Distributing SFML games on other websites.

[Viruses]

So how do you distribute games over the web that you make in SFML? And do the SFML dlls have to go with the package because then people would know i made it in SFML which would mean they could modify it by some way.. and also the dlls take up alot of more memory and then the game itself with the assets all take up a lot of mb just for a flash game.. And could i earn money by advertising in my game? Im a noob in this kind of stuff..

[Nexus]

So how do you distribute games over the web that you make in SFML?

Look at the Projects forum...

And do the SFML dlls have to go with the package

When you link dynamically, yes (unless the player has exactly the same version of the DLLs).

because then people would know i made it in SFML which would mean they could modify it by some way..

Huh? Where did you hear that?

and also the dlls take up alot of more memory and then the game itself with the assets all take up a lot of mb

If you compress a game, its size should be acceptable to download and install.

just for a flash game..

I thought you talked about C++?

[eXpl0it3r]

And do the SFML dlls have to go with the package

Additionally you can link the SFML library staticly, so you won't have any DLLs to ship with, although your game itself will have an incresed size.

because then people would know i made it in SFML which would mean they could modify it by some way..

Wrong!

And could i earn money by advertising in my game?

Sure, that's why SFML is under libzip license (= do what ever you want with SFML, just don't claim you created SFML).

I suggest you read a bit more though this forum. There are a lot of questions which have some similarities to yours.

[Viruses]

What i meant that the players would know i made it in sfml is that since the dlls are named sfml-whatever, they would know its sfml and then what if they also programmed games in sfml too? So then they would know..

[Grimshaw]

They would know how to decode machine's native code by their naked eye, woooooo

Absolutely not. If someone is about to attempt cracking your game executable, it will be probably the same whether he knows what you used or not.

[Nexus]

So then they would know..

...that you are using SFML and that you're linking dynamically. No more, no less.

I think you really overstate the problematics, it's highly unprobable that a hacker community spends hours to reverse-engineer your game

[Neomex]

I think you really overstate the problematics, it's highly unprobable that a hacker community spends hours to reverse-engineer your game

+ if something like this happen, it means you made succes and you should be very happy  

[Viruses]

Alright thanks!

[Viruses]

Does anyone know of websites where i can distribute the game? And how will i put ads in it to make money? And how do i even put the game in there? Like will i have to put all the files of the game in a rar file and then people download it or how does this whole thing work? Also, if they download the files, then they see my game assets(music,sprites,etc). All they have to do is change those to change how the stuff looks. How do i "lock" the assets? And also, earlier i sent my friend the files of the game. On his computer, it said he needed some dlls. But on my computer, those dlls arent necessary for the game to run. So how do i know if it will even work on peoples' computers? I know this is soo many questions but i have no clue what to do when it comes to actually distributing my game. Thanks a ton!

[RedIrony]

1) If your game is really good, and really polished (emphasis on really), you can talk to a publisher about getting it published. Chances are, it isn't at that stage, in which case you'll need to distribute it yourself. You can get your own web space, or you can look for a regular file hosting server to link to. I believe there is one dedicated to SFML projects.

2) As far as ads go, I guess you would need to find someone to pay you to display their ads (such as Google's AdSense). You'd need to work with the network package so that you can send a message out to the web and retrieve the ad and display it inside your game.

3) For distribution, it will depend on the platform. For windows, you really should go and learn how to make a windows installer so that they can install/uninstall your software. This will allow you to check for and install any .dll files you need (I suspect it would he ones for sound, but that's just a guess).

And of course, all of this stuff is online in articles published by people far more educated than myself.

[Viruses]

About the whole distributing/publishing part, do i have to pay to do that? And are ads the only way to make money because in my opinion, not a lot of people click on ads anyways. And you said i would have to get my own web space. But doesn't it cost money in order to host your website on a web server?

[Tank]

So you want 100% profit out of 0% investments?

Nobody cares what you've used to create your game. Users usually want to play, not reverse your software (and that's even possible with everything; why trying to avoid it?).

Speaking of myself I'd immediately quit a game that displays ads in-game. What about simply selling your game?!

[Viruses]

Okay listen when i go into any games directory(like an MMORPG for example), i dont get to see all the game assets and open them up and change them. They have dlls. So if they used a program that i could get online to change their models, the game would screw up because now the models have changed because of my EDITING. I want to make my assets so that they can't be changed. And what do you mean selling? Like online..?

[Tank]

If you're afraid of prople stealing your work: You don't have to. All assets created by you are copyrighted.

The other stuff you mention is well-known as "security through obscurity". If someone *really* wants to get your assets, they'll manage it. Decoders/unpackers are always included with your binary, so with some knowledge and time one will always be able to get your assets (and also change them).

I suggest to concentrate on more important things, like creating a good and working game. And something to think about: If your users are *able* (by design) to change things, doesn't that also mean that your product may get better without any work? Just look around and find games that are being played and enjoyed for many many years. The majority of them is modificable.

Regarding selling: Yeah, selling your product online or even boxed, doesn't matter. Ads in a game are just annoying and I don't think the revenue is that high. Do a good job, create an interesting game and people will be willing to pay some bucks.

[julen26]

I suggest to concentrate on more important things, like creating a good and working game. And something to think about: If your users are *able* (by design) to change things, doesn't that also mean that your product may get better without any work? Just look around and find games that are being played and enjoyed for many many years. The majority of them is modificable.

That's right, I have never sold any game, but I can guarantee that one of them (specifically Dbzbx wich I made in GameMaker) is still at the present played so much. Why? It's highly editable and people use to make their own versions of it.


Sell the game itself online, you can read this amateur and nice article. It'll give you some starting point, but note that for now you will have to MAKE a good game.