Hi all,
I think there's only one REAL good type of copy-protection: one that
appeals to the sense of what's right and wrong of the buyer.
I myself have a decent MSX software collection (300+ games and other
things), and most of these weren't bought, 300 times 10-150 guilders
(or whatever) is too much for just about anyone's personal use. How
to go about it then? Well, I do have my own sense of what's right and
wrong, and it comes down to this: spend the money you think you
should/can/want to spend, and spend it on those things, that were
made by groups you'd like to see more of. In fact, that doesn't even
mean they need to be still active, as long as you think you'd like
to see more from those, let 'm know it by buying their stuff.
I've had a PC now for a while, and you all know, for the PC, software
is like water in the ocean: unless it's something very special, you
got 100+ things to choose from for most things you'd like to have.
Then why spend any important amount of money on it? Your investment
might just get the 500'th PacMan clone from the ground. Does the
world really need that?
On the other hand, serious software developers need some serious
money to invest in their products, and you are the one to put that
money in their pockets. There's lots of beautifull freeware these
days, but we all know there's some things that just would never have
been made, when people wouldn't have bought it in large numbers.
So, I do have an original of some games like Doom and DukeNukem
around here. I don't need 100+ more clones of these either, but when
you've never played anything like it, it does make a great
experience. The succes of these games speaks for itself. So some
of the money I spent on software sofar, went into the pockets of the
people who made this happen in the first place. Simply because in my
view these people deserve some of my support, and buying their stuff,
is my way of saying: please, go make some more great things! (not
necessarily more of the same).
So for MSX, I did buy several things from Konami at one time or
another, both new and second-hand (and this doesn't matter for your
support: buy second-hand stuff if you won't afford new, others will
use your 'addition' to buy that new stuff anyway). And I did buy a
copy of MoonBlaster once, simply because it was (and maybe still is)
the best MSX music program at the time. And so on.
As a software developer, simply think about why you're doing it in
the first place. If you're just doing it for fun, then you might as
well do it for free, or ask just enough to get your investment back.
If you're doing it for 'fame and glory', do it so that you'll get the
most of that. And if you're doing it for money: go out and do
something else, or certainly don't code for MSX ;-)
If you're selling it, just make sure there's SOME 'added value' for
the buyers. Your support for instance: help out out where you can,
but if they didn't buy it, they're on their own. Put a nice label on
a disk, that might look good on the desk of someone who bought it,
and will probably miss on illegal copies. Provide a printed manual
should anyone want to have one, but only for people who bought a copy
in the first place.
Copy-protections:
------------------------
Bullshit! It's been tried, tested, figured out, and been experienced
by 'the masses', and you all know it: it doesn't work. It gives
trouble in the short run (replacing disks, difficult HD
installation), also for the developers themselves (they must cook up
something to use, and it takes extra development time, and trouble to
produce the originals). In the long run, it won't matter. If you can
write it, a cracker can hack it.
Think of this: there might be some time, that MSX emulators are just
about the only things used for running MSX software. MSX machines
keep dying one by one (I don't like it either, but life goes on),
and there aren't any new ones being built that I know of, certainly
not in serious numbers. Not a real problem for most software,
unless....it's got some 'hardware'-copy protection. That alone has
been reason for me to crack one or two things myself. Putting such a
copy-protection in any new product will only give troubles, won't
make much of a difference anyway, and will only make sure that in
say, 10 years from now, that program might be one of a few that's not
used anymore at all, by ANYONE, simply because there's no emulator it
will run on.
If you do feel the need to put some copy-protection in, use something
that's got no chance of hurting the way the program operates, like a
serial number, or a password-system, or something like a
'splash-screen', to be disabled with a 'key' file. I think TED for
instance, is one of the best examples: no extra troubles for the
users, every copy 'branded' with the name of the rightfull owner, and
even if this would be ignored, I'm sure that the mentioning of the
good case it was related to (Multiple Scleroses) will have made
several people buy one, when they wouldn't have otherwise. This cause
it was related to, surely benefited from that somehow. And yes, if
you want to, you can keep using it on your PC (works fine on
emulators I tried). Isn't that the way to go?
Greetings,
Alwin Henseler ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
http://huizen.dds.nl/~alwinh/msx (MSX Tech Doc page)
http://www.twente.nl/~cce/index.htm (computerclub Enschede)
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