Note: Read the full text - You can't publish your "protected" map on Battle.net (yet?)
Hey,
I've tried to do some kind of map protection since the locked setting does not work yet. This is actually really easy to make a map that is openable by the game (drop the file in Starcraft2.exe) but not by the editor. You just have to delete the file: ComponentList.SC2Components.
However, where Blizzard has been clever is that map publishing is done through the Map Editor! You have to open the map in order to publish it. Therefore it has to be openable by the editor. Since Galaxy Editor locks the map file you can't alter it while the editor is being launched.
I'm pretty sure there are ways to bypass this, but haven't found yet. I've attached the example map with and without the file so you can see it's working :)
So testing this out. Don't like people doing some minor and possibly unbalanced adjustments, publishing the map, and then calling it the "Official" 2.0 version.
Same, you can just open the map in an MPQ editor, check what the various components are, and make a Component List your self -effectively unlocking the map for editing.
I want people to play the maps in public. Moreso than trying to prevent people from publishing the map. But at the moment, the only way to get people to play it public is to unlock it with no form of protection.
That was a common practice in WC3 as-well. Delete all editor-only data to make the game crash.
But once you know what's been deleted you can restore it again, no big deal.
To have a efficient map protection it has to come from Blizzard's side. We users can only try to obfuscate our means of map protection so hackerz have a hard time figuring out WHY it doesn't work.
I don't really see the point to it. If you don't want others to publish your maps then don't make them available to download.
So you wouldn't have any problem if you publish a nice map, then someone else opens it, maybe riggs it a little, adds his name instead of yours and publishes it as version 2.0? Then he just does a little bit of promotion work and suddenly "his" map is as popular as yours.
Or when you're making an RPG and people figure out your save/load routines and cheat themselves to max level, which totally spoils the fun for others.
Note: Read the full text - You can't publish your "protected" map on Battle.net (yet?)
Hey,
I've tried to do some kind of map protection since the locked setting does not work yet. This is actually really easy to make a map that is openable by the game (drop the file in Starcraft2.exe) but not by the editor. You just have to delete the file: ComponentList.SC2Components.
However, where Blizzard has been clever is that map publishing is done through the Map Editor! You have to open the map in order to publish it. Therefore it has to be openable by the editor. Since Galaxy Editor locks the map file you can't alter it while the editor is being launched.
I'm pretty sure there are ways to bypass this, but haven't found yet. I've attached the example map with and without the file so you can see it's working :)
So testing this out. Don't like people doing some minor and possibly unbalanced adjustments, publishing the map, and then calling it the "Official" 2.0 version.
I don't really see the point to it. If you don't want others to publish your maps then don't make them available to download.
Same, you can just open the map in an MPQ editor, check what the various components are, and make a Component List your self -effectively unlocking the map for editing.
@ZeroAme:
I want people to play the maps in public. Moreso than trying to prevent people from publishing the map. But at the moment, the only way to get people to play it public is to unlock it with no form of protection.
@dingdingo:
Well there goes this idea. :(
That was a common practice in WC3 as-well. Delete all editor-only data to make the game crash.
But once you know what's been deleted you can restore it again, no big deal.
To have a efficient map protection it has to come from Blizzard's side. We users can only try to obfuscate our means of map protection so hackerz have a hard time figuring out WHY it doesn't work.
So you wouldn't have any problem if you publish a nice map, then someone else opens it, maybe riggs it a little, adds his name instead of yours and publishes it as version 2.0? Then he just does a little bit of promotion work and suddenly "his" map is as popular as yours.
Or when you're making an RPG and people figure out your save/load routines and cheat themselves to max level, which totally spoils the fun for others.
You can always launch the map through MapCraft.
@Sixen: Go
where does battle new download the map to? i cant seem to find any of the maps i played
C:\ProgramData\Blizzard Entertainment\Battle.net\Cache
@Sixen: Go
i cant see the triggers from the map in that folder seems to be protected.
Quote from sixen:
Quote from NeoDeathXp: Go
@sixen: Go
where does battle new download the map to? i cant seem to find any of the maps i played
C:\ProgramData\Blizzard Entertainment\Battle.net\Cache
I can't find the map in this path :(
all files are old dated even if I downloaded the map today