6 ms·

Can a player with a pirated version of a game with a multiplayer mode on his console enter multiplayer lobbies? Could a player in theory pirate their game to gi

Can a player with a pirated version of a game with a multiplayer mode on his console enter multiplayer lobbies? Could a player in theory pirate their game to give their units unfair advantages and then hop in a lobby with other players? I don't really care what people do in single player.

Nextgrid 5y ago
If they can (which I doubt) it's easy to fix in a bulletproof way on the server-side. The game server should require a token from Sony servers and Sony would only issue such a token to an account that actually bought the game.
- numlock86 5y ago
  I wouldn't call it bulletproof. I might as well fake my identity as someone who bought the game. Sure they can prevent things like an account being connected to multiple servers/games at the same time, but you can still cheap out by just looking for interested people in different time zones. Probably even automated by a platform if you want to go the extra mile. Fast forward to today: That's how it's done at the moment.
- stordoff 5y ago
  What about games installed from disc? No account has purchased the game in that scenario.
  - EMIRELADERO 5y ago
    I imagine the solution would be to have every individual disc to have a unique serial number that is already approved on Sony's auth servers. A pirate couldn't fake their way inside the online system without guessing a correct serial number which also hasn't been activated on another console.
    - cassianoleal 5y ago
      How do you differ that from, say, me borrowing the disc or buying it second-hand?
      - Nextgrid 5y ago
        You just count the number of consoles the disc has been seen at in the last week or so. Legitimate borrowing will have a low number. A pirated disc that's been copied hundreds of times will have a much higher number. You can also make the disc acquire a lock on its UUID when it plays in multiplayer, and while the lock is held nobody else can acquire it. If you see too much lock contention it could suggest that the disc is being copied at scale (as it normally should never happen, but you can allow some leeway in case the lock wasn't released due to a legitimate issue).
        ensignavenger 5y ago
        So the pirate modifies the ID in the rom?
        Nextgrid 5y ago
        They'd need to find a valid ID which requires a valid disc and the new ID will have the same problem. They'd need an infinite source of valid IDs which would mean they'd need to buy discs for each ID at which point the piracy problem is kinda solved?
        danaris 5y ago
        Or they do what pirates have been doing since at least the '90s, when registration codes and IDs of this sort were already common: They crack the algorithm that generates the IDs, and create as many as they want.
        Nextgrid 5y ago
        Given that this is online multiplayer there doesn't have to be an algorithm; instead all IDs are just random and are checked online. There is no algorithm to reverse-engineer; unless you have access to the server there's no way to make your own fake IDs.
  - krageon 5y ago
    License on disk, and if the license clones (i.e. it's pirated), you blacklist it. All of these problems have been solved for a long time, the solutions just suck for consumers :)
- ensignavenger 5y ago
  Would that work for physical games? If you can fake the disc...
staticman2 5y ago
People who do stuff like that on other hacked consoles like Nintendo Switch have gotten their console banned from online play. Unlike on PC, you'd be banned from every game and the ban follows the hardware, so it's unlikely cheating will be a widespread problem.

Nextgrid 5y ago

If they can (which I doubt) it's easy to fix in a bulletproof way on the server-side. The game server should require a token from Sony servers and Sony would only issue such a token to an account that actually bought the game.

numlock86 5y ago
I wouldn't call it bulletproof. I might as well fake my identity as someone who bought the game. Sure they can prevent things like an account being connected to multiple servers/games at the same time, but you can still cheap out by just looking for interested people in different time zones. Probably even automated by a platform if you want to go the extra mile. Fast forward to today: That's how it's done at the moment.
stordoff 5y ago
What about games installed from disc? No account has purchased the game in that scenario.
- EMIRELADERO 5y ago
  I imagine the solution would be to have every individual disc to have a unique serial number that is already approved on Sony's auth servers. A pirate couldn't fake their way inside the online system without guessing a correct serial number which also hasn't been activated on another console.
  - cassianoleal 5y ago
    How do you differ that from, say, me borrowing the disc or buying it second-hand?
    - Nextgrid 5y ago
      You just count the number of consoles the disc has been seen at in the last week or so. Legitimate borrowing will have a low number. A pirated disc that's been copied hundreds of times will have a much higher number. You can also make the disc acquire a lock on its UUID when it plays in multiplayer, and while the lock is held nobody else can acquire it. If you see too much lock contention it could suggest that the disc is being copied at scale (as it normally should never happen, but you can allow some leeway in case the lock wasn't released due to a legitimate issue).
      - ensignavenger 5y ago
        So the pirate modifies the ID in the rom?
        Nextgrid 5y ago
        They'd need to find a valid ID which requires a valid disc and the new ID will have the same problem. They'd need an infinite source of valid IDs which would mean they'd need to buy discs for each ID at which point the piracy problem is kinda solved?
        danaris 5y ago
        Or they do what pirates have been doing since at least the '90s, when registration codes and IDs of this sort were already common: They crack the algorithm that generates the IDs, and create as many as they want.
        Nextgrid 5y ago
        Given that this is online multiplayer there doesn't have to be an algorithm; instead all IDs are just random and are checked online. There is no algorithm to reverse-engineer; unless you have access to the server there's no way to make your own fake IDs.
- krageon 5y ago
  License on disk, and if the license clones (i.e. it's pirated), you blacklist it. All of these problems have been solved for a long time, the solutions just suck for consumers :)
ensignavenger 5y ago
Would that work for physical games? If you can fake the disc...

staticman2 5y ago

People who do stuff like that on other hacked consoles like Nintendo Switch have gotten their console banned from online play. Unlike on PC, you'd be banned from every game and the ban follows the hardware, so it's unlikely cheating will be a widespread problem.