[Freeciv-Dev] Re: Another freeciv testing

[Raimar Falke <hawk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Mon, Mar 11, 2002 at 03:40:27PM +0100, Per I. Mathisen wrote:
> On Mon, 11 Mar 2002, Christian Knoke wrote:
> > > autoattack gets only executed once or twice per turn (.... checking ....
> > > actually once, just before end of turn)
> > > thus if the spy can finish his dirty business before the turn is over, he
> > > will escape unscathed.  I do not think it is unreasonable, spies want to
> > > live too.
> >
> > /me, as a non-ics player, would very much appreciate an (all time)
> > working autoattack feature. It would give me the chance to defend
> > my cities efectively rather than to loose them to the next lousy
> > part-time diplomat.
> 
> An all time working autoattack feature would change the game quite a bit.
> 
> Where would you draw the line? Autoattacking units, but only inside
> cities? If someone patched their client to use autoattacking units
> _outside_ cities, would that be cheating? What was formerly obvious as
> cheating becomes an undecisive gray area. We'd have to put autoattack for
> all units at all times into the client then, to ensure that all players
> are equal, and no-one with better patched clients win all the time.
> 
> But perhaps that is the better solution. Add autoattack by hostile units
> in as a standard server feature of unit movement, not have it as a feature
> of cities. At least that way the possibility of cheating by autoattacks is
> removed (a long time gaping cheating hole in freeciv).
> 
> Anyone want me to write a patch that implements this? (As a server option,
> naturally.)

The server and protocol allows a player to attack a diplomat if the
diplomat comes near your city. This may end in an arms race: defender
uses patched client (an agent ;)), attacker (ab)uses GOTO, ...

This is a delicate game issue and a problem which is currently
exploitable.

        Raimar

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