devtrackers.gg
I worry a lot about bots in Ashes, as we know from other MMO's they hurt the economy, but in AoC they have the potential to change the outcome of entire nodes, via their repetitive actions. For example (based on my albeit loose understanding of how nodes will work) a bot could chop a lot of trees for wood, making some Ent creatures upset. My point is bots have even more influence in a game like ashes.
I think the discussion about botting/cheating must be had sooner than later, as game security can make or break a game.
While GM's can deliver decisive verdicts on bots, more bots can be made than accounted for. Luckily, there are some ideas out there.
1.) In-game captchas. It is slightly intrusive to gameplay, but it makes botting extremely tedious. Someone would have to constantly monitor all the bot accounts to see if a captcha pops up, or risk them pausing all botting action until returning to the setup. The captchas could pop up occasionally when you open a crafting menu, enter a dungeon, talk to an NPC, ect. A balance would need to be found between keeping it effective against the botter, whilst minimizing annoyance to the player.
2.) Attaching a cell phone number as a requirement for account creation. This is less intrusive upon the actual gameplay than the above option, however it still carries complications. Some people unironically don't have cell phones (myself included XD), and should a phone number be tied to the account, any number change could potentially screw another customer from playing. that being said, you could add a "you can only change every 30 days" type feature.
3.)HWID Bans. Any bot that is banned would also wipe/lock out any other bots running on that system. I think this is the best option.
There are probably other ways to solve botting/cheating/hacking issues, those are just a few I know of.
To sum it all up, I want this game to be great, and I know it can be. But security is just as huge as gameplay! Ty for reading.
I think the discussion about botting/cheating must be had sooner than later, as game security can make or break a game.
While GM's can deliver decisive verdicts on bots, more bots can be made than accounted for. Luckily, there are some ideas out there.
1.) In-game captchas. It is slightly intrusive to gameplay, but it makes botting extremely tedious. Someone would have to constantly monitor all the bot accounts to see if a captcha pops up, or risk them pausing all botting action until returning to the setup. The captchas could pop up occasionally when you open a crafting menu, enter a dungeon, talk to an NPC, ect. A balance would need to be found between keeping it effective against the botter, whilst minimizing annoyance to the player.
2.) Attaching a cell phone number as a requirement for account creation. This is less intrusive upon the actual gameplay than the above option, however it still carries complications. Some people unironically don't have cell phones (myself included XD), and should a phone number be tied to the account, any number change could potentially screw another customer from playing. that being said, you could add a "you can only change every 30 days" type feature.
3.)HWID Bans. Any bot that is banned would also wipe/lock out any other bots running on that system. I think this is the best option.
There are probably other ways to solve botting/cheating/hacking issues, those are just a few I know of.
To sum it all up, I want this game to be great, and I know it can be. But security is just as huge as gameplay! Ty for reading.