Mediumcore is always enforced, and if you like I can ban voodoo dolls. I haven't taken any time to look into cheating with HP, so if you find some documentation on the Tshock website that would be great.
Mediumcore is enforced, but if someone knows they are going to die and doesn't want to lose their stuff, they can (and will) simply quit out to save it.
That being the case, some method of stopping this would be ideal. The standard method is making it so the only items you can leave and come back with are copper shortsword, copper pickaxe, and copper axe (the three starting items).
In this way, people will need to store their items in a chest somewhere on the server before logging out. Basically, going back to their safe haven to log out and save their stuff. Those who randomly quit out will be forced to delete their inventory upon returning (or alternatively, you could simply kill them upon log-in and delete the items they drop). Most people will choose to lose their items to someone else if they're about to die, since at least that way there's a chance of getting them back.
I've been playing on your current world for a bit, and it seems like it's more than reliable enough for you to be able to enforce this without a problem. Doesn't look like there's any risk of disconnects or random kicks.
Alternatively, maybe a system could be utilized in which the player is left on the server for 60 seconds after logging out? If they are killed and lose their items during this time, they will be forced to delete all their stuff when the log-in the next time (since server wouldn't think they were supposed to have it). Not sure if this is possible, although it'd be the best solution if so.
Another idea would be to make it so you need to be at your maximum health in order to log out safely. Failure to do so will cause you to die upon log out, leaving your stuff behind for whoever is around.
Building on that idea, a slightly different approach would be that you're required to be within X distance of your own spawn if you log out, otherwise you die.
Not sure what method works best for you. Anything will work really, as long as it stops people that are in danger from disconnecting instead of trying to flee and survive. Leaving the game while PvP is not enabled should also cause item deletion or dropping, to stop exploitation.
I'm guessing the most practical solution is probably the way the Kingdoms server does it, since that's how they ended up doing it.
The standard method is making it so the only items you can leave and come back with are copper shortsword, copper pickaxe, and copper axe (the three starting items).
In this way, people will need to store their items in a chest somewhere on the server before logging out. Basically, going back to their safe haven to log out and save their stuff.
It just work the way you're doing it already, except in addition to whatever the player shouldn't have when they join, they also delete everything that's not a starter item.
In addition, current notes:
- You have health detection working already, I could not hack my health higher than it was supposed to be. Mana detection, however, did not work, and I easily changed it to max. Maybe because I had no mana yet? Not sure.
- First time you log-in, it forces you to delete starter items (copper pickaxe, copper shortsword, copper axe). This then requires you to go kill yourself somewhere to get them back, since you can't play without them.
- Safes are disabled. Piggy banks, however, are not. I was easily able to bring in all end game stuff, and putting it in my inventory updated the server successfully, allowing me to leave and return with those items.
- Banned items can be carried around in the trash after being brought in with piggy bank. They can then be brought out of trash, used, and put back in trash without any issue. If piggy banks aren't accessible this might not be an issue, not sure.
- Some items brought in triggered the banned item effect (being slow, teleporting), such as Obsidian Skin Potion and Greater Healing Potion, from being above the stack limit. I was able to carry them around in trash and use them freely anyways without triggering the teleport effect though.
- Not having PvP enabled instantly teleports you back to the center of the map. This happens the second you log-in, with no chance of enabling it before the respawn kicks in. It'd be fine if it would use your set spawn when you log-in instead of map center (which it does the rest of the time after that). One possibility would be to giving you maybe 10 seconds after log-in to turn PvP on.
- The Eye of Cthulu dropped Corrupt Seeds when it died, and I was able to pick them up. Not sure if these can be planted, I tried to toss them on the ground and they disappeared as expected.
- Buffs with greater than the maximum length aren't detected, and neither are buffs which the player shouldn't have (he leaves the game with no buffs, comes back with all buffs, the server doesn't care). Players who return with a buff they didn't have before should be locked in place as if they have illegal items, they can always right click to remove the buff. The same should happen for anyone with buffs longer than the maximum buff time (so you can't leave with 30 seconds left on Obsidian Skin and come back with 30 minutes).
- Wall of Flesh can be summoned for sure, I did it already. I'd say try banning voodoo dolls, and if that doesn't work, any way a monster editor can make WoF invincible?
- Stacks greater than the actual maximum aren't detected in all instances. Potion stacks can be detected as being too high, however ammo stacks are not. It seems anything with a max stack of 250 is detecting the hacked stack of 999 as 231. If a player gets a legitimate stack of something at 231 or higher, they can then hack the stack as high as they want when they return (this would also be prevented by requiring players to deposit all items into chests somewhere before logging out, so that no non-starter items can be brought in when logging back in).
- People can turn PvP off with no real drawback. They may be weak, but they can't be attacked, and are free to regen health in relative safety. Is it possible to make it so players with PvP off suffer from health degen? Alternatively, making it so anyone who turns PvP off after it's been turned on will die? This would work rather well in conjunction with the system in which you're required to leave your items somewhere on the server before logging out.
- The distance around spawn which cannot be changed seems to be too small. It might be advisable to increase it (maybe about 3 times the size it currently is?). Alternatively, you could make a starting house/small starting town of some kind at spawn and make that and the surrounding area untouchable.
- Expanding on the previous one, I'm not sure if you've found out how to set areas to untouchable (like how the area around spawn is protected), but it would be cool to be able to use X amount of gold to purchase 800x600 blocks of space in which only we can modify the area (even if the price was really high exponential, there was a max of 3 screens, and all 3 screens had to be touching one another either horizontally or vertically to make a single continuous protected area). Even just a single really expensive 800x600 area would be enough. Not sure if you'd want to do this though, since (however it's done) requires it be done manually (so they give you X gold, you have them stand in the center of their spot, then they say "okay" and you set it from there lol). I could look into how this is done if it's something you'd want to do.
Of course, this would pretty much require a Large world, since Large already seems pretty small after you get some of the better mobility gear, never mind having chunks of space disappearing. I sort of like the idea of having to hide your house if you don't want it broken into, although I also like the idea of having a protected building that could be used as a store, for example.
Even just being able to buy a single 800x600 block of protected space would be more than enough to allow for safe storage of items and some level of player interactions (safe trading would be technically possible in such a location, for example).
That's all I have for now, just trying to help patch up the available exploits. It definitely has a lot of promise, I wouldn't go to the trouble if it didn't

It wasn't too hard to get a bunch of people on to play at once, and everyone seemed to like the general feel of it. Hopefully none of this is too hard to iron out, I'm looking forward to the big new world
Post has been edited 8 time(s), last time on Jan 15 2012, 4:15 pm by Azrael.Wrath.