~~~~~ INSTRUCTIONS ~~~~~

For pirated game + crack:

1. Run "PeacockPatcher.exe".
2. Run "Start Server.cmd" to start the server. This will open a command prompt.
3. Launch the cracked game. PeacockPatcher should detect the game's process ID and patch it, redirecting it to the selected server (usually "Peacock Local"/"127.0.0.1"/"localhost").

Once you enter the game and pass the main screen, everything is routed through the cracked Peacock server, giving you access to all DLCs and allowing you to play as if connected to official servers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For legit owned game on Steam:

If you own part of the game on Steam and want to play with cracked Peacock:

1. Set up a DLC unlocker (such as SmokeAPI/Koalageddon, CreamAPI won't work) in your game directory.
2. Use cracked Peacock with your game by following the above instructions, but launch the game via Steam.

This setup lets you earn achievements, track playtime, etc., through Steam (instead of a game crack), while using cracked Peacock's server to unlock all DLCs etc.

You can download SmokeAPI here: https://privatebin.rinuploads.org/?e419419b44b6dee9#cCU5GinvKUSy23oKM1bz1dy6fuJSdYWJ4Egc4NnpLRo, please do your own research into it if you decide to use it.

To install it, copy its contents into the "Retail" folder within your game directory. 
(This is only needed if you plan to use cracked peacock along with a purchased game launched via steam, instead of a cracked game)

Here is the rin thread for SmokeAPI: https://cs.rin.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?p=2597932#p2597932.

~~~~~ UPDATES & MORE ~~~~~

MAKE SURE TO BACKUP YOUR 'userdata' FOLDER FROM THE PEACOCK FOLDER BEFORE YOU UPDATE IT, THIS IS YOUR PROGRESS!

For updates and more information, visit the HITMAN 3 thread on cs.rin.ru:
https://cs.rin.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=105454

Here is the post that will always have the latest cracked peacock:
https://cs.rin.ru/forum/viewtopic.php?p=3002498#p3002498

You can also find in the main post of that thread some scripts to automate the task of launching the game with peacock if you don't want to have to run the 3 files every time you play etc.
(If using a launch & close script, ensure it waits 5 seconds after game closure before closing Peacock)

~~~~~ NOTES ~~~~~

Cracked Peacock doesn't need to connect to anything to verify/authenticate, that's all patched out.
Really the only reason you may want to allow the server access to the internet is if you don't have the image pack, so that it can download missing images for you.

The Peacock devs advise waiting about 5 seconds after closing the game before stopping the Peacock server to avoid the risk of it still writing to your save files, which could lead to corruption if the server is stopped during this. 

If the server was shut down improperly and now it won't launch, check your 'lop.json' file in the 'userdata/users' folder for corruption. 
If it's corrupted (random 0's etc), you can delete it and you shouldn't lose any progress.
If you still have issues then you should check your actual profile json for corruption.

As long as you close the Peacock server a little after the game then you shouldn't face any issues.

Please use the GSE crack (https://privatebin.rinuploads.org/?4a14dd9b4d121699#HzRT6nnD3ZVNxQfDbt8isbHEN2pXqPkdpJKbkC9piMkK) for the game if you use the Steam version, the CODEX crack has issues with the newest Peacock versions.

If you have an issue with the crack and you've already read this: https://rentry.co/APG-H3 then you can feel free to PM me on rin (https://cs.rin.ru/forum/ucp.php?i=pm&mode=compose&u=1656085) and I can try to help fix whatever issue you may have.