The Mana World Forums

Hello TMW players.

In the last time it has become popular to use modified clients like those based on the patch by 4144. There is nothing wrong with that per-se. TMW is free open source. You are free to use 3rd party modifications (as long as they don't violate other server rules like the no spamming or no botting rule). But when you use 3rd party modifications please don't post in development or support forums when you have problems.

We didn't create these modifications and thus we can not give you any support for them. So we won't be able to help you. But even worse: When we receive a problem report we try to reproduce and fix the problem so that it doesn't occur anymore in the next version. When we do this we are of course using the unmodded client because bugs in modifications can only be fixed by the one who made it. This means when the problem is caused by the modification you are using we will never find the problem and so we might spend hours searching for it. In the end we will give up worrying that there is still some obscure bug lurking in code which is in reality perfectly fine.

When you see a bug or encounter a problem please try it with the official client without modifications. Only post here when the problem still occurs.

Should the problem not occur with the official client then please contact the author of the modification.

you should sticky and lock this. i don't see modified clients going away, and there will never be a shortage of idiots who can't google stuff.

yourmistakes wrote:you should sticky and lock this. i don't see modified clients going away, and there will never be a shortage of idiots who can't google stuff.

This is an announcement. That means it's visible in every forum. A sticky would only make it visible in one.

Actually, there shouldnt be any mod allowed on the main server. when some people can do things that others cant, it not only creates jealously and unfairness, (linux verses windows) but the moral level of players go down. I for one was upset that people could sit and stand so fast compared to the original version. Granted I wont change to linux or ubuntu, and you will not change from that to windows. when I walk thru town and someone uses a mod to put a smiley face above my head, and the only way to get rid or it is to log out and back in, that is a harassing mod not a favorable mod.
when someone can o to a drop party and pick up 5 things to my 1, due to a mod, thats unfair!!

just my opinion

Putting a smiley over someone else's head is a spell, not a mod, and wears off very quickly.

Hopefully the rate limiter will solve the other problems...


---Freeyorp

Anna wrote:Actually, there shouldnt be any mod allowed on the main server. when some people can do things that others cant, it not only creates jealously and unfairness, (linux verses windows) but the moral level of players go down. I for one was upset that people could sit and stand so fast compared to the original version. Granted I wont change to linux or ubuntu, and you will not change from that to windows. when I walk thru town and someone uses a mod to put a smiley face above my head, and the only way to get rid or it is to log out and back in, that is a harassing mod not a favorable mod.
when someone can o to a drop party and pick up 5 things to my 1, due to a mod, thats unfair!!

just my opinion

my point is either everyone should have access to those facilities or nobody
but fairness cant always be ensured. some ppl faces lag due to routing path while others faces it due to low bandwidth while some others dont at all. some ppl have more time to play the game while others dont.
make friends, enjoy with

i think that letting people tinker with their clients and share it with their friends is great. it gives people a creative outlet that can be enjoyed by others. coding can be an art... if ur not getting paid for it!

Tiana wrote: ........
I consider it somewhat unethical and against the spirit of the game - but not against the existing rules. I just don't see the fun/reason to play if you just set your computer to doing the task while you sit there and watch (and probably browse the internet, watch TV, play another character, etc on the side too).
........

On top those clients create unnecessary bandwidth pressure on the server. & fairness cant always be ensured.


well, I tried this
yet another strategy :p

it looks like, it'll not be implemented.

(Probably) guys who create bot/automated client, deserves some sorts of punishment. (?)
Guys, who can code aren't on the majority side. Give priority on the majority.

edit: probably in a game ethics, unethics doesnt matter much. do not abuse, that's it.

I'm not familiar with the original history of the TMW client license release but making it open source is a double edged blade. Take the example I used in a lecture once about an open source anti-virus software. Does it make it easier to hack and exploit viruses? Would the developer community help make an open source anti-virus software eventually (virtually) unbreakable?

I know for a fact that there are definitely players who have benefited from external developers (most famously 4144) spending their own time and effort creating improvements to the client. Perhaps in hindsight some people may have prefered the client was closed source to avoid exploits but this is the right afforded by releasing TMW as open source. Whilst it can be argued that closed source software can still have unofficial patches, GNU General Public License promotes developers to try and make good use of the program's source code.

The point I'm making is that it would be wrong to impinge on the rights that an open source game allows such as "NO touching the source code to create and use your own client". If the idea that a 3rd party developer can spend the time and effort to learn and improve their own client beyond the limitations of the official client is distasteful then people can quite easily choose to play a different closed source game. Of course as mentioned there is no guarantee a closed source game won't have a patched client either but they'd be rarer, less well known and in those cases the developers may actually be breaking laws.

Acegi wrote:I'm not familiar with the original history of the TMW client license release

TMW is, always was and will always be 100% free open source software licensed under the GNU General Public License.

We strongly believe in Open Source and Free Software (free as in freedom). I could list some arguments now, but I'll rather leave this to the professionals:
http://www.fsf.org/resources/what-is-fs

It is the nature of FOSS to have modded clients. If you wanted closed source, you would just play something like WoW.

Closed source software is more prone to exploits. Closed source software has only one purpose: to take away our freedom and make business. If you buy closed source software you are paying for something that, despite the fact you paid for it, doesn't become your property so you are simply being scammed.

Anyway TMW license is not discussable, most of people joined this project to contribute to OSS.

BTW: There is an open source antivirus - called clamav. It works on Linux, but is rather not used to protect personal workstations (as there are no viruses for Linux), but eg. on mail servers or samba shares to protect the world from infected Windows machines.

Regards.

It is the nature of FOSS to contain modded clients. There is a gimmick around it, if you want close source, you will just do something like WOW sound.