Cheating - A Research Thread

[adamtm]

Cheating is breaking any of the established rules in the game . Be it due to a bug or a cheat doing something that you weren't meant to do/have . Example : using a bug or a code to have infinite ammo in a game is cheating. But unlocking infinte ammo by completing the game first is not cheating.

Then you have things like exploiting something in the game to make things easier on you / give you an advantage . Example : going through a game on normal , then lowering the difficulty to beat a boss and raising it back up again is cheating . But going through the game on normal , then lowering the difficulty for the rest of the game is not cheating . Starting a game on normal and raising it to hard and lowering it back down is not cheating .

Would you consider it cheating if the game was started on hard and then lowered to normal and then back to hard?
Is only baseline>baseline+1>baseline not cheating?

 

[Zeriphor]

I define cheating as using anything from outside the game to influence the data in the game. For example: using console commands to change behavior/create items, editing save files or other game files.

If it's something within the game that the designers didn't test or expect, then I classify it as an exploit.

 

[Rumpsteak]

I suppose if I had to reduce it to it's simplest form it would be "Intentionally performing any action that is not allowed by the game's normal rule-set.

 

[Baldr]

Using any outside knowledge or software to aid in a game, this includes Walk-thrus, codes, hints, and exploits you didn't find yourself.

There is vary degree of opinion to what is acceptable and what is not.

 

[adamtm]

I suppose if I had to reduce it to it's simplest form it would be "Intentionally performing any action that is not allowed by the game's normal rule-set.

Would omissions in the rule-set still count as those behaviors?

Example: In an old RPG (cant remember the name) you could be de-leveled by a mob, the mob was designed to be encountered around lvl10 with a max cap at lvl20 (dnd rules). If you encountered this mob at lvl1 you get de-leveled to lvl 0, which the game did not expect and instead represented the level as lvl255 making you the most powerful being in the entire game.

 

[adamtm]

Using any outside knowledge or software to aid in a game, this includes Walk-thrus, codes, hints, and exploits you didn't find yourself.

There is vary degree of opinion to what is acceptable and what is not.

Would you consider it cheating if someone made a trainer/code themselves?

 

[PinkiePyro]

I say it isnt cheating to exploitit AI (unless your trapping the enemy in a wall or something)

for example there is a skyrim boss who wont attack if you stay in the doorway

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

Cheating is nothing new and isn't something that needs any worry when playing Single Player. Pretty much anything that gives you an advantage that the developer did not intend for you to be able to use to your advantage. This includes going on to the internet for walkthroughs online or purchasing official ones. Cheat codes are the one exception as usually they are programmed in for you to use but you usually have to go outside sources to find out what they are. Cheats can bring you a source of entertainment and I would include them into the video-game experience itself.

Multiplayer however is a much different story, using exploits in online co-op or versus is usually frowned upon. It can either take out the skill that is required or ruin accomplishment.

 

[loc978]

Any exploit, walkthrough, character editor, aimbot, et cetera... is cheating.

Like most, I'm fine with cheating in single player. I'll use a walkthrough if I'm stuck, and I'll use ridiculously overpowered mods if I'm just messing around. Multiplayer cheats in a competitive game, though? No. Just no.

 

[krazykidd]

Cheating is breaking any of the established rules in the game . Be it due to a bug or a cheat doing something that you weren't meant to do/have . Example : using a bug or a code to have infinite ammo in a game is cheating. But unlocking infinte ammo by completing the game first is not cheating.

Then you have things like exploiting something in the game to make things easier on you / give you an advantage . Example : going through a game on normal , then lowering the difficulty to beat a boss and raising it back up again is cheating . But going through the game on normal , then lowering the difficulty for the rest of the game is not cheating . Starting a game on normal and raising it to hard and lowering it back down is not cheating .

Would you consider it cheating if the game was started on hard and then lowered to normal and then back to hard?
Is only baseline>baseline+1>baseline not cheating?

Yes . Because you are making the game easier , thus giving you and advantage . Usually people do this to have an easier tine getting past a certain part which is giving them trouble , which is cheating .

But it's cheating in the broad sense of , playig the game unfairly and not earning the right to continue in the game like everyone else . "Morally" it's cheating . And i consider that cheating at the game , even though it doesn't affect me at all .

 

[SuperSuperSuperGuy]

Cheating is altering the mechanics of a game or using an outside program or device to give yourself some kind of advantage.

Exploiting glitches and programming errors in single player is fine, but in multi player it's questionable, at best. In some cases, such as it being really powerful and little-known, I would considered it cheating.

 

[Roggen Bread]

IMPORTANT: Please answer the question of -what- cheating is first, not how it makes you feel or if/when its ok to cheat.

Well, it's cheating if I feel like I have cheated. Like if I am about to lose a game and I just don't want to. I cheat, I feel guilty afterwards, and not satisfied because I have won.

Cheating is okay for me, if you are starting your game with the intention to cheat.
Sometimes I just want to strap on the powers of a god and just steamroll the NOD in Command and Conquer with 45 mammoth tanks after 5 minutes.
And hunt down the survivors with ion-cannon-strikes which I can conjure instantly.

In Crysis I "modded" myself a possible difficulty with a superpowered nanosuit. It was ideal for messing around with the superb physics and for being in a bad mood.

In "the earlier days" (like when I was 9-12 [I am 22 now]) I was just bad. It started with playing FIFA and I was losing. So I switched teams and made some own goals.

Or in Age of Empires 1 and 2 - I never had enough ressources, and it just did not occur to me to build a fuckload of workers.
I was a kid, and it was the only way to somehow not lose.

My most recent cheat is like 8 months back in Total War: Shogun 2.
I was playing my campaign, and surpassed 21 conquered provinces. I just didn't know the game had this switch (which is bad design, in my opinion) that turns EVERYONE against you. So all my trade partners declared war, and I stood there with a lot of new foes and no money. So I cheated myself some cash.
That was kinda okay for me.
I prevented that from happening in later games, but it just "had to be done". I didn't want to lose my game just because I got fucked over by bad design.


Cheating in multiplayer is just bad. There is no excuse.
Using something like a fishing-bot in WoW, okay. But giving you in direct competition an advantage over your opponent? Nah. Go in a hole.

 

[DugMachine]

Cheating to me would be certain games that are pay to win. Or certain game breaking bugs that people exploit to further their own interest.

I always hear "Well it's in the game so that means we can use it!" No. It's obviously an error overlooked by the game designers and you're abusing the crap out of it to totally ruin the game. Game designers really need to work on that though so they're just as much at fault as the cheaters.

As for myself, I sometimes cheat in games that allow noclipping. Not often though

 

[hoboman29]

To me cheating is using an unfair exploit or hacking to get the upper hand.

My thoughts: There's a difference between using a game mechanic or tactic and exploiting glitches to make yourself invincible. I also don't mind cheating as long as it's in single player or the other players don't mind. (when this happens let me know)

 

[Baldr]

Using any outside knowledge or software to aid in a game, this includes Walk-thrus, codes, hints, and exploits you didn't find yourself.

There is vary degree of opinion to what is acceptable and what is not.

Would you consider it cheating if someone made a trainer/code themselves?

If the game allows for macros, scripts or other in-game stuff, I don't consider that a cheat. If it comes from outside the games rules/programming than it is.

It a developers responsibility to make sure that the game be free of exploits and cheat/development codes before releasing public(or updated to remove found exploits when found after public release)

 

[Texas Joker 52]

Circumventing the games natural limitations for your personal gain.

For the record, I have no qualms with folks who do this in any incarnation offline.
Online with other players however, you are scum.

Both are cheating though.
Using an exploit is cheating as well.

First reply, and I already see exactly what I would have said, only worded better. Kudos, buddy.

As an aside, I heavily frown on exploits and open cheating online. Hell, getting into places where you should not be, counts as an exploit to me.

Offline, in a single player setting? I'll cheat. I'll admit it. But I need a reason to cheat. Usually, its so I can play without any semblance of difficulty, so I can go through the story and have some fun generally interacting with things. Half-Life 2 is the biggest example of this for me, and it has actual cheat codes. Since its purely single player, I consider that fair game.

Others might not, but as long as it does not negatively affect someone else's play experience online, I have no qualms.

 

[Vegosiux]

There was a time where getting cheat codes was a reward for doing something crazy, awesome, crazy awesome or otherwise exceptional.

Now get off my lawn.

More seriously, though, doing anything outside intended game mechanics in a multiplayer game to give yourself an advantage others don't have is contemptible. Excesivelly doing something within the set mechanics of the game in a multiplayer game to give yourself an advantage others don't have may be lame and cheesy, but is fair game.

 

[CannibalCorpses]

Using anything outside the normal game rules to beat the game so...walkthroughs, guides, bought overpowered weapons as DLC(burnout paradise f1 car). Then we have codes that allow you to circumnavigate the challenge so the more traditional god mode and infinite ammo. This is fine if the game allows it normally(saints row 3) but not fine if you cheat to get it(jetpack in san andreas).

Basically anything that removes the challenge so i guess by that reasoning there would also be exploits(finding a way to level up without being in any danger...finding a safe spot where a boss can't get to you but you can still damage etc). I also add playing a game through on easy first because it makes the hard playthrough far easier if you know what to expect in advance. Not technically cheating but shares enough of the traits for me to consider it as such.

Just for the record i never cheat but do use exploits, i find myself, to speed certain things up like levelling or item aquisition in RPGs. The second playthrough is always with a guide to mop up sny remaining achievements aswell but i feel thats ok as long as i've beaten the game properly at least once.

Would you consider using consumables in a fight to be cheating as it would decrease the difficulty.
Example: The combat in KoA (or most hns games actually) can be often a bit challenging especially on Hard and with enemies that play against your resistances, however you can HP-pot instantly and just outlast most fights with the use of excessive potting.

Would you consider having watched someone play a game and then play it themselves to be cheating?
Example: Watching someone playing Dark Souls in your household and then playing the game yourself.

I played skyrim and fallout without using the pause option to eat food but i don't really consider it cheating...it doesn't make sense for me to be able to do it during combat so i don't but cheating?...nah. It's more a way to expand the challenge than cheat i guess...it's more like a special difficulty setting you make for yourself. On Kingdoms of Amalur or other Diablo clones i don't mind so much...drinking potions mid-swing is how it is intended, despite that making no sense in reality. I try not to do it but i don't consider it cheating...if it were multiplayer 1 vs 1 then i would be more concerned about it.

Watching a video online would be cheating but being present while a friend finishes a boss or game isn't. I guess a better description of cheating would be 'going out of your way to avoid the challenge as it was intended'. While it's fine to make a challenge harder, making it easier will always be seen as cheating by hardcore players...i spend lots of my time moaning about how games are far too easy and lacking in challenge nowadays. It would be hypocritical of me if i cheated

 

[bojackx]

Exploiting an unintentional game mechanism or glitches to make things more convenient for you. The item duplication glitch in Oblivion was cheating, but I did it all the time anyway, because as others have said, on single player cheating is fine.

Cheating for achievements on single player games still seems low though, and honestly quite pathetic.