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IDProjectCategoryLast Update
0009318Valley 1Bug - OtherAug 20, 2012 12:03 pm
ReporterPyrrhic Assigned ToChris_McElligottPark  
Status closedResolutionno change required 
Product Version1.206 
Summary0009318: Expert Start exploit
DescriptionOfficially, when in trial mode you can't leave the first continent, and the highest-tier spell you can craft/mission-drop is Level 2.

However, Trial-mode players can start a new game on Expert Start, which places them on the Second Continent, letting them experience second-continent stuff like Lava Flats. They also start with a couple Level 6 spells.
However, the level of spells that missions drop is L2 (not L7, as it would be for normal players). I assume (though didn't test) that if they crafted any spells, they'd also be capped at L2.

I think the easiest fix for this (should the devs decide that it needs fixing) would be to disable Expert Starts when in Trial Mode.

With that fix though, there would still be some ways of getting around that limitation in Trial Mode. If they had a savegame from an Expert Start before it was disabled, or a savegame from any player who had reached the second or higher continent, then I am pretty sure (though I have not tested) that they would still be able to play those savegames, albeit with dropped/crafted spells still capped at Level 2.

To remedy that, perhaps there could be some way of booting Trial Mode players out of loaded games where they are on the second or greater continent? Maybe they could be forbidden from entering any regions on a second continent or greater worldmap, the next time they entered the worldmap?

I personally feel that the latter steps are a bit overkill (they seem like pseudo-DRM, and to quote http://www.arcengames.com/w/index.php/avww-downloads, "we've never really felt like DRM works, anyway. If you like our games, please buy them so that we can make more, but we're not about to start treating our real customers like thieves just to thwart the inevitable pirates."); though of course the final decision on this matter is very much up to the devs, and not I.

PS: I should probably point out that I figured this out when I was doing a fresh reinstall of AVWW earlier today; when asked for my Product Key, I decided I'd mess around in Trial Mode for a little while, and eventually I noticed this issue.
TagsNo tags attached.
Internal WeightNew

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Chris_McElligottPark

Aug 20, 2012 12:03 pm

administrator   ~0027858

I appreciate the concern for us -- but this is okay, and we knew about this. The goal of the trial mode is to let players experiment around with enough to feel like they are getting a good handle on the game, without giving away the farm so to speak. They can't get past one lieutenant no matter which they start on, expert or regular, so it's not like they can just play indefinitely either way. And there's stuff on the third continent they have no hope of seeing either way, too.

Issue History

Date Modified Username Field Change
Aug 20, 2012 12:00 pm Pyrrhic New Issue
Aug 20, 2012 12:01 pm Pyrrhic Summary Trial mode Expert Start exploit => Expert Start exploit
Aug 20, 2012 12:03 pm Chris_McElligottPark Internal Weight => New
Aug 20, 2012 12:03 pm Chris_McElligottPark Note Added: 0027858
Aug 20, 2012 12:03 pm Chris_McElligottPark Status new => closed
Aug 20, 2012 12:03 pm Chris_McElligottPark Assigned To => Chris_McElligottPark
Aug 20, 2012 12:03 pm Chris_McElligottPark Resolution open => no change required