GUYS GUYS GUYS
If a player wants/needs to cheat - he will cheat !
If the marshalls are good they might catch a cheater !
If the marshalls are really well trained and motivated they might be able to spot the more clever cheats and catch more cheaters !
If the marshall is using a cheat himself (when he playes) will he ever look for this cheat and bring it in the public eye when he is marshalling ??
Will the clever marshalls learn new ways to cheat by discovering other cheats ??
No matter what you do with regards to limiting the firing modes of the marker, encasing the board in plastic, spraypainting it etc. If somebody has the knowlege to change the actual coding of the firmware or make advanced electronic circuits, the person will most likely have the ability to hide his doing as well.
Having worked with electronics and software for more than 15 years I can come up with "designer" cheats for all the major markers out there- not because im a genius (like Robbo
) but because its so simple you would not believe it !
Some of them might be easily found but the clever ones might take the designer of the board to detect if possible at all.
Trust me there is no way short of a total disassembly and a control of the firmware code itself (which might take days if not weeks to do) that will make anybody aware of some of the more cleaver cheats out there.
There is no simple way to enforce these rulese except on the field, using Chronoes and letting the marshalls take the gun out of the hands of players to testshoot it (which probably wont prove a thing).
Lets see, over the last couple of years I have heard about the following cheats being used in the Millennium series:
Special programs in markers allowing full auto etc. if the player presses a specific sequence on the trigger or any other buttons on the marker.
Full auto markers with the help of a magnet in the gloves of the player.
Fingerrings and squeegies fitted with hex keys allowing for the adjustment of regulators during play(note this is not limited to electronic guns).
Adjustment of Valve dwell on electronic guns giving higher velocity using magnets.
Bolts with different size holes and airflow which changes the velocity of the gun - this is a classic Autococker cheat somebody told me about this at Mayhem in 1995.
And the list goes on !
Since most of the elctronic guns use different Microprocessor, timings, solenoids etc., forget any thought about somebody (like the NPPL or the Millennium series) making a special "program" for all markers out there making them tournament legal - its not in any way possible to do !
Replace the boards in all electronic markers with special non reprogramable - "tamperproof" boards - making sure nobody will ever test a prototype or a homemade marker at a tournament - KEEP DREAMING it is not likely to ever happen (unless you guys are willing to pay for it) !
Let the manufacturers do the work and tell them to make only semi boards which cant be reprogrammed - this wont solve the problem since cheats will still be implemented, maybe not in the code of the microprocessor but as add-ons or mechanical changes.
No matter what, some people will always try to find a competitive advantage and use it (legal or not).
Flashback - Things on the edge: Weird colors on the jerseys, Soft loaders , stickers on loaders, neoprene peaked caps, turbo mode and dont forget the magical Thunderwipes (best gloves money could buy).
We need simple filed enforceable rules !
Just my 2 cents
Morten
