Originally posted by Darakus
Easily: by reading the source code. And even without that, it will show over time. I observe and combine, and others do, too. It would not stay hidden for long.
Of course if you download the source to read it 
As far as I have looked at the source, it is well-written. And this includes
- modularisation and
- documentation.
Both of these are essential for any project of this size, especially with such a number of developers, who also change frequently, to actually work. Therefore I actually expect to see something like
//Skills.cpp: Source for skill system
/*
1.12.2004: changed skill advancement for Kran
2.12.2004: implemented hidden bonus system
(...)
*/
(...)
/*
This function randomises the hidden skill bonus
INOUT: char - the character object of class Char_Object_C, created by the char creation
IN: skills - the skill table of struct Skill_Table, generated by the char creation
*/
signed char RandomiseBonus(Char_Object_C char, Skill_Table skills)
{
(...)
}
Apart from that, there will be plenty of entries in the CVS history, etc., etc.. Not hard to find, as it should be.
Originally posted by Darakus
That said I do not believe it would be as easy to spot as you say by in game cross referencing as you would have to know how they implemented the modification.
That might be. If it actually makes a difference, which it needs to to be worth adding, then it\'ll
- be noticable in either low or high levels, which also are the exact levels at which players look
very closely at their advancements and effectivity.
Even if it doesn\'t show in skills or levelling, it will show in combat / task efficiency, and this will be noticed as constant, i.e. not statistical skew. Even passively observing other chars of the same level in certain skills will show it, considering the number of players.
Originally posted by Darakus
I still do not understand you on one point and that is where you state that customisation would be diminished to implement such a bonus system, it mainly depends on how the bonus system would be handled, after all if it was well done bonuses would be influenced by your life\'s story which would made it so that if you chose in life story to be \"talented in singing\" your bonus would be in singing, however if you chose no particular area of talent in your life story then the bonus would be random (which is quite logical since you yourself would be undecided on chosing a gifted area)
However, this wouldn\'t be \"naturally gifted\" anymore, since your past would decide it. Also, it would be like the current char creation, and I\'d be perfectly fine with that, since it effectively does give the player control.
Originally posted by Darakus
Now if we still agree to disagree on this point lets close the discussion since it is a bit pointless after all
Indeed, like different tastes of music.
@ Aravi: exactly.
Edit:
@ Mythofsouls: Examples 1 and 2 IMO clearly display the unfairness of the system: one player needs to put more work into achieving the same goal as another player, for no other reason than randomness.
Furthermore, these things don\'t just \"go away\". If you train exceptionally hard, then you can even become very good at something. However, if you\'re gifted in it, you\'ll either not need to train that hard or you get to the same proficiency way faster.
See, this is what I see as RP: I can start low on something but still practice it and RP to be having difficulty at it, which reflected the choices I made. However, it was my decision to do that, and not the servers. If I simply want to become the best at something, like a legendary fighter, then I obviously wouldn\'t choose to start low on fighting skills, except if I wish to RP someone who masters it despite not being talented in it.
As for the self-created bonuses: what\'ll happen if both train equally hard? Wouldn\'t Paul get a bonus of 10 as well, thus increasing his bonus to 18, preserving the inequality?
