Locked .gp4 files

Hey all,

I just wanted to edit an existing track, but GP4Builder tells me, that this file has been locked by the author. The dat file and all other files in the track folder do not even show by whom this track has been made. And even if... most authors of old tracks are absent here for several years now. I think, this feature will destroy this community, finally. Authors go, and with them their files do as well. Sorry, Laurent, but I even don't understand why GP4Builder even supports this unsocial feature.

Suggestions? Solutions? Ideas?

Check your PM

I was not very fond of this feature too (reason why it appeared quite late in GP4Builder's life) but at a given time, quite a few and good modders were about to leave the scene when they were looking at the amount of work they did to bring some high quality fresh content to GP4 and discovered someone stole their work to rebrand it without any credit, to resell it on ebay or to convert it to another game.
So this solution, that was only an option anyway, was available to secure modders that would fear for their work to be steal (even if some found solutions to avoid the lock).
Not so much content was sealed anyway. It's bad luck you happen to pick a track that is locked.

Thanks for the explanation, Laurent. But I'm quite sure that this feature is not really archieving it's goals. As I see the .dat-file is (at least on my current track) not affected by the lock, so there is still no problem to insert my name as an author. And even if.. I just checked it: Editing the 'GP4 Infos extended data' via a HexEditor is as easy as sitting on the couch. The track can still be duplicated and be sold via e.g. Ebay and so on. So I'm not sure, whether this feature is impeeding re-selling tracks more than track editing in general.

I'm still very, very, very unhappy about this feature, especially looking at our community, which has been left by so many authors. Now their files are uneditable for all future and the locks of track will even speed-up this process, I think. As it seems, no-one ever thought out this feature. And the fact, that there are just very few tracks locked, is no positive point for this feature at all. Sorry Laurent, but there is nothing else I can say. The final point is about the -except this point great- GP4Builder's guide. That files can be locked is just mentioned in the guide, but not how.

Sorry for this argument, but I think it's always the best decision to critisize crucial point, than to keep silent looking at a development into a wrong direction.

Well, I'm surprised it isn't in the user guide but indeed it seems it isn't. Another reason why so few people used it.