Cheating in PBEM

Cheating in PBEM (Full Version)

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bfcj -> Cheating in PBEM (6/7/2018 1:49:51 AM)
Is it possible to cheat in a PBEM? I got this from a PBEM opponent who is not doing very well: "I am a little curious about how our game is working out. I have not played a lot so maybe I am missing something. My troops in front of Paris are a full level better than the French yet the odds on the attacks are negative? With three air attacks you destroyed my tank but I had two interceptors at full strength protecting it. Feels like something is off or I am missing something. Your troops are way stronger than any other person or time I have played the game. I would call their strength unique? Why?" I am not cheating in any way -- he is doing poorly because he is playing poorly -- has anyone ever attacked Switzerland (and before attacking France and the low countries?) but wondered if it was even possible? Though I have to admit feeling like the odds were stacked against me during my first couple of PBEMs against a good opponent.

PvtBenjamin -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/8/2018 4:24:01 PM)
1) I have asked the PBEM cheating question. The authors say it is not impossible but extremely unlikely. I found the better I got at the game the less people seemed to cheat. [:D] 2) I played someone who attacked Switzerland. It has some fairly large consequences for German & Italian morale and diplomacy for several countries(see below). If you want to see what you will be up against start the '40 or '41 scenario vs AI with fog of war off and declare war. quote: ORIGINAL: sPzAbt653 { #NAME= DE 1001 - Axis DoW on Switzerland (Germany) #POPUP= The German Government's Political Standing Is Affected By The Attack On Switzerland #IMAGE= #SOUND= #FLAG= 1 #TYPE= 0 #AI= 0 #GV= 1[1,100] #LINK= 0[0] #LEVEL= 0 #COUNTRY_ID= 45 #TRIGGER= 100 #NM_UPDOWN= -3500 #NM_TURNS= 1 #DECISION= 1001 ; Switzerland declared war on by Axis #CONDITION= 104 [1] [1] } ;REMOVE1944 { #NAME= DE 1002 - Axis DoW on Switzerland (Italy) #POPUP= Mussolini's Regime Loses Credibility For The Attack On Switzerland #IMAGE= #SOUND= #FLAG= 1 #TYPE= 0 #AI= 0 #GV= 1[1,100] #LINK= 0[0] #LEVEL= 0 #COUNTRY_ID= 59 #TRIGGER= 100 #NM_UPDOWN= -2500 #NM_TURNS= 1 #DECISION= 1002 ; Switzerland declared war on by Axis #CONDITION= 104 [1] [1] }

bfcj -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/8/2018 4:39:45 PM)
Thanks. I gave it some thought when I was getting my ass handed to me during my first PBEM game. It seemed to me that it would not be an easy thing to do even without any anti-cheating checks by the game. And I couldn't imagine anyone spending that much effort for what in return ? There's not even leaderboards for bragging about your victories.

Harun -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/8/2018 4:59:07 PM)
Allied aircraft able to destroy a German tank in 1940? No wonder he's not happy, but the morale hit Pvt. Benjamin could make that possible.

Taxman66 -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/8/2018 5:04:05 PM)
The Axis would never have attacked Switzerland: 1. Way too much effort. The Swiss mined the narrow mountain roads and had explosive traps all along them, not mention pre set up to blow up bridges etc... 2. Switzerland is where the laundered all their stolen loot, particularly Jewish gold (down to teeth fillings) and other properties.

PvtBenjamin -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/8/2018 5:14:58 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Taxman66 The Axis would never have attacked Switzerland: 1. Way too much effort. The Swiss mined the narrow mountain roads and had explosive traps all along them, not mention pre set up to blow up bridges etc... 2. Switzerland is where the laundered all their stolen loot, particularly Jewish gold (down to teeth fillings) and other properties. Penalties for attacking Switzerland should be much steeper than they are.

bfcj -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/8/2018 5:24:16 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Harun Allied aircraft able to destroy a German tank in 1940? No wonder he's not happy, but the morale hit Pvt. Benjamin could make that possible. Hey it happened to me! After that I read the manual and learned that carrier aircraft could be set to Naval/Ground Attack mode.

DerJager -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/10/2018 7:29:47 PM)
It is very common for poor players to accuse a superior opponent of cheating. By so doing, they place the blame upon another's lack of good character, while avoiding any damage that could be accrued against their self esteem inherent in the admission of their own shortcomings. It is far easier to complain and do nothing else, than it is to actually dedicate your efforts to learning and improving your game play. Unfortunately, this tendency to take the easiest path is prevalent throughout society. Learning is anathema to the masses. Having said that, the sad truth is that there are still some players who cheat. As long as a player has programming talent and access to the game's code, cheating is certainly possible. As this requires skill, opportunity, and intent, it is a rare occurrence. Accusing someone of cheating is easy. Figuring out how they actually did it and confronting them with the facts takes effort. Even then, they will inevitably deny any wrong doing. So the question remains, bfcj... Why are you such a low life, cheating, pond scum??? [:-] [:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

bfcj -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/10/2018 9:25:18 PM)
I SHOULD be cheating. I suck! It would seem, though, there are others who suck even more.

DerJager -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/10/2018 9:46:38 PM)
Well, maybe you and I should play a game then. [;)] I have spent some time reading these forums today. I am not sure how these fellows are able to print the script codes, but it is obvious to me that there are some players who simply memorize them and develop scripted game play formulas of "Do This", "Then This", Then This", etc. Kinda seems like that would take the fun out of the game for me. Whereas having Vichy France join the Allies before Vichy France has ever been formed would be a total downer for the Axis player, at least it would keep things from getting monotonous. (I do advocate fixing that problem BTW. That would royally ruin a good game.)

DerJager -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/10/2018 9:56:06 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: bfcj I SHOULD be cheating. I suck! It would seem, though, there are others who suck even more. Many years ago, I was in charge of a Design/Build project with a client from hell. I visited the site every couple of weeks, as it involved some significant travel for me to get there. I had an inspector that was on the site every day. Whenever I would arrive on site, I would spend the entire first day dealing with the idiot client. It was like walking into a den packed with starving lions after being rubbed down with chicken grease. No fun at all! My inspector would greet me on every visit. He was a chain smoker, and it got worse when he was nervous or stressed. Every time he met me, he would have a cigarette in his hand and he would say, "Today sucks!". He would then put the cigarette to his lips with his visibly, shaking hand, take an extended drag, hold it for a long moment and then exhale. All the while his hand is shaking like Tom Hank's in "Saving Private Ryan". He would then look at me and say, "Tomorrow's gonna suck even worse!!" Your quote reminded me of our routine. My inspector was always right!

bfcj -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/10/2018 9:56:26 PM)
Not so much a bummer, it just make no sense. France has just surrendered, nothing could possibly happen to cause them to decide to re-join the fight at that point in time. I actually had the opportunity to do this myself, playing allies, France moved capital to Bordeaux then surrendered next turn, and I thought "all I have to do is move a UK unit into Bordeaux", but I wouldn't feel right if I won after that. Scripts are just text files that the game engine loads. There are in sub-folders named "Scripts" under the different campaign folders. No harm in reading them. In fact I'd say it helps when hunting bugs. I'm always up for a game!

DerJager -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/10/2018 10:05:04 PM)
Start one up and send it to me. 1939 all the way. I will play either side. I agree on the scripts, but I got the definite impression that some players have them memorized. I also agree on not moving into Bordeaux and invoking that bogus result. In my mind it is an unreasonable outcome, and to exploit it is actually cheating the game. This speaks to my point of those who memorize the scripts for this purpose. I know they are out there. They always are. Most people won't exploit it, but there are always those that will. Send me a game file so that I can refresh my understanding of the true meaning of humility. Looking forward to it.

PvtBenjamin -> RE: Cheating in PBEM (6/11/2018 8:24:54 PM)
quote: ORIGINAL: Hubert Cater quote: ORIGINAL: Taxman66 Do you mean cheat? I don't know. If someone monkeys with the script before posting the challenge if that would work or if the game wouldn't match as the scripts are different. There's a post of all the US mobilization events in the War Room, might be useful to review them. I can't say that it is impossible, but it would be very hard to cheat in PBEM++ by setting up an edited campaign that your opponent is unaware of. For example, the scripts, and even though they are separate text files for ease of editing, are actually baked into the campaign. This just means they are compiled when you save the campaign and the data extracted from them is then baked into the campaign file itself. So editing the scripts without recompiling them and having the data saved into the campaign will have no effect on the campaign. If they are compiled and saved into the campaign then two opponents would have to have the same campaign on their end in order to play each other, and in this case your opponent would have to send you this customized campaign and you could then take a look to see what has been changed etc. Hope this helps, Hubert

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