I guess that's just characteristic of these people. They interrupt you, that's their Right to Assemble Peacefully. Interrupt them, you're breaking the law.
How in the world did you extract "you can't parody us" from this comment? I was commenting about my experiences in high school, not the PETA lawsuit. Read more carefully next time.
And there's more to the 1st Amendment than Free Speech - The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble, for example.
Freedom of Speech is a very touchy subject, especially when the Internet is involved. Any time there's a court case having even remotely to do with the Internet, expect a lot of (unwanted?) attention.
But the point is, domain names should not be subject to copyright laws. So PETA didn't get a chance to register PETA.org - BOO-HOO. Try and register it when it expires, if it isn't re-registered. Why penalize the early bird?
I used to have respect for PETA. I used to believe these people had a right to their beliefs, and should be allowed to practice them however they see fit. I used to think that maybe they had some good ideas.
Now, I have lost all respect for PETA. Now, I believe I will not be able to treat these people decently. Now, I know they are animal fascists, and they should no more be allowed to exist than any other dictator.
SETA (students for the ethical treatment of animals) held "anti-meat" days every once and a while at our high school. they'd serve veggiburgers and veggi-hot-dogs, and generally offer a meat-alternative.
No one interfered with them. We brought real food to eat, but never did we interfere with their sales.
We thought it would be cool to do a fund-raising campaign along the same lines, and held a "Steak Day" every once and a while. Our class would grill up steaks, kabobs, burgers, etc, and sell 'em off.
The SETA folks tried to block off the enterances to our grills, physically stopped people from buying steaks, and were a general nusiance.
I guess that's just characteristic of these people. They interrupt you, that's their Right to Assemble Peacefully. Interrupt them, you're breaking the law.
Assholes.
I guess I see it as my personal duty to interfere with them now.
does anyone see this as good? it's disturbing enough seeing Fat Bastard with a railgun... do we really want to actually see who we're fragging?
in all seriousness, is this a good thing? now, instead of just fragging some avatar of your buddy, you're fragging a look-alike. does this disturb anyone else but me? as for fragging the Gallaghers, wouldn't they have to get scanned in?
better realism in skins are a good thing - i just don't think they should be going this direction. i'd much rather see a photo-realistic skin of, say, Jar-Jar (frag away!) than one of my buddies down the hall.
I disagree with your opinion of Honor. It does not take a whit of "true skill".
Honor can not simply be reduced to "that's not fair; that's not right". Part of Honor is knowing the difference between right and wrong, but breaking it down to a general, amorphous thing can ruin the meaning.
Honor is personal knowledge of right and wrong, the strength of heart to stand up for your beliefs in any circumstance, and the moral character to live by those beliefs.
And I'm sorry, but shooting a rocket at a 1337 d00d playing quake online is not Honor.
A large part of online gaming is dealing with people; these people choose to do anything from playing by the rules and trying to live in that world, to ruining the atmosphere and doing stupid things like naming themselves [\/]()4f30uS (in alternating yellow and blue, of course).
Yeah, there are KeWl DoOdS out there. They twink and powerlevel in EQ, camp the quads in Q3, and have a standard build order / rush in SC. But you find them *everywhere*... in the Comp industry, lawyers, engineers, executive assistants, doctors - they are the people who kiss ass, take advantage of folks, and "play the system".
Honor is personal steel, and no matter how many times they frag you online, or disrespect you in life, they can't touch your Honor.
I'm sorry, but Honor isn't a thing that goes away when you log off. You may actions may be honorable, but personal Honor is a thing that only is gone when you throw it away.
There's a problem with "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Specifically, what makes you happy might make someone else very unhappy.
I'm a Roman Catholic. Does this make me part of your villainized "Radical Religious Right"? Am I no longer allowed to pursue what makes me happy because of the religion I choose? Are you allowed to take away my free speech if the words I speak are contrary to what you believe? Will you slap me if I try to pray in school, incarcerate me for giving pregnant women an alternative to murder, tear out my tongue for preaching God's Love?
I'm a white male. Does this make me racist? Can I start up a White Student Union at my local high school, or the National Association for the Advancement of White People? Will you cry "Racist! Bigot!" if I take pride in my European heritage? What will you say if I cry "Racist! Bigot!" at Affirmative Action and its ilk?
I'm pretty sure this is has managed to annoy anyone not of my viewpoint by now - and this is exactly why I wrote this. I have certain views, certain beliefs - and I'm entitled to them (by God, and by the USA). I believe in evolution, to the extent that species change and adapt over time. I also believe there's something fundamentally different between a chimpanzee and a human being. I believe that the termination of a pregnancy is the termination of someone's life; I also believe that yelling and screaming and calling someone "Murderer! Whore! Baby-killer!" isn't the right way to help a person in the midst of a very stressful time. I believe in Free Speech, and that it allows me to express myself and my beliefs. I know that I would be suspended, laughed at, called racist if I tried to start up a WSU or NAAWP. I also know that something was needed to help those less fortunate minorities excel and have access to higher learning. I do not think that Affirmative Action is right; in fact, it has created a terrible backlash. I live near DC. Someone close to me works in a free clinic in SE DC. Every night, she takes the Metro Bus to the Metro station, and the Metro train home. And every night, she is accosted, threatened, and insulted by black high school students. "Get off our bus, whitey." They don't know that she's spent all day helping people in their community - all they see is the color of her skin. Metro is public transportation, for the record.
Now you, the reader, might not agree with me - that's your choice. Moreso, that's your right. And you have a Slashdot-given right to post a reply; to flame me, or to concur. That is free speech. I also believe that pr0n and hate-talk are free speech, and that no one has the right to silence them. The only place (that I can think of off the top of my head) where speech should be restricted are matters regarding the security of the nation (Treason).
Does the US need CyberPolice privliges? No. We're headed way too close to a "Child Safety Top" world as it is; the government is meant to govern and keep the nation together. It is not meant to run our lives, nor tell us what to do, nor tell us how to dress, nor tell us what we can read, nor tell us how to talk...........
Although I saw one comment mention Terminus, I think it deserves MUCH more than that.
Terminus is a persistent universe RPG, in space. It is a 3D simulation set in our Solar System, two hundred years in the future. It is scheduled for release on 6 June 2000, for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux.
Terminus was at the E3 (or, at least, was supposed to be) - I don't know why the writer of this article didn't see it / didn't mention it. It hasn't gotten a whole lot of press, but it's been mentioned in quite a few game mags out there. I, for one, am going to buy this game the day it comes out - both to support games on Linux, and because it looks like a lot of fun.
1.To deceive by trickery; swindle: cheated customers by overcharging them for purchases. 2.To deprive by trickery; defraud: cheated them of their land. 3.To mislead; fool: illusions that cheat the eye. 4.To elude; escape: cheat death.
v. intr.
1.To act dishonestly; practice fraud. 2.To violate rules deliberately, as in a game: accused of cheating at cards. 3.Informal. To be sexually unfaithful: young marrieds who cheat on their spouses.
n.
1.An act of cheating; a fraud or swindle. 2.One that cheats; a swindler. 3.Law. Fraudulent acquisition of another's property. 4.Botany. An annual European species of brome grass (Bromus secalinus) widely naturalized in temperate regions.
just thought you could use a refresh on the word "cheat".
a better football analogy is this: you're the most brilliant scientist in the world. you've created a serum that multiplies your athletic abilities 100x. is it ethical to promptly join the dallas cowboys and lead them to victory?
buzzkilr asked: "My concern comes in that what happens if a false positive shows up?"
John Smedley replied: "buzzkilr - there's no significant risk from false positives. We do a lot of server side things as well to catch hackers, not just client side. More often then not they show up in multiple logs that we have, but that's a fair question.
John Smedley"
i found this over at Everlore. There's more stuff there, check it out.
First, check out number 10 of the Rules of Conduct. It says "You will not attempt to interfere with, hack into, or decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running EverQuest.", right after reserving the right to ban you for failure to comply with these 13 rules.
Second, I found a copy of a bunch of posts by John Smedley (Pres & CEO of Verant Interactive, Inc) on Everlore. here's an excerpt:
"...However, to get at the heart of your concern let me assure you that we could care less about anything that isn't going to interfere with EQ.
We aren't Big Brother and we're not sending back a list of sites you've been browsing, or anything else for that matter. Specifcally we have technology that can find the signatures of programs that are known to be hacking tools. If you have those tools, that's fine. Just don't run them when you're playing EQ. That's all we are saying."
There's a lot more there. If you're seriously interested in this issue, and not ranting for the hell of it, I suggest you check it out.
I thought they announced their intentions before scanning the task list. It is a lot to think about every program before running any other... and it shouldn't have to be done in many cases. I tend to close down every non-essential program when I run games, though.
And program names aren't good identifiers of what that program does, true.
So there needs to be something that keeps EQ to itself while protecting it from programs that stop the intended operation of the program.
I didn't get the feeling that Verant was asking for permission for a more robust method of searching for cheat programs (or extracting whatever information they wanted)... but you could be right. I don't think that was their intent, though.
I think the EULA was worded as such not for reasons of gaining more information from user's hard disks, but for the lawyerisms that exist today... it's way too easy to find loopholes in specifically worded statements.
I would feel more comfortable with the EULA if they defined what "...interferes with the proper operation of EverQuest." - if they enumerate the items they're looking for, they restrict themselves to what information they can upload.
No, they were *not* doing that in the bounds of what Verant was asking permission for - they were inventing ways that Verant was going to check for programs that interfere with the proper operation of EQ.
I find it interesting that you use the port-scanner example - ShowEQ is nothing more than a heavily modified packet scanner - modified to show information not meant for the users.
A couple months ago, there was an instance of a couple characters banned from EQ for hacking/cheating - Briochan, Hawk, and somebody else. They responded to the Head GM's e-mail telling them they were banned (the Head GM is required to send each banned user a personal e-mail, stating why), insisting on their innocence. It took some time, but after reviewing the case, Verant acknowledged their mistake, apolgised for it, and offered them free EQ for life because of their mistake.
That's a very good point... and indicates somewhere where Verant needs a better utility before implemeting it.
I also would prefer to keep my tasks private... but I don't mind sacraficing that *little* privacy (how hard is it to end the tasks you don't want to be seen before firing up EQ?) to keep other folk from cheating in EQ. Cheats *destroyed* Diablo, I'd rather not see that happen to EQ.
Can you (or anyone) think of a better way to stop folk from cheating in EQ? Keep in mind (most of) these programs are passive, just scanning incoming data. The others (the malicious ones) are meant to disrupt the servers... I'm not sure how they do that, though.
Hey, I don't know if you're talking about Hawk and Briochan...
They were two EQ players who were banned for "cheating". They continually proclaimed their innocence, and less than a month later Verant came back, gave a public apology, and to apologize to Hawk and Briochan, gave them free EQ for life.
<sarcasm> Yeah, that sounds like a company becoming so paranoid about maintaining "their world" that they're destroying the game... </sarcasm>
sounds more to me like they're trying to stop cheating, and admit when they're wrong - and make up for it.
First off, 90% of any post I see related to EQ is always bashing Verant for one reason or another. I think a lot of these posts aren't warrented, and their authors aren't giving Verant a fair chance. But this is the same for any corporation / company... when anything goes wrong, or doesn't go the way they want it to, people scream and yell and say "SEE! *THIS* is capitalism at work!" You're all crazy. Capitalism at work is keeping your customers happy. If they're happy, they'll keep coming back to buy your product.
When Verant annoucned they were going to scan your tasklist for cheat programs, they also put a poll in at the login screen, stating something to the nature of "Do you have a problem with Verant checking for cheat programs when you run EQ?"
That's right - they *ask* their users for thier opinions.
And *despite* the fact that 83% (out of 15000) responded they were fine with running a check for cheating, *Verant decided not to do it*. Why?
Because enough people had stated they felt it was chipping too much into their privacy.
But the worst part is that people decided to make up ways Verant was checking for these hack/cheating programs... for example, scanning directory trees (false), internet files (false), internet history (false), cookies (false), and email (false).
What was the check suppost to do? "The client simply would examine a small subset of information on your system, none of it containing information personally identifiable to a third party, and only send it to our server in the event that you were "running" an illegal program at the same time you ran EQ." I'm assuming here "illegal program" means a program designed to give a user an advantage over other users in EQ.
I understand some people would say this is an invasion of privacy. Some of those people are honestly worried about the continuous breach in our privacy in general. I'm willing to bet that the majority of people who cried "Foul!" were worried they wouldn't get to use thier cheat programs anymore. Or, they were the people who find a reason to scream "SEE! Capitalism at work! Invasion of privacy! Invasion of privacy!" when it isn't justified.
This post is way too long already, but I've got more to say on the issue. If you disagree, or agree, post and we'll talk.
I never had the benefit of playing Ultima on my old Apple IIe... I mainly played those screen-flipping adventure games (Black Cauldron, Kings Quest, etc). I had an Atari for games.
But I do remember the day I first saw Ultima. A friend was playing U7p2 on his 486, and I was instantly drawn in. I was fascinated by every aspect of the game, from the paperdoll system to the music, and even the game itself. I eventually, ah, "borrowed", a copy (which I bought a 486 for), and started over from the begining.
I remember all the time I spent playing the game.. . but I don't remember how long it was. I have the distinct feelings I must have spent a year or two on the game. I would write lists of things to do, places to get food, what trainers improved what... I was totally immersed.
I got my hands on a copy of U7p1 after that. It wasn't the same (lesser graphics, loss of the really cool paperdoll system)... but it was the first Ultima I played all the way through. Remember the sad look Spark gives you ("puppy dog eyes") when you try to remove him from your party?
I played U6 after that, eventually got U4. Never played U8 (the whole pentagram-on-the-cover thing just turned me off to it). Instead, I fired up The Serpent Isle again. Heh.
I bought the Ultima 9 Dragon Edition, mainly for the Orchestral CD. The game ran pretty crappy on my pIII 450, 128M RAM, G400MAX, but I played as long as I could. Contrary to what people say, *I* believe it was an Ultima. To give you a perspective, I stopped at Minoc - couldn't find the sword to kill the skeleton guardian in the mines.
I say it was an Ultima because I *knew* the world. Dupre was dead and gone, but it was Britannia. I believe Lord British, I believe the Avatar, I believed Raven. I stopped playing because I lost patients with the bugs, not because it wasn't an Ultima. It had a deep plot - how long did it take you to figure out all your old companions were guarding the Runes? How many of them did you just outright kill the first time through? The *Ultima* of U9 was there - the bugs just kept it from you.
The only thing that had more of an effect on me than the story and plot of the Ultimas was the music. Stones will be played at my wedding next year.
I guess what I'm saying is that Lord British's games had a profound effect on me - I played them while I was growing up. I almost feel that I grew up *with* the Ultimas. I wish Lord British the best of luck in whatever his next venture is, and if it is a game, I can't wait to play it.
Slashdot Mirror
I guess that's just characteristic of these people. They interrupt you, that's their Right to Assemble Peacefully. Interrupt them, you're breaking the law.
How in the world did you extract "you can't parody us" from this comment? I was commenting about my experiences in high school, not the PETA lawsuit. Read more carefully next time.
And there's more to the 1st Amendment than Free Speech - The Right of the People Peaceably to Assemble, for example.
Freedom of Speech is a very touchy subject, especially when the Internet is involved. Any time there's a court case having even remotely to do with the Internet, expect a lot of (unwanted?) attention.
But the point is, domain names should not be subject to copyright laws. So PETA didn't get a chance to register PETA.org - BOO-HOO. Try and register it when it expires, if it isn't re-registered. Why penalize the early bird?
-lw
I used to have respect for PETA.
I used to believe these people had a right to their beliefs, and should be allowed to practice them however they see fit.
I used to think that maybe they had some good ideas.
Now, I have lost all respect for PETA.
Now, I believe I will not be able to treat these people decently.
Now, I know they are animal fascists, and they should no more be allowed to exist than any other dictator.
SETA (students for the ethical treatment of animals) held "anti-meat" days every once and a while at our high school. they'd serve veggiburgers and veggi-hot-dogs, and generally offer a meat-alternative.
No one interfered with them. We brought real food to eat, but never did we interfere with their sales.
We thought it would be cool to do a fund-raising campaign along the same lines, and held a "Steak Day" every once and a while. Our class would grill up steaks, kabobs, burgers, etc, and sell 'em off.
The SETA folks tried to block off the enterances to our grills, physically stopped people from buying steaks, and were a general nusiance.
I guess that's just characteristic of these people. They interrupt you, that's their Right to Assemble Peacefully. Interrupt them, you're breaking the law.
Assholes.
I guess I see it as my personal duty to interfere with them now.
-lw
does anyone see this as good? it's disturbing enough seeing Fat Bastard with a railgun... do we really want to actually see who we're fragging?
in all seriousness, is this a good thing? now, instead of just fragging some avatar of your buddy, you're fragging a look-alike. does this disturb anyone else but me? as for fragging the Gallaghers, wouldn't they have to get scanned in?
better realism in skins are a good thing - i just don't think they should be going this direction. i'd much rather see a photo-realistic skin of, say, Jar-Jar (frag away!) than one of my buddies down the hall.
-lw
I disagree with your opinion of Honor. It does not take a whit of "true skill".
Honor can not simply be reduced to "that's not fair; that's not right". Part of Honor is knowing the difference between right and wrong, but breaking it down to a general, amorphous thing can ruin the meaning.
Honor is personal knowledge of right and wrong, the strength of heart to stand up for your beliefs in any circumstance, and the moral character to live by those beliefs.
And I'm sorry, but shooting a rocket at a 1337 d00d playing quake online is not Honor.
A large part of online gaming is dealing with people; these people choose to do anything from playing by the rules and trying to live in that world, to ruining the atmosphere and doing stupid things like naming themselves [\/]()4f30uS (in alternating yellow and blue, of course).
Yeah, there are KeWl DoOdS out there. They twink and powerlevel in EQ, camp the quads in Q3, and have a standard build order / rush in SC. But you find them *everywhere*... in the Comp industry, lawyers, engineers, executive assistants, doctors - they are the people who kiss ass, take advantage of folks, and "play the system".
Honor is personal steel, and no matter how many times they frag you online, or disrespect you in life, they can't touch your Honor.
I'm sorry, but Honor isn't a thing that goes away when you log off. You may actions may be honorable, but personal Honor is a thing that only is gone when you throw it away.
-lw
There's a problem with "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness". Specifically, what makes you happy might make someone else very unhappy.
I'm a Roman Catholic. Does this make me part of your villainized "Radical Religious Right"? Am I no longer allowed to pursue what makes me happy because of the religion I choose? Are you allowed to take away my free speech if the words I speak are contrary to what you believe? Will you slap me if I try to pray in school, incarcerate me for giving pregnant women an alternative to murder, tear out my tongue for preaching God's Love?
I'm a white male. Does this make me racist? Can I start up a White Student Union at my local high school, or the National Association for the Advancement of White People? Will you cry "Racist! Bigot!" if I take pride in my European heritage? What will you say if I cry "Racist! Bigot!" at Affirmative Action and its ilk?
I'm pretty sure this is has managed to annoy anyone not of my viewpoint by now - and this is exactly why I wrote this. I have certain views, certain beliefs - and I'm entitled to them (by God, and by the USA).
I believe in evolution, to the extent that species change and adapt over time. I also believe there's something fundamentally different between a chimpanzee and a human being. I believe that the termination of a pregnancy is the termination of someone's life; I also believe that yelling and screaming and calling someone "Murderer! Whore! Baby-killer!" isn't the right way to help a person in the midst of a very stressful time. I believe in Free Speech, and that it allows me to express myself and my beliefs.
I know that I would be suspended, laughed at, called racist if I tried to start up a WSU or NAAWP. I also know that something was needed to help those less fortunate minorities excel and have access to higher learning. I do not think that Affirmative Action is right; in fact, it has created a terrible backlash. I live near DC. Someone close to me works in a free clinic in SE DC. Every night, she takes the Metro Bus to the Metro station, and the Metro train home. And every night, she is accosted, threatened, and insulted by black high school students. "Get off our bus, whitey." They don't know that she's spent all day helping people in their community - all they see is the color of her skin. Metro is public transportation, for the record.
Now you, the reader, might not agree with me - that's your choice. Moreso, that's your right. And you have a Slashdot-given right to post a reply; to flame me, or to concur. That is free speech. I also believe that pr0n and hate-talk are free speech, and that no one has the right to silence them. The only place (that I can think of off the top of my head) where speech should be restricted are matters regarding the security of the nation (Treason).
Does the US need CyberPolice privliges? No. We're headed way too close to a "Child Safety Top" world as it is; the government is meant to govern and keep the nation together. It is not meant to run our lives, nor tell us what to do, nor tell us how to dress, nor tell us what we can read, nor tell us how to talk...........
-lw
Although I saw one comment mention Terminus, I think it deserves MUCH more than that.
Terminus is a persistent universe RPG, in space. It is a 3D simulation set in our Solar System, two hundred years in the future. It is scheduled for release on 6 June 2000, for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux.
For more on Terminus, check out Station Terminus.
There's an awesome preview at The Adrenaline Vault.
Here's another at Linux.com.
Lastly is the website of Vicarious Visions, the developer of Terminus.
Terminus was at the E3 (or, at least, was supposed to be) - I don't know why the writer of this article didn't see it / didn't mention it.
It hasn't gotten a whole lot of press, but it's been mentioned in quite a few game mags out there. I, for one, am going to buy this game the day it comes out - both to support games on Linux, and because it looks like a lot of fun.
-lw
uh, dude? "ethical cheater" is an oxymoron
cheat (cht)
v. cheated, cheating, cheats.
v. tr.
1.To deceive by trickery; swindle: cheated customers by overcharging them for purchases.
2.To deprive by trickery; defraud: cheated them of their land.
3.To mislead; fool: illusions that cheat the eye.
4.To elude; escape: cheat death.
v. intr.
1.To act dishonestly; practice fraud.
2.To violate rules deliberately, as in a game: accused of cheating at cards.
3.Informal. To be sexually unfaithful: young marrieds who cheat on their spouses.
n.
1.An act of cheating; a fraud or swindle.
2.One that cheats; a swindler.
3.Law. Fraudulent acquisition of another's property.
4.Botany. An annual European species of brome grass (Bromus secalinus) widely naturalized in temperate regions.
just thought you could use a refresh on the word "cheat".
a better football analogy is this: you're the most brilliant scientist in the world. you've created a serum that multiplies your athletic abilities 100x.
is it ethical to promptly join the dallas cowboys and lead them to victory?
lw
In regards to MS debugger...
buzzkilr asked:
"My concern comes in that what happens if a false positive shows up?"
John Smedley replied:
"buzzkilr - there's no significant risk from false positives. We do a lot of server side things as well to catch hackers, not just client side. More often then not they show up in multiple logs that we have, but that's a fair question.
John Smedley"
i found this over at Everlore.
There's more stuff there, check it out.
lw
I've got some new info, so I figure I'd post it.
First, check out number 10 of the Rules of Conduct. It says "You will not attempt to interfere with, hack into, or decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running EverQuest.", right after reserving the right to ban you for failure to comply with these 13 rules.
Second, I found a copy of a bunch of posts by John Smedley (Pres & CEO of Verant Interactive, Inc) on Everlore.
here's an excerpt:
"...However, to get at the heart of your concern let me assure you that we could care less about anything that isn't going to interfere with EQ.
We aren't Big Brother and we're not sending back a list of sites you've been browsing, or anything else for that matter. Specifcally we have technology that can find the signatures of programs that are known to be hacking tools. If you have those tools, that's fine. Just don't run them when you're playing EQ. That's all we are saying."
There's a lot more there. If you're seriously interested in this issue, and not ranting for the hell of it, I suggest you check it out.
lw
I thought they announced their intentions before scanning the task list. It is a lot to think about every program before running any other... and it shouldn't have to be done in many cases. I tend to close down every non-essential program when I run games, though.
And program names aren't good identifiers of what that program does, true.
So there needs to be something that keeps EQ to itself while protecting it from programs that stop the intended operation of the program.
I didn't get the feeling that Verant was asking for permission for a more robust method of searching for cheat programs (or extracting whatever information they wanted)... but you could be right. I don't think that was their intent, though.
I think the EULA was worded as such not for reasons of gaining more information from user's hard disks, but for the lawyerisms that exist today... it's way too easy to find loopholes in specifically worded statements.
I would feel more comfortable with the EULA if they defined what "...interferes with the proper operation of EverQuest." - if they enumerate the items they're looking for, they restrict themselves to what information they can upload.
No, they were *not* doing that in the bounds of what Verant was asking permission for - they were inventing ways that Verant was going to check for programs that interfere with the proper operation of EQ.
I find it interesting that you use the port-scanner example - ShowEQ is nothing more than a heavily modified packet scanner - modified to show information not meant for the users.
A couple months ago, there was an instance of a couple characters banned from EQ for hacking/cheating - Briochan, Hawk, and somebody else. They responded to the Head GM's e-mail telling them they were banned (the Head GM is required to send each banned user a personal e-mail, stating why), insisting on their innocence. It took some time, but after reviewing the case, Verant acknowledged their mistake, apolgised for it, and offered them free EQ for life because of their mistake.
lw
That's a very good point... and indicates somewhere where Verant needs a better utility before implemeting it.
I also would prefer to keep my tasks private... but I don't mind sacraficing that *little* privacy (how hard is it to end the tasks you don't want to be seen before firing up EQ?) to keep other folk from cheating in EQ. Cheats *destroyed* Diablo, I'd rather not see that happen to EQ.
Can you (or anyone) think of a better way to stop folk from cheating in EQ? Keep in mind (most of) these programs are passive, just scanning incoming data. The others (the malicious ones) are meant to disrupt the servers... I'm not sure how they do that, though.
Hey, I don't know if you're talking about Hawk and Briochan...
They were two EQ players who were banned for "cheating". They continually proclaimed their innocence, and less than a month later Verant came back, gave a public apology, and to apologize to Hawk and Briochan, gave them free EQ for life.
<sarcasm>
Yeah, that sounds like a company becoming so paranoid about maintaining "their world" that they're destroying the game...
</sarcasm>
sounds more to me like they're trying to stop cheating, and admit when they're wrong - and make up for it.
lw
First off, 90% of any post I see related to EQ is always bashing Verant for one reason or another. I think a lot of these posts aren't warrented, and their authors aren't giving Verant a fair chance. But this is the same for any corporation / company... when anything goes wrong, or doesn't go the way they want it to, people scream and yell and say "SEE! *THIS* is capitalism at work!" You're all crazy.
Capitalism at work is keeping your customers happy. If they're happy, they'll keep coming back to buy your product.
When Verant annoucned they were going to scan your tasklist for cheat programs, they also put a poll in at the login screen, stating something to the nature of "Do you have a problem with Verant checking for cheat programs when you run EQ?"
That's right - they *ask* their users for thier opinions.
And *despite* the fact that 83% (out of 15000) responded they were fine with running a check for cheating, *Verant decided not to do it*. Why?
Because enough people had stated they felt it was chipping too much into their privacy.
But the worst part is that people decided to make up ways Verant was checking for these hack/cheating programs... for example, scanning directory trees (false), internet files (false), internet history (false), cookies (false), and email (false).
What was the check suppost to do? "The client simply would examine a small subset of information on your system, none of it containing information personally identifiable to a third party, and only send it to our server in the event that you were "running" an illegal program at the same time you ran EQ." I'm assuming here "illegal program" means a program designed to give a user an advantage over other users in EQ.
I understand some people would say this is an invasion of privacy. Some of those people are honestly worried about the continuous breach in our privacy in general. I'm willing to bet that the majority of people who cried "Foul!" were worried they wouldn't get to use thier cheat programs anymore.
Or, they were the people who find a reason to scream "SEE! Capitalism at work! Invasion of privacy! Invasion of privacy!" when it isn't justified.
This post is way too long already, but I've got more to say on the issue. If you disagree, or agree, post and we'll talk.
The information I used in this post can be found at EQ Stratics or The EQ Vault.
lw
I never had the benefit of playing Ultima on my old Apple IIe... I mainly played those screen-flipping adventure games (Black Cauldron, Kings Quest, etc). I had an Atari for games.
But I do remember the day I first saw Ultima. A friend was playing U7p2 on his 486, and I was instantly drawn in. I was fascinated by every aspect of the game, from the paperdoll system to the music, and even the game itself. I eventually, ah, "borrowed", a copy (which I bought a 486 for), and started over from the begining.
I remember all the time I spent playing the game.. . but I don't remember how long it was. I have the distinct feelings I must have spent a year or two on the game. I would write lists of things to do, places to get food, what trainers improved what... I was totally immersed.
I got my hands on a copy of U7p1 after that. It wasn't the same (lesser graphics, loss of the really cool paperdoll system)... but it was the first Ultima I played all the way through. Remember the sad look Spark gives you ("puppy dog eyes") when you try to remove him from your party?
I played U6 after that, eventually got U4. Never played U8 (the whole pentagram-on-the-cover thing just turned me off to it). Instead, I fired up The Serpent Isle again. Heh.
I bought the Ultima 9 Dragon Edition, mainly for the Orchestral CD. The game ran pretty crappy on my pIII 450, 128M RAM, G400MAX, but I played as long as I could. Contrary to what people say, *I* believe it was an Ultima. To give you a perspective, I stopped at Minoc - couldn't find the sword to kill the skeleton guardian in the mines.
I say it was an Ultima because I *knew* the world. Dupre was dead and gone, but it was Britannia. I believe Lord British, I believe the Avatar, I believed Raven. I stopped playing because I lost patients with the bugs, not because it wasn't an Ultima. It had a deep plot - how long did it take you to figure out all your old companions were guarding the Runes? How many of them did you just outright kill the first time through? The *Ultima* of U9 was there - the bugs just kept it from you.
The only thing that had more of an effect on me than the story and plot of the Ultimas was the music. Stones will be played at my wedding next year.
I guess what I'm saying is that Lord British's games had a profound effect on me - I played them while I was growing up. I almost feel that I grew up *with* the Ultimas. I wish Lord British the best of luck in whatever his next venture is, and if it is a game, I can't wait to play it.
lw