Rockstar Grants Red Dead Redemption Cheaters a Chance to Save Themselves

[Jamash]

The writing's been on the wall for a while.

Outside the saloon in Thieves Landing there's a mutilated, desiccated corpse sat in a chair with the word "CHEATER" scrawled on a sign hung around his neck.

I love the way Rockstar are keeping in with the Wild West theme in their dealings and warning to cheaters.

What?

What do they mean by hacked saves? Does that mean people who have gotten save files from friends because they might not give a flying f**k about the story, and only want to play with the awesome game engine Rockstar have made? Well, if that is the case, I will never ever buy anything from Rockstar again. Ever.

Isn't that cutting off your nose to spite your face?

Anyway, if the save file has been edited on a computer in any way, like if you have access to the War Horse and Golden Guns despite not having pre-ordered the game, or if you have access to all the weapons despite not having progressed far enough in the story to unlock them, or if you have access to some of the assets hidden away in the game's code, then that would be considered a hack.

Also if the save file you friend has given you has allowed you to have a level 50 multiplayer character without you having to level up and earn the rewards, then that's most definitely considered a hack and is cheating.

 

[Therumancer]

I tried the multiplayer and got up to like level 16 or 17 before deciding it was borked, despite being an incredible idea that I hope will be cleaned up in the future for more games.

My immediate thoughts here though are that Rockstar is probably bluffing, trying to scare people into "going clean" so to speak. I'm not sure if it's even possible to detect things like they are claiming, and on top of that if they ever DID do something like this they would be banning so many players and locking them out that it would be ridiculous. The amount of backlash both against them and Microsoft/Sony would be incredible.

I expect that they are hoping the bluff works, they will do a few token bans of the worst publically known offenders afterwards to scare more people into going clean due to "OMG, they must be serious", etc....

Especially seeing as I'd imagine most of the player base is going to be thinking like I am anyway, I expect very little to happen. The only way Rockstar would convince me they were serious would be to actually ban the million or so players that we know are doing this kind of thing, and then weather the fallout. Granted, I think it would be a good thing in the long run especially if other games followed suit, we'd see an era of "attitude adjustment" by cheaters. Nobody is going to risk alienating that many customers though, because as people who play WoW will tell you, even the cheaters spend money. Rockstar wants those cheaters to buy their DLC, and their next game, which really going through on this would hamper since a lot of those people would be POed. Not to mention the negative publicity of all the cheaters who will go public and scream "OMG, I was innocent and they banned me!!!" and the people who will inevitably believe this and be wary of supporting their games.

Right now I see this as a giant western standoff, with the cheaters telling "Rockstar" to go ahead and make their day. In the end, I just don't see Rockstar pulling the trigger, even if they try and fake it with a trivial number of bans.

 

[Nincompoop]

What?

What do they mean by hacked saves? Does that mean people who have gotten save files from friends because they might not give a flying f**k about the story, and only want to play with the awesome game engine Rockstar have made? Well, if that is the case, I will never ever buy anything from Rockstar again. Ever.

Are you complaining about what I think your complaining about?

Because if so, sigh. Fucking sigh.

I don't know. But I do know that I never complete games because I simply can't get myself to play through the storyline, as I don't give a f**k about it. In GTAIV I just got the save from a friend, so I had unlocked the entire city. I mean, who am I cheating in that circumstance? Seriously. The reason I like games is NEVER because of the storyline or characters, it's ALWAYS the gameplay (although gameplay can be considered progressing as well) and cosmetic features (graphics, sound, physics etc.).

I get cheating on multiplayer is punishable, but single player? Where no other human being is even affected? Give me a f**king break. It's enough that you rarely even can move saves through PS3s, but now I'm gonna get punished because I don't give a sh*t about the storyline? Well, Rockstar, it was a pleasant ride, but I'm afraid we'll have to part ways.

 

[Free Thinker]

My retribution will be swift and merciless...
I still say ban ANYONE who cheats. First offense, BANNED!
But as Biggie Smalls put it, "It was all a dream!"

 

[Nincompoop]

The writing's been on the wall for a while.

Outside the saloon in Thieves Landing there's a mutilated, desiccated corpse sat in a chair with the word "CHEATER" scrawled on a sign hung around his neck.

I love the way Rockstar are keeping in with the Wild West theme in their dealings and warning to cheaters.

What?

What do they mean by hacked saves? Does that mean people who have gotten save files from friends because they might not give a flying f**k about the story, and only want to play with the awesome game engine Rockstar have made? Well, if that is the case, I will never ever buy anything from Rockstar again. Ever.

Isn't that cutting off your nose to spite your face?

Anyway, if the save file has been edited on a computer in any way, like if you have access to the War Horse and Golden Guns despite not having pre-ordered the game, or if you have access to all the weapons despite not having progressed far enough in the story to unlock them, or if you have access to some of the assets hidden away in the game's code, then that would be considered a hack.

Also if the save file you friend has given you has allowed you to have a level 50 multiplayer character without you having to level up and earn the rewards, then that's most definitely considered a hack and is cheating.

I get how cheating on multiplayer obviously is a bad thing. But why is cheating in single player considered a bad thing? Hell, the only reason I played GTA San Andreas was because of the huge amount of cheat codes. I wouldn't even have bought the game if I knew there weren't any cheats.

And I don't care about storyline or characters or whatever, the only reason I play games is because of the engine. Gameplay and cosmetic features like graphics, sound and physics is the entire reason I play games. I rarely complete games as I don't actually give a sh*t about the storyline, and as soon as it gets repetitive and boring, I stop and enter multiplayer or skirmish (or other forms of freedom). Why would I get punished for not giving a damn about the storyline, and just want to jump into the gameplay mechanics and have the world at my feet? Who am I hurting if I'm cheating in single player?

Why do I have to 'earn' the freedom in a product I bought?

Anyways, as I've said, I am talking about the single player. But I find it retarded that we can get punished for cheating in single player.

 

[MurderousToaster]

Infinity Ward should take a leaf out of Rockstar's book. About 4/10 of everybody online on their games have hacked themselves to get everything possible in the game and be at the max level.

 

[Jamash]

Spoiler: snip

The writing's been on the wall for a while.

Outside the saloon in Thieves Landing there's a mutilated, desiccated corpse sat in a chair with the word "CHEATER" scrawled on a sign hung around his neck.

I love the way Rockstar are keeping in with the Wild West theme in their dealings and warning to cheaters.

What?

What do they mean by hacked saves? Does that mean people who have gotten save files from friends because they might not give a flying f**k about the story, and only want to play with the awesome game engine Rockstar have made? Well, if that is the case, I will never ever buy anything from Rockstar again. Ever.

Isn't that cutting off your nose to spite your face?

Anyway, if the save file has been edited on a computer in any way, like if you have access to the War Horse and Golden Guns despite not having pre-ordered the game, or if you have access to all the weapons despite not having progressed far enough in the story to unlock them, or if you have access to some of the assets hidden away in the game's code, then that would be considered a hack.

Also if the save file you friend has given you has allowed you to have a level 50 multiplayer character without you having to level up and earn the rewards, then that's most definitely considered a hack and is cheating.

I get how cheating on multiplayer obviously is a bad thing. But why is cheating in single player considered a bad thing? Hell, the only reason I played GTA San Andreas was because of the huge amount of cheat codes. I wouldn't even have bought the game if I knew there weren't any cheats.

And I don't care about storyline or characters or whatever, the only reason I play games is because of the engine. Gameplay and cosmetic features like graphics, sound and physics is the entire reason I play games. I rarely complete games as I don't actually give a sh*t about the storyline, and as soon as it gets repetitive and boring, I stop and enter multiplayer or skirmish (or other forms of freedom). Why would I get punished for not giving a damn about the storyline, and just want to jump into the gameplay mechanics and have the world at my feet? Who am I hurting if I'm cheating in single player?

Why do I have to 'earn' the freedom in a product I bought?

Anyways, as I've said, I am talking about the single player. But I find it retarded that we can get punished for cheating in single player.

It depends on the extent of your cheating in single player, and if the save file has been modified (with a Hex Editor on a computer) to give you access to the pre-order or limited edition items.

If you're playing a single player game and have access to the Golden Guns and the War Horse, but you didn't pre-order the game or buy the limited edition, then that's unfair on the people who had to make a choice between retailers about which one pre-order bonus they wanted, and it's cheating the people who paid extra money for the limited edition content or bought the extra content codes on E-Bay.

However, if your save file hasn't been modified in any way, and all you're doing is playing a completed game but haven't illegitimately earned any of the Achievements or Trophies with that saved file, then it shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

What?

What do they mean by hacked saves? Does that mean people who have gotten save files from friends because they might not give a flying f**k about the story, and only want to play with the awesome game engine Rockstar have made? Well, if that is the case, I will never ever buy anything from Rockstar again. Ever.

Are you complaining about what I think your complaining about?

Because if so, sigh. Fucking sigh.

I don't know. But I do know that I never complete games because I simply can't get myself to play through the storyline, as I don't give a f**k about it. In GTAIV I just got the save from a friend, so I had unlocked the entire city. I mean, who am I cheating in that circumstance? Seriously. The reason I like games is NEVER because of the storyline or characters, it's ALWAYS the gameplay (although gameplay can be considered progressing as well) and cosmetic features (graphics, sound, physics etc.).

I get cheating on multiplayer is punishable, but single player? Where no other human being is even affected? Give me a f**king break. It's enough that you rarely even can move saves through PS3s, but now I'm gonna get punished because I don't give a sh*t about the storyline? Well, Rockstar, it was a pleasant ride, but I'm afraid we'll have to part ways.

I'm sorry, for some idiotic reason I thought you wanted to hack the multiplayer. I guess I missed the part about the story...

Anyway, sorry for bothering you. I misread your post.

 

[thedeathscythe]

I'm glad there's companies nowadays taking steps to prosecute cheaters. I wish more developers did this.

 

[squid5580]

I don't see why they should be given a second chance - they've ruined the game for everyone else, knowing full well what they were doing. Ban 'em on the spot, R*.

While I do agree 100% there is a very good reason why they won't. They have about $60 worth of DLC already announced. Every ban is one less sucker that might have paid 800 points for a couple new skins and weapons.

 

[Lullabye]

Rockstar of all the companies is the merciful one? Well, I suppose this is a good thing.(I still love to see cheaters get ground to mush though)
i think what they should've done is held a tourney of sorts between all the hackers, and and only the winner gets to keep playing the game(with a newly wiped account of course)

 

[CloggedDonkey]

Neat little idea of how to deal with cheaters. Instead of "DON'T CHEAT! BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING!" they actually try to make your actions redeemable... I see what you did there, Rockstar. Anyway, neat idea, and I hope more companies do something like this.

 

[Jared]

Intresting, well, I suppose they cannot be accused of being unfair this way

 

[imgunagitusucka]

I was hoping they would have to face off against each other in a duel and winners would get a chance to go on. The losers would get permabanned

Not bad, how about if they had a social club challenge where all of the cheaters are shown as marked bandits in free roam, and the honest folk are offered a massive XP reward for bringing them to justice. If the cheaters can survive a two hours online without dying they get a pardon letter. If they're yellow and don't go online for two hours during the specified week....Ban Train comes rollin'in.

 

[Miumaru]

Not like it matters anyways. I'm sure them cheaters will eventually find another way. Still, gz on Rockstar for being awesome.

Less cheaters is less cheaters.

 

[Miumaru]

I was hoping they would have to face off against each other in a duel and winners would get a chance to go on. The losers would get permabanned

Not bad, how about if they had a social club challenge where all of the cheaters are shown as marked bandits in free roam, and the honest folk are offered a massive XP reward for bringing them to justice. If the cheaters can survive a two hours online without dying they get a pardon letter. If they're yellow and don't go online for two hours during the specified week....Ban Train comes rollin'in.

I took down 3 most wanted players who were together and cheating while I was alone. If I am in the room...they wont survive. (Especcially with that motivation for me)

Ok...I only took down one myself, but my first kill led to the remaining two's demise. Still.

 

[Drexlor]

If people get banned now than they have no one to blame but themselves.

 

[The Rockerfly]

I was hoping they would have to face off against each other in a duel and winners would get a chance to go on. The losers would get permabanned

Not bad, how about if they had a social club challenge where all of the cheaters are shown as marked bandits in free roam, and the honest folk are offered a massive XP reward for bringing them to justice. If the cheaters can survive a two hours online without dying they get a pardon letter. If they're yellow and don't go online for two hours during the specified week....Ban Train comes rollin'in.

I suppose that's quite a good idea too. Actually there must be loads of ways to do it. How about a king of the hill style where a player controls an area, 8 other people need to get into it. The one at the end of the time limit is saved, everyone else is banned

I quite like this game of thinking up ban game ideas