date:20040615

Last time I read about it, Interplay has been going down since Titus and Herve Caen took control of it. Their shares are worth almost 0 now. Employees are already being told to pack their stuff and leave.

All the important people at Interplay have already left. Brian Fargo, Feargus Urquhart, J.D.Sawyer ...

IIRC, this all started when they decided to increase console game production and reduce PC game production. Infogrames (now Atari) have announced they'll do the same, so I do not foresee a big future for them either.

Unfortunately I am imagining a future in which the only games publishers will be Sierra, Microsoft and Electronic Arts. :/

--
Pedro R. Quaresma
Salvador Caetano IMVT
Div. Sistemas de Informação / Systems and Information Division
Administração e Desenvolvimento Lotus Notes /
Lotus Notes Administration and Development
[EMAIL PROTECTED] // +351 22 7867000 (ext. 3492)

Toyota Prius '01, Aqua Ice Opalescent, 40K km., Esperanza

'People don't quit playing because they grow old. They grow old because they quit playing.' - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Para: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
A/C:
Ref:
cc: (bcc: Pedro Quaresma/SCAETANO)
Assunto: Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

Edward Franks [EMAIL PROTECTED]
14-06-2004 21:31

Solicita-se resposta a swcollect

On Jun 14, 2004, at 2:57 PM, Jim Leonard wrote:

Pedro Quaresma wrote:

Shadow of the Comet by Infogrames (back from the days when Infogrames
was likeable -- ah that would start a whole new discussion! Anyone
else following the end of Interplay?).

I heard Interplay's offices were shut down for a few days because they
couldn't come up with worker's comp insurance. :-( I sincerely hope
Brian Fargo will be able to create a new startup...

He was already gone: http://www.inxile-entertainment.com/

Edward Franks

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Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

I remember someone _handwriting_ the whole list of symbols from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade copy protection!

Toyota Prius '01, Aqua Ice Opalescent, 40K km., Esperanza

'People don't quit playing because they grow old. They grow old because they quit playing.' - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Para: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Ref:
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Assunto: Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

Marco Thorek [EMAIL PROTECTED]
15-06-2004 03:33

Solicita-se resposta a swcollect

Jim Leonard schrieb:

I was lucky enough to have a BW hand scanner (remember those?) that used a red
scanning beam. A bit of adjustment to the contrast, and voila -- I could
reproduce those like they were black on white sheets of paper. :-)

At that time I had only heard of scanners :-)

BTW, another drive-the-legitimate-buyer-out-of-his-mind copy protection:
Type the seventh word in the third paragraph on page 22.

You never knew if they counted chapter titles, quotations, or whatever
else was there along regular text, or not.

Marco

ToyotaShopping - A sua Loja Toyota Online
http://www.toyota.pt

Re: [SWCollect] Time to blend topics

Haha, portuguese people don't earn enough money to be able to buy soccer game tickets at leisure :) :(

Toyota Prius '01, Aqua Ice Opalescent, 40K km., Esperanza

'People don't quit playing because they grow old. They grow old because they quit playing.' - Oliver Wendell Holmes

Para: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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Ref:
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Assunto: Re: [SWCollect] Time to blend topics

Marco Thorek [EMAIL PROTECTED]
15-06-2004 03:40

Solicita-se resposta a swcollect

Pedro Quaresma schrieb:

I still do that now and then to be honest. In Portugal many times we
have to wait months or even years to get a game on the shelves. Most
recent example is Prince of Qin, one of the best RPGs of 2002, started
being sold in Portugal last month, and at full retail price no less!

So I honestly don't think it's a crime to get a game from the net,
test it, and if it's bad, bin it. If it's good, buy it.

Shouldn't you be at the Euro 2004 anyway? ;-)

Marco

ToyotaShopping - A sua Loja Toyota Online
http://www.toyota.pt

Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

2004-06-15 Thread Jukka Eronen

I remember someone _handwriting_ the whole list of symbols from Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade copy protection!

I haven't done this myself but I too have a photo copy of
a handwritten copy protection for Indy 3 :)

Though this is more of an age protection, one of the most classic
and more fun way to do it is the Larry 1 quiz (which Larry 3 has too).

Larry 2 has those phone numbers as copy protection;
Al Lowe's birthday works as a pass in later release versions:
http://www.allowe.com/Larry/cluescheats.htm

- Jukka

--
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Sierra/Lucas/Tolkien/Ultima/ADD/SSI collecting and beyond!


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Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?


Well I didn't say that I remembered watching someone actually doing the handwriting of those codes :) I had possibly the same photocopies you had, so someone must've handwritten them, and they've gone all around Europe at least! :D

Ultima 7 Serpent Isle had an interesting copy protection. The questions themselves were normal (values you had to check on manual) but the interesting part was that if you missed one, all items or characters in the game went Oink! when you clicked on them! :D

--
Pedro R. Quaresma
Salvador Caetano IMVT
Div. Sistemas de Informação / Systems and Information Division
Administração e Desenvolvimento Lotus Notes / 
Lotus Notes Administration and Development
[EMAIL PROTECTED] // +351 22 7867000 (ext. 3492)

Toyota Prius '01, Aqua Ice Opalescent, 40K km., Esperanza
 
'People don't quit playing because they grow old. They grow old because they quit playing.' - Oliver Wendell Holmes










  


Para: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
A/C: 
Ref: 
cc: (bcc: Pedro Quaresma/SCAETANO)
Assunto: Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?


Jukka Eronen [EMAIL PROTECTED]
15-06-2004 10:17


Solicita-se resposta a swcollect


I remember someone _handwriting_ the whole list of symbols from Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade copy protection!

I haven't done this myself but I too have a photo copy of
a handwritten copy protection for Indy 3 :)

Though this is more of an age protection, one of the most classic
and more fun way to do it is the Larry 1 quiz (which Larry 3 has too).

Larry 2 has those phone numbers as copy protection;
Al Lowe's birthday works as a pass in later release versions:
http://www.allowe.com/Larry/cluescheats.htm

- Jukka

--
http://koti.mbnet.fi/psychic/eng_index.html - Synchronic Web:
Sierra/Lucas/Tolkien/Ultima/ADD/SSI collecting and beyond!


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Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

2004-06-15 Thread Vincent Joguin



At 10:45 15/06/2004 +0100, you wrote:
Well I didn't say
that I remembered watching someone actually doing the handwriting of
those codes :)
I have myself handcopied the codes for friends from some games, probably
Cocktel Vision games (with the colors, I used a letter for each
color).
I have done this at school, during class! ;-)
Vincent Joguin.

RE: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

2004-06-15 Thread Stuart Feldhamer




That 
reminds me, in the beginning of Rex Nebular you're flying in your spaceship and 
get the copy protection question. If you mess it up, a hairline crack appears in 
your viewport, all the air rushes out, and your head 
explodes!

Stuart

  -Original Message-From: MASTER 
  [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Pedro 
  QuaresmaSent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 5:46 AMTo: 
  [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Best copy 
  protection?Well I didn't 
  say that I remembered watching someone actually doing the handwriting of those 
  codes :) I had possibly the same photocopies you had, so someone must've 
  handwritten them, and they've gone all around Europe at least! :D 
  Ultima 7 Serpent Isle had an interesting 
  copy protection. The questions themselves were "normal" (values you had to 
  check on manual) but the interesting part was that if you missed one, all 
  items or characters in the game went "Oink!" when you clicked on them! 
  :D --Pedro R. 
  QuaresmaSalvador Caetano IMVTDiv. Sistemas de Informação / Systems and 
  Information DivisionAdministração e Desenvolvimento Lotus Notes / 
  Lotus Notes Administration and 
  Development[EMAIL PROTECTED] // +351 22 7867000 (ext. 
  3492)Toyota Prius '01, Aqua Ice Opalescent, 40K km., 
  "Esperanza"'People don't quit playing because they grow old. They grow 
  old because they quit playing.' - Oliver Wendell Holmes
  


  

 

  
Para: 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] A/C: Ref: 
cc: (bcc: Pedro 
Quaresma/SCAETANO) Assunto: Re: 
[SWCollect] Best copy protection? 

  
  "Jukka Eronen" 
[EMAIL PROTECTED] 15-06-2004 10:17 

  
  Solicita-se resposta a 
swcollect I remember someone _handwriting_ the whole list of symbols from 
  IndianaJones and the Last Crusade copy protection!I 
  haven't done this myself but I too have a photo copy ofa handwritten copy 
  protection for Indy 3 :)Though this is more of an age protection, one 
  of the most classicand more fun way to do it is the Larry 1 quiz (which 
  Larry 3 has too).Larry 2 has those phone numbers as copy 
  protection;Al Lowe's birthday works as a pass in later release 
  versions:http://www.allowe.com/Larry/cluescheats.htm- 
  Jukka--http://koti.mbnet.fi/psychic/eng_index.html - 
  Synchronic Web:Sierra/Lucas/Tolkien/Ultima/ADD/SSI collecting 
  and 
  beyond!--This 
  message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed tothe 
  swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to 
  [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe 
  swcollect'Archives are available at: 
  http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ToyotaShopping - A sua Loja Toyota 
  Onlinehttp://www.toyota.pt

Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

Marco Thorek stated:

BTW, another drive-the-legitimate-buyer-out-of-his-mind copy protection:
Type the seventh word in the third paragraph on page 22. 

You never knew if they counted chapter titles, quotations, or whatever
else was there along regular text, or not.

Yeah, and I remember some friends who had a cracked copy (or cracked
it using instructions on the 'net) of Bard's Tale so that it didn't
matter what you entered at that prompt, it would always act as if it
was correct.

I thought the Empire Deluxe solution was good.  You only had to answer
this type of question when you ran the setup program, which set the
resolution, sound options, etc.  So, in general, you only had to do it
once or twice.  (You were required to run it once before playing.)  Of
course, if you'd been playing for months and decided to change a
setting, then you had to go find the manual, which was frustrating.

-- 
Lee K. Seitz
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

Stuart Feldhamer stated:

That reminds me, in the beginning of Rex Nebular you're flying in your
spaceship and get the copy protection question. If you mess it up, a
hairline crack appears in your viewport, all the air rushes out, and your
head explodes!

At least that's a resolution. 8)  In Star Trek:  25th Anniversary, the
copy protection was that the galaxy map used for long range navigation
was in the manual.  You'd be told to go to a certain system, but none
of the systems were labeled in the map in the game, you had to look in
the manual.  If you got it wrong, you went to the system you picked and
were attacked by Orion pirates, Klingons, or Romulans.  If you
survived the encounter, you could try again. 8)

-- 
Lee K. Seitz
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

Pedro Quaresma stated:

I remember someone =5Fhandwriting=5F the whole list of symbols from Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade copy protection!

I hand copied the cheeses for Monty Python's Flying Circus on to my
playing copy's disk sleeve.  There were only 12-20 of them.  What made
me mad was how they tried to pass the Cheese Shop copy protection off
as a game in the manual.

-- 
Lee K. Seitz
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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[SWCollect] Home Computer Wars book

I'm currently reading _The Home Computer Wars_ by Michael S. Tomczyk.
It's an inside account of Commodore computers (with emphasis on Jack
Tramiel) from the planning for the VIC-20 until Tramiel's departure
(post-C-64).

It's pretty good so far.  One thing I've noticed is that since it was
written in 1984, there are references that today you'll only get if
you lived through and were somewhat involved with the personal
computer revolution.  For example, referring to the Apple II as simply
the Apple.

I noticed the book doesn't have an index, so I'm trying to compile a
basic one as I go for later reference.  I'll publish it on the web
when I'm finished.  Does this seem like a useful project?  I
understand it's a fairly hard book to find, so it may not be overly
useful.  Are there any sites on the web that provide indices for books
without them?

BTW, I just finished _Hard Drive_, about Microsoft and Bill Gates up
through c. 1993.  Next will probably either be _Hackers_, which I
started once but didn't finish, or John Sculley's _Odyssey_.

-- 
Lee K. Seitz
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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Re: [SWCollect] Huge Japanese console auction

Feldhamer, Stuart wrote:
A friend sent me this link:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemcategory=62054item=8111352149
Same thing happened to me (and the friend wasn't into collecting at all).  I 
think this auction is getting publicity because of the unrealistically high 
price tag.  I can see $10K-$20K for this stuff, but not $100K.
--
Jim Leonard ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
World's largest electronic gaming project:http://www.MobyGames.com/
A delicious slice of the demoscene:http://www.MindCandyDVD.com/
Various oldskool PC rants and ramblings:   http://www.oldskool.org/

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Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

Marco Thorek wrote:
That reminds me of the original Pirates! copy protection: You had to
look up at what port the gold fleet was in a certain month.
It was more than that -- the disk was protected as well.  And it was protected 
VERY well:  Multiple checks throughout the game, and if it recognized a bad 
copy it would continue to let you play *but* the sea battles would get 
progressivly harder and harder until it was impossible to win.  Sneaky!
--
Jim Leonard ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
World's largest electronic gaming project:http://www.MobyGames.com/
A delicious slice of the demoscene:http://www.MindCandyDVD.com/
Various oldskool PC rants and ramblings:   http://www.oldskool.org/

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Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

Lee K. Seitz wrote:
I thought the Empire Deluxe solution was good.  You only had to answer
this type of question when you ran the setup program, which set the
resolution, sound options, etc.  So, in general, you only had to do it
once or twice.  (You were required to run it once before playing.)  Of
course, if you'd been playing for months and decided to change a
setting, then you had to go find the manual, which was frustrating.
This is similar to Software Toolwork's stuff from the late 80's to early 90's: 
 The diskette protection was checked only when you installed the game.  They 
were also smart enough to take an inventory of the computer -- hardware, OS 
version, etc. -- so that if you tried to copy the installed game over to 
another machine, it would not work and ask to be reinstalled.

I'm seeing some parallels in copy-protection here:
- King's Quest II (encryption of executable and data files), 1985 -- Starforce 
3 (same thing), 2004
- Pirates! (run progressively worse), 1987 -- Macrovision (same thing), 2003
- Software Toolworks games (check during install, can't be moved) 1988-ish -- 
Windows XP activation (same thing), 2001.

Scary to see we're entering a new era of copy protection all over again... 
makes me long for the innovative days of lenslok, colored pictures on manuals, 
etc.  If things get really bad we're going to see the resurgence of 
copy-protection methods that *really sucked*, because they were unreliable. 
One method was weak bits that read differently every time you read the disk 
-- only problem is, the original disk itself would fail the check half the time!
--
Jim Leonard ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
World's largest electronic gaming project:http://www.MobyGames.com/
A delicious slice of the demoscene:http://www.MindCandyDVD.com/
Various oldskool PC rants and ramblings:   http://www.oldskool.org/

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Re: [SWCollect] Interplay (was: Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?)

Pedro Quaresma wrote:
IIRC, this all started when they decided to increase console game 
production and reduce PC game production. Infogrames (now Atari) have 
announced they'll do the same, so I do not foresee a big future for them 
either.
As much as I don't like this, the numbers support it:  In 2003 there were about 
5 million PC games sold -- and 50 million console games sold.  Console games 
fuel the overwhelming majority of the 11 billion (!!) electronic entertainment 
industry.

Unfortunately I am imagining a future in which the only games publishers 
will be Sierra, Microsoft and Electronic Arts. :/
Take Sierra out of the picture and you'd be right :-(
--
Jim Leonard ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
World's largest electronic gaming project:http://www.MobyGames.com/
A delicious slice of the demoscene:http://www.MindCandyDVD.com/
Various oldskool PC rants and ramblings:   http://www.oldskool.org/
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Re: [SWCollect] Home Computer Wars book

Lee K. Seitz wrote:
I noticed the book doesn't have an index, so I'm trying to compile a
basic one as I go for later reference.  I'll publish it on the web
when I'm finished.  Does this seem like a useful project? 
Not unless you plan to publish the book itself -- it's hard to find.
BTW, I just finished _Hard Drive_, about Microsoft and Bill Gates up
through c. 1993.  Next will probably either be _Hackers_, which I
started once but didn't finish, or John Sculley's _Odyssey_.
I'd like to recommend Accidental Empires by Robert X. Cringely.
--
Jim Leonard ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
World's largest electronic gaming project:http://www.MobyGames.com/
A delicious slice of the demoscene:http://www.MindCandyDVD.com/
Various oldskool PC rants and ramblings:   http://www.oldskool.org/
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Re: [SWCollect] Huge Japanese console auction

Jim Leonard stated:

Feldhamer, Stuart wrote:

 A friend sent me this link:
 
 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemcategory=62054item=8111352149

Same thing happened to me (and the friend wasn't into collecting at all).  I 
think this auction is getting publicity because of the unrealistically high 
price tag.  I can see $10K-$20K for this stuff, but not $100K.

It was also listed on the Slashdot main page yesterday.  I've been
getting invalid item on it since Stuart posted it here, but viewed
it fine the first time.  [Looks at Slashdot.]  Looks like eBay pulled
it around 10:00 p.m. EDT on Monday.

-- 
Lee K. Seitz
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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Re: [SWCollect] Home Computer Wars book

2004-06-15 Thread Howard Feldman

Here's a 'cheap' copy if someone cares:

http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/BookDetails?bi=262883290

and if thats gone and you want to pay $100:

http://www.alibris.com/search/detail.cfm?BID=8223523025pwork=2973045siteID=5Nv03vHgBCI-IKaHSR7l2ycgkVcaMgbY1w

http://dogbert.abebooks.com/abe/BookDetails?bi=293650530

Jim Leonard wrote:

Lee K. Seitz wrote:

I noticed the book doesn't have an index, so I'm trying to compile a
basic one as I go for later reference. I'll publish it on the web
when I'm finished. Does this seem like a useful project?

Not unless you plan to publish the book itself -- it's hard to find.

BTW, I just finished _Hard Drive_, about Microsoft and Bill Gates up
through c. 1993. Next will probably either be _Hackers_, which I
started once but didn't finish, or John Sculley's _Odyssey_.

I'd like to recommend Accidental Empires by Robert X. Cringely.
--
Jim Leonard ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
World's largest electronic gaming project:http://www.MobyGames.com/
A delicious slice of the demoscene:http://www.MindCandyDVD.com/
Various oldskool PC rants and ramblings: http://www.oldskool.org/

--
---
Howard Feldman, Ph.D.
Manager, Structural Bioinformatics
The Blueprint Initiative
522 University Avenue, 9th Floor
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1W7
www.bind.ca

Re: [SWCollect] Interplay (was: Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?)

2004-06-15 Thread Peter Olafson


Actually, you can take Sierra out of the picture right now. It's no longer a publisher--just a brand name under the umbrella of VU Games. 

PeterJim Leonard [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

Pedro Quaresma wrote: Unfortunately I am imagining a future in which the only games publishers  will be Sierra, Microsoft and Electronic Arts. :/Take Sierra out of the picture and you'd be right :-(

Re: [SWCollect] Home Computer Wars book

2004-06-15 Thread Chris Newman

I found Odyssey to be somewhat self-serving and a
definite spinned POV on Sculley's influence on Apple's golden days. I'd suggest
you bookmark it with a large grain of salt. Hackers, on the other hand, was
great fun, and written more objectively. That book covered a much greater period
in computing (1960-circa 1983) and included both the influence of the first
generation of computing from MIT as well as the heady startup atmosphere of west
coast commerical efforts.

- Original Message -

From:
Lee K.
Seitz
To: Software Collecting
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 12:20
PM
Subject: [SWCollect] Home Computer Wars
book
I'm currently reading _The Home Computer Wars_ by Michael S.
Tomczyk.It's an inside account of Commodore computers (with emphasis on
JackTramiel) from the planning for the VIC-20 until Tramiel's
departure(post-C-64).It's pretty good so far. One thing I've
noticed is that since it waswritten in 1984, there are references that
today you'll only get ifyou lived through and were somewhat involved with
the personalcomputer revolution. For example, referring to the Apple
II as simply"the Apple."I noticed the book doesn't have an index,
so I'm trying to compile abasic one as I go for later reference.
I'll publish it on the webwhen I'm finished. Does this seem like a
useful project? Iunderstand it's a fairly hard book to find, so it
may not be overlyuseful. Are there any sites on the web that provide
indices for bookswithout them?BTW, I just finished _Hard Drive_,
about Microsoft and Bill Gates upthrough c. 1993. Next will probably
either be _Hackers_, which Istarted once but didn't finish, or John
Sculley's _Odyssey_.-- Lee K. Seitz[EMAIL PROTECTED]--This
message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed tothe
swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject
of 'unsubscribe swcollect'Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/

RE: [SWCollect] Huge Japanese console auction

2004-06-15 Thread Feldhamer, Stuart

Any idea why they took it down?

Stuart

-Original Message-
From: Lee K. Seitz [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 1:04 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Huge Japanese console auction

Jim Leonard stated:

Feldhamer, Stuart wrote:

 A friend sent me this link:

 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemcategory=62054item=8111352149

Same thing happened to me (and the friend wasn't into collecting at all).  I 
think this auction is getting publicity because of the unrealistically high 
price tag.  I can see $10K-$20K for this stuff, but not $100K.

It was also listed on the Slashdot main page yesterday.  I've been
getting invalid item on it since Stuart posted it here, but viewed
it fine the first time.  [Looks at Slashdot.]  Looks like eBay pulled
it around 10:00 p.m. EDT on Monday.

-- 
Lee K. Seitz
[EMAIL PROTECTED]

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RE: [SWCollect] Huge Japanese console auction

2004-06-15 Thread Peter Olafson

Just a guess, but I would expect that resale of development systems is prohibited. Weren't there a bunch of those included?

Peter"Feldhamer, Stuart" [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Any idea why they took it down?Stuart-Original Message-From: Lee K. Seitz [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 1:04 PMTo: [EMAIL PROTECTED]Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Huge Japanese console auctionJim Leonard stated:Feldhamer, Stuart wrote: A friend sent me this link:  http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemcategory=62054item=8111352149Same thing happened to me (and the friend wasn't into collecting at all). I think this auction is getting publicity because of the unrealistically high price tag. I can see $10K-$20K for this stuff, but not $100K.It was also listed on the Slashdot main page yesterday. I've beengetting "invalid item" on it since Stuart posted it here, but viewedit f!
 ine the
 first time. [Looks at Slashdot.] Looks like eBay pulledit around 10:00 p.m. EDT on Monday.-- Lee K. Seitz[EMAIL PROTECTED]--This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed tothe swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect'Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/--This message was sent to you because you are currently subscribed tothe swcollect mailing list. To unsubscribe, send mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of 'unsubscribe swcollect'Archives are available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/

Re: [SWCollect] Time to blend topics

2004-06-15 Thread Marco Thorek

Pedro Quaresma schrieb:
 
 Haha, portuguese people don't earn enough money to be able to buy
 soccer game tickets at leisure :) :(

Totally OT, but out of interest: How much are the tickets anyway? Let's
say I'd want a medium priced seat close to the middle of the field.

Which also reminds me of Germany 2006: One of the stadiums is twenty
minutes from me, but prices will probably be astronomic as well.

Marco

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Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

2004-06-15 Thread Dan Chisarick

Along similar lines, Final Assault (Epyx) for the IIgs (and probably others), if you failed the copy protection, you'd continue normally, then suddenly your climber's face would turn red and he'd die, as if suffocating I think.  Kinda slick.


On Jun 15, 2004, at 9:00 AM, Stuart Feldhamer wrote:

That reminds me, in the beginning of Rex Nebular you're flying in your spaceship and get the copy protection question. If you mess it up, a hairline crack appears in your viewport, all the air rushes out, and your head explodes!
 
Stuart
-Original Message-
From: MASTER [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On Behalf Of Pedro Quaresma
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 5:46 AM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?


Well I didn't say that I remembered watching someone actually doing the handwriting of those codes :) I had possibly the same photocopies you had, so someone must've handwritten them, and they've gone all around Europe at least! :D 

Ultima 7 Serpent Isle had an interesting copy protection. The questions themselves were normal (values you had to check on manual) but the interesting part was that if you missed one, all items or characters in the game went Oink! when you clicked on them! :D 

--
Pedro R. Quaresma
Salvador Caetano IMVT
Div. Sistemas de Informação / Systems and Information Division
Administração e Desenvolvimento Lotus Notes /
 Lotus Notes Administration and Development
[EMAIL PROTECTED] // +351 22 7867000 (ext. 3492)

Toyota Prius '01, Aqua Ice Opalescent, 40K km., Esperanza

'People don't quit playing because they grow old. They grow old because they quit playing.' - Oliver Wendell Holmes








                      

x-tad-smaller        /x-tad-smallerx-tad-smaller /x-tad-smallerx-tad-smallerPara: [EMAIL PROTECTED]>/x-tad-smallerx-tad-smallerA/C: /x-tad-smallerx-tad-smallerRef: /x-tad-smallerx-tad-smaller cc: (bcc: Pedro Quaresma/SCAETANO)/x-tad-smallerx-tad-smallerAssunto: Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?/x-tad-smallerx-tad-smallerJukka Eronen [EMAIL PROTECTED]>/x-tad-smallerx-tad-smaller15-06-2004 10:17/x-tad-smallerx-tad-smallerSolicita-se resposta a swcollect/x-tad-smaller>I remember someone _handwriting_ the whole list of symbols from Indiana
Jones and the Last >Crusade copy protection!

I haven't done this myself but I too have a photo copy of
a handwritten copy protection for Indy 3 :)

Though this is more of an age protection, one of the most classic
and more fun way to do it is the Larry 1 quiz (which Larry 3 has too).

Larry 2 has those phone numbers as copy protection;
Al Lowe's birthday works as a pass in later release versions:
http://www.allowe.com/Larry/cluescheats.htm

- Jukka

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Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

2004-06-15 Thread Dan Chisarick

LucasArts (DOS-based) adventure games drove me crazy because the 
protection was written in the same interpreted code as the rest of the 
game (makes sense, some commercial protection schemes are based on 
their own VM, speaking of protection schemes repeating themselves).  
Anyway, I found one generic solution for all of them.  I wrote 
something that took a snapshot of the data segment (only 64K) and wrote 
it to disk (using either Soft-Ice or Undocumented DOS).  Do that 
twice in a row with a short pause in between before the protection 
screen, then do it again after the protection, using the manual, wheel 
or whatever to get past it.  Take the three 64k snapshots, and search 
for a byte that was unchanged between the first two but changed from 
like a 0 - 1 or 0 - 255 between the second and third snapshot.  
There'd only be 5-10 such locations.  One of them is a boolean flag 
letting the game know the protection passed and it doesn't have to 
display it again.  Write a loader that pops the 1 or 255 in that 
location on load but right before startup and it'd think it already ran 
the protection successfully.  Poof.  Worked for 4-5 games I think.  My 
parents thought I was insane for that week (80 hours in 5 days, I'll 
never forget that).

I'm fuzzy on this but I think D-Generation also had protection only on 
install.  It would only install the specific drivers (EGA/VGA, Adlib, 
SoundBlaster, etc.) for your setup, to prevent post-install piracy.  
Very reasonable.  Nice compromise.

On Jun 15, 2004, at 10:28 AM, Lee K. Seitz wrote:
Marco Thorek stated:
BTW, another drive-the-legitimate-buyer-out-of-his-mind copy 
protection:
Type the seventh word in the third paragraph on page 22.

You never knew if they counted chapter titles, quotations, or whatever
else was there along regular text, or not.
Yeah, and I remember some friends who had a cracked copy (or cracked
it using instructions on the 'net) of Bard's Tale so that it didn't
matter what you entered at that prompt, it would always act as if it
was correct.
I thought the Empire Deluxe solution was good.  You only had to answer
this type of question when you ran the setup program, which set the
resolution, sound options, etc.  So, in general, you only had to do it
once or twice.  (You were required to run it once before playing.)  Of
course, if you'd been playing for months and decided to change a
setting, then you had to go find the manual, which was frustrating.
--
Lee K. Seitz
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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RE: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?

2004-06-15 Thread Hugh Falk









One more example:  Rogue by Epyx



It would let you play for a while (like 3
or 4 levels), then it would throw an indestructible monster at you and youd
die.  Then it would show a tombstone that said Here Lies:  Pirate, scum
of the Earth.



I have several versions of the original,
but I normally play the Atari ST version.  Id love to get a copy of a ROM (for any emulator)
so I can play on my PC.  However, the only versions of Rogue Ive ever
gotten are simple copiesmeaning theyll let you play and then give
you the message above.  Anybody seen a working version?  Ideally for an ST or
Amiga emulator?



Hugh



-Original Message-
From: Dan Chisarick
[mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 7:25
PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: [SWCollect] Best copy
protection?



Along
similar lines, Final Assault (Epyx) for the IIgs (and probably
others), if you failed the copy protection, you'd continue normally, then
suddenly your climber's face would turn red and he'd die, as if suffocating I
think. Kinda slick.


On Jun 15, 2004, at 9:00 AM, Stuart Feldhamer wrote:

That
reminds me, in the beginning of Rex Nebular you're flying in your spaceship and
get the copy protection question. If you mess it up, a hairline crack appears
in your viewport, all the air rushes out, and your head explodes!

Stuart
-Original Message-
From:
MASTER [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]On
Behalf Of Pedro Quaresma
Sent:
Tuesday, June 15, 2004 5:46 AM
To:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject:
Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?


Well I didn't say that I remembered watching someone actually doing
the handwriting of those codes :) I had possibly the same photocopies you had,
so someone must've handwritten them, and they've gone all around Europe at
least! :D 

Ultima 7 Serpent Isle had an interesting copy protection. The
questions themselves were normal (values you had to check on
manual) but the interesting part was that if you missed one, all items or
characters in the game went Oink! when you clicked on them! :D


--
Pedro R. Quaresma
Salvador Caetano IMVT
Div. Sistemas de Informação / Systems and Information
Division
Administração e Desenvolvimento Lotus Notes /
Lotus Notes Administration and Development
[EMAIL PROTECTED] // +351 22 7867000 (ext.
3492)

Toyota Prius '01, Aqua Ice Opalescent, 40K km., Esperanza

'People don't quit playing because they grow old. They grow old
because they quit playing.' - Oliver Wendell Holmes









  

  
 






Para:
[EMAIL PROTECTED]






A/C: 






Ref: 






cc: (bcc: Pedro Quaresma/SCAETANO)






Assunto: Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?







Jukka Eronen [EMAIL PROTECTED]






15-06-2004 10:17







Solicita-se resposta a
swcollect








I remember someone
_handwriting_ the whole list of symbols from Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade copy protection!

I haven't done this myself but I too have a photo copy
of
a handwritten copy protection for Indy 3 :)

Though this is more of an age protection, one of the
most classic
and more fun way to do it is the Larry 1 quiz (which
Larry 3 has too).

Larry 2 has those phone numbers as copy protection;
Al Lowe's birthday works as a pass in later release
versions:
http://www.allowe.com/Larry/cluescheats.htm

- Jukka

--
http://koti.mbnet.fi/psychic/eng_index.html -
Synchronic Web:
Sierra/Lucas/Tolkien/Ultima/ADD/SSI collecting
and beyond!


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subscribed to
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mail to
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swcollect'
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Re: [SWCollect] Best copy protection?