Unprotecting maps IS possible...

ok, i hope this is the right place to put this, but, i was opening maps in winmpq and found some that i knew had custom spells that had been imported. they showed up as "unknown-(something)" because they were protected. i was able to extract all of the files out even though its protected. u can extract the files and rename them too. So, i thot i would experiment with some files, and i knew abilitydata.slk was around 610-660k, so i extracted the file that was 622k. i renamed it to abilitydata.slk and it worked fine, like as a unprotected one would. later, i got curious (sp), so i and extracted everything, and renamed all of the files as .txt. after trial and error,and about 5 minutes, i easily had the terrain/(insertracehere)abilitystrings/(insertracehere)abilityfunc/abilitydata.slk/all of the triggers and text/variables..and so on. next i went into WE and made a new, fresh map and saved it, i then imported the extracted files as there regular names (ex- abilitydata.slk, war3mappreview) and they showed up in my new map as the same exact thing in the original map i exported the files from (as if i had the unprotected version of the map)

dunno if i was clear and i have the map to prove it, i used DotA as an example, becase i know thats kinda known here and there, and ppl know its protected well..

i cant post the map now cause im at skool, but i can wen i get hope if u want..

Something we were not meant to know, And sad to say, i think people found this out already, if not good find, But don't rip off maps that the creator dosen't want you ripping off.

i wasnt going to.. i just wanted ppl to know it was possible so that they can fix this in later versions of the protector.

and no, i and not going to steal anyones work, nor give out ne ones, the map i was planning to post had no spells, just terrain.

i plan on making my own custom spells, but i understand your concern, sry..u can delete later if u guys want..

man, this ai/jass vault doesnt get many visitors..

(if i remember correctly)

protected maps usualy contain no list file and the war3map.wtg file is removed (which contains the GUI trigger functions and isnt used in game) which makes it useless to the bulk of the map edtiors in the comunity. I doubt you can create a protector that stops any files to be extracted from the mpq (w3m file)

Even so, protecting the map is meant for a reason, finding ways around the protection is just a waste. The map shouldn't be unprotected it if was protected in the first place. Just leave the maps alone will you?

agrees

I believe he mentioned he has no plans too steal anyones work, Even so, he's pointing out something that future map protection programs can fix.

Well, I think it is clear that since war3 needs to read the files, they are readable. There is no way a map protector can completely protect these. The only thing a map protector can do is delete the files only WE needs (triggers and the like) and make it hard for some MPQ programs to extract the files. You can still read the triggers from the map script (if you know JASS). Some map protectors change scripts to make them hard to understand (renaming functions, removing comments and the like).
More than that is not possible.

Luckily it still takes some skill to unprotect maps.
If a noob had hands on DotA he would instantly make 90 almost identical bugged heroes and called it DotA Ultimate Gold :bgrun:

I don't think ppl able to unprotect maps are going to abuse it. :D

still info on how to extract key files should not be posted for the sake that somebody who would exploit it learns how to

sorry, i didnt mean to start such a bad topic. and no, i wasnt planning on using any of the triggers/spells i extracted, nor give them away.

i may use them for reference on making my own spells though, but not copy n' paste em.


again, sorry for posting such bad information (if thats what u think of it as). all i was trying to do was be a lil bit helpful around here cause i am kinda new to the forums, even though this account is 7 months old. ill try to keep stuff like this that i find to myself from now on :bgrun: i wasnt thinking of the concequences (sp) when i posted this.

But still, the maps cannot be opened in WE anyways. But don't post things like this in the future. This cannot be changed to allow you not to open maps up in an MPQ editor. Because the map itself has to be readable by warcraft 3, and if it's not readable by an MPQ editor, it's not readable in war3 either.