Asherons Call: Article On Cheating Over At Skotos

Skotos have recently published a new article in their "Storms on Cloud Nine" series, authored by Scott Holliday. This issue, he speaks of an issue never far from the minds of players of virtually any online game - that of cheating and unfair player practices.

Cheating comes in many forms. The clearest example is when someone alters the game code or databases. Less obvious instances are when a player abuses a bug (or undesired "feature") in the game to achieve the same effect. A related issue is the abuse of the nature of the net - by a player utilizing lag, latency, and disconnects to gain an advantage. The usual solution is to try to build better code. This is the obvious approach, and this will prevent the majority of your problems, however it's also an endless endeavor. Even with nearly perfect code, new cheats will constantly rise to the surface - so what can you do? Well, this column isn't about coding, but how to please your players - which is also an excellent strategy.

He proposes a type of "secret police" system, and personally, I think his suggestions seem eminently sensible. Take a look at the entire article here.