tali computer players cheat

[YrlInpMbPiwZDMZN]

Binary package hint: gnome-games

Hi,

in gtali 2.20.1 (current version in ubuntu 7.10) the gtali computer players cheat: They score '5 of a kind [50]' multiple times resulting in 100 and more points for having luck..

There's a screenshot: http://raser.lima-city.de/bilderhochladen/bild.php/713,screenshot-gtali-2.20.1bvdz6.png

Thanks in advance

[Pedro Villavicencio (pedro)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. Unfortunately we can't fix it, because your description didn't include enough information. You may find it helpful to read "How to report bugs effectively" http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html. We'd be grateful if you would then provide a more complete description of the problem.

[YrlInpMbPiwZDMZN (some-fancy-name)]

ok, so here's a more sophisticated bug report for those who missed informations in the first one..

how to reproduce the problem efficiently: locate function
   int RollDie(void)
in file
   gtali/yahtzee.c
modify it to return '1' instead of random numbers 1..6 (aka both player and computer will roll nothing but '1's)
int RollDie (void) {
   // return ((rand () % 6) + 1);
   return 1;
}

Compile/run and see the results. For the screenshot in the attachment I played 5 rounds (of course rolling '1's only..). The computer players cheated (as described in my original posting) and scored 5 times 50 points (=250) for '5 of a kind [50]' each - disrespecting the rules:

   "You can only use each combination once[..]" (from: gtali/help/C/gtali.xml aka 'help')

 As described in my original posting this also happens in 'real play' when the computer players roll '5 of a kind' more than once in a game.

By the way: The player cannot re-use the same combination/cheat (conforming to the rules), only the computer players do.

Have fun hunting down the bug.

--
some software developer

[Pedro Villavicencio (pedro)]

Thanks!, I've sent this report upstream at : http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=499231

[MHiehle (mhiehle)]

There is no cheat:
It is all in this game: multiple times "yahtzee" !!
Unfortunately in the color Tali there is once the score permitted, see my bug remark of today.
Mhiehle

[ZanoZik (zanozik)]

Of course it's not a cheat, since Human player can too score multiple "yahtzee" or 5 of a Kind combos.
Still, some cheating is going on, since CPU get 5 of a Kind more too often the Human. I have played Tali for 2hr, trying to get only 5 of a Kind combo, still CPU got avg. 2 combo per game = 2/5 (5 cpu players), and me - avg.1 combo per 9-10 games = 1/10. So in average cpu get 5 of a Kind combo 4x more often then me (w/o trying to get only it). Anyone looked through the code about that? :)

[Rick Wiedeman (rick-wiedeman)]

I agree that something is fishy. The "Wilbur" character just scored 100 points on the 5-of-a-kind slot three games in a row. The odds of that being legitimate are... about 0.006 %. I'm not a programmer, but that seems like a bug to me.

[Benjamin (skivvy51)]

Hello out there, I hope someone eventually reads this and can answer my question.

Concerning the supposed "cheating" of the computer players... they are not cheating, it's just that the rules of the game's Gnome version allow for multiple yahtzees (5 of a kind). I also manage to score multiple yahtzees on a regular basis, sometimes as many as 4 in one game.

But what is a source of concern is the fact that the game has difficulty settings. I cannot understand why a game that is supposed to rely on chance has difficulty settings. It can only mean that the Gnome version of the game does NOT rely on chance. Can anyone explain to me what is going on in the game?

Thanx and ciao

[Benjamin (skivvy51)]

I also want to know why you can't have multiple yahtzees in the Colors version of the game.

[ubername (ubername)]

I think the difficulty setting determines how wisely the computer players make use of their scores. For example if you throw five sixes do you record it as a chance, a yahtzee, a three of a kind, a four of a kind, a full house or as sixes above the line?