EXPLOIT: free gold from AI, or buy anything for 10 gold

[mrspank]

But it is still a MAJOR bug and this feature is BROKEN.

I believe this bug was fixed in the 1.09 patch.

 

[gunnergoz]

It's only broken if you insist upon using it. Yes, it needs to be corrected, but it's not a game-stopper (my definition) unless it makes the game unplayable. IMHO.

 

[The Condor]

It's only broken if you insist upon using it. Yes, it needs to be corrected, but it's not a game-stopper (my definition) unless it makes the game unplayable. IMHO.

It is fixed. You don't have to get so ruffled up about it.

 

[DaviddesJ]

It is definitely a major bug and it most definitely makes the game unplayable for multiplayer games with AI involvement.

The "Just don't do it" solution doesn't quite work in multiplayer.

Of course the game is not "unplayable" just because people can cheat. Just agreeing not to do it works fine.

I play board games with my friends all the time; we don't immediately throw the game in the trash just because it's possible for whoever is sitting nearest the bank to covertly take some of the cash.

I wouldn't play Civ4 PBEM with people I don't trust, but that's true regardless of whether any particular bug gets fixed. There will always be ways to cheat, at least in PBEM.

 

[mrspank]

Of course the game is not "unplayable" just because people can cheat. Just agreeing not to do it works fine.

I play board games with my friends all the time; we don't immediately throw the game in the trash just because it's possible for whoever is sitting nearest the bank to covertly take some of the cash.

I wouldn't play Civ4 PBEM with people I don't trust, but that's true regardless of whether any particular bug gets fixed. There will always be ways to cheat, at least in PBEM.

The difference being that you could catch players stealing cash in a board game setting and confront them. You wouldn't have that luxury in Civ4 and you probably wouldn't even know that they cheated.

The point is that because that exploit existed, you could never be sure that your opponents were playing fairly.

 

[DaviddesJ]

The point is that because that exploit existed, you could never be sure that your opponents were playing fairly.

If that exploit didn't exist, there are still a thousand other ways they could be cheating. What difference does it make whether the number is 1000 or 1001? You still have to trust them, either way.

 

[mrspank]

If that exploit didn't exist, there are still a thousand other ways they could be cheating. What difference does it make whether the number is 1000 or 1001? You still have to trust them, either way.

I'm sorry, but could you name some of the 1,000 other ways? You must have not played a lot of multiplayer Internet gaming before. Because if you had, you would realize that many, many people cannot be trusted in multiplayer games. That's why many games have all sorts of different ways of catching people running out of game exploits (various bots, etc). When an in-game exploit like this cache bug is discovered, there's no way the software will catch people using it since the software is broken. That's what makes a bug like this much more troublesome than somebody running an external cheat.

In any case, I realize that you need to trust your opponents. But if Internet multiplayer gaming has taught me anything, it's that people will cheat if given the opportunity to do so.

 

[anti_strunt]

In any case, I realize that you need to trust your opponents. But if Internet multiplayer gaming has taught me anything, it's that people will cheat if given the opportunity to do so.

Amen to that, sadly enough... Anyway, the bug is fixed with 1.09, right?

 

[DaviddesJ]

I'm sorry, but could you name some of the 1,000 other ways?

The easiest is playing your turn over and over again before sending it off. Impossible to stop, in PBEM, and completely effective.

You must have not played a lot of multiplayer Internet gaming before.

Wrong, I have played quite a lot. It's just that I only play with people I trust. That's the same rule I use for face to face gaming, for that matter. I suppose you could play board games at home with people you constantly suspect of cheating, and spend all of your time trying to police their activities, but personally I find it way more fun to just play with people I trust.

 

[microbe]

Amen to that, sadly enough... Anyway, the bug is fixed with 1.09, right?

I would not say it's "fixed". It's "worked around" by not allowing you to change gold amount once it's on the table - very annoying.