Glossary Entry: Item Duplication Bug
Quick Definition
This refers to a very specific type of bug found in video games. As you might guess, it results in an object being copied (or duplicated) at least once.
This sort of bug is also often exploitable and predictable, allowing clever players a way to cheat or otherwise alter the game. Unfortunately, since many games limit the player's resources, this can easily ruin a game if the bug is too easily triggered.
This sort of bug is also often exploitable and predictable, allowing clever players a way to cheat or otherwise alter the game. Unfortunately, since many games limit the player's resources, this can easily ruin a game if the bug is too easily triggered.
More Details
There are roughly two main ways this sort of bug occurs in video games.
During play, it's possible for a game to become confused about what's going on, leading to it spawning more than one copy of an object. This can cause memory leaks, as the game may not be keeping track of the extra objects.
A more common form of this type of bug occurs in games that use a table to handle the player's inventory. These tables usually only store the name and quantity of the items the player has rather than links to actual in-game objects. In this case, the inventory table gets corrupted, resulting in the quantity and types of various items getting scrambled. In some cases, players can predict which part of the table gets corrupted, and arrange their inventory to control which items get duplicated.
During play, it's possible for a game to become confused about what's going on, leading to it spawning more than one copy of an object. This can cause memory leaks, as the game may not be keeping track of the extra objects.
A more common form of this type of bug occurs in games that use a table to handle the player's inventory. These tables usually only store the name and quantity of the items the player has rather than links to actual in-game objects. In this case, the inventory table gets corrupted, resulting in the quantity and types of various items getting scrambled. In some cases, players can predict which part of the table gets corrupted, and arrange their inventory to control which items get duplicated.
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