New SMAC cheat program I developed

[gaia]

I just wanted to make everyone aware of a cheat program I recently developed for Alpha Centauri. Essentially it removes all traces from your saved game that you ever used the built-in cheat menu. You can, therefore, use the cheat menu but still have your score recorded at the end of the game. It works with both SMAC Classic and Alien Crossfire.

Visit my website at http://home.cfl.rr.com/smac/index.htm for further details and to download. I think apolyton.net will also be posting this file in the near future. The current install only works with Windows 95 & 98, but I am working on a version which will also install on Windows NT and 2000. Enjoy.

[Adam_Smith]

why?

[Mongoose]

A$$hole!
[This message has been edited by Mongoose (edited June 17, 2000).]

[Alinestra Covelia]

What's the point? The game vs AI is pretty easy after a few goes, and you can't really use the cheats anyway in Multiplayer games.

Already the game is perfectly balanced so that if you cheat and get too far ahead, your cities start experiencing problems (eco damage, insufficient habs, etc) which in themselves are dead giveaways for a cheat anyway. The program is designed already to give you the option of cheating, as long as it records your action of doing so and giving you what you deserve.

By making this program, you jeopardize authentic comparisons between fellow players' scores. Fair enough - if the game is not satisfying for you, then Cheat by all means and see what secrets the game's holding... I can understand that curiosity. But this grabbing of points from the game mechanics strikes me as being very petty and subversive.

But maybe I'm just being a purist...

[Adam_Smith]

I think Mongoose really hit the nail on the head.

[LoD]

I agree with you, AC. BTW, I don't you're a purist. What's the point of using the scenario editor to increase your highscore anyway? Only some deranged person with an inferiority complex would think something like this up.

I say down with gaia .

LoD
[This message has been edited by LoD (edited June 17, 2000).]

[Neptunus]

Hey Gaia... Why don't you switch to that nice little game that comes with Windows, you know it's called "solitaire"...
P.S. Enjoy your scores

[Adam_Smith]

LoL,

Really, I'm starting to feel sorry for gaia now. But really she/he is very stupid to think that she/he has done a good thing here. The best we can say for gaia is that she/he is very stupid.

[Neptunus]

Quite seriously now, the tragedy with Gaia is that she/he posted without knowledge of the kind of people about to read what he/she said.

I can't even imagine someone playing SMAC/X, CIV, CtP just to break his previous record ONLY. C'mon, why should we lose so many (precious) hours of sleep, every night for 1-2 weeks (average time to transcend), when, not only we KNOW we will finally win, but HOW we will win and just torture ourselves until we find out the new high score we've achived. I think that you would agree (especially the builder-types) that it would have been much more decent if Gaia could come up with some kind of cheat program allowing one-faction-only games. In which case one could win by taking it easy and enjoying the beautiful Chironian landscape between game breaks.

I suggest leaving Gaia work in peace developing new cheat codes...

[Adam_Smith]

Neptunus,

Gaia is not the type of person who would even consider putting hours like that into a great game. She/he is of the Homer Simpson philosophy. That is, "If something is too hard it's not worth trying." Just come up with a cheat. Maybe Gaia is actually one step below that because she/he wants to really pass her/hiself off as someone who has dedicated themselves to the game. Of course people who pose as such are always uncovered for the fake they really are eventually, but the sad thing is that she/he has damaged the community if it is true that she/he has developed this cheat program.

[Neptunus]

After a lot of thought I concluded that :
1. Such cases especially when they decide to register and become fellow Apolytoners (I don't even think of the possibility of registering only to promote the cheat program) should be given a chance to follow the hard-and-difficult-path of honest playing, through group therapy by-post. (We could do something to help them)
2. I would strongly recommend to MarkG/DanQ adding some kind of banner (especially in the MP forums) showing a scull and crossbones and saying something like : "The addicted SMACers warn you : Cheating is dangerous to your gameplay and may have serious repercussions to your attitude in life"...

[Kinjiru]

Wow, ease up people. While I am certainly not in favor of cheating, Gaia has made an honest effort to do something useful for people. Games like SMAC have a VERY high learning curve, and it is too much for some new players. If someone picks up the game and finds it too hard to be enjoyable, then not only will they not play it, but they will be far less likely to buy a similar game in the future. If a program like the one Gaia wrote helps broaden our audience then I have no problem with it. And who knows maybe some of the ccheaters will eventually play the game the real way.

Furthermore, developing a workable program is not easy. I commend Gaia for the effort. Now if only we could get him/her writing something socially useful... (you know, like fixing the bugs in SMAC....)!

[Googlie]

No, Kinjy, I'm afraid that that does not seem to be gaia's intent (to help the weaker player). The patch removes the evidence that you have cheated.

Visit his/her website, and you'll see that the sole intent is to decieve fellow players, and not just to let you record in your personal HoF a high (cheat) score.

I quote from it (my italics):

SMAC - How to cheat... is a program I recently developed to assist players of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri in cheating.
There is a cheat menu built-in to Alpha Centauri which is accessable by pressing CTRL + K within the game. Unfortunately, use of this menu is permanently recorded in your save game file and your score for that game is not permanently recorded at the end of the game.

SMAC - How to cheat... removes all traces from your save game file that you have cheated. You can play a game normally using the cheat menu, then, just when you are about to win, save your game and exit Alpha Centauri. Start SMAC - How to cheat..., open your save game file, and click "fix it." You may now reopen SMAC, load your 'fixed' file, and win the game normally. No one will have any clue that you cheated

Shame on you, gaia

Googlie

------------------
Putting a spin on it



[This message has been edited by Googlie (edited June 19, 2000).]

[Kinjiru]

Ah, I see. Well in that case...

let's burn him at the stake.

[Aredhran]

I wonder if this would fix the infamous Scenario Editor bug that has plagued a few of my PBEM games...

Aredhran