Adding Mission Edit Protection

[A-SUICIDAL 11]

I once tried to extract a mission .pbo file so I could examine a specific script that was used in the mission. After finding the script I then tried to make a new change to the script, then I saved the mission and tested it and the change I made did not take effect. It was as if the mission had some sort of protection built in, or scripted in - that prevented people from further editing the mission. I would actually like to be able to do this to one of my own missions if it's possible, but I don't know how I would do this. Does anybody know of a way that I could protect my mission so nobody can edit my mission further?

A friend of mine released a mission and somebody decided to extract his .pbo file and then they added a bunch of Apaches and A-10's to his mission and they renamed the mission and were running it on their dedicated server and the credits in the mission were removed. My friend was very upset by this. Normally I wouldn't care if somebody were to do this to one of my missions, but then there are times when I might want to protect my mission.

[kylania 568]

How far would the community have gotten if everyone that knew anything about editing "protected" their missions and never shared how they did something?

[A-SUICIDAL 11]

That's just the thing. I have no problem with somebody extracting my mission and examining how I did something. They could simply take what they want from the mission and apply it to their own mission. I was just wondering how to make it so somebody cannot edit the mission further and re-publish it. It's just that... maybe I might not want to see a specific mission that I worked very hard to create get butchered and wind up on some dedicated server with somebody elses name on it as the author and all credits removed, like what happened to my friend. I don't think that is being selfish.

[blackmamb 2]

No it's not. Though you can't prevent some people from being assholes. No need to go all protective on stuff in my opinion, those people don't deserve you even care about them.

Plus, if people were still able to look inside, there wouldn't be anything preventing to just paste the code somewhere else and still use your mission.

[W0lle 1050]

Not possible, and that's actually a good thing. As kylania said already, we wouldn't even know half of what we know about mission editing if BIS and others would protect their missions. For example we would still wait for some official documentation on how briefings are made.

Get used to it, or don't release your missions at all. After all, they are using your work which means it's not totally crappy. :)

And besides that, what is protected will be busted sooner or later. So at best it would slow down the process of getting your work.

[Gunter Severloh 4063]

Not Possible? I'm thinking its possible IDK how but I have a mission I would like to look at in the editor seen here:

http://forums.bistudio.com/showthread.php?139554-SP-Battle-For-Panovo

I tried to unpbo it and it gives me this error header block, which I'd assume is to block the mission from being opened,

or its something else, but any other mission pbo'd I never have issues with.

[blackmamb 2]

I downloaded it right now. It came as a .ifa file, but I renamed it as a .pbo, used Eliteness to unwrap it without any issue. Tell me if you still need the unwrapped archive.

[W0lle 1050]

I tried to unpbo it and it gives me this error header block, which I'd assume is to block the mission from being opened,

or its something else, but any other mission pbo'd I never have issues with.

Maybe use up2date tools. :p

Mikero's depbo just unpacks it with a smile.

[twirly 11]

@Gunter... Unpacked .pbo zipped and uploaded here if you need it. I used Eliteness.

[A-SUICIDAL 11]

I can't remember the name of the mission, but I extracted the pbo and was able to open it in the editor. I then started to examine how the mission was created and found the part that I was most interested in, which was a "container in net" that had an action to deploy a motorcycle. I changed 1 little thing and hit save and preview, but it never saved the change that I made. So I tried again and the same thing happened. I then placed a bunch of west units all around just to see see if I was going crazy and hit save and preview and they didn't appear at all. So I went back and they will still showing in the editor, so I hit save again and then I reloaded the map and they were gone. I placed a truck and hit save and reloaded the map and the truck was gone. So I figured that I was happy enough that I was able to learn how to do what I wanted to do and I applied it to my own mission, then I deleted the extracted mission. It never occurred to me back then that I might one day want to learn how to apply the same "save" protection to my own mission. So yes, the mission did block the ability to save somehow. If anybody remembers a small coop mission where you start out behind a wall with some ammo crates, then you have to fight off a few squads of enemy at a near by town, and just as you make it into town there is a "container in net" near the road that offers the ability to deploy a motorcycle, ...that is the map I am referring to. It was a good mission. It had some working enemy mortars on a hill top too. It was made by somebody that I know from the forums, but I can't remember who.

I am sure that the "save" protection that was put into the mission could probably be disabled easily somehow, but it had me stumped and I gave up pretty fast. It seemed obvious that the mission creator didn't want anybody messing with his mission.

I'm still looking to find out how it was done. I'm not looking to discuss opinions as to why it should or should not be used. I like sharing, I share all the time, but I would still like to put that "save" protection in my next mission if I can. If it will prevent some noob from butchering my mission, hell yeah I wanna use it.

[samatra 85]

The only way I know of is to extract vital server side code into addon and have it on your PC\server. Players will only download client mission which cannot be run without server having this addon.

[Gunter Severloh 4063]

I downloaded it right now. It came as a .ifa file, but I renamed it as a .pbo, used Eliteness to unwrap it without any issue.

This is what i forgot that I was dealing with Iron Front, files, Im so used to opening pbo files that I didn't realize,

or rather forgot to change the name to pbo as I ahd read once before on the IF forums. Thanks for pointing that out BlackMamb.

Maybe use up2date tools.

Lol Wolle, Ya I use CPbo, but the issue was the above, i forgot I was dealing with IF files and didn't reaname the IF file to a pbo, my mistake.

@Gunter... Unpacked .pbo zipped and uploaded here if you need it. I used Eliteness.

Thanks twirly!

[mcpxxl 2]

useless discussion for my opinion SORRY

[A-SUICIDAL 11]

Honestly man, and I'm not trying to sound mean, but I didn't start this thread because I was interested in your opinion. Out of the zillion missions out there, you shouldn't really care if I apply some protection to 1 mission. Please don't use my thread to discuss your opinions. I started out simply asking how it can be done. I have seen it done, but I do not have the mission anymore that incorporated it and I don't remember the name of the mission or the author. If you want to "discuss" your opinions on it, please do it someplace else. If you do not know how it can be done, then you don't need to reply at all, because your opinion isn't helping at all. It's just spam.

Again, the mission that it was applied to did not allow me to make further "saved" changes. If I added a truck to the mission and hit "Save" and then reload the mission, the truck was gone. It would not "Save" any new changes. Maybe there was a way to remove the protection that was added to the mission that prevented the ability to save new changes to it, but I didn't bother to look into it further since I was not interested in the protection feature at all at the time. Now I am interested and I would like to use it in 1 mission.

I have no problems with somebody with mission editing experience from doing whatever they want with my mission, be my guest, but I do have a problem with an inexperienced editing noob that simply wants to place a bunch of A-10's and Apaches in my mission and save it his own mission with his name as the author and all credits removed. It happened to my friend and I wouldn't want it to happen to me. It honestly wouldn't be that big a deal if it did happen to me, but I'd still like to prevent it.

My best guess is that it maybe had something to do with the name of the mission, like maybe there was some strange characters in the mission name. For instance, if you create a new "Desert.E" mission and place a few things in it and save it as "MyMissionVersion1.0" the game will save the mission as "MyMissionVerison1%2e0.Desert_E". So maybe the author might of somehow renamed his mission at the last moment and instead of using the editor to "Export to multiplayer missions", maybe he used some other method to compile/save it as a multiplayer .pbo file. I've always used the editor to save my missions, so I don't know if there is another possible way to save it as a multiplayer .pbo file. Again, this is my best guess as to how the author prevented the ability to save new changes. Yeah, an experienced mission creator could find a way to somehow duplicate the mission and edit it further, and they would probably add more cool stuff to the mission, but I am just interested in preventing noob mission creators from doing it.

[Gunter Severloh 4063]

useless discussion for my opinion SORRY

Your opinion is useless in this discussion, if you have nothing to add to a discussion other then your useless comment and opinion

then I see no reason why you need to spam the thread with your post, simply dont post and move on.

I think the OP has a good question, I also had interest in this as I thought I had an issue related to what the OP was referring to.

Find another thread to troll on that will be useful to you where you can give your opinion.

§5) No Spam

I've always used the editor to save my missions, so I don't know if there is another possible way to save it as a multiplayer .pbo file.

The other way is to use a pbo tool, such as eliteness, or cpbo, or other tools and just pbo the mission folder, basically what the game does already.

As far as I know, I dont know of anyway to lock a mission, nor since OFP days when i was editing have I ever seen or even heard of such a mission that was locked.

My question is, is it possible to lock a mission via password?

My hunches tell me no.

Edited October 9, 2012 by Gnter Severloh

[W0lle 1050]

Your opinion is useless in this discussion, if you have nothing to add to a discussion other then your useless comment and opinion

then I see no reason why you need to spam the thread with your post, simply dont post and move on.

Leave the moderation to us okay. If we need additional moderators we recruit them.

There is no way to 'encrypt' a mission and have it playable. And it's not needed as stated above by several mission creators. If you're scared of your mission being stolen, don't release it.

Question answered, closing before this gets out of hand.