Protecting Resource Graphics?

[therehere3]

Hello everyone!

Is there a way that you can protect all your pictures/graphics for the game?

I would hate to have someone just simply download the client and go into the "resources" folder and steal them all for themselves.  

[jcsnider]

Easy to do once the source is out. 

 

Not worth the time though. Anyone who steals your content won't follow through with anything.  (I can't convince you of that though, it's something you learn overtime.)

[or3o]

if someone wants to steal your are all they would have to do is take screenshots with the game running. But seriously if someone is too lazy to make original art than they are too lazy to make a game.

[panda]

4 hours ago, Haath said:

Let me just also add that this is better NOT added as a default feature. It's better if everyone implements his own encryption/packaging. This way someone cracking it once won't suddenly get access to every game ever made with this engine.

First rule of cryptography is to never roll your own. JC could very easily implement a generic means of asset protection that won't be magic key to every kingdom.

 

2 hours ago, or3o said:

if someone wants to steal your are all they would have to do is take screenshots with the game running. But seriously if someone is too lazy to make original art than they are too lazy to make a game.

This is significantly easier said than done to be honest. Someone lazy enough to use assets from other developers isn't going to go and extract assets from screenshots.

[swiftsword7]

This is actually a question I've been thinking about asking, but you beat me to it .  As far as I can tell without the source code the best you can do is hide the folder (Right click on it > Properties >  check the box next to Hidden).  With the source code you could always have people download your game using an installer program and have the installer bury the resources folder in Program Files and then in the code change the path to wherever you buried it.  Preferably you somehow lock and encrypt the folder (and hide it, and bury it in program files) and then in the code program a way to decrypt it (I am not positive on how to exactly do this).  The first two methods I mentioned are fairly easy for your average curious player to still find the resources folder (the third method should make things a little harder) but will hopefully help in deterring them.  And don't forget to put copyright information into a text document with your game telling people that you own the assets used and they can't take them/use them (I'm not a lawyer so you should research how to do this ).  Hopefully an Admin or Moderator (or more experienced user) can let you know if it is currently possible to fully protect your resources.

[Giligis]

Yes you would need to encrypt your files which I do believe would require the source code. Soon folks

[Phenomenal]

Once the source is out simply compile all images and sounds ect. into wad files eg. Images.wad and sounds.wad then go ahead and encrypt the wad and make the client read the wad file.

[Haath]

Let me just also add that this is better NOT added as a default feature. It's better if everyone implements his own encryption/packaging. This way someone cracking it once won't suddenly get access to every game ever made with this engine.

[Beefy Kasplant]

5 hours ago, [熊猫副船長] said:

This is significantly easier said than done to be honest. Someone lazy enough to use assets from other developers isn't going to go and extract assets from screenshots.

 

Well I'm speaking from my own experience, but I ripped tiles and sprites from Gameboy games for my DBZ game and I'm way too lazy to finish a game

[Gibier]

5 minutes ago, Kasplant said:

 

Well I'm speaking from my own experience, but I ripped tiles and sprites from Gameboy games for my DBZ game and I'm way too lazy to finish a game

 

You ripped them, well seems the english DBZ game staff are pretty different than the french one. Everyone used literally the same tileset .

[or3o]

10 hours ago, [熊猫副船長] said:

First rule of cryptography is to never roll your own. JC could very easily implement a generic means of asset protection that won't be magic key to every kingdom.

 

This is significantly easier said than done to be honest. Someone lazy enough to use assets from other developers isn't going to go and extract assets from screenshots.

To be fair didnt most of the assets taken from old nintendo games and gameboy games have the assets ripped via screenshots? The point is just if someone wanted to steal assets they could. Not that it matters because I have yet to see a game using stolen assts to be completed let alone successful.

[panda]

Just now, or3o said:

To be fair didnt most of the assets taken from old nintendo games and gameboy games have the assets ripped via screenshots? The point is just if someone wanted to steal assets they could. Not that it matters because I have yet to see a game using stolen assts to be completed let alone successful.

I think this is true, however at this point I think ripping it from ROMs is now possible so...

Also, ripping the graphics from PC games, even the 2D ones, is generally harder to do via screenshot.

[Phenomenal]

@or3o There was a indie game a while back that was decently sucessful where he left some placeholder art in by accident that was someone else's art, they talked it out and he edited it and that was it.

[Z3ktrix]

10 minutes ago, jcsnider said:

Easy to do once the source is out. 

 

Not worth the time though. Anyone who steals your content won't follow through with anything.  (I can't convince you of that though, it's something you learn overtime.)

Wait until they make something out of it. Let it get popular. Then sue the crap out of them.