How to encrypt music files? (RPG Maker VX Ace)

[DeyJay5]

I would like to use music in my game that I have purchased from various Royalty Free websites, including Pond5. These websites clearly state that you cannot make the raw file accessible in your project. For example, Pond5's terms of use state that you cannot: "place it on or in any product or platform that makes it available in a manner such that a person can without extraordinary effort extract or access or reproduce it as an electronic file"

Unfortunately, the default RPG Maker VX Ace encryption still leaves the raw music files accessible to the average person.

How do I encrypt the music files so that they can not be accessible as raw files?

 

[TheoAllen]

Quick google brought me to this https://forums.rpgmakerweb.com/index.php?threads/oc-audio-encryption.15579/

 

[DeyJay5]

I was hoping for something a little bit more efficient than that. Does anybody know of any others?

 

[Kes]

This cannot be done by default, needs a script, so...
[move]RGSS3 Script Requests[/move]

 

[tale]

Simple Audio Encryption by Himeworks: http://himeworks.com/2014/03/simple-audio-encryption/

 

[DeyJay5]

That Script does not work. It does not encrypt the files. Once they are played in the game, you are easily able to access them.

Any others?

 

[_Shadow_]

You know what? The EULA you describe to me is not smart. I mean it needs NOT extraordinary effort to RECORD the music as the game plays. What about that? Thus you can NOT use anything from there anywhere. I mean wow! They demand from a developer to create their OWN player, that will encrypt decrypt on the fly the files loading them first into RAM, and of course an encryption system to turn audio formatted files to encrypterd type to start with.
Wow, I am absolutely speechless. My bet is that they didin't had in mind people that wanna make videogames as their target group.

I make music myself. If I am about to sell any in the future, I wouldn't give a damn if whoever honored me to buy and support me would deliver it as ogg files in his/her game. That would be better actually, so that the PLAYER would listen to it and that would spread and advertise my content even more. It would HONOR me to be on a music playlist of a player, do you understand? The money will come. I would just demand an attribution on credits.
The solution is simple in my opinion. I wouldn't use their content, especially when they do not state EXACTLY what "extraordinary effort" means. That is abstract to me. I mean even if someone makes a plugin for you, that encrypts the music, taking the plugin and decrypting the music would be considered EASY. Or not? See? The EULA is not deterministic.

Thus I suggest you to check music in freesound.org and other similar sites, taking care to check the license they come with and give always proper credit. And also it doesn't hurt to check in this forum too. There are some artists who DO share their work and don't mind leaving it as ogg.

 

[gstv87]

These websites clearly state that you cannot make the raw file accessible in your project

you can argue you're not using the raw file, but a compressed rendition.
I don't know about pond5, but I know some websites that send you the project file of the mix so you can edit each instrument separately.
if this is not the case, then you're totally using their produced *mix*, not their *raw file*.

I'm not a lawyer, but if one thing I learned from written law, is that you have to always double check the wording of your contracts.

as Dreadshadow says, nothing prevents anyone from sampling the music from your game, as it plays (that's how we did it in the early days of youtube!).
the original audio and the sampled version would be virtually indistinguishable.