Modern craktros...

Should they hold true to a traditional type of cracktro or should they be more newschool?

Are they necessary?

Is an info file just enough these days?

Hardly anyone makes cracktros these days, it's what created the scene and I find it a bit sad that there are not more cracktros these days..

I code cracktros for release groups, not for access to thier ftps, I never took any payment even though I have been offered, I just do it for the love of making a new piece of cracktro goodness :)

I love cracktro's

Half the time they were better than the game.

I have to admit, I do so miss that from crack games these days, truth be said I miss the whole demo scene :( i used to love it on the miggy.

problem is these days, I hardly see any good games with cracks anymore. another truth i suppose is that i have money and can go buy the original if i want.

hmmm perhaps i have become a consuming sheep... i don't know.

Having a PC as a primary rig is like you being left with having TV dinners for the rest of your life.


I'm up for more cracktro's what i would like to see more is serial keychains (little loadup proggys with a cracktro and with serialz and crackz )

..... sigh...... i miss chip tunes....

Cool! Another chance to get sentimental and after a few glasses of red, enhances the effect tenfold. :) My vote is definately in favour of holding true to the style that they were originally produced.

When floppy based, cracked games were rife, there was nothing better than loading the disk and viewing a well produced cracktro. Crystal, Paradox are the first groups that spring to mind here and even if the game was complete pants, you'd find yourself reloading the disks time & time again for a look at the visuals and a listen to the groovy chip.

After the advent of CD/DVD based games, the main cracktro scene died out and as Zetro has already hinted on, today's cracktro equivalent is usually in the form of a key generator. I've seen many a good example of these that stay true to form but sadly they are getting few and far between.

An nFo file added to the dir also adds to the experience IMHO and gives the game/application in question, that 'underground' feel that we all remember and still love.


@Shock: what you are doing is great and it's good to see people like yourself, producing/recreating these little prods and keeping the whole vibe alive. Long may it continue!

The thing is about now and then was you had a bootsector to write an intro/cracktro to now you don't! You had to run the intro/cracktro to get to the game (even the trainer too).

In my Opinion a SAD ommission from today's games!

As Zetro says sometimes the intro was better than the game it came with when i got my first Amiga game did i play it ??? did i fuck i spent ages watching the intro with a multicopper sine scroller with an ace chip tune it was amazing :)

Most of the time the game was an added bonus to a great cracktro!

Ever since Pc's etc came along was no need for a cracktro even if you had one it was optional i guess thats what killed it!

I am all for RETRO style cracktro's / intro's / trainers etc ,i am also all for NEW stuff in them be it 3d effects etc it would be great to see some cool tro's with modern effects/(3d cards) etc

I say good on the ppl who code (remake) them like shock and other people who contribute (including artists, musicians etc). The only thing that fucks me off these days is how everyone's a fucking critique and has to slag off peoples efforts if it's not the best intro/logo you've ever seen etc (the sites and people know who they are)

Nice to have your views gentlemen :)

Sarek, yes, the negative criticism gets to me sometimes too, but not for the same reasons as you.. I have just about run out of Graphics artists to work with! I couldn't care less if someone didn't like my code to be honest but I hate it when people I worked with get demoralised by whingers.

Even Kenet's logo in Widowmakers last cracktro got bad critique!
Kind of puts it all into perspective.

I don't write many intros these days but I will write a few more from time to time I guess.

@Shock this is what gets me all the more can these fuckers not see that every time they slag off ppl's creations they're less likely to make any more???

I don't mind critcism i just don't like being insulted and some of the comments left have been just that!

You want anything logo wise for DBF or your new Intro site you got it bud i'm just not willing to spend time and effort on anything thats going to appear on the other intro sites!

back on the topic of the subject tho i'd like to see some REMAKES of famous intro's from Amiga etc in higher res, more colours etc (& better music if such thing is possible ;))

I like writting music :D

I use ModPlug and Octamed SS, and from this can save out a whole variety of formats.

as long as my work isn't used in dissing peeps or making loads of dosh without me i am all for it :D

To be honest I think the only reason I used to copy as much stuff on the Amiga as I did was to collect the cracktros.

New or old school? Personally I like see old style stuff and I like new demos. No reason to slag off either style if it's a well made production.

Favourite old cracktros from memory are (if you remember them):

* Paradox cracktro on Desert Strike

* TRSi crackro on Pinball Fantasies - Technically quite simple but the music made it a classic.

* Paradox cracktro on Prince of Persia - The Angels one! :P

* Paradox cracktro on Bubba'n'Stix - Just liked the tune, even though it was only a single pattern on ProTracker!

I think it's crazy that new stuff doesn't have cracktros. Is it that hard to link a crack intro to the start of a game's exe (single file as opposed to having the cracktro as a seperate exe)? (Might be some technical reason not to do it that I don't know about of course)

There used to be some nice cracktros on GBA stuff not long ago. Seems to have died out on the DS though! :(

As many have alluded to already, some of the cracktros clearly had more effort put into them than the game they were attached to.

Personally speaking, I have fonder memories of the cracktros than a lot of the games.

Pretty much I could just about tell you who cracked what, because of the intro just from memory.

I have no idea why it should be that there is a sudden backlash against cracktros, they have been part and parcel of cracked wares since the dawn of time.

Sad if they die out.

Many of todays newschool effect junkies do not like them.
Some even thumb down cracktros just because they are cracktros!

Luckilly I know of at least 6 people who are dedicated to making new crack intros and even converting old classics to run on the Win32 platform.

It is demoralising as a coder when they get such negative feedback, not for me, but I've said this before, I've been really lucky and worked with some really great graphics artists and watched them getting criticised and losing motivation.

I have in my collection something like 3,000 unique crack intros by the way. If anyone wants something specific, please ask. The chances are that I will have it in my collection. (I don't have any duplicates for intros that were used on more than one release btw - Just one of each cracktro.).

I'm still suspicious that this backlash towards cracktros is nothing more than a minority of very vocal and negative people on a few popular scene forums.

Speaking from experience past and present I would say that 99% of scene guys I have ever been in contact with over the years have had the "for fun, not status" attitude and generally have respected any quality scene production no matter if it is to their own tastes or not.

I'm not against critisium, in fact I think it is a good thing in many cases. But unconstructive comments like "crap!" or "all been done before!" don't really help anyone.

Maybe the silent guys (I include myself in that) who do like the intros need to speak up more with positive feedback.