Hacking, Cheating, Shenanagins

[Crazy Jonah]

Ahhhh.

 

[KrissMan]

And REAL pirates were jailed, shot or hung. We've covered this, you little snit.
Also as for 'getting along' - I see no reason that I have to get along with people who perform such behavior. That's like asking me to 'get along' with someone robbing my friend's houses or physically assaulting them.
It's WRONG behavior, period. It needs to stop. Just because no has actually made you stop doesn't mean its okay.

Hmm,

I think I covered that... I only ALLOW them using it against NPC Ships while on Material Runs and ONLY as a means to speed things up and again it will only be on occasions where I need to save time (squeeze in 1 last quick run).

I also covered the fact that I would be MOST HAPPY to see Hacking and ALL Hacks removed from the game, I don't go so far as to eliminate friends on the basis they are simply saving time... Which as far as I know is the reason they are doing it, I myself save time using Glitches like Swift Foot for Looting, The Edge if I'm too tired and have a Crew who want a Materials Run, etc... But I am also most capable when I'm fully awake of handling those situations without Glitches. Then there's good old Raider Glitch, which I've used MANY times to save time Leveling Grenades.

The Glitches I do are simply a means to save me time, plus I don't Steal From or Hurt anyone else by doing them, since as far as PvP goes I only do it with friends for a joke (not even first level on ANY pirates) and SvS I Rarely do and WHEN I do, I don't cheat or glitch.

I don't expect to change the opinion of anyone else, just hopefully help people to understand better.


Kriss

 

[Shamus The Brute]

If people can't earn and fight fairly, they strike me as cowardly and immature. It is just a game, but games only work when the field is level.

This issue (having to do with 'maturity' on POTCO) I feel is part of the problem for some of us.

If you are a kid/tween/teen playing POTCO, then odds are...you are more than likely willing to bend the rules, taking risks, and taking advantage of a compromising situation. Your focus is on "YOU!" In this respect, you have not gained enough common sense and experience in LIFE to understand that being a "mature" man or woman means standing up for those whom cannot stand up for themselves, doing those things which are right, and permitting NO tolerance towards those things considered "childish." In this way, your focus and main concern is upon "OTHERS" and the good which comes from plain honesty.

I know this is a bit "deep" to comprehend but, if you cannot understand this then this probably means you are proned to glitching and hacking on POTCO for the sake of yourself and not for the well-being of others.

AHHHHHH!!!!!!! Pirates are cowardly, we never fight fairly. Use all the resources we can get is how real pirates fight!

CJ, I mean no disrespect by this but...what color is the sky in "your" world, lol? If we were actually pirates, do you think we would be spending the time writing messages on a forums and playing a virtual online game created by the Walt Disney Company/DIMG?

I am writing this message now sitting on my couch and watching an "Indiana Jones" movie so...I guess I am not the kind of pirate that I thought I was, lol. *Besides, I sincerely hope the Caribbean is a lot better than this (looks around, notices the floral wallpaper on the walls).

 

[KrissMan]

This issue (having to do with 'maturity' on POTCO) I feel is part of the problem for some of us.

If you are a kid/tween/teen playing POTCO, then odds are...you are more than likely willing to bend the rules, taking risks, and taking advantage of a compromising situation. Your focus is on "YOU!" In this respect, you have not gained enough common sense and experience in LIFE to understand that being a "mature" man or woman means standing up for those whom cannot stand up for themselves, doing those things which are right, and permitting NO tolerance towards those things considered "childish." In this way, your focus and main concern is upon "OTHERS" and the good which comes from plain honesty.

I know this is a bit "deep" to comprehend but, if you cannot understand this then this probably means you are proned to glitching and hacking on POTCO for the sake of yourself and not for the well-being of others.

CJ, I mean no disrespect by this but...what color is the sky in "your" world, lol? If we were actually pirates, do you think we would be spending the time writing messages on a forums and playing a virtual online game created by the Walt Disney Company/DIMG?

I am writing this message now sitting on my couch and watching an "Indiana Jones" movie so...I guess I am not the kind of pirate that I thought I was, lol. *Besides, I sincerely hope the Caribbean is a lot better than this (looks around, notices the floral wallpaper on the walls).

-< Collapses on the floor in a fit of laughter >-

Understand, I certainly do, but also... It IS Just a Game so I am more than happy to have fun, muck about and generally be a Big Kid. But seriously, that's the point, if what you're doing is really only affecting You and/or Your Crew.

Zero Tolerance would be nice, agreed... but since it's happening, until such time as Disney fix it, I take no issue to Others if they wish to take the risk of Hacking the Files and speeding up a Materials Run. (as stated before, as long as they confine it to such and don't sink other players ships or use it in SvS)


Kriss

 

[Shamus The Brute]

I take no issue to Others if they wish to take the risk of Hacking the Files and speeding up a Materials Run. (as stated before, as long as they confine it to such and don't sink other players ships or use it in SvS)

I certainly applaude your willingness to show toleration but, it is this toleration which undermines the "whole" issue, IMO.

*Aye, it would be nice if they would just "confine" such efforts as is. However, if you (like myself) have participated in the Revive POTCO blockade, you would have noticed how lacking this level of confinement is currently affecting the game.

idk if I am correct in providing this analogy but, a little white lie never stays "little" for very long as the temptation grows ever so stronger to tell a bigger, more convincing lie. Generally, the same type of principle can be presented here (to where 'innocent glitching' can often lead to 'hacking,' as time goes along).

 

[Shamus The Brute]

When they terminate me, i come back STRONGER!!!!!!!!!

Now there's something to be "proud" about. Survival of the fittest, aye? Only thing is, your efforts are only "allowed" to continue as result of an injured game. *Someday, I hope I can shake your hand...

 

[KrissMan]

-< once again collapses on the floor in fits of laughter >-

Shamus,

I agree the Temptation certainly can be great, especially I guess for those who haven't already been there and done that. I have been there and done that, learned some valuable lessons to, which I only hope these other 'Hackers' (Sorry C.J.) learn their lesson also, but in the meantime, I'm content as a cucumber to enjoy the spoils of some of their efforts in Materials Runs.

As for the Glitching, I see a hole, I leap through it to check it out, initially just outta curiosity to see what's on the other side. Some Glitches are indeed quite useful as a means for speeding things up (like Good Ol' Swift Foot and Shortcuts to Darkheart), as long as they don't harm others, I really see no issue with them (obviously Swift Foot has managed to sneak into PvP) perhaps a method of Resetting Players before they enter PvP would eliminate the bad part of Swift Foot. IMO!

Personally, I don't really have any interest in Leveling my pirates Infamy in PvP and SvS, I just don't see any point in it myself, I prefer to Loot, Plunder, Run my Guilds and GLITCH !


Kriss

 

[Hector wargull]

Okay because I started this argument, I am going to try and finish it. Potco would be better off without hacks and glitches, and if Potco Updated the game people wouldn't be hacking, so in my mind this mostly Potco's fault. I am doing this because I am sick of this arguing.

 

[KrissMan]

Okay because I started this argument, I am going to try and finish it. Potco would be better off without hacks and glitches, and if Potco Updated the game people wouldn't be hacking, so in my mind this mostly Potco's fault. I am doing this because I am sick of this arguing.

Alas,

I fear that you are not entirely correct there... Updates won't completely stop the Hackers, some will stop in appreciation of new content, but many are actively and deliberately ; Organizing, Recruiting and Disrupting both within the game and through social media and other methods.

Should they actually Update Security, etc. to prevent all Hacking and Glitches without resolving the issue of lack of new content ; I think you would find a distinct drop off in players playing as has already been mentioned, a lot of players have become bored with the lack of new content.

So I.M.H.O. Disney need to formulate a dual strategy to both Repair the Games Security to remove Hackers and also add New Content or risk losing even more players to alternatives like "Pirates of the Burning Seas" which I know has benefited greatly by Disney and their lack of Maintaining/Improving POTCO.

Again, let me be clear, I would love for Disney to deal with the Hackers ; Not by banning them, rather by Updating the Program to prevent outside modifications.


Kriss.

 

[ElizaCreststeel]

I'd rather have it quiet and no trash.

 

[KrissMan]

I'd rather have it quiet and no trash.

Yep,

Well careful what you wish for... The current state the game is in (general decline) there might soon not be a POTCO, then I guess you like the others will be left with the choice to either walk away from your piracy altogether or go and join the likes of "Pirates of the Burning Seas".

I myself hope that I'm wrong on this, but all evidence suggests I'm not. - prays to the pirate gods that Disney listen to the Revive Pirates petition. -

 

[Shamus The Brute]

Again, let me be clear, I would love for Disney to deal with the Hackers ; Not by banning them, rather by Updating the Program to prevent outside modifications.

They would just find "another" way. I say this because we are not talking about individual cases. In general, we are talking about GROUP efforts, organized for the demise of all things norm (much like on the show, 'The Sopranos').

BTW Kriss...your dual strategy is probably the best solution I have read yet. The only problem is, could this successfully be achieved without the WHOLE game being reformed? I would love to see this happen but, Disney would have to seriously commit the resources they have at their disposal inorder to resolve both issues at-hand.

 

[KrissMan]

BTW Kriss...your dual strategy is probably the best solution I have read yet. The only problem is, could this successfully be achieved without the WHOLE game being reformed? I would love to see this happen but, Disney would have to seriously commit the resources they have at their disposal inorder to resolve both issues at-hand.

I should think it would be possible for Disney to successfully Update the game Security and Add New Content without the need to completely re-engineer the game...

However, it would possibly create other problems like even more Lag and Instability. Since the coding they currently use is not exactly Great and to Secure it would require Extensive Coding and Error Checking within that code, which would ultimately cause slowdowns. So sadly, I would suggest that Disney really need to completely re-engineer the game, my hope and prayer being that they are already onto this solution and that is the reason why there has been no New Content or Serious Maintenance in some time.




Kriss.

 

[ElizaCreststeel]

Honestly, if Disney is looking to other options for interactive media then maybe overhauling pirates is not out of the question. The quality of many top end mobile games right are not that far behind where Pirates was five years ago.

I know they aren't read this, but it seems like our pirate's information is readily accessible (checking stats etc. via the Grog Blog etc.) so our entire profiles could be exported into a new universe/game platform.

The real trick is making in a long term investment. After all you would have to dump capital into such a change at first, but look how much of the current game is wasted real estate. How much of the over-sized new caves does any player really use or explorer? Each town has a number of unused buildings and many NPCs could be eliminated or combined in function to reduce the resource load. Just spitting ideas...

 

[KrissMan]

Ahh,

Disney are using like many others, several generic buildings which appear on each island... That doesn't really use much resources, same as many of the NPC's.

More resources sadly, are wasted in this game on the Code itself and the fact the Graphics Engine they are using is so far outdated that it's almost criminal. Obviously as I've already mentioned, the actual Game Engine they use is also seriously outdated and performs poorly no matter how much work the do on it, so they really do need to overhaul it.

As for a simple Export from the current Program and Import into a New Program, I'm thinking it could be done, but only if the new program were written to be compatible. Which really means that Disney would have to have a Game Engine written specifically for the game, which of course would be the ideal situation anyway, since that would allow for FAR greater Security Measures as well as thoroughly writing out ALL the bugs and Glitches.

Obviously, the issue here for Disney, would be the Outlay in funds compared to the Income generated by the game. I personally think that the value would certainly be there for them, but doubt they wish to actually Invest in the game, since they appear happy to rest on their laurels and reap whatever Income they can without actually any need for ANY Outlay. I.M.O.


Kriss.

They would just find "another" way. I say this because we are not talking about individual cases. In general, we are talking about GROUP efforts, organized for the demise of all things norm (much like on the show, 'The Sopranos').

Missed this initially ; Just find another way eh? Well I think you're right about the "Minority" of Genuine, Hardcore Hackers, sure they are going to continue to try and disrupt the game... Not completely sure of their motives for doing so, but they have no interest in leaving any time soon.

What will happen though, is the "Casual" Hacker will be removed, plus if they find it a LOT more difficult to perform their Hacking, they will be more reluctant to try, which will mean the Hardcore Hackers will lose a fair proportion of their current army of "Mindless Drones" who do it either Just For Fun, or because it's SO EASY!

Remove a vast majority, all of a sudden it becomes much easier to Manage, Investigate and Catch the Hardcore Hackers. I.M.H.O. that is a substantial win on all fronts.

 

[Bart Gunshot]

They would just find "another" way.

Almost all of these "hackers" know nothing about, Python, Panda 3D, or C++. They just use Python program, which was made by a person who wanted to prove a point to Disney, that they needed to patch certain areas of their Python/Panda 3D coding. Not 100% sure on the techincal stuff lol

could this successfully be achieved without the WHOLE game being reformed? I would love to see this happen but, Disney would have to seriously commit the resources they have at their disposal inorder to resolve both issues at-hand.

The current program the hackers are using is Python program, an extention to the python coding language. The program was made to prove a point to Disney until it was leaked. The same person who made the program also made a patch for Disney, but Disney refused to take it.

Disney just needs to patch the source and it will be over, excluding hex editors and other general game hacking programs, which honestly speaking, take forever to use, hard to use, confusing, and broader than the current programs. Which means no major disrupting hacks.

So there you go, I will not post anymore details about this. The simple thing is, DIMG cannot run a game (POTCO, Toontown, etc) with no issues with Disney's current funding, or current staff, or... I could go on and on but i'll stop there.

 

[KrissMan]

Almost all of these "hackers" know nothing about, Python, Panda 3D, or C++. They just use Python program, which was made by a person who wanted to prove a point to Disney, that they needed to patch certain areas of their Python/Panda 3D coding. Not 100% sure on the techincal stuff lol


The current program the hackers are using is Python program, an extention to the python coding language. The program was made to prove a point to Disney until it was leaked. The same person who made the program also made a patch for Disney, but Disney refused to take it.

Disney just needs to patch the source and it will be over, excluding hex editors and other general game hacking programs, which honestly speaking, take forever to use, hard to use, confusing, and broader than the current programs. Which means no major disrupting hacks.

So there you go, I will not post anymore details about this. The simple thing is, DIMG cannot run a game (POTCO, Toontown, etc) with no issues with Disney's current funding, or current staff, or... I could go on and on but i'll stop there.

Hah!

Bart has pretty much hit the nail on the head... Indeed the Python program was initially created by a single person to prove a point, as well as the same person did offer a patch for a price to DIMG which was refused. I wonder how much of that refusal was Arrogance, Ignorance and just plain because DIMG were determined to make sure that this individual was NOT REWARDED for hacking their game?

Of course, I believe a big part therefore of the Python program being leaked, comes down to that same individual being therefore determined to ensure they got recognition, and even more to try and force the hand of DIMG. By further exacerbating the problem in the hope that DIMG would respond favorably to him and pay the price for his patch.

Sadly, it seems DIMG has the core issue that they don't appear to see the potential revenue of it's MMORPG's, so therefore are reluctant to commit the Resources and Funding required to see them profitable. Why it appears that DIMG have essentially left Toontown, POTCO, etc. to basically wither away, die and eventually rot into non existence. I.M.H.O.


Kriss.

 

[Ben Cabingrin]

In me own honest opinion, I do not believe DIMG has " essentially left Toontown, POTCO, etc. to basically wither away, die and eventually rot into non existence", as KrissMan above has said. Once upon a time, I did think so, but now I do not. If they wanted said MMORPG's to be non-existent, all they would have to do is shut them down. My opinion is that at the moment their primary concerns are not on their games, so thus the games are obviously being somewhat neglected. I do believe they shall be fixed, but over a period of time. How long is the main question.

 

[Captain Redhorn]

There are about 5-ish 'groups' that own the majority of companies (I won't get into the nitty gritty details, because that's not what I'm trying to prove), but Disney is one of them.

The annual gross revenue (all the money earned before paying expenses) of Disney in 2012 was 42,278 million.(For those of you who want to see the numbers, that's 42,278,000,000.)

Out of all money in circulation in the USA (1.17 trillion), Disney owns about 0.36% of it, which is pretty good considering 1 million is too small to divide into 1.17 trillion.

Disney is so big Wikipedia made a page of everything they own- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_assets_owned_by_Disney

So, because Disney is so big, they should be able to find some simple way to have their personal technical branch to fix the little python problem and get rid of that pesky user's account, right?

 

[Crazy Jonah]

lol