirates

Some pirates of the new Eidos title, Batman: Arkham Asylum (PC version) might be surprised when they realize a certain "problem" in the game prevents them from advancing through it properly. While some pirates might have thought the copy protection mechanisms were beaten when the game loaded properly, Eidos has (at least) one more trick up its sleeve that probably wasn't suspected.

On the Eidos Forums, a user Cheshirec_the_cat might have gotten a surprise with the response from an Administration over the problem he has had with the game.



"Hi!
I've got a problem when it's time to use Batman's glide in the game. When I hold , like it's said to jump from one platform to another, Batman tries to open his wings again and again instead of gliding. So he fels down in a poisoning gas. If somebody could tel me, what should I do there." Cheshirec_the_cat asked on a new thread.

After one user told him to "try buying the game" and commented that it has not even been released publicly for PC yet, an administrator, Keir, summed up the problem for him.

"The problem you have encountered is a hook in the copy protection, to catch out people who try and download cracked versions of the game for free.

It's not a bug in the game's code, it's a bug in your moral code."

Written by: James Delahunty @ 9 Sep 2009 11:34

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• 42 comments

• mauro125

  OWNED

  9.9.2009 11:57 #1

• lancerx

  >:)

  9.9.2009 12:05 #2

• dab0ne

  sucks for him, so has anyone found a fix yet? ;)

  9.9.2009 12:08 #3

• canuckerz

  HAHA creative and amusing, I rike it.

  9.9.2009 12:09 #4

• emugamer

  lol...very creative and amusing to stop the casual downloader. But the glide and savegame fix has been out for a week now. The PC version looks incredible. I bought the PS3 version and played it through. I grabbed the PC version just to compare. It's a great game overall, but the graphics are much better for the PC version. More refined, and there is slightly more detail in facial expressions.

  9.9.2009 12:38 #5

• jookycola

  That is about as awesome as it gets. Kudos to Eidos for at least having a sense of humor towards piracy.

  9.9.2009 13:12 #6

• modthebox

  EPIC FAIL

  9.9.2009 13:53 #7

• Mik3h

  Quote:Of course, Cheshirec_the_cat did not reply.He couldn't reply because the thread was closed.
  
  http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthread.php?t=95030

  9.9.2009 14:01 #8

• windsong

  This has already been addressed by using the "fly" cheat, among others. In any event, they did the same thing (triggers in the game) with Bioshock, Mass Effect, GTA IV, etc. All of those were defeated.
  
  Thus,
  
  YOU ALL FAIL.

  9.9.2009 14:45 #9

• Dela

  Quote:Quote:Of course, Cheshirec_the_cat did not reply.He couldn't reply because the thread was closed.
  
  Ah," target="_blank">http://forums.eidosgames.com/showthread.php?t=95030Ah, well spotted, though something tells me he wouldn't have replied anyway ;-)
  
  
  @windsong
  I also know that 1, it's not the first time this and been done and 2, these things are always generally successfully patched sooner or later... I never said it was the first time it happened ;-)
  
  Thought it might be an amusing read....

  9.9.2009 15:52 #10

• Tristan_2

  Looks like the Joker has the last laugh in that version of the game lol sorry I couldn't resist with that, I'm glad Eidos is having a sense of humor with that, I have to say for once well played Eidos well played

  9.9.2009 19:59 #11

• KillerBug

  "Hi, I stole your game and it does not play! WTF - How dare you allow me to install this game illigaly without permission? You have waisted my time, it took me an hour to get this part of the game, plus I spent 15 hours downloading it illigaly. I want my money back!"

  9.9.2009 22:49 #12

• DXR88

  its called control scrambling and its been around for years. it originated in StarForce as a complete controller lock. it wasn't long until it was defeated by a simple padded file. then came the scrambling system because its randomized its harder to beat.

  10.9.2009 02:39 #13

• zenno

  Originally posted by KillerBug: "Hi, I stole your game and it does not play! WTF - How dare you allow me to install this game illigaly without permission? You have waisted my time, it took me an hour to get this part of the game, plus I spent 15 hours downloading it illigaly. I want my money back!"LOL. so true, so true

  10.9.2009 05:15 #14

• Mik3h

  It looks like the pirates had the last laugh since the issue has been addressed and there's now a fully working crack now. :)

  10.9.2009 09:26 #15

• wolf123

  Originally posted by KillerBug: "Hi, I stole your game and it does not play! WTF - How dare you allow me to install this game illigaly without permission? You have waisted my time, it took me an hour to get this part of the game, plus I spent 15 hours downloading it illigaly. I want my money back!"Dam 15 hours thats some slow connection you got there.

  10.9.2009 22:59 #16

• KillerBug

  Quote:Originally posted by KillerBug: "Hi, I stole your game and it does not play! WTF - How dare you allow me to install this game illigaly without permission? You have waisted my time, it took me an hour to get this part of the game, plus I spent 15 hours downloading it illigaly. I want my money back!"Dam 15 hours thats some slow connection you got there.Download speeds on new releases are often very slow in the last 10-15%.

  11.9.2009 00:02 #17

• WHDACV

  Amazing the amount of morons that are out there
  Steal it and then ask for help from the people he stole it from
  
  And if you have to ask if there is a fix for it here then I would say your in the same category

  11.9.2009 08:23 #18

• dab0ne

  Originally posted by WHDACV: Amazing the amount of morons that are out there
  Steal it and then ask for help from the people he stole it from
  
  And if you have to ask if there is a fix for it here then I would say your in the same category
  ha ha ha you're right dude!! what a bunch of moro.... oh, wait.
  Oh and you used the wrong form of "your" in your last sentence there chief. The "your" you used means ownership. Let me give you an example:
  
  Your version of Batman: Arkham Asylum is a pirated copy.
  
  The one you used, however, has the contraction 're which is used to replace the word are. The correct way of reading the word "you're" is "you are". Lets use that form of "your" in the sentence you wrote, shall we?
  
  And if you have to ask if there is a fix for it here then I would say "you're" in the same category.
  
  Just to make sure it works out correctly, lets say the words without the 're contraction.
  
  And if you have to ask if there is a fix for it here then I would say you are in the same category.
  
  Much better. See, learning CAN be fun.

  11.9.2009 10:17 #19

• WHDACV

  I'm not sure how to take that.
  
  Are you insulting me because I did not take the time to properly type one word?
  Or are you just being facetious?
  
  Oh wait I see you are in that category and the one thing you can come up with is I did not type a word in correctly.
  
  I do know one thing I am pretty sure I can google better than you
  and judging by some of the responses here I see the fix you were asking about has been out for a bit now.
  
  So I guess my 8th grade edumacation is not as good as whatever yours is but I will take my 37 dollar an hour job and my 2008 SRT8 Superbee over knowing how to spell "your" correctly and in what context to use it in
  
  You are right learning CAN be fun when someone else does it for you
  
  p.s.
  I am over 40 and I spelled Education wrong on purpose

  11.9.2009 10:53 #20

• dab0ne

  Take it easy hot shot, I'm not the one coming on here and insulting people by calling them morons. The point I was merely trying to make was maybe you should double check your rhetoric before calling people morons. I am not 40 but I suppose I will have to start measuring my worth in insults and possessions. Thank you for showing me what it means to be a man. Seriously though, congrats on your $37 dollar an hour job, it's tough out there with the recession and all. And for your information the remark about the fix was a joke, hence the ;) at the end of my sentence. I had already found and used the fix.

  11.9.2009 11:06 #21

• WHDACV

  I call it as I see it.
  Morons like this is what makes life more difficult than it needs to be Hotshot
  And that was alot of typing to make a point.
  You could have simply said I had spelled it wrong no biggie
  But You wanted to make a POINT.
  
  It was moronic to ask for help for a stolen game on the makers forum
  
  And I did not point you out nor name you in any way so if you were just joking THEN YOU TOOK IT THE WRONG WAY not me
  
  So maybe you should check your rhetoric
  
  Obviously I have to explain to you that I was making a point that I am not some 10 year old by stating my education level nor my age pay etc.
  I take offense to people correcting me on education as I have none yet I am capable of doing just as well if not better than most I know
  But you would not care as it is obvious you are quick to personally insult anyone that YOU think is attacking you
  
  And I just double checked ... the story says the person posted on eidos forums and was informed it was a pirated game
  I stand by my statement of MORON
  now before an admin gets pissed I'm off

  11.9.2009 11:24 #22

• dab0ne

  Wow, you're still talking about this? Haven't we already established that you're #1?

  11.9.2009 12:02 #23

• ikari

  While I rarely post on news articles, I would still like the ability to once in awhile. The mods are getting tired of people insulting each other on the news forum. They have already shut off commenting once. Please don't start something so they turn it off again. That would make me a sad panda.
  
  I played the demo for the xbox 360 and I am saving up to eventually get it. If the game continues to be as good as the demo was, it would be one of the better if not best super hero games made!

  11.9.2009 16:45 #24

• DXR88

  Originally posted by ikari: While I rarely post on news articles, I would still like the ability to once in awhile. The mods are getting tired of people insulting each other on the news forum. They have already shut off commenting once. Please don't start something so they turn it off again. That would make me a sad panda.
  
  I played the demo for the xbox 360 and I am saving up to eventually get it. If the game continues to be as good as the demo was, it would be one of the better if not best super hero games made!especially for a batman title. i could go back in time and reveal the horrors of such titles like superman aquaman and batman. as it stands however you don't need a time machine because the scare it left on my mind cannot be forgotten.

  11.9.2009 17:18 #25

• dab0ne

  Yea you're right, I just get a little upset when someone comes to the site and their major contribution is "You did that? What an idiot!" Please just post your opinion without passing judgment. I'm sure if you scroll back on all 450 of my comments posted on this site I probably said some things about others that I shouldn't have but I like to think that I made some sort of constructive contribution while doing it.

  11.9.2009 17:21 #26

• hmp22

  Quote:Download speeds on new releases are often very slow in the last 10-15%. You mean torrent speeds? 'Cause any self-respecting pirate should have a usenet connection, in which case your comment does not apply. Of course, a self-respecting pirate would probably not ask for help on the Eidos forums, but that's neither here nor there.
  
  WHDACV: If I was paying you $37 an hour I would fire your ass just for the grammatical error simply out of principle - and I still wouldn't be as judgmental as you are (or "you're", if you prefer).
  
  Quote:Please just post your opinion without passing judgment.
  This whole article is about passing judgment. It's easy for you rich white folks to criticize pirates but a lot of people can't afford the incredibly costly games but desperately want to play them. Does that make it okay to pirate them? Probably not, but there's no reason to act all smug and superior about it. How would you feel if you were never even given a chance at making enough money to buy your games? Most people aren't, so count yourself lucky and stop acting all high and mighty. This is especially true when the victory only lasts for a few days at best before a hacker who is much smarter than you'll ever be patches the copy protection.
  
  And one more thing before I go, just for all the people who used the word "steal/stole/stolen/etc":
  
  

  12.9.2009 19:19 #27

• dab0ne

  You're right I am white and I do have money. But please don't think for even a moment that I'm above pirating games and movies, oh heavens no. I'm the worst kind of pirate. The kind who can easily afford every game I would ever want but still too cheap to buy. The irony is I'm going to school for Game Design. What the hell is wrong with me?

  12.9.2009 23:11 #28

• tobi2yul

  dabOne is a funny guy. I get where hez coming from heck pirating is just so much easier than buying the game especially nowadays that games are leaked onto the net before actual release dates (Halo:ODST, Dissidia e.t.c). I guess people do have a point when they say piracy is wrong but please don't call it stealing because it isn't dear Sir. It looks like a grey area but infact it isn't. If the law says do not copy, download, distribute blah blah blah then anything contrary to that is an offence and warrants disciplinary action. But considering how dependent a whole lot of people are on piracy (games music tv films)good luck trying to take them down.

  13.9.2009 15:49 #29

• dab0ne

  To my defense I did buy it for PS3, played it, unlocked everything, and beat it. So I did technically buy the game. I usually download stuff to test it out, especially if it doesnt have a demo. Batman had a demo so I bought it for the PS3 because I knew I would like it. Fallout 3, however, did not have a demo so I downloaded it on PC and played it. Since then I've bought it (Fallout 3) on PS3 and 360 (360 for the DLC). Usually if I don't like a game I will delete it, because I don't like it. If it's really good I start to feel guilty and end up purchasing it for a console. Also, even if I really like a game I stil can't justify buying it twice unless there is some real allure to that version (fallout 3 on 360 has all the DLC same with GTA IV), which is why I downloaded Batman for PC. I also like being able to play my games on the go and modding them with cheats, and new skins for the characters. PC gaming is advantageous in some ways, but I will always be partial to Console gaming.

  13.9.2009 17:09 #30

• kyo28

  Quote:This whole article is about passing judgment. It's easy for you rich white folks to criticize pirates but a lot of people can't afford the incredibly costly games but desperately want to play them. Does that make it okay to pirate them? Probably not, but there's no reason to act all smug and superior about it. How would you feel if you were never even given a chance at making enough money to buy your games? Most people aren't, so count yourself lucky and stop acting all high and mighty. This is especially true when the victory only lasts for a few days at best before a hacker who is much smarter than you'll ever be patches the copy protection.
  
  And one more thing before I go, just for all the people who used the word "steal/stole/stolen/etc":
  
  
  Oh, boohoo, cry me a river for all the poor folk who can't buy their games. I don't have enough money to buy an expensive BMW. So should I then just throw a brick through the window of a garage and steal one? No matter how you turn it, it's morally wrong to pirate games. I'm sure those same people who pirate games are the firsts to lament when their favorite game series goes belly-under due to low sales. Now I have enoug money to buy the games I want but as a child, I couldn't. So what I did was carefully weigh which one I did buy and play that game to death. It never occured to me that I should pirate or shoplift a game. And when I wanted to buy a new console, I took a student job during summer holiday to earn the money I needed for that. That's the difference between people who support the industry they love and those that just parasite on it.
  
  Also, piracy is theft. Allow me to explain, without a drawing:
  1. It's not theft of property, since the original is still intact and in the hands of the rightful owner
  2. However, it's theft of revenue! Due to distributing illegal copies of software for free, the company misses out on potential revenue since those people in 99% of the cases won't go out to buy the game.
  
  What your nice little drawing demonstrates is theft of property, but it doesn't show how it's not theft of revenue.

  15.9.2009 09:35 #31

• DXR88

  Whats with all the bickering? I have seen 6 year olds hold a more intellectual conversation about what flavored ice cream they like.
  
  i just played the demo of Arkham Asylum, the camera is iffy at best. i am however impressed it wasn't just another Superhero title of old.
  
  If you like it and have the 60 bucks to spare buy it, if you like it but don't have 60 bucks to spend ascertain it.
  

  Powered By
  
  

  15.9.2009 14:29 #32

• Mansonx

  Well it is shameful to pirate a game, especially all of the work that it takes into making a game. I do believe people have the right to try a game out, and if they like it this much, then they should buy it. I've pirated games many of times, and most of them I never kept, I ended up deleting them because they were just horrible. Most places, where you buy PC games, if you buy them, they will not refund your money if there is either a problem with the PC not running it correctly or if you're not satisfied with the game.
  
  I downloaded the "pirated" version of this game just to check out these protection codes that they've placed in it. I had to laugh cause it was pretty funny.
  
  I did manage to buy the game cause I like super hero games anyways. I own a lot of Marvel and DC Comic games. All though, this is one of the first Eidos games I've liked. Usually they do make terrible games and I was actually half afraid to even look at it.
  
  But the good majority of gamers really can't afford the enormous price of games, so they are going to have to wait for price drops on the game. Like Quake 4, I bought it when it first came out and I paid $50 for it, and just during December of 2008, I found it on sale for $6. So it's either cough up the enormous amount of money, wait several years, or pirate it so you can enjoy it early.
  
  I don't point a finger at piracy, but I don't agree with it either. I saw on 1up posts about this game and piracy and people were acting like that this piracy is going to end the world. But PC games don't sell as much as the console versions anyways. And the consoles are usually more expensive.
  
  As some said, the game will usually be "fixed" by someone who has spare time to sit down and figure out how to get into it like they did with several other games. This game, to me, I even bought it, but I honestly didn't care for the game at all.
  
  Batman Returns for the SNES was more fun than this. But that is my opinion. I am not saying that Arkham Asylum is a bad game, it was fun to play, but I quit playing it after 90% cause it was the same crap over and over again.
  
  It's not worth $50 other than the graphics.

  19.9.2009 12:46 #33

• emugamer

  Originally posted by kyo28: Oh, boohoo, cry me a river for all the poor folk who can't buy their games. I don't have enough money to buy an expensive BMW. So should I then just throw a brick through the window of a garage and steal one? No matter how you turn it, it's morally wrong to pirate games. I'm sure those same people who pirate games are the firsts to lament when their favorite game series goes belly-under due to low sales. Now I have enoug money to buy the games I want but as a child, I couldn't. So what I did was carefully weigh which one I did buy and play that game to death. It never occured to me that I should pirate or shoplift a game. And when I wanted to buy a new console, I took a student job during summer holiday to earn the money I needed for that. That's the difference between people who support the industry they love and those that just parasite on it.
  
  Also, piracy is theft. Allow me to explain, without a drawing:
  1. It's not theft of property, since the original is still intact and in the hands of the rightful owner
  2. However, it's theft of revenue! Due to distributing illegal copies of software for free, the company misses out on potential revenue since those people in 99% of the cases won't go out to buy the game.
  
  What your nice little drawing demonstrates is theft of property, but it doesn't show how it's not theft of revenue.I agree that hmp22's drawing is a bit retarded. It's an extreme view, but I have to say that yours is just as extreme. I haven't addressed the "stealing a car" illustration is a long time. It always gives me a good laugh though, so thank you. To debunk your response to hmp22, unfortunately, you can't copy a BMW and leave the owner with the original.
  
  So 99% won't buy the game? Can you point me to a reliable source of this fascinating statistic? I'd like to see the survey. Which 3rd party organization conducted the study? Oh wait....maybe you were making another assumption and judgment. Nevermind then. Just fyi...(and keep this a secret please)........./whisper in ear - nobody really knows. It's something called "perceived" losses. The gaming industry might somehow track how many people downloaded their game (or make up a number), and then immediately translate each download to a loss. But they don't really know for sure. You see, the developers that make the really great games are still around. Isn't that pretty strange? "Piracy" has been rampant since DOS games, and the industry somehow evolved from 8-bit pixels to Crysis. I agree that there are some losers out there that get a hard-on when they think of themselves as "pirates", but developers should really just write them off and focus on making games for the people who will buy them. After all, those are the people that have supported the game industry all these years. Moral of the story is buy what you can. Download what you want. Buy what you download if you want. If you don't want, delete and move on. Enough of this IP entitlement. If you made something worth more than a POS, you'll most likely get compensated. Don't worry about the people who are playing your game for free. They are all potential customers. Win them over. If you can't, then crawl into a hole until you grow a pair. I swear, people on their soap box spewing their self righteous sermom tick me off. Bunch of sheep, the lot. No thought or reason behind anything.
  
  I don't believe in DRM because I feel it is a waste of resources for something that doesn't work and that drives up the price of games. But I totally support the thought behind the trick that Eidos played. Good for them. After all, it is their intellectual property and they have the right to protect it as they please.
  
  Enough with the accusations of thievery and judgements on character. The game companies are doing what they should do. I'm happy that Eidos got my money for this game. I truly enjoyed the PS3 version. I did grab the PC version to compare. Very well done. Didn't care to play through a second time, so I deleted it. So thank you RELOADED for another fine release!

  19.9.2009 16:26 #34

• hmp22

  Emugamer is getting at the truth of the situation. If X million people download the game, it doesn't mean they lose x million sales. I'll indiscriminately download something because it's free, but it's not like I would have bought it if I were unable to download it.
  
  If something costs $70 I'm gonna have much higher standards than if something costs $0. All this talk about theft of revenue and perceived losses is BS to anyone who understands the fact that those who are inclined to buy games already do and continue to do so, and those who are inclined to pirate are not.

  22.9.2009 17:07 #35

• korish

  wow, what a flamewar...
  good point there hmp22.
  As for the rest of you saints who think to have it all figured out, explain me what difference does it make for the developers if an individual downloads the game or buys it off ebay? In both cases the publishing company does not receive any money, yet somehow ebay is not considered illegal or immoral, while by the law it is prohibited to resell something that you do not own rights of distribution for.

  30.12.2009 07:32 #36

• xboxdvl2

  its lucky eidos made the game and not me i would of put a virus in the downloadable version.
  
  On the topic of piracy some people will pirate stuff some won't no point is having 50 sentences written about it.BTW copying is not stealing.
  
  As for batman arkham asylum i havnt played it personally.might be an excellent game,might be a terrible game dont really know.
  

  PS2 with 12 games.

  30.12.2009 08:06 #37

• vampire007 (unverified)

  Originally posted by WHDACV: I'm not sure how to take that.
  
  Are you insulting me because I did not take the time to properly type one word?
  Or are you just being facetious?
  
  Oh wait I see you are in that category and the one thing you can come up with is I did not type a word in correctly.
  
  I do know one thing I am pretty sure I can google better than you
  and judging by some of the responses here I see the fix you were asking about has been out for a bit now.
  
  So I guess my 8th grade edumacation is not as good as whatever yours is but I will take my 37 dollar an hour job and my 2008 SRT8 Superbee over knowing how to spell "your" correctly and in what context to use it in
  
  You are right learning CAN be fun when someone else does it for you
  
  p.s.
  I am over 40 and I spelled Education wrong on purpose wat a loser..:P

  16.3.2010 19:01 #38

• TBandit

  Duh whatever kind of security measure they put out will get patched. I'm sure they know this but this is amusing that someone actually went on the forums and get pwneded.

  17.3.2010 00:10 #39

• dawnik246

  OK so maybe they need a piracy method.
  That I can agree.
  
  What I dont agree is how they did the logic.
  I bought the game here in South America, Country: Chile.
  
  For a cost that was NOT cheap.
  I only read from the box: "Games for Windows Live" and the requisites for the game to run.
  The game came out sealed and I bought it (as I mentioned before)
  
  When I came home, I did everything there is to do to play the game:
  Cleared out disk space and installed it.
  After the game loads up I see there is a HUGE MESSAGE that says: "YOU MUST LOG ON TO WINDOWS LIVE" (otherwise no SAVING WILL BE ALLOWED)
  
  I got frustrated and .. well ... followed the instructions and started going through the steps.
  To my annoying surprise MY REGION IS NOT SUPPORTED for Windows LIVE.
  
  So HOW THE HELL am I going TO PLAY the stupid game!?!?!
  
  This is a disaster.
  
  I really see I have been offended.
  
  They should mention everything in the box.
  
  I dont own a console and I DONT plan to buy one. PC is fine with me.

  27.3.2010 12:40 #40

• aweiford (unverified)

  This thread was linked on Cracked.com.
  So those of you who are bickering needlessly from the comfort of your homes or offices, over something that really doesn't matter, with people who are not going to change their minds...now all look like assholes in front of the several several Cracked fans who will come here to check it out. Good day.
  P.S. You can all go to Hell. Arguing over the Internet is literally the most pointless thing one can do with their time.

  22.4.2011 14:21 #41

• Oner

  Originally posted by aweiford: This thread was linked on Cracked.com.
  So those of you who are bickering needlessly from the comfort of your homes or offices, over something that really doesn't matter, with people who are not going to change their minds...now all look like assholes in front of the several several Cracked fans who will come here to check it out. Good day.
  P.S. You can all go to Hell. Arguing over the Internet is literally the most pointless thing one can do with their time. And yet you took the time to post/bump a thread from well over a year ago in a failed/weak attempt of "elitism". So who really is the ignorant/immature one here doing something pointless? Point made. Topic closed.
  

  
  
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  22.4.2011 14:39 #42