Justice
09-28-2004, 06:53 PM
Forget the IP bans, we can ban by CD-key in the full version. Unless they want to shell out $50 every time they're banned, they can't cause too much trouble.
One word: Keygen.
Two words: Stolen Keys
Three words: Legit user screwed
Banning by cd-key only works when you're certain the key belongs to the person responsible. Do not doubt that there'll be a third party key generator, probably before the game hits the shelves. Yes, the keys are unique for each copy, and yes, at least I hope, they track sold keys so false ones won't work, however, this also means that when a keygen hits a legit key, chances are it belongs to someone who recently shelled out $50 for it. Meaning, hold onto your receipts and be prepared for a nightmare.
The truth of the matter is, because this engine was chosen, all the existing knowledge of how to hack this engine can now be leveraged to screw T:V over. Someone above said it succintly, but I'll elaborate: Why pay money to play a game where those who steal are going to cheat as well, and they can succeed because the authors chose, either through ignorance or with no regard for the problems involved, to use an easily exploitable engine? Because you have no choice? Hardly.
I hope that they've done something magical and fixed the glaring holes, holes that have been exploited for YEARS for god's sake. I pray they've improved server side security to the point of raving paranoia and fixed all the cheat protection, especially with the absolutely mind boggling requirement that the server be a Windows box (I mean, who in their deranged omnipotence thought that that was a GOOD idea??) but I doubt it. They want a game to ship, and cheating, which will destroy this game in three months, probably took a backseat to bug squashing (except where a bug and a cheat were one and the same).
Seriously, consider this:
Tribes 1 is all but dead. The RAMPANT cheating in the game, with no possiblity for prevention, resulted in a mass exodus to tribes 2 the moment it came out (UE's included). Sure, there's some die-hard players still out there, and I bet some of them don't even cheat and just accept philosophically that it's going to happen and they can't do anything about it. Personally I'd play something else first. The only reason to play tribes is to compete, with cheats, competition is pointless.
Tribes 2 is dying. The community dwindled away as those who had passion for the game got fed up with all the cheats (not to mention the bugs). Skin hacks, auto aim, waypoints, happymod, etc. It killed the game. Like t1 above, there's still some who play, but even when it DIDN'T work t2 had thousands of servers and tens of thousands of players AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT, now servers number in the hundreds if that and on a good day there might be 1500 people playing.
Even so, given the dire straights these two once great first person shooters are in, I'd take them over what I've seen people do in this beta. Invulnerability/Invisibility, Auto-Aim, Anti-Fog, Teleportation/Speed hacks, Weapon speed hacks, no-reg hacks, no name hacks, etc.
And what is the word on these cheats? Well, just like t2, security through obscurity. I'm sure at least some of you know how well THAT works. That is to say, not at all. No official word on: We've fixed them all, we fixed some of them, we're TRYING to fix them, nothing. Nothing, for example, about making the server verify all physics involved, so speed hacks, weapon hacks, invulnerability, way point hacks (radar) etc are no longer possible. How's that? Simply put, the server only sends you data for things you can see, wall hacks don't work, because the server can tell if there's a wall there and doesn't send you any bloody data if there is! OMG, what a concept! And if the client says, hey, I'm in motion, and my direction is this, my speed is this, the server can check. If something doesn't match, BEEP, you're booted and banned and a log of the event is made. Sure, it'd be a pain in the ass to do, I don't doubt, and yes, it might require a frigging crey to host the server (frankly a better choice than a WINDOWS BOX(?!?!)), but it hasn't been done that I know of, and probably won't be done because it's beyond the scope of this project. At least, that's what some posters here would have us believe. I beg to differ. I suggest that perhaps, just perhaps, the prevention of cheating is the single most important aspect of this, or any other fps, and should be paramount.
Of course, if all these things are addressed, have been addressed, or will be addressed shortly after boxes hit the shelves, and I'm wrong, well, I'd be ecstatic to discover my fears are groundless and would humbly proffer my abject apology to all and sundry.
But I'm not holding my breath.
In summary: I fear T:V will be neat, and popular, and fun, for a little while, and then it's going to die.
One word: Keygen.
Two words: Stolen Keys
Three words: Legit user screwed
Banning by cd-key only works when you're certain the key belongs to the person responsible. Do not doubt that there'll be a third party key generator, probably before the game hits the shelves. Yes, the keys are unique for each copy, and yes, at least I hope, they track sold keys so false ones won't work, however, this also means that when a keygen hits a legit key, chances are it belongs to someone who recently shelled out $50 for it. Meaning, hold onto your receipts and be prepared for a nightmare.
The truth of the matter is, because this engine was chosen, all the existing knowledge of how to hack this engine can now be leveraged to screw T:V over. Someone above said it succintly, but I'll elaborate: Why pay money to play a game where those who steal are going to cheat as well, and they can succeed because the authors chose, either through ignorance or with no regard for the problems involved, to use an easily exploitable engine? Because you have no choice? Hardly.
I hope that they've done something magical and fixed the glaring holes, holes that have been exploited for YEARS for god's sake. I pray they've improved server side security to the point of raving paranoia and fixed all the cheat protection, especially with the absolutely mind boggling requirement that the server be a Windows box (I mean, who in their deranged omnipotence thought that that was a GOOD idea??) but I doubt it. They want a game to ship, and cheating, which will destroy this game in three months, probably took a backseat to bug squashing (except where a bug and a cheat were one and the same).
Seriously, consider this:
Tribes 1 is all but dead. The RAMPANT cheating in the game, with no possiblity for prevention, resulted in a mass exodus to tribes 2 the moment it came out (UE's included). Sure, there's some die-hard players still out there, and I bet some of them don't even cheat and just accept philosophically that it's going to happen and they can't do anything about it. Personally I'd play something else first. The only reason to play tribes is to compete, with cheats, competition is pointless.
Tribes 2 is dying. The community dwindled away as those who had passion for the game got fed up with all the cheats (not to mention the bugs). Skin hacks, auto aim, waypoints, happymod, etc. It killed the game. Like t1 above, there's still some who play, but even when it DIDN'T work t2 had thousands of servers and tens of thousands of players AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT, now servers number in the hundreds if that and on a good day there might be 1500 people playing.
Even so, given the dire straights these two once great first person shooters are in, I'd take them over what I've seen people do in this beta. Invulnerability/Invisibility, Auto-Aim, Anti-Fog, Teleportation/Speed hacks, Weapon speed hacks, no-reg hacks, no name hacks, etc.
And what is the word on these cheats? Well, just like t2, security through obscurity. I'm sure at least some of you know how well THAT works. That is to say, not at all. No official word on: We've fixed them all, we fixed some of them, we're TRYING to fix them, nothing. Nothing, for example, about making the server verify all physics involved, so speed hacks, weapon hacks, invulnerability, way point hacks (radar) etc are no longer possible. How's that? Simply put, the server only sends you data for things you can see, wall hacks don't work, because the server can tell if there's a wall there and doesn't send you any bloody data if there is! OMG, what a concept! And if the client says, hey, I'm in motion, and my direction is this, my speed is this, the server can check. If something doesn't match, BEEP, you're booted and banned and a log of the event is made. Sure, it'd be a pain in the ass to do, I don't doubt, and yes, it might require a frigging crey to host the server (frankly a better choice than a WINDOWS BOX(?!?!)), but it hasn't been done that I know of, and probably won't be done because it's beyond the scope of this project. At least, that's what some posters here would have us believe. I beg to differ. I suggest that perhaps, just perhaps, the prevention of cheating is the single most important aspect of this, or any other fps, and should be paramount.
Of course, if all these things are addressed, have been addressed, or will be addressed shortly after boxes hit the shelves, and I'm wrong, well, I'd be ecstatic to discover my fears are groundless and would humbly proffer my abject apology to all and sundry.
But I'm not holding my breath.
In summary: I fear T:V will be neat, and popular, and fun, for a little while, and then it's going to die.