john-doe

No, way too over complicated for a simple problem with a simple solution just move the folders above the web root but the public files (css, js, images and front controller) and you're fine...

Would you mind elaborate how this license verification works? I haven't used the engine myself but with a brief idea I might be able to add some suggestions.

In that case you might have worked with a/many bad engine(s). Personally, I think that engines shouldn't focus on delivering as many modules/scripts as possibles but instead give us a solid base too start upon, you should be able to focus right away on your game and not having too worry about e.g. writing the object-relational mapping library first. Having it modularized helps keeping structure and obviously there are some good modules/scripts out there.

I see. Anyway, "everything should be blocked" but what if your hosting doesn't allow mod_rewrite? What If you accidentally break the .htaccess files, now we do have a problem. For best security it's wise to place application and core files above the web root so they can't be directly accessible via a browser.

If you are using the Front Controller pattern (A centralized entry point for handling requests) you should be able to move all application and core files outside the root and just keep the public files (css, javascript, images) and the index.php file there. Another suggestion would be to define a constant which handles if the user is allowed to direct access the specific file.

Is the file encoding also set to utf-8?

The title mostly covers it all. What is the ideal engine for you? What features are you looking for? Personally I would want to see a engine with a solid architecture, some type of coding standards and modular. Many engines today's code structure is horrible and in many cases unreadable.