A crack intro, also known as a cracktro, loader, or just intro, is a small introduction sequence added to cracked software. It aims to inform the user which "cracking crew" or individual cracker removed the software's copy protection and distributed the crack.[1][2][3]
Cracktro for the cracking group Quartex on Amiga. A typical crack intro has a text running at the bottom of the screen.
Historyedit
Crack intros first appeared on Apple II computers in the late 1970s or early 1980s,[2][4][5] and then on ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC games that were distributed around the world via Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes) and floppy disk copying.[5] By 1985, when reviewing the commercially available ISEPIC cartridge which adds a custom crack intro to memory dumps of Commodore 64 software, Ahoy! wrote that such intros were "in the tradition of the true hacker".[6] Early crack intros resemble graffiti in many ways, although they invaded the private sphere and not the public space.[7][8]
As time went on, crack intros became a medium to demonstrate the purported superiority of a cracking group.[4] Such intros grew very complex, sometimes exceeding the size[9] and complexity[10] of the software itself. Crack intros only became more sophisticated on more advanced systems such as the Amiga, Atari ST, and some IBM PC compatibles with sound cards.[5] These intros feature big, colourful effects, music, and scrollers.[11]
Cracking groups would use the intros not just to gain credit for cracking, but to advertise their BBSes, greet friends, and gain themselves recognition.[4] Messages were frequently of a vulgar nature, and on some occasions made threats of violence against software companies or the members of some rival crack-group.[4]
Crack-intro programming eventually became an art form in its own right, and people started coding intros without attaching them to a crack just to show off how well they could program. This practice evolved into the demoscene.[1]
Crack intros and other small software created by software crackers such as keygens and patches that remove protection from commercial applications often use chiptunes in the form of background music. These chiptunes are now still accessible as downloadable musicdisks or musicpacks.[12]
^ abWhitehead, Dan (2008-11-12). . Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2019-09-24. Retrieved 2010-10-23. Amateur coders busy cracking the copy-protection on the latest Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum games got into the habit of marking their work with an animated intro - or "cracktro" - inserted before the game began.
^ abGreen, Dave (July 1995). "Demo or Die!". Wired. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
^Kopfstein, Janus (2012-04-23). "0-Day Art: saving digital art one torrent at a time - Net pirate provocateurs challenge the monetization of online works". TheVerge. Retrieved 2012-04-26.
^ abcdJason Scott (2010-07-31). You're Stealing it Wrong: 30 Years of Inter-Pirate Battles(mov). Las Vegas, Nevada: DEF CON 18.
^ abcReunanen, Markku (2010-04-23). Computer Demos – What Makes Them Tick?(PDF) (Thesis). Aalto University.
^Kevelson, Morton (October 1985). "Isepic". Ahoy!. pp. 71–73.
^Carlsson, Anders (2009). "The Forgotten Pioneers of Creative Hacking and Social Networking – Introducing the Demoscene" (PDF). Re:live: Media Art Histories 2009 Conference Proceedings. University of Melbourne & Victorian College of the Arts and Music: Cubitt, Sean & Thomas, Paul (eds.). pp. 16–20. ISBN978-0-9807186-3-8.
^Kotlinski, Johan (2009). "Amiga Music Programs 1985–1995" (PDF).
^Reimer, Jeremy (2013-04-29). "A history of the Amiga, part 8: The demo scene". Ars Technica.
^Williams, Jeremy. "Demographics: Behind the Scene". Mindcandy Volume 1: PC Demos. Retrieved 2012-05-19.
^Kevin, Driscoll; Diaz, Joshua (2009). "Endless loop: A brief history of chiptunes". Transformative Works and Cultures. 2 (2). doi:10.3983/twc.2009.0096. As the demo scene established its independence, chiptunes were carried out of the gaming sphere altogether to finally establish their own stand-alone format: the downloadable musicdisk.
Further readingedit
Reunanen, Markku; Wasiak, Patryk; Botz, Daniel (2015). "Crack Intros: Piracy, Creativity and Communication". International Journal of Communication. 9: 798–817. ISSN 1932-8036.
Patryk Wasiak, ‘Illegal Guys’. A History of Digital Subcultures in Europe during the 1980s, in: Zeithistorische Forschungen/Studies in Contemporary History, Online-Ausgabe, 9 (2012), H. 2
Borzyskowski, George (November 1996). "The Hacker Demo Scene and Its Cultural Artifacts" (PDF). Curtin University of Technology. Read online: http://www.scheib.net/play/demos/what/borzyskowski/.
Hastik, Canan; Steinmetz, Arnd (2012a): Demoscene Artists and Community 2013-12-12 at the Wayback Machine. In Bours, Patrick; Humm, Bernhard; Loew, Robert; Stengel, Ingo; Walsh, Paul (eds.): Proceedings of CERC 2012, pp. 43–48.
Driscoll, Kevin; Diaz, Joshua (2009): Endless Loop: A Brief History of Chiptunes. Transformative Works and Cultures 9, 2009.
Reunanen, Markku (2014-04-15). "How Those Crackers Became Us Demosceners". WiderScreen (1–2).
"Demoszene: Hollywood in 64 Kilobyte" (MP4). Elektrische Reporter (in German). 2008-12-05.
External linksedit
World of C64 Crackintros – A large collection of C64 cracktros in native "prg" file format (supported by most C64 emulators)
Defacto2 2005-12-31 at the Wayback Machine – Hundreds of cracktros, loaders and installers for the PC
Amiga Music Preservation – Thousands of cracktros in all tracker formats.
Chiptune.com – A chiptune dedicated website containing thousands of chiptunes from Amiga and other formats. The website itself emulates the Amiga Workbench 1.3.
THE AMIGA CRACKTRO MARATHRON – A large back-to-back collection of Amiga cracktros.
Docsnyderspage.com – Hundreds of C64 crack intros re-coded for the web.
April 26, 2024
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A crack intro also known as a cracktro loader or just intro is a small introduction sequence added to cracked software It aims to inform the user which cracking crew or individual cracker removed the software s copy protection and distributed the crack 1 2 3 Cracktro for the cracking group Quartex on Amiga A typical crack intro has a text running at the bottom of the screen History editCrack intros first appeared on Apple II computers in the late 1970s or early 1980s 2 4 5 and then on ZX Spectrum Commodore 64 and Amstrad CPC games that were distributed around the world via Bulletin Board Systems BBSes and floppy disk copying 5 By 1985 when reviewing the commercially available ISEPIC cartridge which adds a custom crack intro to memory dumps of Commodore 64 software Ahoy wrote that such intros were in the tradition of the true hacker 6 Early crack intros resemble graffiti in many ways although they invaded the private sphere and not the public space 7 8 As time went on crack intros became a medium to demonstrate the purported superiority of a cracking group 4 Such intros grew very complex sometimes exceeding the size 9 and complexity 10 of the software itself Crack intros only became more sophisticated on more advanced systems such as the Amiga Atari ST and some IBM PC compatibles with sound cards 5 These intros feature big colourful effects music and scrollers 11 Cracking groups would use the intros not just to gain credit for cracking but to advertise their BBSes greet friends and gain themselves recognition 4 Messages were frequently of a vulgar nature and on some occasions made threats of violence against software companies or the members of some rival crack group 4 Crack intro programming eventually became an art form in its own right and people started coding intros without attaching them to a crack just to show off how well they could program This practice evolved into the demoscene 1 Crack intros and other small software created by software crackers such as keygens and patches that remove protection from commercial applications often use chiptunes in the form of background music These chiptunes are now still accessible as downloadable musicdisks or musicpacks 12 See also editChiptune Demoscene Hacker subculture List of warez groups Replay The History of Video Games The book describes the Dutch demo making as a major influence on video games in the 1980s Warez sceneReferences edit a b Whitehead Dan 2008 11 12 Linger in Shadows Eurogamer Archived from the original on 2019 09 24 Retrieved 2010 10 23 Amateur coders busy cracking the copy protection on the latest Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum games got into the habit of marking their work with an animated intro or cracktro inserted before the game began a b Green Dave July 1995 Demo or Die Wired Retrieved 2010 10 23 Kopfstein Janus 2012 04 23 0 Day Art saving digital art one torrent at a time Net pirate provocateurs challenge the monetization of online works TheVerge Retrieved 2012 04 26 a b c d Jason Scott 2010 07 31 You re Stealing it Wrong 30 Years of Inter Pirate Battles mov Las Vegas Nevada DEF CON 18 a b c Reunanen Markku 2010 04 23 Computer Demos What Makes Them Tick PDF Thesis Aalto University Kevelson Morton October 1985 Isepic Ahoy pp 71 73 Carlsson Anders 2009 The Forgotten Pioneers of Creative Hacking and Social Networking Introducing the Demoscene PDF Re live Media Art Histories 2009 Conference Proceedings University of Melbourne amp Victorian College of the Arts and Music Cubitt Sean amp Thomas Paul eds pp 16 20 ISBN 978 0 9807186 3 8 Kotlinski Johan 2009 Amiga Music Programs 1985 1995 PDF Reimer Jeremy 2013 04 29 A history of the Amiga part 8 The demo scene Ars Technica The Demoscene PDF Digitale Kultur e V Retrieved 2010 10 25 better source needed Williams Jeremy Demographics Behind the Scene Mindcandy Volume 1 PC Demos Retrieved 2012 05 19 Kevin Driscoll Diaz Joshua 2009 Endless loop A brief history of chiptunes Transformative Works and Cultures 2 2 doi 10 3983 twc 2009 0096 As the demo scene established its independence chiptunes were carried out of the gaming sphere altogether to finally establish their own stand alone format the downloadable musicdisk Further reading editReunanen Markku Wasiak Patryk Botz Daniel 2015 Crack Intros Piracy Creativity and Communication International Journal of Communication 9 798 817 ISSN 1932 8036 Patryk Wasiak Illegal Guys A History of Digital Subcultures in Europe during the 1980s in Zeithistorische Forschungen Studies in Contemporary History Online Ausgabe 9 2012 H 2 Borzyskowski George November 1996 The Hacker Demo Scene and Its Cultural Artifacts PDF Curtin University of Technology Read online http www scheib net play demos what borzyskowski Hastik Canan Steinmetz Arnd 2012a Demoscene Artists and Community Archived 2013 12 12 at the Wayback Machine In Bours Patrick Humm Bernhard Loew Robert Stengel Ingo Walsh Paul eds Proceedings of CERC 2012 pp 43 48 Driscoll Kevin Diaz Joshua 2009 Endless Loop A Brief History of Chiptunes Transformative Works and Cultures 9 2009 Reunanen Markku 2014 04 15 How Those Crackers Became Us Demosceners WiderScreen 1 2 Demoszene Hollywood in 64 Kilobyte MP4 Elektrische Reporter in German 2008 12 05 External links editWorld of C64 Crackintros A large collection of C64 cracktros in native prg file format supported by most C64 emulators Defacto2 Archived 2005 12 31 at the Wayback Machine Hundreds of cracktros loaders and installers for the PC Amiga Music Preservation Thousands of cracktros in all tracker formats Chiptune com A chiptune dedicated website containing thousands of chiptunes from Amiga and other formats The website itself emulates the Amiga Workbench 1 3 THE AMIGA CRACKTRO MARATHRON A large back to back collection of Amiga cracktros Docsnyderspage com Hundreds of C64 crack intros re coded for the web Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Crack intro amp oldid 1191857055, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
