Re: Cheating in OS games?

[Steve Baker <sjbaker1@airmail.net>]

Francesco Orsenigo wrote:
> Jiri Svoboda:
> [cut]
>
> > My point is that cheating is difficult do define and impossible to prevent
> > (especially with open source).
> I agree almost completely.
> I'd like just to point out that adding things such 'automap' and 'more 
> comfortable controls' is not cheating, is improving the game, something the 
> programmer should have considered and did not.
Well adding those features to an OpenSource game and distributing the changes
to all of the people who play it is clearly NOT cheating.  It's fair - and
just an ordinary part of the OpenSource design process.

HOWEVER:

Keeping them to yourself and not letting the other players know you're using
them is dishonest, underhand and just plain *NASTY*.  Cheating in fact.

If you argue that what you'd be doing under those circumstances is OK - then
we no longer have a game that's about sneaking around shooting people - it's
become a game that only computer programmers can play and which is all about
who can out-program the other person.   Games like that exist (remember
"Core Wars"?) - but they aren't the games that most people would want to
play and it's wrong to force them to play like that.


---------------------------- Steve Baker -------------------------
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