74 replies to this topic

[CoasterDesignerpro]

Project have already got an add in this weeks coinslot telling people what version to have installed 618/100! Obviously thats the one which is chipped.

[nails]

sorry nails if i offended you
but we could all see where this was heading
its all about the humor

im tough m8

(wiping the tears from my eyes)

[nails]

Blimey what a balls up. Must've cost them a fortune. Bet someone got bollocked for that big time. You'd think in this day and age they could actually spot something as obvious as that before it got released. Especially if it's the same coding cock up as what happened before.

nobody ever asks the question as to the cheat being there on purpose?

[mrmystery83]

An inside job mate? Well i'd imagine someone would pay a few quid for something like that. Never really thought of it like that. You do have to wonder sometimes though when they leave horrible glitches in the programming like that. Might be a bit dodgy......

[todd1970]

Wasnt there a JPM tech guy jailed ages ago for the old 1,2,3,2,1,3,1,2,3 code with the hold buttons to dump the hopper ? Alledgedly he was in on it with his mates.

[roderz]

Wasnt there a JPM tech guy jailed ages ago for the old 1,2,3,2,1,3,1,2,3 code with the hold buttons to dump the hopper ? Alledgedly he was in on it with his mates.

That code was for dumping the software meters via the serial port/ir unit, and would pause the machine for a few seconds.
And it was on maygay machines I think,

BTW I still have a maygay ir receiver somewhere, ;-)

On the same vien, didn't someone at BF do a trick ware inserting a particulay sequence of coins in the correct order would result in the machine (Cops & Robbers £4.80 jp) giving 9 JP in a row and then suck it back from normal punters.
Apparently they only spotted it when they had to upgrade the code to £6 jp, apparently the original coder was on holiday at the time so some one else spotted the code. DOH!!!

[stevedude2]

I remember reading about the Cops and Robbers button code years ago in the Sun. £3 repeat used to go for £27, then the machine would go £30 without a win or feature. Guy who put it in got banged up.

As for Chip and Spin being deliberate - come off it. Everyone makes mistakes. I love the way people always speculate these days that a bug was coded in, just because it's happened once or twice in the past. The reality is that in the current climate, with several manufacturers fighting over a shrinking UK market, and pressure to get a new game finished and tested and out on site before someone else gets in first, bugs will slip through. The fact that this game was hyped up at the Preview makes it even more urgent to get them out on site so Project can go the ATEi with some good figures for the machine.

The problem is that these days, with high machine floats, a problem can cost the operator a lot of money, and with the internet being a vehicle to spread information quickly, a lot of machines get done countrywide before the fix comes along.

Testing a new machine takes a lot of time and discipline, and you have to be incredibly thorough. And even then you might miss stuff. Until you've been there you don't know what it's like - so give them a break

[roderz]

Testing a new machine takes a lot of time and discipline, and you have to be incredibly thorough. And even then you might miss stuff.

Tell me about it.
But even so, my boss would probably think it was done deliberately and probably sack me and the coder !
Its not just £, its about damage to reputations as well

[GaryChandler]

Can anyone explain to me on deal or no deal power of 5 how the hell could that of been put there by accident????

and same with deal or no deal whats in your box the second feature up being pure skill?????

[cliffc]

I remember reading about the Cops and Robbers button code years ago in the Sun. £3 repeat used to go for £27, then the machine would go £30 without a win or feature. Guy who put it in got banged up.

As for Chip and Spin being deliberate - come off it. Everyone makes mistakes. I love the way people always speculate these days that a bug was coded in, just because it's happened once or twice in the past. The reality is that in the current climate, with several manufacturers fighting over a shrinking UK market, and pressure to get a new game finished and tested and out on site before someone else gets in first, bugs will slip through. The fact that this game was hyped up at the Preview makes it even more urgent to get them out on site so Project can go the ATEi with some good figures for the machine.

The problem is that these days, with high machine floats, a problem can cost the operator a lot of money, and with the internet being a vehicle to spread information quickly, a lot of machines get done countrywide before the fix comes along.

Testing a new machine takes a lot of time and discipline, and you have to be incredibly thorough. And even then you might miss stuff. Until you've been there you don't know what it's like - so give them a break

Hi

Your almost right the guy who did it did not get banged up he was taken to court this is why the story hit the Sun, but his defence was that as many programmers had worked on the code it could not be proved that it was him who actually inserted this bit of dodgy code. The Jury beleved his defence and found him not gulity so he did not get banged up .

Cliff C

[stevedude2]

Can anyone explain to me on deal or no deal power of 5 how the hell could that of been put there by accident????

and same with deal or no deal whats in your box the second feature up being pure skill?????

Software gets written, special version gets given to game testers with button shortcuts so they can make sure various game elements work properly, like features, lamp routines, sounds and so on, rather than having to play the game for an hour to get to each feature. Button shortcut gets left in by accident, and the software is released.

With DOND WIYB there's nothing wrong with a true skill feature, as long as when the reflex is burnt the controller doesn't let the feature through. A combination of underestimating a player's skill levels, allowing the first hi/lo never to lose on the board and losing game counts based on games played rather than cash in probably caused the problem on that game.

That's the difference between coding and typing words Gary. Typing 'of' instead of 'have' isn't the biggest crime in the world, but type a wrong number into some code, or leave a line or two in by mistake, and you could have a monster on your hands...

Your almost right the guy who did it did not get banged up he was taken to court this is why the story hit the Sun, but his defence was that as many programmers had worked on the code it could not be proved that it was him who actually inserted this bit of dodgy code. The Jury beleved his defence and found him not gulity so he did not get banged up .

Cheers for setting me straight on that one Cliff

[roderz]

Software gets written, special version gets given to game testers with button shortcuts so they can make sure various game elements work properly, like features, lamp routines, sounds and so on, rather than having to play the game for an hour to get to each feature. Button shortcut gets left in by accident, and the software is released.

correct
But it shouldn't get left in, if written correctly you would have a 'development' flag set at compile time to enable the ability to force features in, if not set then no forcing (shortcuts as you call them)
But thats in a perfect world, thats how most coders I know do it but things DO still slip through the net,
I once discovered an engineer had 'hard coded' a force on a turbo gamble on feature ladder (2nd feature on brd oddly enough) all you had to do was hold down cancel and keep pressing the start button - straight to mega streak!!!!
You should have seen his face when he saw me get a MS, absolutely shat himself.
Thank god their was only 1 machine o site at the time !

[stevedude2]

Hehe!

I'm not a software programmer so I can't really comment with any authority on how machines are coded (never written a line of code in my life, all looks like Chinese), so it's really an educated guess.

But then that's what site-testing is for, to get all the unforseen issues ironed out and the gameplay and balance right before committing to building more

[roderz]

Hehe!
it's really an educated guess.

An extremely spot on guess.

But then that's what site-testing is for, to get all the unforseen issues ironed out and the gameplay and balance right before committing to building more

Initial site test maybe forgivable, but even so testers should have picked stuff up, thats what were paid for.
Secondary / Industry test defo not, and as for production / sales machines - all I can say is Oh dear what a f*** up!

Wonder if Project are taking on ;-)

[nails]

I remember reading about the Cops and Robbers button code years ago in the Sun. £3 repeat used to go for £27, then the machine would go £30 without a win or feature. Guy who put it in got banged up.

As for Chip and Spin being deliberate - come off it. Everyone makes mistakes. I love the way people always speculate these days that a bug was coded in, just because it's happened once or twice in the past. The reality is that in the current climate, with several manufacturers fighting over a shrinking UK market, and pressure to get a new game finished and tested and out on site before someone else gets in first, bugs will slip through. The fact that this game was hyped up at the Preview makes it even more urgent to get them out on site so Project can go the ATEi with some good figures for the machine.

The problem is that these days, with high machine floats, a problem can cost the operator a lot of money, and with the internet being a vehicle to spread information quickly, a lot of machines get done countrywide before the fix comes along.

Testing a new machine takes a lot of time and discipline, and you have to be incredibly thorough. And even then you might miss stuff. Until you've been there you don't know what it's like - so give them a break

i dont think that we can be judge nor jury here, but from what i understand from programming, it will only do what you ask it. for example -

* obtaining bar x o hold once and press start for jp
* getting a bar code that does affect the percentage
* pressing nudges and cancel obtains the top feature
* getting exactly £12.80 in the bank, turn off/on will empty tubes
* pressing cancel turns pseudo nudges into true skill
* cancel/start gives £2 free credit
* change 30p stake to 50p after £7.20 in credits

i believe that if a machine only does what you program it, then the above must be programmed in, its too intricate for hit and miss.

jerrys final thought -

Yes, we all make mistakes, and some of them are costly. but where do we draw the line? a £125 float, a £250 float or a machnie that was emptied of £1000 and banked for a further £900 ?

[roderz]

Project have already got an add in this weeks coinslot telling people what version to have installed 618/100! Obviously thats the one which is chipped.

Also also telling people how to check the version number!! lovely

[mrmystery83]

Thing is it can't be proven. It's just speculation. Sometimes you do think to yourself 'that's got to be an inside job'. In some cases 'tricks' are so obscure you'd think no one would ever find them in a month of sundays. That's what makes you think sometimes, "how the hell did they find that out?!!" and makes you a bit suspicious. I don't think it happens everytime but i reckon certain ones are left in, and if there's a chance they'll get away with it, and make a few bob into the bargain, why shouldn't some programmers leak certain 'information'? It's not as bad as what it used to be. Years ago there was loads of glitches etc knocking about.

But maybe as software gets more advanced it gets more difficult to cover every possible scenario. Programming errors are rarer than years ago, but with the current high JP machines knocking about they can cost companies/arcades 1000's potentially.

[lincs1]

How about the original dond empty? I can't imagine something like this is accidentaly left in and then one day some punter was just playing around and worked out a way to empty it.

you wouldn't happen to be trying to seek a DOND emptier would u?