Genetically Modified Units

[Azrael]

Hey Guys,

I want to know if it is possible to manipulate the program of the game, in a similar way to MODing (or maybe not, because I know very little about that) to alter and increase the attack values, valour levels, charge bonuses, etc... of your troops and then use these in Multiplayer, allowing you to field somewhat of an Uber-Army against your unsuspecting foe.

Let me make this clear. I don't want to try this myself. I know it's cheating and I don't agree with cheating.

I do not suspect any individual or group of doing this.

I want to know if it can be done.

I have posted a similar thread in the Main Hall, but no replies as of yet.

I know the Moderators pay very close attention to this forum, so I'm hoping to catch their eye (unless of course some of you know the answer).

Please let me know.

Thanks,

Azrael

[Azrael]

Hey Guys,

Just to let you know, one of the Game Developers answered my question in the Main Hall.

The short answer is no, but if you want all the juicey details, give the thread Cheating In Multi-Player a read.

Azrael

[KukriKhan]

Here's the link to that discussion:
http://www.totalwar.org/cgi-bin....;t=2362

Thanks for the referral, Azrael. Any prob's if I move this topic in a day or 2, since it's an ongoing discussion in MTW Main?

[Azrael]

Hey KukriKhan,

No probs with you moving it at all. As you say, an ongoing discussion in the Main Hall.

Though curiously, in the Main Hall thread MP Balance, there's guys talking about doing exactly that (i.e. modifying stats for MP games).

Left me a little confused.

Azrael

[KukriKhan]

Thanks Azrael. On the mod-ed MP stats: you can play with modified stats, as long as all the other players in that battle have exactly the same stats - a tricky proposition, at best. But some fellas have mastered that dark art, and give particular stat-mod'd sets a name, so when they host a modified game, they'll announce: 3v3, Danish Mod, or something like that.

As Giljaysmith advised, having even 1 digit out of place will get you (and maybe the rest of the players) booted back to the lobby.

[Azrael]

Thanks Kukri,

I just want to mention that my interest in this subject stems from some massive routes I've been hit with in MP. I wondered if people were suping up ther armies.

The fact is, I'm just a poor MP player.

lol. Not really, practice makes perfect, and I've had alot more of my latest MP battles go my way, now that I've been at it for a while.

I don't beleive in unfair advantages. There's no real victory if the game's fixed.

I wouldn't want to create the impression that I had intentions to cheat myself, because that is not the case.

Thanks

Azrael

[Puzz3D]

Azrael,

Try using at least 15K florins per player in MP games. It will cut down on a lot of that routing. At 10K florins and below, the morale is fairly fragile on most units. There are many factors that have a negative affect on morale, and an experienced player knows how to get these factors to combine to produce a large negative effect. Routing is not the result of unfairly modified units. It's just the way the morale system works. All players in a battle must have matching unit stats or else the battle on the machine with different stats will diverge at some point from the battle on the other machines. The host will drop a player who's battle diverges an send out an out-of-sync error message to the rest of the players.

In the older STW, there was a koku cheat whereby a player could increase the money available to purchase his army. This wasn't detected by the game. That type of cheat is detected in MTW by checking the total florins each player spends against what the host set as the total for each player. If someone spends more than the total allowed, his machine is made to go out-of-sync when the battle starts.

When you cursor over a game in the foyer, your stats are checked against the host's stats. If they don't match, you can't join the game. That's good because you can't accidentally join a game who's stats differ from yours. So, there is no chance that you will accidentally jump into a modded game, and then go out-of-sync once the battle starts and spoil the battle for everyone. This was a problem in STW since there was no stat checking done when you joined the game.

MizuYuuki ~~~
Clan Takiyama ~~~

[Azrael]

Puzz3D,

Thanks for your post. It explains things very clearly and that's helpfull.

I have been slammed so hard on MP that I've been subject to some massive routes, but like I mentioned above, it's just a matter of sticking with it. Seeing what works and what doesn't in what situations.

I hope they consider openning a Multi-Player Forum Room, as one of the Main Hall posts suggests. Not everyone has a Clanfull of experienced members to pass do's and don'ts and other bits of useful information on to them.

Thanks for your help.

Azrael

[KukriKhan]

Ditto, Puzz3d, thanks for sticking your head in here and posting a very useful missive for new patrons. As usual, your wise counsel serves to enhance our totalWar gaming experience.

Puzz3D-san meet Azrael. Azrael, the honorable Puzz3d. Few have gone wrong heeding his advice, or using his maps.

I too see the worth in a separate MP forum. May it happen soon. And win or lose, may your battles be both instructive and satisfying.

[LadyAnn]

I love to sneak on the flank of your army and cause a massive chain route. Since MTW now have routing units run away from the attacking units, the routing men ran INTO to remaining units and cause further route...

That's what I observed during my limitted game played (