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Author Topic: DF in french IT security press  (Read 2358 times)

Peherka

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DF in french IT security press
« on: August 09, 2010, 04:18:10 am »

I stumbled upon an article in french IT security magazine MISC (issue #50, july/august 2010 page 17, http://www.miscmag.com).

What is unexpected in this kind of very technical publication is the author stating "[...] l'incroyable Dwarf Fortress, le meilleur jeu vidéo de tous les temps [...]" (the incredible Dwarf Fortress, the best video game ever).

BTW, the article itself is about reverse engineering game mechanics :)
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Meta

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Re: DF in french IT security press
« Reply #1 on: August 09, 2010, 07:24:43 am »

C'est illisible, dommage. :'(
That's unreadable...

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Dae

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Re: DF in french IT security press
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2010, 11:22:51 am »

Quote
On dit souvent que l'industrie du jeu vidéo est la plus complète en ce qui concerne la "science" informatique, puisqu'elle [ permet ?] d'être expert dans les techniques de développement classiques, l'intelligence artificielle, la visualisation 3D avec toutes les subtilités que cela comporte, la simulation physique, etc. Au sein de toutes ces disciplines, la sécurité informatique est bien représentée. On pense immédiatement aux protections anti-piratage et autres [??? surement un synonyme de DRM] qui font de plus en plus parler d'eux de par la fonction qu'ils servent. On peut également penser aux problèmes classiques de sécurité présents dans les application réseaux, tels que les buffer overflows et autres directory transversals.

On pense plus rarement à certains problèmes cryptographiques. En effet, comment faire pour introduire un élément de hasard dans un jeu réseau tout en garantissant qu'aucune des parties ne puisse tricher ?

L'un des éléments les moins connus concerne l'ingénierie inverse de jeux dans le but de comprendre le fonctionnement de certains mécanismes de jeu ou de les modifier. Un exemple spectaculaire peut Être trouvé dans [lien indéchiffrable], où l'auteur décrit un bug vieux de 30 ans de la mythique série Donkey Kong et le corrige. Encore plus fort, les auteurs de [autre lien] ont écrit un désassembleur spécifique pour créer du code recompilable pour le classique Syndicate Wars, [??? adystifié ? modifié ?] et réimplémenté toutes les parties de code non portables puis ont glué tout ça pour obtenir un jeu fonctionnant sur des plate-formes modernes. Les projets de ce type sont légions et permettent [souvent ?] d'identifier de façon certaine les jeux cultes.

Le lecteur intrigué trouvera son bonheur dans l'incroyable Dwarf Fortress, meilleur jeu vidéo de tous les temps, affligé d'une interface utilisateur calamiteuse. Une armée de fans s'acharne pour documenter les mécanismes de jeu, mais également pour créer des utilitaires parfois très complexes. L'ampleur de ce projet garantit au passionné une vie  d'ingénierie inverse, de pouvoir voir de près le génie et la folie dans une même fonction, la reconnaissance éternelle de nombreux joueurs, mais surtout de pouvoir toiser d'un air supérieur les gens qui se vantent de reverser un système d'exploitation bien connu.


Here is an approximative translation :
Quote
The video game industry is often said to be the most complete regarding computer "science", since it [ makes one able ?] to be expert in classical development skills, artificial intelligence, 3D visualization and all subtleties it implies, physical simulation, etc. Within each of these specialisms, computer security is well-represented. One thinks at once of piracy protections and other [??? most likely a synonym of DRM] made increasingly famous by the function they serve. One may also think about classical security problems present in networking applications, such as buffer overflows and directory transversals.

Some cryptography issues are often less thought of. Indeed, how can one introduce a random part (I'm not proud of this translation...) in a network game while still making sure nobody is able to cheat

One of the least known element is about reverse engineering of games in order to understand how some game mechanics work or to change them. One spectacular example can be found at [undecyperable link], where the author describes a 30 year-old bug in the mythic Donkey Kong saga and fixes it. Even better, the authors of [other link] have written a specific disassembler so as to create recompilable code for the classic game Syndicate Wars, [ modified ?] and reinserted all non-portable code then gather everything in order to get a game working on modern platforms. Projects of this type are legion and [often ?] offer a sure way to spot [cult / classic] video games.

The interested reader will love the incredible Dwarf Fortress, best video game ever made, stricken with a catastrophic user interface. An army of fans keeps struggling to document game mechanics, but also to create at times very complex softwares. The scope of such a project ensures a lifetime of reverse engineering, opportunities to see genius and madness striving towards a common goal, eternal gratefulness of numerous players, but most of all an opportunity to look down on people priding themselves on [ reversing ?] a well known Operating System.

The translation is twice as awkward since I wasn't sure of the french word to be started, nor of how I would translate it. Every suggestion to make it better are welcome, as long as it doesn't derail the thread.

Now that sure is something. Do the creators of StoneSense, DFHack, LifeVis, Dwarf Companion, etc realize their work has been the base of a foreign article about computer security in a specialized magazine ?

EDIT : Included Peherka's corrections.
« Last Edit: August 09, 2010, 05:28:12 pm by Dae »
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Urist Imiknorris

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Re: DF in french IT security press
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2010, 01:19:42 pm »

Is that a stonesense screenshot of Undergrotto?
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LordNagash

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Re: DF in french IT security press
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2010, 02:06:50 pm »

Is that a stonesense screenshot of Undergrotto?

Looks more like a ship to me
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Re: DF in french IT security press
« Reply #5 on: August 09, 2010, 02:10:48 pm »

Undergrotto has that exact ship in it.
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nbonaparte

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Re: DF in french IT security press
« Reply #6 on: August 09, 2010, 02:11:25 pm »

Is that a stonesense screenshot of Undergrotto?

Looks more like a ship to me
Undergrotto has a ship in it.
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sadron

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Re: DF in french IT security press
« Reply #7 on: August 09, 2010, 03:19:49 pm »

What's Undergrotto? One of the past stories in the story section?
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Peherka

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Re: DF in french IT security press
« Reply #8 on: August 09, 2010, 03:56:01 pm »

With correction from original article (sorry, I was just too lazy to quote it all  ::) )

Quote
Le lecteur intrigué trouvera son bonheur dans l'incroyable Dwarf Fortress, meilleur jeu vidéo de tous les temps, affligé d'une interface utilisateur calamiteuse. Une armée de fans s'acharne pour documenter les mécanismes de jeu, mais également pour créer des utilitaires parfois très complexes. L'ampleur de ce projet garantit au passionné une vie d'ingénierie inverse, de pouvoir voir de près le génie et la folie dans une même fonction, la reconnaissance éternelle de nombreux joueurs, mais surtout de pouvoir toiser d'un air supérieur les gens qui se vantent de reverser un système d'exploitation bien connu.

Quote
The interested reader will love the incredible Dwarf Fortress, best video game ever made, stricken with a catastrophic user interface. An army of fans keeps struggling to document game mechanics, but also to create at times very complex softwares. The scope of such a project ensures a lifetime of reverse engineering, opportunities to see genius and madness striving towards a common goal, eternal gratefulness from numerous people, but most of all an opportunity to look down on people priding themselves on reverse engineering a well known Operating System.
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Dae

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Re: DF in french IT security press
« Reply #9 on: August 09, 2010, 05:23:49 pm »

Thank you :p
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Sizik

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Re: DF in french IT security press
« Reply #10 on: August 09, 2010, 06:14:51 pm »

What's Undergrotto? One of the past stories in the story section?

Undergrotto
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Re: DF in french IT security press
« Reply #11 on: August 11, 2010, 09:31:19 am »

Quote
One spectacular example can be found at [undecyperable link], where the author describes a 30 year-old bug in the mythic Donkey Kong saga and fixes it.

Man am I curious to know what this is.

Now that sure is something. Do the creators of StoneSense, DFHack, LifeVis, Dwarf Companion, etc realize their work has been the base of a foreign article about computer security in a specialized magazine ?

I can't speak for all of those, but the DF part of the article was snuck in by bartavelle (of Dwarf Companion), who asked me for a screenie he could use (yeah, it's Undergrotto). Thanks for translating, Dae! I saw part of the page before but couldn't make out what I was reading.

Mickle

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Re: DF in french IT security press
« Reply #12 on: August 11, 2010, 10:50:07 pm »

Man am I curious to know what this is.

I squinted at it a bit and came up with http://donhodges.com/how_high_can_you_get.htm which, surprisingly, seems to be the correct page.
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