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From: ifarqhar@sunc.mqcc.mq.oz.au (Ian Farquhar)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Pirating CD-ROMs - A Little Reality Please
Message-ID: <926@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz>
Date: 19 Dec 90 03:16:44 GMT
References: <910@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz> <9Baeu1w163w@kennels.actrix.gen.nz>
Sender: news@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz
Organization: Macquarie University, Sydney
Lines: 40

In article <9Baeu1w163w@kennels.actrix.gen.nz> sbeagle@kennels.actrix.gen.nz (Sleeping Beagle) writes:
>ifarqhar@sunc.mqcc.mq.oz.au (Ian Farquhar) writes:
>
>[stuff deleted]
>
>> [Costs of producing a CD soundtrack for a game ]

>This one's easy. People already make up soundtracks using such stuff as
>Soundtracker/NoiseTracker/etc. Basically, with a CD-ROM you could make up
>these and then TAPE them! (Just to annoy the pirates, no other benefit).

Yes, but if people are going to buy a system that produces CD-quality
sound (as CDTV is reported to do), then this is not going to satisfy
them, is it?  The sound output of the Amiga, though excellent by
computer standards, is sneered at by every audio engineer I know.

[...]

>Don't you think that ten minutes of action sequences from Robocop (for
>example) would greatly enhance the game? And of course it would be
>VERY hard to copy. (THe film makers would like it too - it would
>work as a sort of trailer/preview to encourage film sales.)

Excellent point, though I am sure that the filmmakers would actually
like the royalties much, much more...

>Again, one of the best anti-pirate devices I saw was on Shadow of the
>Unicorn for the Spectrum. It was a dongle with additional RAM and a
>joystick port. Basically you had to have the dongle before you COULD play
>the game! (It's a pity that the game was a flop... :-)

Unless the cartridge plays an active role in the game which cannot be
duplicated in software, the system is vulnerable.  This one did, but
then it also would have added an enormous cost to producing the game.

--
Ian Farquhar                      Phone : 61 2 805-9400
Office of Computing Services      Fax   : 61 2 805-7433
Macquarie University  NSW  2109   Also  : 61 2 805-7420
Australia                         EMail : ifarqhar@suna.mqcc.mq.oz.au