Botting, Scripting and their Rules

There is a unique case of obvious scripting/botting abuse going on right now with staff being unwilling to do anything about it. As some of you may have noticed, the bounties section in the newspaper has been overflowing. In less than two days, over 24 thousand bounties have been placed by a single individual. For those wondering, that makes sixteen bounties a minute for 48 hours straight.

I have reported this person, but personally, I consider it infuriating because of how flagrant and obvious the violation is.

Bots and Scripts have been a part of Torn for a very long time. Scripts to check which targets are being mugged on the homepage, bots playing casino games for you and the various faction warfare scripts have been used for quite a long time. That doesnt make them OK though. Every single one of them provides an unfair edge to the players that have installed them, forcing people to install them as well if they want to keep up with the competition.

The rules of Torn say ambivalently say that "using scripts & bots to provide advantage" is not allowed. Thats obviously bullshit because if they didnt provide advantages, there would be no reason to install them in the first place. With the API being in place, scripting is even encouraged.

What is needed is either:

1. Stricter enforcement of the rule
2. Rephrasing the relevant rules
3. Making scripts and bots entirely legal

Every one of these options has advantages and disadvantages, but we need changes. Right now anything concerning scripts is in an unclear limbo where individual moderator bias will ultimately decide if reported people are deemed guilty or not. That has to change.

What do you believe in regarding this subject?

Just extremely interesting coming from a Relentless member. PS: With a couple energy drinks, 16 a minute is completely doable. Jog on.


Free-Midknight disliked your post
Botting, Scripting and their Rules


lol which one are you again???

I voted for making botting and scripting an entirely legal part of the game. While I dont use any scripts or bots myself I do use Tornstats and the ambivalent way the rules are written is silly.

Scripts are an extremely integral part of the game for many people which increase the satisfaction of their users alot. But on the other hand there are also enough rumours and accusation to make it clear there are scripts for automatically mugging people, Self hospitalising and many more things that negatively impact other players.


EDIT: also throwing multi accusations because someone disliked your post is plain childish

That last part you write about is entirely why the rules are somewhat ambiguous - certain aspects of script usage are very positive and can only serve to enhance a players experience without detriment to someone else. It must be understood that there will of course be technical grey areas that some genuinely common sense can cut through (i.e. automating stock scripts to make you money etc.)

Edit: wasn't throwing any multi accusations, I guess I'm sorry if it came across that way, it was a sarcastic comment on the number of people changing their name recently, lol.

I don't think you realise how long it took mat to place all these bounties.. You obviously weren't actively looking at the time both at the newspaper and at global..

Just because someone chooses to dedicate himself to something like that doesn't mean they're using scripts.

However you do have a point in the midst of your blatant accusations, the rules on scripts often are quite unclear and perhaps they could use a rephrase, but then something else would become unclear etc. Ending in a limbo. This is why you can / should always ask Clansy to approve your script before using / releasing it, so you are sure it is completely legal. If you chose to script grey zones without having double checked that is and will always be, despite rephrasing, at your own risk.

Why would anyone use an illegal script to place so many bounties that it can't go unnoticed by anyone else? Would be pretty damn stupid if you ask me.

that makes sixteen bounties a minute for 48 hours straight.

you can do at least 60-70 no prob before getting a 60 second ip ban

but lets say 64 that means thats 12 hours, give him the occasional ip ban and stuff, say 14 hours at a kind of easier pace

120requests per minute is what i think you are allowed, and using refresh mat probs got about 76 so thats 9 hours or so with some rest type deal

i mean i could easily place 10 bounties depending on fast i click, and internet connection in maybe 3 seconds that would be easily possible to get the maxium(120 requests per min ?)

while i cant verify mat one way or the other, other than what he says, there are some maths for you

I've said elsewhere there should be a script library in the forum. Any script in use must be published there.

Someone said 'but some people just want to share them with their friends etc.' Well, I bet they f**king do. I'm all for legal scripts but any script should automatically be illegal if not published.

f**k cheaters and all who sail on them.

As someone who has in the past spent HOURS adding endless bank statements on a calculator before the advent of cheap laptops & Excel I must say has an incredible high boredom threshold for repeatedly pressing numeric keys in a rhymic pattern over a LONG period of time...

If it's legit.

I'll report this here as it may have got lost in the other thread:

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I'm glad a thread like this was made by an admin, I guess it's a very good chance to clear the air and bring a bit of openness to the community. For the record, I think Midknight's punishment was apt. When I first joined the committee, I exchanged mails with Clansy and it was made crystal clear that if information was shared outside the committee when it clearly shouldn't be, my account would face deletion. I had time at that point to back out if I didn't want to, and since then I have been mindful of this fact.

The exact quote from Clansy's mail is as follows:

Trust is huge on the Committee if you are found to be sharing information (and we will find out) your account will be deleted
and you will not be welcome back to Torn. Please note deleted means deleted. We trust you with information before we release
it to the public we expect that it stays private until released by game Devs/Admins.

So I welcome Marc's refreshing attitude towards committee discipline. Hopefully it will alleviate to some extent the distrust and contempt that is held for committee members. There is no reward for being a committee member, and it requires continual discussion and activity, as well as an in-depth knowledge of game mechanics. Players who meet all of these criteria are hard to come by - even I don't know everything there is to know about game mechanics, but I try my best.

But there is one thing that troubles me. Recently, I reported a group of players who use a stock script when I found it on their site.

[image: i.gyazo.com]

Above is a screenshot of what the script does; automatic alerts for the player when stocks hit certain price levels, have shares added to the exchange, or forecasts change. Below, is an extract of the code; written within is clear evidence of who was responsible for the creation of the script, which I believe also to be a good indicator of who is/was using it.

[image: i.gyazo.com]


Now, getting down to what really bugs me, Midknight was fedded for abuse that would have seen either him or his friend around $300m better off. Fine.

I reported Nash, Hank, BraveKath, decap101 and afwas (the ones easily identifiable from the script's comment section) for use of the illegal script that has helped the group make literally HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of dollars.

[image: i.gyazo.com]

Now, given that my evidence was accepted by a staff member and "action was taken", it is evidently clear that a) the group received no fed time, and b) no networth was removed. So what did they get? Nothing? A warning? A tap on the wrist? What the hell kind of a punishment is that?

How is this a similar level of justice?

I want to reiterate my point of view: ban the cheaters. This isn't a call for Midknight to be released, but for other cheaters like him to be punished by being removed from the game.


22:18:05 <RPG> critch: Do you find it awkward that you brag on the forums about how good you are when you were caught and warned about using illegal scripts?
22:18:05 <RPG> Nash: Lol. What scripts? I wasn't fedded for scripts
22:18:05 <RPG> Nash: Nice accusation, idiot
22:18:05 <RPG> critch: Warned
22:18:05 <RPG> Nash: Nope, never warned either.
22:18:05 <RPG> Nash: I use faction scripts, which means everyone in relentless would be warned
22:18:05 <RPG> Nash: Nice accusations

P.S. Marc, if you want to look into this, I have a copy of the script used by this group of players that I will share with you.

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The rules around scripting are clear, scripts of the nature I have referenced above are illegal. All information should be pulled from the API, not from Torn itself.

Everything you have highlighted is clearly ridiculous to anyone playing with a shred of common sense, thank you for reposting. I hope this is directly addressed.

Are you sure they aren't using the API? Last time I checked, the stock.json on their server seemed to be equivalent to the API calls.

Now, of course this'd be a huge deal if they are/were indeed bypassing the API. I just find it odd the admins would ignore such a blatant violation.

I'd like a response from an admin, cause if it is legal I will start handing it out to people

Seems very suss and I hope it's looked into but why post about it in several threads?

Why not create your own thread instead of gatecrashing others

do we need three threads essentially devolving in to the same topic? :/

this thread is about botting, scripting and there rules i think boo's post fits nicely here

thats exactly what an scripter would say...

brilliant xD

This is way worse than what Midknight did, they should all be fedded. Funny how Nash acts high and mighty like he is so good, when he simply has a good script. How pathetic!

edit- Really throws into question the rest of their gameplay as well. Nash has the craziest casino stats I have seen, would it be possible to have a program playing casino for you? I know people have used scripts to get the high low merit so it must be possible right?

Can I have your Stock Script?