Pirate key gens!

[Guest theeldergeek]

In my 'youth', I will admit to having used software of dubious source....

 

One very often had to download key generators to get the software to work. The 'pirates' created these little .exe's with what were (at the time) cutting edge graphics (usually some sort of psychedelic backgrounds) and electronic synth music.

 

Does anyone know if there are any web sites that have 'collected' these sort of things for nostalgia? Not interested in actually cracking any programs (!!) just want to be able to show some examples of the early programming that went into these sorts of things.

[tmcd35]

Common 'fess up - you want to play C&C Generals again (not that I would condone such a course of action (using a keygen, not playing Generals (playing Generals is fine, obviously, and should be encouraged))

[Guest theeldergeek]

Common 'fess up - you want to play C&C Generals again (not that I would condone such a course of action (using a keygen, not playing Generals (playing Generals is fine, obviously, and schold be encouraged))

 

I still do play it but a fully paid up copy. Love that game!

[webman]

Are you looking for the code or the actual programs? I remember once having assembler source code to a WinZip keygen but that didn't have the fancy graphics & sounds. Some modern anti-virus programs now detect keygens and delete the file before you get chance to even download it.

 

Here's the asm source code to a keygen for a program. Also: teraphy

[dhicks]

Does anyone know if there are any web sites that have 'collected' these sort of things for nostalgia?

 

I seem to remember a fad for producing "demos" - bits of programming that showed off your graphics / assembler / music / how-much-stuff-can-you-fit-in-minimal-space skills.They tended to be distributed around on floppy disks, but you might find an archive site if you Google a bit.

 

--

David Hicks

[Guest theeldergeek]

Are you looking for the code or the actual programs?

 

The actual programs, or movie's of the programs. It's really to 'demo' the programs rather than run them, the latter sometimes being a not very sensible thing to do due to some of the payloads they carry!

Edited May 13, 2010 by theeldergeek

[Guest theeldergeek]

*dodgy site link removed*

 

Thanks, not really after keygens per se, more to show off the graphics/synth music that accompanied them.

Edited May 14, 2010 by witch

[OutToLunch]

Have a look at the demo scene instead - incredible effort/coding to get ridiculously complex effects out of very little code.

 

Demoscene - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Lots of retro stuff but also some amazing work on "How much can you do with 16k" etc - some good links at the end of the wiki article above, in particular scene.org

 

scene.org - news

[Guest theeldergeek]

Does anyone know if there are any web sites that have 'collected' these sort of things for nostalgia?

 

Found one! Paradox

[sidewinder]

I love those things. The ones that groups used to put on cracked PS1/Dreamcast games were quality too. Not that I ever played any of course, that would be naughty

[Trapper]

I loved them too.

 

There was for which had some great chilled music, well over an hours worth. I'm sure I've kept it somewhere.

 

If you have an Acorn emulator I've got hundreds of assembler demos on a CD somewhere.

[mrbios]

On the topic of those soft of programs, does anyone know where they get them usic from for those? because i love all that electronic music.........not that i've downloaded any before of course

[webman]

There's a large online community for 8bit music - 8bitpeoples. One of my favourite 8bit tracks is Bamboo Cactus, freely available from here.

[garethEds]

I know it's bad but when I was in the sixth form I was the hub of Acorn Archimedes games in school. I'd charge people for a copy of Man Utd Football on Floppy Disk!!!

 

Naughty I was back then. Not now though

 

GJE

[garethEds]

I used to be in contact with a guy called Andrew Clover of doggysoft.co.uk - anyone remember Desktop Hacker? Helped you copy games and cheat at games etc.

 

The website is still up. I remember using something called NewerLook2 for jazzing up my Acorn applications.

 

Sheesh - I miss the Acorn scene as it was. Illuminate magazine by a guy called Kaustav Battacharya - disk based. ADSL Public Domain service where you purchased demo disks etc.

 

GJE

[mrbios]

There's a large online community for 8bit music - 8bitpeoples. One of my favourite 8bit tracks is Bamboo Cactus, freely available from here.

 

There not quite right though, somethings not quite like the key gen/game trainer music i really loved

[mrbios]

AH HA found it:

KEYGENMUSiC - Music from keygens, crack, etc /

 

Have a listen to something like the "warlords battlecry installer" one

 

^ that is all music by the way, no cracks/keygens etc so it's all legal as far as im aware

 

even better example: http://www.keygenmusic.net/music/blizzard/BLiZZARD-SonicNintro.rar

and another goodun: http://www.keygenmusic.net/music/blizzard/BLiZZARD-ipTicker2.0kg.rar

Edited May 13, 2010 by mrbios

[Arthur]

The competitions where people have to create a demos with less than 4KB of source code are pretty cool too. The one below is the only one I can remember, but I'm sure there are other good examples.

 

http://4k.frob.nl/2004/

[Trapper]

I used to be in contact with a guy called Andrew Clover of doggysoft.co.uk - anyone remember Desktop Hacker? Helped you copy games and cheat at games etc.

 

The website is still up. I remember using something called NewerLook2 for jazzing up my Acorn applications.

 

Sheesh - I miss the Acorn scene as it was. Illuminate magazine by a guy called Kaustav Battacharya - disk based. ADSL Public Domain service where you purchased demo disks etc.

 

GJE

 

APDL are still around. They've actually just in the past eight weeks put their entire PD catalogue on line for free! Welcome to APDL and iSV Products

[tommej]

Lifeforce by Andromeda Software Development

 

This was the best one I ever saw - asd lifeforce if the link is blocked for you!

[Sarconia]

I've still got a few of these floating round which I use for older programs that I've lost the original key for, still have the legit installation disc... just that the case/manuals which went with them containing the keys are long gone.

 

Red Alert 1/2... aaah, those were the days