I was browsing through the internet checking on my dev site and the HF thread when I accidentally scrolled down, and something took my eyes. It was entitled "Liberty – Heart of the Kingdom (v. 1.0.1) (DEMO)" under kdownloads.info, and so I went to check it out. Obviously it's not working (because it's already in v.2.0), but I still had the urge to check it out. I tried downloading it and to my surprise, someone was using it to make money via LinkBucks and other similar sites that shrink your URL and gain some cash for every 10,000 or so visitors. I've checked their About Us and they say they offer a wide range of titles, from games to TV shows and movies, and they offer for free, yet they make money out of LinkBucks and others.
Quoted from kdownloads.info About Us page:
"KDOWNLOADS.INFO is a pool of download links and files where one can find all sorts of download information ranging from movie download to software download, anime, TV series and even e-book, we gather all free links for you from websites across the world. Enjoy…"
I have specifically stated that under no circumstance other parties may make use of this game for financial profit, as it has been made for free and will always be free until it has been authorized for financial production. While it is already a fail, this cannot go unattended, and so I am now devising a strategy to counter such usage to this game as I work on Chapter One. Has anyone even thought why I gave it the title "Liberty"? It's because I was aiming not only on the game's story but also on the game's freedom as well. I have made this game free-of-charge, only relying on donations to sustain my work, and will remain free to everyone regardless of the money-making methods available (except donations of course). I will decide if my game will become a paid version or not, and no one has the right to get ahead of it.
I pray you all understand. The game is free to download here and at www.hongfire.com. No need to ask to whatever site about getting it for you while they make money in the shadows. This is freedom. This is liberty.
Please, as much as possible, do NOT use any links outside liberty-hotk.blogspot.com and www.hongfire.com without confirmation of its status.
edit: I've also checked my readme file, and it also falls under the category of unsolicited reproduction. Please do not download from sites other than the sites I've mentioned here and at Hongfire.
Sadly, that happens.
ReplyDeleteThere are torrents of my game out there either, but at least the sites llink to my blog.
There's not much you can do to prevent link collectors registering and linking your files if they are on unprotected filehosters.
That's why I'm not distributing my files with full name and use linkbucks to link to my files (that and the revenue ^^).
But the truth is, if you publish a piece of software, it's gonna be pirated.
What you could do with that specific site is file a DMCA complaint and hope that they react and take the links down. I'ts not gonna stop the original poster form posting them on other sites though and it's not guaranteed that they will take down the links.
So rename your files and use link shorteners to link to your files and put a text file in your main directory with your blog address. That's pretty much all you can do.
Thankfully, I found some sort of counter for this. I've re-developed my game to work only on a specified series, which is HotK. Even if they download from other sites, their game will no longer work the moment they use their old savedata from the previous chapter. It's a personal script and will be implemented for Chapter 1, so here's a heads-up for everyone: do NOT carry your old savedata to the next release, as it contains my personalized script. If you do attempt, you'll end up losing your save. I'll explain more at the release of Ch. 1. Oh, and Invasion D is just about done with INTER-VIEW!, so expect its breakdown anytime soon. Thanks again for the support, I'll keep working hard!
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