Major: Consistent phantom damage to remote components not being attacked.

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Version: 2.0.9.8s
User: PartyFlava

Summary:

When attacking a server, the server also takes damage to components not being 
attacked, as if other players are attacking the other components even when 
nobody else is connected.

I first noticed this when attacking hub.codelink on global at around 02:00 on 
10/2, but I figured somebody else was coincidentally attacking. I also noticed 
that at least one other server I attacked around that time also seemed to have 
somebody else attacking it.

Later, when logging on at around 04:30 (+/- 30 minutes), HushFoot mentioned to 
me in a PM that he thought components were taking damage when they shouldn't 
be. I was skeptical.

Around that time, Tisiphony also mentioned a hijack that failed because a 
server with 25 HP left all of a sudden crashed. I was also skeptical, chalking 
it off to other things.

As an experiment, at around 05:00 I attacked hub.africa on global. There were 
very few other users online and it is unlikely that anybody else would be 
attacking this hub at this time. Much to my surprise, the hub, which started 
out at 100% HP on all components, started taking damage that I was not dealing. 
I had 8 CPU attack scripts running, but I observed all 4 components on that hub 
taking damage. I made no mention of me doing this in chat, and I cannot bring 
myself to believe that somebody began attacking that server at that same moment 
in time purely by coincidence.

Attached is a screenshot of my hwdiag logs and HP bars for that attack. I 
loaded 8 CPU attack scripts and let them each hit once before unloading the 
scripts. Of note: I connected to the server and watched it for approximately 30 
seconds before I started attacking and noticed no damage during this time. All 
CON/MEM/DSK damage started at the same time my CPU attack scripts first hit.

1. The server started with 40000/40000/40000/40000.
2. My 8 scripts hit doing 3196 total damage to CPU. This attack should have 
left the server with 40000/40000/36804/40000.
3. I watched phantom CON/MEM/DSK hits come in during that time. The server was 
now at 40000/38245/35288/38958. I unloaded all of my scripts.
4. Approx 5 seconds later, I watched phantom hits continue. Server now at 
40000/34464/32546/38958. Note the extremely high phantom damage rate.
5. Approx 5 seconds later, hits continue. Server now at 38481/31492/31669/35221.

So in that period of time, while the server should have taken 0/0/3196/0 
damage, it actually took 1519/8508/8331/4779 damage!

Again, if this was a one off, I would have chalked it off to somebody else (or 
multiple others in this case) attacking. But given other events, and the time 
and server, and the sheer amount of damage, this appears to be something 
stranger.

Original issue reported on code.google.com by jason.ci...@gmail.com on 2 Oct 2013 at 9:36

Attachments:

• ghosts.png

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I figured it out. If you look at the damage the server did to me in the hwdiag 
logs, you will note that it hit my CON for 1519 total, which is the same amount 
of "phantom" damage that was done to the server.

Doing the math, the server took 1519/8506/5132/4779 more damage than I dealt 
it. If you add up all the damage *it* did to *me*, you get: 1519/8506/5132/4779 
(not counting the last the DSK hits it had on me, which I guess hit after the 
final net.health that I did).

Clearly the servers, for some reason, are applying damage done to the attacker 
to themselves as well. Perhaps they are so distraught from being attacked that 
they have taken to self-mutilation.

Original comment by jason.ci...@gmail.com on 2 Oct 2013 at 10:02

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Original comment by codelin...@gmail.com on 2 Oct 2013 at 12:54

• Changed state: Resolved