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Kim Strasser avatar image
Kim Strasser asked

Will it prevent players from cheating if I always download the level file before they can start playing a level?

I have a text file for each level in my game. Each file has between 10 and 50 kilobytes. Is it possible to always download the level file when the player wants to play a level?

The content of the level text files will never change. I just want that the player can not manipulate the content of the files, because the player could make the levels much easier if he would change the content.

After the player has finished a level, his needed time will get published in a leaderboard. I think that the player could cheat if he had manipulated the level file before playing the level, and therefore it would be possible to finish the level faster than normally because he had manipulated the level before playing it.

Is it possible to use the PlayFab File Management for loading level files or is it not a good idea to use File Management in this case?

For example: If the player chooses level 15, then the client will download the file Level15.txt from File Management and save it on the player's iOS/Android device and immediately after that the client code will use the content of this file. Only after that the player can play level 15.

Will it prevent players from cheating if I always download the level file before they can start playing a level?

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Sarah Zhang avatar image
Sarah Zhang answered

>> I have a text file for each level in my game. Each file has between 10 and 50 kilobytes. Is it possible to always download the level file when the player wants to play a level?

Yes, it’s possible. PlayFab CDN (File Management) is targeted for such usages.

>> Is it possible to use the PlayFab File Management for loading level files or is it not a good idea to use File Management in this case(prevent players from cheating)? Will it prevent players from cheating if I always download the level file before they can start playing a level?

It can be taken use of in some extents. Using PlayFab CDN for loading level filesis useful to hot update game data, but it’s not the key points of preventing players from cheating. If you want to prevent players from cheating via loading level files every time, please notice to use encrypted text files. In addition, developers can’t use encrypted text files and loading files online to completely prevent players from cheating. It’s still needed to check player data regularly, and build positive or negative incentives mechanism.

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brendan avatar image brendan commented ·
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Kim Strasser avatar image Kim Strasser brendan commented ·

Thanx Brendan. Your post is very helpful.

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