Old Copy Protection Methods

[antijoke]

so I was having a read through Wikipedia looking at Monkey Island in preperation for tonights session and I saw the picture of the "Dial-a-Pirate" copy protection and this reminded of the old school methods of copy protection and I thought it might be an interesting read for some people from here.

Interesting to think how far we have come since these days. I remember playing a game at my cousins house and having to thumb through the manual and give him the key word.

Feel free to point and laugh and call me a geek.

Wiki article

 

[Liquidfox]

I was looking through Uplinks code card just the other day

 

[Vulcan]

I remember that spinning code wheel that had to used on Zool.

 

[mame]

What about the Leisure Suit Larry over 18 quiz. I remember f/a-18 intercepter had a wheel thing you could rotate different parts of it as directed to reveal a word I think

Also I remember I used a binary editor (ZAP I think?) on an amiga to change all the possible words to the same word on a couple of games. Being about 13 at the time I was quite pleased with myself.

 

[linktoinsanity]

*Points and laughs calling anticonscience a "geek"

Had to, sorry

I remember the manual key protect thing, it was pretty dam annoying!

 

[randal]

Indiana Jones had the Grail Diary, Sam and Max had a wheel IIRC as did DOTT.

Ah good days.

Can anyone remember what game had a red gel/celophane "code reader" which you held over the manual to decipher the code words?

 

[Ysmalari]

I remember watching the little coloured blocks slowly come up on X-copy

 

[mame]

In the manual, turn to page 4, paragragh 2, sentence 3, word 16.

Come on, what is it?

 

[Sleepery]

I remember reaching Lord British in one of the Ultima games, only to have him quiz me about stuff I'd only know by reading the manuals, the cheeky git. There was no internet back then to go look it up on if you'd copied the game

If you didn't answer correctly he wouldn't open the castle gate for you to get out iirc.

 

[antijoke]

Can anyone remember what game had a red gel/celophane "code reader" which you held over the manual to decipher the code words?

OMG, I remember using that thing, god that's going to bug me now.

 

[m4cc45]

The red wheel was meant to be so you couldn't photocopy the document. They did that in some manuals as well. I remember most Sierra games had copy protection (go to page 10, line 5, word 4, etc.). The pain in the backside ones were games like Jet Set Willy where you had a card in the cassette and had to look up a colour - if you were coulour blind you were shafted.


M.

 

[MikeHunt79]

I remember watching the little coloured blocks slowly come up on X-copy

I do too! External drive ***

 

[Teaf]

Heh yeah I remember those Were bloody annoying trying to skim through the manual.

Although I'm glad I never had a game like that with a MicroProse manual. Anyone remember them? Took about 8 tree's to make one.

 

[Sash]

Old Copy Protection > SecuROM

 

[Metalface Mark]

Indiana Jones had the Grail Diary, Sam and Max had a wheel IIRC as did DOTT.

Ah good days.

Can anyone remember what game had a red gel/celophane "code reader" which you held over the manual to decipher the code words?

Im sure DOTT used a page and word thing about an hour into the game.

 

[me227]

Girls phone numbers in Leisure Suit Larry. Good times.

 

[ScarySquirrel]

I remember f/a-18 intercepter had a wheel thing you could rotate different parts of it as directed to reveal a word I think

WOW!!! I remember this!!!

 

[randal]

Im sure DOTT used a page and word thing about an hour into the game.

Ah no, you're right mate. Just had a Google, my memory it ain't what it used to be...

 

[Ysmalari]

I do too! External drive ***

And that sinking feeling when, after an hour of copying, a dreaded red block would appear

 

[spudbynight]

Anyone remember lenslock?