Why cheat?

[prisonermonkeys]

So this is something that has stuck out in my mind for a while now.

My younger brother is home for the uni holidays, and so I got to have a spin on his latest toy: multiplayer on MODERN WARFARE 2. I used to play the campaign last time he was home (I'm terrible), but now he's playing online. I saw his list of achievements and he admitted to cheating to get the maximum range of options. He says he doesn't cheat to get an advantage, and I can see why - neither of us play nearly as much as some of the people online. No, my brother has to cheat just to keep up with the competition. Some of them, he reckons, cheat to get an edge. Or at least they did; it's become so prevalent that the only way to get into some of the games is to have those cheats on. I don't really have a problem with that one because all it really does is open up all the options. But I watched him tearing through the Sub Base level, and after seeing him get shot by a guy who was leaping through the air halway across the map, we came to the conclusion that he was playing dirty and using an aimbot.

This prompts the question: why cheat? What do you gain from it? It doesn't make you any better. In fact, aimbots and wallhacks just take all the skill out of it. All you're doing is running around and letting the computer do it for you. Do people have such a pathological need to be the best at a video game that they need to cheat in order to do it? If they played in a professional tournament, they'd likely be the first ones shot.

I admit to cheating a little myself. When I was younger, I used to use the "unlock everything" cheat on the first CRASH BANDICOOT game when I got frustrated with it. And when I accidentally wiped my COLIN MCRAE RALLY save game, I used the "shoeboxes" code to unlock everything again. Likewise, when we were using SIMCITY 2000 in class to discuss simulators (my teacher being the savvy type who knew that he could get through to everyone in class with a computer game), we had to use "iamacheat" because no-one but me (who practically grew up playing the game ... I'm pretty sure my dad, a civil engineer was conditioning me to become a town planner) knew how to play. But that's just the harmless stuff. Aimbots and wallhacks and what-have-you are the kind of cheating I despise: you might have fun, but using them takes away from the fun of others.

So, why cheat?

 

[Rykon Zero]

I bought two Gamesharks (Second one after the first broke) and I would always use them in GT3, simply because it was more fun. I also had to do that to make up for my lack of skill. Much the same thing happened in Forza 1; I used the tEAm4za cheat to get massive amounts of money because I didn't want to work to do what I wanted, IE race really fast cars. But, this also gave me the opportunity to improve my racing skills, something I didn't know I was doing. So, Forza 2 comes along, I'm not doing too well, my skills aren't up to snuff. So I train and improve. By the time I feel like getting GT4, I'm able to race C class cars in a D class. But, then I really start to play GT4. Found how it's fun to truly race with a challenge, and switch back to Forza 3. By about March, I was able to get top 2% around a fair number of tracks with various cars, none that are AWD. A very nice feat, but still not really that good. Got banned from the XBox, so I reverted back to my PS2. Remembered the joy of racing with handicaps, and decide to at least silver all the licenses in GT4. This was a crash course in driving for me, and by the end of IA, I was able to cut a good second off of my previous record in a Peugeot 106 around Tsukuba.

As I speak to you, I have my Gameshark up and getting use. But not for cheating, no. I'm using it for fun hybrids, cars that I can make better than what they came out with.

So, to paraphrase, what I use cheating for:

1. Making up for my own lack of skill
2. Jumping ahead because I can't be bothered to do things normally.

I've pretty much gotten rid of both those reasons, but that's only because I am me, not a stereotypical person in many ways. I find a lot of pride in improving, and I'm willing to suffer a great deal to get better in a way that I care about. The modern day world, however, is increasingly showing that that is not its feelings as well.

 

[Sharky.]

Why cheat? To have fun. I'm only referring to using cheats that the developers actually put in the game and intend for people to use though, not third-party "cheats" like aimbots, wallhacks etc.

If a game has cheats, I'll probably use them at some point for one of two reasons:
1) I'm bored and just want to have some fun, or
2) I'm frustrated/stuck and not enjoying the game, so I'll use a cheat that will help me progress in the game a bit
(and sometimes because of both)

Perfect example is GTA San Andreas, I could get up to the Black Project mission at Verdant Meadows without cheating - but no further. I kept dying when trying to steal that damned jetpack, so I'd use the invulnerability cheat to pass the mission and progress in the storyline.

I guess you could say that's reflected in my opinion of gaming - games are primarily for having fun, not for showing off your uber1337haX skills (as impressive as they may be). I don't care if someone would call me cheap for using something like an invulnerability/unlock everything/infinite ammo etc cheat, because if in the end said person has more fun using (a) cheat(s), what's the issue?


However, cheating in multiplayer games... big big no. Aimbots, wallhacks, modded controllers, hacking stats (MW2 is the perfect example, 10th prestige "hackers" to unlock everything - titles, emblems, guns & attachments [although you can have everything in MW2 MP unlocked bar some of the titles and emblems without even needing to prestige... go figure. Are people really so lazy they can't be arsed putting *any* effort into getting unlocks?]) - yeah, I'll call you a cheating 🤬.

 

[J-PaP]

Cheaters somewhat annoy me but I understand why some people may cheat.

1. Maybe they simply aren't that good at the game so need to cheat to enjoy it
2. They haven't got the time to spend unlocking everything but want to enjoy whatever rewards you would normally get from the grind

I think a lot of cheating fit in those two categories. But you get some people who want to be shown as being the "best" on some leaderboard etc. I think it starts getting a bit sad when people are that desperate for recognition/achievement. Especially when there are likely people x10 better who don't cheat but because they don't cheat they end up being ranked a lot lower.

I've noticed it in modnation recently. Some people cheating in races just to get their wins to get the platinum trophy. Sure it is a grind and I'm personally trying to get the trophy myself but only because I know its a difficult task and I enjoy the game. Maybe by cheating I halve the time needed but at least by spending x2 the time its time I enjoyed not time I spent grinding.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

Perfect example is GTA San Andreas, I could get up to the Black Project mission at Verdant Meadows without cheating - but no further. I kept dying when trying to steal that damned jetpack, so I'd use the invulnerability cheat to pass the mission and progress in the storyline.

Haha, I couldn't get past Just Business and had to resort to cheating until I found the button that centered the camera around CJ's aim instead of having it flying loosely around the screen (I couldn't keep up with the Russians).

 

[Daniel]

I'm one of those people who just use 'cheats' for fun. I don't use it online (Crossfire has a number of hackers, but is working on it), and of course the usual, aimbots, wallhack, chams (similar to wallhacks, but everyone is lit up like it's Christmas).

For other games, I use them to quickly get something done, or for the helluv' it (like MC3:Remix, there's this cheat that makes cars you run into fly like 100kms away )

 

[gtone339]

One answer: to have fun?

 

[LaBounti]

I dont cheat in any game I paid my hard earned money on if it kills the game experience. If its rented or borrowed sure, but I consider my self skilled enough not cheat at all.
Dead Space has a code to refill Stasis, I used that but it did not make the game "Fun" at all. It was still difficult but passable. At 31 years old I just dont play games for "fun" anymore but the gaming experience. Its like watching a movie you've really liked.

If I get stuck like the guys said with GTA I wont resort to cheating if know others can and have done it. Thank you youtube.....

 

[Northstar]

I'm fine with cheating as long as it's only on the single player mode, the way I see it is that I didn't buy your game so I have no control how you play it. Online is a different story though as you are affecting the game I payed for.

The only times I use cheat codes is after I beat the game and the developer puts in a fun cheat, for instance in San Andreas I had a blast with the "pedestrians riot" cheat.

 

[Terronium-12]

The only time I'd cheat is after I've gone through the game at least once and I don't really feel bothered to grind through the entire thing again.

Such as Forza 3 and the money glitch - perfect example.

 

[Golfman]

If a game has cheat codes to unlock wacky, stupid and fun stuff like the Codemasters racing games, then by all means go for it. But cheating just to get farther in a single player story or to get higher in the leaderboards online to me is just plain lazyiness, and takes away the experience. People who do this are obviously so rubbish at the game that they have to cheat, and should put a bit of effort into actually getting good at the game and doing a bit of work to get to where most of us geniune gamers are. The people who found a way to cheat at MW2 online should be named, shamed, and banned by Sony from playing online games in the future. ***** like them spoil it for the rest of us.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

The people who found a way to cheat at MW2 online should be named, shamed, and banned by Sony from playing online games in the future.

It's so prevalent that it would be impossible to police. I daresay some of the cheats people run are very difficult to detect, and sometimes a player really is just that good - one of my brother's friends is great with grenades. He's studying pure mathematics in the capital and he's able to calculate the exact angle and trajectory for a shot with frightening accuracy. He's been booted from the server countless times because people think he's cheating (but he's hopeless in close quarters; I think he's set his mouse up to be too sensitive because he's all over the place). I mean, take one of my earlier sessions today as an example. There was someone on it who accused my team of cheating because he "died too many times". He clearly fancies himself as a good player, but we wiped the floor with him (when I say "we", I mean my team ... I'm still not great). He's oblivious to the fact that he picks one spot and stays there; on Afghan he planted a claymore on the pillbox with one door and then sniped from the window, while on highrise he got up onto the window cleaning platform and started sniping again, placing another claymore on the approach. In Afghan, my team took it in turns to throw grenades into the pillbox as we passed, while on Highrise someone got a sniper rifle and a thermal sight and picked him off every few minutes. He whinged and complained all the way through about us using aimbots and wallhacks to get him when we clearly weren't. People tend to complain about cheating to explain away their perceived shortcomings. I ran into a guy who did use a wallhack on Favela a few days ago; he took me out from about three-quarters of the way across the map through a wooden partition when he had no way of knowing I was hiding there. All that you can really do in those cases is boot the offender from the server.

And MW2 isn't Playstation-exclusive.

 

[H20HYBRID_GT]

I admit I'm a bit lost here since I never play any of these 'war-games'... for several reasons (one being I know for sure there's a lot of cheating going on).

But my general opinion and experience about cheating is that it takes away all the fun and doesn't add to it...
The only reason I could agree with is for single player - story modes, if you are really stuck somewhere it might come in handy.

 

[boiltheocean]

But I watched him tearing through the Sub Base level, and after seeing him get shot by a guy who was leaping through the air halway across the map, we came to the conclusion that he was playing dirty and using an aimbot.

I doubt that, I've shot people in mid-air from a good distance away. Although I can only do this if my connection is good so I can get a clean shot. With the right gun/perk/connection combo and a small amount of practice it takes a couple of shots at most to kill someone from any range.

 

[Golfman]

It's so prevalent that it would be impossible to police. I daresay some of the cheats people run are very difficult to detect, and sometimes a player really is just that good - one of my brother's friends is great with grenades. He's studying pure mathematics in the capital and he's able to calculate the exact angle and trajectory for a shot with frightening accuracy. He's been booted from the server countless times because people think he's cheating (but he's hopeless in close quarters; I think he's set his mouse up to be too sensitive because he's all over the place). I mean, take one of my earlier sessions today as an example. There was someone on it who accused my team of cheating because he "died too many times". He clearly fancies himself as a good player, but we wiped the floor with him (when I say "we", I mean my team ... I'm still not great). He's oblivious to the fact that he picks one spot and stays there; on Afghan he planted a claymore on the pillbox with one door and then sniped from the window, while on highrise he got up onto the window cleaning platform and started sniping again, placing another claymore on the approach. In Afghan, my team took it in turns to throw grenades into the pillbox as we passed, while on Highrise someone got a sniper rifle and a thermal sight and picked him off every few minutes. He whinged and complained all the way through about us using aimbots and wallhacks to get him when we clearly weren't. People tend to complain about cheating to explain away their perceived shortcomings. I ran into a guy who did use a wallhack on Favela a few days ago; he took me out from about three-quarters of the way across the map through a wooden partition when he had no way of knowing I was hiding there. All that you can really do in those cases is boot the offender from the server.

And MW2 isn't Playstation-exclusive.

I agree that there are people out there who are genuinely good at the game - one of my workmates (online ID is Illmun) plays it non-stop, and is in the top 100,000 on the leaderboard. Now that not may sound like an achievement, but since I play it regurarly and am struggling to get out of the 500,00000 mark, to me it's something. But hopefully in the future constraints will be put on to prevent folk from cheating. Personally, if you get to a high point in the leaderboards without cheating(knowing that you are up there with the best of them), then the sense of achievement must be staggering. Something that the cheating b*****ds wouldnt know about.

 

[Sertsa]

So people do have cheats for Modern Warfare? I suspected as much, since everything I saw couldn't be just to lopsided lag time. Anyway, I wouldn't cheat in a multiplayer and would not get a game shark. BUT, if you use cheats to keep up with other people, aren't you artificially boosting stats and weapons but just winding up playing people who know the maps and are generally better/more experienced at the game? Wouldn't that get even more frustrating?

Anyway, I've used cheats after finishing a game to see what they developer's codes do. Other than that, the only time I've used them is when I rented a game, decided I would never buy it, but wanted to finish the story before returning it.

That said, if there was a cheat code to shut off the 5 second penalty in the hard Grand Canyon Rally in GT4, I would have definitely used it.

 

[prisonermonkeys]

I doubt that, I've shot people in mid-air from a good distance away.

Through a building? We're almost certain that this guy took his shot just before we stepped out into the open. We effectively walked into the path of a bullet. and I can't be sure, but I think it may have been the same guy who got me two days later on Favela in the same way: long-distance shot getting someone he couldn't possibly have known was in the way.

 

[Sertsa]

Through a building? We're almost certain that this guy took his shot just before we stepped out into the open. We effectively walked into the path of a bullet. and I can't be sure, but I think it may have been the same guy who got me two days later on Favela in the same way: long-distance shot getting someone he couldn't possibly have known was in the way.

It's not impossible. I'm trying to get the extended mags with the M16 and the last challenge is to make 40 kills through obstacles. It's tough, but with FMV and stopping power pro, you can easily shoot through walls. I don't know about half way through a map, though, but I have pulled off some long distance shots by watching someone through a window or firing in a distance towards a muzzle flash. I seem to do best at firing long distances, though (usually without a scope). I don't know how some people figure out where exactly to fire through a wall unless he's using a heartbeat sensor.

 

[boiltheocean]

Through a building? We're almost certain that this guy took his shot just before we stepped out into the open. We effectively walked into the path of a bullet. and I can't be sure, but I think it may have been the same guy who got me two days later on Favela in the same way: long-distance shot getting someone he couldn't possibly have known was in the way.

I often take shots across the map where I know people run out from, I don't know if anyone will actually run but I have caught out quite a few people doing this. It's just a case of knowing how players move around the map, after a long time playing COD4 and now MW2 I think I've got reasonably good at predicting enemy movements.

 

[Golfman]

When I play MW2 online, I sometimes get people commenting on my good shots when I nail someone from miles away. It's not cheating: I own a 46" Samsung LCD tv and it's so easy to see things when they are so damn huge!