Author Topic: The "is it cheating or not" thread  (Read 6351 times)

Legacy_Mad.Hatter

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #75 on: May 07, 2011, 06:05:35 pm »


               Cheating in single-player would imply that there is some rule or norm to violate and cheat against. The only rule or norm that is universal to all end-users of a particular game is the EULA that games force you to sign before installing them. Anything less than universal is subject to relative morality and therefore cannot be labeled unless you start a moral argument against certain actions that players do in their own games (I think Paul wrote, "Woe unto the impatient, for their use of nefarious codes shall rob them of eternal satisfaction of their doings. Verily I say unto ye, use not codes that thy games shall be pleasing.").

If you break the EULA, you could be considered cheating. My question is, what do I care if you break your own license agreement?

Obviously cheating in multiplayer is a different affair because you are adding interactions that most companies are not willing to govern. I think everyone agrees about multiplayer cheating--it's gaining an unfair advantage over another player.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Guest_Lowlander_*

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #76 on: May 07, 2011, 06:47:32 pm »


               

AndarianTD wrote...

I can't speak for others, but the reason why I devote the time to building is for players to exprience my game world and story, as I designed them to be experienced.


That was a great post from the designer perspective (all of it, not just the small quote above).

That is exactly how I view it from a player perspective. The designer took pains to create a gaming experience that flows yet has a certain level of challenge, encounters have to be developed with some idea of what the character brings to the table, if the player gives themselves all kinds of bonuses/cash/gear they have essentially undercut the planning that the developer put into the module. Essentially the designer worked his butt off to communicate a story/experience and I want to do my best to receive that experience without interference.

Contrary to what some may think, I am not a "never use cheat codes" zealot. I have also used cheats to muck around, experiment, etc...  Certainly to fix breaks, like last week when I had the oh so common stuck on a wall in a dungeon issue.

But I don't think I have ever actually finished a mod I started cheating in. Cheating just sucks out the satisfaction. I just have that brain mechanism that reminds me from the point of cheating onward, that I took a shortcut and it ramps down my reward mechanism as a result. Game + cheating = pointless meh for me.

What I really dislike is the posts in threads for newbies flippantly suggesting cheats or exploits before the player has even become familiar with the game. I really do feel these new players are being potentially cheated of the extra satisfaction from playing clean.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Lowlander, 07 mai 2011 - 05:48 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Gregor Wyrmbane

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #77 on: May 07, 2011, 11:22:55 pm »


                As an aside, most of the cheat code usage I've done in the OC was for spawning in dye pots and trap crafting components. Yeah, I know...... I'm shameless.

If I want a particular weapon for a PC, I'll open the tool set, make it, and put it in the module. I did that recently for a weapon master I was playing in the OC. In chapter 3, he "found" a heavy flail with; +3 enhancement, 1d4 sonic damage, 1d4 acid damage, and keen.  I named it, "Thumper".  ;^)
               
               

               
            

Legacy_AmstradHero

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #78 on: May 07, 2011, 11:28:41 pm »


               As a modder/builder, I also agree with Andarian's post.  The modder (and the designers of the original game) have gone to a lot of effort to establish a level of difficulty that will be challenging but achievable with the tools that the player is given with the confines of the game itself. Players who choose to use cheats or other options are not getting the experience that the designers intended, ergo they are cheating. Yes, it's that simple.

If you as a player choose to use cheats or modify a module/game such that you experience it in a way that is different from the original design, if it's in a single player context and thus you're not affecting anyone else's game experience, by all means, go for it.  However, you should note that you are not getting intended experience that the development team worked so hard to create. You're getting something different. As a result, you're likely not going to get the same sense of satisfaction as the player that perserveres without those cheats and overcomes a challenge. If I go all the way back to the days when I was playing the original Doom, as soon as I used cheats, there was no challenge anymore. The enjoyment dropped because there was no difficulty, no challenge to overcome, no sense of achivement in victory. Mileage may vary of course, and you might just be playing for the experience rather than the overall package offered by the game, so yes, you're playing the way you want to play. However, you're not playing by the rules that were set forth by the designers of the game, so you're cheating.

Console commands are included for testing purposes, so that the designers/tester can quickly push their way through parts of the game to make sure that things are working properly.  If you modify a game/module such that the difficulty is changed, yes, you're cheating, because you're modifying the rules of the game that was originally given to you. If you give yourself extra money/experience/items through console commands, you're doing the same thing. Trying to say that it's not "cheating" is a fallacy. In a single player experience, no, you're not harming anyone else, but it's still "cheating" via any definition of the world because you're operating outside of the pre-defined rules of the game.

I think it's interesting to note is the "pro cheating" people appear to have an overwhelming need to justify their use of console commands (or the like) to people who disapprove of cheating. I don't approve or disapprove of cheating. If you wish to cheat, then that's fine, as long as you're doing it in a single player experience, as doing so in multiplayer ruins the level playing field of that everyone should abide by. However, if you attempt to say "I'm not cheating", while you're modding a game to add in extra special powerful items, or make yourself a few levels higher than you should/could be then you're only trying to delude yourself. If you don't play by the rules of the game, you're cheating, plain and simple. It's your choice, but it's still cheating by any definition of the word.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par AmstradHero, 07 mai 2011 - 10:31 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Elhanan

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #79 on: May 08, 2011, 12:20:43 am »


               I reckon can live with the notion that some here consider me a cheater. Guess I will have to tell my party, well if there was one,  but there ain't as I am playing Solo.

And I will continue to do so, with your benevolent permission or not. I will continue to bypass the hauling of loot about while searching for stories, as I have 'gone to a lot of effort to craft a character worthy of the future challenge'. But Players needs, wishes, and desires are secondary to those of Modders; ain't they. Seen this kind of thinking before on many threads, too.

I will continue to change the rules as my purpose is to have fun; not try and figure out why creators never make mistakes.; just need to ask why there are 'magic need to hit monsters' in my way after that item strip. Right; was the intended challenge. Got it.

Now to be fair, most mod creators are more lenient in their thinking, as they want folks to see their stories; not wondering why some Vorpal blade was placed in that last store when all I have is strarting gold. And I will continue to give them feeback.

But for these omniscient morale guardians of solitary play that intended to have us make multiple trips to their fantasy Wally worlds, I may compromise and play their games as I wish; just simply skip the feedback part as it is tainted thru my deceptive choice.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Guest_Lowlander_*

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #80 on: May 08, 2011, 12:58:15 am »


               

Elhanan wrote...

.. not wondering why some Vorpal blade was placed in that last store when all I have is strarting gold.

But for these omniscient morale guardians of solitary play that intended to have us make multiple trips to their fantasy Wally worlds, I may compromise and play their games as I wish; just simply skip the feedback part as it is tainted thru my deceptive choice.



The other side of this is that this isn't an entirely solo activity, once you start giving feedback/advice based on your gold cheat play through.   Like when I said  SoU wouldn't be my choice as a good newbie module as it was quite a grind at the beginning. Your opinion differed but what is that opinion worth, when you essentially skipped the grind with gold cheating.

Almost every beginner campaign starts you off with nothing scrounging to afford minimimal mundane gear, let alone loading up on magic swords from the beginning, which also significantly alters balance.  Part of the satisfaction comes in overcoming those humble beginnings.  Maybe it doesn't for you, but I think you do a disservice to the new player when you recommend a module on the basis of your cheats and essentially serve as an example of cheating, making it that much more likely they will start cheating right from the beginning.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_AmstradHero

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #81 on: May 08, 2011, 01:48:04 am »


               I would contend that offering advice or feedback to other players or developers/modders based on a playthrough that utilised a modded version of the adventure, or a character that has been altered through console commands provides limited benefit.

If a player is not playing by the rules that the developer set out, any feedback that is provided to them on the quality of the gameplay of their adventure if largely void because the player hasn't experienced the gameplay that the developer provided them with. This extends further and can also affect the atmosphere of the adventure as well. Say the designer created a journey in which you're always supposed to be struggling, forced to pick between whether you should decide to upgrade your equipment as much as possible, or sacrifice your own power for the sake of helping others. Really forcing the player to pick between being benevolent or focusing solely on their own well-being. If a player uses a console command to give themsleves the gold to be able to do both, they've immediately destroyed that atmosphere and are not getting the same experience as players who are forced to make those tough decisions. There are plenty of ways that gameplay and difficulty can be (or rather, should be) used to generate atmosphere and tension throughout a game. If a player is using cheats, they're not getting the originally intended experience.

Following this through, recommendations to other players about whether they should or should not play particular modules/games based on a playthrough utilising cheats are inherently flawed. The cheating player has not experienced the adventure as it was intended to be played, thus their comments and suggestions to other players are coloured by how they've modified the game.

Again, I'll reiterate that I'm not casting a moral judgement on anyone who uses mods/console commands to give themselves new items/gold/spells/experience/invulnerability or whatever. Heck, I've done it myself on occasion in order to finish mods that I just found too impossibly difficult no matter what I did.  However, as soon as I started using those cheats, I recognise that my opinion on the game was flawed. The fact that I found the combat impossibly difficult is something I can comment on (and I did do so on the couple of occasions that it happened), but immediately after using cheats, there's very little I can comment on in terms of gameplay. I know I cheated, and I how no compunctions about saying that, but I have to recognise that it irrevocably changes the experience that the developer created.

If you're not following the rules of the game, you're cheating, plain and simple. Whether you consider that a "bad thing" is entirely your choice. But if you're being responsible and fair in sharing your opinion or thoughts on the game, your decision to not adhere to the rules of the game is something that you must take into consideration when telling others about it. As a modder/developer, I couldn't care less whether people use cheats in a single player context. If they wish to use cheats to make themselves ridiculously powerful and romp through the game, that's the player's choice. However, if they subsequently complain that the game was terrible, had no atmosphere and rate it poorly because it was so easy, that's when I'll take offense.

End note: Of course, sometimes less experienced developers make the mistake of making difficulty ridiculously hard because they know all the secrets of how to win and there's no hope for the "average" player to prevail. But this is poor design that the developer should be made aware of, and subsequently fix.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par AmstradHero, 08 mai 2011 - 12:50 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Elhanan

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #82 on: May 08, 2011, 07:15:04 am »


               

Lowlander wrote...

The other side of this is that this isn't an entirely solo activity, once you start giving feedback/advice based on your gold cheat play through.   Like when I said  SoU wouldn't be my choice as a good newbie module as it was quite a grind at the beginning. Your opinion differed but what is that opinion worth, when you essentially skipped the grind with gold cheating.


Because I did not cheat until the replay, as I remarked earlier.

Almost every beginner campaign starts you off with nothing scrounging to afford minimimal mundane gear, let alone loading up on magic swords from the beginning, which also significantly alters balance.  Part of the satisfaction comes in overcoming those humble beginnings.  Maybe it doesn't for you, but I think you do a disservice to the new player when you recommend a module on the basis of your cheats and essentially serve as an example of cheating, making it that much more likely they will start cheating right from the beginning.


And again you missed the part where I post based on what was done, and how. If I used a gold cheat, I omit bonuses derived from said info, as I did with Dallo. Ask  him yourselves, as we had a long conversation on this very topic at the time.

Pls read fully, and avoid assumptions.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Elhanan

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #83 on: May 08, 2011, 07:24:51 am »


               

AmstradHero wrote...

I would contend that offering advice or feedback to other players or developers/modders based on a playthrough that utilised a modded version of the adventure, or a character that has been altered through console commands provides limited benefit.

If a player is not playing by the rules that the developer set out, any feedback that is provided to them on the quality of the gameplay of their adventure if largely void because the player hasn't experienced the gameplay that the developer provided them with. This extends further and can also affect the atmosphere of the adventure as well. Say the designer created a journey in which you're always supposed to be struggling, forced to pick between whether you should decide to upgrade your equipment as much as possible, or sacrifice your own power for the sake of helping others. Really forcing the player to pick between being benevolent or focusing solely on their own well-being. If a player uses a console command to give themsleves the gold to be able to do both, they've immediately destroyed that atmosphere and are not getting the same experience as players who are forced to make those tough decisions. There are plenty of ways that gameplay and difficulty can be (or rather, should be) used to generate atmosphere and tension throughout a game. If a player is using cheats, they're not getting the originally intended experience.

Following this through, recommendations to other players about whether they should or should not play particular modules/games based on a playthrough utilising cheats are inherently flawed. The cheating player has not experienced the adventure as it was intended to be played, thus their comments and suggestions to other players are coloured by how they've modified the game.

Again, I'll reiterate that I'm not casting a moral judgement on anyone who uses mods/console commands to give themselves new items/gold/spells/experience/invulnerability or whatever. Heck, I've done it myself on occasion in order to finish mods that I just found too impossibly difficult no matter what I did. However, as soon as I started using those cheats, I recognise that my opinion on the game was flawed. The fact that I found the combat impossibly difficult is something I can comment on (and I did do so on the couple of occasions that it happened), but immediately after using cheats, there's very little I can comment on in terms of gameplay. I know I cheated, and I how no compunctions about saying that, but I have to recognise that it irrevocably changes the experience that the developer created.

If you're not following the rules of the game, you're cheating, plain and simple. Whether you consider that a "bad thing" is entirely your choice. But if you're being responsible and fair in sharing your opinion or thoughts on the game, your decision to not adhere to the rules of the game is something that you must take into consideration when telling others about it. As a modder/developer, I couldn't care less whether people use cheats in a single player context. If they wish to use cheats to make themselves ridiculously powerful and romp through the game, that's the player's choice. However, if they subsequently complain that the game was terrible, had no atmosphere and rate it poorly because it was so easy, that's when I'll take offense.

End note: Of course, sometimes less experienced developers make the mistake of making difficulty ridiculously hard because they know all the secrets of how to win and there's no hope for the "average" player to prevail. But this is poor design that the developer should be made aware of, and subsequently fix.


As the solo player makes said rules, it ain't so plain or simple. And the above is your opinion; not fact. IMO.

And again, I try not discredit the mods for issues made by cheats. For confirmation, you need to ask the Mod crafters themselves, and verify posts made at the time. But it would seem more assumptions are made based on prior experiences without actually reading the full context of my posts. And that is prejudicial, I believe.
               
               

               
            

Legacy_AmstradHero

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #84 on: May 08, 2011, 08:05:28 am »


               

Elhanan wrote...
And again, I try not discredit the mods for issues made by cheats. For confirmation, you need to ask the Mod
crafters themselves, and verify posts made at the time. But it would seem more assumptions are made based on prior experiences without actually reading the full context of my posts. And that is prejudicial, I
believe.

I was not making any judgement or assuming anything, I was contributing my point of view on the following comment:

Lowlander wrote...
I think you do a disservice to the new player when you recommend a module on the basis of your cheats and essentially serve as an example of cheating, making it that much more likely they will start cheating right from the beginning.

You seem to have interpreted my post to be attacking you, but I kept the terms of my post generic - if you've interpreted the "you" at the very end to mean you specifically as opposed to a generic "you" of anyone who uses cheats, then you've wholly misinterpreted the intention of my post.

However, I'll address you directly for the remainder of this post.

Elhanan wrote...

AmstradHero wrote...
If you're not following the rules of the game, you're cheating, plain and simple

As the solo player makes said rules, it ain't so plain or simple. And the above is your opinion; not fact. IMO.

I'm afraid you couldn't be more wrong here. The solo player does not make the rules, and to suggest as such is blatantly incorrect. A game (particularly a computer game) comes with a pre-defined a set of rules. In an FPS, it's things like how accurate a particular gun is, how fast it can fire, how much ammunition is in a clip. In an RTS, it's how much and how long it takes for a particular building or unit to be created, or the tech prerequisites for creating new units/building. In a D&D setting this is things like how many hit points a particular class is given per level, how much experience is granted fromkilling a particular monster or disarming a particular trap.

These things are all the pre-defined rules that come with the game. If you do anything to change these rules or otherwise do not abide by them, you are cheating. That is the definition of cheating, and to claim otherwise is utterly ridiculous. Let's go to a definitive source on the English language, the Oxford dictionary: "to gain an unfair advantage by deception or breaking rules, esp. in a game or examination." By giving yourself extra resources through a console command, you have met the very definition of cheating.

Unwittingly or not, you're actually making the situation look worse through your actions. You refuse to admit that you are cheating, yet you have stated that you deliberately break or subvert the constraints and restrictions placed upon you in games/mod. That's cheating. Your refusal to admit this suggests that you believe you should have the right to operate outside of the restrictions that the designers chose to create, and that the majority of players adhere to.

As I've stated before, I honestly don't care if you (or anyone else) cheat. But to do so and then claim "I'll do whatever I like and it's not cheating" only lends weight to the argument that cheating and cheaters are "bad". You cheat in some mods/games because you find it more fun. Big deal. Just don't try and claim that you don't cheat.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par AmstradHero, 08 mai 2011 - 07:06 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Shadooow

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #85 on: May 08, 2011, 11:14:17 am »


               Well said AmstradHero but what about modifications. You said that in D&D games its how many hitpoints have classes. I guess its correct, but we ll know how rangers suck and there is plenty of modifications on vault that boost him per 3.5 rules. If you install this into your game its cheating or modding?
               
               

               
            

Legacy_Elhanan

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #86 on: May 08, 2011, 12:23:42 pm »


               The rules for RPG's are guidelines, open to the application and interpretation of those playing the game. Hence there are variations, House rules, etc for all and everyone of those that play the game.

In a solo game, those guidelines are determined by the Player. While the rules designer may have had another idea or intention, the rules are open to being changed by those actually playing the game, and in this case: the solo Player.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Elhanan, 08 mai 2011 - 11:24 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Shia Luck

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #87 on: May 08, 2011, 12:40:41 pm »


               
Quote
Lowlander wrote...

Quote
Shia Luck wrote...
I don't care what word you use. I do care which meaning. Cheat has multiple meanings. When used about SP computer games the meaning is very different to it's other meanings.


We agree up to this point. Cheat has a different meaning in computer games vs sexual infidelity, or misrepresentations on your taxes. Obviously. 

I never said they were the same thing and I have always indicated that in the context of computer games it  doesn't have the same meaning, nor does it have to.


Actually no. You have consistently used the definition of cheating in MP while talking about cheating in SP. You get indignant about cheating because you perceive someone has been hurt by an SP cheater, namely yourself. You also equate it with cheating in an academic exam.


Quote
Lowlander wrote...

I shouldn't be surprised in this
shortcut, instant gratifications, cheating is OK if you don't get
caught, society that so many just use cheat codes to pimp their
characters rather than deal with the constraints of the game. But this
Attitude makes me sick.   [smilie]../../../images/forum/emoticons/sick.png[/smilie]

... Heck these days people are more proud
of themselves when the get good results from academic cheating:

http://www.cheatingc...mic-dishonesty/


Quote
Lowlander wrote...

There are no rules in English that indicate a word must have the same meaning in multiple contexts, much to the contrary, almost the entire vocabulary of english is very context sensitive.


I am arguing for muliple meanings. Trying to claim I am not is a strawman argument. I strongly suggest you learn to read other people's posts and use the quote button. This whole thing did start because you were insistent the OP should use unarmed when they clearly asked for a dual wield kama build.

Quote
Lowlander wrote...
It is IMO downright silly to argue that people can't use the common term for cheating in single player games, just like they have for decades on the basis of a complete nonsense argument.


The argument is right there on page 1. If it is nonsense, prove it. Calling it nonsense when your own argument is to invent things I have not said is ..in fact, a much better example of cheating. So stop cheating lowlander and argue honestly by using the quote button, because a forum is an MP environment so I have every right to get indignant about your attitude..



Quote
AmstradHero wrote...

As a modder/builder, I also agree
with Andarian's post.  The modder (and the designers of the original
game) have gone to a lot of effort to establish a level of difficulty
that will be challenging but achievable with the tools that the player is given with the confines of the game itself.


...acheivable
for the majority of people, yes. We will always be able to find
examples of people who need to "cheat" to make it acheivable for them,
or choose to cheat to make it enjoyable for them.

Quote
AmstradHero wrote...
Players who choose to use cheats or other options are not getting the experience that the designers intended, ergo they are cheating. Yes, it's that simple.


So, your definition of cheating is to change something? So I would be cheating when i wear the jacket from my skirt suit with a pair of jeans instead of the skirt the designer intended?

Btw,
the only explicit comment bioware have made about "cheating" is on the
old site where in the "For Players" section they list exactly how to do
it under the title "console commands".

Quote
AmstradHero wrote...
If
you as a player choose to use cheats or modify a module/game such that
you experience it in a way that is different from the original design, if it's in a single player context and thus you're not affecting anyone else's game experience, by all means, go for it.  However, you should note that you are not getting intended experience that the development team worked so hard to create. You're getting something different.


Ahhhhhh so the bolded bit is required for someone else to take a moral stace against this type of cheating? I completely agree.

Quote
AmstradHero wrote...

As a result, you're likely not going to get the same sense of
satisfaction as the player that perserveres without those cheats and
overcomes a challenge.


While I agree on a personal level
and always play my first playthrough without modification, I don't think
you can apply this to anyone but yourself. I think that is very
dependent on the desires and abilities of the person playing the game.

Quote
AmstradHero wrote...
Console
commands are included for testing purposes, so that the
designers/tester can quickly push their way through parts of the game to
make sure that things are working properly.


Ummm, see my point about how they are listed in the "For Players" section of the old website. I don't see how you can prove they were intended only for designers.

Quote
AmstradHero wrote...

If you modify a game/module such that the difficulty is changed, yes,
you're cheating, because you're modifying the rules of the game that was
originally given to you. If you give yourself extra
money/experience/items through console commands, you're doing the same
thing. Trying to say that it's not "cheating" is a fallacy.


A
fallacy? How? Let's be clear, the argument here is whether anyone has a
moral justification to denigrate someone else for SP cheating, as
Lowlander is doing. It's been expressed in quite a few different ways,
one of which said "it is not cheating", but that statement uses the mp
definition, a sentiment you clearly agree with.

Quote
AmstradHero wrote...
...if you attempt to say "I'm not cheating", while you're modding a game to add in extra special powerful items, or make yourself a few levels higher than you should/could be then
you're only trying to delude yourself. If you don't play by the rules
of the game, you're cheating, plain and simple. It's your choice, but
it's still cheating by any definition of the word.


So you have to gain an advantage to cheat?

So if I use console commands, to drop my level and thereby change the experience the designers intended, I am not cheating? 
Because if you agree with that then all the stuff about designer intent
and who console commands are designed for is irrelevant.

Quote
Tybae wrote...

Quote
Gregor Wyrmbane wrote...

 @ Lowlander

For
the record. I've been playing chess since the early 1960's, (actually
won a few, too) and D&D since the late 1970's. Not once have I ever
cheated while playing ANY game with other people.

I use the
command console occasionally to enhance my game experience when I play
NWN in SP. Do I consider it cheating myself out of some level of fun?
No. I've played through the OC, and other SP mods, many times without
using the cheat codes, and I know the difference. Do I care that some
others view it as cheating? No. Everyone's entitled to their own
opinion. What I do care about is when someone attaches derogatory labels
to others simply because the others don't hold the same beliefs or
agree with that person's opinion. If you want to play your game without
using the cheat codes that's fine. If you want to believe that using
them is cheating, that's fine too. But to insult other people just
because they don't agree with you is arrogant and self-righteous, and
shows signs of having serious control issues. That's the reason I've had
this discussion with you. Not because I care one way or the other what
anyone thinks about using the cheat codes in SP. Use them or not. It's
your business. But don't insult other people simply because they
disagree with you. That's just wrong.

Gregor


I'd just like to say how much I agree with the above statement.  Well said Gregor. 



Yes, very well said.

Have fun '<img'>

EDIT:
Quote
Lowlander wrote...

Quote
Elhanan wrote...

But for
these omniscient morale guardians of solitary play that intended to have
us make multiple trips to their fantasy Wally worlds, I may compromise
and play their games as I wish; just simply skip the feedback part as it
is tainted thru my deceptive choice.



The other side of this is that this isn't an entirely solo activity, once you start giving feedback/advice based on your gold cheat play through.  


I suggest you quote where Elhanan has done that. Or just stop accusing people of things they have not said or done.
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Shia Luck, 08 mai 2011 - 11:47 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_Shia Luck

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #88 on: May 08, 2011, 12:45:29 pm »


               oops *blush*
               
               

               


                     Modifié par Shia Luck, 08 mai 2011 - 11:45 .
                     
                  


            

Legacy_AndarianTD

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The "is it cheating or not" thread
« Reply #89 on: May 08, 2011, 01:00:16 pm »


               

Gregor Wyrmbane wrote...

It seems the base controversy isn't over actual cheating, but the definition of cheating. So, for the sake of discussion, let's use the "base" defintions found in the wikipedia.

CHEATING: Cheating refers to the overt or covert breaking of rules to gain advantage in a competitive situation. The rules infringed may be explicit, or they may be from an unwritten code of conduct based on morality, ethics or custom, making the identification of cheating a subjective process...

Okay.... so how would you apply the concept of cheating to a single player version of NWN, using these definitions of the concept?


I have to challenge the assumptions of this approach from the outset. Not only do I think this is the wrong definition to start from, but so does Wikipedia. If you look at the disambiguation link in the above entry for "cheat," the first alternative meaning listed takes you to a page specifically titled Cheating in Video Games, which starts as follows:

Cheating in video games involves a video game player using non-standard methods for creating an advantage beyond normal gameplay...


While this definition admittedly needs improvement (even the Wiki callout says so), its very presence emphasizes two important points that have been made by other commenters here. The first is that cheating is recognized as having a more specific and specialized meaning in the context of computer games, relative to other uses. The second is that the reference to "non-standard methods" implies the existence of "standard methods," aka rules, from which they are a deviation.

I also think we should keep in mind that for decades now we've seen books, columns, magazines and websites dedicated to publishing "game cheats" and "cheat codes." Gaming culture long ago established an understanding of what "cheating" means in the context of a computer game that lacks the strong moral stigma it may have in other contexts, such as cheating qua "marital infidelity."
               
               

               


                     Modifié par AndarianTD, 08 mai 2011 - 12:23 .