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Factorio has a really good dev team behind it so I trust that they're doing their best to fix these issues. Though, gamedev in general seems to be more of a cre

Factorio has a really good dev team behind it so I trust that they're doing their best to fix these issues. Though, gamedev in general seems to be more of a creative endeavor which puts things like code practices and security on the back burner. I wonder how many zero day exploits are lurking in game clients / servers.

gjsman-1000 2y ago
Most likely, it’s not very good. Why do you think every console manufacturer, from Xbox to Sony to Nintendo, does not allow connecting to arbitrary server IP addresses or modding support? It’s not merely a business decision (like some believe) to force people to use official Online services. Think about it: Restricting connecting to third-party server IPs means that any bugs in the network code, or in the rest of the game, even atrocious ones, will never be exploited. Restricting mods (even “safe” mods like Lua) further prevents exploits. This makes sense - buggy network code has tanked multiple consoles’s DRM historically. And not just exploits - these consoles pride themselves on doing their review process before the code becomes available (despite oversights). Allowing executing of Lua, from a remote system, basically means a game could be reconfigured remotely after approval potentially from the developer themselves - not something any console manufacturer wants to permit without very close inspection.
- tiagod 2y ago
  I don't own any newer console, but I remember people abusing the P2P nature of PS3 Call of Duty MW2 to make ridiculous custom servers that you would randomly connect to. So at least on the Playstation 3, games would connect to arbitrary IPs. Maybe this has changed in the PS4 and PS5, probably for this reason.
  - robotnikman 2y ago
    I remember playing the Xbox version and you would sometimes get lobbies where everyone had infinite ammo grenade launchers with no reload, or other similar funny stuff. I really enjoyed myself when I was lucky to end up in one of the matches.
  - BlueTemplar 2y ago
    If there's a specific host/server that everyone in that game has to connect to, it isn't "P2P".
    - xboxnolifes 2y ago
      Pedantically, maybe. But the host of the match lobby was randomly selected and it could have been any of the peers who end up as the host. When the host leaves, one of the remaining peers becomes the new host. So, all peers have the capability of being client and/or server. That sounds like p2p to me.
      - BlueTemplar 2y ago
        Ah, I didn't know something like this existed, I thought you were talking about player-hosted lobbies.
    - tiagod 2y ago
      You connect directly to one of the players in the lobby, also known as a peer. It isn't a dedicated game server, just the game itself. I think it qualifies very well as P2P.
cedws 2y ago
Yeah, best to keep a separate computer for gaming for this reason. Definitely don’t put important documents or work stuff on it. It would be ideal to isolate it in a VM, but setting up a gaming VM can be a massive pain in the ass and exclude you from some games that use anticheat.
kevincox 2y ago
Yup. Intend to assume that any game with remote interaction is completely insecure. It is best to run Steam and all games in some sort of sandbox. Flatpak is probably a helpful start. While containers aren't a strong security boundary at least simple exploits won't work.
vsuperpower2020 2y ago
Code practices? Factorio is one of the most well programmed, stable, and consistent piece of software I've ever seen. It's almost a shame to see skilled people work in games because of how desperately other fields need people who are good at programming.
- hypeatei 2y ago
  See my comment: > Factorio has a really good dev team I wasn't talking about the Factorio devs specifically but about the gamedev industry as a whole.

gjsman-1000 2y ago

Most likely, it’s not very good. Why do you think every console manufacturer, from Xbox to Sony to Nintendo, does not allow connecting to arbitrary server IP addresses or modding support? It’s not merely a business decision (like some believe) to force people to use official Online services. Think about it: Restricting connecting to third-party server IPs means that any bugs in the network code, or in the rest of the game, even atrocious ones, will never be exploited. Restricting mods (even “safe” mods like Lua) further prevents exploits. This makes sense - buggy network code has tanked multiple consoles’s DRM historically. And not just exploits - these consoles pride themselves on doing their review process before the code becomes available (despite oversights). Allowing executing of Lua, from a remote system, basically means a game could be reconfigured remotely after approval potentially from the developer themselves - not something any console manufacturer wants to permit without very close inspection.

tiagod 2y ago
I don't own any newer console, but I remember people abusing the P2P nature of PS3 Call of Duty MW2 to make ridiculous custom servers that you would randomly connect to. So at least on the Playstation 3, games would connect to arbitrary IPs. Maybe this has changed in the PS4 and PS5, probably for this reason.
- robotnikman 2y ago
  I remember playing the Xbox version and you would sometimes get lobbies where everyone had infinite ammo grenade launchers with no reload, or other similar funny stuff. I really enjoyed myself when I was lucky to end up in one of the matches.
- BlueTemplar 2y ago
  If there's a specific host/server that everyone in that game has to connect to, it isn't "P2P".
  - xboxnolifes 2y ago
    Pedantically, maybe. But the host of the match lobby was randomly selected and it could have been any of the peers who end up as the host. When the host leaves, one of the remaining peers becomes the new host. So, all peers have the capability of being client and/or server. That sounds like p2p to me.
    - BlueTemplar 2y ago
      Ah, I didn't know something like this existed, I thought you were talking about player-hosted lobbies.
  - tiagod 2y ago
    You connect directly to one of the players in the lobby, also known as a peer. It isn't a dedicated game server, just the game itself. I think it qualifies very well as P2P.

cedws 2y ago

Yeah, best to keep a separate computer for gaming for this reason. Definitely don’t put important documents or work stuff on it. It would be ideal to isolate it in a VM, but setting up a gaming VM can be a massive pain in the ass and exclude you from some games that use anticheat.

kevincox 2y ago

Yup. Intend to assume that any game with remote interaction is completely insecure. It is best to run Steam and all games in some sort of sandbox. Flatpak is probably a helpful start. While containers aren't a strong security boundary at least simple exploits won't work.

vsuperpower2020 2y ago

Code practices? Factorio is one of the most well programmed, stable, and consistent piece of software I've ever seen. It's almost a shame to see skilled people work in games because of how desperately other fields need people who are good at programming.

hypeatei 2y ago
See my comment: > Factorio has a really good dev team I wasn't talking about the Factorio devs specifically but about the gamedev industry as a whole.