preventing pbo decryption

[mcgirkke_mac-v]

forgive me if there has been previous discussions on this topic...but i am wondering if it is possible for me pack my mp mission into a pbo in such a way that people cannot use pbo decrypters to unpack it. i highly doubt there is any absolute way to prevent this...but i would at least to have my file be protected from some of the less serious pbo decrypters. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Tomb]

 

   pbo's are like women.... If ya wanna get inside, you'll get inside  



( one way or the other *cough* )  :-X ;D

[Jeromez]

lmao you can not prevent this

[Doolittle]

Yeah, you can't.  I asked the author of a popular DePBO program AND Suma from BIS and both said it wasn't possible to prevent.  

Doolittle

[Kaliyuga]

Very unfortunate news indeed.....  
but at least we can binarize our models so people can't go editing those...

[macguba]

Afraid I have to disagree cordially with you there Kali me old chum,   I think its a very good thing that you can't encrypt.  

[toadlife]

I too feel that being able to unpack other's mission is a good thing. I encourage people to plunder my work, and laugh at lame discalaimers like:

"©2003 - toadlife. - You must email and put my name on the screen in big huge letters, if you want to use _x in your mission"

Let the knowledge flow!

It's good for the community.

[Zayfod]

I dont think its feasible and I agree toadlife,


There are heaps of dudes out there that have forgotten more about Opflash editing than Ill probably ever know so if it wasnt for the free exchange of information then I would never have reached the humble status I am now at as a  learning scripter.

So if and when I have anything I can offer to this great community that can better this great game I will do so without any hesitation at all. ;D

Soz I know slightly off topic

My 2 cents worth

Zay out

[mcgirkke_mac-v]

well... given the over-arching issue that surrounds my question i was anticipating many theological sentiments offered by those who disagree with encrypting pbo's. i myself was more curious due to the fact that 2 particular pbo unpackers i have can only unpack about half the missions i have. so...i know it is possible...perhaps it is due to the fact that certain packers will not let other unpackers unpack them (try typing that quickly...let alone saying that quickly). regardless of anyone's personal feelings on the general subject of copy-protection, author's rights etc....the fact of the matter is that a pbo cannot always be decrypted by a particular unpacker...at least that is what i have found...and personally....i don't think pbo decryption would be the end of the world....that doesn't mean i am against sharing ideas and code...far from it...as i believe that if people are very adamant about getting their code out there they will post a snippet on one of the boards...i just think people should have an option either way...think of it like the organ donor option on your driver's license...(maybe a stretch)...but this post was not meant to be an open soapbox invitation....it was more of a practical inquiry.

[Kaliyuga]

  Well.. practically speaking...  
 I know from experience that .pbo files that are created with Amalfi's PBO program cannot be  decrypted by the "PBO tool"

  I don't know if Amalfi's program can decrypt ones made with the PBO tool, cause I've never tried it... and  I haven't used any other programs myself, so that's about the extent of my knowledge.

And just to clarify a bit.. when I posted earlier I was speaking in regards to addon .pbo files.. and not missions .pbo files..  Somehow I forgot to mention that the first time around
 

[Sui]

Generally, if someone has made a program to encrypt something, they'll also make a decryption program.

I too agree with the open source idea, and think this is the way it should be.

The most you can do is to respect other people's work as you would want them to respect yours, and give credit when credit is due

[Colonel_Klink]

I too agree with the open source idea, and think this is the way it should be.

I'll go along with this too. Open source means the life blood of OFP IMO. Seal that, and you limit new addons to only a few people.

If it wasn't for the open source and un-binarized addons, I am sure a lot of addon makers, myself included, would be still feeling our way.

While binarized addons are good thing as far as protecting models from the unscrupulous few, binarized addons have, to a degree, slowed some of the progress (particularly for newbies) in addon making. However, binarized files are smaller, and now that larger texture resolutions can be used, smaller addon sizes are paramount.

I also agree with Sui: the essential thing when using scripts etc from other's addons is to give due credit to the addon maker or mod team. Better still ask first. I don't know of any addon maker who isn't willing to share scripting or config information.

Remember OFP will die if the community doesn't work together.

[asmodeus]

I agree!  

IMO, the best reason to get all "Corporate" about things is if you are actually making money on your work...

Since this is all free and a hobby for everyone... Why not share and share alike?    

I personally can tell if a mission is mine just by the little things.  (how the triggers are used, what the people are named.. etc.)  

And people pretty much know who's made what.   ;D  

In answer to the question on the thread... It's just as simple as this:

Some .pbo programs encrypt it to where only other certain .pbo programs can decrpyt it.  You've experienced this first hand... So, as it's been said... There is no known way to accomplish making an encryption that is impossible to decrpyt... or else the game wouldn't be able to use it!!    

And IMO no reason to do so either.  

Asmo  

[Tomb]

I too feel that being able to unpack other's mission is a good thing. I encourage people to plunder my work, and laugh at lame discalaimers like:

"©2003 - toadlife. - You must email and put my name on the screen in big huge letters, if you want to use _x in your mission"

Let the knowledge flow!

It's good for the community.

  anyone remember what happened to lil ole me when I said summit similar back in early 2002  
Man, wuz I a hot potato back then - I almost got myself wiped from the entire community  
....mainly by all those protective addon makers out there who seem to think that the way from making ofp addons for free to becoming the right-hand to Mr. Gates is very short  :-X ;D

 morons they were!

( I know, this is missions, mine was addons but its the same deal...)
anyways - thx toady (& crew) for yer statements - it's needed if we shall ever be a REAL community  
  I always say that encryption is just a way to reduce the download time for ppl, nothing else.

It's about sharing & helping, basically.   After all, the amount of jerks messing up your stuff & then re-releasing it as if it was their own piece is fairly zero! I think we're pretty good when it comes to respecting eachothers work  

No prob's there.

[Chris Death]

I agree to the open source idea.

Hell, where would we be, if all those BIS missions
couldn't have been decrypted?
Would we have this editing site up, if nobody would have been
able to tell something about editing, other than BIS themselves?

~S~ CD