F12:

Improved support for the new "unlock code" (replacement for old GAME password)
- Correctly named field (for unlock code) in unlock screen
- EYE button beside the unlock code (see what you have entered)
- Informative message if your unlock code is not 20 characters
- Automatic exit from unlock screen after successful unlock message

All right everyone.

Here is a new test patch that can help with the unlock code.

- Correctly named field (Unlock code)
- EYE button beside the unlock code (see what you have entered)
- Informative message if your unlock code is not 20 characters
- Automatic exit from unlock screen after successful unlock message

Download: https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/110607

Thanks! I've put it in place and it seems to be working.

Thank you for that, we do have active French translators so it should be OK for now.

If you don't have either your web password or your email account then you may have lost the account.

As it's a demo account you could just create a new one, I guess.

Or if you can prove that it's yours, you can use our technical support form. It's not really a conversation for the forum.
https://www.lfs.net/contact

Yes, it can be resolved, but takes 7 days.

Here is the method: https://www.lfs.net/forum/post/2131136#post2131136

Good to hear you got it working.

That is interesting. Possible copy and paste issue with LFS when using remote desktop (and maybe other times too).

If any Windows programmers want to check my code, please go ahead:


There's more LFS-specific stuff in those [ ... ] but just in case someone spots anything wrong with this clipboard code.

By the way everyone, the whole unlocking system is completely unchanged, not a single line of code changed. The unlock code just goes in the same slot as the old game password. So this is why it seems so unlikely there is a bug. Because if there is, the same bug has been there for 20 years and no-one noticed until now? Anyway, the new patch will have the ability to see if what you pasted is really what you copied, and we'll find out if there is a bug or figure out why so many of us have experienced that mysterious issue.

Quote from NeOn_sp :

I have 2 unlock confirmation emails, but both states...

What fastranker1 said is not correct! The unlock code is like a password, it's not a one-time usage unlock key. If you already have LFS unlocked, and you get a new code, that will remove your ability to use the original one online (until you enter the new code there).

You must get one unlock code and user it for both your instances of LFS. I know you said it didn't work on the second instance, but it probably would if you tried again.

A few people, including me, had an instance where it said "wrong unlock code" although we really believe we did the copy and paste correctly. It's a bit of a mystery at the moment. I can't be sure yet if there is some kind of bug, or if it's a human error. Anyway the solution is to try again, not to get a new unlock code. I will be releasing a patch that allows you to check the unlock code you've entered.

Added some instructions in the sticky thread: https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/112018

Hi, this is what you do:

1) Visit details page
2) Click: send email with a new unlock code
3) Get email
4) Paste code from email into LFS "GAME password"
5) Click unlock

The "GAME password" field you will find in LFS unlock screen. This is accessible by a button at the bottom right of the LFS entry screen.

For any translators who would like to update the website translation, I've updated the translation system and started a new thread to let me know if you've done an update so I can make it go live.
https://www.lfs.net/forum/thread/112033

I'll send a notification email to all the translators after I've done the in-game translations.

For those of you who have chosen to do the website translation:

If you update the website translation, please post here and I can make your translation live.

Thank you for your help!

7 August 2025:
I've updated the website translations for the new unlock code system. You will see the new translation lines mainly at the bottom of the page. Further up the page you may notice there are texts that are no longer used (e.g. with GAMEpassword) but I don't yet know how to remove them.

Quote from ramco_man8 :

So Scawen, as far as I remember every Friday we would get an additional unlock on top of the existing 2 unlocks (if not used). Are there any limits in place with the new "unlock codes"?

That doesn't change. We still need to have the limits, otherwise there will be a username and unlock code somewhere on the internet that anyone can use to freely access LFS content.

Quote from J.E.R.E_254 :

Hi, this is my first message, the "unlock code" not work in lfs editor (i copy the code from gmail but not work)

I've checked and it does work. Some people have had this, when it apparently does not work, but does work when they try again. Please make sure there are 20 characters (blobs) in the GAME password field before you click "unlock".

Quote from Flame CZE :

What about sending out newsletter emails after such an important change? Or is that planned only after a new official patch?

Today I will improve LFS.exe:
- insist on the correct number of characters (to reduce copy and paste errors)
- provide an "EYE" button to show the unlock code
- update the translations

I prefer not to send a newsletter yet, I think it would be better when there is a patch and we've made sure there are no bugs in the system.

Hi, I hope someone might have a suggestion if they see it here.

From my reply in your original report on the test patch thread:

Quote from Scawen :

Thanks for the info. It seems your LFS can connect to our servers using the usual connections to the master server and game servers (as you can see a list of hosts and join them successfully) but has an issue when it tries to use HTTP to our web server, to obtain an event list or a mod list.

I can't think of a reason for that. Joining a host or getting a list from our web server both use TCP connections, to servers located in the same data centre. The event and mod lists use HTTP over that TCP connection. Could a firewall somehow be blocking these but allowing the non-HTTP connections to pass through?

Apparently something is blocking your LFS from making certain connections to our web server. These are the ones that use the HTTP protocol, unlike the game packets that use a custom protocol that seems to work fine, as you can get a list of hosts and join hosts. It's only event list, skins and mods that seem to cause the problem. These are different from the game packets as they connect directly to our web server and make HTTP requests.

Can you test with a different internet connection, in case your ISP is blocking HTTP?

Which version of Windows are you using, and any additional antivirus or firewall software?

Yes, you can generate an "unlock code" to paste into the "GAME password" field in LFS.

I know that's a bit confusing at the moment but next on my list is to update LFS and the translations.

By the way, when a new account is created, after you click to confirm your email, your new unlock code is displayed on that web page (so for that time you don't have to visit your details page and get a new unlock code sent by email).

Well, how much time to spend on it is for me to decide, and that's why I asked to see if many people had experienced trouble with it.

What I do, is attempt to acquire information before making decisions.

EDIT:

Also I put questions out there in case people come up with good ideas. I don't just leave things in a (possibly) broken state (or hard to use) when a small improvement will make a world of difference (and maybe avoid a thousand tech support emails).

EDIT2:

Also I can see a live stream of the master server and I see a lot of "Your unlock code does not match" (which is different from "You need to set an unlock code") so I do wonder if they are really just typing in the wrong thing (e.g. a WEB password or old GAME password) or they are getting a sort of copy and paste error.

Last edited by Scawen, Yesterday, 19:14.

It should auto clear if you paste straight in when the dialog is open (without clicking within the text). When you see all the text highlighted (like CTRL+A) that will be replaced when you paste the new value. You can confirm this with the number of characters which will be 20 if it's a valid key.

I wonder if the way that specific dialog works should be improved to make it easier and avoid any errors.

Thanks, that email is fixed.

By the way, has anyone had a problem like they really think they copied and pasted the unlock code correctly, but it just says "Your unlock code does not match" after you click the unlock button?

That seemed to happen to me after setting a new code. Maybe I didn't copy it properly? But it's hard to know what can be the problem as it looks like a load of dots. I've heard a couple of reports like "the code didn't work" that could be like this.

Eventually I copied again (without getting another new code) and it did work.

I think maybe the update needs an 'eye' icon beside the unlock code field so you can see the unlock code.

No, he was already out of unlocks after re-unlocking on 1st and 2nd August.

So if he locked again pointlessly, then an unlock attempt would fail.

To be clear, the new system does not 'consume' one of your unlocks, if your LFS was already unlocked with your old password. The consumption of an unlock could only happen if you clicked "Lock LFS - return to Demo" by mistake (which is not needed).

You are supposed to do simply this:

1) Visit details page
2) Click: send email with a new unlock code
3) Get email.
4) Paste code from email into LFS "GAME password"
5) Click unlock.

That's all there is to it. It's really not a big deal. I have added one unlock to your account so it will let you try again now.

Sorry but your report doesn't make that much sense.

The system is well tested and has already worked for hundreds of people.

You'll have to be very specific about exactly what you do, step by step, and the exact error messages you see, so we can try to see where it goes wrong for you.

Good to hear you found a solution.

Quote from turbofan :

Well no, that was greatly distressing to read those answers. Such a shame guys. Think about it.

Just to mention that you started it, basically with the word "Grotesque" to describe the updates.

If you throw out insults I guess you can expect to receive some, even unreasonable, comments back?

I won't get into an argument as you hope, but it's fairly obvious that you are the one who is being insulting.

I've been working very hard on these security updates since 24th July and they are genuine improvements.

Thanks for the notification. I've now improved the error message from the web server.

It now reports "Wrong password" instead of the misleading "Unknown user name" in that case.