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Re: Two different versions of 'Moon Patrol'?



Michael J. Mahon wrote:
sicklittlemonkey wrote:

Michael J. Mahon wrote:

Assuming you can get it to boot, the best approach might be to
capture it's image as a single-load game.



Except it's not a single load game. The pirates who cracked it into one
have gone to some real effort there! ;-)


Interesting.  Usually games that would fit were single-load, just
because it was simpler.  Of course, as Wildcards proliferated, there
were reasons *not* to be single-load.  ;-)

I'm working on deprotecting some Passport Designs software (Polywriter
and friends), and have found some very interesting disk signature
techniques, a ridiculous level of obfuscation, and encrypted M/L code
and Applesoft code!

An internal notice reveals that the protection was written by
none other than Bill Basham, of Diversi-fame.

When I complete it, I'll write it up for historical purposes.  ;-)



Awsome, I look forward to the write-up. Is the protection too much for
a NIB image? I really think it's worth preserving these kinds of disks
with the protection included, just for the sake of preservation. Even
if the current NIB format can't recreate the original.


I believe the signature tracks involve synchronization, but I haven't
fully unravelled that yet.  I *have* recovered the unprotected code so
that I can make a deprotected version.

I'll check whether a NIB image will work.

I just tried a .nib image of Polywriter Utilities, and it fails
the protection check when booted in either Apple II Oasis or
AppleWin.

-michael

NadaNet networking for Apple II computers!
Home page:  http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/

"The wastebasket is our most important design
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