Blizzard Attacks StarCraft II Cheat Developers

[Gindil]

I'm not saying that a lawsuit was necessary, but I can understand why Blizzard did it in the first place. The fact that they're doing anything at all is good. The fact that it's a lawsuit? Perhaps going overboard. Then again, the guys who sold these cheats did make money off of it.

Somehow, that's shaping up to be a bad argument...

If I buy after market parts for a car, my car doesn't increase in value. It makes me more likely to be stopped and increases my insurance but that's a choice I make.

If someone wanted to mod a game from HL2 and charge money, they were free to do so. But because Blizzard decides THIS particular modification is bad, they need to sue to get their point across?

 

[Baldr]

First off if you look at the above examples of TF2 and Halo Reach. They are glitch/bad player behavior. No code was hacked or rewritten.

Second, if your making money off of someone's intellectual property while potentially destroying the ability of the owner to make future profit, then a lawsuit is more than justifiable.

 

[toquio3]

Someone should sue Blizzard for charging $60 for a third of a game. Good thing I dont buy or care about Blizzard's products anymore.

 

[Fearzone]

I gotta admit Starcraft 2 gave me two good weeks of enjoyment. Not bad for an Activision product.

 

[Daft Ghosty]

Let's see how other companies have handled cheaters

Valve: Removed items from the backpacks of people who used idling programs in TF2, rewarded those who didn't cheat

Bungie: Reset the points of people who exploited daily challenges in Halo:Reach, eventually moved onto two-week bans

Blizzard: LAWSUIT LAWSUIT LAWSUIT

So excuse me if I think Blizzard is not only overreacting but sending a bad message.

The first two aren't actually as serious, when it comes to the bussiness standpoint. TF2 item hacking isn't actually all that important: The game is balanced so that even if somebody has every item available through hacking, it won't automatically make me lose. In fact, I probably wouldn't even notice the difference.

Exploiting Halo to get extra armor doesn't actually affect the gameplay at all, so that won't decrease the future sale-value of a game.

However, hacking a competitive online multiplayer game to give yourself an incredibly unfair advantage, especially in a game where a matter of seconds in unit command and even just knowing where an enemy's units are makes all the difference, does. Blizzard is right to sue, whereas Valve and Bungie weren't.

Your misinformed. The trainer in question was used in the single player portion of the game. What blizzard is calling online is that they were signed into their Bnet acct while playing, and not as guest. Getting the achievements as they did so. The achievements have the same affect in SCII as the hats, and armor do in TF2, and Halo Reach. If this were hackers who were making multiplayer cheats, to be used online playing other players, then I'd be right there too, saying to burn the scum. But it is not. Blizzard belief is that you are considered online, even when playing the solo campaign.

 

[Ed.]

Okay, so Blizzard, and Ubisoft games are off my list. Activision? Still undecided...

I can see now why Valve gets so much love.

Blizzard is off your list for... giving a fiscal middle finger to multiplayer cheaters?

Huh.

sp
no for the fact you cant even modify SP they took out dedicated servers too

 

[standokan]

Once blizzard smells you you're dead and you know it, watch your steps because you don't wanna end up like owner of that WoWserver.

 

[Ken Sapp]

I have always been a fan of Blizzard since I first played Diablo and Warcraft II. I eagerly followed the news of Starcraft II since its original announcement. Unfortunately they have taken the stance of being total dicks on this issue. Their argument regarding the "Prestige and weight" of single player achievements is BS. Achievements have no effect on online play, they do not affect ladder standings and they do not give any bonuses when in an online match. Since they can obviously detect these trainers all they have to do is disable achievements the same way they do if you were to use the built-in single-player cheats. When people start cheating in legitimate multiplayer matches they can ban them all day long for all I care but punishing someone for cheating in single player beyond disabling or removing achievements is only going to hurt Blizzard in the long run in my book.

And for those who keep bringing up the EULA, a EULA is not enforceable unless it is able to be read and agreed upon before the sale of the product. When you add that to the fact that many game stores will not allow the return of PC games once the shrink wrap has been broken Blizzard hopefully will find this to be a losing battle.

I have no pity for those who cheat in multiplayer and receive just punishment but banning for the use of cheats in single player is way over the line.

+1 to you. That was a very good post. It speaks tot he heart of the issue without getting to vocal like I did =)

Thank you. I should also add that there is precedent for EULAs being invalid if not presented and agreed upon before the final sale.

First off if you look at the above examples of TF2 and Halo Reach. They are glitch/bad player behavior. No code was hacked or rewritten.

Second, if your making money off of someone's intellectual property while potentially destroying the ability of the owner to make future profit, then a lawsuit is more than justifiable.

Regardless of the fact that Blizzard has already made money off the people using trainers as (excluding pirates) they have already bought and paid for the game. Where has Blizzard lost potential future profitability due to the use of single player trainers? If anything it makes the game more accessible and therefore more likely to sale future expansions/chapters/etc...

 

[lacktheknack]

Okay, so Blizzard, and Ubisoft games are off my list. Activision? Still undecided...

I can see now why Valve gets so much love.

Blizzard is off your list for... giving a fiscal middle finger to multiplayer cheaters?

Huh.

sp
no for the fact you cant even modify SP they took out dedicated servers too

Yet again, the single player hacks affect multiplayer on a social level.

And can't modify singe player? Explain this.

 

[tehroc]

This article smells pretty damn biased too.

Corruption at the media level. They write articles based off what access it gives them. To hell with journalism its all about kissing ass and asking softball questions to gain access.

 

[tehroc]

"That, in turn, causes users to grow dissatisfied with the game, lose interest in the game, and communicate that dissatisfaction, thereby resulting in lost sales of the game or 'add-on' packs and expansions thereto."

Sued for negative word of mouth advertising coming to a courtroom near you!

They're being sued for tampering with a product to generate negative word of mouth. Not for spreading negative word of mouth.

Correct but this will set a precedent where they refer to Blizzard vs permaphrost in future lawsuits claiming they lost profit due to poor reviews..

 

[deth2munkies]

I'm extremely surprised it hasn't been brought up yet, but there's a reason why this and all the bannings are happening: The Battle.net 2.0 Warden. The reason why bans and lawsuits and the like haven't occurred as often before is because anti-cheating technology was very limited. The Warden can search all related files on your computer as well as any in-game mods, so it can find cheaters with nearly 100% accuracy, so there's less need for temp bans, suspensions, or in-depth investigation.

All they really had to do was get a report from the warden, do a search online for the files, and boom, they had the hackers responsible for making them and instant proof.

 

[JerrytheBullfrog]

snip

There wouldn't be any problem if every single one of their fucking games wasn't one of the best selling PC games of all time and SC 2 was an improvement, and because that isn't actually the case, it makes it at the very least questionable as to the harm piracy causes for them specifically.

Not even the lack of LAN, but the lack of any P2P alone has hurt Starcarft 2's playability by a shitload. Try playing one of those FPS/brawler maps on B.net, see if you like the lag.

Really, you don't have to look much further than the exclusion of LAN (which gimps the non-B.net part of SC2 utterly and completely), the lack of cross-region play, the fucking horrible popularity system, the forcing of people to play on their servers and their ridiculously politically correct stance on custom games to see that this game is no longer for you and me. Blizzard does not give a shit about anyone who played Warcraft 3 or Starcraft, this is marketed purely, solely and completely to the casual gamer who won't give a shit, and/or, in fact, will salute these decisions.

Frankly, if you think it's a conspiracy theory to think that Blizzard doesn't give a shit about anyone with an IQ above 50, well, I don't know what to say to you.

Other than the lack of LAN, they've stated that they're working on implementing both cross-region play and a fix for the popularity system.

LAN doesn't bother me. I've been PC gaming for 20 years now and I haven't had a LAN party since, I don't know, 2003?

This thread is filled with nothing but whiners. If you're selling a program designed to hack a game, the developer is incredibly justified to go for the throat.

This article smells pretty damn biased too.

Corruption at the media level. They write articles based off what access it gives them. To hell with journalism its all about kissing ass and asking softball questions to gain access.

Wait, how is correctly referring back to Blizzard's past legal victories in a "this isn't looking good for the cheat developers" sense biased? That's legal precedent, my friend.

 

[JerrytheBullfrog]

Before anyone else jumps on an anti-cheaters band wagon here, these people are not being sued because they enable cheating in multiplayer. In fact at least some hackers said they would change their programs to work STRICTLY in single player after Blizzard started banning players. No... Blizzard have been banning players who used these programs in single player, Blizzard allows cheating like this anyway via in-game cheats, it is just that trainers allow for greater options.

So what is it about? Money.

Edit: For reference please see this correspondance http://www.cheathappens.com/article_blizzardbans.asp

Everyone is entitled to their own opinions naturally, but the facts are that Blizzard are not playing totally kosher here.

Working in single-player == influencing multiplayer.

By the way, linking to that cheathappens article is laughable. You really think that a site that sells cheats doesn't have a financial interest in the matter? lol!

I'm confused, though. Everyone acts like Blizzard is suing the people who were using the cheats, which would be pretty dumb. But They're just suing the people who are creating, distributing, and selling the cheats. Which seems fine to me.

 

[Daft Ghosty]

Lovely how people consider this a bad thing. Really, how can someone consider this a bad thing unless he's a cheater / hack user or distributer?

It amazes me that people post replies to this article, and don't seem to know the facts. I will not repeat them again. They have been posted many times. If you actually care about the issue educate yourself on the subject and bring back an informed opinion.

These people create hacks and even sell them for profit. And Guys like Daft Ghosty support that?
Why would you do that?

These people being Cheat Happens, who have been in business for almost 10 years. Those people? Easy they provide a service. That service isn't to make hacks for multiplayer games, which you seem to think that is what they do. They make trainers for single player games. They take their time to make those trainers, and they provide a web site that needs to be payed for, as well as the bandwidth it uses. Because they do all of this, they ask for a membership fee. What they do in providing these services is not cheap. Bandwidth alone is a staggering cost.

As for your righteous fury it is gravely misplaced. CH is providing a service no different then the one Game Genie, Gameshark, and Pro Action Replay provided for consoles. A way to cheat in the game, and do things you normally are unable to do. They sell a product as well. If you bothered to even read my post above before mentioning my name you would know that Nintendo tried to do a similar thing Bliz is trying, with Game Genie and lost.

And of course people get banned for using cheats in single player to get achievements. Those are fucking retards anyways if they cheat in order to get achievements, amiright?

Um no. These are the same people Blizzard is currently still referring to. This whole issue is about the use of the trainer in single player, and gaining the achievements as a side effect. How is that you say? The trainer wasn't marketed as a way to cheat and get achievements. CH makes a trainer for almost EVERY new game that comes out. They don't hack the game. All they do is look for changes in the memory address, and use the trainer to change those values. I'm sure if they knew Blizzard would pitch a hissy they would have attempted to find out where in the code that disabled achievements. But that is a harder task then finding changing values in the memory.

If they just want to play through the game because it's too hard or whatever (lawl considering there are a lot difficulty settings) then they can use the cheats implanted by Blizzard.

Or considering they payed for the game they can play it how ever they want. Most use trainers because it is easier to cut a cheat on and off with the push of one key, then typing out the whole cheat.

There's NO WAY you're supporting cheaters and hackers unless you're one yourself. So thanks for outing yourself everyone

Oh noos!!! I've outed myself. Oops already did that in this post [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/7.238219-Blizzard-Gives-Single-Player-StarCraft-2-Cheaters-a-Time-Out-Opens-Can-of-Worms-UPDATED?page=4#8567409] and here is the quoted line so you don't have to actually read the whole thing. =)

Daft Ghosty a snip from another thread:
What you just said is a subjective statement, and not one of fact. Trainers have their place in peoples solo game play how ever they see fit. Inclusion of cheat codes in a game does not negate the use of trainers. I dont use trainers b/c I gain achievements. I use them because they are are easier to use, and in many cases they allow for more cheats that aren't included in the game. I have extensive knowledge is using trainers, you though do not from your statements. I can understand your inability to understand peoples use of them. But that doesn't mean I will excuse a blanket statement like the one you just postulated.

So yes I use trainers in my SINGLE (there its in bold so you wont miss it) player games. Mostly in game types I dislike playing like RTS. I can't stand to play RTS games they drive me crazy. But you may ask why do I play them then. To answer that I'd ask the question why do I read roughly 70 books a year? Because I like a good story. Even if that story is in a game genera I despise.

I play Sc2 at a pretty competitive level myself and I'm glad for every son of a ***** cheater that gets smacked. And I throw a party for every hack developer biting the grass.

And since you play online I understand where you are coming from, and support the burning of those who cheat online. I cant stand online cheaters, but the issue at hand is not about online cheating. Blizzard is running a magic show here. They use the word multiplayer when talking about this issues. It is very misleading, especially when no one bothers to read up on a subject before expressing their opinion. Blizzard is relying peoples ignorance, and so far they haven't been let down.

 

[Daft Ghosty]

This thread is filled with nothing but whiners. If you're selling a program designed to hack a game, the developer is incredibly justified to go for the throat.

Interesting you mentioned the word "precedents" in this very post. (sorry I snipped it.. but I'm sure you remember the last half of your post) It's interesting because there is already a precedent set in this matter. One of Lewis Galoob Toys, Inc. v. Nintendo of America, Inc. Should I give you the spoiler? Oh ok.. Nintendo lost. Thus why to this day we have the Gameshark, and other game cheating devices.