freewheel Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 Can a game demo have a built in timer? Or be written in a way to allow a few minutes of a level? And be unhackable? Or is this a crappy idea. Absolutely. Take pINg as a simple example - normally these games will let you play to a score of say 15. As a demo, I could just hard-code the score counter to only go to 1. You'd get an idea of how the game plays but it wouldn't be very satisfying. A timer is similarly easy to implement. Unhackable? No. There's no way to make something unhackable, regardless of what DRM-proponents will tell you - if someone gets their hands on the binary code, there's ALWAYS a way to make it fully work. It's only a matter of how much effort it takes. So, you could obfuscate the code that operates the score limit or timer, and hope nobody can figure it out. Or you can encode personalized information in such a way that removing it is difficult if you still want the game to function. But all of this, including the most complex DRM schemes ever designed, is circumventable given enough effort. Especially on something with so little storage and computing capacity. There just aren't that many bits to twiddle. And at the end of the day, you're handing the keys over to the end user. You HAVE to, in order to let them play the game legitimately. It's only a matter how figuring out how the key fits the lock, so to speak. The fact that no one has managed to crack most of these schemes is proof that either a) no one cares enough to even bother trying, and the threat of piracy is massively overblown or b) piracy will kill the homebrew scene, but it's more work than the people who've tried can be bothered with or are capable of. The truth, as always, probably lies somewhere in between. The only foolproof way to limit a game is to compile it with stuff missing, which is why the term "crippleware" was coined. Although in theory someone could actually work around this - take DZ's example of removing levels from Christmas Carol. Someone could conceivably look at the code, figure out how the levels are implemented, and re-implement them from scratch based on observations against a fully working game. Sure it's ridiculous to even imagine someone doing it, but it's possible. No one will of course bother because CC is publicly available in ROM format for all to enjoy Something like Copter Command could have only one level, or certain features removed entirely, or a timer, or a cap on score. It all depends on what makes the most sense for a demo for a particular type of game. And it depends on how much effort you really wanna put into stopping copying. The more "unhackable" you want it to be, the more time your developer will have to spend doing just that. Some companies spend literally millions of dollars on these schemes and they're broken in a matter of hours. Is it worth it in a market where 200 copies makes a best seller? Hard to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted March 17, 2015 Author Share Posted March 17, 2015 Reminds me of Tron Legacy, where he hacks their OS and gives it out for free. For some reason that popped into my mind. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 (edited) Revision1 of manual cover. (poor quality jpeg, sorry) Edited March 22, 2015 by revolutionika Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Gameplay video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ImaPjGbqlMo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JasonlikesINTV Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 I love how Activision-y the graphics on the box and manual look. Can't wait. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 I love how Activision-y the graphics on the box and manual look. Can't wait. Activision? Who is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariBuff Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Great cover. Great video. Please send my copies by copter NOW! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric7100 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 (edited) When purchasing from Pikachu, he always included a little token related to the game (usually a keychain of a baseball, football, keyboard, etc. depending on the game). I think you should include a little token of a helicopter of some sort. That would be so cool! Edited March 22, 2015 by Eric7100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cmart604 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 When purchasing ridiculously overpriced items from Pikachu, he always tries to justify the ridiculously high prices by including a little token related to the game (usually a keychain of a baseball, football, keyboard, etc. depending on the game). Fixed that for you. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Fixed that for you. lmfao. Screw the random keychains when you get a patch that is actually related to the game Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+stupus Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 If your going to compete with Pikachu you will also need to include some Lays ketchup chips, aero chocolate bars, maple syrup candies, maple tea and swiss chalet dipping sauce. And of course double your prices 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 When purchasing from Pikachu, he always included a little token related to the game (usually a keychain of a baseball, football, keyboard, etc. depending on the game). I think you should include a little token of a helicopter of some sort. That would be so cool! Ya never know.... Side note. I'll make sure your copy doesn't have overlays! Coptergate has begun. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Special Teams Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 It would be cool if they could be delivered by drone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Tarzilla Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 If your going to compete with Pikachu you will also need to include some Lays ketchup chips, aero chocolate bars, maple syrup candies, maple tea and swiss chalet dipping sauce. And of course double your prices That might explain why Rev asked me if I could source him 250 of these? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-crew Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Ya never know.... Side note. I'll make sure your copy doesn't have overlays! Coptergate has begun. Perfect spring/summer series... lol Coptergate the series... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric7100 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 (edited) Ya never know.... I see the "cute, little copter" as a mascot of sorts. So a little copter "token" would be perfect to include with the purchase of this game! Edited March 22, 2015 by Eric7100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric7100 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Side note. I'll make sure your copy doesn't have overlays! Coptergate has begun. :mad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric7100 Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 If your going to compete with Pikachu you will also need to include some Lays ketchup chips, aero chocolate bars, maple syrup candies, maple tea and swiss chalet dipping sauce. And of course double your prices I've gotten all of those things from him, except for the maple tea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeM_Intellivision Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Well played cmart lol:-) Hey Rev just include a real helicopter with mine - oh never mind I couldn't even afford fuel:-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+5-11under Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Why does the copter look like a fox? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cmart604 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Why does the copter look like a fox? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted March 23, 2015 Author Share Posted March 23, 2015 Why does the copter look like a fox? What does the Copter say? naananana nanana nanaaa bbuutijhakdnknknskvn 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+JasonlikesINTV Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 When purchasing from Pikachu, he always included a little token related to the game (usually a keychain of a baseball, football, keyboard, etc. depending on the game). I think you should include a little token of a helicopter of some sort. That would be so cool! Fixed that for you. lmfao. Screw the random keychains when you get a patch that is actually related to the game If your going to compete with Pikachu you will also need to include some Lays ketchup chips, aero chocolate bars, maple syrup candies, maple tea and swiss chalet dipping sauce. And of course double your prices I'm thinking about selling some games. What do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+cmart604 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 Lol! Nailed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pimpmaul69 Posted March 23, 2015 Share Posted March 23, 2015 I'm thinking about selling some games. What do you think? man i really want the playing cards. Maybe i will try to order them again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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