The Hacker Project - a free online game

Let me give my take on this:


What we currently have is just one form of research: what we'll call General Research. It provides:

+.006 version for all effects
+.06(Base) HDD Use
+.06(Base) CPU Use
+.06(Base) Memory Use
+.06(Base) Bandwidth Use

(For all these things, base is the stats at v.1)

I think we should keep Version as the number that determines all effects: things like AV effectiveness/resistance, hide/unhide, etc. However, perhaps the other research could do other things:

Brute Force research (faster, but worse in the long run)
+.01 version for all effects
+.15(Base) HDD Use
+.15(Base) CPU Use
+.15(Base) Memory Use
+.15(Base) Bandwidth Use

Compression Research:
No version change
-.06(Base) HDD Use
+.12(Base) CPU Use
-.06(Base) Memory Use
+.06(Base) Bandwidth Use

Careful Research (Better in the long run, but costly):  {Edited after seeing Witcher's comments below}
+.002 version for all effects
+.01(Base) HDD Use
+.01(Base) CPU Use
+.01(Base) Memory Use
+.01(Base) Bandwidth Use

As long as you don't piss anyone off, newbie protection isn't worth much. Every time I've been seriously hacked, it's been becasue I pissed someone off. Also, when I hack people, I usually just look around, maybe mess a little; but unless I have a reason or it's an inactive server, I don't do anything.

The one time I've gone into a server with an intent to cause trouble was once (right before Hatejacket took me out this last time; unrelated) to take out someone's Virus Capture on a File Share that I was Capping already.

That's what I've been thinking about. Also: why are the evens ending in 8s left out.

Right, my turn now.

2, 4, 6, 30, 32, 34, 36, 40, 42, 44, 46, x, y, z
[/quote]

I can't come up with anything: perhaps the next few numbers.

Fretsky: The ideal location is somewhere that nobody knows about: an inactive server.

Installing it on active servers (That is, player servers with an active player) will result in the player changing IPs and/or AVing it. And, if you aren't lucky, coming back to get you.

Installing on public or secret servers will mean that people try to use Virus Capture to take it, or AV it for a mission.

I'm well aware it would take 2 IP changes, and that you'd probably kill your Virii rather than see them Capped. However, the point remains that I could force you to start over on those servers; and with considerably less than you.

If I think about the SGP controlled server I know about with .12 defenses, I might be able to do it from a new account with newbie protection. Then I wouldn't even need to change IPs: you couldn't strike back effectively.


As for my server, I never said you deleted everything: I just said you took me out. If you hid stuff, it may still be there: if I can't find it, I can't delete it. I did delete the stuff I could see, and started over. And it was far more effective than just deleting would have been: just the Encryption took me an hour or two to delete everything.

I like this. It is a nice, formulaic way to implement what I was suggesting. Granted I wasn't suggesting something nearly this comprehensive, but in this case, I'm more than happy for it.

Seconded.

Mistyped there. Sorry.

Don't think about low level people. Think about mid-level people.

I'm probably a decent example. Until Hatejacket took me out about 42 hours ago, I was in good shape.

My MO:

Start a bounce, usually get 2 or 3 links out, then start looking for virii to Cap. I could get 1-4 virii depending on level (I had a .5 Virus Capture, which I could barely run at full power, but because it scales down to the virus being captured, I could usually get about .45 total level of virii) in one go. The fifth outside stop (I'm non-gold) was to a Secret server, to check for programs.

I'd then sit back for a couple hours (I got other things to do), and then come back, spend my first two jumps picking up the Virii I just Capped, then jumps three and four were to look for new virii.

The exception to this was the one before I went to sleep: I'd look for a few better virii, and use a .1 VC on them. I was aiming for 4-6 hours to Cap. When I woke up, I'd pick up profits, the virii, and continue.

I'd usually lose about 3-4 virii (usually new ones) each day, and I usually had to spend 1-2 captures taking out a spyware (I didn't bother using AV: I just took the Spyware, and get to keep it). Other than that, I was good.

The only reason I stopped was because Hatejacket decided to take me down. Broke into my server, and deleted everything. Once I'm back up (No telling how long that will be), I'll be back at it again, with a few tweaks to the details, complements of a few lessons I got from Hatejacket.



In the month or so I've been doing this, I've got an income of about 2 000 HPD/day (less recently, due to not being able to replenish virii lost to Capping and AVs). I've been hacked three times, once by Hatejacket, once by RaiseCain, and once by someone else. Both Hatejacket and RaiseCain hacked me after I got bold: doing things that were a bit riskier than my normal activities. If I had kept up my quiet hacking, I probably would not have been hacked by either of them (though with Hatejacket, who knows).


Also, If I used IP Change frequently (I use it only after I get hacked), I'd be next to invincible. I'm willing to bet that with the right mix of ambition, daring, preparation, and chutzpah, I could probably take over a couple SGP servers worth of virii. I have no intention of doing so, but I could do it.

Now part of that is the issue with the IP change mechanism. However, another part has to do with how powerful Virii capture is. I could do the above with just a .1 Virus Capture and sufficiently good cracking software.

Raistlin: While I agree that some of the best ideas come from those vague "Wouldn't it be nice if..." ideas, some of the worst ideas come from there too.


As I see it, if an idea isn't good enough to have the person who thought it up to at least put some thought into how it would work, it's probably not good enough to be implemented.

The one exception to this that I have ever seen is when a playtest leader asks for those vague ideas; and even then, most of them get thrown out. It's the one that gets people talking AND THINKING that is the idea that stays.

From me and the other members who have taken it on themselves to respond to the suggestions:


Can there be a rule that requires some minimum of thought on an idea before it's posted. Some examples that I do not feel that minimum:




As a game developer myself, I would have to spend some time thinking about how to implement each of those things. I think that it should be our responsibility, as players who want something implemented, to do the work to make it as easy on Siremi as possible (Except for SGP, who I am quite happy at their attempts to make Siremi's life as hard as possible by showing him just how broken this game is).

This would be a great idea, using the following safeguards:


1) You pay for the mission
2) You have to identify the server or server owner
3) There is some way to make sure you pay up when it's done.

I'm not sure about the not being able to hidden virii. If anything, I'd say give Encryption a boost (it doesn't stop AVs), and make it stop Virus Capture: the rationale (if needed) is that you've also encrypted the data stream, which you need to hijack in order to Capture the Virus. Thus, as long as the Virus, and thus the data stream, is Encrypted, you can't Capture the Virus.

I'm not sure I like all of those ideas:

Why shouldn't people use a group server to bounce? I know if I found your group server, I'd bounce through it before hacking, just to allow more people to find it.

A virus that blocks people from seeing a group's IPs completely seems way too powerful in my mind.

Allowing every member of a group to get past a Password Protect once one person does can easily lead to problems: One member of my group spends all his time cracking servers, and giving out their IP. The rest of us don't even have a Password Crack: we just go in after him. Since Firewalls go down instantly, but Passwords take minutes, if not hours, to complete, plus some APs; this gives us a nice benefit, and our Cracker gets the advantage of being undetectable (He never actually uses Admin access, so his IP never shows up).


Members being able to complete/kill other member's processes is a mixed blessing: I'd love being able to finish downloads that an ally initiated to my server, but it also makes stealing an ID program much more powerful.

I like the idea that the Leader can make some files Read-Only. Sure it protects the file against deletion: it also allows people to download it anonymously.

I thought I already implied that members can upgrade and run research on the Group Server: the idea is that they own it, but can't use it as a Gateway.

Having people always have a connection to the group server is irrelevant: if you can access the logs, you can also access the Registry, and so you already know who's part of the group.


IP changes on the Group Server should follow one of three rules:

1) Anyone can do it
2) Only the leader can do it
3) No one can do it

I'm against 1, and I prefer 3 over 2. However, 2 is not a bad idea.