NARF! board game designer (freeware)

[Gabriel Mendosa]

NARF! is a Windows application that allows you to define and play your own board games: the way the men move, characteristics of the board, notation for saving game files, etc. Release 1 provides a wide variety of options for boards made with squares; it includes definitions of traditional games like chess, checkers, shogi, xiangqi and go as examples. Subsequent releases will provide server logic for playing opponents on the Internet, a move generator for playing against the computer, boards made of hexagons and other new features and enhancements. Details in NARF! Help.

http://members.xoom.com/gmendosa/

NARF! 1.0 Copyright 1999 Gabriel Mendosa.
Runtime modules and customization aids are freeware by download.

NARF! will not run on your computer unless your Java Virtual Machine is reasonably up to date. You can obtain the latest version (free) at

http://www.microsoft.com/java/download/32updates.htm

[Edge]

Gabriel:
If it is to be freeware, why not go open source? Others might volunteer
enhancements.

Edge

--
Edward "Edge" Montgomery

remove NOSPAM to reply

[Paul Gifford]

Edge <edward.m...@NOSPAMepropose.com> wrote in message
news:37B4AB9A...@NOSPAMepropose.com...

>
> Gabriel:
> If it is to be freeware, why not go open source? Others might volunteer
> enhancements.
>
> Edge
>

If he's using Java, it's open source whether he likes it or not (unless
he's using a good obfuscator)...

p

[Gmork L. Kadran]

Explain how this works to me please

[The Maverick]

Gmork L. Kadran wrote:
>
> > If he's using Java, it's open source whether he likes it or not
>
> Explain how this works to me please

Isn't Java just ascii text?

the Mav

--
Cliffhanger Serials, Boardgames, Videogames, and Red Baron I
http://www.volcano.net/~themaverick
The Classic Microgames Museum
http://www.angelfire.com/ca/themav/micind.html
The Macho Women with Guns Homage Page
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Lair/6747

[Marc Hernandez]

The Maverick (thema...@volcano.net) wrote:

: Gmork L. Kadran wrote:
: >
: > > If he's using Java, it's open source whether he likes it or not
: >
: > Explain how this works to me please

: Isn't Java just ascii text?

No, Java compiles to bytecode. In theory the bytecode would be
as difficult to decompile as regular machine code, but in practice it
is very easy to decompile java bytecode back into java. Thus people use
programs that do things to the bytecode that still allow the bytecode to
work but make it hard to decompile, or make it produce impossible java.

Marc Hernandez

[Paul Gifford]

After you write your Java program, you compile it into bytecode and end up
with .class files. These files are what the JVM (Java Virtual Machine)
reads when it executes a program. It is not too difficult to take the
.class files and turn them back into .java (source code) files. There are
programs (obfuscators) that will mess with the .class files - the files will
still run but will be unreadable to a decompiler.

Fortunately most people do not use obfuscators. There are some commercial
decompilers on the market but my personal favorite is a program called Jad,
which is freeware.

Use of decompilers is a contentious topic in the Java community, because you
can modify and recompile the recovered source code. This will allow you to
get around copy protection/time locks/cripples. Personally I have no
problem with decompilers, and the few times I have used them have been only
to learn..."how did they do x"?

p

Gmork L. Kadran <gmo...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:37B5B06C...@yahoo.com...

> Explain how this works to me please
>
> >

[Gmork L. Kadran]

> Where can I get an obfuscator?

[The Maverick]

Gmork L. Kadran wrote:
>
> Where can I get an obfuscator?

I am currently available. Low rates. ;-)

[Gmork L. Kadran]

You mean it's not a program, there isn't a program that obfuscates for
you? (I guess there couldn't be since people would figure out how IT
works huh?)

[Stephen Taylor]

The Maverick wrote:

>>> If he's using Java, it's open source whether he likes it or not

>> Explain how this works to me please

> Isn't Java just ascii text?

Perhaps you're thinking of JavaScript, which despite the similar name,
is an unrelated language. JavaScript is plain ascii text. Java (when
compiled) is not.

Steve

--
------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Taylor st...@afs.net.au
Applied Financial Services
Phone: +61 3 9691 3320

[Paul Gifford]

He was joking.

Generally speaking obfuscating code isn't worth the effort unless you have
come up with something truly wonderful. However, some people would disagree
with me. I have never used an obfuscator so I don't have any URLs. I
recommend checking assorted Java sites, maybe do a search on gamelan.com.

p

Gmork L. Kadran <gmo...@yahoo.com> wrote in message

news:37B7815B...@yahoo.com...

[Gmork L. Kadran]

Oh sorry for not getting the joke, I'm new at obfuscating. Thanks Paul!