List Server Usage Policy Suggestion: 'Autopilot' Bots Limit
Posted: Fri Jun 16, 2017 2:42 pm
"Server owners who (...) use "bot" clients to artificially inflate their list position (...) may be removed from the list and/or have access to other BZFlag public services revoked" (bold format added by me; https://wiki.bzflag.org/List_Server_Usage_Policy).
Since this rule doesn't seem to be very clear, or its interpretation, (*1) but, in the other side, I agree that this situation would be hard to control otherwise (I understand that these bots are, nowadays, publically forbidden), I suggest to make an intermediate decision: allowing 'autopilot' bots on public servers until a specific maximum; in example: 5. If an user was caught running more than that, they could be punished in some ways. This, also, could be automatically managed by a plug-in.
This could add to the game activity too since would add fun, i.e.: it would help players to enjoy different maps. Even there could be some maps with some fixed bots on some areas as a new playing style idea.
* Note: the best approach to allow public bots, at least for now (*2), would be improving the 'solo' bot code, which doesn't make the server go up on the list. But, as I have researched a bit, 'solo' and 'autopilot' codes seems not to be very or easily compatible each other.
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*1: I understand that some people could run lots of bots to make other people join quickly the server, which would be bad, while some other people could just run few of them to wait for players (then turning them off), to have fun if there were not many or any other players or by other good-intentional reasons.
*2: I know that developers' plan is to make server-side bots at some point in the future, instead.
Since this rule doesn't seem to be very clear, or its interpretation, (*1) but, in the other side, I agree that this situation would be hard to control otherwise (I understand that these bots are, nowadays, publically forbidden), I suggest to make an intermediate decision: allowing 'autopilot' bots on public servers until a specific maximum; in example: 5. If an user was caught running more than that, they could be punished in some ways. This, also, could be automatically managed by a plug-in.
This could add to the game activity too since would add fun, i.e.: it would help players to enjoy different maps. Even there could be some maps with some fixed bots on some areas as a new playing style idea.
* Note: the best approach to allow public bots, at least for now (*2), would be improving the 'solo' bot code, which doesn't make the server go up on the list. But, as I have researched a bit, 'solo' and 'autopilot' codes seems not to be very or easily compatible each other.
---
*1: I understand that some people could run lots of bots to make other people join quickly the server, which would be bad, while some other people could just run few of them to wait for players (then turning them off), to have fun if there were not many or any other players or by other good-intentional reasons.
*2: I know that developers' plan is to make server-side bots at some point in the future, instead.