Problem with PBEM++ Online

[ArtDen]

I faced with an annoying problem. I made a turn in PBEM++ Online and clicked "next turn". But I have seen a messsagebox with with a text about ERROR (sorry didn't screen) and another messsagebox - file sent to server. After this I exit from the game and found that I had a problem with an internet-connection and my status is off-line.

I thought that my turn will be sent to my opponent after restoring of online-connection. But in a day I found that my multiplayer game started from the beginning of the turn and I must to do the second attempt of the same turn.

As a result with this bug:
- bad player can cheat. He just go to offline mode, check craziest strategies and after this - choose the best. It's totally wrong;
- fair player must to make the turn twice.

Can you do smth? I can give two pieces of advice:
- against cheaters - make smth like in old game - Steel Panthers MBT (PBEM). Game counts how many times the file is overwrited / deleted. And you can catch a tricker if he try to do it systematically;
- against double-turn - if user is offline just save the current state of the game on HDD. When he is online he must enter in the game and click "End Turn" again. And not to do everything from the beginning.

[IainMcNeil]

Hi ArtDen,

the system tracks how often you download a turn vs upload it and if you tried what you suggested it would be flagged as cheating. We don't store a local copy of the file as this would allow cheating, as the file could be viewed with a hex editor or even edited.

So the system is designed to prevent cheating and warns people if it detects any suspicious behaviour and refers to a moderator if it continues. The user then gets banned if it the moderator decides it is cheating.

[ArtDen]

1. And what have happened? Why system forced me to play the same turn twice?
2. I don't understand what turn my opponent got? First or second?
3. The last - how does your system work if a cheater manually set offline regime during his turn?

[Hubert Cater]

1. Likely the turn was never successfully uploaded to the server, thus requiring a replay
2. If I understand correctly here, if the turn was indeed not successfully uploaded to the server, then your opponent would not have received anything. It would have been as if the turn was never played etc.
3. As Iain mentioned the server keeps track of downloads and uploads of the turns and since nothing is stored locally, every time you attempt to play a turn, it is downloaded from the server. Therefore if you disconnect during your turn you would not have uploaded anything to the server. In the end once there is a significant mismatch between downloads and uploads the system flags this as a possible attempt to cheat the system and warns of suspicious behavior and is dealt with as Iain described above.

Hope this helps,
Hubert

[ArtDen]

Ok. And if my opponent or me have done disconnect - counterpart are to be informed about this situation or this statistics is just storing on the server?

[BillRunacre]

The statistics are stored on the server. it would be a bit harsh to report on one instance, e.g. my PC crashed the other day while playing a turn of Pike and Shot, and so I had to reload the turn. That was a one-off, but multiple downloads and replaying will be flagged.

[Dalwin]

The same thing can happen in the WW2 versions. A hiccup while uploading your PBEM turn is going to force you to replay the turn. I think the current safeguards are adequate defense against abuse.

Ideal would be if a temp file were created as part of the save process. Have this file not be accessible but have it get uploaded the next time you are connected at which point it is deleted.