There are deliberate rumors being spread about me to tarnish my reputation, which I find unforgivable. These claims are based on suspicions that are in turn based on signs that, in themselves, are not evidence but together create a narrative with the specific intention of harming this project. This is evident from the way the spread occurs: Public posts, announcements, and even private messages are being sent to mods and admins of various communities to label kickStart as harmful, with the aim of discouraging players from continuing to use the program. Webmasters of mod sites are also being contacted, asking them to remove the download, which has succeeded in at least one case, without informing me beforehand. Even that remains used as evidence.

So how did it come to this?

A moderator of the NFSU category on a well-known website requested the source code of my software, which I declined. However, kickStart had been explicitly allowed in this area until recently, which in itself makes no sense, as it is not a modification of the game. It seems that the responsible moderators see it differently, and since I will not release the code, my software was quickly banned because it is not open source. But that apparently was not enough, so it was thought to be a good idea to attack me personally, a role taken on by this mentioned, relatively well-known moderator who acts as a sort of spokesperson.

So what exactly is being criticized?

Firstly, the module winspool.drv (which is part of the Windows operating system) is loaded, which is incorrectly referred to as a printer driver, and is suggested to be a sign of previous malware that disguised itself as this file. In reality, .drv files have not been driver files since Windows NT, but in this case, it is a .dll file with the wrong extension, probably for compatibility reasons with programs from the Windows 95/98/ME era. It is essentially a Windows API that manages print tasks. However, this is never used in kickStart.

And why is it loaded then? That is a valid question I cannot answer precisely. It should be noted that kickStart was developed using Delphi Community Edition 11.3. It is a fact that even an empty, newly created VCL form loads winspool.drv. It is thus impossible to compile such a program with Delphi that does not have this module as a dependency, regardless of whether printing-related functions are used. Anyone who wants to verify this can install the development software from here: https://www.embarcadero.com/products/delphi/starter/free-download

Next, it is stated as a fact that the motherboard ID is being captured, which is simply not true. The truth is that various hardware information is queried to generate unique IDs in the form of checksums, which are used to sign player uploads to the database to ensure uploads are correctly assigned, and to avoid multiple accounts. Only the hashes are stored, not the hardware information itself, and only if the player participates, registers, and uploads voluntarily. Participation in the leaderboards on nfs.onl is completely optional and voluntary, and no data from players who do not participate is stored, not even hashes. Even if this were the case, hashes are merely checksums that, by definition, contain no data. Therefore, the accusation of legal violations is unfounded.

Another reason given is that kickStart does not prevent cheats, as it was possible to lock the RPM using Cheat Engine. First, it should be noted that this is an unauthorized alteration of gameplay, and even if it is not detected by the program, it remains a rule violation that would have consequences if proven. However, it is unclear to me what advantage this would provide, and I see no reason to address this unless an advantage is proven, which there is currently no indication of. Additionally, this point is irrelevant to this discussion. kickStart does have anti-cheat measures, and it is inherent in the nature of the program that I do not explain its functionality to avoid giving cheaters any clues.

It is also noted that the program is compressed with UPX, which is completely correct, but it is also pointed out that malware uses this free packing software. There are many people who avoid using UPX for this reason or claim that it has no use today. I would like to say that my program is not encrypted at all. UPX is a very well-known program and may have a bad reputation, but it is a very effective packer, shrinking the .exe file size by over 70% in my case, saving a lot of bandwidth, especially through the update function. Due to its notoriety, it has become something of a meme, but as easy as it is to pack, anyone can unpack it, which does not change the functionality of the program. Virus software manufacturers also know this, so UPX does not pose an obstacle to analysis. However, the use of UPX can cause false-positive detections, which is not the case with kickStart.

What is even more troubling is the claim that I am stealing code from other modders. This does not make sense, as kickStart is written in a different programming language. Additionally, I supposedly forked a mod from Xan without giving credits. First, mods have nothing to do with kickStart; they are completely separate. The mentioned mod is also not from Xan but from nlgxzef. It is also not a simple fork and remains open source; the differences can be checked on GitHub, and all credits are included in kickStart under "Help", quite thoroughly.

My opinion: Everyone should have the freedom to play where they want. I will not provide recommendations in this regard. My criticism is directed solely at the individuals actively running this particular smear campaign. I hope I have provided a bit more transparency; this is important to me, not only because I am personally responsible for this project. I am doing this as a private individual and without any profit; on the contrary, I have incurred server costs and invested a lot of work into this. My motivation is based on the joy of programming and the enjoyment of the game that I am happy to share with other players.

Best regards,
Redhair

Date: September 2, 2024