Here is a bit from a .nfo from a scene release that was out a few mins ago +-RELEASE.NOTES Playable Regions: ALL (REGION-FREE) SplitVid, SSv2, AP2.5, and verified with abgx360! iMARS' release is completely missing the AP25 data and the SS replay table. Their rls appears to be some form of ODDE rip, but with 2.0 offsets, and is missing the necessary stealth data. WTF kind of messed up tools are you guys using? iMARS release definitely isn't stealth, and actually won't even boot because of it. iMARS, the new 0800 v3.0 and XBC are both publicly available - why not use them?! PEOPLE, THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHY YOU SHOULDN'T BE PLAYING UNVERIFIED RIPS! P.S. From this point foward, we're dropping the "XGD3_0800" from our rls dirnames and going back to a regular naming convention form now that everyone is well aware of the new XGD3 format and that 0800 is the standard. All our rips will continue to be done with the new 0800 unless otherwise specified under the Release Details section, or in the rls dirname. XGD3 BACKUPS OVERVIEW To end the confusion once and for all, *yes*, original XGD3 discs have a higher linear/track density and therefore a higher physical capacity than XGD2 and regular DVD+R DL media. As a result, XGD3 ISO backups are larger as well. For XGD3 backup support, c4eva has introduced in LT+ v2.0 the LT-MAX feature, which allows for XGD3 backups to use the maximum possible layerbreak for regular DVD+R DL media, and therefore all of the available space (8,547,991,552 bytes) of a regular DVD+R DL disc. Since there is still not enough space on a regular DVD+R DL disc to hold the entire XGD3 game partition, not to mention the Layer 1 Video partition, this is not at all recommended as being "safe" for Xbox LIVE. XGD3 backups will still boot and play fine on LT+ v2.0 as long as the last approximately 1.7% of the game partition does not contain any of the actual game assets, which it usually won't because the end of the game partition is near the inner edge of the disc, and developers will try to keep their game data near the outer edge (middle of the game partition) to maximize read performance. Another necessary condition to booting and playing XGD3 backups on regular DVD+R DL media is that the kernel or game code itself must not perform any CIV (Content Integrity Verification) checks on any part of this last approximately 1.7% of the game partition (or at least it must not take any action after CIV failures). Even if there are no actual game assets in this area, there is still pseudo-random padding data which can be checked through CIV, and such checks can even be added later to the game code through title updates, or to the kernel through system updates. Just like XGD2, XGD3 backups still require the correct dashboard version-specific AP2.5 replay data. As they've done previously, MS has the ability to change the DAE.bin by way of a system update, meaning you may need to re-patch/re-burn at some point. The abgx360 application and database will be updated accordingly to support XGD3. BEST PRACTICES AND SETTINGS The P2P XGD3 ISO rips that were floating around before this point are for ODDEs and are not compatible as-is with LT+ v2.0. Their PFI, DMI and SS sectors are in the wrong PSN (Physical Sector Number) locations and they are missing the critical AP2.5 replay sector and SS replay table. If you intend to play XGD3 backups on a firmware- flashed 360, it's up to you to make sure you're using proper ISOs made with 0800 v3.0, and to double-check by running them through abgx360 before burning. Keep in mind that this is the first of several potential disc-based backup solutions for XGD3. As such, it's recommened that all subsequent releases maintain the full ISO size and associated layerbreak (2133520) in the .dvd, which will help to ensure that they will be forward-compatible should any media manufacturers step up with new larger-capacity discs (which will be necessary in order to make XGD3 backups as safe as possible on Xbox LIVE). The actual layerbreak for XGD3 ISOs is 2133520. However, when burning XGD3 ISOs to regular DVD+R DL, ImgBurn will automatically reposition/ limit the layerbreak to 2086912 in accordance with the disc's maximum Layer 0 data zone capacity (2,086,912 [LBA: 0 - 2086911]). The LT-MAX feature in LT+ v2.0 will compensate for this and allow you to play XGD3 backups with this wrong layerbreak, and therefore wrong game partition data PSN locations. In the case of growisofs as instructed below, in order to avoid errors when burning XGD3 to regular DVD+R DL, you may choose to first truncate the ISO to 8,547,991,552 bytes, and burn using a reduced associated layerbreak of 2086912. This should give you exactly the same end result as ImgBurn or CloneCD.
those who are ripping games without the new XBC and new 0800v3 shouldn't be ripping games..... do it right or just don't do it!
C4eva has commented on this before and stated he doesn't agree. If the game is ripped properly with 0800, it will pass all current checks and be as safe as any other stealth backup on XBL.
C4eva has said a few times now "This is safe AT the moment", "Passes all current checks" The reason this is currently safe is because M$ do not conduct CIV checks (Content integrity), if M$ implement CIV checks all 0800 backups will fail due to missing final padding from the disc. Bear this in mind, because i think some people assume 0800 rips are safe full stop.
