[IMPORTANT] Problem with the game distribution.

[Kjunix]

I have noticed that when you merge love.exe and game.love into a game.exe you can actually extract the game.exe files.

Now that's a problem, because everyone can extract my game from game.exe and see the source code.

The question is, are there any other methods for a game distribution other than this one: https://love2d.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=451 ?

[raidho36]

You can generate LuaJIT bytecode and ship that instead of the source code. It will make the game virtually unmoddable though, which I would advise against.

If you have real reasons to have source code unavailable, such as NDA with Sony, then a better approach is to hack LOVE C++ code and implement these features in it, or make a Lua-compatible DLL and hook it up through the game.

[cazura]

Wait... So it is possible to extract and have access to the source code of Move or Die, Blue Revolver, etc? Sounds a nice way of learn and see how people do things.

[raidho36]

Wait... So it is possible to extract and have access to the source code of Move or Die, Blue Revolver, etc? Sounds a nice way of learn and see how people do things.

Yeah usually, but the thing is, there's nothing of value to be found unless you're a beginner.

[cazura]

Yeah usually, but the thing is, there's nothing of value to be found unless you're a beginner.

Well, I really am a beginner. I got the demo from Blue Revolver. The structure and code is very well organized, divide in several lua files and stuff. It really puts a perspective against my poor mister "the whole game in 4 lua files" thingy. Even though my game is much more simple, my code is so messy. I see a long road to go yet.

[Kjunix]

Wait... So it is possible to extract and have access to the source code of Move or Die, Blue Revolver, etc? Sounds a nice way of learn and see how people do things.

Yes its possible, just search "love2d games" and download them, you can extract .exe file with winrar and see all the files in the game.
I have discovered that when I was uploading my game to an USB drive to show my game to professor.

That's bad because, for example you have made an mmo and people buy your game and play it normally. But someone can extract the files and mess with the code and still run the game. Example they can add:

Code: Select all

if love.keyboard.isDown("o") then
	player.money = player.money + 9999
end 

Or even worse, they can steal your game and claim it as theirs.

[pgimeno]

That's bad because [...]

These threads probably have the answers to your questions. If something is still unclear afterwards, please report back.

https://love2d.org/forums/viewtopic.php ... 62#p223862

(I've just added this thread)

To address your concerns:

1) They can't do that in the server, which should be the authoritative source as in any MMO. Take Second Life, for example; the viewer is open source. You can add to the balance in your client and have say 10,000,000 L$, but you can't use them to pay anything because the real balance is in the server, and the checks of whether you actually have enough money are also in the server.
2) They can do it anyway, but that's a matter of copyright law, not of whether the source is part of the program.

[cazura]

2) They can do it anyway, but that's a matter of copyright law, not of whether the source is part of the program.

A curiosity if I may ask, and if you, of course, would know the answer. But, is this true for all engines? Corona, GDevelop, Unity, Unreal, Blender, and so on. Like... If the person don't go extra complicated steps to protect it, is the building reversible?

[nequals30]

I see this question coming up a lot on the forum, and I think it comes from people's hesitation to "give away" the code they've put hard work into.

I think the truth is that game code is usually kludgy and duct-taped together, and not the essense of a game. The real substance of the game (art, story, etc) is 1) easy to steal anyway, and 2) protected by copyright.

As an example, the source code for VVVVVV was made public today, and it shows how dirty game code can be, even when written by pros:
https://www.polygon.com/2020/1/13/21064 ... gh-release

Just look at this 3,500 line switch-case statement:

https://github.com/TerryCavanagh/VVVVVV ... e.cpp#L605

[raidho36]

A curiosity if I may ask, and if you, of course, would know the answer. But, is this true for all engines? Corona, GDevelop, Unity, Unreal, Blender, and so on. Like... If the person don't go extra complicated steps to protect it, is the building reversible?

It's true for all computer programs. Some types of programming languages make recovering source code easier than others.