View source for Gamers Guide 19

==. testers/testing - cracks==
<pre>
 -------------------------------------- 
                                        
             - chapter 8 -              
                                        
 -------------------------------------- 
                                        
                                        
                                        
             testing games              
                                        
             game  testers              
                                        
                                        
                cracks?                 
                                        
                                        
 -------------------------------------- 
                                        

                TESTING                 
 -------------------------------------- 
                                        
   the ground rule for games to appear  
 in THE GUIDE is that we get them on    
 disk.                                  
                                        
 -------------------------------------- 
                                        
                                        
           this is one rule.            
                                        
    everyone can mail their cracks      
   to us, so this is a fair rule to     
               EVERYONE!                
                                        
                                        
                                        

                TESTING                 
 -------------------------------------- 
   groups who only upload their cracks  
 on a BBS somewhere have themselves to  
 blame. we have no time to scan the     
 boards around the globe. we need that  
 time for testing the games.            
                                        
   nor can we afford the phone costs to 
 be on the boards and even less can we  
 afford to DL games to test them.       
                                        
   if a group is so high and mighty     
 that they think they are entitled to   
 royal treatment, then what do they     
 need THE GUIDE for anyway?             
                                        
   my comment is simple: GET LOST!   -> 

                TESTING                 
 -------------------------------------- 
                                        
            THE CONFESSION!             
                                        
            ---------------             
   however, some games that have been   
 sent to us on disk, still have not     
 made it into THE GUIDE. this is all my 
 fault. i, JERRY, am to blame for this, 
 not your TRIAD contact.                
                                        
   testing the games can be a hell of a 
 workload. to make it easier for some   
 testers i allowed them to test only    
 part of the stuff they got. on paper   
 all groups would get their games       
 tested i thought.                  ->  

                TESTING                 
 -------------------------------------- 
   unfortunatly this was good in theory 
 but not in reality.                    
                                        
   if for example ARCON was allowed to  
 skip testing the wares from SCOUTS,    
 then murphys law made sure that he was 
 the only one in TRIAD who got some of  
 the games they cracked.                
                                        
   naturally SCOUTS were annoyed and    
 with every right too. i am sorry for   
 this. we will make sure it will not    
 happen again or we may as well stop    
 making THE GUIDE.                      
                                        
                         then what? ->  

                TESTING                 
 -------------------------------------- 
                                        
                                        
   INCUBUS and CA$H will swop only and  
 will do no game testing. now you know! 
                                        
                                        
   JERRY will keep testing a very few   
 of his older contacts. that is all!    
                                        
                                        
   TRANZIIE, WINGO, ARCON, M and        
 MR.AMMO will test all the games they   
 receive.                               
                                        
                                        
                                   -->  

                TESTING                 
 -------------------------------------- 
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
   do you want to help us do a better   
 job? become a TRIAD game tester. call  
 JERRY or write to him. we could need   
 at least two more guys.                
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        

                TESTING                 
 -------------------------------------- 
                                        
       naturally someone wonders.       
                                        
                                        
 this discussion has nothing to do with 
  the cracks we were suppossed to have  
    left out of THE GUIDE on purpose.   
                                        
 finally 4 disks arrived from TSS with  
   a bundle of games that should have   
   been sent to us by someone, anyone.  
                                        
  did we get all the games in question? 
  who cares? enough is enough. TSS and  
      i are back in understanding.      
                                  JERRY 

                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                 ------                 
                 crack?                 
                 ------                 
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        

                 CRACK?                 
 -------------------------------------- 
                                        
   obviously people need to be reminded 
 about what a crack really is. i will   
 be extremely basic about it, so there  
 will be no missunderstanding.          
                                        
   a company produces games to sell.    
 everyone involved in such a business   
 chain is there to make money, to earn  
 their daily bread.                     
                                        
   to prevent the games to be spread in 
 other ways than over the counter, past 
 the cash register, the companies try   
 to make sure the games can´t be copied 
 by the public.                   ----> 

                 CRACK?                 
 -------------------------------------- 
   eliminating the different obstacles  
 meant to stop the public from freely   
 making copies of programs, is called   
 cracking.                              
                                        
   a program treated that way thus is   
 a CRACK!                               
                                        
                                        
   then how in blazing hell can a       
 program be cracked if it is made and   
 released with the expressed purpose to 
 be freely spread?                      
                                        
   the point of making a preeview is to 
 spread it to everyone in the hope  ->  

                 CRACK?                 
 -------------------------------------- 
 that people will like it and buy the   
 complete program.                      
                                        
   when people make a program that is   
 public domain, freeware, shareware,    
 cookie ware or similar names, they     
 expressedly want them to be spread.    
                                        
   in some cases they do this in the    
 hope that it will bring payment in     
 form of money, cookies or whatever.    
                                        
   in none of these cases are the       
 programs protected in any way against  
 free copying and spreading. so how can 
 they be cracked?                       

                 CRACK?                 
 -------------------------------------- 
   in some few cases such a program may 
 have a lot to gain by the sort of      
 improvements usually done by a cracker 
 when he does a crack.                  
                                        
   i don´t mind such improvements, but  
 i very much mind calling the result    
 for a crack.                           
                                        
   there is no time limit in the game   
 QUARX. you may also skip to the next   
 level if you want to. how can a        
 cracker improve this game other than   
 by adding cheat modes that are not     
 needed or even wanted?                 
                                  --->  

                 CRACK?                 
 -------------------------------------- 
                                        
   this is why we will not list the     
 "crax" made on QUARX.                  
                                        
   this is also why we don´t list       
 previews in THE GUIDE.                 
                                        
                                        
                                        
                                        
   this is an opinion and it is public  
 domain. anyone can use it.             
                                        
                                        
                                 JERRY  
                                        


</pre>