Left4Dead Cracked EXE

[manmad]

What does this cracked exe do??? whats differend then the normal exe?

[n0limit]

Yikes.

[Alko]

It allows multiplayer, achievements etc to work Steam-less through rev-emu.

[Groundal]

He probably asked because the .exe you get after installing the update and rev-emu seems to be the same as the .exe from the crack alone... My guess is that the crack is actually already included either in the update or in the rev-emu thing, and that's why it's the same.

[jynx1973]

rev emu does not replace the game exe.

as far as im aware valve rely on steam for theire authentication so the exe does not need a crack.
this allows steam users to purchase games through steam and not have a cd.
A cracked exe is usualy the same exe as origional decompiled , the search for cd string is removed, the error message string is removed "insert cd and try again" and any other authentication within the exe is removed.
It is then recompiled.
this also causes issues as some people could compile any thing they want in to the exe, some cracked exes have been known to send the cd key used for the game back to a central database, so legitemate game owners who use cracked exe's to prevent the need to use the cd, can lose theiere cd keys.

With steam. you get a steam id. this id then knows which games you own. and can allow yo to redownload your game if you already own it either via steam download or cd purchace.
This same id also is the authentication, and so having no steam ide to authenticate makes the game not run, not the actual exe.  Also not being online to allow steam to validate your id can mean you are unable to play.

so Its steam that needs cracking which is controlled by dynamic link library files. (dll) these files are replaced by the rev emu. this means that the game no longer asks steam to validate your game. Or it tells the game that steam Has validated your game.
rev emu also generates a steam id for you. but regular steam servers will know that your id is not a valid steam id, so you will not be able to play. cracked servers will not authenticate the id via steam and so you can play.

if your hosting a cracked sever, you will need a genuine steam dll though, this prevents the server from intermitently timing out whilst updating to steam. this is not a problem as the downloader will give you a genuine dll. and the rev.ini lets you direct the processes to that dll whilst still actualy using the cracked dll. thus allowing cracked games to join your server. whilst still protraying to steam that it is not a cracked server at all. and all is well in the world.

so in short .As far as im aware you do not need a cracked exe to play steam games.
this is a plus for us as it means that lines of bad code that may be inserted in to the exe during the cracking process are not to be worried about.

at least that is my understanding of it.

having said all that the above poster could be correct and the exe may well be cracked in the updates.
but if that was the case why would theire be any need to install rev emu after updating.
And why would steamm still try to validate your instalation if the cracked exe is inplace when rev emu is not re applied.

[Groundal]

You have a point and seem to know more than I do. I'm just noticing that the guide made by satannuts for L4D specificaly says to download the cracked .exe, quote :

Download  Rev-Emu, Crack & Current Updates:
Updated: 8-4-2009


-{PSY}- Left 4 Dead Full Game v1011:
[thanks to www.thepsyfamily.net ]
Torrent - FileHost Links

Left4Dead Cracked EXE:
Cracked Left4Dead.exe 403KB - A MUST HAVE!!
Download [rar]: RapidShare - FileDropper

Rev-Emu v9.79 Installer:
The REVOLUTiON Emulator [Win] & Left 4 Dead Crack:
Rev-Emu v9.79 Installer [includes cracked left4dead.exe and server browser fix]
Download from RapidShare - FileDropper - MediaFire
Install to your Left 4 Dead Installation Folder.

1-he calls it a cracked .exe
2-but the .exe from the file seems to be the exact same as the one you get after installing game+update+emu.
3-I can play on the cracked servers although I only installed the updates and emu, not the crack.

so either the crack is included somewhere, either you are right and there is no need for a crack but then satannuts is nuts for including an unnecessary crack

[Alko]

1-he calls it a cracked .exe
2-but the .exe from the file seems to be the exact same as the one you get after installing game+update+emu.
3-I can play on the cracked servers although I only installed the updates and emu, not the crack.

so either the crack is included somewhere, either you are right and there is no need for a crack but then satannuts is nuts for including an unnecessary crack

Oh gosh.

You can rest assured that Satannuts is not nuts.

1- Yes.
2- Exactly. What part of "Rev-Emu v9.79 Installer [includes cracked left4dead.exe and server browser fix]" don't you understand?
3- The cracked .exe is included in both the rev-emu AND the update installers.

[satannuts]

Ok... time to clear the air...
The original [clean] install of the game has an un-modified exe. [I'm not talking about psy release or other "ready-to-play" releases]  The unmodified left4dead.exe is 96KB.  It is also included in the "Full Update" for consistency.
I've tried to keep most of the update installer clean [containing only the updated files from steam].

The incremental updates don't include an exe. - Well at least most of the current updates...
In the past I was including rev-emu WITH updates, but decided to make them separate packages since both the rev-emu and the game itself update at different frequencies.

Anyways, back to the Cracked exe.  The cracked left4dead.exe is 403KB in size. It is REQUIRED in order to play left4dead...  There are several ways to "crack" left4dead in order to play it, and most of these methods require the cracked 403KB exe to work.  So The cracked exe is offered [by itself] in the download section for the select few who need ONLY that file to play. [some folks can update the game on their own, and acquire rev-emu from other sources, and the only file they need is the Cracked exe]

For the sake of simplicity, Both the rev-emulator and the cracked exe were included in the rev-installer package.
So, if you installed a clean game, you would have the 96KB exe... if you updated that game with an earlier update that included rev-emu/cracked exe files, it would have the 403KB cracked exe... installing the "Full Update over that would give you the original 96KB file back... hence the need to install the rev-emu After updates... Using the rev-installer will give you the latest rev-emu files, cracked exe, and server browser files in one easy to use package...
Without the rev-installer, you would have to install game, update it, then get rev-emu from its source, browser files from their source and you will lastly need - the 403KB cracked exe.

Understand?

As long as you followed the guide, and installed everything in order [update then rev-emu] there should be no problems... 

I've noticed some folks download every incremental/mini update to get their game current...
This is not only unnecessary, but it is a waste of bandwidth/space.
The size of the Full update is around 200 MB and contains all the needed updated files,
But grabbing many mini/incrmental updates can quickly add up to a bigger size, due to some files being overwritten between updates...  so why install the same file multiple times when you can just grab the latest right of the bat with the full update?
Some incremental updates are there for the folks who have been updating all along and only need the smaller update - So if you are new to this, just grab the full update and be happy...

Whoa where is this all going?
Did I just confuse anyone even more?


If you are a version earlier than 1013, you should use the full update to patch yer game. 

[jynx1973]

it is unusual for a cracked exe to be larger than the origional given that the usal way of cracking is to remove lines from with in the exe with win32dsam

Still its good to have the actual issue cleared up. I wonder as the op did excatly what the cracked exe does though.
if you still cannot start the game without a seperate standalone system, or file replacement like revemu installed as well.

I supose that the exe allows non origional steam files to be used. which would explain why the file size is bigger than the origional.
it would also explain why the dll's still need to be replaced.
 

[n0limit]

it is unusual for a cracked exe to be larger than the origional given that the usal way of cracking is to remove lines from with in the exe with win32dsam

yep, indicates it uses a loader rather than a normal crack.