Cracked vs Original?

[Osmo]

Hi guys, quick question.

Cracked or original game?

More specifically, do cracked games lack graphical content from the original as it being a rip? Like a DVD vs DVD RIP? I know DVD is better of course but if you can understand what I mean.

I usually buy games and rarely play cracked ones, it's just that a friend of mine forces it on me.

Thank you

[xfreidax]

There's usually no difference.

[Duki3003]

You don't lose in quality like you would on a video rip, but you lose on some aspects such as:
- Usually no multiplayer
- No support
- You can't update as patches come along
- Possible bugs and crashes that would not normally affect the game

[buchno]

Video sequences may be re-encoded to make the file smaller.

[nstgc]

[edit]In reply to the op and Duki:[\edit]

And viruses.
I my self have found games to usually be worth the cost, so I don't pirate them. I use to only because it was annoying having to go to the store, but now most games can be acquired through download sites like Steam or GOG.com so I haven't pirated any games in several years. Even when I did I bought a hard copy at some later time.

A DVD rip (as we mostly know them) can be thought of as a translation of a summary (or a summary of a translation), and things get lost in the process. In the case of a game rip, its an exact copy.

[xShadow]

- You can't update as patches come along

And viruses.

Both of these are mostly false.

For patches, most of the time the people that cracked the game will come out with independent cracked patch releases, if they're major patches. Either that or you could just download the patch for the game officially, patch the game, and then apply another cracked exe.

As for viruses, that's not really a major issue as long as you're at least somewhat careful; the scene is quite well established these days. If anything happens, it's usually just your fault for not being careful enough.

Key rules when sailing the seas lookin' for treasure, by:

(click to show/hide)

1. Do not download things right as they come out. Wait for other people to take the plunge and then tell you that everything is working fine.
2. Look at what the common crack groups are (high amount of seeders across tens to hundreds of games).
3. Try to stick to those common groups' releases. If you see Mr. XJFJAF releasing a <INSERT GAME HERE.EXE/RAR> file in a torrent claiming it to be the whole game or something.. yeah. Use your brain.
4. Try to have a backup installation ready just in case shit hits the fan.
5. More seeders=more trustworthy (usually).
5a. More seeders also=more corporate spies that could be watching your ass.
6. Even heeding all these rules, risk is still involved.
This is what it means to be a pirate.

Really the major issue with cracked games is that you can't play them online. I don't really care because most of the stuff I play online is free. Wolfenstein ET is free. LoL and DoTA are free. MMORPGs are mostly F2P these days. Airmech is free. Honestly I don't need super shiny-ass graphics and shit to be satisfied with my multiplayer experience.

But I rambled on a bit, there.

[Duki3003]

- You can't update as patches come along

And viruses.

Both of these are mostly false.

For patches, most of the time the people that cracked the game will come out with independent cracked patch releases, if they're major patches. Either that or you could just download the patch for the game officially, patch the game, and then apply another cracked exe.

I said as they come along, meaning a crack for a newer patched version of the game is not available almost immediately upon release, and it may or may not come at all. It all depends on the group that's cracking it.

[Ixarku]

I usually buy games and rarely play cracked ones, it's just that a friend of mine forces it on me.

You allow your friend to force you to install pirated software on a PC you own?  This surprises me.  Or is it the other way around?
 
But, yeah, I agree with the other posters.  My experience, years ago, was also that cut-scenes typically got removed from any cracked copy of a game.  I don't download cracked games any longer; it's not worth the hassle, and if it's a game I don't want to pay full price for, I'd still rather support devs & distributors by purchasing the game on sale at a later time.  I don't bat an eyelash if I buy a game for $10 and it turns out to suck.

[xShadow]

- You can't update as patches come along

And viruses.

Both of these are mostly false.

For patches, most of the time the people that cracked the game will come out with independent cracked patch releases, if they're major patches. Either that or you could just download the patch for the game officially, patch the game, and then apply another cracked exe.

I said as they come along, meaning a crack for a newer patched version of the game is not available almost immediately upon release, and it may or may not come at all. It all depends on the group that's cracking it.

They generally do it pretty fast..

But I'll stop arguing trivialities here.

[revo]

[edit]In reply to the op and Duki:[\edit]

And viruses.
I my self have found games to usually be worth the cost, so I don't pirate them. I use to only because it was annoying having to go to the store, but now most games can be acquired through download sites like Steam or GOG.com so I haven't pirated any games in several years. Even when I did I bought a hard copy at some later time.

A DVD rip (as we mostly know them) can be thought of as a translation of a summary (or a summary of a translation), and things get lost in the process. In the case of a game rip, its an exact copy.

If you find viruses in Reloaded , Skidrow ,Razor 1911 ... games they are false positive
And when you are downloading games use private trackers (private (decent) trackers = 99% no viruses)

[vuzedome]

Oh come on, we all know cracked is just as good as the original.
It comes down to yourself and which route you accept.
All that nonsense about trying out the game before purchase is nothing more than crap.
We are pirates at heart so why deny it, cracked all the way.

[Zalis116]

You don't lose in quality like you would on a video rip, but you lose on some aspects such as:
- Usually no multiplayer
- No support
- You can't update as patches come along
- Possible bugs and crashes that would not normally affect the game

But also:

-- No annoying anti-piracy/DRM measures that can seriously hobble legit copies or even install rootkit-like software on your system.

[BronBron06]

Never owned a legit game before 
Even back with DOS games like Duke Nukem 1 & Lemmings as such
Oh how time flies by


Cant wait for Prototype 2 for PC, downloading cracked release in probably about 12 hours or something 


I Barely play Multiplayer anyway, except for DOTA & Left 4 Dead many years ago I last played... still with Pirated Copy with the help of Garena lol

[pingryanime]

I actually blew like $70 on the steam summer sale >.> It was also probably the first time I ever bought more than 10 games within a year with legitimate money, lol. If I just want to try out a game but probably won't actually play it much, I'll pirate it and just play a little (and probably stop playing) Some examples of this are Far Cry, that_alice_in_wonde rland_horror_themed _game, Condemned Criminal Origins, F3AR, and a few others. Though at the same time, if I feel that I'll really like a game, I'll pay up. Eg, I have two minecraft accounts. I've bought good games like portal1-2, half life series, battlefield, red orchestra, terraria, and a lot of indie games.

[revo]

I bought 2 times Company of heroes and still I play cracked game (to lazy to use game dvd when my internet is no use (that happens alot when Im uploading))

[FlyinPenguin]

Usually, if the cracked version is inferior to the original, the torrent description will state the differences. Of course there are the few versions that have viruses or other various problems but these are generally reported fairly quickly.

[elvikun]

Download, try it, if you think it's good, buy it.
That's what I do in most cases anyway.

The only real difference is that cracked versions generally lack any multiplayer and official updates come along few days after release and you have to download them manually. The good part is no need for additional malware on your computer such as Steam or Origins, no unwanted patches, no "Sorry, we just accidentally screwed up your game, please wait a few months for us to fix it. Yours trully, Steam"...

Major recent example for me was Skyrim, which I bought on the 11-11 ... Cracked version came out about two days later and brace yourself, it was more stable and generally worked better and to some extent, still does. Or ME3 where you get permabanned for modding it in any way, without any previous warnings or notes about it.

[Bloodfox]

Steam made Videogame piracy obsolete for me, I can't justify getting a cracked version when I can just wait a few months and get the game dirt cheap on a steam sale. I'm quite aware Steam is also a form of DRM, but in my book, its a welcome one because you also get access to the steam community, friends list, chat and voice chat, stat tracking, cloud saving (for games that support it) and 1 GB of space for your screenshots on you profile. You also get the convenience of being able to access your game library wherever you are. I went to my home country for a month this summer and didn't have to carry any disks with me, All I needed was a internet access and all my games were there.

I lost track of how many AAA games I bought for less than 5 Euros. Right now my steam account has over 120 games and I only played about half of them.

The main advantage you get from piracy (apart from not having to pay anything) is that you can play games that have always-on DRM even when servers are down while paying costumers have to wait (lol), as happens with Ubisoft games, who place always-on DRM even on single player games. Pirates also don't have to deal with the hassle of retarded activation limits such as Secu-Rom and TAGES.

Its sad and ironic that paying costumers end up with the inferior copy in these cases, and all because of the industry's obcession with DRM, which in my point of view doesn't hamstring piracy at all, and it ends up encouraging it.

[Takeshi]

I honestly hate having a cracked game on my computer. At LANs particular I don't like it when we need to use a cracked version of a game to play together. It's been on the other guys' computers and it's cracked. I just feel a lot better knowing we have a legit copy on Steam.

Sure, I played through Spec Ops: The Line, Mass Effect 3 and a bit of Skyrim. But for Spec Ops: The Line and ME3, I get the urge to buy them afterwards. Of course, that will be when they are at 10-15€. For Skyrim I stopped playing when I found out that I wanted it.

Plus, it feels good as hell knowing you supported the indutry and the developers. With how much I won't speculate. But add that with patches and official support and so on, and there's my reason.

[krumm]

This is my opinion, but what ever.

If your going to pirate a game, that is fine, but don't try to come up with some excuse for it.  Pirate proudly imo, because saying that you pirate and buy the games you liked is bull shit.  And pirating a game on release and then after beating/playing it saying that you will still support the developers after it comes down to like 10 dollars after steam deal is just as much bull shit, because you are really just supporting yourself with the official support and automatic patches.  Plus is it really that long for a game to come down to 30 dollars(that's the price I wait for).  Plus by that time you will know if the AAA game is crap and not worth the money.

I'm fine with pirates, even tho I don't really do it with games anymore, but excuses for it annoy me.