Poll: What's your attitude towards exploits?

[BiscuitTrouser]

Id love to know what the limit was for exploit users. How big is an exploit before all fun is removed from a game?

For example an exploit could instantly give all items complete all quests and kill all enemies forever. You log onto the game, type a code and it instantly completes itself. Fun? This is the "optimal" way to do it so why wouldnt they use it? Challenge creates fun. Without challenge wheres the fun? Why even play an immortal wizard. Its just running around pressing keys then. There isnt a need to try. Or even pay attention. An automated robot could do it fairly easily.

 

[Kordie]

Using exploits that deliberately brake the game is unfair in multiplayer certainly.

However, I am one of those people who refuses to count as unbalanced weapon or strategy an exploit.
Game Developer: "Here's an incredibly broken gun, NOW DON'T USE IT!"
Exploits I count as things that require some kind of instructions in order to use, or forcing a glitch.

I hate being told by people online that I'm playing a game wrong just because I play it my way. They seem to complain about it whether or not it's making me win.
Player: "That's a noob weapon! It's so eays to win with it!"
Me: "Then why aren't you using it? How can you deliberately put a handicap against yourself then complain at me for playing how I want?"

I get the same kind of thing in fighting games, were no matter what I'm doing, I'm apparently spamming. Even in Naruto games where powerful attacks are limited by an energy bar. Don't like me using jutsu? Then maybe you should not let me charge it up, or maybe just not play the game. I didn't buy the game to do nothing but hand to hand combat.

Anyway, actual exploits
In the case of the dancing Old Republic exploit I say they should've just patched it with no punishment, because that can easliy be seen as an untold wya of helping, rather than an exploit. It was part of the game, it's not like anyone had to try to brake the game to use it.

From what I hear of posts in this thread, the epxloit you speak of isn't really something that requires knowledge and work as people seem to easily do it accidentally.

I would say I tend to agree with this sentiment. People who say grenade launchers and camping are noob tactics are typically whiners who just can't deal with it. If a grenade launched from spawn at the start of a match can kill 5 people right away, is it cheap? yes. But I'd still do it if I could.

Also this "exploit" in diablo 3 seems to be a bugg related to using two skills at the same time. This is hardly a player going out of their way to break a game, and if you are hitting buttons fast it's likely you will do it by accident some times. As such, patch it. But punishment? not really fair.

 

[Kordie]

Id love to know what the limit was for exploit users. How big is an exploit before all fun is removed from a game?

For example an exploit could instantly give all items complete all quests and kill all enemies forever. You log onto the game, type a code and it instantly completes itself. Fun? This is the "optimal" way to do it so why wouldnt they use it? Challenge creates fun. Without challenge wheres the fun? Why even play an immortal wizard. Its just running around pressing keys then. There isnt a need to try. Or even pay attention. An automated robot could do it fairly easily.

Thik about it like god mode. Some times it's fun going on a rampage knowing your character will stay safe. Other times, you may use it to get past a particularly annoying section of a game. Personally, using it for the whole game isn't fun for me. My dad on the other hand has used god mode in a good number of games because he found the challenges to be silly and had more fun seeing the stories and blowing away the bad guys.

 

[Vivi22]

I have no problem with people using exploits. Nope, not even in multiplayer. Here's the thing, we live in an age where every single console we own is on the internet and every game patchable. Now I would argue that gamers who seek out and utilize exploits actually improve the game if a developer actually gives a crap. They find bugs that obviously made it past testing and make sure that the developer knows about them so they can be fixed.

This can be pretty important in the case of game breaking exploits and for me, the onus is always on the developer to fix them, not the player to not use them. Mind you, I'm also a proponent of being able to host your own server in pretty much any game if you want to which would allow those who aren't as tolerant as me to ban people.

And honestly, there are some cases where exploits confer a small advantage at best, and really do little more than add another strategy to watch out for. I actually have no problem with those at all as they can actually be fun and interesting even when you're on the other side.

 

[Weaver]

It's fine in single player, it's not fine in multiplayer.
In the D3 case, I'd say it's fine personally.

 

[Bostur]

Generally my opinion is that the developers are to blame for exploits, not the players. Exploits happen because of bugs in the system and the developers should award players for finding them, not punish them. But of course there are grey areas because not all exploits can be fixed and the integrity of an online game needs to be preserved.

I'm a big proponent for playing fair. I never use an exploit if I'm aware that it is an exploit. Not for ethical reasons but simply because I have nothing to gain by cheating. I play a game to have fun and cheating defeats that purpose so why should I cheat. But I don't think we can rely on fair play. The idea of fair play like most ehtics works in a small group, but in a large group people get more distant to the subject and this makes ethics more blurry.

In some games the line between intended gameplay and exploits get very blurry. If balance issues remains unfixed for a long time, it can be genuinely hard to figure out if something is an exploit or not. And this gets worse when GMs or other representatives of the game publishers are unhelpful. In a few cases I have made support requests asking if a particular action is considered an exploit and a common answer is: "We haven't decided yet, but if it is found to be an exploit we will ban you". Well thank you that is a certain way to make sure people wont report exploits in the future.

Exploits should be fixed technically as soon as possible, and if that takes a long time the negative effects should be reduced. Blaming players for something that is a developer mistake is really a misdirected approach.

 

[Zenn3k]

As long as it does not NEGATIVELY effect my game experience, I could care less.

 

[Trivun]

Single player, I honestly couldn't care less whether people use exploits or not if they find any. If it's only affecting your offline single-player game then do whatever the hell you like. But online, they can give an unfair advantage or disadvantage to certain players, and that's not on. So online exploit usage should be rewarded with a ban, in increments depending on the severity of the infraction and on repeated warnings and bans...

 

[Lunar Templar]

I'm fine with taking advantage of exploits as long as you keep them to the single player game.

If you start using them in multiplayer, you are a knave and a cur.

while the wording is ... gentler ... then I'd have used, i agree with Sir Daystar

 

[thereverend7]

I'll use an exploit for fun, but not to beat the game or make it easier on myself. whats the point then? otherwise, if it amuses me, sure, why not.

The only exception to this was using that Speech glitch in skyrim to get it to 100, I don't really have a justification for why I made this exception, I guess I just liked the idea of having a silver tongued character who was still weak in everything else. Like he was born with it, or something.

I really just wanted some free levels though, probably XD

Edit: I am aware that my logic turned on itself at the end there. I guess with a game like skyrim it didn't really feel like cheating to me, it was something that was going to happen eventually anyway, I just sped up the process.

 

[Space Spoons]

My philosophy is, if it's there, and it makes you happy, use it... Just don't be surprised if you wake up one morning and find the glitch has been patched and you've been stripped of your ill-gotten gains.

 

[Darren716]

It's fine as long it's in single player because you're not ruining anybody else's enjoyment of the game and it's always fun to find ways to play a game outside it's rules.

 

[Vegosiux]

Back in my days...exploits used to be something we'd talk about, exchange and try out for the sheer fun of it.

Naturally, in an environment where you are interacting with others, explotis are not exactly a good thing, because they give an unfair advantage. But in single player games? Hell, bring them on, the more fun ways to break a game, the better! Remember Morrowind alchemy abuse? Press "forward" in Vivec, end up on top of the Red Mountain half a second later! Then the game crashes...