Garry's Mod traps pirates with error

Written by Joe Martin

April 13, 2011 | 10:57

Tags: #garrys-mod #garrys-mod-error #gmod #gmod-10 #piracy

Companies: #facepunch #steam

Garry Newman, of Garry's Mod, has revealed that he's introduced a deliberate error into the latest version of his game with the intention of identifying pirates.

The update causes a 'Unable to shade polygon normals' error in pirated versions of the game.

'Just enabled this error in GMod today. It happens when you pirated it. Having fun watching people complain.' Garry said on Twitter.

As well as damaging the game experience for pirates, the error also includes the user's SteamID within in - meaning that pirates can be identified when they paste the error online while looking for help. This means their Steam accounts can then be banned. (UPDATE: Garry has since confirmed to Bit-Gamer that accounts are not being banned, as was originally reported.)

A quick scan of the official Garry's Mod forums reveals pirates who have even headed back to Garry for help fixing the error.

Garry's Mod is a physics-based sandbox game built on Valve's Source engine, where users can create their own machines, scenes and game modes. It's rather good, especially for only £5.99.

Check out some of the things we've made in Garry's Mod for a taster of what's on offer, then let us know your thoughts in the forums.
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