tl;dr: kickstart is banned. no more runs with kickstart.

Update: Due to not complying with a request from rx to open source Kickstart, it has now been formally taken down from nfsmods.xyz with the stated reason for this being a refusal to comply with requests to open-source suspicious code.

Edit: Removed mention of "borrowed" code, as Red stated he has simply forked from Xan, but hasn't provided proper credit.

After recent discussions and claims made by Redhair/Pelorojo, the developer of Kickstart, we had requested for the source code to be provided for us to be able to verify said claims, we were rejected access and were told that "we should just test it ourselves", and that "it's not important what exactly it's doing" and that as it closed source and Red intends to keep it closed source, we will not be provided with any source code access or any verification or proof of any kind for the claims that had been made.

As such, we had taken said issue into our own hands and employed the assistance of several people (SpeedyHeart included) to look into this matter further and found various incredibly suspicious things, such as Kickstart accessing printer drivers (winspool.drv), t̶h̶e̶ f̶a̶c̶t̶ t̶h̶a̶t̶ i̶t̶ g̶r̶a̶b̶s̶ y̶o̶u̶r̶ m̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶b̶o̶a̶r̶d̶ I̶D̶ a̶n̶d̶ h̶a̶r̶d̶w̶a̶r̶e̶ i̶n̶f̶o̶r̶m̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶, w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ i̶s̶ i̶l̶l̶e̶g̶a̶l̶, w̶h̶e̶n̶ d̶o̶n̶e̶ w̶i̶t̶h̶o̶u̶t̶ p̶r̶i̶o̶r̶ c̶o̶n̶s̶e̶n̶t̶, w̶i̶t̶h̶o̶u̶t̶ b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ i̶n̶f̶o̶r̶m̶e̶d̶ a̶n̶d̶ w̶i̶t̶h̶o̶u̶t̶ b̶e̶i̶n̶g̶ p̶r̶o̶v̶i̶d̶e̶d̶ t̶h̶e̶ o̶p̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ t̶o̶ o̶p̶t̶ o̶u̶t̶ (no longer true, it now states this on the website), we also found no proof to the claims of the anti-cheat that Red spoke of (which we were also not provided with any sort of evidence for, just told "test it yourself").

We tested that too. When using Cheat Engine to lock the RPM of the vehicle to a set value, Kickstart recognised the lap as valid and did not show any "false lap" indicators. While not exactly direct proof of malicous intent, but something to keep in mind when compounding all other information, it was packed with UPX which is commonly used by malware developers to obscure and hide malicious software. On this topic, it is also relevant to point out that various malware uses the same printer drivers to execute their unwelcome attacks.

Due to the excessive amount of suspicious behaviour of the tool itself, as well as the developer, we do not see it as in any way fitting to allow this tool to be used in runs any further or any other tools that are closed source.

In a community that has thrived on being open and honest, allowing the use of tools who refuse to be open and honest is not acceptable.

Usage of the update Widescreen fix is now permitted, but it is required to have simrate set to 0. As a form of anti-cheat, all future runs will be required to show the WidescreenFix.ini file after the run.