ID:149560
 
I have a problem with people logging in using two seperate keys and having two seperate dream seekers open in DWO. They do this to party with themselves and basically cheat by levelling up two characters at once. I know how to prevent this by using some sort of IP screening system, but this causes a problem for some of my players who play together on networks at their colleges etc. that have the same address for each computer. I'm out of ideas for another way to prevent a person to log in with multiple dream seekers on the same computer.
I just typed up a post with a simple system to prevent multiple IPs until I realized you already knew that, and wanted a way to allow legitimate users behind the same firewall and such. I'm not sure that there's much that can be done for this. The only thing I can think of, which would be a total hack, is to somehow track and use the client.inactivity var. If 2 different players from the same IP do something within a really short time of each other (fraction of a second), chances are, they're 2 different people on different computers. If they never do - well, it could be a slow game, or maybe they could be the same person on the same computer switching back and forth. It would be interesting to see if anyone could possibly make a decent detection system out of this. I'm kind of doubtful though.

The easiest thing would be if Dantom would add a client.hostid variable that is guaranteed to be unique but always the same for each computer. For those with network cards, it could be based on the MAC address. For those with modems, it could simply be "MODEM" or something. No two computers from the same IP would be using a modem simultaneously. Even if the one connecting to the internet is using a modem, the other one must be using a network card which would have a unique address. If you feel this is important enough, post it as a request in General. ;-)
You know why most people say my games are hard? Because I take this kinda exploit into consideration from design time onward. That way in most of my games you can do it, but it really isn't worth your time to do so, or if you do to make it so hard to discourage it. I used to use the multiple character generate, transfer gold, then delete method along time ago in the PC gaming acient history days with the original game, "Wizardry". I always started my 1st level characters off with better than average armor, weapons and magic spells. But even then it was still a lot of work.

LJR
i was kind of hoping u leave it so that people could have more than one character going at once in dwo. the only real cheat you could do with it is partying two people so that u get 2X gold from everything, but you could just make it so that if you are in a party of 2 you get 1/2 gold for a kill. its like that in the original dw's anyway. i like being ablt to have 2 characters in at once to make them duel each other, and i used to also bring in three characters (a cook a waiter and a dancer for entertainment) and have BBQ's in the bar, selling red slimebergers (red herbs) blue slimeburgers (blue herbs) iron ant legs (cypress sticks) drakee wings (wings) and fried stagbeetle (club). i would sell it all for what u would bye it for, and people liked to come in and party at my BBQ, because i made it realistic (what whith the cook waiter and table dancer). there were many other fun things to do with multiple characters too, one time i had two soldiers partied calling them the two-headed ogre and treating it as one character.

i just thought u might like to know of all the legitamete fun we have with multiple characters.
SilkWizard wrote:
I have a problem with people logging in using two seperate keys and having two seperate dream seekers open in DWO. They do this to party with themselves and basically cheat by levelling up two characters at once. I know how to prevent this by using some sort of IP screening system, but this causes a problem for some of my players who play together on networks at their colleges etc. that have the same address for each computer. I'm out of ideas for another way to prevent a person to log in with multiple dream seekers on the same computer.

There is one problem with this: DWO is basically impossible to play single-player. Any attempt to progress in the game, even from an early stage, is met by some unfathomably hard-to-kill character who can't be killed without partying up or gaining about 15 levels. (A big part of the problem is that the Heal spell is all but useless during battle against a tough enemy. If they do 35 points of damage, and you heal 23... you do the math.)

To try to deal with this, I started playing a second character myself, having it follow around my original. Of course I chose a fighter, not realizing how pathetic a class it is, so its value as a second character is about nil.

Probably your best solution is to divide experience points from a battle among the survivors. That makes it impossible to level two characters quickly. It doesn't preclude a high-level character from helping out a low-level one, but low-level characters tend not to survive high-experience battles anyway.

Overall, DWO still suffers from those chokepoints in the highly linear story. You'd do well to find ways to improve the single-player experience.

Lummox JR
In response to Loduwijk
Isn't experience points in DW3 handled this way too?
In response to CableMonkey
yip
In response to CableMonkey
as i recall, yes, xp in dw3 is divided equally between the party.
In response to Loduwijk
It was because ya know slimes seemed to level ya alot fatser when Erdrick was alone
In response to RagnarofBurland
Silk, I think this idea will work the best would be *much* easier to handle.
In response to Lummox JR
Wow! Some actual feedback that is well thought out!

Lummox JR wrote:

DWO is basically impossible to play single-player.

This is almost on purpose-I want players to be forced to cooperate with each other and party. However, with the current balance problems it does get quite ridiculous at times.

Probably your best solution is to divide experience points from a battle among the survivors. That makes it impossible to level two characters quickly. It doesn't preclude a high-level character from helping out a low-level one, but low-level characters tend not to survive high-experience battles anyway.

I didn't even consider that as a solution to the problem (of course I planned to implement this feature anyway, but it was kind of on the back burner). This would pretty much solve most of the problems.

Overall, DWO still suffers from those chokepoints in the highly linear story. You'd do well to find ways to improve the single-player experience.

Indeed. Awhile ago I realized that my orginal plan to use a linear story line wasn't very well thought out-especially since it relies on the very worn out premise of stronger and stronger bosses. I'm releasing a new version in a couple weeks or so with a totally new world and story that is much more non-linear.

Thanks for your help!
In response to CableMonkey
I agree. That's what I'll do.
In response to SilkWizard
heya Silk, get on msn some time i got some things to talk to you about ;)
- RaeKwon