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*Disclaimer: The following article is based on my own personal research and is not reflective of any official position of ANY gaming company, local or foreign. This is NOT a manual on how to cheat. Rather, this is a study on why cheating is wrong and what individuals and organizations can do to eradicate it.
Since man invented games and created rules, there were always cheaters. Video games and, to a huge extent, online games and MMORPGs are no exception. In the early 80s and 90s, cheats came in the form of “codes”. I mean, who can forget the Dpad combination for Contra (up-up-down-down-left-left-etc-etc) for 99 lives? Today, with broadband and information readily available on the web, cheating has gone high tech.
Greed is the mother of all motives for cheating. In the online gaming industry, it’s a damn cat and mouse game between developers, 3rd party exploiters and individual cheaters.
Here are some methods on how cheats are done in online games:
1. Exploits – exploits are usually done via bugs in the game. Sometimes, players try to bypass the firewall and do nasty shiat to the database. This often causes items to be illegally duplicated. Called “duping” in MMO slang, this is frowned upon by players since it displaces the valuable balance of supply and demand in a gaming economy. Shag the economy and the value of the game characters and items go down… this causes all the whining in the boards and upsets a LOT of players. Exploits in the form of bugs come in terms of illegally getting the edge over others. Examples could be a monster that gives MILLIONS OF EXP or an NPC that gives characters items or rewards over and over again.
2. EXTERNAL SOFTWARE – mention this to the Pinoy gamer and the first thing that comes to mind are bots. Bots are programs that automate the actions of your character while you can go to Starbucks and sip a latte (or sleep) while you level up and farm. But there are other external software designed to cheat. Some 3rd party programs like aimbot, speedhack, stat editors, currency generators, no cooldown skills, etc are all designed to tamper with the packet data – pockets of information exchanged between the server and client. Publishers and developers are always in the lookout for these 3rd party applications. But if there are “terrorists” there are “counter-terrorists” to combat the threat. These come in the form of anti-hack programs such as hackshield and gameguard. Still, they are not a 100% guarantee against external threats.
In a related article at about.com, it reads; “Subscription games like Ultima Online and EverQuest have even more at risk because a loss of players is directly linked to a loss of income. They’ve had to make catching cheaters a priority right from the start, but they also have the advantage of controlling the servers the game is played on. When a problem is discovered, it’s relatively easy to make changes and/or ban the culprits. Today’s MMORPGs operate under the watchful eye of large contingents of game masters, and it’s still impossible to ensure that there are no shenanigans going on. The most one can hope for is that the shenanigams will be discovered and correctly quickly.”
3. Disconnecting – disconnections by choice are also cheats. In some versus games (like BattleNet), “leavers” are often banned for being such sore losers. You rarely get to have the satisfaction of finishing the game when playing with leavers. Also some MMO players inadvertantly try to DC their opponents in the hope to either slay the boss monster on win in PVP. Some try to bombard the servers with so much information in the hope that it crashes. Often, boss monsters respawn – giving more chances to the cheaters to get valuable loot. Whatever the case, these kinds of players SUCK big time!
4. Feeding – feeding is trying to either give undue advatage to your team mate(s) by giving them items or spending for them. In peer-to-peer games competition games, you can also “feed” a friend by making characters that will be there to just LOSE, thereby giving massive exp, gold, etc to the cheating team or character. Pathetic!
5. Sharing or Piloting – although this isn’t exactly cheating, this borders on it. Players are often divided on the way they see the practice of “piloting” – hiring someone to play your character while you’re away (mostly if you’re at school or work). Some practitioners defend themselves and tell the naysayers that it is better than running illegal 3rd party programs. For me, one of the risks here is exposing your account and hence, all your items and riches, to a complete stranger and risking theft or hack.
6. Social Engineering – Wow! A cool term for scamming. Social engineering can happen in a myriad of ways, from someone joining your guild, gaining your trust, “borrowing” rare stuff and then disappearing like a bubble. One of the old methods of social engineering were players trying to impersonate a GM and get usernames and passwords from gullible players (I get reports that GM T is impersonated a lot… wapak!). There are also lame attempts at fake e-mails, fake websites, YM scams and ingame deal/business scams. Caveat Emptor – buyer beware! Stay away from these kinds of players like the plague and report suspicious activities to the authorities.
about.com’s article about MMORPG cheating has a good conclusion on the subject:
“The good news is that cheating has become significantly more difficult in recent years. Not only have game developers found better ways to secure their products, third-party software has also made large advances in sniffing out and banning cheaters.”
“At the end of the day, it’s a lot more satisfying to win while following the rules than it is to win using some cheap hack or exploit, so if you’re here looking for ways to cheat in online games, I hope I’ve given you some reasons to reconsider.”
So, it IS better to play fair and follow the rules. Crime (and cheating) does NOT pay!
Peace!
GM T
computers are very useful nowadays people from every walk of life use computers in which laptop computers and notepad is very common because they can also use it in cars by listening car cd mp3 players.other computers are also very useful like desktop computer these computers are normally use in the homes.
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I guess it’s natural for humans to cheat. Cheats and hacks are being advertised too like the ads from google that you have.
Yeah! cheating is badddd
It makes you really greed!!!
Thanks GM T for giving some advises >.
unfortunately cheating is already part of filipino culture.
take for instance our political scene. hell, filipinos only go for victory… nothing else.
yah as valfogg said… no wonder the philippines are one of the most corrupt countries… sana naman magbago na!! para guminhawa na buhay natin at wala ng mag overseas para kumita ng marami… hahaha right GM T?? XD
hahaha. nakakatawa nga kasi totoo na ang philippines corrupted country na. pero back to topic. tama, sobrang bilis ng mga cheats ngayon. I have tried a lot of online games already (mostly international games like SoF, 9d etc..) and makikita mo, ang dami offerings sa towns na selling money, power leveling, eventhough yung game kakarelease pa lang, may makikita ka ng ganun. usually laganap talaga ang bots, which as far as botters do not know, ruin the entire game. nakakita ako, online game, they are selling items sa premium shop for about 5 dollars, people would sell them for 10million in-game, and yet there’s a macro bot character selling 10 million in-game money for just 2 dollars. so compare mo, pag sa bot ka bumili, 2 dollars mo lang mabibili yung item from premium shop, nalugi pa yung company. and yet the company can’t do anything about it.
and one more thing GM T, there’s a rumor spreading around ROSE na nagroroll back because there are dupes happening in-game. Is it true ba? inaabuse ng mga tao yung nangyayari ngayon sa rose, parang ang sama naman.
True. But change has to start from somewhere… and the best place is to have start from OURSElVES. If we don’t patronize cheating programs, then all will be better.
Regarding sa ROSE, I am aware of the problem and we are doing something about it. I can’t discuss the details coz the cheaters will know the countermeasures, k?
TY
hahaha.. Social Engineering. >_
LOL @ Social Engineering xD
Yuf yuf, thats what they call it XD
as evil as this may sound but.. cheating is bad, only when u’re caught. lol (to the least conscientious that is).. constant vigilance remedies social engineering.
(blog hopping)
Okay, before this becomes an indictment on Filipino culture, let’s just say that cheating happens everywhere. And if you remember GM, the reason why a lot of us decided to leave RO for other games (just ask Blackwolf and the others) is that they couldn’t take all the rampant cheating and all of the other things that made pRO a micrcosm of the Philippines.
I’d like to think though that things have changed.
Tingin ko naman ay may kagustuhan talagang makiisa ng community para masugpo o mabawasan man lang ang dami ng mga cheaters sa isang game pero ang talagang ikina-frufrustrate ng marami (tulad ko) ay iyong mabagal na pagprocess ng mga reports at iyong perception na parang wala namang nasususpend sa mga inirereport mo. Para sa isang concerned player na matiyagang nagbabantay at nanghuhuli ay nakaka-frustrate ito at sa huli ay tumitigil na lang sila.
Kaya dapat siguro ay gawing mas mabilis ang pagproseso ng mga reports, ilantad sa publiko ang mga nasuspend o naban at ipaalam sa nagreport ang status ng report nila.
Gratification from reward come in two ways – Winning through fair practice and winning through cheating. Both has end capabilities to push the release of endorphins, neuro-biochemical compounds that induces a sense of satisfaction, well-being or bliss at utmost.
As the saying goes (excerpt fr The Fast & The Furious) “a win is a win is a win, doesnt matter whether an inch or a mile”.
However, cheated achievements in some cases do induce guilt, remorse and regret – in most cases only if discovered and/or revealed.
Still it is far better to achieve the WIN in a fair and balanced manner since it produces higher satisfaction, euphoria, bliss, ecstacy and rapture.
^_^
The 1ST reason why people cheat in such an online game (like Ragnarok for instance) is to become famous.. Syempre kapag sikat ka na.. Marami na lalapit sayo at syempre marami ka din magiging kaibigan..
Cheating is like saying that your a noob.. The more we cheat.. The more we become noobs.. Because you didn’t earn it..
Finally, as the saying goes.. Cheaters never win Malakas nga sila dahil sa mga ginagawa nila.. Pero asa lang naman sila dun sa daya na ginawa nila..
agree! You guys couldn’t have said it better
ROFLMAO!,
Greed huh?, that wasn’t the word i was looking for, I was looking for the word ingenuity or clever.
You might ask why?. I’ll tell you, Here’s your program for example and I am a programmer ,Now as a curios programmer I’ll try to crack the limits of your program, Once I cracked that I achieve my goal. but then I create a program that will alter your program. and so this makes me think I’m great, and so I spread what I have done freely. which where the gamers come in and use the program that I created. now there’s your greed.
and about the bugs and exploits… there’s what we call and yeah you know this one too ^^, a beta server
a beta server is used to correct the bugs and exploits before it can be applied on a commercial server. but no one really does that now huh?. bored?
well gameguard is also a 3rd party software
.
now Disconnecting I will agree with you on that.
but I will not agree on your terms for feeding,
as long as its not RPG(non-casual) feeding is bad for its enemies.
example of a non-casual rpg is ragnarok/rf/mu/wow/khan
casual rpg includes warrock/o2jam/gunbound/pangya/rakion
so you see as long as its a RPG(non-casual)It’s ok…
but hey when you said giving EXP, ITS LIKE PARTY POWER LEVELING IS A CHEAT TOO…….so nice!.
Sharing and Piloting ain’t cheating but I think you got offended for some reason
, did a female character once had a female owner, then becomes a male owner?.
My friend is poor and she has a sister they share and pay for that 1 account.
as for scamming…its the one that got scammed fault.
why act irresponsible or easy going on an important deal?
number 1.) and number 2.) is solely the creators of the game’s responsibility. But hey levelupgames.ph is not the creator of the game right? so dont blame yourselves about that. the creators must create a top-notch security.
FACTS:
I remembered looking on the headlines saying…. “why fight them, lets just get along” about bots by level-up
as of now…. as long as you pay… you can play ,hell you can also bot too
You cannot distinguish someone who cheats and someone who doesn’t ,well can you?, can you avoid saying “oH this guy is really strong I think he cheated”
Server merge is the sign of Level up losing income
and also I recalled they changed IP but then they changed it BACK!….
as they say.
“Subscription games like Ultima Online and EverQuest have even more at risk because a loss of players is directly linked to a loss of income.”
risk of loss of botters is directly linked to a loss of income.
“At the end of the day, it’s a lot more satisfying to win while following the rules than it is to win using some cheap hack or exploit, so if you’re here looking for ways to cheat in online games, I hope I’ve given you some reasons to reconsider.”
– it’s the job of the GMs
“The good news is that cheating has become significantly more difficult in recent years. Not only have game developers found better ways to secure their products, third-party software has also made large advances in sniffing out and banning cheaters.”
THE BAD NEWS is that even if you’re banning the cheaters, they will always come and come back and still be cheating.
Alas…..
I recall, ragnarok was a great game….not because of IT’s the first online game….no thats not the reason it got so popular…. IT was the EVENTS!
NO events NO reason to Play…..
I remember when Game Masters 1 by 1 died….. and also the the VANGUARDS arises and the EVENT DIES!… great.
the reason for botting arises too
PROBLEM IS you’ll probably delete this……but hey it’s just a plain comment….
I’m not deleting it. It’s a free world. You are free to comment.
Thanks
[...] get their hands dirty (sorry… but it’s true). I’ve heard that some people really make good money on this. Sheesh. Shame! [...]
yeah, i know a lot of people who earn money in diry ways, likewise when it comes to playing mmorpg. just like what it went in this dance interactive online game(better not to mention this online game), at first the cheat/hack program is just being used by only a single player, and i supposed this guy must have been the one who created it or something like that. why would i know?? yeah of course, because im a witness of that such incerdible hack program, i was inside his room when he started to play the cheat and i was astounded indeed coz i dunno that such hack exist. actually i told myself to get one, coz i knew it will be widespread in no time. so then time and time it spread rapidly that even the gm’s of this online game can do nothing bout it and until even now the hack program still do exist.
am apologizing if readers find my comment too assassinating but im just sharing my expirience with this cheaters and alike and how they contribute to
can you please give me your personal email, something i have to report.
Hi Annoymous,
Just click HERE
@Fragile: Some people love to “travel” while playing basketball. It’s fine to “travel” when you’re playing by yourself but rules are a social compact in this social construct we call a game. Without rules or laws, the law of the jungle kicks in and only the strong survive but just because you’re strong doesn’t make you the strongest SOB in the block. Remember what happened to Saddam Hussein.
I should really be less impulsive. I’d rather be posting in GM T’s CosPlayer babe Post.
bigyan mo naman ako cheats ng pokemon silver
Well… I’m thinking… Can you do something about those private servers? I think they’re really cool! I just watched them from YOUTUBE… I know they are illegal, right? But can you blame them? Specially PROSE will say goodbye on August 6…
Well… just stating a fact – private servers are illegal. They are infringing on the intellectual properties of the game designers and the rights (to do business) by the publishers
[...] – it is often the kind souls (players too) who report these cheats and abuses. I found out about a LOT of cheats in online games this way. And thanks to the players who alerted [...]
Private servers are “private” and only for the few, they have pros and cons and such scope and limitations could clearly define their legitimacy hence we cant conclude they all are illegal
pwede alisin na ung ing cheats…..
[...] not talking about 3rd party programs, cheats, bots or hacks here, okay? Let’s just put things in perspective first, before I move [...]
Sa tingin ko naman ok naman ok naman merong cheats sa mga Online games para..aztig.. at para masaya at para merong competition Gamers versus Game Masters…. Sa cheat nag sisi mula ang Hate at nasa hate ang LOVE.. kaya mga faps.. mag cheat na kayo..
haha bitch
And soon will be RF online will be the test ground of this cheaters and exploiters..Bots and damage modifier are being reported nowadays
THIS is for the people na nagpapahiya sa lahi natin at comment pa ng comment ng English.HOY!!!
kung pwede kung sisiraan n’yo ang sariling bansa at lahi n’yo kung pewede lang wag na mag English,kasi pinapababa n’yo ang tingin ng dayuhan sa atin.Pakiusap lang kung may pakialam pa kayo sa pagtingin ng ibang lahi pati na sa mga magiging anak n’yo at sa mga susunod pang generation na mga Pinoy.|:PEACE:|
ahhmmmm!….
I think it`s Bad to use a 3rd party Program like Macro
uhmm
kunwari sa (RO) Ragnarok tama nga
it so become Famous
heehhehe
uhmmm!…
May i Ask
Bad bang mag Private Server?
natanung ko lng kc isa ko sa mga players ng
isang Private Server di ko na babanggitin ung name ng isang Private Server
tama po ba Private Servers are illegal?
like GM T`s said?
uhmmm
lets go back!
ako sikat ako sa isang Private Server
almost 500+ ang naglalaro
kasi patas ako di ako gumagamit ng 3rd party program!
kc Weak KA kung tawagin
CHEATERS
CHEATERS nerver Win XD
i love it
hi
[...] to be powerful, what’s the use of drop ratios, rarity, expensive items and the rest to a world filled with cheaters, hackers and dupers? Wouldn’t it be silly to just give everyone max levels, full stats and [...]
bastos nmn toh ehhh may dede pah
alam nyo wag kau mag malinis dahil ako inaamin ko na gus2 kong mag cheat pero wla mahanap, part an naten ang magcheat kc ang gus2 lng naten ay manalo at wla ng iba,, kau wag kau magmalinis sana aminin nyong lhat na lhat kau may pumapasok sa mga kokote nyo na parng gus2 nyo mag cheat,,,,,,, ok ba??
Yup…Philippines is really the most Corrupted country but Filipinos cheat because of their Lazy and Thats bad it forces you to cheat XD
shit!
daming cheaters na sa grandchase ph
GM T pwede po bang mag request ??
pwede po ba tanggalin na ung mga 1 hit cheats,mana hacks, speed hacks… ang tatanga nyu nmn kac eh may GM pa sa grandchase tapos lalagyan nyu ng cheats mga tanga kaya nga kac may gm para ausin kac minsan kahit ndi nyu nilalagyan ng mga cheats sa granchase ph minsan tlga nag kakaerror or something that make i to have bug… kaya po pakiayos na sa next maintenance kac kung ung ibang players natutuwa kac nananalo sila eh kame nmn na biktima naiinis kame tapos kaming mga biktima mas madami kami kaya pls nga mga ENGOT na mga GM ,,, GM pa nmn tapos ENGOT!
tanggalin nyu lng ung mga cheats pero wag nyu i banned ung mga players na nag chicheat tanggalin nyu lng ung mismong cheat !!!
even though we filipinos are lazzy we are smart.
yeah its true we are filipinos but we are smart yeah im smart to like in special force philipines i can have wallhack ^_^ request a wallhack? this is my email : ronaires_782@yahoo.com
ay nako mga pre ako ayaw kong mag cheat eh kaso lang pag nag laro nako nakakinis eh no match ako sa mga cheaters lalo na ung mga wall hack at glicth(sa SF)…..kaya kung may makita akong cheat gagamitin ko un….at onga pala alam naman natin na pinas ang isa sa mga pinaka corrupt pero ung leader natin ang corrupt dapat tagtagin muna un tapos un sa mga senado tapos pababa ng pababa…tapos meron parin matitira ung mga matitira dapat IPAHINDOT NYO PARA D NASILA MAGING CORRUPT TYAKA DAPT PINAPATAY!!!!!!PEACE(and dont forget cory WE SALUTE YOU CORY!!!)
bkit ganon dami cheaters. irerecord mo nga d naman namin alm kung paano i banned ang mga nahuli namin. ang maganda cguro para d n mag cheat ung mga cheaters may price kung makapag bann k ng isa my price n pet or accesories para lahat interesado s paghuli ng cheaters so mawawaln ng cheaters o d b? great idea vise versa lng……………..