Wintermute Engine Forum

Wintermute Engine => Technical forum => Topic started by: Amo on October 09, 2007, 12:03:13 PM

Title: Need help creating a trial version
Post by: Amo on October 09, 2007, 12:03:13 PM
Hey guys and girls,

erm, has anybody an idea how to create something like a thirty day trial version with the help of WME? In our particular case we want to make our current stable version make run only for thirty days after installing.
Please do not ask why.

Thanks for upcoming help.

Regards

Amo
Title: Re: Need help creating a trial version
Post by: sychron on October 09, 2007, 12:29:08 PM
Make the installer put the installation date in the registry.
Not plaintext, encode it somehow, so it's not readable as a date.

Build a small .exe file reading that registry entry and returning the days since installation.
The .exe should not return anything when not called with some weird parameter,
see it as a kind of passwort to access the registry data.

Call that .exe from within WME submitting the right parameter. If the .exe returns a value > 30 or no value at all (.exe changed, registry value deleted etc), stop the trial.

Must I mention that time limited trial versions suck as much as copy protections?
I appreciate trial version, but please ... do not make them time dependend.
Make them usage time dependend ... as reflexive arcade does for games they publish.
Find out the total running time of your game, and after perhaps 10 hours of running time, stop the trial.

If for some weird reason the user happens to not have time to spend on the trial, the trial is wasted, for he cannot spend his time afterwards. In a usage time based trial, he can use the trial whenever HE wants, and still have a time limit.

Please think about that
Title: Re: Need help creating a trial version
Post by: Amo on October 09, 2007, 12:44:49 PM
Thanks Sychron.

Yeah you are right, they really suck. But it is not for public. Sorry,I am working an commercial project, so I can't tell you more.

Regards

Amo
Title: Re: Need help creating a trial version
Post by: Mnemonic on October 09, 2007, 01:26:31 PM
Alternatively, if you have enough money, Armadillo can wrap the game exe and add trial timer automatically. And it's definitely hard to crack.
Title: Re: Need help creating a trial version
Post by: Amo on October 09, 2007, 07:16:02 PM
Hi Mnemonic, thanks for the hint. I check it out.