Official statement of cheating on PBW.

[TerranC]

A request to the people who read this:

I know that this forum is very liberal, but please for the sake of the Salem witch trials, No more talk of Cheating.

[DavidG]

quote:

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Originally posted by TerranC:
A request to the people who read this:

I know that this forum is very liberal, but please for the sake of the Salem witch trials, No more talk of Cheating.

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Good idea. Because if no one talks about a problem it dissapears right?

[capnq]

quote:

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if no one talks about a problem it dissapears right?

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Talking a problem to death makes it seem more common than it really is, and does little to actually solve the problem.

I don't know how many times someone has been accused of cheating on PBW, but this was only the second time that the accusation proved to be correct.

[RabidFan]

Internet cheating is rampant throughout all networked games. One would think a turn-based strategy game would be played for the enjoyment and challenge, but many play for some twisted support of their weak, faulty egos.

I have had a lot of experience with an out-of-print game several of you may have played, called Empire Deluxe. This was a turn-based strategy game that had a core group of around 60-100 people who like to do PBEM play. The community thrived, and world championship play began (a season was a full year, consisting of 4 or so rounds to determine the champ).

The challenge to this game is very much taking advantage of the fog of war, and having luck in the exploration phase (finding the cities on the map).

The first couple of years went well, but as the tourney began to grow, allocations of cheating began to fly. Cheating in PBEM is easy to do, very difficult to prove. A player could retire in his turn and the map and enemy position would be revealed. Combat ws also psuedo-random and if you did not like how it would out the first time, a cheater would replay his turn.

Referee's were installed with the knowledge of players passwords and the ability to check turns if accusations occured. The referee's would then have to examine the movements of the players to determine if cheating was occuring, though one could never be certain.

Flame wars amongst cheaters and cheatees began to tear the tourney and the community as a whole apart. Quite sad, actually. The community has survived somewhat, but is not what it used to be.

Since the game was out of print, it was very difficult to make secure. With Aaron around, it may be possible to secure a game in some way. But rest assured, even if games are secured or encrypted, somebody will hack it out. I do not know why this is.


Bottom line is expect cheating whenever you play someone you don't know, and only play games that take alot of energy and time with people you trust to get the maximum enjoyment out of it.

Never expect that people are like you, enjoying the game due to the challenge a human player provides. You may ask yourself, "Why would someone cheat in a game that takes a year to play?" I have no answer for you, only that it happens. Alot.

[disabled]

When it comes to cheaters, hackers, pirates, etc. I want to make sure they never come back again. If that means I have to be a 'powerhungry egotistical jerk' to make sure they get and stay out, so be it.

Of course, the best way to nail, and drive a cheater out, is to catch them cheating. I remember on the Starcraft Ladder Blizzard has, there was one guy that turned around and played a game against a cheater and lost. he put him to a rematched and cheated himself in such a way that it forced the original cheater to expose himself as a cheater and get caught red handed.

In closing thoughts, I tend to give my trust to people right off. once they betray that trust, they never get it make no matter how hard they try. I'll give them second chances to be a friend, but I will never trust them.

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And Hadrian, your comments really made you look like a powerhungry egotistical jerk. No offense, I don't mean that you are.

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[wr8th]

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Originally posted by RabidFan:

You may ask yourself, "Why would someone cheat in a game that takes a year to play?" I have no answer for you, only that it happens. Alot.

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RF: You answered the question yourself...

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Never expect that people are like you.

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[ 11 April 2002: Message edited by: wr8th ]

[dmm]

What a shame that this cheater, who is obviously clever, chose to be slimey instead of making a scenario editor that we could all use and enjoy. (See my tag line.)

[Lupusman]

How do we know that this same cheater did not just create a new user name? Perhaps toning down the cheat a little so as not to be noticed.

[disabled]

I would guess they blocked the IP and are devising a way to ID suspected cheaters.

[Schwarzbart]

quote:

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Originally posted by Hadrian Aventine:
I would guess they blocked the IP and are devising a way to ID suspected cheaters.

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Most People dont have a fixed IP so block an IP wont work, perhaps you even block other players.