RULES

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smoooth
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RULES

Post by smoooth »

So I have talked about this for sometime and today I felt motivated to discuss errors in the rules. I am not the foremost expert on hax or other things that people "do" to circumvent the rules. I have heard of a variety of creative things that players do to skirt the rules. This should really be broken into two parts. 1 - Vagueness and Discrepancies in the rules 2 - Things that should be added in the rules. I will just start with 1 in this post.
This list contains a list of settings, modifications, changes or usage of external tools which are permitted to use in GU league matches and on the GU style servers. This means that any other item might be considered a cheat and we will ban for it if it is used
Problem 1 : List of items that are "permitted" but doesn't explicitly outlaw other items. Says other items "MIGHT" be considered a cheat. All bets off immediately opening the rules to individual interpretation. Should say all other items "ARE" to be considered cheating. Please list all hax that are illegal or either clarify other items ARE considered cheating, not MIGHT.
Any input device driver that came with the input device and using all the features it provides. The following additional drivers are allowed:
- MacOSX: mousezoom, USB-Overdrive, imousefix and mousefix
- MS Windows: Logitech Setpoint
- Additional drivers and tools only after they have been reviewed and approved explicitly by the GU Admin staff.
this contradicts, in effective use, a later statement
"Modification of the client code or usage of external tools that allow triggering of two or more different tank actions with a single keypress or movement."
Problem 2: Allowing any input drivers and "any input device to be used" allows for unlimited number of haxs to achieve any number of illegal things in bz. Using special input device features allow for triggering of two tank actions with a single key press. This should be disallowed. We should also describe what a "tank" action is. Shooting should be considered a tank action -- no one should shoot three times with one button click or one single motion. A motion should be made or button clicked, spun, for each bullet. Obviously these statements need to be written very specifically possibly with diagrams of what is acceptable.
Recommendations
* Always try to have an up-to-date client
* Ensure the best connection possible
- this means for example to use cable instead of WLAN if possible
* In any doubt or questions, ask a GU league admin.
Problem 3: Recommendations should be made "Requirements". Need to specifiy what an "up-to-date" client is. I would recommend 2 versions back from the current stable release. Players should be given warnings to upgrade and future violations should result in bans.

Problem 4: No where in this document does it prevent the use of external programs to manipulate components in bzflag, memory, OS components that interface with bzflag, manipulate input devices, zoom the screen, etc,etc. No prevention to the use of two people to simultaneously play one tank.
Voice Communication

It is explicitly allowed to use voice communication for playing.
However, the application used must be designed to run well with online gaming, in that they have no or a minimum affect on connection quality.
The following tools are approved for league playing:

* mumble
* teamspeak

if you know of any other tool that you think should be on the list, contact us.
Problem 5: Not clear what is allowed here. All voice communication? Just mumble and teamspeak?
Patches

Only client patches are allowed that are explicitly allowed by the GU admin staff. Generally we allow no modification to the BZFlag code. In rare instances however we will make exceptions. If you have a client patch that you need (for example to compensate for OS or Graphics Card related bugs), you are allowed to use it only if that patch has been reviewed by the GU League Admin Staff and explicitly approved by the GU League Admins. That patch will also be made public for others that experience the same or similar problems. * Patch to suppress client query notifications in text window (link to follow)
This does not mean that the client may suppress responds to a client query, or return a spoofed version string)
* Patch for autospawning (link to follow)
This does not include modification of spawn code itself or additional features for selecting spawn positions)
* Patch that draws textures twice in one frame (link to follow)
* Patch that allows for setting size of text console independent of radar size(link)
Problem: Can one GU admin staff approve patches for one player? No patches or code modifications should be permitted. Allowing patches for autospawning and others allow players to input flawed or special code into their client which may not generate the desired results or may cause the client to behave differently than standard clients. Once again, NO modifications should be permitted. Patch to draw texture twice in one frame, NO! Play like everyone else!

This is just the tip of the iceberg. But its a start.
Please others comment on how the rules should be fixed. I don't have all the answers, this is a group effort.
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Re: RULES

Post by slime »

smoooth wrote:
Recommendations
* Always try to have an up-to-date client
* Ensure the best connection possible
- this means for example to use cable instead of WLAN if possible
* In any doubt or questions, ask a GU league admin.
Problem 3: Recommendations should be made "Requirements". Need to specifiy what an "up-to-date" client is. I would recommend 2 versions back from the current stable release. Players should be given warnings to upgrade and future violations should result in bans.
I agree and disagree with this. First, I wouldn't recommend just 2 versions back. Although I still use 2.0.16, all releases after 2.0.10 are buggy for me (issue with white square bullets, words, and tanks. This issue seems to affect quite a few people, but after asking around, seems to affect me worse). But, I would recommend outlawing versions that have big enough bugs or extra features that could give the players who use them an advantage over others who don't, as determined by the GU Admins.
smoooth wrote:
Patches

Only client patches are allowed that are explicitly allowed by the GU admin staff. Generally we allow no modification to the BZFlag code. In rare instances however we will make exceptions. If you have a client patch that you need (for example to compensate for OS or Graphics Card related bugs), you are allowed to use it only if that patch has been reviewed by the GU League Admin Staff and explicitly approved by the GU League Admins. That patch will also be made public for others that experience the same or similar problems. * Patch to suppress client query notifications in text window (link to follow)
This does not mean that the client may suppress responds to a client query, or return a spoofed version string)
* Patch for autospawning (link to follow)
This does not include modification of spawn code itself or additional features for selecting spawn positions)
* Patch that draws textures twice in one frame (link to follow)
* Patch that allows for setting size of text console independent of radar size(link)
Problem: Can one GU admin staff approve patches for one player? No patches or code modifications should be permitted. Allowing patches for autospawning and others allow players to input flawed or special code into their client which may not generate the desired results or may cause the client to behave differently than standard clients. Once again, NO modifications should be permitted. Patch to draw texture twice in one frame, NO! Play like everyone else!
Believe it or not, I completely agree with smoooth here, lol. Although I don't know anything about the nature of how/why these patches were approved, it has always boggled my mind. If anything, some clarification by an admin here as to how/why these patches were approved would be helpful. The first is OK, but autospawning? It's a great patch, I'm sure very helpful. But imo anything preceded by 'auto' shouldn't be allowed. I have no idea what the third one means at all. Fourth, not as big of a deal as autospawning, but imo still shouldn't be allowed. If a setting can't be changed in the config, it shouldn't be allowed.

Edit: Didn't see the first patch, so edited to include it.
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Re: RULES

Post by Bambino »

GU League Whitelist wrote:This list contains a list of settings, modifications, changes or usage of external tools which are permitted to use in GU league matches and on the GU style servers. This means that any other item might be considered a cheat and we will ban for it if it is used
Problem 1 : List of items that are "permitted" but doesn't explicitly outlaw other items. Says other items "MIGHT" be considered a cheat. All bets off immediately opening the rules to individual interpretation. Should say all other items "ARE" to be considered cheating. Please list all hax that are illegal or either clarify other items ARE considered cheating, not MIGHT.
Most people define as such:
a cheat can be described as any modification of source code that gives an advantage over other players
I see this as being quite true. If someone wants to use a special client to get more information while observer, I don't see why this would be a problem, you're just observering and not playing. Just make sure that your patch doesn't interfere with the people playing. I would however, ask a GU League Admin before using any modifications in case the GU League Admins disallow it or would like to use the patch and deem it "legal".

If you're using a modification while playing (even aesthetic modifications) you should consult one of the GU League Admins, they'll discuss it amongst themselves (right?) and either deny or approve it.

I sent a patch to a GU League Admin and got a very fast reply (thanks FS!), he looked at the patch, deemed it to be not stable enough to work (it didn't work any more), told me, end of story. I wasn't even slightly upset - I thought of it as good "customer service".
GU League Whitelist wrote:Any input device driver that came with the input device and using all the features it provides. The following additional drivers are allowed:
- MacOSX: mousezoom, USB-Overdrive, imousefix and mousefix
- MS Windows: Logitech Setpoint
- Additional drivers and tools only after they have been reviewed and approved explicitly by the GU Admin staff.
Hm, so standard ones for the more "mainstream" OSes what about those players that use Linux? I know of a couple "mouse tweakers" - xset, lomoco, xinput, etc. Those apparently haven't been addressed yet.
GU League Whitelist wrote:"Modification of the client code or usage of external tools that allow triggering of two or more different tank actions with a single keypress or movement."
Okay, I don't even need to do a code mod or use an external tool to do that. Simply do this:

Code: Select all

bind E down fire
bind E up identify
That does fall under "two different tank actions (lock on and shoot) with the single key press", correct? But that's a config.cfg edit that ANYONE can edit, and doesn't involve modifying source code or an external script/program to do. Cheat or not? I vote not because this comes up:
GU League Whitelist wrote:Any setting possible to set through the options menu in the standard BZFlag client is allowed to be changed through the options menu.


See what I'm getting at?
GU League Whitelist wrote:Recommendations
* Always try to have an up-to-date client
* Ensure the best connection possible
- this means for example to use cable instead of WLAN if possible
* In any doubt or questions, ask a GU league admin.
smoooth wrote:Problem 3: Recommendations should be made "Requirements". Need to specifiy what an "up-to-date" client is. I would recommend 2 versions back from the current stable release. Players should be given warnings to upgrade and future violations should result in bans.
Lots of players use 2.0.2 for the full screen radar...but look at this!
GU League Whitelist - Config File wrote:Modification of radar size (maximum radar size is 30)
Why else would people use 2.0.2...?

Lots of this is personal opinion - always consult a GU League Admin if you have any questions!


As you can see, there is some flawed information in the GU League Whitelist and the loopholes need to be shut.

I don't want to get into a heated discussion over this, if you think something is wrong, if a GU Admin wants to talk to me about something, send me a PM.
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Re: RULES

Post by plasma kaz »

I am actually in favor of editing the white list too, as it seems to be outdated (2008) and lots of issues have been brought up. We originally intended to update it as needed, but we haven't really dug into it too much for a long time.

I'll try to address your concerns but understand I'll be making some mistakes (it's late)

-I suppose we could make a specific list of '100% hax', but realistically, someone could just make a new hack and say "it wasn't disallowed on the whitelist!".

-The list of drivers were allowed because admins found that those programs did not include the ability to use 2 actions with one key stroke/click etc. so really it is not contradicting itself. However I suppose adding a list of "actions" is feasible if you truly find it necessary.

-Sorry, they were listed as recommendations for a reason :) However, I'd support making it required to use a client past the version that fixed F5.

-You are correct, it should be added that external programs to intentionally cause lag etc. is disallowed. But what on earth are you talking about with 2 person 1 tank thing? Sounds more difficult than beneficial to me...

-Agreed, the voice communications thing needs to be cleared-up. As you saw earlier, admins aren't even on the same page of whether or not to allow/disallow skype. But mind you, not everyone on the admin team agrees when we vote on decisions :)

-Patches: if it were up to me honestly, I'd throw them out as well. There's just too much concern over cheats/what's fair etc. Except for maybe full-size radar, I see the above listed patches silly.
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Re: RULES

Post by Bambino »

plasma kaz wrote:I suppose we could make a specific list of '100% hax', but realistically, someone could just make a new hack and say "it wasn't disallowed on the whitelist!".
Do the reverse of that - Say what is **explictly** allowed. That's why it's a whitelist - you ban everything and only allow a list of things through.

If someone is found to be using a patch/client mod that isn't listed on the whitelist, they (the player using the mod) should tell the GU League Admins **exactly** what it does and supply a patch so it could be tested and possibly added to the "Patch Whitelist" if the "Whitelist 2.0" even allows patches period.

I've got a list of idea to better the league, I'm just not in a position to do anything.
_______________________________________________
plasma kaz wrote:I'd support making it required to use a client past the version that fixed F5.
2.0.5 doesn't announce that there was an F5 (pause/unpause action)

I think that it would be reasonable to disallow all client earlier than 2.0.10.
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Re: RULES

Post by macsforme »

With regards to "Modification of the client code or usage of external tools that allow triggering of two or more different tank actions with a single keypress or movement"...

First of all, "tank actions"... a tank action is generally considered a movement or firing bullets or something of that nature (identifying an opponent would probably not qualify). You may have played around with your configuration and noticed that it is not possible to, for instance, fire and jump using the same key, or drive forward and jump using the same key. I once tried to do this so I could quickly stop turning when I was facing an opponent, fire one shell and jump over him to cover his jump, only to find that this was impossible. There is a reason why the code prohibits it. Using an external tool to simulate two key presses to obtain this behavior is what is disallowed.

Secondly, I do not consider a driver or control panel as an "external tool"... rather, it is an intrinsic part of the input device software that allows you to customize the device to your preference. An external tool would be something used as I just described above to do weird things with your input devices that you couldn't do with the standard tools.

Now, some control panels and drivers allow more customizations than others. It is difficult to prohibit usage of such drivers (even some aspects of them) because often they are the standard drivers available for the given hardware and platform. It would not be realistic for us to expect players to change mouse drivers every time they play.

Some drivers allow the creation of macros to do things such as repeating the same action three times (automatic triple). First, I don't hear a great cry out against these macros. Only a few people I know of use them, and several others have tried them and don't like them. Personally, I think it's a cool effect and I would hate to restrict creativity or the discovery of new methods for improving one's game. If over 50% of the population were against macros, that might be a different story. I only remember ever hearing one person complain about the use of macros, and that person is the original poster.

So, I don't believe that drivers or control panels qualify as "external tools" in that sense (especially since they are explicitly allowed), and even if they did, I have never seen an example of the use of such a driver or control panel to allow multiple different tank actions with one button (only the same action repeated several times). Hence, I do not believe it is a real issue.
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Re: RULES

Post by smoooth »

This is a really good start and everyone has provided some really good input. Excellent job. A few additional comments. I agree that we should try to stay away from patches like others have mentioned, they are completely unnecessary. Keeping things as simple as possible is highly recommended but naturally when we fix the rules we have to provide a lot of detail of things people "might" do. That's what we need to cover. I also think having anything outside bzflag, (such as mouse drivers, external programs, operating system) to "do" things in repetition like firing three times is outside of the spirit of the game. I say a mouse, keyboard, joystick, with standard configuration/movements to perform single tank actions, shooting, jumping, moving, communication. You can set some "macros" through BZFlag -- thats not a problem it was written into the game, it is part of the game. HOWEVER, mouse drivers or external programs or operating system tricks, that do super triples or other keystrokes are not part of the game. They should be prohibited.

We are really making some progress, it's going to take a while to write everything properly and completely. Once again this is a great start.

I also concur on bambino recommending no clients less than 2.0.10 -- that sounds like a reasonable cut off point, don't you guys think?
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Re: RULES

Post by plasma kaz »

Bambino wrote:
plasma kaz wrote:I suppose we could make a specific list of '100% hax', but realistically, someone could just make a new hack and say "it wasn't disallowed on the whitelist!".
Do the reverse of that - Say what is **explictly** allowed. That's why it's a whitelist - you ban everything and only allow a list of things through.

If someone is found to be using a patch/client mod that isn't listed on the whitelist, they (the player using the mod) should tell the GU League Admins **exactly** what it does and supply a patch so it could be tested and possibly added to the "Patch Whitelist" if the "Whitelist 2.0" even allows patches period.
:doh: Isn't that what the patch list is? If you're saying you are content with what we have on the list right now then we are in agreement. Otherwise you will have to elaborate more.
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Re: RULES

Post by Bambino »

plasma kaz wrote:I suppose we could make a specific list of '100% hax'.
I took that suggestion as a "if we made a list of all things considered cheating". Then someone could sneak through a loophole and create a new cheat that isn't on the list as you already said.

This goes back to the "ban everything and then allow only a couple things in" method.
plasma kaz wrote:If you're saying you are content with what we have on the list right now then we are in agreement.
The Patches section on the Whitelist only has one patch link to a patch that is for 2.0.9. Everything else is "link to follow". So there are no useful links in the patches section. I'm not really content with it's current status. I think that all the players with patches should submit their mods (even those with aesthetic mods) so others can see what they're up against, and so the GU League Admins can say if it's an illegal mod or not.

I think that a couple GU League Admins should each pick a section of the whitelist to redo. Maybe someone with C++ knowledge could do the patches, and others can do config tweaks, etc.
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Re: RULES

Post by smoooth »

Why allow ANY modifications? I say ban ALL modifications that makes it explicitly clear, if you touch the code it's illegal.

Plain and simple, don't have to get into the details of what is allowed etc. There is no reason to make any modification to the code, ever. If you have a special piece of hardware, tough *^&%.
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Re: RULES

Post by Zac »

Question: how does a single click triple give an advantage in any situation? wouldnt it just be really awkward when you wanted to shoot a single? if its a question of spread efficiancy here, then we all know that the majority of league players use scroll wheel to shoot. with a little practice and consistancy yor able to get an almost perfect spread anyway.

Cutting to the chase a little here, These topics of discussion usually dont really go anywhere. and the idea of the league is to cater to the wants/needs of the majority of players( if you can get it perfect then kudos), therefore, if more players dont have a problem with such rules, then the admin team shouldnt have to rewrite the whole thing for a few players.

im not trying to pick holes in your argument, i just think that this is one of those posts that will result in next to nothing.

thats just my 2 cents.
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Re: RULES

Post by blast »

My Logitech mouse has a total of 5 buttons (the three main ones counting the wheel click, and two on the left side). So someone could remap one of the side buttons to do a triple, and then have the regular firing on the wheel or left click.
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Re: RULES

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blast wrote:My Logitech mouse has a total of 5 buttons (the three main ones counting the wheel click, and two on the left side). So someone could remap one of the side buttons to do a triple, and then have the regular firing on the wheel or left click.
I have a Logitech G5, with the same setup as yours (might even be the same mouse), and BZFlag doesn't recognize the two size buttons. So it won't work without a code mod (and we now fall back into Patch Land)...
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Re: RULES

Post by blast »

Hmm, I have an MX400. I don't seem to be able to set macros for the buttons in the SetPoint software. Maybe I need a mouse with the word "gaming" in it... In any case, I'd imagine you could set the macro to make it hit the left mouse button. I'm able to do that on my G15 keyboard.
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Re: RULES

Post by macsforme »

I am somewhat in agreement with Zac here. I do not hear a great cry out against mouse macros, and I don't believe the advantage is even that great (without a consistent turning speed throughout the move, you will still not get a perfect spread). If half or more of the population had an issue with it, I can see how outlawing it would be a good move. And the argument that most people just don't know about it (and would be against it if they did know) may be valid or maybe not, but I don't see how we can base a decision on assumptions.
smoooth wrote:Why allow ANY modifications? I say ban ALL modifications that makes it explicitly clear, if you touch the code it's illegal.

Plain and simple, don't have to get into the details of what is allowed etc. There is no reason to make any modification to the code, ever. If you have a special piece of hardware, tough *^&%.
This is against the spirit of open-source software, where community modification and improvement to the code is essential for the life of the software. Now, in a competitive league I will admit that clients should generally remain the same to ensure a fair game, but if we try to kill all modification then the game as a whole will suffer.

My question is, who is being hurt by a select group of approved patches? They were selected carefully in the first place to not offer a great playing advantage that's not available to everyone. While I'm not opposed to refining the list, perhaps we should consider whether this is a solution in search of a non-existent problem.
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Re: RULES

Post by red-der »

Regarding the rules:

How is it if a mouse has a sniper button?
For those unfamiliar with, a sniper button reduces the dpi to 50% or 30%, so it has the same effect as 2 different mouseboxsizes. You do not need or use a special driver for it, its all hardwarewise. This seems to be the latest developement in gaming mice.

Is it allowed or not?
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Re: RULES

Post by macsforme »

I am not aware of anything in the rules that prohibits the use of any hardware features available to mice.
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Re: RULES

Post by red-der »

I know. According to the rules, it is allowed. But the rules have been written before such mice exist.
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Re: RULES

Post by FiringSquad »

What about things like changing fps mid-match?
With a low fps, the screen display is a little shaky, but you can make jumps that would otherwise be impossible.
It's a trade-off, but that's overcome by writing a macro to set low/normal fps levels.

Is this giving your tank an advantage that is against the spirit of the game or is it just a cool feature that the best players use?

Personally, I'm against modifications that can alter the dynamics of a tank, but I would be happy to go along with the GU community on this.
Maybe we just need to document the capabilities in The Wiki and allow users to take advantage of this feature if they wish.
Or perhaps the solution is to fix the client so that changes in fps do not result in this advantage.
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Re: RULES

Post by Bambino »

FiringSquad wrote:What about things like changing fps mid-match?
With a low fps, the screen display is a little shaky, but you can make jumps that would otherwise be impossible.
It's a trade-off, but that's overcome by writing a macro to set low/normal fps levels.
GU League Whitelist wrote:Modifying fpsLimit to values not lower than 30 (30 is default). Limiting the FPS through other means (GFX settings) to values below 30 FPS is also not allowed.
If your hardware is only capable of delivering less than 30 FPS it is ok, but in that case we suggest to decrease graphical details to gain the maximum FPS possible.
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Re: RULES

Post by smoooth »

Constitution wrote:I am somewhat in agreement with Zac here. I do not hear a great cry out against mouse macros, and I don't believe the advantage is even that great (without a consistent turning speed throughout the move, you will still not get a perfect spread). If half or more of the population had an issue with it, I can see how outlawing it would be a good move. And the argument that most people just don't know about it (and would be against it if they did know) may be valid or maybe not, but I don't see how we can base a decision on assumptions.
Anything that is a "macro" that is outside the game should not be permitted. We are trying to keep the game as simple as possible and in line with what is standard such that we can all play competitively on an equal playing field. The way you do this is by setting a simple standard and make no exceptions. The simplest way is disallowing "special" modifications, specil mouse config programs, auto spwning, special voice software, etc, etc. Just use what is provided in BZFlag by default, nothing more, nothing less. It can't be any simplier than that -- this way you have less interpretation and the most basic of rules and configurations which makes for real "skill" to come into play.
This is against the spirit of open-source software, where community modification and improvement to the code is essential for the life of the software. Now, in a competitive league I will admit that clients should generally remain the same to ensure a fair game, but if we try to kill all modification then the game as a whole will suffer.
[/quote]

No one is trying to kill modifications on BZFlag, just kill modifications in GU League. If you want to make modifications and patches, by all means use them on other servers and places where people don't care about an equal playing field. :P
Patches and modifications are a disease of the open source gaming community -- everyone has an idea how they can "make it better" or "do what they want" because the code is open. In turn all that is created is like 2,000 different versions of the same game. Although some patches and modifications have minor or limited effects on game play, some others do. Why incorporate ideas here and there, allowing GU admin "judgement" -- make it fair to all, make it simple, just leave it as the game is. Obviously people still have an outlet to get the game changed through the developers. Submit your patches there! not gu league. Then once the developers make the changes then we will have our standardized clients. When the developers release a version the GU league should adopt IT as the new standard immediately.
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blast
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Re: RULES

Post by blast »

Though the developers may release a version, it does not mean that all users can easily run it. For instance, with 2.0.14 or 2.0.16 (I forget which), we officially dropped support for Windows 2000. It may still work, but it's not "supported". And with Linux, it generally requires building from source (or upgrading to a newer version of Linux).
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smoooth
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Re: RULES

Post by smoooth »

blast wrote:Though the developers may release a version, it does not mean that all users can easily run it. For instance, with 2.0.14 or 2.0.16 (I forget which), we officially dropped support for Windows 2000. It may still work, but it's not "supported". And with Linux, it generally requires building from source (or upgrading to a newer version of Linux).
Yes and I think GU League should just go by the developers decisions. Its hard enough for the developers to release proper patches, architectures, and consistency to everyone. GU League, in my opinion, shouldn't try to add another layer to that by accepting old architectures or outdated OSes, or patches for specific hardware. Somewhere along the way people have to modernize. Atleast today computers and operating systems are not nearly as expensive as they were 10-20 years ago. You can download free operating systems and computers are 1/10th of the cost, and BZ runs well even on very low end hardware and has great graphics control to reduce detail as needed.
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Re: RULES

Post by Jacko H »

Um... I have a joystick, like a gameing controller. How can u tel if I use that? Like it could have 3 shot buttons on it
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macsforme
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Re: RULES

Post by macsforme »

smoooth wrote:Anything that is a "macro" that is outside the game should not be permitted. We are trying to keep the game as simple as possible and in line with what is standard such that we can all play competitively on an equal playing field.
Has it crossed your mind that you may be the only one who wants the game restricted to such a basic level?

Personally I find it intriguing when people play with configurations and drivers/tools to do cool things nobody thought about before (obviously "new" things that are degrading to gameplay, like the discovery of the F5 trick, are not beneficial and are outlawed after being discussed by the admins). It's not like everyone else can't go out and buy the same hardware or use the same tools...

So really, I don't see how the playing field is so "unequal" as you are claiming.
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