HL2 Source leaked

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kg4dsx

Junior Member
Oct 3, 2003
8
0
0
Valve is now hoping for a "Holiday Release" for HL2. Maybe we will get HL2 before 2004, but who knows at this rate. I hope they catch the guy who did this....and hope that Valve stops using Micro$oft products.
 

Miramonti

Lifer
Aug 26, 2000
28,653
100
106
If they are going to save the multiplayer aspect, and in a sense probably save the game, they are going to have to mod a helluva lot of code to prevent cheats.

That means no december release imo.
 

RaiderJ

Diamond Member
Apr 29, 2001
7,582
1
76
This might be a silly question, but how does leaked code == cheats? I realize how valuable the source code is, but I don't see how hacks could be written just because they have the code?

All in all, I'm really disappointed. This game was certainly on my list for Christmas, for myself and others. Any delay certainly doesn't make me happy.
 

Yzzim

Lifer
Feb 13, 2000
11,990
1
76
wow, I can't believe this has happened. :Q

Thanks for the link alm4rr, it explained a lot.
 

RaiderJ

Diamond Member
Apr 29, 2001
7,582
1
76
Originally posted by: alm4rr
check out the link i posted 4 messages up

That's a great read... but it doesn't really answer my question of how hackers can use that code for malicious purposes online. Could hackers use to create "mods" that take advantage of security holes in the code?
 

alm4rr

Diamond Member
Dec 21, 2000
4,390
0
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Using the code, they can make hacks and cheats for MP play already available before the game launches (assuming there are no changes made (unlikely)

Plus the code supposedly had Steam info in it, so I'm not sure if it's great to connect to it until Valve purges their systems
 

dighn

Lifer
Aug 12, 2001
22,820
4
81
Originally posted by: RaiderJ
This might be a silly question, but how does leaked code == cheats? I realize how valuable the source code is, but I don't see how hacks could be written just because they have the code?

All in all, I'm really disappointed. This game was certainly on my list for Christmas, for myself and others. Any delay certainly doesn't make me happy.

with the source code it's easy to find existing exploits and figure out ways to bypass protections etc
 

oLLie

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2001
5,203
1
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I wonder what they'll do when/if they catch the guy. The way I see it, nothing they can do to the person/people who did this will matter all that much... all the damage has been done. Their trade secrets are no longer secrets :(.

It's gotta suck so bad for them right now, I wonder what they're going to do. I'm sure there are some parts that they can easily (relatively easily of course) correct, such as authentication of users etc. But what about their liability because of the physics engine they licensed that is in the source, what about the anti-cheating measures they implemented (I'm pretty sure they spent a TON of time and effort on this), what about all the other unique ideas (trade secrets) they developed?

To watch all that time and hard work disappear in an instant... :Q:(
 

Yzzim

Lifer
Feb 13, 2000
11,990
1
76
Originally posted by: oLLie
I wonder what they'll do when/if they catch the guy. The way I see it, nothing they can do to the person/people who did this will matter all that much... all the damage has been done. Their trade secrets are no longer secrets :(.

It's gotta suck so bad for them right now, I wonder what they're going to do. I'm sure there are some parts that they can easily (relatively easily of course) correct, such as authentication of users etc. But what about their liability because of the physics engine they licensed that is in the source, what about the anti-cheating measures they implemented (I'm pretty sure they spent a TON of time and effort on this), what about all the other unique ideas (trade secrets) they developed?

To watch all that time and hard work disappear in an instant... :Q:(

:(:(:(:(:(:(:(
 

sxr7171

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2002
5,079
40
91
I doubt we will see the game this year, they are going to have to modify the game so much that it almost has to be a new game. At least that's what I understand of this.

Seeing the message that was posted, some guy tried to access their machines for a couple of weeks. I wonder if they could have tried a little harder to protect their work. I hate to be the only one talking along these lines, but I think what the thief did was horrible and I hope they out him or them behind bars for a long time and I think the loss is so great for Valve that I wonder if they were a little more lax than they could have been. If it were me I would have "unplugged the internet" so to speak. I realize that this sounds simplistic and perhaps I don't realize even a fraction of the difficulties faced in protecting data and also having the access needed to get the work done, but maybe even a few simple safeguards could have prevented what might be one of the largest losses due to internet data/intellectual property theft in history.
 

silverpig

Lifer
Jul 29, 2001
27,703
12
81
Why do they even have to have the worstation computers on the 'net? Network them, sure, but don't give them a link to the outside world. If the dudes have to go on the net for stuff, give them a laptop or something on a separate network.
 

alm4rr

Diamond Member
Dec 21, 2000
4,390
0
0
well think of it this way... since everyone has it, theoretically, won't a lot of games in the near future be a lot better sooner since everyone has the tech?
 

Rainsford

Lifer
Apr 25, 2001
17,515
0
0
And this, ladies and gentleman, is why you get a real security person, not some MIS major or MCSE, to do your computer security if you have anything even remotely valuable to protect. Those guys make some big bucks, and this just proves they are worth it.
 

piku

Diamond Member
May 30, 2000
4,049
1
0
Originally posted by: alm4rr
I wonder what the Doom team thinks of the code....
Yeah, seriously. I would love to read Carmack's analysis of the code.
 

sxr7171

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2002
5,079
40
91
Originally posted by: silverpig
Why do they even have to have the worstation computers on the 'net? Network them, sure, but don't give them a link to the outside world. If the dudes have to go on the net for stuff, give them a laptop or something on a separate network.

Thanks, I thought I would get flamed like crazy for blaming Valve themselves. I guess they never even imagined something as horrible as this. I really do think that there is no need to have every machine in a company connnected to the internet, sometimes if they can't afford the proper software or hardware security measures, they should just cut the damn cord to the net on those machines that have highly valuable information. Quite frankly three weeks is a long time to "sit still," even though I heard that the attack was actually 2 weeks ago so they had a week to contain this. No matter what though, they do not deserve this in any way.


I only say this, because I went to Case Western Reserve University where that crazy gunman shot and killed innocent people over losing his lawsuit with the university. What happened was that he was working on some kind of project for years and years maybe even a decade. All his data was stored on some school network that many people had access to. He and the stupid computer lab kid would have an argument once in while and the stupid computer lab kid thought he would have some fun and delete all this guy's work. So he did. The guy who was in his forties, who I used to see in various computer labs during the day and in the residence dining hall basically had no family or any life - his work was his life - filed a lawsuit against the university and lost. This is what led to the whole incident.


When I heard about why he did what he did, the first question to pop up in my head was why didn't this guy back his stuff up? I mean felt sorry for him, for the people who died and those who got hurt, but it wouldn't have taken much to prevent all of this. I realize that hindsight is 20/20, but I think that those of us invest years of lives in intellectual property, in data that is so easy lost or stolen, should really think about insuring ourselves against these losses. Whether you beef up security or become more aware of the possibility of loss or call LLoyds of London for financial protection, I think we should all think about it.
 

ViRGE

Elite Member, Moderator Emeritus
Oct 9, 1999
31,516
167
106
Originally posted by: kt
Originally posted by: ViRGE
Originally posted by: kt
Originally posted by: brxndxn
I think this is just some intentional hype before the release. I really doubt the source code will do anything other than provoke numerous mods for the game and thus expand it's base of play.

There will still be a pirate version. There will still be many of us that buy the game. Then, there will be those that buy the game just to program for it to make their own mod.

I'm thinking this was done on purpose.

And I think you're an idiot.

What's with the name calling? While not everyone agrees with his conclusion, some of his points are still right.

Please explain yourself why you even think he remotely has a point.

For someone to even think that a company would leak what's their bread and butter to the public so that people could build mods for their game is either an idiot or just clueless to what software development is all about.

I'm not saying his conclusion is correct, I'm simply saying that some of his points used as proof are.
There will still be a pirate version. There will still be many of us that buy the game. Then, there will be those that buy the game just to program for it to make their own mod.
 

oLLie

Diamond Member
Jan 15, 2001
5,203
1
0
Originally posted by: alm4rr
well think of it this way... since everyone has it, theoretically, won't a lot of games in the near future be a lot better sooner since everyone has the tech?

I agree that that is a possibility, however If I were somehow given the choice I would choose for Valve to retain the rights to their intellectual property.

Also, I haven't read the latest Shacknews comments that NFS4 posted (re: the guy is already caught), but I seriously doubt they have found the suspect yet. I mean, come on, this is the Internet... and we all know that rumors don't exist on the Internet, do they?
 

neilm

Golden Member
Aug 25, 2002
1,108
0
0
This really is a big downer for Valve and I don't think their motiviation will ever be the same again for HL2, but I'm really hoping this makes them stronger in ways, but will certainly have knocked the wind out of em for a bit.

For one guy or a small group to have hacked into their network and steal the source is just bad bad bad, but what makes it worse is that they made the source public.. this just wrecks any kind of deal Valve could have offered to save the embarressment. Now you have external licensed code leaked as well as HL2, for me personally I would understand whatever the length they delay the game, just to get them back on track again.

For the culprit, well I'm hoping justice will be served to whoever did this cruel attack.


Originally posted by: piku
Originally posted by: alm4rr
I wonder what the Doom team thinks of the code....
Yeah, seriously. I would love to read Carmack's analysis of the code.
Well since it's illegal to access the code without Valves consent, I doubt you'll hear him speak publicly about the source code.