preveneting re-installation - how's everyone doing it?

[TheMysteriousStranger]

I'm looking for alternative ways of stopping people from simply reinstalling the game once the trial period is over and getting a new trial period.

I would rather not use the registry (after I once had serious problems with some kind of XP user access rights issue preventing my code from writing to the registry). So how is everyone else handling this?

My first thought was cookies. Everyone has a ton of cookies in their windows/my docs folders, so one more wouldn't be easily spotted. Plus it would have the advantage of expiring after X weeks so it's less crap clogging up the user's system. Only problem is, try as I might, I can't find a method to create/read local cookies, only methods that use the http response headers.

So any ideas? I don't need anything particularly complex or hard to hack, just enough to stop the typical user from constantly reinstalling the game instead of buying.

[princec]

Use the registry. 99% of users don't know it even exists. Never mind about the 1% that do. (And if you can't write to HKCU\Software\YourGameHere it's also a rare and random thing only caused by especially anal security policies at work)

Cas :)

[mahlzeit]

How many users that constantly reinstall the game are actually willing to pay for it?

And how many sales will you lose to people who try it out once, forget about it, want to try again a few months later but can't? I had the latter happen to me with several applications and the ones I couldn't try out again -- even after emailing customer support -- were the ones I ended up not buying.

[Sillysoft]

I use the Registry.

[Savant]

My advice: don't worry about it. If someone is willing to install your game over and over again to avoid paying, they aren't a customer you want anyway.

[luggage]

Just use the registry or some small file tucked away somewhere - reinstall but make sure the time carries on from where they left off.

Whether someone pirates isn't a black & white line.

[jankoM]

I use registry too.

If someone is willing to install your game over and over again to avoid paying, they aren't a customer you want anyway.
I am not so selective at my customers - I want them as many as possible.... and I don't consider reinstalling the app over and over again piracy except if it is explicitly said I shouldn't somewhere in agreement.

[dmikesell]

How many users that constantly reinstall the game are actually willing to pay for it?

And how many sales will you lose to people who try it out once, forget about it, want to try again a few months later but can't? I had the latter happen to me with several applications and the ones I couldn't try out again -- even after emailing customer support -- were the ones I ended up not buying.

Bingo. Let them play the demo all they want. Just make sure you don't give away too much in the demo - you want them to want the rest of the game.

[barrygamer]

And how many sales will you lose to people who try it out once, forget about it, want to try again a few months later but can't?

I've seen some casual game demos lately that -- after 60 mins were up -- would still allow a few mins play after a restart. So, people can still fire it up and remind themselves of the game, rather than be hit instantly with the "its expired, buy it" message. (I think they forced the player back to level 1 also). I thought that was quite a nice way to handle it.

(sorry, drifting off-topic from reinstalls).

[TheMysteriousStranger]

Bingo. Let them play the demo all they want. Just make sure you don't give away too much in the demo - you want them to want the rest of the game.


Which is part of the problem for my current game. It's a very simple game. I can't really limit the demo much without removing what makes the game fun, so I'm left with only time-limitations. I guess I'm stuck using the registry. It looks to be the most reliable method available, if not the cleanest.

I've seen some casual game demos lately that -- after 60 mins were up -- would still allow a few mins play after a restart

That is a good idea.

*steals* :)

[Robert Cummings]

Hows this done on mac?

[Tom Cain]

Hows this done on mac?
What I've seen most often is using a hidden file in Home/Library/Preferences. Start the filename with a period to hide it. There are some Mac users that really get upset when they find hidden files like this but they are in the minority.

Some very successful Mac shareware companies like Panic don't do anything more than storing the info in the regular preferences file. Many Mac users know how to delete pref files to restart a demo, apparently these companies don't care about that.

[Narnach]

Why is it that I sometimes get the impression that people want to hide things on MY machine without ME knowing it?


Nothing to see, move along.... :rolleyes:

[niX_BB]

Probably because it's THIER blood, sweat and tears that THEY'RE trying to protect ;)

[Tom Gilleland]

On Windows we just write an obscurely named file in the Windows directory. I don't like messing with the Registry. I always worry that some later version of Windows would stop using the registry, but I feel that there will always be a Windows directory. The data in the file is scrambled a really simple way so that the user can't easily figure it out. I call this Monkey Encription, from the monkey keyboard test. ;)

On the Mac we just store the same file in the preferences folder. We normally do a different filename for each product, though on a few products we have used thier old saved data in the new game. The customers thought this was pretty cool.

Tom

[GBGames]

Probably because it's THIER blood, sweat and tears that THEY'RE trying to protect ;)

At some stores, there are security guards around to make sure that no one steals things. They don't stick tracking devices on each customer without their consent (although that is the fear with RFID tags).