Fair-play and multi-accounting

Planning and discussing Freeciv Longturn gaming
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Corbeau
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Fair-play and multi-accounting

Post by Corbeau »

Maybe it would be time to start discussing this. With a game like LongTurn, there is a realistic possibility to play unfair, namely, to make more accounts, take over several nations and lead all of them as one, gaining advantage over other players. This probably wasn't as important in normal real-time games, but with a whole day at hand, this is a distinct possibility.

Is it possible to occasionally monitor the IPs people connect from and, if a case like this is discovered, what is to be done about it?
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AndreasR
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Re: Fair-play and multi-accounting

Post by AndreasR »

We store the IP address of each user account in the database. So we could disqualify the winner if we find that that player has played with multiple accounts.
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Corbeau
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Re: Fair-play and multi-accounting

Post by Corbeau »

What about during the game? If someone is cheating like that, it will affect other players. Can it be checked during the game and, if somoene is discovered, what do we do?
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louis94
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Re: Fair-play and multi-accounting

Post by louis94 »

Hello,

And what if, say, me and my brother play from the same computer ?

Louis
AndreasR
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Re: Fair-play and multi-accounting

Post by AndreasR »

It is possible to implement automatic detection of such cheating. I'm not sure if this is be best use of my time, though.
The ip of every connected player can also be seen on the pubstatus, ports 6003 to 6005.
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Corbeau
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Re: Fair-play and multi-accounting

Post by Corbeau »

I didn't necessarily mean automatic. It would be enough to simply record and display all IPs that have been active in, say, last 48 or 72 hours so that people who are curious can check it "manually". Basically, the same thing as FreeCiv client Chat window.

Basically, the same thing that is there now, only it doesn't delete the entry the moment the person goes offline, but 2-3 days later.
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* LongTurn Blog - information nexus with stuff and stuff and stuff
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Corbeau
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Re: Fair-play and multi-accounting

Post by Corbeau »

louis94 wrote:Hello,

And what if, say, me and my brother play from the same computer ?

Louis
This concerns the other part of my question: what about it.

For starters, it would be fair to let other players know such things. I think nobody will object if you declare it before the game even starts and everybody is aware of it. Besides, who says that your brother and you have to be on the same side ;)

But if there is a very tight cooperation between two players from the same IP who never uttered a word anywhere, that is a cause for suspicion. There is always a cause for suspicion in the first case, too. Hell, a cheater can even play from different IPs, so it's not perfect, but it's better than nothing. Besides, people who go to great lengths to cheat in something like this aren't too intelligent anyway so will be easier to catch.
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* LongTurn Blog - information nexus with stuff and stuff and stuff
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pungtryne
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Re: Fair-play and multi-accounting

Post by pungtryne »

On longturn 2 I accidentaly hit "concede" on first turn which didn't ask for confirmation so I made a new account. I would assume this is ok if not, if not I guess I can just get 0 points for this game. It's not like I've had advantage of this.

To the point. Showing IP should be out of the question, IPs are considered quite sensitive. An automatic system should be easy to make but in practise it's not possible to catch if done smart enough. Cheaters in games are usually not smart, not even smart enough to take advantage of their own cheating. I support some kind of automatic system though
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Corbeau
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Re: Fair-play and multi-accounting

Post by Corbeau »

Why is everybody mentioning points? Firstly, points are just another aspect of fun, nothing material about them. And secondly, points or no points, cheaters get aroused simply by getting the upper hand on other people, not some long-term benefit.

I don't understand the remark about IPs being "sensitive". What do you mean by that?

All that said, guys, don't be so official. This is a game, after all ;) This isn't about prosecuting someone, only ensuring that someone doesn't spoil fun for others. Good faith until there is a reason to believe differently.
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* LongTurn Blog - information nexus with stuff and stuff and stuff
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pungtryne
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Re: Fair-play and multi-accounting

Post by pungtryne »

I mentioned points because someone else did in in-game chat. I don't care about them anyway, and I don't really think I did anything wrong. But better mention it when this topic comes up.

About the IPs. Without knowing the exact laws on this, an IP is (in some, but probably not all cases) considered private data like your credit card info and personal ID number. An organization or business, at least in EU, can't just post their users IPs. At least not without consent, and I'm unsure if that's possible even.
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