Poll: It's really time to stop supporting Blizzard

[Fidelias]

That this is happening is troubling, as experimentation with games and game code is what the industry is founded on. This may be light experimentation, but it should be allowed nonetheless.

Certainly in the multiplayer, this ban would be reasonable, but single player? No. People should be allowed to muck about as they see fit, as this is what the industry was founded upon. I don't think those telling people to "suck it up" realize what kind of dangerous precedent these actions set. It is like film companies suing smaller filmmakers despite fair use, knowing full well that they don't have the coin to fight it, even though they may legally be in the right.

And that they can even detect this stuff is also troubling. What a brave new world of gaming we live in.

Except for the fact that legally YOU'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO MODIFY GAMES PERIOD. This has been part of the license agreement or whatever for years,(You know, that thing you click on before you can play/install the game that tells you all the stuff you can be sued over) the only difference now is that someone is actually enforcing it.

Who is talking about the law? No one is saying they cannot legally do it. I didn't even say that it wasn't their right to do so. What I am saying (at least now) is that they should have thought a bit harder about enacting this.

Legal or not, this industry and the software industry in general was built on experimentation. If they wish to limit this, great for them, but bad for the industry as a whole, which generally values tinkering. Naturally, this tinkering is usually tolerated regardless of what may in the EULA (which, I imagine, is usually there just in case something extreme happens, so they have a way of stepping in if need be). This news is not good, if you ask me.

EDIT (I always do this):

The really troubling thing here is, if they're banning people for using trainers in singleplayer, what hope is there for the modding community? What if someone wants to mod in new units or abilities? Are they going to ban them too for modifying the game code?

The argument that they're trying to maintain gamerscore and achievement integrity is pure bullshit. Why don't they have an option like in X-3: Terran Conflict on Steam. If you modify the game, either through cheats or mods, it locks you out of getting points or achievements. Problem solved, everyone's happy. Wouldn't that have been an easier, and more equitable, solution? Obviously they can detect if the game's been modified, how hard would it be to simply tell the game to stop collecting points/giving out achievements?

Exactly. People seem to be blinded by their hatred of online cheaters to bother thinking about this from a rational standpoint or even what the long term effects might be.

Long-term effects? Like what? It's something that they, and every other company, has had a LEGAL RIGHT TO DO FOR YEARS. They are only enforcing this. Nothing has been changed.

Trust me, I hate this game. I HATE Blizzard(Though not as much as Activision), there is nothing I want more than an excuse to hate Blizzard even more. But this is not the reason.

 

[HellsingerAngel]

Dear Cheathappens,

This article is full of crap...

?I don?t think it?s fair and I would even go as far as to question its legality."

Speaking from the standpoint of someone who worked for an Internet Service Provider and had to give the "30 days notification for cancellation" talk customers, once you agree to the EULA of any of Blizzard's games, you are bound by contract. This can over ride everything but the most basic of laws. You also have to consider that you are bound by the laws in which the product was made, not the laws of the country you're in. Utter idiocy if you think a company like Blizzard hasn't looked into this already.

?Would you buy a car if you knew that if you decided to switch out the factory stereo with a better, third party stereo, that someone would come and repossess your car in the middle of the night simply for doing so? It's a ridiculous proposition."

That does sound rediculous. Good thing that's not what's happening. It's more like: "Would you buy a car if you knew that if, after signing a contract that clearly stated you could not replace any parts within the car, you decided to switch out the factory stereo with a better, third party stereo, that someone would come and repossess your car in the middle of the night simply for breaking a contractual agreement?" Yeah, that sounds far more accurate to what's happening. Sounds less stupid now, doesn't it?

?Having been in the cheating business for over 13 years now, I?ve learned that people cheat for many different reasons. Some people have time constraints and want to be able to experience the entire game, so they cheat through the most difficult parts in order to reach the end. Some people might be older or handicapped or simply not possess the fast-twitch reflexes of a 12 year old which seems to be a requirement of some games these days."

Good to know. That should also mean you're well versed in the fact that Blizzard always has had ample amounts of built-in cheats to assist players with the same ends. They also have multiple difficulty levels with one that always caters to absolutely new players. You should also be aware that many players, much greater in number than the demographics you've presented, use third party programs to boost achievements and the like, which ultimately effects the online achievement tally. Glad to know paper thin arguments are welcomed within this article and argument.

Now, funny how this works out, but doesn't this website make a profit off of selling cheats? Kinda queer that once Blizzard says "don't use third-party cheats", a third-party cheat site goes to boycott the company's practices. Hide yourself behind "noble intentions", if you can really call them that, but this site would stand to loose some profit if Blizzard really did set an industry standard with no tolerence to third-party cheats and instead opted to put their own sets of cheats in games. Something for all the arguers that say Blizzard is the only one out to grab money here.

Then you have those that say the editing software is too difficult to use. Well, did you all write seperate trainers for the program, or did you download them from this site? The point is, this site could take responcibility and post a map pack with an edited version of the campaign instead of putting something out there that they know is illegal. Thirteen years experience in the cheating game should have been a bloody good tip-off to knowing Blizzard's EULA. But, realistically, this site is the one that doesn't care. Take the cheats and get banned, so long as you pay us money and agree with our spin on things.

And another thing: how is this illegal? You acknowledged that you wouldn't use third-party software to cheat in the game and you did! Contracts can negate anything beyond basic human rights and constitutional rights. So long as you agree to what has been written (which you do by hitting the "I accept" button) they could force you to play the game whilst performing handstands. Legally speaking, you're just an idiot for not reading the print (I can't even say it's fine print).

Bottom line: Go QQ about something worth crying about. Doing something stupid instead of choosing the perfectly legit way is just plain dumb and you deserve what's coming to you.

Love,
Hellsy

 

[Chase Yojimbo]

There really is no logical reason to bash Blizzard like its a disease *Blizzphobe*. They are ok with their games, they are not gods, nor do they suck balls. However, I will still play their games for one reason, and this reason is supported by many many many people. "IT'S A FUCKING GAME!" If you cheat, that is your decision. So stop being a douche and play their 'games'. It isn't like they are trying to take over the world or anything... right?

... ... ...

*Blizzard Assassinates 'Chase Yojimbo'*.

 

[Cazza]

Already there. I own zero Blizzard games and don't plan on buying any.

 

[godofallu]

Seems like someone must have violated the terms of use, which legally allows them to cancel your CD key.

Cry some, then try playing the game hack free. Or don't play it again.

 

[Enkidu88]

Finally we get a company that's trying their hardest to remove and punish cheaters from the game; why the hell are we mad about that?

Because it's singleplayer. We're not griefing on people in online servers, or farming points to unlock cool bonuses. We're just dicking around to see what kind of antics we can get into in a singleplayer game, try different tactics on a campaign mission that you couldn't do without cheating. Who's being harmed?

Like everyone else, I was glad when Bungie curbstomped a bunch of exploiters in Reach, they were in multiplayer and giving themselves an unfair advantage over other players. The only thing we're cheating in singleplayer is the AI, and until they create a fully fledged AI with emotions that can be hurt, I don't think it harms anyone.

 

[Kyman102]

While banning an entire account and disabling their game and basically throwing that money they spent on your game down the bin is a tad extreme considering it was only single-player.

But then again, I'm inclined to not even look at a hack website! They cause nothing but problems even for the people who don't use them.

it is a 14 day ban, more like a warning, but of course the people the got ban isn't going to tell you that, since it is clearly Blizzard fault for banning them. really?

Oh, it's only a two week ban? Well then, geeze, stop complaining everyone! They get to play again! So your claims that they were perma-banned are unfounded.

^^ Thanks dude, I was thinking that a permanent ban did seem a little harsh, but since it's temporary, geeze, if I find someone cracking the game for achievements I'll report them myself.

 

[Andothul]

TLRidn't Care

The game comes with single player cheats built in that aren't any violation of the terms of use. Outside cheats, trainers or other such programs are violations of the terms of use. Don't be overly surprised if you gamble and lose when doing something that carries risk.

Outside cheats, heavy risk...

But the prize!

lol, sorry, couldn't resist.

Haha the people on these forums can take anything and turn it into a reference to Mass Effect, i love it! Cheers

 

[Bigsmith]

B, b, b, but, I need my Diablo fix. Sorry, I generally play on a PC that isn't even connected to the internet. I'd love to see them try and lock me out of that.

I'd love to see you try and install the game, let alone play it with no internet connection.

OT: meh.... can't say much. don't care about blizz anymore since i left wow.

 

[Chewster]

Long-term effects? Like what? It's something that they, and every other company, has a LEGAL RIGHT TO DO FOR YEARS. They are only enforcing this. Nothing has been changed.

Trust me, I hate this game. I HATE Blizzard(Though not as much as Activision), there is nothing want more than an excuse to hate Blizzard even more. But this is not the reason.

I guess you missed the part where I said I wasn't really concerned with the law in this instance and conceded that Blizzard is allowed to legally do what they are doing (even though I never once claimed the opposite, ever). As a quick aside, typing out what you've already said in caps again doesn't really re-enforce your point.

Brass tacks. Like what...well, how about banning modding? How about trying to strictly control their content completely, not allowing for creative people to work their own brand of magic? What of machinima and other forms of unexpected creativity? Their decision doesn't make much sense, when other options that satisfy all their customers are available, as others have illustrated.

So, I ask: is it really hard to imagine this being a possibility in the future? We're already seeing it in the film industry and elsewhere (and have been for years) and as game companies merge with other game and media companies, crackdowns like this are only likely to increase, if you ask me. Strict control is the name of their game here. They want people to play, but not on their own terms, which is troubling to me.

 

[DarkPanda XIII]

Sadly, I've already beaten the game twice now and don't really put too much into cheat codes. Only time I ever used it was when I was building a level, so I could see the entire screen.

 

[HellsingerAngel]

Because it's singleplayer. We're not griefing on people in online servers, or farming points to unlock cool bonuses. We're just dicking around to see what kind of antics we can get into in a singleplayer game, try different tactics on a campaign mission that you couldn't do without cheating. Who's being harmed?

Like everyone else, I was glad when Bungie curbstomped a bunch of exploiters in Reach, they were in multiplayer and giving themselves an unfair advantage over other players. The only thing we're cheating in singleplayer is the AI, and until they create a fully fledged AI with emotions that can be hurt, I don't think it harms anyone.

The reality is that most people will not be using a trainer for that purpose. To compound the justification, Blizzard has ample cheats pre-set into the game which are widely known within day two if you go to any site like GameFaqs.com, which if you can navigate yourself to cheathappens.com I assume you can get there, too. Then on top of that, trainers by-pass the achievement negation coding, which only furthers the fuel to Blizzard's argument. Overall, the minority of trainers are used for fun in those circumstances and Blizzard has every right and justification to say "either use the cheats we gave you, the level editing software provided, or GTFO our game, cheaters!"

 

[Jewrean]

http://www.cheathappens.com/article_blizzardbans.asp
I'm sure you all have seen this by now but for those of you who haven't get a look at what those bastards are trying to get away with now. I'm calling for an escapist wide boycott on everything Blizzard.

Now, WHO'S WITH ME!!!

Just... no... Considering that the Single-Player achievements are tied to the SC2 achievement gamer-score then it is ENTIRELY reasonable for them to do this. If you tried to cheat and get single-player achievements in Xbox360 or PS3 then you would be banned in a similar fashion. So no, fuck off. This is a total troll.

 

[Zing]

Yeah, looks like a dick move on Blizzards part. But 4.0.1 is coming out today. So that's a no dice.

 

[Enkidu88]

Dear Cheathappens,

This article is full of crap...

?I don?t think it?s fair and I would even go as far as to question its legality."

Speaking from the standpoint of someone who worked for an Internet Service Provider and had to give the "30 days notification for cancellation" talk customers, once you agree to the EULA of any of Blizzard's games, you are bound by contract. This can over ride everything but the most basic of laws. You also have to consider that you are bound by the laws in which the product was made, not the laws of the country you're in. Utter idiocy if you think a company like Blizzard hasn't looked into this already.

?Would you buy a car if you knew that if you decided to switch out the factory stereo with a better, third party stereo, that someone would come and repossess your car in the middle of the night simply for doing so? It's a ridiculous proposition."

That does sound rediculous. Good thing that's not what's happening. It's more like: "Would you buy a car if you knew that if, after signing a contract that clearly stated you could not replace any parts within the car, you decided to switch out the factory stereo with a better, third party stereo, that someone would come and repossess your car in the middle of the night simply for breaking a contractual agreement?" Yeah, that sounds far more accurate to what's happening. Sounds less stupid now, doesn't it?

You're allowed to read and sometimes even negotiate a contract with an ISP before making the purchase, however. That's a crucial difference between every other legal contract in the world, and an EULA. Same with the car, you get to view the agreement prior to making purchase. With a game, no you buy it first and then you get to read the contract. That's not negotiating in good faith and thus not a valid contract in legal terms. I'm sure Blizzard's vast legal department could make a thousand page document about why it is, but if anyone ever sues over it I can almost guarantee it'd be shot down. The EULA already took a blow when the courts decided against it during the second-hand sales department.

Also do you really think the second quote you made doesn't sound ridiculous? No one would buy the car, because people put new stereos into cars all the time. Of course they would have the option to not buy the car because they were allowed to read the agreement beforehand. However, not so for purchasers of the game. Second, even if someone did still buy that car with those agreements and still had their car revoked I can guarantee there would be a massive lawsuit covering the illegality of telling people what they can't do with their own property. Telling us we can't copy the car exactly and sell it as our own is one thing, to tell us we can't alter it is another matter entirely.

 

[Enkidu88]

The reality is that most people will not be using a trainer for that purpose. To compound the justification, Blizzard has ample cheats pre-set into the game which are widely known within day two if you go to any site like GameFaqs.com, which if you can navigate yourself to cheathappens.com I assume you can get there, too. Then on top of that, trainers by-pass the achievement negation coding, which only furthers the fuel to Blizzard's argument. Overall, the minority of trainers are used for fun in those circumstances and Blizzard has every right and justification to say "either use the cheats we gave you, the level editing software provided, or GTFO our game, cheaters!"

They've shown they obviously have the ability to tell if someone is using the trainer, I assume they can make the basic distinction of whether it's multi or single player as well. If they use it in multiplayer, ban them. If not, leave them alone.

Steam has a built in system for games so that if you cheat or modify the game in anyway the achievements get locked out. Surely that's not a task beyond blizzard's ability? Its simple fix, equitable and fair to all sides.

They may have the right, if only because no one's challenged the EULA in court, but they certainly have no justification.

 

[HellsingerAngel]

Brass tacks. Like what...well, how about banning modding? How about trying to strictly control their content completely, not allowing for creative people to work their own brand of magic? What of machinima and other forms of unexpected creativity? Their decision doesn't make much sense, when other options that satisfy all their customers are available, as others have illustrated.

So, I ask: is it really hard to imagine this being a possibility in the future? We're already seeing it in the film industry and elsewhere (and have been for years) and as game companies merge with other game and media companies, crackdowns like this are only likely to increase, if you as me. Strict control is the name of their game here. They want people to play, but not on their own terms, which is troubling to me.

This is certainly an interesting point, but still not a very realistic one. I understand where you're coming from with your worries of having certain things banned and others not, but let's clear up a few points using the examples provided.

Modding has always, legally, been against the law. If any company really felt like it, they could go and shutdown every copy of every game that ever used a mod under copywrite infringement. There are certain exceptions, such as the open source Unreal Engine. So long as the game runs off that, you're good to go. The uniqueness of the situation at hand comes in when you realise Blizzard has already given permission to players to use all those tools that are copywritten as long as it's within their editor. There's no need to go and throw trainers around when Blizzard is already giving you the go-ahead to muck about with all the campaign maps yourself, which is why this whole argument about "trainers being ok" seems fishy.

The second example you used was Machinima, which can never be touched. Again, going back to copywrite law, it falls under satire. Any machinima using an in-game engine is always going to be sitirical of the original project and thus nothing can be done about it. Blizzard generally encourages these sorts of creative out-bursts by the community, which is alos a plus, but the bottom line is that because it's a mock presentation of what has been copywritten, it is exempt from copywrite laws.

There's a huge difference between changing the source code to boost yourself in some way, shape or form when cheat codes are readily available, and using a game's engine to make something creative and enriching to the community. Where as trainers have the potential to destroy what Blizzard has fought to keep (a fair playing environment), mods, campaign editing and using built-in cheat codes certain fall within the silly and fun loving mentality that most Blizzard games promote.

 

[Bloodbane15]

Just because Blizzard has given themselves the right to ban people for this doesn't make it right.

But whatever, if you like Blizzards games why stop buying them, no matter how many times they screw the consumer.

If it hasn't happened to you it's not your problem right?

 

[theultimateend]

I do find it someone silly that we've got 9 ish pages of people talking about kids enjoying something they bought in the privacy of single player like they went out and raped someone.

It's been 20 years, people have cheated in video games that entire time. The only time it is a problem is when it is multiplayer.

Period.

There is no reason for this to even be a discussion, just like masturbating in the comfort of your own home is legal but doing it in a crowd of people is not, cheating in the comfort of your own home (1 Player) has always been fine, whereas cheating in a group of people is not. For much the same reason, you are harming other folks experience in life.

Now I know there are about two dozen reasons that example isn't close enough, but it's a lot better than many of the other ones I read.

This is a personal choice, by a person, who legally bought something, that in no way effects any other person on the entire planet. So how this is even up for discussion outside of the "Blizzard could probably win the case." is just silly.

As a couple folks have mentioned, this is one of the only times in commerce where the contract comes AFTER you purchase the item and after you can no longer return it by the rules of the business you purchased it from. I'm sure that if it ever went under legal scrutiny there would be plenty of very unhappy game companies.

As it stands, cheating for me is what gives games longevity. I don't think I'd have played Final Fantasy 7 a couple dozen times if I hadn't had the freedom to screw with the game any way I wanted with a gameshark back in the day.

And I know "Blizzard already gives you cheats neener neener." That's irrelevant, though I appreciate that they thought enough to do that, most developers just throw the game out the door and tell people to suck it. At least Blizzard gives folks something to suck, but how dare you choose to not be monogamous .

 

[Nazulu]

I thought this was going to be about Bnet 2.0 and the bloody restrictions, but this is something I'm not sure of. I probably lean more in Blizzards favour cause it is in the their terms and conditions and I'm personally sick of cheaters.

Doesn't the game come with cheats anyway?

Edit: Actually, I change my mind, Blizzard has been full of shit ever since they mentioned Bnet 2.0 and this is like another stupid restriction. I remember when I bought the game, that I actually owned the fucking game and wasn't paying a small fortune for DLC.

I stopped supporting Blizzard way before once I discovered what was happening on Battle Net, glad I decided not to vote yet.