security on game

[syth]

Hi

is there any option to prevent copying of the game or accessing the source code in this engine?
i plan to use this engine for my game but i dont want it to be copied by people

Thanks

[AlphaProspector]

You can collapse all your game files into a single one (data.rpa or something like that but the loading screen needs to be outside this file as far as I can tell) that Ren'Py will have to decode and interpret to play the game.

It's pretty similar to what a bunch of japanese developers do with their "XXXX.dat" files, which contain all the game data.

PyTom calls it 'obfuscation' and personally, it works wonders. However, if someone wants to crack a program they'll surely do it no matter the security measures.

Go to Tool > Archive Files. That's the option. All your files will be sent to an 'archived' folder where you can review what was put inside the rpa file.

[Guest]

The difference between an archived and an unarchived game is between a letter in an envelope and a postcard. If someone really wants to read it anyway, the envelope won't really help, but the postcard basically pushes the contents in your face.

As for copy protection, just no. Not even a multibillion industry can come up with a scheme that works.

[Guest]

The difference between an archived and an unarchived game is between a letter in an envelope and a postcard. If someone really wants to read it anyway, the envelope won't really help, but the postcard basically pushes the contents in your face. Unpacking an archive is like just two lines of code, but opening an unarchived one is clicking on a folder.

As for copy protection, just no. Not even a multibillion industry can come up with a scheme that works.

[PyTom]

As for copy protection, just no. Not even a multibillion industry can come up with a scheme that works.

What's more, it's basically impossible to have true security on a game. True security rests on secrets. I know a key, so I can decrypt a message. You don't have that key, so you can't decrypt that message.

The fundamental problem of DRM is that you're trying to protect things in an environment where the key is known. And that's just obfuscation. It might be difficult to crack, and you might pass laws that cracking it is illegal... but at the end of the day, if the work is high-value enough, someone will crack it anyway.

[Showsni]

Basically, whatever you do, if someone's determined enough they'll be able to crack it. But then again, obfuscating it with the built in options is probably enough to stop anyone idly checking out the source code, as unless someone cares enough too most people probably won't be bothered.

[Adorya]

Would be nice to have a packed .exe file too, the less folder there is in the game folder the less tempted players want to have a peak in

[Aenakume]

Would be nice to have a packed .exe file too, the less folder there is in the game folder the less tempted players want to have a peak in

Commercial, but if you look around you can probly find a free version: http://www.nkprods.com/nbinder/

But just be careful that you're not so clever you outsmart yourself. Packing everything into an exe sounds like a great idea... as long as you're only interested in releasing your game for those people who can run exes. And packing everything in an exe means that you can't fix bugs in your program by simply replacing the Ren'Py code. And, of course, to paraphrase the greatest engineer who ever lived: "The more you over-complicate the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain."

i've always been sceptical of people who are hyper-paranoid about users digging into the guts of their programs though. Making it just obfuscated enough to keep casual peekers out, but open enough that dedicated people can mess around with it without too much trouble is the way i'd go. Which do you think is a better game: a game that you play through and then forget about... because every play through is more or less the same - or a game you can tweak, customize, mod and generally warp to whatever twisted design you can come up with?

Wolf3D Smurfenstein mod is still the greatest game i ever played.

[syth]

As for copy protection, just no. Not even a multibillion industry can come up with a scheme that works.

What's more, it's basically impossible to have true security on a game. True security rests on secrets. I know a key, so I can decrypt a message. You don't have that key, so you can't decrypt that message.

The fundamental problem of DRM is that you're trying to protect things in an environment where the key is known. And that's just obfuscation. It might be difficult to crack, and you might pass laws that cracking it is illegal... but at the end of the day, if the work is high-value enough, someone will crack it anyway.

well any sort of protection would help even if its hackable, i mean it would be better than having people copy/paste and drag/drop the game

[ficedula]

It's debatable. And sometimes that's true, but sometimes it isn't.

Once one person has cracked your game and released for free on the 'net, it doesn't really matter that it's really hard to crack and most people can't do it ... because once one copy is out on the net, pretty soon there's a lot of copies floating around and it's really easy to download. It only takes one.

Meanwhile, if the 'copy protection' is causing legitimate customers hassle in any way (see also: Spore) then your copy protection hasn't stopped pirate copies being available, but it is putting some people off getting a legitimate copy...

(Of course, copy protection is a bit different to obfuscating game data, which doesn't normally inconvenience people in the main, but it's not too dissimilar.)

[N0UGHTS]

IMHO, I'd be more inclined to try to hack into the code of a game that's been obfuscated than a game that isn't... It may be just me that feels that way about games, but I think everyone here feels better when they have something (achievement) that makes them "special" or "elite." That's how those Special Edition things grab people and how researchers get small children to fight over raisins. :laughs:

And since I'm an open source-loving hippie, I don't obfuscate my games, anyway. :p

[syth]

It's debatable. And sometimes that's true, but sometimes it isn't.

Once one person has cracked your game and released for free on the 'net, it doesn't really matter that it's really hard to crack and most people can't do it ... because once one copy is out on the net, pretty soon there's a lot of copies floating around and it's really easy to download. It only takes one.

Meanwhile, if the 'copy protection' is causing legitimate customers hassle in any way (see also: Spore) then your copy protection hasn't stopped pirate copies being available, but it is putting some people off getting a legitimate copy...

(Of course, copy protection is a bit different to obfuscating game data, which doesn't normally inconvenience people in the main, but it's not too dissimilar.)

what you say is very true but having a small basic protection just to show people this game is not meant to be copied is a good idea, then if they want to crack it then no matter how advanced it is it would be meaningless, so the basic copy protection would be as good as the advanced ones

so basically what i want to say is, we cant protect our selves from cracking but we can try or at least let the user know but as thing currently are any one can open the source code as he pleases ... it would be nice if they add more features about this to ren'py

[N0UGHTS]

I can't really understand you, but let me try to pull a few things out: You're saying that anyone can crack a game if they wanted, right?

That's true, as long as they have the aptitude, skill, and persistence to go along with that. And cracking into a Ren'Py game isn't as easy as you think. :p

[PyTom]

That's true, as long as they have the aptitude, skill, and persistence to go along with that. And cracking into a Ren'Py game isn't as easy as you think. :p

Actually, it really is as easy as you think. Of course, seeing how quickly even state-of-the-art copy protection gets cracked, I don't see much use in trying to stop it.

[N0UGHTS]

Well, I'm an easily-distracted visionary, so...

What kind of game are you going to make with Ren'Py? I see most Ren'Py games are narrative focused... The graphics are usually flashier than the code. And a lot of the basics are up on the Reference Manual. If you're going to make the game commercial, I understand obfuscating it, but if you're going non-com, there may not be much of a point...