32 replies to this topic

[Haylee]

Regarding this one, there's so many ways around passwords that I wouldn't even call it a bug. Passwords are not and never have been a way to secure quests. They provide the illusion of security but no actual protection.

I mean I agree that there's several ways around passwords and that they've never been secure, but I'm just saying that I think it's probably a bug with this in particular. I don't really think it's something that needs to be urgently fixed or anything, but I do think a bug is still a bug. I was just making note of it.

Edited by Einsiety, 01 May 2022 - 10:01 AM.

[Taco Chopper]

Eh, blessing and a curse with the passwords. On one hand yeah it's a bug, on the other hand oh god I can actually see the inner workings of my quests from 10+ years ago again

[connor.clark]

- The Triforce animation doesn't end, I can only assume it's something related to how the Triforce check is supposed to end causing some issues. It can still be F6'd out of.

Thanks for the heads up–this is fixed now.

 

re: passwords, removing the password protection was deliberate. It literally takes no code changes to build ZQ without it, and people can ask devs in the discord to unlock quests for them, so there really isn't any protection there. Why I removed it is simple: it's just cooler to be able to see how quests are made. And if you notice some trick in a quest and want to know how it was accomplished, now you can just look (and others can link newbies to a ZQ screen they know uses a certain feature, for educational purposes). That should only help people new to the editor create things.

 

I think I agree with swapping z/x... For some reason, like others, I find it more natural but if you are just looking at the game's UI (or thinking of the NES controller) then yeah it's the opposite of what you'd guess. I'll think on it a bit.. but that seems like a smart change.

Edited by connor.clark, 01 May 2022 - 01:32 PM.

[Emily]

Yeah, quest files are not encrypted with their password at all, the password is literally just checked in a function. There is a master password that opens any quest, and anyone who can get ZC to compile can just.... make the password check always return true, or just remove it.... and viola, passwords become meaningless. Also, '.key' files store the password in PLAINTEXT.

 

To be frank, how would people feel if we just... removed quest passwords?

[Jenny]

quest passwords are imo an outdated concept and i sort of find the idea of people being that protective of their quests silly

 

that said it would make it easier for people to steal custom assets without permission which is kind of meh... but they were probably going to do that anyways

[Haylee]

Passwords just give a slight veneer of privacy even if it's incredibly easy to crack open. I don't really see any benefit to removing them and I think it'd just kind of make select people a little more iffy about the program, even if I completely agree with Jenny that they're kind of outdated.

 

I think it's better to just pull up a menu in ZQuest that tells people that passwords are easy to crack and just warn them not put any personal info in the passwords should they choose to password their quests.

 

EDIT: Didn't see connor's response. That makes sense in the context of this. I just assumed it was initially a bug since it seems like this is still in its Alpha stages.

Edited by Einsiety, 01 May 2022 - 06:01 PM.

[Chris]

I might remember this wrong, but weren't there a few people over the years that just started with ZC and first thing they did was asking around for passwords?

Even if it is no real protection, it might be still useful to have a small hurdle so that at least the biggest idiots won't be able to mess around with an existing quest and then upload it wherever they want.

[Rambly]

Even if it is no real protection, it might be still useful to have a small hurdle so that at least the biggest idiots won't be able to mess around with an existing quest and then upload it wherever they want.

definitely back in the day people used to do stupid shit like reupload someone else's quest but with their name on it and like two sprites changed. i can see why people would have wanted to avoid something like that

 

i don't see stuff like what i just described happening a lot anymore but it's hard to say whether or not that's just because passwords became more commonly used and harder to crack as time went on

Edited by Rambly, 01 May 2022 - 06:31 PM.

[Moosh]

Yeah, quest files are not encrypted with their password at all, the password is literally just checked in a function. There is a master password that opens any quest, and anyone who can get ZC to compile can just.... make the password check always return true, or just remove it.... and viola, passwords become meaningless. Also, '.key' files store the password in PLAINTEXT.

 

To be frank, how would people feel if we just... removed quest passwords?

I wouldn't be terribly bothered if passwords were to be removed, though I do rather like having something to give out as a reward for beating the quest. Same deal with level 1-4 cheats. If there's no need for passwords, the cheat feature could be a toggle unlocked from the start. But even as a purely symbolic gesture it can be nice to earn something on your own.

[nyrox]

for me is out of memory

[Aslion]

I like quest passwords because my quest files are embarrassingly messy

[Taco Chopper]

I like quest passwords because my quest files are embarrassingly messy

go look at potdu and weep

[Colin]

As a filthy mac user, I'm excited about this. I've nearly beaten Hero of Dreams after like 5 years of not playing a single ZC quest.

[Nathaniel]

Even for us PC users it's great.  No more tiny screen for me.  Time to finally brave Isle of Rebirth!

[Rambly]

I like quest passwords because my quest files are embarrassingly messy

admittedly i want people to hack into my quests because ihm1 and ihm2 are impeccably organized. ihm2 fits snugly into precisely four maps with not a single wasted screen of space. it's amazing. i did an amazing job