Why server side games generally can’t be hacked/modded

AndnixSH

PMT Elite Modder
Original poster
Staff member
Modding-Team
Jun 27, 2017
4,761
301,687
1,213
Modding World
A good explanation by latesthackingnews.com and edited

Overview
• The Server – This party is responsible for serving content.
• The Client – This party requests content from the Server, and displays them to the user. In most cases, the client is a web browser.

Each side’s programming, refers to code which runs at the specific machine, the server’s or the client’s.

Server Side Code
Server side is the code that resides at web server.
For every client request code is executed at server side and result is send to the client like a website in simple HTML format.
Performance is lower than client side code due to server round trips.
Client cannot see the business logic though it is stored on server.

Client Side Code
Client side code is reside at client’s browser itself. It is executed at
client side only. User can easily see the code by View –> Source option.
It is generally used in validation form like text field is empty or not, email address validation etc. It is faster than server side code
Server side code is responsible to execute and provide
the executed code to the browser at the client side. The executed code only have the
values or the results that are executed on the server.

There are many programs out there that claim to be able to hack games such as Clash of Clans, these are all fake, here’s why:

Any so called ‘gem hack’ will not work because the data is stored server side, so editing the data client side will then need to be confirmed server side.

In other words, there is no way to hack such a game. If there were a way, somebody would have figured it out, spread the information, and then it would have to have been patched rapidly. These kinds of games are specifically designed for people to not be able to hack into them. In order to do so you would have to gain access to the server and alter the information that contains things like how many gems you have. This in itself is a near impossible task because this information is sensitive and secure. It’s like if you were trying to gain credit card information off of a website like Amazon. It’s extremely unlikely and illegal that you’ll find a crack, but leaks do occur from time to time.

Most RPG games runs the battle in client side before server validation, therefore it is hackable. This is why most mods are basically damage, defense and no cooldown hack. Some FPS games may look like it's server-sided, but not everything is, therefore it's possible to perform ESP and Aimbot. Battiefield series are fully server-sided and it includes camera, visuals, graphic etc. When your connection lags, all visuals lags too
 
Last edited:

Jiny

Platinian
May 3, 2018
5
7
13
26
USA
That's very informative and helpful, thank you for sharing!

I'm curious as to why don't most games store currency data (and other data that is usually hacked) on server side? Is it because implementing server side games is more costly in terms of resources, time, and money? I'm assuming most android games are not server side since many can be modded.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Annihilazion

DaRealPanDa

Co-Administrator
Staff member
Supporting-Team
Global Moderator
Social Media
Mar 12, 2018
6,758
15,610
2,120
27
Skyrim
That's very informative and helpful, thank you for sharing!

I'm curious as to why don't most games store currency data (and other data that is usually hacked) on server side? Is it because implementing server side games is more costly in terms of resources, time, and money? I'm assuming most android games are not server side since many can be modded.
Server-side is only against Modders and Hackers.
When a Modder mod as example unlimited Currency in a Game, this costs the company thousands of dollars.
A Server is way cheaper than that.
A good example for a Company which practice this Server-side thing extreme is Supercell. All Games from them are 100% Server-sided.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jiny

Jiny

Platinian
May 3, 2018
5
7
13
26
USA
Ah, that makes sense. So when mods/hacks cost the company more than the cost of implementing a server, that's when server side is much more necessary.
Regarding the moddable games which are not server side, I guess for those companies, they do not lose that much money from hacks so they don't implement server side.

Thank you for clarifying! :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: AndnixSH

Wiccan

Just Crazy
I could be totally off point however isn't server side and when we mod.. It's like a mirror over the real game wich is legal as to google regulations and protects the modder since the modder didn't truly hack but use implementation or apps to run over top of the game itself.. I think I'm close.. I've changed values in a few games with rooted and gg with parallel in the past but that was it..i see modders here who I only wish I could measure up to their Jedi level experiences. Im a chef and don't have the time to mod but god(s) would I love too.. I also like how structure and strict this site is.. It keeps the site mods dominant over it's visitors which keeps the house clean.. Plus I've come to realise that this site takes a bit of experience to execute things which separates this site from others.. I used to love user friendly MOD sites but after coming here I'm rewarded with a game to play plus an occasional bone to add to the tool box of future game modding or such.. I've asked a ton of questions most ignored but also not left in the dark.. Just being here makes me wanna go get better game working tools and trash my outdated junk as its rendered useless.. Good topic man
 

hiveall

Rookie
Mar 23, 2018
2
0
1
29
uae
I always wondered why some games get "patched", some features where available "before" then now you can't use it anymore. What confused me more is that some places says it's patched and if I searched/googled more I find that it's still available. I've been modding different games from different platforms, including android and pc games. What I used to do is comparing original game file with modded one (made by someone) , and then analyse the difference, then try my own codes/ modifications. I'm not much expert in coding but I know enough to mod games even if no one modded it. Still, it's hard for me to know if this code server sided or not, and I think no ones know until test the code. For example, you have here free" yugioh duel links" mod, which include revealing cards but before you were able to mod points/score after match with npc (PVE). which gives you more rewards. Now it's not available I don't know why but maybe it's patched/ server sided. I appreciate your hard work and If you can clarify how can you identify if code server sided or not, I'll be happy.
 

DaRealPanDa

Co-Administrator
Staff member
Supporting-Team
Global Moderator
Social Media
Mar 12, 2018
6,758
15,610
2,120
27
Skyrim
I always wondered why some games get "patched", some features where available "before" then now you can't use it anymore. What confused me more is that some places says it's patched and if I searched/googled more I find that it's still available. I've been modding different games from different platforms, including android and pc games. What I used to do is comparing original game file with modded one (made by someone) , and then analyse the difference, then try my own codes/ modifications. I'm not much expert in coding but I know enough to mod games even if no one modded it. Still, it's hard for me to know if this code server sided or not, and I think no ones know until test the code. For example, you have here free" yugioh duel links" mod, which include revealing cards but before you were able to mod points/score after match with npc (PVE). which gives you more rewards. Now it's not available I don't know why but maybe it's patched/ server sided. I appreciate your hard work and If you can clarify how can you identify if code server sided or not, I'll be happy.
If something is server-sided simply gets tested. You mod it, its just visual = server-sided. Or you can't find it even after trying for months = probably server-sided.

Besides that,

  1. " but I know enough to mod games even if no one modded it. " and " What I used to do is comparing original game file with modded one (made by someone) , a"
in one sentences is...no bud."What I used to do is comparing original game file with modded one (made by someone)" is called "leeching" in our scene and highly against our terms and our philosophy of modding. You should learn a program language and start modding games by reading simple tutorials and learning by doing, Reading someone else codes and "learning" from that is just leeching. Even more when its not available code in any public tutorial but just inside their .apk. I would highly suggested dropping that "method of modding" and just focus on your own stuff and figure stuff out yourself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tus0 and Jonelias

hiveall

Rookie
Mar 23, 2018
2
0
1
29
uae
If something is server-sided simply gets tested. You mod it, its just visual = server-sided. Or you can't find it even after trying for months = probably server-sided.

Besides that,

  1. " but I know enough to mod games even if no one modded it. " and " What I used to do is comparing original game file with modded one (made by someone) , a"
in one sentences is...no bud."What I used to do is comparing original game file with modded one (made by someone)" is called "leeching" in our scene and highly against our terms and our philosophy of modding. You should learn a program language and start modding games by reading simple tutorials and learning by doing, Reading someone else codes and "learning" from that is just leeching. Even more when its not available code in any public tutorial but just inside their .apk. I would highly suggested dropping that "method of modding" and just focus on your own stuff and figure stuff out yourself.
Thanks for clarifying.

I've never published any kind of mods, I just enjoy modding my favourite games. That's why I'm not really into it. Also, I have job that require a lot of effort and attention so I'm just enjoying my interest. However, I read a lot (if not all= of tutorials here and other website. You call it leeching I'm calling it learning from experts because I'm not publishing any of that mods or hurt their work. I appreciate the hard work of modders as well.

Thanks again for the clarification.
 
Tags
games server sided