gaming Hacking and Cheating In Games?

[Guest]

If this belongs in debate pit, someone can move it, however I felt it belongs here because it is related to gaming mostly.

 

So hacking, cheating, bug abusing, anything that gives a player an unfair advantage or does something the developers of a game do not intend for you to be able to do. There are many arguments for and against it. The most common one I hear for it is that "I bought the game, I should be able to do what I want" and in a single player game, I agree wholeheartedly. If you want to just screw around and see what you can do, then that's fine and dandy because you're not harming the experience for anyone else. I DO however believe that anti-cheat systems should still prevent you from unlocking achievements though as it's not fair to players who earned them legitimately because it depreciates their value. Sadly to this day there is still a tool called Bruteforce which lets people hack save files for easy trophy farming on Playstation 3 and a version is being worked on for the Playstation 4 (which fortunately will take a while because the PS4's encryption is way better).

 

Cheating and such is totally crap when it is affecting other players experience. You have to consider those people bought the game too, and they deserve to have fun just as much as you do, and when you cheat, you're harming their experience which they also paid for. Are the punishments for cheating extreme? Sometimes. I think it should be gauged on a three strike basis. If you are caught 3 times, all of your achievements, profile, everything is wiped out, including your cloud saves. So you have to start every single game from scratch.

 

Now hacking is a bit different though. Because hacking to give yourself an unfair advantage is totally shit, however there IS such thing as white-hat hackers and they are doing interesting work for the gaming community.

 

As we speak I am certain there are people out there working on ways to level the playing field against crap like microtransactions for those who do not feel it's fair that someone else gets unfair advantages in games because they spent extra cash. Games should be on a level playing field and just because Timmy has rich parents who let him use their credit card doesn't mean he deserves to have all the maxed out shooty guns with triple experience per kill.

 

There are even people working on breaking the encryption of Nintendo's Amiibos and to that I say: good. $13 for little crap like extra costumes in games? And the things are always purposefully limited in stock so that only the most die hards end up getting them and to keep the value of them high. We are now getting game content locked behind them like with Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival. This totally isn't fair to those who already bought the game at full price, new. I get these kind of tactics are to discourage used game sales because when you buy new you support the developer and by including an extra thing you need they can ensure all sales are new sales, but this is just punishing players who DO buy new.

 

It's stupid that I need to buy all these extra Amiibos to unlock full functionality of a game. So the moment someone breaks the NFC encryption and finds a way to spoof them with your smartphone, I say good because it is ending a crappy business practice. Sometimes I feel that hacking is necessary to put an end to crappy practices that businesses are trying to force onto the consumers to nickel and dime them instead of just keep making quality products that people want to buy.

[1Bit 1,531]

I'm strongly against hacking and cheating in gaming, mostly thanks to bad experiences I've had in the past with games I've purchased just because people think they're entitled to ruin the game for everyone else playing it. But mostly, I am against it out of respects for the developers of said game. If they encourage modding and user-created content, that's a different thing altogether, but actually tampering with the code and stuff is a big no-no in my books 

[Sekr Gray 520]

If your hacking is used in a single player game, and isn't used to help you get the achievements in said game, then I'm perfectly fine by hacking into the game or messing around. Sometimes, it's fun fighting a lvl37 monster with maximum speed in the game but the strength of a starting character.

 

Now, if it's a multiplayer game, then I really don't see the point in hacking. If you need to feel the need to hack to win, then you should really either learn to play the game better (practice pays off) or just switch to something easier. Having to play against a hacker is an absolute nightmare, and ruins the games for everybody else, so I could agree with the 3strike system (unfortunately, I see many people in multiplayer games just continuing to hack on a new account, since you wouldn't lose much beyond what customizables and gear you unlocked).

 

In a single player game, achievements aren't really worth a ban for, but there should be a way to see how the player got the achievement. Something like a replay mode, that people could tag as suspicious or such when they see you get a ton of achievements all at once.

[Verily British 145]

I think that really depends on how you're hacking, what you're doing with these hacks and what game it is you're hacking. If you're using a save editor on games like Mass Effect or Dead Space etc. I don't think it really matters, because those are mostly single-player games and what online there is, is either co-op or where save files aren't used.

 

Then you have games where hacking can go either way, Dark Souls is a HUGE example of this. Some people hack to make themselves glow all pretty colour and have exaggerated effects on their moves that is normally only limited to bosses or mobs. You have some players that are invincible and just give you some cool weapons or upgrade materials and then leave.Then, of course, you have the people that basically enable god mode and just invade people for the hell of it.

 

Then you have hacking in games that can only be detrimental to the other players experience, such as aim-bots and diminished (or entirely removed) hit-boxes.This kind of stuff in competitive shooters like CoD, Halo, Gears of War, etc. is entirely unfair and should be punished severely.

Edited February 18, 2016 by British Brony

[Denim&Venöm 19,078]

Obviously it shoudl be illegal in multi-player and online play. However it should be allowed in single player games, just to spicen up the experience. I've used hacking mods like Gameshark to break the limitations the creators set on games, like accessing levels and game areas that weren't met to be played on, playing as the NPCs, doing absurd god tier craziness in game for the fun of it.  It i also frustrating when your not allowed to do certain things, like use a character on a certain level or game play mode, because the creators thought otherwise.  

[Comic Sans 401]

* i am against hacking and cheating, i really am, but i'd be lying if i sat here and said i hadn't done it before.

 

* the only game i've really ever experienced hackers often is an online rhythm/dance game called audition. if you keep getting perfects, you do a 'chain' as it goes perfect, x1, x2, x3, etc. and as you can imagine, the higher the chain, the higher the score, so there are hacks for chaining perfects.

 

* of course it's a game of skill, so it is really frustrating when you're trying your best to win with your abilities, but someone comes in and just hacks their way to the top.

[Ponies4Bronies 394]

I agree with you, but I dont play on pc much to see blatant hacking but I do see some modded controllers on xbox or that rare guy who is invisible in MW3 or the hacked xp lobbies in mw2 although i dont mind the xp lobbies as much. quick ranking is ok for me!

[Celtore 2,770]

I used to be really into cheating and glitching my video games. It was just a lot of fun after playing through the game normally to have all these crazy abilities.

 

Ethically, I think it's OK to cheat in a single player game however you please. Youre essentially sandboxed and playing the game in an unintentional way isn't going to hurt anyone elses experience. Maybe they might be a little jealous that you can skip a really hard platforming level achievement by floating through the stage, but I don't think the player will have the same sense of accomplishment as someone who actually played the content. That there's the trade-off.

 

For online content, it really depends on the nature of the hack. For example, I consider hacking pokemon completely legit so long as the pokemon has valid moves and stats. This doesn't give you any advantage over players who would have selectively bred this pokemon legitimately. Even battling with other people with a fair, but hacked team won't affect their gaming experience any differently than a normal player would.

 

Something mainly focused more on online content like WoW or your generic fps is a different story. Almost all your actions affect someone else in some way. Generating gold for yourself affects the worth of the server's currency and items, doing crazy things breaks world emersion, and abusing your power ON other players is really a jerk move that impresses absolutely no one. I guess my requirement for online is not affecting other players gameplay experience through unnatural means. Well, unless you're playing exclusively with friends and you want to see how badly you can break the game for fun.

Edited February 19, 2016 by Celtore

[Rainbow Diamonds 282]

I'm against hacking and cheating in a multi-player game, but I cheat when it comes to single-player. I don't do it to win. I'm awesome and don't need to cheat to win. I just do it for the fun of it. I once hacked Pokemon to try to make my own game. It didn't work out that well. It kept crashing at the Pokemon center.... Oh well. I also did a lot of cheats for Pokemon just to mess around. 

 

I know in Banjo Kazooie, if you cheat too many times, you will lose your saved data. Since I beat the game a long time ago and didn't have anything to do, I decided to test it. It's true. Bottles wasn't joking! I didn't mind. He warns you, thankfully.  I cheated for fun and not to win there, too. 

[Chara 1,565]

I hack only single player games myself like Undertale and Skyrim because it does not effect nor harm another players game experience. Hacking that effects ones experience by pissing them off or them getting booted offline is something I completely am against.

[Troblems 5,617]

Hacking kind of killed Payday 2 for me. I spent 300+ hours enjoying myself. When my little group broke up a bit and we had three people and a pug, that ended the game for me. At this point it's no longer fun because the chances of getting someone who does hack is really high. I've since gone back to my old obsession with JRPGs where I don't have to rely on anyone to screw up my enjoyment. I can do that just fine on my own, thank you very much.

[Stormlight 1,371]

Hacking and cheating in video games are some things that get me ticks off if it causes a game to be unfair to other players.

 

There were times where I have experienced some cheaters and hackers causing trouble to the players who wanted to have a fun time, but was ruined to an extent.

 

When discusing about single-player, however, using cheats and hacks in the game only has consequences for one player, rather than for a large group. Sometimes I use cheats and hacks in some single-player games due to my curiosity, but only after I've played that game at least once.

[Alphys Hedge 671]

I only hack/cheat in games when it's singleplayer, just so I can either have a couple laughs or see how fast I can beat the game with a certain hack/cheat. If it's multiplayer, I never use cheats.

[CaptainDoubloon 856]

I think when it comes to a single-player games it's fine if that's how a player wishes to play the game. Online is not an acceptable place to cheat and sucks for everyone that has to put up with cheaters.

[Kyoshi Frost Wolf 41,594]

Hacking a multiplayer game, to me, makes the hacker deserving a punch to the face, because these people tend to completely ruin these games. Left 4 Dead 2? Completely ruined by hackers, even on Xbox 360. How nice of those people to ruin a perfectly fun gameplay experience just to get some lols.

 

Now of course hacking a single player game, that is fine with me, as long as it doesn't result in breaking the game of course. XD While I personally don't find hacking of any kind fun, I can definitely see where others would in a single player game, so I say go all out on those if you want. 

[Crypty Scribbles 5,049]

Applejack disapproves cheating. Be honest, play fair.

Every time you cheat it makes Applejack cry on the inside.

 

Edited February 19, 2016 by Crypty

[Hazy Skies 1,010]

If it's multiplayer, it's not good to cheat or hack to get an unfair advantage.. Unless everyone else knows and is okay with it..
 
Singleplayer however is a different story, me and my friends have devised a rule for cheating/hacking/mods in games..
You must play through the game legit FIRST with no cheats, mods or anything, before you are allowed to cheat or anything..
From that point onward you can do whatever you want Cheat, hack, whatever, because you already completed it

...

 

Applejack disapproves cheating. Be honest, play fair.
Every time you cheat it makes Applejack cry on the inside.
 

 
"Applejack disapproves cheating" Pfffttt.. Haha More like "Applejack disapproves
cheating unless somepony else cheats, then it's okay to cheat back to catch up"

Edited February 19, 2016 by AURAequine

[Grepper 3,192]

If it's your game, do whatever the hell you want with it. I'd only be fine with hacking on multiplayer if the other players are fine with it. (It wouldn't be cheating in some cases, infinite ammo for everyone as an example.)

I also disagree with erasing a user's entire profile if they are thought to be cheating.

 

Erasing obviously fake records is fine, but a false positive for cheating and an account erasure would be terrible. Maybe automated detection and human verification for cheating would work, and the penalty would be a temporary ban from the scoreboards. Permanent if it keeps happening, but offline scores would still work.

 

I actually don't play games with online scores, so this doesn't affect me much. I do remember an obviously fake record on Mario Kart Wii, back when Nintendo WFC was still operating, though.

[Memory Lane 131]

Yeah... you know what can I say? I agree. Everyone has the right idea here. Cheating / Hacking a game in single player is usually harmless. I have no objections if it'd be more fun to play that way, or lengthen it's lasting appeal. Cheating / Hacking in multiplayer; however, is obviously uncool. Motivations may vary, but if used competitively, you've defeated the purpose of even playing.

[Hidey 2,836]

Cheating is fun unless you're playing against a cheater. I don't think it can be stopped, can it? unless you get more strict with punishments for hacking. 

[King 5,625]

Im perfectly fine with people hacking the single player portion of any games they own. It's really fun to manipulate a game in the weirdest ways you can think of. Hacking in a multiplayer game is a different story. When you go out of your way to hack and cheat yourself to victory, causing other legit players to not enjoy their time on the game, you're basically ruining the experience for them. That's one reason why I like it when developers take the hard line route when it comes to banning hackers and preventing them from accessing the game again unless they buy it again with a new account.

[Guest]

I'll say it and I know a lot of people will think I'm extreme:

 

I am all for permanent bans for hackers and cheaters. Anyone who cheats on purpose (meaning not some accidental glitch that they stumbled upon) and it's proven, they should be banned forever. No second chances. They literally ruin the game for everyone else can potentially cost the company money and even could cause the game to be shut down. JaGex creators of Runescape were losing hundreds of thousands because people were botting so they could make in game money to sell for real world cash and if they didn't do anything, the game would have been shut down.

 

People have organized REPEATEDLY in Runescape to manipulate the system to their personal benefit over and over. Many of these effects are still felt in game to this very day including the infamous P-Hat duplication. For those unfamiliar: back in 2002-2003 when the game was young one of the rare holiday items and most valueable items in the game was party hats. They were limited in quantities because they were a one time drop worth millions. A player discovered a glitch to duplicate them and did so with tons of purple party hats that he resold for massive profit to unknowing players causing tons of more purple party hats to enter the game. To this very day the purple party hat is now the cheapest of the party hats because of this. The effect made the value of in game currency plummet.

 

In 2008 or so there organized a group of trading clans who gathered enough people together to where they literally could manipulate the grand exchange in game to raise or lower trading prices of in game items to whatever they desired because they made up enough people to where they could game the system. The game creators had no choice but to bring back free trade in order to make it so these clans no longer controlled the economy, and many items that were previously valuable are now worthless because of this.

 

The effects of cheating and playing unfairly can leave permanent damage to the community and thus I think it should be taken seriously as a one time offense and ban. They are ruining the experience for other customers and I am not okay with that.

[boiteporte 591]

Of course, cheating in a multiplayer game is a big no-no for me for the reasons mentioned in pretty much every single post so far. However, I do cheat in single player games because it doesn't affect anyone and I'm okay with that again for the reasons mentioned pretty much in every single post so far.. However, unlike a lot of people here, I don't cheat for fun, I cheat because I'm bad at video games and I don't feel like starting again and again, lol.

 

I do remember a few games where I actually spent more time trying to cheat than actually playing said games.

 

I mean, the point of a video game is to have fun. That is the main purpose of a game. If people have fun cheating (in offline games), than the game fulfills its purpose in the end, so it's fine.

Edited February 25, 2016 by boiteporte

[Koukatsu 5,899]

I've been known to use a bug/glitch here or there in SP games (Fallout 4's "Duping with Dogmeat" glitch?), or games where it doesn't have an effect on other players (Destiny's "lootcave" anyone?). I see no problem with that.
Hackers, glitchers, and lagswitch junkies in PVP? That is not cool.

 

When what you're doing has an effect on other players, you need to stop. When you choose not to, you are a bad person. That's all there is to it.

[Limeblossom 482]

I only use GameShark hacks for single players (one-use-only TM's and fighting against low-level enemies isn't always fine), and that's where it kinda stops for me.

 

No problem with modding.