Why the patch?

[TheGuyNamedGuy]

Hey guys,

 

So, this may be a silly question but I tend to be a curious person who reverse engineers lots of things. I'm also a software dev, so it goes with the territory.

 

I've been playing RS2014 since Jan 2014, and CDLC since August 2014. I know that we have to patch RS2014, either through the DX library or using a custom launcher. Here's what I want to know: what does the patch actually do?

 

Don't tell me that it allows CDLC to load properly -- I know that's the effect of the patch. What I want to know is, what normally keeps CDLC from loading without the patch? Where's the documentation on what we discovered about why we need a patch?

 

I figured it was probably on Smithy Anvil before it went down, and figured it'd be a good idea to ask in case anyone knows, in case we ever need to revisit the topic in the future.

 

I searched the forums for a while and didn't come across an article about this, so my apologies if it's here and I just didn't see it.

[Snakez]

The SNG files are signed with a DSA signature. Since we don't have their private key, we write an invalid signature and bypass the check instead.

[TheGuyNamedGuy]

That makes sense, thanks!

 

I assume it's not signed on XBox 360, since the hardware DRM is assumed to be enough of a barrier for modification?