Protecting level groups by marking them as Pre-made
Warning: The information on this page is intended
for use only by the
technically-inclined. If you don't understand the instructions,
you probably shouldn't be messing around with this.
If you are willing to use a hex editor to modify your Lode Runner puzzle
group, you can prevent the casual user from loading it into their puzzle
editor and finding the hidden stuff or making changes.
Just load the file into a hex editor and change byte 68h from a 0 to a 1.
If someone then tries to edit that group, they will get an error like
"Can't edit the pre-made levels".
And yes, you can also unprotect the levels that come with the game by changing
that byte from a 1 to a 0. But remember, it is a violation of copyright laws
to modify and distribute the pre-made levels.
(You can't do this with Lode Runner On-Line, only TLR).
(Thanks to skaratso@oucsace.cs.ohiou.edu for this trick.)
Play-only levels in Lode Runner Online
Lode Runner On-Line allows you to save level groups as "play-only", which
prevents people from loading them into their editor and examining or changing
them. However, it is possible to convert a play-only file back to an editable
file. Use a hex editor to change the value of byte 69h (its value will be
65h) to 00h.
Need a good hex editor for Windows? Try
UltraEdit.