Please Help -Publishing of my Game

The Publisher wants me to install Starforce copy protection in my Game Code.
The Starforce Check Code is a C++ Include code. Is this possible ? (Using Starforce with B3D).

Yes would be possible through Userlibs if you compile the starforce include to a DLL.

But I would try to talk to your publisher.
Starforce is the worst thing ever invented (beside true root kit protection hacks) and its maker has proofed several times in the past that they don't deserve anything but hell (they offered, for example, all users a game for illegal download that did not use a copy protection but counted on their users just too proof that it is a "stupid thing")

Like Dreamora said, it might be wise to investigate the stories & controversy surrounding Starforce, and perhaps having a word with your publisher...

By using starforce, you may be limiting your sales - there are many people who boycott starforce protected games (me included).

If consumers won't put up with Starforce on full-priced mainstream releases (and inreasingly they won't) then you've no chance with indie fare... unless the idea is to specifically target the more casual and therefore perhaps more technologically naive end of the market, which is scurrilous (for obvious reasons) and dumb (because those are exactly the people who won't be pirating your software). What kind of developer would even consider saddling their customers with Starforce, anyway?

But sure, compile it into a dll, thus making it ridiculously easy to isolate and disable - may as well waste your own time while you're wasting everyone else's.



Or drop them and find someone who respects their customers.

http://blitzbasic.com/Community/posts.php?topic=58675#653695

Yup, quite a few developers/publishers dropping starforce recently, UbiSoft for one, probably because an increasing number of gamers, me included will not install any game that uses starforce.

What is Starforce? I've been away a while.

Starforce is a CD copy protection mechanism, it installs a low level driver onto your system that (to keep it basic) sits between your CD-ROM drive and the Operating System. Its usually used to verify that the real game CD is in the drive before the game will allow itself to be played.

In extreme cases (and despite the developer's insistance that it doesn't) it can cause compatiblity issues, hardware damage or the inability to read some CDs.

As far as I know it does not pose any kind of security risk as such, is not adware/spyware or a trojan and is used by a number of large game publishers.

While on the whole I have no real problems caused by it, I have found that it slows down access to some CDs (reproduceable) and I dislike such software being installed onto my machine without my permission and notice - hence why I will not buy games that use it.

The truth of the matter is: Many people have no problems at all with starforce.

However, many is not all, and in fact quite a few have had absolute horror stories involving Starforce turning their computer into a useless heap. I myself haven't had serious problems, to the extremese some people have, but I did notice seriously degraded perfomance. After I got rid of it, which is VERY hard (it takes more than just the uninstaller some games come with to get rid of it), everything ran so much smoother, and still does.

By the way, almost every game that uses Starforce ends up getting a hack anyway within a week or two. If someone wanted me to put it in my game I'd give them the proverbial finger and if they wouldn't deal with it I'd get someone else.

i wouldnt support a company (by using starforce) that freely gave a torrent link to galactic civ 2 on there own forums. also it sucks large.