An AGS Ripper, good or bad idea?

shitar · Tue 15/07/2003 00:25:30

I've noticed that certain AGS games have .001 files, Pleurghburg. I've tried to open them, but it's beyond my knowledge. Who wouldn't want to rip Pleu-, I mean who wouldn't want to VIEW the sprites for Pleurghburg. I think someone "legally" should make an AGS game sprite ripper. Am I stupid for thinking this?

undergroundling · Tue 15/07/2003 00:28:57

Since we're all one big happy family here (*beams*), I think it would be more appropriate to simply ask the creator of the games for their sprites. I'm sure many people here would not object to that...I think...well, I wouldn't anyways...not that I've made a game (yet)...but that's beside the point.

So that's where I stand. I'm against and AGS sprite ripper, but I'm all for an AGS sprite collection where people can upload, share, and trade their unused (or used) sprites, backgrounds, music, etc. Or just PM them and ask for their sprites if you want them that bad.

- Bryan

OneThinkingGal and ._. · Tue 15/07/2003 00:32:32

Bad idea.

I doubt you can make one without cj's help and afaik, he doesn't allow fiddling with the internals of the files. ._.

shitar · Tue 15/07/2003 00:33:53

If you asked Chrille for his PDA sprites, I don't think he would be jumping in joy.

But you see, CJ has power over us. If he was to say " Sure, I'll make you a program like that. As long as no one puts them those sprites in their own game." Not one single person in these forums except Kickme, would do that.

Renal Shutdown · Tue 15/07/2003 00:47:45

kikme.. and most n00bs who join after the proggy is released.

m0ds · Tue 15/07/2003 00:53:45

Very bad idea. It may sound stuck up, but as a developer I don't really want you inside my games, danka ^_^

m0ds

Raggit · Tue 15/07/2003 01:09:26

I don't think this is a good idea. Like m0ds and the others said, they, as well as I, wouldn't like people to be able to steal graphics and sprites from our games.

Ben · Tue 15/07/2003 01:47:05

Quote from: mitar on Tue 15/07/2003 00:33:53
If you asked Chrille for his PDA sprites, I don't think he would be jumping in joy.

Do you think he'd be any happier if you ripped off his sprites yourself?

Bad idea.

Gilbert · Tue 15/07/2003 02:18:29

All I can say is that, CJ HAD made such a programme, but there's no way you can get it. It's for emergency only (ie for game makers who lost his files in a HDD crash and want to retrieve back his own files).
So forget about it, or make one yourself, but then no one here will be your friend any more.

I think there's no point to continue this thread now. Can someone lock it?

MillsJROSS · Tue 15/07/2003 03:37:13

If you really want a sprite then go to the trouble of going in the game to the desired sprite, print screen and take the sprite that is desired.

Or just ask the creator...just realise that if you do the above, the creator might very well be quite pissed off.

-MillsJROSS

Privateer Puddin' · Tue 15/07/2003 09:26:57

gilbert: im sure with one of the releases, he stopped being able to open games

Gilbert · Tue 15/07/2003 09:32:37

Actually it's not really that case I think, the data file of AGS games are really simple format. But in newer version, for privacy and to save spaces for the compiled game, the room data included in the game files no longer contain the original script texts, but only the "compiled" scripts. So even if you "decompile" a game's file, you can still get most of the stuffs, but you're no longer able to edit the room&global scripts as their source texts are lost.

EDIT ok in V2.5:
NOTE: It is now IMPOSSIBLE for your game to be de-compiled - even by me.
But I wonder if it's really impossible to de-compile everything, moreover, PDA was made with an earlier version I think.

Proskrito · Tue 15/07/2003 11:04:10

I think i read somewhere that one of the reasons for chris to not make AGS code public was the possibility of someone making such a program, so i don think its a good idea. If i would want some sprites from a game, i would ask the author.

Scummbuddy · Tue 15/07/2003 17:27:35

someone did create somewhat of a decompiler, and mentioned it on here, so Chris went ahead and stopped the possibility to reopen games.

edmundito · Tue 15/07/2003 19:08:00

from what I recall, games made with more recent versions of ags (2.4 and up or something like that) can not be decompiled.. not even by chris because he made that on purpose (hence the whole back up your game thing started).

jannar85 · Tue 15/07/2003 19:42:23

Bad idea.... But you *can* hear if a hacker is willing to do it...
bah... but he might want a large fee...

Pumaman · Tue 15/07/2003 20:24:07

I have had requests for a "de-compiler" before, but the answer is no, I'm afraid.

This is based on feedback from game developers - as m0ds says, when you spend all that time making a game, you don't really want people ripping off your hard work.

I'm not claiming that it would be impossible for somebody to de-compile an AGS game and extract some stuff. Let's face it, Sierra and Lucasarts employed professional programmers to encrypt the game data to stop people getting at it - but as we can see now with SCUMMVM, SCI Studio and so forth, nothing is totally hacker-proof.

Game companies these days spend a fortune on CD copy protection. Has it stopped people making cracks for those games?

As Gilbert says though, the script source code is not in the compiled game, so it is physically impossible for somebody to decompile your scripts.