Is it just me? Am I the only one who has a soft spot for code wheels?
For those not REALLY REALLY OLD, code wheels were a form of offline copy-protection where the game would ask you to input a code, which
you would acquire by fiddling with two cardboard disks, twisting and
aligning them until they gave you the correct data.*
They were used by dozens (hundreds? I don't know if there's a
complete list anywhere) of games in the mid 80s to early 90s,
eventually superseded by documentation checks and later by CD-ROMs. At
the time of their release, photocopiers weren't too common (computer
scanners were almost non-existent) and the unusual format made it
difficult for anyone to hand-copy the answers.
A lot of people disliked them because the wheels were fiddly to use,
easy to lose, and because some companies demanded you use them too
often. But I always sort of liked them; there was a hands-on
interactivity to them that made them more interesting than simply
answering "what's the third word in the second line of the ninth
paragraph of page 16" documentation checks. It was like _I_ was
actually helping in the quest by decoding some secret information.
When the code wheels fell out of favor, I missed them.
Code wheels weren't really any more effective than other forms of copy protection, of course. They were as easily defeated as most copy
protection questions; most crackers just looked for the code that
queried the player and JMP'd over it like it never existed. They
weren't all that cheap to make either, and their bulk demanded larger
boxes. A lot of budget re-releases of games just stripped them out of
the game entirely. So their lifespan was limited.
But I liked them. I'm not demanding they make a comeback of course...
but of all the forms of copy-protection, code-wheels were one of the
more playful and less annoying.
Anyone else have fond memories of this stupid thing, or is this a hill
on which I'm going to die alone? ;-)
On 6/22/2025 12:20 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
Is it just me? Am I the only one who has a soft spot for code wheels?
For those not REALLY REALLY OLD, code wheels were a form of offline copy-protection where the game would ask you to input a code, which
you would acquire by fiddling with two cardboard disks, twisting and aligning them until they gave you the correct data.*
They were used by dozens (hundreds? I don't know if there's a
complete list anywhere) of games in the mid 80s to early 90s,
eventually superseded by documentation checks and later by CD-ROMs. At
the time of their release, photocopiers weren't too common (computer scanners were almost non-existent) and the unusual format made it
difficult for anyone to hand-copy the answers.
A lot of people disliked them because the wheels were fiddly to use,
easy to lose, and because some companies demanded you use them too
often. But I always sort of liked them; there was a hands-on
interactivity to them that made them more interesting than simply
answering "what's the third word in the second line of the ninth
paragraph of page 16" documentation checks. It was like _I_ was
actually helping in the quest by decoding some secret information.
When the code wheels fell out of favor, I missed them.
Code wheels weren't really any more effective than other forms of copy protection, of course. They were as easily defeated as most copy
protection questions; most crackers just looked for the code that
queried the player and JMP'd over it like it never existed. They
weren't all that cheap to make either, and their bulk demanded larger boxes. A lot of budget re-releases of games just stripped them out of
the game entirely. So their lifespan was limited.
But I liked them. I'm not demanding they make a comeback of course...
but of all the forms of copy-protection, code-wheels were one of the
more playful and less annoying.
Anyone else have fond memories of this stupid thing, or is this a hill
on which I'm going to die alone? ;-)
*waves goodbye to Spall's corpse from a long way away*
Dimensional Traveler <dtravel@sonic.net> wrote:
On 6/22/2025 12:20 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
*waves goodbye to Spall's corpse from a long way away*
Anyone else have fond memories of this stupid thing, or is this a hill
on which I'm going to die alone? ;-)
/me waves goodbye too. ;)
Anyone else have fond memories of this stupid thing, or is this a hill
on which I'm going to die alone? ;-)
Anyone else have fond memories of this stupid thing, or is this a hill
on which I'm going to die alone? ;-)
Now, don't think I am going to join you on this hill however, Spalls.
I have strong memories of these code wheels, but necessarily fond
ones.
Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
Anyone else have fond memories of this stupid thing, or is this a hill
on which I'm going to die alone? ;-)
I didn't mind code wheels that much. You only had to use them once at
start up and loading times were so long back then that it didn't add
that much a delay before you could playing them. But I don't have fond >memories of them. If play through Pool of Radiance again, I'm not going
to get out my old code wheel, I'm going to play a cracked version.
Also like all early methods of copy protection, I'm not sure how much they >actually prevented piracy. It wasn't that hard or expensive to photocopy
a code wheel at the library, and cracks weren't too hard to find.
On Sun, 22 Jun 2025 15:20:00 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson ><spallshurgenson@gmail.com> wrote:
Anyone else have fond memories of this stupid thing, or is this a hill
on which I'm going to die alone? ;-)
When I read your subject header for this one, I immediately thought of
the Pool of Radiance on my C64 and its code wheel. I still remember
some of the words you had to type in from the code wheel to get past
the copy protection screen. Let's see....
ZOMBIE
EFREET
BEWARE
SAVIOR
COPPER
BEWARE
Is it just me? Am I the only one who has a soft spot for code wheels?
For those not REALLY REALLY OLD, code wheels were a form of offline copy-protection where the game would ask you to input a code, which
you would acquire by fiddling with two cardboard disks, twisting and
aligning them until they gave you the correct data.*
They were used by dozens (hundreds? I don't know if there's a
complete list anywhere) of games in the mid 80s to early 90s,
eventually superseded by documentation checks and later by CD-ROMs. At
the time of their release, photocopiers weren't too common (computer
scanners were almost non-existent) and the unusual format made it
difficult for anyone to hand-copy the answers.
A lot of people disliked them because the wheels were fiddly to use,
easy to lose, and because some companies demanded you use them too
often. But I always sort of liked them; there was a hands-on
interactivity to them that made them more interesting than simply
answering "what's the third word in the second line of the ninth
paragraph of page 16" documentation checks. It was like _I_ was
actually helping in the quest by decoding some secret information.
When the code wheels fell out of favor, I missed them.
Code wheels weren't really any more effective than other forms of copy protection, of course. They were as easily defeated as most copy
protection questions; most crackers just looked for the code that
queried the player and JMP'd over it like it never existed. They
weren't all that cheap to make either, and their bulk demanded larger
boxes. A lot of budget re-releases of games just stripped them out of
the game entirely. So their lifespan was limited.
But I liked them. I'm not demanding they make a comeback of course...
but of all the forms of copy-protection, code-wheels were one of the
more playful and less annoying.
Anyone else have fond memories of this stupid thing, or is this a hill
on which I'm going to die alone? ;-)
* there are a selection of 'interactive code wheels' here if you've no
idea what I'm talking about:
https://www.oldgames.sk/codewheel/
b) a manual look-up in the form of "journal entries" where
you were directed to read what it said in the manual at
various points throughout the game. Often these entries
contained vital information without which certain puzzles
could not be completed.
On 6/27/2025 11:02 AM, Zaghadka wrote:
On Fri, 27 Jun 2025 12:31:57 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
b) a manual look-up in the form of "journal entries" where
you were directed to read what it said in the manual at
various points throughout the game. Often these entries
contained vital information without which certain puzzles
could not be completed.
Yeah. This added a lot of depth to the game, and there was a lot less
disk switching and fewer disks. Well, frankly, it literally couldn't fit
on the disks of the day.
The book was also in photocopy proof blue iirc.
*THIS* is the way to do CP.
That would still be easily defeated these days. Besides most games
don't even have a manual or book, and if they do it's in PDF or only on
their website.
It's all about online required sign up and verification now. Sucks if
the internet is out though.
Is it just me? Am I the only one who has a soft spot for code wheels?
For those not REALLY REALLY OLD, code wheels were a form of offline copy-protection where the game would ask you to input a code, which
you would acquire by fiddling with two cardboard disks, twisting and
aligning them until they gave you the correct data.*
On Fri, 27 Jun 2025 11:29:59 -0700, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action, >Justisaur wrote:
On 6/27/2025 11:02 AM, Zaghadka wrote:
On Fri, 27 Jun 2025 12:31:57 -0400, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
b) a manual look-up in the form of "journal entries" where
you were directed to read what it said in the manual at
various points throughout the game. Often these entries
contained vital information without which certain puzzles
could not be completed.
Yeah. This added a lot of depth to the game, and there was a lot less
disk switching and fewer disks. Well, frankly, it literally couldn't fit >>> on the disks of the day.
The book was also in photocopy proof blue iirc.
*THIS* is the way to do CP.
That would still be easily defeated these days. Besides most games
don't even have a manual or book, and if they do it's in PDF or only on >>their website.
It's all about online required sign up and verification now. Sucks if
the internet is out though.
Oh, not these days. There's no sane way to do CP/DRM today. Anti-cheat,
too.
Kernel level drivers do not belong in games. Microsoft needs to create
some kind of anti-cheat API that isn't ring-0. Any company who wants that >kind of access to "protect" their day-0 profits is insane. There should
be laws against boggling up computer security like that.
But back-in-the-day, this form of CP added value, as it required some >writing. It was content, not a hoop to jump through.
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