PTW Exploit/Bug - 2 techs for one

[Copernicus]

I'll post this in the PTW bug reports as well, but I thought PTW players might be interested to see it here, too.

My housemate and I are playing a LAN game on Deity. Basically, we're teaming up to win a Deity game. It's kind of fun to play the AI's game. We trade tech to each other immediately for little or no cost, while trying to screw the AI in every deal we can . Anyway, we're Egypt and Carthage and we've met Rome and Greece. We managed to get a tech before Rome, but not before Greece (Mathematics, I think). Rome had writing and mapmaking, which we didn't have. We simultaneously met with Rome and I offered math for writing, while my housemate offered math for mapmaking. We the counted to three and clicked to accept the deals. It worked! Rome gave us two techs for one.

Anyway, it's pretty cheesy and should be fixed. If anyone is planning any sort of MP tournament, they should be aware of this.

 

[Lt. 'Killer' M.]

that's a fair exchange for the mysterious ways the AIs acquired techs before 1.29f

 

[sumthinelse]

Deleted dumb post. I didn't understand the exploit when I posted.

 

[Copernicus]

Hmmm....I still think that it's an exploit. It simply doesn't make any sense for the AI to trade writing to player A for mathematics and then to trade mapmaking to player B for mathematics. The AI simply doesn't know that it *already* has mathematics.

I can think of two rather simple-minded ways to fix it:

1) Only allow the AI to meet with one human at a time.

2) Lock the AI's trading code/thread/loop when a deal is accepted. Update the AI's status and broadcast. This method would introduce new lag, unfortunately, as someone meeting with the AI in question would have to wait for the update .

 

[Dart]

We do something similar. I one of us (human players) is being threatened by an AI(ie.. give us a tech), the other human player trades the same tech they are demanding for hopfully another tech or two. That way we get something out of it, and the AI gets their demands met, and not starting a war.

 

[Sim_One]

That's pretty sleazy but the AI deserves it. Does it have to be exactly on the same second to work? What if one of you were off by one second?

 

[cromagnon]

Was this a simultaneous or turnless game? Sounds like a good exploit the AI deserves. *sigh* Too bad I can't play with other humans. (yes, I have PTW)

 

[Thunderfall]

Originally posted by cromagnon
Was this a simultaneous or turnless game?

Simultaneous most likely, since AIs are not allowed in turnless.

 

[Copernicus]

I did it in Si-move. We only tried it at the exact same second, but it seems to me it shouldn't matter, since nothing ever happens at the exact same second in a computer anyway. However, it might matter that you both have the offer on the table at the same time...