The mouse macros weren't the biggest problem, the user.ini that players edited to take more shots and be more difficult to die were! That's what you have to fix (user.ini)! That ban was a total disrespect for those that use macros, because AA was never against macros, you can figure out it was permitted, and now you suddenly forbid macro use and ban many of the few remaining players from the AA.
BocaNegra, feel free to post the link where America's Army developers said macros are ok. Until you do, quit using that as an excuse. Is the game really worth keeping alive if it's full of cheaters?
I doubt you can edit the user.ini to shoot more often and even if you could, it will be detected. I also highly doubt you can make yourself more difficult to die in the user.ini. Feel free to prove me wrong with some proof.
A few comments...
1) The original developers were neither for nor against macros. They were publically silent on the issue.
2) Macros do not equal to cheating, per se, but rather obtaining an unfair advantage, this is against the ethics of the game itself. Sort like bringing a gun to a knife fight... you can do it and nothing stops you from doing it, but is it really fair?
3) The ini file does indeed have some options that allow an unfair advantage... This is why CVAR checks were introduced in PB, so I don't get why Boca would even this this is a problem, because it is not.
4) The biggest problem in all games is the real-time injection of object code into the stack. Properly designed, even the operating system has no idea what it going on.
I could comment on "hackers" versus script kiddies and the like. In my opinion the latter are a scourge on gaming (as only an idiot would pay for
"skilz"), the former I have respect for (as an engineer who has reverse engineered, i.e. hacked, both hardware and software in a former life). BTW: I use the term "hacker" in the traditional sense, not the new found post-gaming era definition... Hacking used to be an honored tradition, but alas, it is now viewed in a poor light due to the negative connotations with the art...
Bottomline, If someone wanted to get an undetected advantage, it is simplier than anyone realizes. I won't offer any guidance, but lateral thinking is all that it required (and a soldering gun). If someone wants to cheat badly enough, nothing will stop them. But ask yourself, is winning in a PC game so important that you are willing to cheat to get there? Seems like a substitute for self-esteem... maybe you should see a psychiatrist.
OIC!