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On 4chan it immediately sparked a crowdsourced effort to make scripts that repeatedly install/uninstall games in creative ways (VMs, MAC spoofing) with the spec

On 4chan it immediately sparked a crowdsourced effort to make scripts that repeatedly install/uninstall games in creative ways (VMs, MAC spoofing) with the specific intention to hurt developers. This is definitely one of the dumbest choices I've seen a company do. Props to Unity for speeding up their own death.

trinovantes 3y ago
A least now the argument that piracy hurts the developers has some weight
- vanchor3 3y ago
  You wouldn't even need "piracy" in this case, just buy one copy of the game and figure out how it phones home, and then pick your favorite method of tricking it into reporting ludicrous amounts of installs, which would significantly outnumber pirate copies.
- dns_snek 3y ago
  No it doesn't, fraudulent install tracking by Unity could hurt the developers. If pirated copies count as valid installations, that means that the system is completely unauthenticated and will be abused.
deleted 3y ago
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bluescrn 3y ago
You don't need to actually install/reinstall games if you can figure out how the Unity runtime is notifying its servers about this install. You could theoretically write an 'install bombing' tool that sends fake install notifications straight to their server (or modify the game executable to do it repeatedly). You can't trust the client, especially when dealing with PC games. Hopefully Unity will anticipate this potential abuse, and filter out repeated 'installs' from the same IP address. But they don't seem to have anticipated free demos, pirated copies, Game Pass, or charity bundles before announcing this...
- anonymousab 3y ago
  It's not currently tracking anything, at least according to some unity devs on their support forums. So in the absence of some network request to capture, scripting the reinstall loop is the current option to be have a "day 1" script ready in advance. > the same ip address Unity confirmed that this is part of how they intend to do it. That's why the meme scripts so far make a point to cycle up addresses or use rotating proxies per install. The other part of the methodology that unity confirmed is "proprietary internal models that can't be shared but are GDPR compliant". Somehow.
labster 3y ago
The best part is that we can use this against people whose politics we don’t agree with. Developer says something Trumpy? Let’s make him pay! Solo developer is a trans woman? Why not shoot for bankruptcy? I wonder if this could be used as a way to target civilians as part of a larger cyber war, like in the Ukraine conflict?
- birracerveza 3y ago
  Exactly, it can, and will, be used as a weapon. It is an actual liability to use Unity, and there is no way to avoid it. Anyone can directly hurt them by simply installing a game multiple times on multiple devices. Bonus, developers can hurt other competing developers! It is such an idiotic move it is criminal, and I am hoping that they get slapped with a class action lawsuit if they don't recede on it. The worst part is that, even though I'd love for everyone to just switch over to Godot, game studios cannot simply "change engine" and they absolutely know it. So for them to just come up with completely unreasonable terms, with no possibility to not agree to it? You are forced to accept to give them an arbitrary amount of money that is spat out at the end of the month by a proprietary, closed source system that is basically BUILT IN MALWARE IN EVERY SINGLE UNITY GAME. That's actual fucking robbery. They can't simply force users to accept to give them 110% of your revenue, or else, AND expose them to direct damage while doing so. This cannot be legal. Absolutely shameful. I seriously hope that no one will ever consider Unity again after this stunt.

trinovantes 3y ago

A least now the argument that piracy hurts the developers has some weight

vanchor3 3y ago
You wouldn't even need "piracy" in this case, just buy one copy of the game and figure out how it phones home, and then pick your favorite method of tricking it into reporting ludicrous amounts of installs, which would significantly outnumber pirate copies.
dns_snek 3y ago
No it doesn't, fraudulent install tracking by Unity could hurt the developers. If pirated copies count as valid installations, that means that the system is completely unauthenticated and will be abused.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

bluescrn 3y ago

You don't need to actually install/reinstall games if you can figure out how the Unity runtime is notifying its servers about this install. You could theoretically write an 'install bombing' tool that sends fake install notifications straight to their server (or modify the game executable to do it repeatedly). You can't trust the client, especially when dealing with PC games. Hopefully Unity will anticipate this potential abuse, and filter out repeated 'installs' from the same IP address. But they don't seem to have anticipated free demos, pirated copies, Game Pass, or charity bundles before announcing this...

anonymousab 3y ago
It's not currently tracking anything, at least according to some unity devs on their support forums. So in the absence of some network request to capture, scripting the reinstall loop is the current option to be have a "day 1" script ready in advance. > the same ip address Unity confirmed that this is part of how they intend to do it. That's why the meme scripts so far make a point to cycle up addresses or use rotating proxies per install. The other part of the methodology that unity confirmed is "proprietary internal models that can't be shared but are GDPR compliant". Somehow.

labster 3y ago

The best part is that we can use this against people whose politics we don’t agree with. Developer says something Trumpy? Let’s make him pay! Solo developer is a trans woman? Why not shoot for bankruptcy? I wonder if this could be used as a way to target civilians as part of a larger cyber war, like in the Ukraine conflict?

birracerveza 3y ago
Exactly, it can, and will, be used as a weapon. It is an actual liability to use Unity, and there is no way to avoid it. Anyone can directly hurt them by simply installing a game multiple times on multiple devices. Bonus, developers can hurt other competing developers! It is such an idiotic move it is criminal, and I am hoping that they get slapped with a class action lawsuit if they don't recede on it. The worst part is that, even though I'd love for everyone to just switch over to Godot, game studios cannot simply "change engine" and they absolutely know it. So for them to just come up with completely unreasonable terms, with no possibility to not agree to it? You are forced to accept to give them an arbitrary amount of money that is spat out at the end of the month by a proprietary, closed source system that is basically BUILT IN MALWARE IN EVERY SINGLE UNITY GAME. That's actual fucking robbery. They can't simply force users to accept to give them 110% of your revenue, or else, AND expose them to direct damage while doing so. This cannot be legal. Absolutely shameful. I seriously hope that no one will ever consider Unity again after this stunt.