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Forum Thread... many comments but this one is from Cancer in the same thread. Good to know!!!



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Cancer

The Prince (30)

Posts: 1029



Re: The evolution of house standings.

Posted: 18:22:36 - Aug 21 2007

Times viewed: 238



Cheating at games had become exceedingly rampant at VR. The situation was not fixable. I had to pull a game after only 1 hour of release due to cheating. I spent 16 hours coding a game that lasted less than an hour. It was an extreme waste of my time.



I never meant to implement games at VR. If you go back and read the VR manual and Society FAQ, you'll see that I often say, "Favor is earned through competing in Contests." The link to the games was called Contests, not games.



There is a subtle difference.



Games encourage cheating and grinding. Contests are one-time or limited-time events. I got away from Contests and started developing games which led to a lot of problems.



Most people didn't even PLAY the games. They hated earning Favor, and I don't blame them. Personally I stay away from MUD's and MMORPG's because I hate to grind.



The new system eliminates the problems associated with running games. As time permits, I will occasionally release contests where members can earn additional Favor. They will be limited-release with little opportunity to cheat.



Furthermore, the new system balances out the way Society standings are computed. In the past, a Coven could spring up with 5-10 Sires, all of who were very active in games, and they could have quickly gained number one position. This didn't actually happen, but a few Covens who had only highly-ranked members were quickly climbing to the top.



With the new system, Societies are encouraged to induct low-ranked members who are highly active. A member who is level 5, yet on VR quite a bit each day will earn tons of Favor... Plus their Status will gradually increase which further benefits the Society.



Slimmed down Societies with only high-level members will no longer have the advantage. A Society that is composed of lower-leveled members, but which is still quite active as a group, will earn more Favor. The change also encourages Societies to seek out more members, not less.



And as I have already stated, there will be occasions where members can earn additional Favor.



For those who worked hard at games under the old system, the Favor they earned still belongs to their Society. They have an advantage going into the new system. However, that advantage will fade if they are not active at VR.



All around, this system is the most fair.



Regarding the games...



There were a handful of people who enjoyed playing the games simply because they were games. With that in mind, I will probably restore all games eventually. However, they will not award Favor based on outcome. Favor will be earned through time spent and pages viewed *playing* the games.



This will also allow me to open up VR games to ALL VR members, not just VR Society members. I will also be able to bring back games that I had to close due to cheating (peg jump, unscramble, maybe matrix, etc).



If you insist on cheating at a game that has no outcome reward, you've got serious psychological problems.

Be fully aware this is no joke. Cancer is watching. They are all watching. Pass this along to all of your friends even if they already got it.







From Cancer:



All VR games have been pulled. I'm tired of the cheating. Moderating games should not be a full-time job.



The Favor system has been reworked. From this point onward, one of the ways Favor is earned is through being logged into VR.



25 page views equals 1 Favor. 1 page view equals 1/25 Favor.



15 minutes of time spent equals 1 Favor. 1 second of time spent equals 1/900 Favor.



You'll now start seeing fractional Favor values.



There will be other ways to earn Favor in the future, such as contests, but this new system will be the primary method of earning Favor.



For those of you using auto-clickers or other methods to falsely inflate your status stats, be forewarned. I'm tired of this crap too. I'm going to start setting traps. When you fall into one, your account will vanish.



Please pass this information on to your members.



Cancer