If anything I've said about the new version isn't true, I ask someone on the beta team reply to this post and correct me.  If it is true, I'd employ that someone give a valid reason why such changes would be made to a game that doesn't need such radical changes.  Is it to stop scripters and even the game?  Is it to cash in on the scripting game?  Is it to somehow supposed to improve the game?  I can't see how.
Somebody step up to the plate, the crowd is waiting.

Anyone that says external scripting won't be possible has no programming experience at all. From a programming perspective it is possible to build external apps for ANY application. It's possible to capture the program's output before it reaches the server, it's possible to capture the program's input before it reaches the program (from the kb and mouse) and possible to patch a hook into the program that bypasses any protections.

The only way to force the issue would be to use a server side command buffer that limits the number of commands in per X... but that will effect fast typers too and just favors slower, more boring play as opposed to strictly non-scripted play.

All of this of course depends on whether the game is worth doing all of this for. Wow and everquest have their versions of this, so on the high end of things sure. But it's not like your average MS spades player is going to go to all that trouble. By promising no external scripts what they're really doing is promising a mediocre interest level that isn't sufficient to make scripted play worth doing.

If scripting is made out to be "cheating" then that's one game I won't be playing in. I'm one of those guys that cracks games to play new levels and items after the first time thru (ie: play final fantasy as a chocobo).

The only people that complain of a level playing field are those that don't want to adapt to a changing environment. Well like it or not, obsolence cannot be protected. All dinosaurs die.

I have heard of a player being accused of using 3rd party "helpers" in WoW by the admins, and I don't know anything about WoW or how it is setup.

I have no way to verify what I heard is factual or not, but I do believe the person that told me of the incident. Now he did not verify true or false on the 3rd party usage, just the accusation.

Technojocks are a wonderful breed in that the true ones are never satisfied with status quo, and always try to see what they can do (and get away with).

               / Promethius / Enigma / Wolfen /

"A man who has no skills can be taught, a man who has no honor has nothing."

Wow considers it cheating and the admins take action against it, I think. I don't really play the game so I can't tell you for sure. I do know that there's some software that exists that does this. EVE has one also. Still, players run bots and stuff all the time.

And this is for a game that bans players for doing stuff. The new TW doesn't have a system for banning people, so it would have resort to shame. "Shammmmme you're using a helper, for shammmmmmmeeee, you dirty cheater!" ... I don't plan to play something like that, let alone pay for it. So if that is the direction it goes... well, have fun. I enjoy a game that keeps people on their toes, where new developments come out so fast they make your head spin.

The first time I played this game I was using telix, so does that mean you're calling me a whiner?

Most of the people who complain about the direction this game is going are the true old-school players, who still play the same way they have for the past decade.
They have always complained, simply because the fun of the game for them is the slow play.

How playable would TWGS be without scripts? Classic TW, sure
it would be fairly reasonable to play that by hand, but TWGS, there is just no
way. TWGS is fun in that is permits computer savvy folks to use their
creativity in a game as a pass-time within a team environment; take any of
those elements away and it pretty boring all in all, add graphics to it and you
have the to be new TW Tournament. Now with that being given once the new TW
takes off, how many of those players, if given the choice would rather play it using
solely the games own internalized limiting scripts or 3rd party customizable
BOTS? The answer to that is probably not to far off from they way TWGS is
currently played.

[/QUOTE]

The first time I played this game I was using telix, so does that mean you're calling me a whiner?

Most of the people who complain about the direction this game is going are the true old-school players, who still play the same way they have for the past decade.
They have always complained, simply because the fun of the game for them is the slow play.[/QUOTE]
Dude, read the original post and you might understand what this thread is all about.  If you DON'T have a complaint about tradewars and scripting, the I'm NOT talking about you.  Geesh

Please tell a dummy what BOTS are and how they work
   

Zero difference between pre TWGS and post TWGS TW when it comes to helpers or scripts. You think we all suddenly started writing scripts for TW in 1999? I own a toll bridge in NYC, I can offer it to you for a good price.

"Bot" is short for robot. Say there are 2 players on a corp, A and B. B cant play for whatever reason. B logs into game and starts a script which "listens" over corp ss. A logs in and sends messages over ss which causes B script to do certain things, depending on prearranged codewords. Could be buying down a port, robbing a port, adjacent photon, whatever. Means that A effectively has more turns, corp does not lose by B's unavailability, and if A and B are of opposite alignment, it gives A the advantages of both red and blue.

There are other ways to use a 'bot but am sure you get the drift.

EDIT: There is no such thing as a stupid question. Stupid answers, sure.

Kavvie, Kavvie, KAVVVIEEE!! I was not referring to scripting as being "a brand spanking new concept" I was stating that the new version of TW (or TWGS in using Gold extensions) is not at all playable w/o scripts, but that the old classic TW was (or was playable by hand w/o the need for scripts) 1000 vs 20000 sectors, a few hundred turns vs 65k turns, on player online at a time vs dozens upon dozens, sector/port configuration, etc. (just to name the most prominent differences.)

Rex, there were 20K sector games in TW a dozen years ago.

Not without the assistance of mod programs, most boards had just basic games, maybe with the DockMall and a few others to jazz it up a bit, I think I recall Q and that roving anomaly thing. But turns and sectors were always very low, basic ships, and basic game play, nothing like it is now, complexity has increased by like 1000% at least.

I was told the new version will have internal scripts, so going without scripts completely isn't an issue, however; If I wanted to use internal scripts, I'd just download twars. lol  I'm sure everyone remembers how good that program was. roflmao
I prefer to use my own scripts or scripts that I know are reliable.  By the way, you are right about todays tradewars would be a pain without scripts.  One thiing about it, games would last a lot longer.  Like forever.
 

I restarted playing TW a few years before TWGS, eclipse.ultranet.com.

The first game I played was 5K sectors, approx 1200 turns. The ships were the same as current stock ships. Only difference was, you had to be online to get Tholian odds over a corp planet. No mod involved, standard bigbang.

20 nodes, and sometimes all were in use. More than 200 traders on the CLV (I posted it here a couple months ago). The majority used helpers, some played by hand, a few played by hand and also used scripts, Qmodem, SALT, Zoc, Telemate and Procomm.