Copy Protection
The Return of Werdna had an unusual form of copy protection. No attempt was made to prevent copying of the game disks. Instead, the package included a book containing a long list of 16-digit "MordorCharge card" numbers, designed to resemble credit card numbers. This book was printed on dark red paper to make photocopying difficult. After completing the first level in the game, the player is given a randomly chosen 12-digit number, and asked for the last four digits. The player must look up the corresponding number in the book and type it in to proceed.
This tactic effectively gave those who made copies of the game a free demo of the first level before demanding that the player show proof of purchase. However, the algorithm for computing the MordorCharge numbers was not very complicated, and consisted of little more than adding three numbers modulo 9000. Those having knowledge of the method could calculate the correct response using a small lookup table and some relatively simple arithmetic.
Although such means of discouraging copying would be considered little more than a nuisance today, it was fairly effective at a time when few people had access to online services. A similar copy protection, with a more sophisticated code system, was used in the next Wizardry game, Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom.
Read more about this topic: Wizardry IV: The Return Of Werdna
Famous quotes containing the words copy and/or protection:
“Success is dangerous. One begins to copy oneself, and to copy oneself is more dangerous than to copy others. It leads to sterility.”
—Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)
“Freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of person under the protection of habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected. These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us, and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)