LORDKG

What it is

LORD asks for five registration codes in LORDCFG. Without them the game runs unregistered. LORDKG covers both kinds of LORD registration, and asks which one you want when it starts:

• LORD 4.06: the codes don't depend on any name. LORDKG makes a random set that LORDCFG accepts.
• LORD 4.07 / 4.08 Beta: the codes depend on the sysop name and the BBS name, and LORDKG works them out.

There are three versions in one zip, and they work the same way:

• LORDKG.EXE for DOS: any PC from an 8086 up, DOSBox, dosemu or FreeDOS.
• lordkg.py for Python 3: Linux, Windows and macOS, with no extra modules.
• A Synchronet door, sysop-only, so you can make codes while logged on to your board.

Why it exists

Gameport sold the LORD registrations, but it has been unreachable for many years. Michael Preslar, the author of LORD 4.07, hasn't been able to contact them either. No one has been able to buy a code for more than ten years, so a sysop running LORD today has no other way to register it.

Using it

Run it with no parameters and it asks which LORD version the key is for. For 4.07 it then asks for the two names:

C:\LORD> LORDKG
 Which LORD version is the key for?
   1) LORD 4.06
   2) LORD 4.07 / 4.08 Beta
 Choice (1 or 2) -> 2

 Sysop name -> Seth Able
 BBS name   -> The Red Dragon BBS

 LORD version -> 4.07 / 4.08 Beta
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
 Regcode #1 -> 48302
 Regcode #2 -> 60389
 Regcode #3 -> 1187
 Regcode #4 -> 6944
 Regcode #5 -> 1480
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

For 4.06 it prints a set straight away. The numbers are different every time, and any of them work:

 Choice (1 or 2) -> 1

 LORD version -> 4.06
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
 Regcode #1 -> 1798
 Regcode #2 -> 5025
 Regcode #3 -> 9377
 Regcode #4 -> 6052
 Regcode #5 -> 19255
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Command line

LORDKG /406                               ; random LORD 4.06 codes
LORDKG /406 1000 0 0 0                    ; 4.06: your four numbers, LORDKG adds the fifth
LORDKG /407 "Seth Able" "The Red Dragon BBS"
LORDKG /407 /U Seth_Able The_Red_Dragon_BBS   ; _ for each space
python3 lordkg.py /407 "Seth Able" "The Red Dragon BBS"

Two names with no switch still mean LORD 4.07, as in version 1.0. LORDKG /? shows a short help screen.

Registering LORD

LORD 4.07 / 4.08 Beta

1. Run LORDKG, choose 2, and type your sysop name and BBS name.
2. Run LORDCFG.EXE in the LORD folder and choose to enter the registration information.
3. Type the two names exactly as you gave them to LORDKG, then the five codes.
4. The LORD title screen now says REGISTERED!

LORD 4.06

1. Run LORDKG and choose 1, or run LORDKG /406.
2. Run LORDCFG.EXE, choose Register Lord, then Enter registration codes, and type the five numbers.
3. LORDCFG says THE GAME IS NOW REGISTERED! Quit and save.

The Synchronet door

The sbbs folder in the zip has LORDKG as a JavaScript door for Synchronet BBS, with the same menu: choose 1 for LORD 4.06 or 2 for LORD 4.07, and it shows the codes with a reminder of where to type them in LORDCFG. It's a sysop tool, so make it sysop-only and callers never see it. It was tested on Synchronet 3.21 for Linux, and uses only Synchronet's standard JavaScript.

1. Make a folder xtrn/lordkg in your Synchronet directory and copy lordkg.js and lordkglb.js into it. Keep the names in lower case.
2. In SCFG, choose External Programs, Online Programs (Doors), a sysop-only section such as Operator, and add a program with these settings:

Name                     LORDKG - LORD Registration Codes
Internal Code            LORDKG
Start-up Directory       ../xtrn/lordkg
Command Line             ?lordkg.js
Access Requirements      SYSOP
Execution Requirements   SYSOP

Save and exit SCFG, then log on as a sysop and find LORDKG under External Programs. The Kalgoorlie Retro BBS runs it in its Operator section. More in LORDKG.TXT.

How the codes work

LORD 4.06

LORDCFG 4.06 only checks that the five numbers fit together: code 5 = code 1 + code 2 + code 3 + (code 4 ÷ 2) + 29, where code 4 counts at half its value, rounded down. Codes 1 to 4 must each be from 0 to 10000, and code 5 must be at least 1000. This was read from the checking code in LORDCFG.EXE 4.06 itself, and LORD.EXE checks the codes again the same way each time it starts. No names are involved, so LORDKG picks codes 1 to 4 at random (1000 to 9999 each, which always passes) so that boards don't all share one code.

LORD 4.07 / 4.08 Beta

LORDKG uses the same calculation as an older Windows program, lord47kg.exe (author unknown), worked out from its machine code. Both names are padded to 10 characters with A, B, C… if they are shorter.

1. The sysop name's characters added up, with every second character counted 256 times. Kept to 16 bits.
2. The same for the BBS name.
3. Characters taken in turn from the sysop name and the BBS name, added up.
4. Half of each sysop name character added up, then doubled once for each space or capital letter, at most four times.
5. Half of each BBS name character added up, then doubled.

The Python and Pascal versions were checked against each other on 4,913 name pairs, and the DOS build in DOSBox. Both also give the sample codes that came with lord47kg.exe, and every 4.06 set they make is checked against the rule above. The Synchronet door's calculations are checked against the Python version too.

Downloads

Version 1.3, 9 November 2026: fixes the LORD 4.06 codes. Versions 1.1 and 1.2 added all of code 4 instead of half of it, so their fifth 4.06 code was wrong and LORDCFG refused it. If you used 1.1 or 1.2 for LORD 4.06, make a new set. LORD 4.07 codes were right and haven't changed. Version 1.2 added the sysop-only Synchronet door, and 1.1 added LORD 4.06 codes, with the version chosen in the program.

Also on the BBS in the file area Heisenbergs Files. The manual: LORDKG.TXT.

Licence and source

LORDKG is Copyright © 2026 Michael Slater. It is free software: you may copy, change and share it under the GNU General Public License, version 2 or (at your option) any later version. It comes with no warranty. The Free Pascal source (LORDKG.PAS) is in the zip.

Legend of the Red Dragon is by Seth Robinson (up to 4.06) and Michael Preslar (4.07). LORDKG has no connection with Gameport or with the authors of LORD.

Contact

Questions and bug reports are welcome. Email slaterm@theiguru.au, or leave a message for the sysop on the Kalgoorlie Retro BBS (telnet bbs.theiguru.au).