26 replies to this topic

[Halo117]

So someone tell me how a Development Kit can run a unsigned key but yet our normal Xbox 360 cannot someone tell me what makes the Xbox 360 Development kit be able to run a unsigned key tell me but don't just say the files are different what I want to know the key in the file that makes it be able to bypass all of that stuff!

[ILIKETURTLES♥]

Ok maybe this will help you, It was posted by Eazy B on *****

"Modified XEX

The Xbox 360's games are written in a format that is very similar to a PC. The game files are stored in a directory, and have .dll files as libraries as well as an executable, much like a computer. Although, instead of .exe files these are called .Xex files, aka Xenon Execuables. These files are specially compiled by Microsoft Xbox 360 SDK, and are illegal to distribute as they contain copyrighted code. You may be asking, what does this have to do with Halo 3 modding? Well, When you select a map in the mainmenu, the executable for Halo 3 uses the RSA public key for the .map files, to verify that they are unmodified. If the files are unmodified, the XeX allows the map to be loaded. Otherwise, the Xex will not allow the map to be loaded and will result in a 'You have failed to load the map' error. Anthony, Xenon/Detox, and Kornman have gotten around this by mapping out the Halo 3 XEX file, and removed the check, in PowerPC based Assembly Language. This allows them to load any map files.


Real Time Memory Editing
This method has been described very briefly before, so I will try to clarify it as much as possible. A development kit is capable of running two processes at once, one being the current Title and the other being the network debug monitor. Xenon/Detox realized this and decided to use it to his advantage until he created a modified XeX. In this method, the XeDK ( Xenon Development Kit) loads an unmodified version of Halo 3. The player then goes into an unmodified .map file, and begins gameplay. Now remember, a XeDK can run two processes at once. Xenon used this to his advantage by writing a program to send commands through the network to his XeDK. He would mod his map on PC, and tell his XeDK to 'synchronize' with the PC version of his map. The PC would send these changes over the network and would be reflected immediately ingame. This is where the term, Real Time Halo is coined from.




Section 2 - Xbox 360 Development Kits ( XeDK )
Both of the above methods require one to have an XeDK, this is because an XeDK can boot in-progress games aka XeX files. For method 1, the user will simply transfer their modified XEX to the Halo 3 section of their XeDK or Dvd, and run the game on the XeDK. Method 2 requires an XeDK because retail units do not have network debug capabilities.


Some common misconceptions are:
the 'Hybrid' Xbox 360 : This was a term coined in the early stages of modding when it was believed Microsoft would bring trouble to any one thought to possess an XeDK.
the Demo Kit: The Demo Kit is one of many types of Xbox 360 Development setups. Some of the most common set ups for these are:
1. the Demo Kit
2. The Reviewer's Kit
3. The Testing/Debug Kit
4. The Development Kit

All debug hardware offers the functionality required for Halo 3 modding. None of these kits can access Xbox LIVE service, They access a service called XePartnerNet.

It is recomended that you DO NOT purchase these items, as there are many additional software tools required to mod Halo 3, and it is a waste of hardware for actual developers and people who have legitimate other uses for them.





Section 3 - Why This isnt Possible on Retail
At this point the question may be coming into your mind, ' Why cant we just Resign the maps like Halo 2?'. Halo 2's .Map files were protected via a CRC Checksum. This is basically a string of hex written to the file telling the game what the files signature should come out to be. Halo 3 has a much stronger form of protection on the maps called RSA. This is a method of encryption/signing a file based on two keys. One of these is the public key, and the other the private key. Each key has a different function. The key we can access, the public key, is used for verifying a file is unmodified. The private key, which only bungie has, is used for signing/encrypting the files to be verified by the public key. This key is an RSA 2048 bit key, mathmatically designed to be impossible to crack in our lifetimes, thus raising the need for a method of bypassing it."



Once again this was posted by Eazy B not me

[Halo117]

Soo your saying that with a development kit they modify it while in game? SWEET

Edited by Halo117, 26 August 2008 - 11:22 PM.

[yungbol]

dont flame me on this or quote me on this, but im just thinking outside the box.. dont you think they have done sometyhing serverside because they learned their lesson with halo 2? maybe the "code" for each map is ran against a serverside list of codes, so say if someone starts modding they change all the server side codes and whoever is still using the old "codes" on their map after everyone got the new update then they get banned...idk im just thinking they had to think something up after halo2 was ruined by thousands of modders...

They would need to recreate a whole new Halo disk and a whole new RSA encryption.

[Mcmodder♥]

can u plzz stop posting about the .map its never going to *** out for h3 and if it did u would get banned for h3 completey if u used it

[yungbol]

can u plzz stop posting about the .map its never going to *** out for h3 and if it did u would get banned for h3 completey if u used it

True that . lol