Massively http://massively.joystiq.com Massively http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/http://massively.joystiq.com/media/feedlogo.gif Massively http://massively.joystiq.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/<![CDATA[Ask Massively: No idea what's coming edition]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/12/ask-massively-no-idea-whats-coming-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/12/ask-massively-no-idea-whats-coming-edition/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/12/ask-massively-no-idea-whats-coming-edition/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

How did I get here and why do I have a leash?
I don't know what's going to happen next in the MMO industry. I have my guesses, sure, but unless I'm fairly certain, I just don't feel right putting them up here. I certainly would not have ever imagined a world where APB: Reloaded was successful, or one where Lineage II goes free-to-play, and until it was announced, I wouldn't dare dream of WildStar. Heck, half the time I'm not sure I understand what's going on at any given moment, much less several months down the line.

This week's Ask Massively received several questions that require me to be more confident about my predictions than I actually am, but it does contain a question about the future of Aion and a question on the past, present, and future of cheating. If you've got a question you'd like to see answered in a future installment of the column, leave it in the comments below or send it along to ask@massively.com. Questions may be edited slightly for clarity and/or brevity.

Continue reading Ask Massively: No idea what's coming edition

MassivelyAsk Massively: No idea what's coming edition originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aionask-massivelybusiness-modelscheatcheaterscheatingculturef2pfeaturedfree-to-playhumorncsoftopinionpredictionsThu, 12 Jan 2012 18:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: When does a clever loophole become a bannable exploit?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/07/the-daily-grind-when-does-a-clever-loophole-become-a-bannable-e/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/07/the-daily-grind-when-does-a-clever-loophole-become-a-bannable-e/http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/01/07/the-daily-grind-when-does-a-clever-loophole-become-a-bannable-e/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

SWTOR's Ilum
Trouble has been brewing this week over a Star Wars: The Old Republic "exploit" in which people use seemingly legitimate (but perhaps unintended) game mechanics to tip the balance of the game in their favor. Of course, this is nothing new to veteran MMO players, who have seen hundreds, even thousands, of such loopholes and bugs spackled and patched since first MMO came online. Entire World of Warcraft guilds have been banned, however temporarily, for "exploiting" poorly coded raid AI, for example.

I've always felt that it's the game company's responsibility to counter loopholes before anyone takes advantage of them; the onus should be on the developer, not the player, to set the rules of the game using hardcoded mechanics. The players can't be expected to suss out the game-designers' intent, after all. Other gamers believe that "exploiters" really ought to know better and deserve whatever punishments the game's GMs mete out. What do you think? When does a clever loophole become a bannable exploit?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: When does a clever loophole become a bannable exploit? originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 07 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banbannedbanningbrianna-royce-tdgbugcheatingexploitexploitersexploitsgamemastergmguildsloopholeloopholesopinionstar-wars-the-old-republicswtortdgthe-daily-grindtorWorld-of-WarcraftwowSat, 07 Jan 2012 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[EverQuest to hackers: You've been served]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/02/everquest-to-hackers-youve-been-served/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/02/everquest-to-hackers-youve-been-served/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/12/02/everquest-to-hackers-youve-been-served/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Stand and deliver!
In a suitably ominous speech on the EverQuest forums, Sony Online Entertainment's Piestro delivered a word of warning to the cheaters, hackers, and exploiters of Norrath: "Stop now." Piestro goes on to reveal that the team has been quietly performing some clandestine work that helps "[detect] cheaters quickly and accurately."

This should be good news for fans of the old-school title who enjoy playing the game on a level field. Hackers, however, should back down at once, because -- as Piestro warns -- "there will be no second chances." Also, because cheating makes you a jerk.

MassivelyEverQuest to hackers: You've been served originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cheaterscheatingeqeverquestexploitersexploitshackershackers-stop-nowhackspiestrosoesony-online-entertainmentsrsly-guys-dont-hackwarningFri, 02 Dec 2011 22:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Are alts and mules a form of cheating?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/07/the-daily-grind-are-alts-and-mules-a-form-of-cheating/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/07/the-daily-grind-are-alts-and-mules-a-form-of-cheating/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/07/the-daily-grind-are-alts-and-mules-a-form-of-cheating/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Mule Photograph by Einar Faanes
In response to Beau's recent Free For All column on the topic of botters and cheaters, reader Keith wrote in to suggest that there's another form of cheating much more common and pervasive: the use of alternate characters. In games like EVE Online or Star Wars Galaxies, which limit the number of characters players can create, extra accounts are manipulated to allow a single player access to more skills through alts ("skill mules"), more storage space ("bank mules" and "auction mules"), or more avenues for safe PvP scouting. But the problem occurs in alt-friendly games too, like World of Warcraft, where it's not uncommon to see someone five-boxing an entire team of Shamans, or Ultima Online, where it's standard practice for every player to have a "craft mule" who loads up on tradeskills (to the detriment of the player economy).

What do you think? Are alts and mules just another form of cheating, one that allows players with excess character slots or extra accounts unfair advantages? Or are "slave" characters just a natural and necessary part of online gaming?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Are alts and mules a form of cheating? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ah-mulealtalternate-charactersaltsauction-mulebank-mulebank-mulesbottersbrianna-royce-tdgcheaterscheatingeveeve-onlinemulemulesmulti-boxingopinionreader-mailskill-muleslaveslavesstar-wars-galaxiesswgtdgthe-daily-grindUltima-OnlineuoWorld-of-WarcraftwowMon, 07 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Do you feel companies do enough to fight bots?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/06/the-daily-grind-do-you-feel-companies-do-enough-to-fight-bots/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/06/the-daily-grind-do-you-feel-companies-do-enough-to-fight-bots/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/06/the-daily-grind-do-you-feel-companies-do-enough-to-fight-bots/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Just hope they never teach it to camp.
They lurk in the dark corners of every MMO, sometimes farming gold, sometimes just taking care of tasks that actual players feel are too tedious to bother with. Bots have been a part of the MMO sphere for years now, and while games like RuneScape have recently brought them back to the foreground of attention, nothing has ever managed to push them completely out of the limelight. If you play an MMO, you have to work around them.

Development teams, of course, regard bots as fundamental problems, and usually a great deal of time is devoted to trying to quash bots for farming or repetitive tasks. But do you feel enough is done to try and stop them? Do you believe they're a result of game systems that are designed for too much grind and not enough fun? Or do you think they're just another face of cheating and deserve no special attention?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Do you feel companies do enough to fight bots? originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 06 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>botsbottingcheaterscheatingcultureopiniontdgthe-daily-grindSun, 06 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: Are we cheating studios by not paying for free-to-play?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/the-daily-grind-are-we-cheating-studios-by-not-paying-for-free/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/the-daily-grind-are-we-cheating-studios-by-not-paying-for-free/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/11/04/the-daily-grind-are-we-cheating-studios-by-not-paying-for-free/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

DDO
Here's an odd question that I've been chewing on lately: Is there something wrong if we extensively enjoy a free-to-play title that we do not, and are determined to never, pay for? I mean, sampling a F2P title is kind of like participating in a trial, but what about playing a F2P MMO for months or even years without paying? Is there something ethically or perhaps morally wrong about that, particularly since our playtime is funded by both the studio and the paying members out there?

On one hand, we're invited to do so. Studios use F2P to lure us in on the chance that we'll become so invested that we'll be tempted to spend money to either support it or gain a better play experience for ourselves. The studios set the rules for free-to-play, and we operate within them. But on the other hand, I wonder if there comes a point when one can take so much advantage of a "free" service at someone else's expense that it gets tacky or just plain wrong. Do we become the unwelcome house guest who mooches but never gives back -- and never leaves?

What do you think? Should we feel obligated to pay at least something if we've played a F2P MMO for a good length of time? Or am I totally off my rocker here?

Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: Are we cheating studios by not paying for free-to-play? originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cheatingf2pfeaturedfree-to-playinvestmentmoochermoochingopinionpayquestions-galoretdgthe-daily-grindFri, 04 Nov 2011 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[All Points Bulletin Reloaded blog post focuses on the "home stretch" to launch]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/16/all-points-bulletin-reloaded-blog-post-focuses-on-the-home-stre/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/16/all-points-bulletin-reloaded-blog-post-focuses-on-the-home-stre/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/09/16/all-points-bulletin-reloaded-blog-post-focuses-on-the-home-stre/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Screenshot -- All Points Bulletin Reloaded
Enforcers and criminals better listen up, because it's time for another All Points Bulletin Reloaded blog post. This one focuses on the open beta "home stretch," as the post's title refers to it. With the game's patch 1.5.3 hot off the press, the team is gearing up for patches 1.5.4 through 1.5.7, which are the last planned patches prior to the game's official launch.

So what kind of issues have been spotted throughout the span of open beta, and what does the team hope to accomplish prior to the game's official release? Well, sit down and get comfy, because the team has put together quite a list, included after the jump.

Continue reading All Points Bulletin Reloaded blog post focuses on the "home stretch" to launch

MassivelyAll Points Bulletin Reloaded blog post focuses on the "home stretch" to launch originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>all-points-bulletinall-points-bulletin-reloadedapbapb-reloadedcheaterscheatingcontroldev-blogdev-diaryf2pfree-to-playgamersfirstJpMorganpatch-1.5.3progressionFri, 16 Sep 2011 23:00:00 EST<![CDATA[GamersFirst kicks off APB's second open beta]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/gamersfirst-kicks-off-apbs-second-open-beta/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/gamersfirst-kicks-off-apbs-second-open-beta/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/07/22/gamersfirst-kicks-off-apbs-second-open-beta/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,

In case you missed it, APB Reloaded's second beta phase kicked off yesterday. The version 1.5.2 update "contains the biggest changes to missions, matchmaking, skill rating, and district recommendation to date," according to the latest GamersFirst dev blog.

Bjorn Book-Larsson has a few words of wisdom for residents of San Paro in terms of 15-minute patching-related disconnects. GamersFirst is working "round-the-clock" to isolate issues and come to terms with bugaboos that don't necessarily crop up prior to a large-scale player influx.

The latest Reloaded dev diary also contains detailed info relative to all the matchmaking and threat level changes, as well as a bit about cheating statistics and upcoming Nvidia support. Finally, there's a blurb about future servers, and gamers in Russia, Hong Kong, and Australia can look forward to dedicated shards before long.

MassivelyGamersFirst kicks off APB's second open beta originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>all-points-bulletinall-points-bulletin-reloadedapbapb-reloadedbetabeta-2Bjorn-Book-Larssoncheatingcrimedev-blogdev-diaryf2pfree-to-playgamersfirstmatchmakingmmo-shooteropen-beta-2san-paroserver-stabilityshootertestingthreat-levelFri, 22 Jul 2011 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Avatar breaks out the banhammer for Perpetuum cheaters]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/03/avatar-breaks-out-the-banhammer-for-perpetuum-cheaters/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/03/avatar-breaks-out-the-banhammer-for-perpetuum-cheaters/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/06/03/avatar-breaks-out-the-banhammer-for-perpetuum-cheaters/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Rut roh! It's banhammer time in Perpetuum, the sci-fi indie sandbox from Avatar Creations. The latest Avatar dev blog has the (sparse) details courtesy of Dev Calvin. Apparently some players availed themselves of a game exploit that allowed for significant gains in robots, equipment, and other commodities. It's not as innocent as it sounds, though, as the dev blog makes clear.

"The method that was used can by no means [be] interpreted as intended gameplay. A lot of technical preparation and effort went into the experimentation and execution," Calvin writes.

The ill-gotten gains have of course been removed, and Avatar has also permabanned the offending accounts, which sends a clear message as to the type of zero-tolerance policy toward cheating on display in the world of Nia. Check out the official Perpetuum website for more reading material.

MassivelyAvatar breaks out the banhammer for Perpetuum cheaters originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 03 Jun 2011 22:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>avataravatar-creationsban-hammer-not-jan-hammerbanningscheaterscheatingdev-blogdev-calvindev-diaryexploitsgame-mechanicsniapermabanpermabannedperpetuumsandboxsci-fiFri, 03 Jun 2011 22:00:00 EST<![CDATA[APB Reloaded open beta coming May 18th]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/03/apb-reloaded-open-beta-coming-may-18th/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/03/apb-reloaded-open-beta-coming-may-18th/http://massively.joystiq.com/2011/05/03/apb-reloaded-open-beta-coming-may-18th/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Mark your calendars, APB fans. May 18th is a big day in the history of the resurrected title since it marks the official start of open beta. Bjorn Book-Larsson broke the good news yesterday on the APB Reloaded blog, and he had a few other interesting nuggets to discuss as well.

GamersFirst's character restoration service should make its first appearance today around 4:00 p.m. PDT, and APB veterans from the Realtime Worlds days will be able to reclaim their old avatars and customizations. If you're unsure if you qualify, check your inbox as GamersFirst will be sending out email notices to everyone with an available reclaim.

Book-Larsson also talks briefly about some of the company's plans for dealing with cheaters. No details are given, of course, but GamersFirst is apparently very aware of all the attempted aimbotting going on thus far in the beta. Finally, there's a blurb concerning new item rollouts in the coming days, as well as some info relating to the game's payment interface. Head to the official APB Reloaded blog for more.

MassivelyAPB Reloaded open beta coming May 18th originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 03 May 2011 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aimbotsaimbottingall-points-bulletinapbapb-reloadedbetaBjorn-Book-Larssoncharacter-reclaimscheaterscheatingcrimedev-blogdev-diaryf2pfree-to-playgamersfirstitemizationitemsopen-betasan-paroTue, 03 May 2011 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Hotfix deployed for EVE Online invisibility exploit]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/29/hotfix-deployed-for-eve-online-invisibility-exploit/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/29/hotfix-deployed-for-eve-online-invisibility-exploit/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/04/29/hotfix-deployed-for-eve-online-invisibility-exploit/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , ,

Last week, we brought you the news that a terrible exploit had made itself known in EVE Online. The exploit allegedly involved filtering network traffic for specific packets which told the server to join the local chat channel. As a result, the player would remain hidden in the local channel and could sneak up on unsuspecting victims for an easy kill. Most of the controversy surrounding the exploit hinges on whether or not a certain group of players from Pandemic Legion alliance had been abusing the bug to kill farmers and macros. "The MonkeySphere" and his crew have spent months killing the macro element in nullsec using an unannounced but clearly effective strategy. Suspecting him of cheating, Russian players managed to recreate a set of conditions under which a player would remain hidden from the local channel.

Although posting the actual exploit details is not permitted on the official EVE forums, the thread discussing the exploit and The MonkeySphere's alleged involvement has now exceeded 50 pages. Showing a refreshing sense of transparency, CCP opted to keep the thread open while they investigated. Players used the thread to bring forth evidence of the exploit in action and filed bug reports on the issue. On Tuesday, CCP announced that a hotfix for the exploit had been deployed which should prevent the exploit from being used. Meanwhile, debate over The MonkeySphere's involvement with the exploit continue in the original discussion thread.

MassivelyHotfix deployed for EVE Online invisibility exploit originally appeared on Massively on Thu, 29 Apr 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ccpccp-eveccp-gamescheatcheatingeveeve-ccpeve-mmorpgeve-onlineexploitmacromacrosmonkeyspherepandemic-legionthe-monkeysphereThu, 29 Apr 2010 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Global Agenda takes aim at bots, aimbots specifically]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/24/global-agenda-takes-aim-at-bots-aimbots-specifically/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/24/global-agenda-takes-aim-at-bots-aimbots-specifically/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/02/24/global-agenda-takes-aim-at-bots-aimbots-specifically/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

There are beasts out there that are far worse than a simple macro auto-pilot program, a la Glider. In the FPS community, beasts like the notorious aim bot, capable of auto-targeting your enemies in a game of shooting skill, exist to ruin everyone's fun. And when you cross your MMORTS with the battles of an FPS... well you start getting people using the latter program.

Global Agenda finally has one such program out for it, and yes, it does work. Snipers are accurately killing people from across the map, assaults are using chainguns that never miss, and all other types of havoc are being let loose. However, we don't recommend that you use any of these programs, unless you want to be targeted by Hi-Rez Studios.

Continue reading Global Agenda takes aim at bots, aimbots specifically

MassivelyGlobal Agenda takes aim at bots, aimbots specifically originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aimbotauto-targetingcheatinggliderglobal-agendahackinghi-rez-studiosillegal-programtodd-harrisunfair-advantageWed, 24 Feb 2010 13:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Chasing carrots, and why we do it]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/08/chasing-carrots-and-why-we-do-it/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/08/chasing-carrots-and-why-we-do-it/http://massively.joystiq.com/2010/01/08/chasing-carrots-and-why-we-do-it/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

A while ago, Kill Ten Rats advocated a rather interesting approach to solving the problem of any tedious grind: cheat. More viable in a single-player game (but still possible if you're willing to use methods of dubious legality), the reasoning was to cut away the reward portion and see if you were enjoying what you were doing on its own merits. Two follow-up posts have been made since then, further extrapolating the question and getting into the way our brains fire in response to anticipation of reward.

Grind, of course, is both a dirty word and a quintessential part of any current MMO, which means that we generally aim at games with the most enjoyable grind. But are we focusing on an enjoyable grind, or just one that's not too painful as we head toward the end goal? Is the problem with Aion (to pick a game routinely raked over the coals for its grind) the basic structure, or could the grind become irrelevant if it were just a hair more enjoyable? The very structure of MMOs encourages a certain amount of grinding, and it's interesting to take a look at whether we're doing it because the grind is fun, or just because we've tricked ourselves into thinking it's not all that bad.

MassivelyChasing carrots, and why we do it originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aionaion-the-tower-of-eternityavoiding-grindcharacter-advancementcheatingenjoyable-grindgrindgrindingkill-ten-ratsktrpainful-grindwhy-we-playFri, 08 Jan 2010 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Final Fantasy XI cracks down on cheating]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/26/final-fantasy-xi-cracks-down-on-cheating/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/26/final-fantasy-xi-cracks-down-on-cheating/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/12/26/final-fantasy-xi-cracks-down-on-cheating/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Square-Enix can get very touchy about certain things with Final Fantasy XI. Revealing the precise numbers and mechanics behind many of the game's elements seems to be one of them that none of the game's fans are terribly pleased with, but they're just as touchy about people cheating in the game, which fans can't help but be happy about. The game's terms of use clearly state that the use of third-party applications interacting with the game is expressly forbidden, and the game has recently dropped the hammer for good on one of the distributors of third-party hacks.

The announcement, which can be found on the official site or mirrored on Allakhazam.com, states that the game's team had been monitoring the sale and distribution of certain undisclosed third-party applications, and they had subsequently shut down both the servers for the programs as well as the sellers. The specific applications are not named, as is normal for Final Fantasy XI -- they don't want to encourage anyone to seek out the cheats, after all. The announcement also includes the usual warnings about bannings and account security when connected with third-party cheats. It's always good news when the less scrupled side of a game's community gets shut down -- now if only we could pass some of this along to NCsoft for their recent woes.

MassivelyFinal Fantasy XI cracks down on cheating originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banningbanningscheatingexploitsffxifinal-fantasy-xihackingsquaresquare-enixthrid-partySat, 26 Dec 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The Daily Grind: If presented the opportunity to cheat, would you?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/26/the-daily-grind-if-presented-the-opportunity-to-cheat-would-yo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/26/the-daily-grind-if-presented-the-opportunity-to-cheat-would-yo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/08/26/the-daily-grind-if-presented-the-opportunity-to-cheat-would-yo/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,


Programming errors occur, we know that. No one's perfect, and game designers are no exception. The wrong buttons are pressed, the design is faulty, or the code just performs functions that no one expected it to perform. (We know how much the latter happens.)

Sometimes, however, these things go unnoticed. They stay under the surface of the game for a while, until one person just happens to stumble upon a magical secret -- an exploit. That coding error has now turned into a possible source of major profit or a quick solution to something that was extremely difficult.

Today's question is, if you stumbled upon one of these opportunities, would you cheat or would you report it to the developers to fix it? Why would you choose your answer? Drop your opinions into the shiny white box below, and let us hear all of your anecdotes and passionate text speeches.

MassivelyThe Daily Grind: If presented the opportunity to cheat, would you? originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardccpcheatingeve-onlineexploitersexploitsmartin-furtystarbase-exploitthe-daily-grindworld-of-warcraftWed, 26 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Darkfall bans another wave of cheaters]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/28/darkfall-bans-another-wave-of-cheaters/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/28/darkfall-bans-another-wave-of-cheaters/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/28/darkfall-bans-another-wave-of-cheaters/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Adventurine's public voice for Darkfall, Tasos, has announced through their forums that the have banned another 213 players for cheating using 3rd party programs. This is claimed to be 90% of the currently detected cheaters, with the final 10% awaiting verification. Cheaters were detected automatically but the verification process is manual.

The message contains a warning that cheaters tend to be very outspoken and so are expected to be proclaiming innocence on the forums. These threads will be deleted and those accounts will also be banned. Darkfall has a zero tolerance attitude to cheating, and previously Tasos has declared that there were a couple of bannings per day.

MassivelyDarkfall bans another wave of cheaters originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>adventurinebanningcheatingdarkfalldarkfall-onlinehackingTue, 28 Apr 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[You wouldn't like Aventurine when they're angry...]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/14/you-wouldnt-like-aventurine-when-theyre-angry/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/14/you-wouldnt-like-aventurine-when-theyre-angry/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/04/14/you-wouldnt-like-aventurine-when-theyre-angry/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,


Aventurine smash! Well, they smash people who attempt to impersonate GMs and cheat in their game, at least.

Over at Hardcore Casual, Syncaine has put up a post discussing Aventurine's hardline attitude to players in their game, Darkfall. The company has already said, straight out, that they will ban players for an offense like attempting to impersonate a GM or cheating in their game. No warnings, no temporary boots, we're talking a full ban on the first offense.

What is unclear, from the perspective of a player, is how well Aventurine is implementing their own policies. From one player's perspective, it seems that the GMs are certainly on the ball and are dealing with people who attempt to use joke names. But as to how many people may have been banned by Aventurine's staff? Well, that's an unknown number that most likely will never be released outside of the company.

Even so, a hardline stance like the one Aventurine is taking isn't seen very often in MMOs. Companies worry about alienating their player base with moves such as those.

Interested in the full post? Check it out over at Hardcore Casual.

MassivelyYou wouldn't like Aventurine when they're angry... originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aventurinebanningcheatingdarkfalldarkfall-onlinefake-character-namesgmshackinghardcore-casualmoderationsyncaineTue, 14 Apr 2009 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Darkfall's March 21 update addresses lag, macroing and game availability]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/22/darkfalls-march-21-update-addresses-lag-macroing-and-game-avai/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/22/darkfalls-march-21-update-addresses-lag-macroing-and-game-avai/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/03/22/darkfalls-march-21-update-addresses-lag-macroing-and-game-avai/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,



Tasos, Darkfall's community guy, posted an update on the official boards on Saturday addressing a litany of concerns that have been plaguing the user base since the game's launch.

While he did include patch notes in the update, the majority of his message dealt with issues beyond the game's live design. Tasos claims server queuing has been resolved, as have lag and random crash issues that have been popping up since release.

He also says Aventurine, Darkfall's developer, will credit players with 34 days of free play time to compensate for the problems they've been experiencing.

Since Aventurine only made the game available to a limited number of subscribers, North American fans of the game haven't yet been able to actually buy the game. The company is hoping to make the game available for sale again "sometime this coming week; again it will have to be a limited amount of copies to allow a smooth integration of new players into the game." But no news on which regions will have access to Darkfall yet.

In addition to availability issues, Tasos specifically mentioned unattended macroing as a problem Aventurine wants to address. The practice of using third-party programs to improve a character while the player doesn't monitor the character's progress is as old as MMOGs; it was particularly popular in another skill-based game, Ultima Online.

The company as yet doesn't have a hard-coded solution to deal with macroers, but Tasos included this note in the update: "we will appeal to players not actually playing the game to log off rather than leaving their character in-game. This will allow more people to be able to enjoy Darkfall instead of unmanned characters taking up server space. If you're skilling up by not playing the game as it was intended, you will be kicked and repeated offenses will result in a ban."

MassivelyDarkfall's March 21 update addresses lag, macroing and game availability originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 22 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>aventurinecheatingdarkfalldarkfall-onlinehardcoremacropatch-notespvptasosSun, 22 Mar 2009 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[CCP Games releases findings on EVE starbase exploit investigation]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/10/ccp-games-releases-findings-on-eve-starbase-exploit-investigatio/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/10/ccp-games-releases-findings-on-eve-starbase-exploit-investigatio/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/10/ccp-games-releases-findings-on-eve-starbase-exploit-investigatio/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , , , ,


The EVE Online starbase exploit revealed in December has had a far-reaching impact on the game. Certain player-owned starbases in EVE were producing valuable, high-end materials that they shouldn't have been. Once a group of players picked up on this, they exploited the game on a massive scale, resulting in trillions of ISK (Interstellar Kredits, the game's virtual currency) that never should have existed being injected into the game. To date, this is the largest economic manipulation (via an exploit) ever revealed in EVE Online.

The starbase exploit was the first of several player-triggered drama bombs that hit the game in recent weeks, and resulted in a substantial amount of (in-game) market turmoil and player outcry over the issue. The game's subscribers wanted openness on the matter from EVE's developer, CCP Games, and they've certainly got that as of today. CCP Games posted the results of the exploit investigation, and the caveat "be careful what you wish for" may apply here, given the depth and complexity of the findings conveyed to the playerbase in today's dev blog, "War Makes Thieves and Peace Hangs Them."

Continue reading CCP Games releases findings on EVE starbase exploit investigation

MassivelyCCP Games releases findings on EVE starbase exploit investigation originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>boostersbreakingccp-diagorasccp-gamesccp-grimmiccp-lilithcheatingcouncil-of-stellar-managementcraftingdev-blogdupingeconomyeveeve-onlineexploitexploitseyjolfur-gudmundssongame-mechanicsinternal-affairsiskmmo-industrymoon-miningpos-exploitsci-fistarbase-exploittitansTue, 10 Feb 2009 17:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Anti-Aliased: When you can't hack it legitimately, cheat instead pt. 2]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/anti-aliased-when-you-cant-hack-it-legitimately-cheat-insteadpt2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/anti-aliased-when-you-cant-hack-it-legitimately-cheat-insteadpt2/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/anti-aliased-when-you-cant-hack-it-legitimately-cheat-insteadpt2/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


It's all the company's fault

Yes, it's all their fault that they didn't notice that they misplaced that one period in thousands upon thousands of lines of code. It's their fault that they don't run Salvage 40,000 times a week and check every rock and pebble in Vana'diel.

People who make this rationale probably never looked at the innards of a program -- especially an MMO. You have lines of programming being done by multiple authors and you have logs that extend miles long. Even with specialized programs, it takes time to sift through all of that information.

Case in point: Square-Enix fixed this glitch in November and banned people in late January. The delay wasn't because they were playing ping-pong in the basement and drinking beer. It was the double-edged decision of first finding who stood to gain on all of their servers, and then deciding an appropriate punishment. That takes time.

You know, this probably would have been caught sooner if more people would have stood up and reported it, instead of, you know, trying to conceal it. Then, when they get caught concealing it, they blame the company for not knowing about it. That's just poor form.

The game owes me

The game owes you what? It owes you for all the time you spent playing it, enjoying the challenges with your friends and engaging in an ever-changing world?

Certainly I'm horribly opinionated, but I like to play games for fun. Whenever a game ceases to be fun to me, I stop playing and stop paying. I play because I enjoy it, and I hope other people are out there doing the same.

FFXI may be an exercise in sadistic game design, but every player has the chance to walk away from Vana'diel. I did because I didn't have the time and I ended up enjoying the lore of World of Warcraft. If you are at the point that you hate the game so much that you believe it owes you something for your time spent playing it, then perhaps it's time to take a step back from it. There are plenty of other options in the game world.

But Square-Enix isn't without fault

The voices of the banned are right about one thing though -- Square-Enix has been inconsistent. Some people are getting banned for being in one of these cheating Salvage runs, and others are getting slaps on the wrists. There doesn't seem to be any clear consistency to how they slapped down the punishments.

The first part of a reliable punishment is to make sure it's handed out consistently and with appropriate measure. Without that, people second guess if the punishment is truly necessary. It's like if a professor gave you a D on a test just because he didn't like your hand writing. Your answers never mattered, and that's what makes you angry -- it didn't feel justifyable.

What it all comes down to

Even with Square-Enix messing up like that, it doesn't change the facts. Players knew about the exploit, players attempted to hide the exploit, Square-Enix found the exploit, and players got what they should have known was coming. All of these people had the chance to stand up, call a GM, and say what was going on.

If they had and this problem would have been caught earlier, bans probably wouldn't have been mentioned. These people would still have had their accounts. Certainly they would have less gear on those accounts, but it's really hard to use virtual weaponry when you can't log in.
Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who can still log into Final Fantasy XI when he wants to. When he's not writing here for Massively, he's over running Epic Loot For All! with his insane friends. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com, or follow him on Twitter.

MassivelyAnti-Aliased: When you can't hack it legitimately, cheat instead pt. 2 originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anti-aliasedcheatingendgameexploitffxipunishmentsalvagesquare-enixWed, 04 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Anti-Aliased: When you can't hack it legitimately, cheat instead]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/anti-aliased-when-you-cant-hack-it-legitimately-cheat-instead/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/anti-aliased-when-you-cant-hack-it-legitimately-cheat-instead/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/04/anti-aliased-when-you-cant-hack-it-legitimately-cheat-instead/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


It's no secret that I keep my eye on the Final Fantasy XI community. With two friends running an upstanding linkshell on the Bahamut server, I like to know what goes on in the game.

The current word on the street is the "big banhammer freakout." The vocal players are talking about what linkshells were hit by losing players caught up in the cheating scandal. But what's interesting are the words being thrown around -- things like "unprecedented" and "uncalled for."

A quick jaunt across the street to the loving and cuddly galaxy of New Eden shows that something suspiciously similar happened to corporation starbases in EVE Online, also ending with tears, banned accounts, and the exact same arguments being thrown around the community. "I didn't know it was an exploit," "It's not my fault," "They made me do it," and my personal favorite, "You should have fixed it."

So this week's Anti-Aliased isn't dedicated to some developer mishap or some bad piece of game design, it's dedicated to how daft some people are when it comes to cheating.

Continue reading Anti-Aliased: When you can't hack it legitimately, cheat instead

MassivelyAnti-Aliased: When you can't hack it legitimately, cheat instead originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 04 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>anti-aliasedanti-alisedcheatingendgameexploitfeaturedffxifinal-fantasy-xiitem-duplicationjoystiqfeatureslinkshellraidingsalvagesquare-enixWed, 04 Feb 2009 16:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Did Square-Enix do the right thing?]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/02/did-square-enix-do-the-right-thing/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/02/did-square-enix-do-the-right-thing/http://massively.joystiq.com/2009/02/02/did-square-enix-do-the-right-thing/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


The Square-Enix bahnammer recently came down onto the Final Fantasy XI community, permanently banning 550 non-RMT accounts that were involved in performing an exploit that has occurred over a two year time period -- an exploit that some say SE was aware of, but never took steps to correct.

The exploit in question was only available to linkshells involved several endgame activities. The basic premise was finish the activity and then before the item drops from a treasure chest or monster the alliance of parties would break into their separate groups. For you Warcraft players, a raid would cease to be a raid and break down to the parties involved. Then each of the 3 parties in the alliance would get a copy of whatever items would drop. So, instead of 1 set of loot, you would grab 3 sets of loot -- including some items that could be sold for millions on the auction house.

Continue reading Did Square-Enix do the right thing?

MassivelyDid Square-Enix do the right thing? originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banhammerbanscheatingexploitffxifinal-fantasy-xiglitchlinkshellsrmtsquare-enixsuspensionMon, 02 Feb 2009 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[An update on the EVE Online starbase exploit]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/14/an-update-on-the-eve-online-starbase-exploit/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/14/an-update-on-the-eve-online-starbase-exploit/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/12/14/an-update-on-the-eve-online-starbase-exploit/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

In the wake of last week's revelation of a market disrupting exploit in EVE Online, a growing number of players have been calling for increased transparency on the situation. EVE's developer CCP Games has stated they've discovered seven player-run corporations taking advantage of the player owned station (POS) exploit, which yielded a vast amount of materials used in the EVE Online's manufacturing (crafting) system. Three of those corporations were in two alliances, and over 70 accounts have been banned thus far in connection with the exploit. The starbases used in the exploit have been destroyed by CCP, and they've stated that the corporations in question are now effectively inactive following the bans.

CCP Games has not released the names of characters, corporations, or alliances linked to the exploit, but a player named "moppinator" of the AMT. corporation (part of Ev0ke alliance) stepped forward and issued the following statement on the extent of his alliance's involvement:

Continue reading An update on the EVE Online starbase exploit

MassivelyAn update on the EVE Online starbase exploit originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 14 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>amtbanbanningbansccpccp-gamescheatingcontroversycraftingeconomyev0keeveeve-onlineevokeexploitsinvestigationmarketmoppinatorplayer-owned-stationpossci-fistarbaseSun, 14 Dec 2008 19:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Blizzard bans Battle.net accounts before WotLK launch]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/12/blizzard-bans-battle-net-accounts-before-wotlk-launch/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/12/blizzard-bans-battle-net-accounts-before-wotlk-launch/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/12/blizzard-bans-battle-net-accounts-before-wotlk-launch/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Blizzard recently announced that they'd be switching over to a new centralized account system, tying together the company's online games through Battle.net. Existing World of Warcraft accounts are essentially replaced by Battle.net accounts, and will allow for the tracking of achievements across the Blizzard titles. But some players, roughly 350,000 of them, found another unexpected feature arrived with the Battle.net account integration: bans.

Gamesindustry.biz reports: "Blizzard has revealed that is has closed over 350,000 StarCraft and Diablo II accounts which were found to be using third-party hacks. The company further revealed that the Diablo II CD keys associated with the closed accounts are now barred from playing on Battle.net for 30 days and warned that repeat offenders face a permanent ban." Check out the full report over at Gamesindustry.biz, along with a statement from Blizzard about the bans.

MassivelyBlizzard bans Battle.net accounts before WotLK launch originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 12 Nov 2008 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>banningbattle.netblizzardcheatcheatingdiablo-2diablo-iiexploitsfantasygamesindustry.bizhackhacksmmo-industrystarcraftworld-of-warcraftwowWed, 12 Nov 2008 14:30:00 EST<![CDATA[Funcom implements PvP XP rollback in Age of Conan]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/10/funcom-implements-pvp-xp-rollback-in-age-of-conan/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/10/funcom-implements-pvp-xp-rollback-in-age-of-conan/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/11/10/funcom-implements-pvp-xp-rollback-in-age-of-conan/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , ,

Funcom has sent a clear message to the number of Age of Conan players who've been exploiting a flaw in the PvP XP system: START OVER. Oliver 'Tarib' Kunz, Senior Community Manager for Age of Conan, addressed Funcom's recent decision to roll back the experience gained by some players who unfairly saw a meteoric rise in gains, as confirmed in a player-by-player investigation.

Kunz stated, "We have then taken what we consider to be appropriate action against those players by reducing their PvP Levels to what they were before it was possible to take advantage of this flaw and removing all PvP Gear." Of course, Kunz says, Funcom is open to discussing the removal of experience and gear from those who believe they were unfairly targeted, and have stated that if they've misidentified an exploiter, the character(s) in question will be restored to their former status.
Warhammer Online Coverage Having fun in Conan's homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age!

MassivelyFuncom implements PvP XP rollback in Age of Conan originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanaoccheatingexperienceexploitsfantasyflawforumsfuncomgame-mechanicsgearoliver-kunzpvppvp-experiencepvp-gearpvp-xptaribxpMon, 10 Nov 2008 17:00:00 EST<![CDATA[The great divide between EVE's players and developers]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/the-great-divide-between-eves-players-and-developers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/the-great-divide-between-eves-players-and-developers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/09/01/the-great-divide-between-eves-players-and-developers/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,


Once upon a time, there was a game about internet spaceships set in a vast galaxy, just waiting to be explored and conquered. It wasn't a huge game in terms of subscribers, in fact it was quite niche, but its small following was devoted. The size of the community allowed the developers to really interact with them and refine the game. The devs were approachable, open, and direct. In many respects, the players and developers were friends. All seemed well in the internet spaceships game, until the player base's numbers grew, and so did the collective din of their voices. The developers soon found they had to be careful about what they said to the players, in case they'd be accused of going back on their word somewhere down the line. At the same time, the game company grew to handle all of these new faces. As with most internet communities, the ever-growing numbers of players became more and more hostile, and the developers grew more and more silent...

Then, a developer -- let's call him "t20" -- used his knowledge of the game to cheat a little. Some players received an unfair advantage over others because of this lapse of judgment, and it was revealed publicly. The players became enraged. The developers were embarrassed and apologetic. Many players left the game, or at least loudly professed that they would. Many perceived that the developers, seen as a whole, were untrustworthy. Given how bad this situation was, and seeing no real way to change these perceptions, the game's creators had to accept that this was how things were. The people who built up the game from nothing saw little recourse but to withdraw even further from the very community which was so vital to their success. Does our story end there?

Continue reading The great divide between EVE's players and developers

MassivelyThe great divide between EVE's players and developers originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 01 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>ccpccp-gamescheatcheatingcommunitycouncil-of-stellar-managementcsmdevdevelopersdevselectionseveeve-onlineforumsprpublic-relationst20trustwarp-drive-activewinterblinkMon, 01 Sep 2008 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Vigilante Meridian 59 players wage war against pirate servers]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/24/vigilante-meridian-59-players-wage-war-against-pirate-servers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/24/vigilante-meridian-59-players-wage-war-against-pirate-servers/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/24/vigilante-meridian-59-players-wage-war-against-pirate-servers/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,

Meridian 59 is a game with a pirate problem. A while back, the server source code leaked onto the internet and seedy players began hosting their own servers without subscription fees. Pirate servers are a problem for many MMOs, but because of M59's comparatively small scale, it has a lot more to lose to the trend.

Amidst these troubles, some M59 players can be quite loyal. Case in point: the blog of game developer Patrick Rogers tells the story of two former M59 players hacking into a pirate server and mass-killing all its residents with powerful admin commands. The vigilantes hoped to make life (and death) on the pirate servers as unpleasant as possible so as to encourage the residents to migrate to the legitimate servers hosted by Near Death Studios. That's not the most amazing bit, though.

Continue reading Vigilante Meridian 59 players wage war against pirate servers

MassivelyVigilante Meridian 59 players wage war against pirate servers originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 24 May 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>3dobanbannedbrian-greencheatingdupingexploitimaekgaemzloyaltym59meridianmeridian-59near-death-studiospatrick-rogerspiracypiratepiratesserversvigilantesSat, 24 May 2008 20:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Player vs. Everything: Exploits are fun]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/06/player-vs-everything-exploits-are-fun/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/06/player-vs-everything-exploits-are-fun/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/05/06/player-vs-everything-exploits-are-fun/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Pretty much everyone knows that "exploit" is a dirty word. An exploit in an MMOG is anything that lets you work outside of the established rules of the game to do something that you couldn't normally do, usually in a way that lets you bypass or defeat content more easily than you're supposed to be able to. Finding a way to jump the fence before Arathi Basin actually starts is an exploit. Purposely glitching trash mobs into walls so that you can walk past them to a raid boss is an exploit. Killing a monster from a position where they're totally unable to hurt you is an exploit. In PvP gameplay, exploits are the kiss of death -- they break the game and make things totally unfun, because one player is cheating at the game.

But is that necessarily the case for PvE gameplay? I'm not so sure. The commonest way to avoid players using exploits to kill monsters is that when a monster decides that a player is jerking it around too much (and is able to damage it without being hurt themselves), the monster just starts evading and goes back to its starting point. It's the virtual NPC equivalent of saying, "Fine, you don't want to play fair? I'm going home." But that mechanic misses an important consideration -- it's kind of fun to find and use ways to exploit mobs.

Continue reading Player vs. Everything: Exploits are fun

MassivelyPlayer vs. Everything: Exploits are fun originally appeared on Massively on Tue, 06 May 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>age-of-conanbugscheatingcity-of-heroesexploitexploitationexploitsfeaturedgame-designgame-mechanicskitingoblivionplayer-vs-everythingworld-of-warcraftTue, 06 May 2008 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Koster writes "how to hack an MMO"]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/30/koster-writes-how-to-hack-an-mmo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/30/koster-writes-how-to-hack-an-mmo/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/04/30/koster-writes-how-to-hack-an-mmo/#commentsFiled under:

Have you ever wanted to walk through walls in MMO? How about telepathically sense the locations of all the good drops in a zone, or make invisible things very, very visible?

A blog post by game designer Raph Koster (of Ultima Online and now Metaplace fame) will tell you how! Admittedly, Koster doesn't really go into much detail. Also, he's trying to help developers avoid hacking problems, not giving inside secret tips to hackers. It's still an interesting read, though!

He lays out an overview of the various design choices developers make that are exploited by hackers. For example, some developers might choose to trust the client to handle collision detection to reduce lag and increase gameplay responsiveness. Well, a clever hacker can make the client report to the server with false collision information, allowing that hacker to move through walls. It turns out that most designers take a middle-of-the-road approach, meaning that, as Koster puts it: "only bad-ass hackers are cheating, instead of damn near everyone."

MassivelyKoster writes "how to hack an MMO" originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blogcheatingdecryptioneve-onlinehackhackerhackingpacketspiracyraph-kosterreverse-engineeringWed, 30 Apr 2008 18:30:00 EST<![CDATA[[Updated] Gliding through a nasty Blizzard]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/30/gliding-through-a-nasty-blizzard/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/30/gliding-through-a-nasty-blizzard/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/03/30/gliding-through-a-nasty-blizzard/#commentsFiled under: , , , , , , ,

Blizzard recently announced the folks behind the creation and sale of the popular Glider program, MDY Industries, are the latest target in an ongoing campaign against bots, hackers, and gold farmers. Blizzard claims that Glider, a third party software program that turns your character into a bot, has caused them in excess of US$20 Million in revenue. In their motion against MDY they claim:
  • Since Glider levels players faster, Blizzard lost revenue from shortened subscriptions
  • Glider violates their EULA and TOU through bot-ting
  • Glider can be used for gold farming, damaging the in game experience of others
  • Blizzard must spend money and time tracking down Glider users
MDY claims innocence, of course, stating that nowhere in the EULA or TOU (at the time the motions was filed) was a violation dictated that covered the use of the Glider program. Glider does not modify any of the game files nor does it mine or hack data from any of the game servers and thus, they argue, is not a violation of any of the rules governing the use of WoW. MDY believes that Glider 'has actually increased WoW's subscription revenue' since players hit the critical level 70 faster, with less frustration, and often find themselves craving more and opening a second account.

As the creator of Glider, Michael Donnelly, makes clear, it all started as a noble desire to catch up to his friends and enjoy content together. The case has caused Blizzard some bad press over the method used to inform Mr. Donnelly of their desire to sue his company. An unidentified private investigator, a lawyer, and a nice little note at the door asking him to stop selling the product they believe hits them in the wallet. Has Blizzard gone too far? What defines cheating? Who is truly at a loss? All questions we have to find answers to amidst the approaching storm.

[Updated to fix links]

Massively[Updated] Gliding through a nasty Blizzard originally appeared on Massively on Sun, 30 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>blizzardbotscheatingglidermdyworld-of-warcraftSun, 30 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EST<![CDATA[MMOGology: Exploiting the matrix]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/11/mmogology-exploiting-the-matrix/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/11/mmogology-exploiting-the-matrix/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/02/11/mmogology-exploiting-the-matrix/#commentsFiled under: , , , , ,



You can't deny it; there's something exciting about seeing something you aren't supposed to see. It may have happened to you before, perhaps accidentally. You were minding your own business, just jumping down a flight of stairs in the Sunken Temple instance. And then ... BAM! Suddenly you're staring into a sea of light blue. "Am I dead?" you ask yourself. "What happened?" You rotate your camera angle and notice you can see three floors below you. You rotate it a little more and suddenly the grand design of the mighty level developer is revealed to you. You can see the entire dungeon stretching into the distance of ethereal blue. You've accidentally crossed over to the other side. You've entered the matrix!

OK, so maybe it's not always quite that dramatic, but it's definitely interesting when you accidentally or accidentally-on-purpose stumble upon these little tears in the fabric of MMOspace. Many of us enjoy the exploration components of MMOGs. We love to find the hidden nooks and crannies of the world, the small places not often visited by our fellow gamers because they're in remote locations. Sometimes in our desire to see absolutely everything in the game, we stumble across these glitches that let us see a bit more than we're supposed to see. I think it's only natural to want to pull back the veil on our unrealities and see the "Wizard behind the curtain", so to speak. But of course anytime you begin participating in things that go slightly beyond the boundary of what you're "supposed" to be doing in a game, it starts to bring up questions about exploits and cheating. Viewing the underbelly of an MMOG hardly seems like a crime, but at what point exactly do you cross the threshold that will get you into trouble? At what point are we talking about account bans?

Continue reading MMOGology: Exploiting the matrix

MassivelyMMOGology: Exploiting the matrix originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>Blizzardcheatingexploitsexplorationexploreexploringfeaturedvirtual-worldsWorld-of-WarcraftWoWMon, 11 Feb 2008 10:00:00 EST<![CDATA[Vana'diel and its RMT Special Task Force]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/05/vanadiel-and-its-rmt-special-task-force/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/05/vanadiel-and-its-rmt-special-task-force/http://massively.joystiq.com/2008/01/05/vanadiel-and-its-rmt-special-task-force/#commentsFiled under: , , ,


GameSpy has an interview up with the Final Fantasy XI team about their recent heavy crackdown on real money trading in their game. The team talks about the two methods that they use to track down and deal with RMT. Although the translation is a little rough, from what we could gather the team takes into account the number of targeted accounts involved in RMT as well as the game economy reaction to their activity. Aside from that, the FFXI team looks at the forum responses from the North American, European and Japanese as well as reports of in-game mail advertising real money trades. The team say that with these methods they are seeing a real decline in RMT sales and dishonest conduct within their game.

Additionally, the team says these are only the early steps towards a complete removal of RMT from FFXI, which would be a fairly huge accomplishment for any massively game. If the monthly bans were to stop, the shady activities would definitely restart, so we're not entirely sure if the team will ever truly be done getting rid of RMT activities.

[Via Ten Ton Hammer]

MassivelyVana'diel and its RMT Special Task Force originally appeared on Massively on Sat, 05 Jan 2008 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>cheatingeconomyfinal-fantasy-xireal-money-tradingrmtsquare-enixSat, 05 Jan 2008 15:00:00 EST<![CDATA[It's a mod, mod world, says WoW's Drysc]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/24/its-a-mod-mod-world-says-wows-drysc/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/24/its-a-mod-mod-world-says-wows-drysc/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/24/its-a-mod-mod-world-says-wows-drysc/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Let's face it - if you've played any MMO for any significant amount of time, chances are you've made use of one mod or another during the course of your experience. Whether you picked it up to help you heal your raid, maximize your DPS, or to optimize your crafting efficiency, mods have always fallen into a sort of gray area as far as the terms of service are concerned, and have the subject of heated moral debate amongst players. After all, is it really fair to modify a game in such a way that gives you a decided advantage over the competition? We've always assumed this was the stance taken by most developers -- if it's not part of the game code, it's not sanctioned by the developers. That is, until we caught this bit on the blue tracker last week.

Drysc, a "blue" mod over on the World of Warcraft forums, came out in support of mods -- citing how they help demonstrate features that the player base feels are lacking in the retail code. He said that many of the features that WoW employs today were inspired in whole or in part by fan-created mods. He even punctuated one post on the subject with, "I <3 mods." Now, we know that Blizzard has at least acknowledged the usefulness of mods in the past, but they've taken some more contrary measures, like patching games in such a way as to fundamentally break certain mods. To hear a dev step outside of this tenuous acquiescence and throw full-on support for mods still threw us for a loop.

MassivelyIt's a mod, mod world, says WoW's Drysc originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 24 Dec 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>add-onsblizzardbluecheatingdryscforumsmodsworld-of-warcraftwowMon, 24 Dec 2007 16:00:00 EST<![CDATA[How to make RMT obsolete rather than legit]]>http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/19/how-to-make-rmt-obsolete-rather-than-legit/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/19/how-to-make-rmt-obsolete-rather-than-legit/http://massively.joystiq.com/2007/12/19/how-to-make-rmt-obsolete-rather-than-legit/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Raph Koster was nice enough to come by and read our post about Live Gamer and their attempts to make RMT legit, and responds that while I suggested RMT was cheating and reading strategy guides was not, many older gamers actually do consider sites like Thottbot and EVE-db cheating. Just as the spirit of gaming evolved to consider outside help legitimate, so, Raph argues, will designers give up to market and player pressure, and make RMT viable and "legal."

Which is probably true-- it's easy to see a future where a game like Dungeon Runners becomes a big hit, and 90% of the people play the game for free (or close to it), and the other 10% of the audience pays for the game by using only the highest level items and gear, and shelling out money for both. But personally, I'd rather go for Raph's other idea-- that smart designers will find ways around integrating RMT solutions by coming up with ways to make RMT unnecessary. I've written and talked about this before-- when it's impossible and/or inconvenient to obtain ingame items with real money, players just won't do it. And no players means no market.

And let's not forget, either, that these are just games we're talking about-- RMT can buy you all the items you want, but it can't buy you great gameplay, and that's the reason we're all here in the first place. If designers emphasize gameplay over simple epic item collection in the first place, there's no reason for RMT at all. Companies like Live Gamer smell money in the air around virtual items, but hopefully (and this is what Raph doubted in his first post) there is still more money to be made with a successful widespread game than just selling the items inside of it.

MassivelyHow to make RMT obsolete rather than legit originally appeared on Massively on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments]]>analysischeatingeve-dblegitlive-gamermarketsplayersraph-kosterrmtthottbotWed, 19 Dec 2007 17:30:00 EST