FDevs vision conflicts with Elites features: Another win for bots.

[Wrecked]

I guess we feel similar to PvP'ers around combat logging: we know it's against TOS, we know FD isn't doing anything about it, we live with it, but will raise the issue whenever it comes up, and remain willing to dialogue with the company who says it's something they take seriously, in the hope we can get the issue fixed for the wider community. But in the meantime keep playing the game we love.

Apples and Oranges man... the effects of Combat Logging are no where near as severe as mass botting effects are on the game. A combat logger might just be trying to escape some unprovoked, bored ganker that will suffer no consequences for simply being an A-hole. This has no effect on the game as a whole or that particular ganker (other than ganking the ganker). A targeted bot effort can cause drastic changes to the entire game for everyone playing it.

 

[Ouberos]

Apples and Oranges man... the effects of Combat Logging are no where near as severe as mass botting effects are on the game. A combat logger might just be trying to escape some unprovoked, bored ganker that will suffer no consequences for simply being an A-hole. This has no effect on the game as a whole or that particular ganker (other than ganking the ganker). A targeted bot effort can cause drastic changes to the entire game for everyone playing it.

I'm going to say that analogy is about as one sided as you can get.

Combat logging has a very large impact on PvP. Not every unprovoked attack is a Gank. It could just be you don't know what the reason is because you've been too busy watching Netflix to notice the warnings coming in.

Player Piracy is also heavily impacted.

BGS changes are just background noise to a lot of players. Nothing that happens in the BGS or Powerplay impacts the effectiveness of your flying skills.

 

[Zapgun]

Well, as a "White Hat" cyber warfare expert who has taught cyber warfare to the Air Force Academy cadets, and although now retired, I help our government protect servers from "automated" scripting, I could offer a solution.

I have to be somewhat vague here, but in essence, there are things done in the game that only human sequences can do. If an automated script is driving the game, it will not respond to things human sequences do. Set a time limit on the server or in the BSG that would look for these sequences only humans can do, and if it is not found during random periodic check, say every ten minutes, the game logs off the server until a human sequence response is found on the client side. If not found within twenty minutes, the client is logged off from the server for that gaming session. This is invisible to the user and undetectable by automated scripting. I can think of at least sixty or seventy things to check for, that only human sequences can do in this game, that an automated script would be incapable of doing or detecting. A periodic check for these things done by human sequences at random intervals would detect any automation in the game, not pre-programmed for the game. The same periodic check for human sequenced responses would also detect profits or ranking not consistent with what humans are capable of doing, and a flag for that account would be thrown for further inspection by FDev.

This is a well known tactic for security in the banking institutions and government secured websites and is very effective with a very low failure rate.

No harm is done to the client as long as their gameplay generates human sequenced responses for each periodic check. If no human sequenced response is detected during the periodic check, the client is disconnected and flagged.

It is meant as a "flag" only for further inspection and only does temporary disconnects from the server. If done correctly, human responses are very detectable and no disruption would occur for those actually playing in real time.

EDIT: Every one is complaining, but no one is offering much of a realistic solution here.

For those interested in becoming a legitimate "White Hat" hacker, join "HackerOne.Com".

EDIT: I will not reveal or post the the human response sequences to be checked, as this would give security info to the botters. I will respond to PM requests from FDev developers only, if FDev is interested in this process.

Be well.

Exactly what I think is needed. Some online games already use such methods - it does not have to intrusive to game play (and in fact can be done to look like mini games, etc).

 

[Mangal Oemie]

Apples and Oranges man... the effects of Combat Logging are no where near as severe as mass botting effects are on the game. A combat logger might just be trying to escape some unprovoked, bored ganker that will suffer no consequences for simply being an A-hole. This has no effect on the game as a whole or that particular ganker (other than ganking the ganker). A targeted bot effort can cause drastic changes to the entire game for everyone playing it.

I agree the analogy only goes so far. I meant it more in a sense of a known problem, against TOS, that hasn't been dealt with, despite saying they take it very seriously.

 

[Lestat]

What I seeing people being able to use older bot software to run on Elite Dangerous.

 

[CMDR Beni Stingray]

Lets just be straight here, FD's statements allways say "we really really care about it and dont tolerate botting, combat logging and cheating" and we all know how the situation in open really is with logging so you can guess how much they care!

 

[Lestat]

Lets just be straight here, FD's statements allways say "we really really care about it and dont tolerate botting, combat logging and cheating" and we all know how the situation in open really is with logging so you can guess how much they care!

They might not Tolerate to Botting. But they are sure making it easy for players to use Bots.

 

[CMDR Beni Stingray]

They dont care about cheaters and botting as long as all the carebears are happy so they can sell some more paintjobs. Youre in this forum since 2013, you should know by now they dont care 2 s!

 

[IndigoWyrd]

I went out to rim,
Just in a whim,
To escape all the hustle and bustle.
I departed the bubble,
And the people who cause all the trouble,
To fly and explore and be free.

Yet I still hear lots,
About power play and of bots,
And still I wonder, what difference dose this make to me?

 

[Wrecked]

They dont care about cheaters and botting as long as all the carebears are happy so they can sell some more paintjobs. Youre in this forum since 2013, you should know by now they dont care 2 poopoos!

That's the spirit! /s

Posts like these that simply dump all over someone's hard work with no actual understanding of what is going on are not helpful. You sound like an entitled child throwing a fit at the grocery store because mommy wouldn't give you a candy.

 

[CMDR Beni Stingray]

You can agree or disagree i couldnt care less, FD dont care about cheaters in the slightest, the last couple of years have prooven that. Im playing ED since the absolute beginning so i think i understand the game and its developers quite good, im also not trowing a fit, i just tell how it is.

 

[CMDR Tom D]

FD dont care about cheaters in the slightest, the last couple of years have prooven that.

I think they don't take the game seriously.