Re: Major bug and what to do about it (long)

[Hans Ronne <hronne@comhem.se>]

>Hans Ronne wrote:
>
>> To follow up, this problem already exists with the current code. If I
>> switch off the AI and try to hit the same bogus unit view with a manual 'f'
>> command I get the anser "No visible unit there" (and no acp is consumed).
>> So probing the terrain for free is already possible, precisely because
>> do_hit_unit_task tries to do a fire_at_action (or an attack_action) instead
>> of a fire_into_action (or an overrun_action). Only the latter are really
>> safe to use in a unit view context.
>
>Unless this has been changed, the patch I made to the Tcl/Tk interface
>on 2003/12/29 addresses this.

No, your patch addressed a different problem: the fire-into-empty cells
cheat. What I am talking about is attempting to fire at unit views in order
to find out if the unit is still sitting there or if it is a ghost view.
And this exploit is still possible, both in the tcltk interface and in the
mac interface. In effect, what it means is that you can attempt to fire at
unit views for free until you target a real unit, in which case the fire
action will execute and you will be charged.

It is not as bad as the fire-into-empty-cells cheat, but certainly not
something that should be permitted without any cost in acps or materials.
Only real actions, whether they fail or not, should provide information
about the enemy side and its units.

Hans