Map Protection

Well, i know, or at least i think that this questions has been asked a thousend times but still.
How can you Protect a map? or at least how can you make it so that noone could get some files out of the map?

Please don't protect your map. If someone wants to break in, they will. But if someone just wants to see how something works they can't.

You cant protect imported files anyway.

damn...
oh well.

well yes you can, be removing the file list, all the names will appear as unknown, and it takes someone with a bit of experience unprotecting maps and the right software to undo that, secondly, i suggest vexorian's map optimizer as the best way to reduce file size and protect a map. but i warn against protecting, it stops others from learning, what if i had protected my info (i know lame example) you wouldn't have learned anything

I'm not experianced at all and it took me all of a minute to find the jass file in ToB...And it did appear as unknown..

As for protection I have heard of a way to save a null string somehow and then check to see if it is represented as "" or <empty string> and from there you can see if someone has opened your map.

i am refering to models, that would be quite difficult, and i would not say you are unexperience, you seem to know what you are doing, and a very repected members, even though you may not know much abotu unprotectng, you still know stuff about JASS...

No I was talking about the jass file.

And it was my first time with the MPQ editor, i just looked for the biggest file and opened it up in wordpad :P

hm... funny, well that would be wuite simple, i would think that you would lok at the extension of the file, but with models i think w3 viewer refuses to open them... i think, there are programs to undo that, but i'm not gonna post any here

I think some people do protecting just to keep noobs from editing their maps with l33t heroes of million damage and nukes that do 50k per sec AOE dmg and adding triggers for text strings which they can say to observers to give them items/money/exp.

The way I do it, I keep beta versions protected to stop leaking of an unfinished map, but when the map is finished I unprotect it.

Dont protect your map, It creates a learning ability that will help beginner Map makers.

End 0 Story!

Lets not get into a another protection debate, we all know the arguements.

+Stops noobs ripping map off (ie map stealing)
- Stops noobs learning
o Impossible to 100% protect map assets (especially art)

yes map protection is one of those endless debates, but i agree i only protect the BETA versions, and if someone asks for the code i give to him, or i use open soure protecting

ok dudes relax! I don't need it anymore.
But thanks for the help anyway ^_^

Which I believe is the best method.....crud its pulling me in again....