Protection

[lightmax]

Hi all,

I'm actually developping a map, and, as I don't want people to steal it and modify it, I want to protect it. As some Protectors can be countered by very good Map-UnProtectors, I'm asking you if you know a Map-Protector that can't be countered.

Thanks.

 

[dansaDisco]

I'm asking you if you know a Map-Protector that can't be countered.

There is no such thing, and there will never be such a thing.

As long as warcraft can read and play the map, you can open it.

 

[Thyrael]

A simple way is to use such specific models and systems, that it would make no sense to steal them. Or at least that the work that will be needed to adapt them after stealing stands in no relation to the result.

 

[lightmax]

Okay, thanks, good idea.

I know that people hate protected maps, because there's no copyright for us on them and that everybody want to open maps to learn triggering.
But the thing is, that I don't want somebody to say : "I made the map!" nor to modify it, expecially if it unbalances it.

 

[Thyrael]

I understand you point very well. I created a lot of custom models and scripts for my RPG. And many many people ask me to release stuff to public. Nevertheless I will put up a demo and that demo will be protected. And I'm sure that someone will unprotect it. But then he'll see that he can't use anything except some doodads or icons. So stealing won't make sense.

 

[NoAmmoSrry]

lol your map might suck dick and no one will want to steal it, first release your map lol

 

[Jirinal]

And there we put the little word "might" in...

 

[lightmax]

What?

 

[Septimus]

Protecting a map is pointless because.

1) It can be deprotect, if you use any software that make it unreadable in order to protect it; neither could warcraft read it. Which naturally make your map crash if you try to play it in warcraft.

2) Is useless, cause anybody with programming experience could easily deprotect it and edit it at their own way as long as they know jass.

3) Is useless, protecting a map are only done in order to prevent user from getting an direct answer such as riddle map or model which are exclusively done just for the map itself.

 

[lightmax]

And what about maps stealers?

 

[Septimus]

And what about maps stealers?

Read it again.

2) Is useless, cause anybody with programming experience could easily deprotect it and edit it at their own way as long as they know jass.

And if you are soo freaking scared about it, just make a official site of it such as dota where they have a official site.

The best protection that could be effort are vexorian optimizer, which only able to ward off noob map stealer. Either take it or leave it.

 

[lightmax]

Okay, thanks. But what I meant by "And what about maps stealers?" is, what about noobs unprotecting maps and writting into them that THEY made the map? Credits stealers, in other words.

When Starcraft was still rulling Battle.Net, I made a map. I wrote my name in the credits. The map was played often enough to decide somebody to open my map and write his name in place of mine.

I don't say that my map will be the greatest. I don't even say it's going to be good. Good enough to be played on Battle.Net. But I'm proud of it, and I don't want to loose credits again.
Because, the worst thing with the Starcraft map story is, that nobody wanted to believe that it was me who made the map and nobody else.

 

[Septimus]

Okay, thanks. But what I meant by "And what about maps stealers?" is, what about noobs unprotecting maps and writting into them that THEY made the map? Credits stealers, in other words.

1) If they know how to deprotect your map, they certainly ain't a noob.

2) Deprotected map are soo freaking easy to be distinguish, considering that every single trigger files would be merge into 1 files with a note "Deprotect by xxx program".

 

[Dragonson]

I look at map protection like this:
Cheaters: If you tell people only to dl from hiveworkshop, and only dl the map if the version is submitted by you, then anybody that dl's it elsewhere will be asking for it.

Fakers: If a person skilled enough to hack through map protection hacks your map, it is probably a pretty ppopular map since it is worth hacking. If the map is this popular people will already know who made it, and it will then be pretty hard to steal credit...

So yeah, map protection keeps out the "noobs", and if the map is popular enough to be worth spending effort on hacking people probably know who made it. So, i like map protection =)

 

[The_wand_mirror]

Protecting a map is pointless because.

1) It can be deprotect, if you use any software that make it unreadable in order to protect it; neither could warcraft read it. Which naturally make your map crash if you try to play it in warcraft.

2) Is useless, cause anybody with programming experience could easily deprotect it and edit it at their own way as long as they know jass.

3) Is useless, protecting a map are only done in order to prevent user from getting an direct answer such as riddle map or model which are exclusively done just for the map itself.

1) I never saw a protected map get copied by someone else.
2) Mostly those are the smart people and aint assholes who do this kind of thing.
3) Wait what? That didn't make sense to me i didn't understand the sentence xD

Anway, uploading on the hive is almost bullet proof because people will notice when a map is copied and that is not allowed and so it will be rejected

 

[Reaper2008]

He means that mostly maps are opened so that people see the custom stuff, the triggers etc.