Map game test

[Farabi]

Sorry to disturb you. I want you to test this game map. Also if you have an idea or contribution just tell me.

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[gabor]

Hello!


I think you should work on this software more real hard until it makes sense to write such an End User License Agreement for it, (which is full of spelling errors by the way)...
It would be nice to have a small description what this game is really about, how should it be operated or controlled...

One more notice: you wrote in the EULA that this software was copirighted and protected by law. Is it really so, have you made a software pattern for it? It needs a lot of money to get something protected...

What I could test was ok. I got a small plane that can be controlled by w,a,s,d and the background scrolled just as you would expect (I guess so).


Greets, Gábor

[Farabi]

Gabor:
Law protected is automatically if you are going to release a version. I dont need money to do it. But yes I will remove it if you think I should remove it. Thanks for your advice, Im not too understand about it.
I put that notice to protect the picture, as I can see some person sometimes use it on their software without any of my permition. If you see the software store here you will understand what I feel.

Yes I know it is not completed yet and I need a hard work to complete it. But Im affraid someone take the picture while I was demonstrate it. If you have any idea for the next development feel free to tell me.

[JFG]

Yes, it's true that - in principle - the software you make is legally your property, at least unless you say it's public property.  However, you still have to copyright it (which, last I checked, costs only $30).  The problem is that although your intellectual property (IP) is legally yours, you have to have some way to prove that in court in case that somebody uses your work without permission.  When you get a copyright, you actually give a local copyrights office a copy of your work, which they keep for a while (a few years I believe - unless you get extensions), and that way there is an legally recognized impartial party that can back you up in court.  Without that, you're stuck in a he-said-she-said sort of situation, and if the infringer is somebody with a better lawyer, and/or better liars, you're screwed.  Getting a "poor man's" copyright also does not tend to help in court; mailing a copy of your work to yourself to get a postmaster's date stamp on an envelope with your stuff sealed inside, and then keeping that in a safe deposit box, is known for being done all in vain in legal circles.  Remember you just have to fill out a form or two, and, again, it's $30, or something around there, so if you really think it's significantly likely that somebody might take your IP, you should go ahead and copyright it.  You also don't necessarily have to get a new copyright everytime you make a new beta version and release it for testing by others.  What you do have to do is get a copyright that covers those parts of your work that you believe are likely to be copied.  Note that when you make a new beta version, you're still leaving most of the material the same way.  You just add bits and pieces of new material.  You can make a copyright that covers what you are going to keep the same for a while, and get a new copyright when you've added enough new material that you think that new material is substancial enough that it may be worth stealing, or every new year, whichever comes first.  You can then get away with just putting the copyright notice on every new beta version, and saying that 'some' of the material is copyrighted.  Saying 'some,' you still don't have to worry much about infringement because you're not going to say exactly what is covered and what isn't, and because you put the copyright notice on your work as a warning to others to tell them that if they copy certain material they risk getting in legal trouble for doing that.  Always keep in mind though that the copyright protects only the specific material that you give to the copyrights office, and does not cover the essense of it or theory behind it.  Now, if you have a name you want to keep as your property, you actually do have two options:  getting a plain trademark, or a registered trademark.  For a plain trademark, you need only announce that the name is trademarked by you, along with your copyright notice, and must put the TM symbol by ever instance in which you use that name, although I myself have seen such trademarks infringed an aweful lot.  Thus, alternatively, you can get a registered trademark, but those you have to register at the U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office, and they cost about $300.  But for that, you get to have legal protection for your trademark, and beyond an internet search for preexisting use of the same name, you get to be sure that you yourself are not walking into a trap by unintentionally infringing on a registered trademark.

Good luck with your game.

[Farabi]

JFG:
:U Thanks. Nice information. I really need that.

[JFG]

A few days ago I noticed another post you made in which you wanted to know about copyright licenses.  I replied to that too, and I don't know if you noticed, so I wanted to note that because I mentioned there some issues that concern protecting code and algorithms.  You may want to look at that too.

P.S.:  For software, patents suck.  Use a shotgun instead.  :toothy

[Farabi]

Here is the last test.

Note:
1. Cannot run on WinXP SP2
2. Cannot run on Win 2000

Please let me know if there is other windows OS this program not work.

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