So I'd argue that it is much harder, just because the skill required to modify some local files or intercept some packets and make modifications is much lower than what is required to get the client to make different calls than it normally does. That said, I am sure you are aware that typically the server only recognizes specific calls designed with a specific purpose, but it's certainly true that this is a possible avenue of attack and could yield additional information about your opponent, but in most cases, the effectiveness of these is generally much lower than the kind of stuff you can do to cheat in a non-server authoritative game (which has no safeguards at all). It's like the difference between having a lock on your door and not having one. Yea, the lock isn't great and it can be broken into/bypassed, but it's at least somewhat harder and more time consuming than if you just left the door open and unlocked.
A wise man once said, "You can not prevent a hack, you can only make it painfully time consuming so that the hacker looses interest!" or something along those lines..
Could you also explain how the poxnora sprites are made? I'm assuming with Adobe Photoshop, but little details like the pixel size and the methods employed to make such amazingly awesome sprite would really interest me.
Right, I agree that it is harder to do this but I would hope there is some layer of security between the client and the server, and that it isn't simply direct calls. On your point about the server only accepting specific calls, this was actually the point of the exploit - not to somehow "make up" a call but to find an existing one that can be bent in some way, for lack of a better word. I've only gone on this tedious and annoying tangent because throughout my many years playing Pox I have noticed a few actual hacks in-game. What the method was I do not know but this is a possibility.
http://www.poxnora.com/api/feed.do?t=json http://www.poxnora.com/api/feed.do?r=conditions http://www.poxnora.com/api/feed.do?r=mechanics http://www.poxnora.com/api/feed.do?t=json&r=conditions http://www.poxnora.com/api/feed.do?t=json&r=mechanics