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If you wont fight it, join it: DING-PAL

• Covenant 1,498 Posts

  Mon, Aug 5 2013 9:01 PM

  As we all know by no, there is software around helping players to make the game much easier for mostly taking out the most important variable this game has, the meter.

  There are 2 major products in that area, which names I cant mention, because WGT wont allow that, but if you don know by now which they are, you are really not following the developments in this game. One is a program that slows the meter so much , its way easier to hit the ding, the other even gets that out of the way and gives you a ding every time.

  The latter one became news again lately, because the manufacturer renewed his site and his videaos about it, so its latest version is available against slightly higher prices then before. That says to us that this program seems to be popular, because people are wiling to pay more for it.

   

  There, in my view, are 2 options WGT, well 3 really, has to handle this massive problem:

  1) They do nothing and at the moment that seems the option they have chosen

  2) They fight it. Imo and with even the limited programming knowledge i have, it should be possible to make a detection program in case there are anomalies in the regular playing scripts. If that happens, they should really just stop that game to go on

   

  3) Introduce DING-PAL; we have allready putterpal and shotpal which is nothing more then a ruler giving us percentages for the shot strength we are able to use. One time lots of people thought the paper ruler taped on the monitor was a form of cheating, so WGT stepped in and sold us the thing

  So why dont they do the same with the ding, where it should be possible to buy yourself a ding when you need one. It gives all the players the possibility to have the same advantage the cheaters now have, which would level more or less our playing and scoring chances again.

  It should be optional though, because in lot of situations you wont use it for instance in putting, when you are a follower of the click-put method there.

  But most important for WGT, they will have another nice source of revenue starting and the whole discussion of cheating can be put to silence.

• PaulTon 10,731 Posts

  Mon, Aug 5 2013 9:20 PM

  

• andwhy67 2,816 Posts

  Mon, Aug 5 2013 9:51 PM

  l can do better than that, my brother has been ripping computers apart from the beginning and builds his own. He spent 22 years in the RAF programming missiles and the like. Knows all about algorithms etc. He now lives in Dubai still works within 'IT'. Doesn't and will never play or show any interest in golf, tells me its a good walk spoilt.

  Visited us at Christmas and watched me play this, then told me, he could design a program where l put in yardage, elevation, wind speed and direction etc, and in return it would tell me where to aim the marker, all l had to do was take the shot!

  He told me 'anyone computer savy' could do the same!!

• fatdan 3,379 Posts

  Mon, Aug 5 2013 11:11 PM

  I was told that the auto ding programs only work with full power which eliminates a lot of shots, never seen it work so I don't know...I don't want one, be like playing poker and being able to see everyones cards...I will go visit a old hacking site I used to belong to, if there is a hack they will have it.

• Covenant 1,498 Posts

  Tue, Aug 6 2013 12:02 AM

  I completely agree with the fact that the meter, getting the ding is the one variable that makes or breaks your game. You have good and bad days, even good and bad moments and sometimes its just in your head the way you are playing. Its really the one thing that is realistic in this game, except for the photography.
  However, and that's why I mentioned option 1 and 2, the game is rigged, can be rigged, and many are doing it. So if WGT is doing nothing or refuses to implement ways to detect and take measurements against it, at least all the non-cheaters should be having a chance, but only if they want, to level up with the cheaters.
  But I rather hope that WGT will effectively do something against it, for sure

• Rockitch 1,022 Posts

  Tue, Aug 6 2013 12:07 AM

  andwhy67:

  He told me 'anyone computer savy' could do the same!!

  He was partially right. Especially any experienced programmer/developer won't have much trouble doing the same. Being just computer savvy won't reach.

  R.

• geraldlarousse 1,986 Posts

  Tue, Aug 6 2013 12:17 AM

  Rockitch:

  andwhy67:

  He told me 'anyone computer savy' could do the same!!

  He was partially right. Especially any experienced programmer/developer won't have much trouble doing the same. Being just computer savvy won't reach.

  R.

  Not quite Rock. The internet is a very powerful tool. There are sites that show you step by step how to packet edit this game. Shame but very true. From what i seen, if you know how to read should not be a problem. From what i understand this game is one of the easiest to hack. 

  Want to learn how to build a bomb???   hehe  :)

  Edit: Would also like to say i would not be worried about the auto ding thingy. From what i seen you need to be worried about a lot more than that, lol. What they can do with this game is amazing to say the least.

  Maybe i give you a taste. They are hacking the game client and sending the results for the shot at hand, don't even have to hit the ball, lol. Also hacking credits mate. How about instant free credits??   Ouch!!

• Tightrope 1,072 Posts

  Tue, Aug 6 2013 1:08 AM

  There is basically three different ways of making a cheat program:

  1. Slow flash down
  2. Time the meter and attach a mouse click event to a timer
  3. Check for when certain pixel change color and fire the the mouse click event

  Battling the first two is easy.

  1. If someone slows the meter down, it will take a lot more time for the meter to reach the ding. WGT could have a predicted time, a "estimated meter travel time" in a variable, then they check that against the actual time it takes for the meter to travel. If the actual time is greater, by a substantial amount, the shot is invalidated. If this happens frequently, the program sends a report to WGT who can investigate

  2. If a timer is used to auto click, all that s needed is to add a random delay before the meter starts moving after you release the shot.

  Third one is trickier. Both to create and to battle. One way would be a "blind sport" near the ding area, a blind spot that would vary slightly in length. We do not really watch for the last pixels anyway, we anticipate and click.
  The "blind spot" would work simply so that the meter goes invisible just before the ding line and appear again slightly after.

  EDIT: Actually, I think most of us would have to fight the urge to click when the meter disappears, so better would be that when you release the shot, a box with the same color as the meter is added around the ding line. Actually, I guess that if that band was randomly colored it would trigger the mouse event and confuse the auto dinger. If the meter itself would also vary in color, it could probably have a different color than the added box and allow us to see the meter all the time.

   

  EDIT2: I just saw geralds post. Manual manipulation of the shot takes time, I think WGT battled that already with the max time for making a shot.

• Fencer100 2,063 Posts

  Tue, Aug 6 2013 1:34 AM

  There is no point,in my opinion,to any of this!! I play real golf also to 1 handicap and I have no aids to make sure I hit it in the ''sweet'' spot,I have to rely on my skills. Surely there is no point to hitting the ding all the time....what a boring game.

  There is no place for this in WGT; perhaps this is why some people hit these unrealistic scores. These programmes are cheating,and that will get me shot down in flames but it is my opinion and any people using them should be banned from WGT. It gives an unfair advantage over the majority of people on here,so is not right.

   

  Richard  (Fencer100)

• paul167 154 Posts

  Tue, Aug 6 2013 1:37 AM

  I don't know about others but I don't have a problem with "dinging" I would like hole pal where you can pick the size of the hole, maybe 3 ft diameter then I might get somewhere cos I CANT PUTT !!!!!