Sony EverQuest Next Landmark Hacks, The No Hacker Help Version
EventHorizon1984
1 March 2014
The fledgling EverQuest Next Landmark MMORPG began it’s paid Alpha access on 31 January 2014. Initially buggy and wipe prone the Alpha version has mostly stabilized. ‘Mostly’ stable as there will be a constant stream of updates.
With the ‘mostly’ stable server and client software, hi-jinks from a few players became noticeable.
Enter EverQuest Director of Development Dave “Smokejumper” Georgeson.
"Hi, folks,
Some innocent, and not-so-innocent, poking around in our build files has been happening recently.
Let us be perfectly clear here. This is NOT okay.
We are in Alpha right now. That means that things are not as secure as they will be later. When you go into the build and change things, you are creating bug situations that can cause serious problems with the game and/or consternation amongst its players.
That is not cool, and it's not acceptable. We will ban folks that do that. Really. There's no appeal process. You're just gone.
You'll know exactly when you're doing something wrong. You're opening up a menu via LUA that can't be opened up from within the game, or you're using a third-party tool to comb through compressed files, or you're crafting things that aren't available to other players yet. Stuff like that. There's no question that you're aware of what you're doing when you're doing these things because you can't do them accidentally.
So be a good person instead, please. Let us know that the vulnerability exists, we'll take care of things, and you will have made Landmark a better, stronger game for your efforts.
Later we will be creating a "white hats" list for people that love doing stuff like this and want to officially work with us. Details for signing up for that list will be made available at a later date, and we welcome any of you that are inclined to do those sorts of things to work with us in that regard.
But any sort of destructive or exploitative behavior during this Alpha phase will simply not be tolerated.
Sorry for being stern when I'm usually Mr. Excitement. But this is a serious matter. I hope you all understand."
Followed by:
Followed by a caveat:
"Although we don't recommend altering these files, the *.ini files and the *.xml files in the game directory are benign files if you want to adjust your key settings (as an example) before we get the user key settings into the game.
HOWEVER, I strongly recommend that you back up those files before altering them, and if you do alter them, and you experience ANY bugs, you should revert them back to original and test again before reporting those bugs, please.
That's pretty much why we don't want folks to poke around in the files. These games are so complicated that you rarely have an idea what value touches what features.
We understand that key config is a big issue. That's why we have it as a high priority in the roadmap. Soon! 
"
In it's current state, EverQuest Next Landmark Alpha is little more than Minecraft with gorgeous graphics, and stripped down mining and crafting, no combat, no chat, etc. Very slim pickens, so to speak.
("How can I take screenshots of the game?!?!")
Why some "players" have the need to cheat at something so simple is pathetic.
But not unexpected.
“If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying!”
Attributed to Mark Grace
Cheating in MMORPGs is not confined to Sony products.
Which can be seen here.
But as this article began with a Sony game, we'll finish with another Sony MMORPG, EverQuest 2, and a small issue of die roll cheating.
“Wait for all players to make a choice or until the timer, shown underneath the "Loot" window, runs out.”
Laughable advice on “How to Beat the Need Before Greed Loot in EQ2”
A common feature in MMORPGs is the random die roll for loot. The "loot" being something of value. In EverQuest II, the basic die roll command is "/ran".
'Aplayer', types "/ran" and the game server returns a numeric value from 1 to 100.
/ran
(Loot) [12:12 PM] Random: Aplayer rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 76!
'Aplayer' types "/ran 10000" and:
/ran 10000
(Loot) [12:13 PM] Random: Aplayer rolls from 1 to 10000 on the magic dice…and scores a 5332!
Unless one is actively hacking the game server, there no way to change the outcome of the roll.
Of course, the computer generated random number is not random.
Can A Computer Generate A Truly Random Number? "If you go to an online poker site, for example, and you know the algorithm and seed, you can write a program that will predict the cards that are going to be dealt."
But that's another topic, for another day.
Getting back on subject. If you're a player, have you ever noticed the same people "accidentally" making multiple loot rolls?
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Dieroller rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 33!
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Dieroller rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 2!
(Loot) [06:48 AM] Random: Dieroller rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 97!
Or the same people winning loot by rolling last?
You may have been punked by a chat hack.
Apparently there's a so-called hack that involves surppressing chat lines. We're saying "so-called" as that ability is near impossible. Perhaps as near impossible as hacking the Sony mainframe. Twice.
Nevertheless there were at least three sites (morte) that at one time claimed to have a hack that would buffer one chat line. Rendering it invisible to other players.
Simply. Take the previous rolls. To an outside observer:
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Player2 rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 7!
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Player3 rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 31!
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Scumbag rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 33!
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Player4 rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 45!
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Player5 rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 91!
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Scumbag rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 2!
(Loot) [06:48 AM] Random: Scumbag rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 97!
Oh dear 'Scumbag' wasn't watching the display and forgot to turn on the hack before making the "/ran" roll. Zip back a minute. This is Scumbag's chat window:
hackon
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Player2 rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 7!
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Player3 rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 31!
/ran
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Scumbag rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 33!
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Player4 rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 45!
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Player5 rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 91!
/ran
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Scumbag rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 2!
/ran
(Loot) [06:48 AM] Random: Scumbag rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 97!
hackoff
An outside observer views:
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Player2 rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 7!
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Player3 rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 31!
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Player4 rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 45!
(Loot) [06:47 AM] Random: Player5 rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 91!
(Loot) [06:48 AM] Random: Scumbag rolls from 1 to 100 on the magic dice…and scores a 97!
Possible workarounds.
- Turn on the Need or Greed option for a specific loot item. Cumbersome but not hackable.
- Everyone rolls, then the raid/group leader or designated randomizer rolls. Player with a number closest to the second roll wins. Beatable. A cheater playing the odds will roll a number between say 33 and 66; long explanation not provided. A cheater will still win more often than other players, but will no longer be guaranteed an instant win.
- Use a large changing randomly selected seed. Like raid/group leader types "/ran 10000 32000" and everyone must roll "/ran TheResultsOfLeaderRoll". And rolls must be completed in two ticks of the system clock. That is 06:47 to 06:48; a duration of 61 seconds to 119 seconds. Cumbersome, beatable. Manual typing a large number takes time. Because the number is not constant, changing a "ran" macro takes time. A fast typist can beat this, but this does cut down on the number of rolls the cheater can make. This does penalize slow typing honest players.
- Everyone who wants the item, types in chat their name or moniker. Like drawing a name from a hat, the Raid Leader rolls /ran NumberOfNamesInChat. Winner is the name with the matching number. Quick, easy, painless.
<shrug> You can believe it or not.
On the plus side, the sites got taken down. On the minus side, if this hack or exploit is real, and this is not confined to EQ2, honest online players should keep their guard up.
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Updated 1 April 2014.
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“The only way to win is cheat”
Suicide Is Painless, Johnny Mandel
The theme from M*A*S*H (1970)
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Musing Bytes 4 - Science Fiction
Musing Bytes 4 - Science Fiction
EventHorizon1984
16 March 2014
“Is this Doctor the sort who needs flattery? Or can I leave him to it?” Jyoti Cutler
“I just let him talk.” Flip Jackson
“I am still here you know.” The Doctor
“You are so brilliant. I don’t know what I’d have done without you.” Jyoti Cutler
“Hmmm” The Doctor
Doctor Who, "Scavenger"
Big Finish, 14 March 2014
On 14 March 2014 Big Finish released the Doctor Who audio adventure “Scavenger” featuring The 6th Doctor, Colin Baker. The synopsis reads:
“Thursday 28 May 2071: the day the Anglo-Indian Salvage 2 rocket launches. Its mission: to clean up space; to remove from Earth’s orbit over a century’s worth of man-made junk…
From the viewing window of a nearby space station, the Doctor and Flip have a unique view of Salvage 2 as it sets about its essential task – and of the disaster that unfolds when Salvage 2 encounters something it’s not been programmed to deal with. Something not of human manufacture…
Back on Earth, the Doctor fights to save Flip from becoming part of a 500-year tragedy being played out in orbit, hundreds of miles above. And millions will die if he fails.”
Big Finish is known for “producing high-quality audio drama” “based on popular TV series such as Doctor Who” and others.
Now that is the public relations view. (Ed.) In my opinion, that view is rather understated.
If you’re a Doctor Who fan, “Scavenger” is an excellent ‘listen’. As are other Big Finish products.
If you’re another type of fan, there is a nice Easter egg included in the audio drama. Salvage 2???
“I’ve been wondering. What happened to Salvage 1?” The Doctor
“Some Moon project from a hundred years ago. Nothing to do with us.” Jyoti Cutler
Well.
“Jettison Control this is Salvage 1. The Vulture has landed!”
Melanie “Mel” Slozar from the Lunar surface, Salvage (January 1979)
A very nice tribute to the 35th anniversary of the TV movie Salvage and the TV series that followed.
Thank you Big Finish.
"... Jettison Salvage ..." "... Jettison Salvage ..."
Harry Broderick (Andy Griffith), Salvage (1979)
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“So are you seriously telling me. All those blokes. Old man white hair, Beetle’s haircut, frilly shirt, long scarf big eyes, cricket boy, Joseph and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and Lord Byron. Are all of them? They were you?”
“ah Yes.” The Doctor
“Wicked.” Ace
Doctor Who, The Light At The End
Big Finish, October 2013
And speaking of Big Finish.
The Doctor Who 50th Anniversary show, “The Day Of The Doctor” was not the only official multi-Doctor show. In October 2013 Big Finish released their 50th Anniversary audio adventure “The Light At The End.” Featuring the voice talents of Doctor Who original (20th Century) cast members:
Tom Baker (The Fourth Doctor)
Peter Davison (The Fifth Doctor)
Colin Baker (The Sixth Doctor)
Sylvester McCoy (The Seventh Doctor)
Paul McGann (The Eighth Doctor)
Louise Jameson (Leela)
Sarah Sutton (Nyssa)
Nicola Bryant (Perpugilliam “Peri” Brown)
Sophie Aldred (Dorothy Gale “Ace” McShane)
Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford)
Vicki (Maureen O’Brien)
Steven Taylor (Peter Purves)
Sara Kingdom (Jean Marsh)
Polly Wright (Anneke Wills)
Jamie McCrimmon (Frazer Hines)
Zoe Heriot (Wendy Padbury)
Jo Grant (Katy Manning)
Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding)
Vislor Turlough (Mark Strickson)
Geoffrey Beevers (The Master)
And many more.
Buy it.
Two Doctors observing The Sixth Doctor.
“Do I really end up with such a terrible sense of fashion?” The Doctor (Tom Baker)
“Says the man in the impractical scarf. It’s all a question of taste I suppose.” The Doctor (Paul McGann)
“Well I suppose that would explain your Wild Bill Hickok costume?”
“Most people think it has something to do with Byron.”
Doctor Who: The Light At The End (2013)
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“… Code name Lovely Angel?! Dirty Pair!”
The soon to be ex-object of Yuri’s affection.
“LOVELY ANGELS!”
Yuri and Kei, The Dirty Pair (1979- )
Meanwhile in Japan, SF Magajin published a story by Haruka Takachiho. It was titled “Daatipea no Diabouken”, or known in English as "The Dirty Pair's Great Adventures". Featuring The Dirty Pair Lovely Angels, Trouble Consultants Yuri and Kei of the World Welfare Work Association (3WA)
From then to now, the 1979 serialized book would spawn anime, manga, and comics of their adventures.
The Dirty Pair
Top Left, Clockwise
Happy Birthday Dirty P Lovely Angels.
“What happened? Or should I ask, what disaster have you initiated?”
3WA Department Chief Soranaka to Kei and Yuri ... after devastating the WWWA home city.
The Dirty Pair Strike Again (2008)
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"It's no secret that Japanese science fiction was greatly influenced by the Western sci-fi authors of the '50s. That became the foundation of Japanese sci-fi. All science-fiction writers were influenced by the "Big Three": Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and Robert A. Heinlein. That started with my generation. You won't find an author who wasn't touched by Clarke, Asimov, and Heinlein."
Haruka Takachiiho
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Tags: 1979, 3WA, Adam Warren, Big Finish, Dark Horse Comics, Department Chief Soranaka, Dirty Pair, Doctor Who, Haruka Takachiho, Hisao Tamaki, Jettison Scrap and Salvage Company, Kei, Lovely Angel, Lovely Angels, Mughi, Mugi, Salvage, Salvage 2, Savage 1, Scavenger, Science Fiction, The Dirty Pair's Great Adventures, The Light At The End, The Vulture, World Welfare Work Association, WWWA, Yuri
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