Board Thread:Game Discussion/@comment-31717798-20171223105008/@comment-28169398-20171227173020

So where is everyone willing to draw the line?

Bot slowing or Bot management is intentionally exploiting a feature built into the game that adjusts the level of difficulty so that a race will eventually balance to just hard enough but not too hard. Assuming the naive player, it is built into the code, and without their knowledge, the game is making these calculations and adjustments for the sake of playability. And maybe the algorithm is set up in such away that the adjustments don't quite happen fast enough, which builds frustration in the player and maybe induces them to make upgrades.

However, along comes a group of smart individuals that work out what is going on and develop a strategy to exploit this feature to their advantage. Because they understand the algorithm, know game stats like trophies, wins and losses has no bearing, and have the patience to do so, they adjust the level to a point where they can win every time with no upgrades needed. And then they decide to share that information on a Fan Site that talks strategy and is a repository of knowledge for the game.

That is not how the developers intended the algorithm to work, so it is an exploit of the game. But whose fault is that? Like it or not, there is a strategic component to this game. Play it strategically, with a good time investment, and the game stays free (not counting the ad revenue generate), not exactly what the developers may have had in mind. But is that wrong?

And isn't it wrong when the developers then retaliate? Making goals that are near impossible with no algorithm in place for adjustment of difficulty. They are taking the strategy out of the game by doing this and turning into an arcade game. Just buy, buy, buy, press thumbs to screen, tilt device left and right. No thinking involved, just mind-numbing running of 204 very similar cars on the same tracks. Take the strategy out of Real Racing, and like Aurelio Zen said, it becomes to boring to play.