Saturday, July 09, 2011

[Tech Tips] Dirt 3 'Season 2 Won't Unlock' Fix

Well this Dirt 3 is sure a good game but it is giving the players who use cracks a hard time (much like that frikkin' Batman: Arkham Asylum).
Recently a few of the people that used my original Dirt 3 fix pointed out that they can't continue beyond Season 1 and into Season 2.
I found two reasons for this issue...

1. You don't have a podium finish in the Season 1 finale.
In this case replay the event.

2. It is some sort of an anti-crack protection.
This technique was initiated by Rocksteady and implemented in that Batman: Arkham Asylum game in which players that haven't legally bought the title can't continue past certain points during the gameplay (although all had some potential workarounds ;P). I guess Codemasters are trying to do the same but you can evade this too.
> Goto C:\Program Files\Codemasters\Dirt 3\database or a variant path.
>  Find a file name database_restrictions.xml (This file basically governs the locked stuff in the game and when it is to be unlocked)
> Move it to a folder other than Codemasters.
> Start the game with my original fix.
> After you have loaded your save game the game will ask you that do you want to unlock all the cars and stuff. Select No. (Selecting Yes will lead to complications later on, including crashes, as some of the stuff that has been unlocked is DLC that isn't actually present in the game installation!!)
> Continue your tour!

I hope this helps. :)

IF YOU WANT US TO WORK ON ERRORS IN OTHER GAMES, YOU CAN DO SO BY DROPPING A COMMENT BELOW!




17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I selected "No" but all the cars and seasons were unlocked, is this a problem?

R'gated said...

Anony, it doesn't look like a problem :) cox u apply this fix to unlock the unlockable seasons...and the cars naturally become unlocked as u progress through so no worries if u hav selected NO at the menu...

Anonymous said...

Hey Hassan
Thanks for the help in getting us all playing the game. I copied the restrictions file to a different location, the game starts but some of my first season finals events are incomplete and whn i try to play them it crashes. any ideas
thanks
nightfox

R'gated said...

Nightfox, dont mention, just think that it is just a gamer-to-a-gamer stuff ;-)...hmm well u should try copying the restriction file back to its destination (C:\Program Files\Codemasters\Dirt 3\database)...let me know if it helped...

R'gated said...

and then remove it once u r done :)

Anonymous said...

Well I did what you said and it works, thanks...but btw what do we do when the DLC comes out?

Anonymous said...

Hey, Hassaan, ur tip how to unlock worked for me. thx!

Anonymous said...

Done everything and selected "NO". But the game crashes when i start a race... Any ideas ?

R'gated said...

Hey, crashes don't happen unless and until you play races or use cars from one of the following DLC packs...(apart from no. 1 none is there in the native installation)
1) Free car pack (everyone has this already)
2) power and glory car pack
3) mud and guts car pack
4) monte carlo track pack
5) x games asia track pack
6) variety unlock pack
7) variety vehicle pack

So if u are using the any one of these, esp. the free car pack before ending the game once then ur game might crash...just try and stick to the career mode with the previously available cars and liveries.

So as to remind everyone this fix is for unlocking an unlockable season 2 and the cars and DLC are just an inevitable consequence of this fix. I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU PUT THE database_restriction.xml FILE BACK IN ITS ORIGINAL LOCATION ONCE YOU HAVE GONE INTO SEASON 2 OR ANY OTHER UNLOCKABLE RACE. (Remember to save your game before doing so!)

Anonymous said...

should i remove all restriction files? database_restrictions.xml
database_restrictions_1.xml
database_restrictions_5.xml
database_restrictions_4.xml
database_restrictions_8.xml

Anonymous said...

I tried this and when I get into the game I get stuck at the " CHECKING CONTENT" screen. Any ideas ?

Anonymous said...

I get stuck on " checking content" screen when moving the file from the database folder. Any ideas what should I do ?

Anonymous said...

thanks..works fine

R'gated said...

Checking Content part usually goes away if u use the fix I provided. Remember to select "No" when the game asks you to unlock all cars and liveries.

Also make sure that database_restrictions.xml isn't anywhere in the DiRT3 parent folder. I 'd recommend that you create a new folder for it outside the main DiRT3 directory and put it there.

Anonymous said...

Is there any solution besides database_restrictions.xml ?
this one ruining the game by unlocking cars and seasons .. please help me
mystic.force@live.com

R'gated said...

I am sorry Islam. You have to bite the bullet. This is the only possible solution I could work out.

P.S: Refrain from publicly giving away your email addresses. Spam companies are always on the hunt for them. So, I strongly discourage this practice.

Unknown said...

you are my hero, you saved my time and effort, thank you!

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