I am developing a game for which I have collected and processed some information. This information could be used in other games of the same type. In other words, this information is part of my work and I want to protect it.
I currently store it in a database, but it would be very easy to copy it from there. To solve this problem, I have looked at other methods of storing it, such as a DataTable, or perhaps in a text file. But I don’t know if someone could retrieve this data by accessing the game’s installation directory and copying it from there.
I have several doubts: Is it easy to recover these files (datatables, text files, etc.) from the installation directory? Is it possible to encrypt them?
Before you tell me, I know that something encrypted can be decrypted without much effort. But if someone wants to get that information, don’t make it too easy for them.
I’m the creator of the Hash And Encrypt Tools Code Plugin on the marketplace at https://www.fab.com/listings/dfe81bf0-76e1-445e-81c9-6ecbe54f9862. The source code is also available for free on GitHub at GitHub - JasonHoku/UE-Hash-And-Encrypt-Tools. I’ve written several functions that can encrypt and decrypt data in engine, to and from the hard disc and it can be customized to change the encryption methods as you see fit. Feel free to check it out and let me know if you have any questions!
I believe UE does actually encrypt it’s packaged shipping build game data and you can find an option for it in project settings which last I checked is defaulted to on but some people are able to obfuscate the generic UE encryption. So my plugin/code is mostly good for creating a custom encryption method and dealing with data created or managed after packaging.