Oh, man... I played a PBM game called Hyborian War, so long ago that it was practically in the Hyborian Age. I though everyone had forgotten about that hobby.
 

It's strange how gamemasters design a game and then accuse players of evil actions when the players are just trying to maximize their own rewards within the rules of the game.
 

Amusing story.

I actuallies run inta a very similar issue from time ta time when getin' two different numerical simulation codes fer ta talks ta each other. "Move heat from the hot domain ta the cold domain" sounds simple enoughs, but if the temperatures don't updatify frequently enoughs, the heat keeps flowin' until the domain what was hot falls ta absolute zero. Then wham! yer temperatures update, and the heat done flows in the opposite direction, until yer other domain hits absolute zero. Back and forth, until it all blows ta hell, pretty much just like yer game's economy. Then I gets ta figger out a way fer ta make them temperatures update faster so it don't happen again.
 

Only last night I was searching for the websites of PBM games I used to play, dead link after dead link sadly.
 

@Renko: Try the PBM list
 

That's the last time i ask you to defrost a pizza for me, Ratshag.
 

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"The more the players are able to affect the world, the higher are the chances that they will manage to break it"
end snip

I completely disagree. And I have mucho expertise in this case.

Tightly controlled programs (with behavior monitoring) AND locked down interfaces DO lead to higher levels of software assurance.

What you discovered was simply a little used method call (slaughter horse) on your interface (turn sheet) that met with a poorly implemented execution (economy hijack).

In software it is near impossible to test ALL permutations of complex interfaces.

Now I don't know about Wow's interfaces per se. But I do know that with Warden, Hashed Patch updates etc. Blizzard does lock down client execution behavior.

So one of the reasons why some Tobold or Goblin has not hijacked the Azerothian economy is not a function of the number of Goblins or Tobolds trying.

In my experience Software Assurance is not determined by number of players (users or actors - if you are the modeling sort). But instead by the number and scope of ACTIONS players are allowed to perform.

This is ultimately why Wow is a limited interactive world (no player housing folks!). You are deliberately prevented from many of the system manipulations that have led to exploits of other MMOs.

You see if Blizz did implement Player Housing it could lead to exploits a least on the order of the famous Ulduar Shirt of One Shot boss killing we saw in 3.1.
 

snip
"The more the players are able to affect the world, the higher are the chances that they will manage to break it"
end snip

I completely disagree. And I have mucho expertise in this case.

Sounds to me that you do agree with Tobold:

This is ultimately why Wow is a limited interactive world (no player housing folks!). You are deliberately prevented from many of the system manipulations that have led to exploits of other MMOs.
 

That is hilarious. It's kind of a text book example of unintended consequences.

Changed, while I realize that Tobold accidentally trashed the game, if he had done it on purpose he would have been a dick. There's a thing called sportsmanship, aka being a decent person, which means that even if you figure out a way to exploit a rule to achieve obviously unintended results, you are being a douchebag. Designers are human; it's impossible to achieve perfection. Using their mistakes to take obviously unintended advantage makes you a cheater.
 

I think the reason so many people believe that its never cheating in a game is because you can only do what the game rules allow...

For example, if the game didn't want me to kill other players that would be literally impossible.

So they see it as free reign to do ANYTHING that is allowed by the game engine.

Personally, I believe if more of these kids actually got out of their basement and lived in society, they would have probably learned the basic social norms and protocols.

Things like honor and integrity are foreign concepts to these wow-babies.
 

@Ardwulf- lol, I know what you mean. I used to run a couple PBM games :)