How to create a saveinstance() detection?

[festiveicing (SirJolly)]

Hello, I have been wanting to implement methods in my game that make it more complicated for exploiters to saveinstance() or steal my game assets in general. I’m not asking for a 100% working patch as anything on the client can be stolen, however I have seen games where when using saveinstance(), the game simply crashes and prevents itself from being stolen. How can I use something like this?

[D3r3kM4n (YearLongSanta)]

I found this:

SaveInstance Injection Detection (Exploit Detection)

Hi, I’m reposting the SaveInstance detection method I posted a couple months ago (as per request by a lot of people). Reason why I deleted the old one was because the code was pretty “poor” and at the time I didn’t want to risk it being patched by UniversalSynSaveInstance Dev’s. The way this works: UniversalSynSaveInstance (SaveInstance) utilises UGCValidationService for it’s HiddenProperty feature, however UGCValidationService isn’t actually apart of the game’s DataModel until explicitly refe…

It basically crashes the client if the game finds UGCValidationService (which is created under game when saveinstance() is used). game:FindService() is used instead of game:GetService() because GetService() looks for the service and creates it if it is not found, FindService() only looks for it.

[kingofsavages5655 (sigma)]

There’s lots of arguments to this, and workarounds of saveinstance(), from what I’m reading in the post, it’s practically unpreventable of it happening in a reliable, catchable way. Just detecting UGCValidationService as a buffer on grounds the client is using saveinstance() isn’t so reliable.

Not to sound like an oldhead, but in my development years, I’ve NEVER seen a reliable counter against saveinstance().

Even regardless of using saveinstance(), so long as the player has access to contents located in Workspace, ReplicatedStorage, StarterGUI, etc, they can use programs like Dark Dex, to copy the things. This has been around for years by the way.

The only preventable measure is to have crucial and important things stored where the client can’t access them, being ServerStorage for example, so long as anything is there, it renders copying it useless.

In addition, anything copied/saved using these methods that contain Script(s) will just be blank since the client cannot access them. However, clients can access LocalScripts and ModuleScripts (through using require())

Then again, this is what I’m reading and using my opinion and knowledge for, if there is a reliable, preventable way, then I apologize.

[ruinedcenturies (taze)]

your best bet is weak table detections which work by referencing weird services like keyboardservice, websocketservice, stuff like that inside of a weak table and then deleting all the strong references. because of how weak tables work, those references should become nil and if they dont that means something else that isn’t the game is holding a reference to them (so long as the game doesnt hold any references to that service itself)

this is also the same detection method used to detect dex (the explorer)
this is an example

while task.wait(1) do
    local KeyboardService = game:GetService("KeyboardService")
    local WeakTable = setmetatable({ KeyboardService }, { __mode = "v" }) -- make a weak table with keyboardservice inside
    KeyboardService = nil -- delete the strong reference, which will make WeakTable[1] nil

    task.wait(0.2) -- let garbage collect

    if WeakTable[1] then -- if a reference still exists, detected
       -- detection code goes here
   end
end

[festiveicing (SirJolly)]

So, I could put a local script in ReplicatedFirst and it’ll prevent it?

while task.wait(1) do
    local KeyboardService = game:GetService("KeyboardService")
    local WeakTable = setmetatable({ KeyboardService }, { __mode = "v" }) -- make a weak table with keyboardservice inside
    KeyboardService = nil -- delete the strong reference, which will make WeakTable[1] nil

    task.wait(0.2) -- let garbage collect

    if WeakTable[1] then -- if a reference still exists, detected
       game.Players.LocalPlayer:Kick()
   end
end

[rudesodacan (cee)]

crash instead of kicking, but yes

[ruinedcenturies (taze)]

both are extremely easily bypassable, a handshake is better but thats more for more advanced anticheats so thisll do fine especially for newer exploiters who dont really have much of an idea of what theyre doing

[festiveicing (SirJolly)]

I got many server-side anti-cheat algorithms I use, and I’ve already used some saveinstance() detections I’m just trying to create even more. Besides obfuscating the script, I used other methods that make it more complicated for an average exploiter to bypass it. I just never rely on client-sided methods, I use them for extra layers to confuse and make it more complicated for exploiters. The goal is to make it as hard as possible for the client to use any exploits, and even if they do, the server will detect it.