EVE General Discussion

No idea if anyone's thought of it so far, but it strikes me that there's the potential to be a few problems with CREST and script/botting accusations.

For a technical explanation of CREST, see here

For a non technical explanation, it's a method programmers can use to interact with the EVE client, developed by CCP. Currently released in alpha-ish state.

When talking about what was planned for CREST, it was mentioned that at some point it may even get the ability to transfer ISK around. This would be a total godsend to SRP, since nullsec blocs already have the tools to validate the majority of their losses without user intervention. This is all perfectly fine as it's purely meta-gaming and doesn't interact with the client/EVE universe directly.

If CREST ever gets the ability to make ISK transferals on behalf of the client though, I can see every nullsec bloc with SRP out there making a CREST script to automate SRP. Not every SRP request will be able to be automatically verified, but please don't try telling me that 'it's just so exploitable', because really it isn't. A fairly basic set of rules will remove exploitability, whilst the 'meta-advanced' groups have a ton of tools already made that would allow a 90%+ automation rate.

So here is a script that can do something far faster than a human can *and* interacts with the EVE universe, is it legit? Do you say 'yes, since it uses CREST to interact'? In which case the EULA needs re-tweaking to include this. Or is it 'No, no scripts to transfer money!' in which case CREST looks a bit shaky, since it's one of the most impressive features that's been proposed for it.

Given the current forum rage over the bot/script/whatever accusations, I think now would be a good time to work this out. Regardless, we need some clear rules on CREST and what will consider botting/not botting before it gets fully released.

3.You may not use your own or any third-party software, macros or other stored rapid keystrokes or other patterns of play that facilitate acquisition of items, currency, objects, character attributes, rank or status at an accelerated rate when compared with ordinary Game play. You may not rewrite or modify the user interface or otherwise manipulate data in any way to acquire items, currency, objects, character attributes or beneficial actions not actually acquired or achieved in the Game.

So yeh, it could be against that, since I write it it's third party, and it is used to 'facilitate acquisition of ... currency'. I don't quite feel like dancing around grey areas of EULAs and there's nothing out yet about how this will fit in, so I figure it should get hammered out *before* CREST goes live with this stuff.

I know, wanting clear rules on something is just stupid right? So dumb.

Are API...
A programming interface.

Means they encapsulate the client; resources actually accessible reading and/or reading the client cache (like the market data dump, just to say....) become accessible only trought call to these API.

So - I figure - they can offer alternative tools to all those services developed by players based on data taken from the cache and
finally protect the cache (or simply declare illegal any access to it); as should be already since is a major vulnerability exploited by botting scripts. I supose they didnt closed the access to the cache cause they don't want to destroy all the services (i.e. the sites offering market stistics or IGB based applications) developed by players.

Access to resources handled by API are totally different than direct brutal access to the client cache (that IMHO should be already banned, but at CCP are tollerants, so...).

How can CREST be against the EULA since they weite the EULA too?

That is CCP's clever plan... to get any 3rd party developer banned by handing out API/CREST calls only to then instantly nuke anyone who uses it.

tbh I don't think you need to worry that much about it, they already rate limit API calls today in some ways and easily do the same for CREST calls, be it only allowing a number of calls per day/hour/minute or whatnot.

Also this fits nicely in the Magic Crystal Ball module, seeing as there's only lose speculations on most things until CREST is available.

And oh, you realize you will need to sign up in order to use it, I'm sure we will all get to read the fineprint there, so if you miss the part where you are not allowed to automate your ISK transfers and do it anyway, yeah you broke the rules.

/c