Botting / Cheating
Botting / Cheating
A thread recently written on the bluegartr forums made me realize how much the consensus has changed regarding cheating and to my dismay, how accepted cheating has become. The thread can be found here.
In the past, I've never really approached the subject with my true personal feelings about it, having played some devils advocate and trying to keep an open mind about the game in general (also avoiding insulting friends who feel differently). I'm going to be honest about how I feel and how I've pretty much always felt about cheating in this game or any game; though in MMO's obtaining an advantage typically makes one think they will be more content with the attention derived from acquiring additional items or advancement that cheating may provide.
Over the years I've realized exactly what accomplishments in game are and how little they meet the widely accepted definition. This is due in part to having been "at the top", with a character which was at the time one of the best geared character across the server. After realizing none of this provided anything other than possibly a void, due to lack of content and realistic goals, which inevitably assisted to choices made regarding my character's demise. A new perspective became available having gone from the newb, to LS member, to LS leader, to a top LS leader, to a "finished" character leading a top LS, and finally one who no longer played; all aiding in accessing a view of the entire image.
I'm not a gamer, though many will disagree. I don't own a console and the only 2 games I play are FFXI and Chess. I have, in the past, had the opportunity to play consoles and use game sharks to make the games easier. Even in games i somewhat enjoyed, I found absolutely no joy at all from adding a device that made the game easier than originally intended.
I left a few replies on the forum linked above, but I'm going to paste the most recent, since it really encompasses my feelings on the entire subject.
_____________________________________________________________________
BG response to w1zbot user list (and those listed justifying their actions)
- - - -
Logic and reasoning will typically always point towards abusing loopholes and doing whatever is possible to achieve the desired results in the most efficient manner possible - Cheating.
Logic and reasoning were, in the past, outweighed by a sense of accomplishment via achieving these goals without having to resort to a program to achieve them for you. Programs produce an advantage towards achieving the desired results faster and better than the majority. Players were smart enough to realize that by creating a stigma around this advantage, they could benefit themselves by experiencing the challenges in their entirety, while also limiting the number of cheaters.
Since the minority of cheaters has grown closer to what could soon become (or is) the majority, justification for one's cheating is found through comfort in numbers and claims of efficiency.
If you are the type of person who is more inclined to act based on impressing others through gear or jobs leveled, your primary incentive can no longer be hindered by a slandered reputation, so justification and short-lived comfort is more easily obtained. The game becomes easier and soon you feel rather numb about the lack of skill your endeavors required. Cheating will continue to become more and more acceptable with each person who's main interest is advancing their character and achieving goals in the most efficient method available, rather than having fun playing an MMO and making some new friends.
For me, FFXI is a game which already struggles to provide enough challenges to keep me interested and striving to achieve goals. More efficient methods of achieving these not only limit available challenges, but also impose a rather lackluster feeling of accomplishment with each "success". I've never used a bot or a program other than windower, but feel shame every time I realize how much of my skill relies on the distance meter. In the past I organized alliance positioning from ps2 and knew the difficulty in what I was doing provided more self assurance than that Algol our LS received from defeating an easy monster.
Yes, SE could have done a better job with their macros and interface. Does this justify anything at all? Imo, no. Cheaters are cheaters and you don't even need to read this, because you already know you are. That false sense of security found by being around other cheaters is closely shadowed by the guilt of achieving what you have on "easy mode". So click "Very tough" and quit bein pansies and play the game.
- - - -
Obviously, this leaves quite a few things very vaguely defned. What exactly is cheating, what's not cheating, and what's acceptable? To me the answer is simple and opinionated. Doing anything that not everyone in the game is capable of doing, not including hardware inadequacy. In other words, using a PC to achieve results by using a program that an x-box/ps-2 can't. Yes, it's hypocritical. I use windower, the .txt files for macros, distance, and a few other plugins that came with the download. I'm not saying that I have not done some forms of cheating, I just realize that drawing a fine line on the definition of cheating is difficult and really comes down to the community to decide. Whatever that decision may be, would employ a form of punishment to abusers, via a slandered reputation or something capable of applying that the majority would tend to avoid.
_____________________________________________________________________
My unexpected run-in with a cheat
A few months into my Relic Katana goal, my router began acting oddly and annoyingly. When I zoned or logged into an area, anything that occured in that area would not be recognized somehow. For instance, if I zoned into MMJ SP and merited for 2 hours, then disconnected, those 4 merits I attained would completely vanish along with anything else that happened while in the zone. The worst part was I would typically DC at random intervals between 15 minutes and 2 hours of having last DC'd. After a few days of this behavior I managed to deal with it by logging out every so often, to retain my status acquired in the zone, but still wanted it fixed.
A few days later, Fenix or Gaucho or someone asked to borrow my Scorpion Harness +1 (Equivalent back then to about 10mil in today's economy). We fought Xolotl and I DC'd shortly after and logged back in. Believe it or not, this was the first time I even considered that my problem could be used in an "advantageous" fashion. I logged back in, at the beginning of the zone of course - my character not having any recollection of being in the zone, trading a scorpion harness, or fighting Xolotl. Therefore, I still had the SH +1 in my inventory... as did whoever I let borrow it.
It took me a while to grasp the concept that I was capable of duplicating anything in the game (non-ex), including gil, dynamis currency, and anything/everything in between. I felt weird about it. I definitely felt that doing such wasn't right and in taking advantage of this, I would be removing the challenge from the majority of the game. This made me think about playing without a challenge and it was something that didn't seem at all enticing.
I called SE and told them about my problem. When they responded with their typical I-don't-give-a-shit automated response lines, I told them I was capable of duplicating any amount of gil I wanted, completely ruining the game. That was followed up with another "idc" response and I was told to get a new router. It was really funny to me and I never really kept any of this a secret, though my sharing it with everyone in LS chat has been used as an attempt to deface my reputation. Which honestly, makes very little sense to me, but whatever..
Anyways, I ended up duping that SH +1, a Thf's knife for a friend, and one run of dynamis currency, one of which was intended to be duped. Of course, I still felt I was doing myself a disfavor and ended up buying a new router shortly after, which fixed the issue.
So while I don't claim my behavior or the way I handled the situation was correct, I also still completely feel that cheating is only doing yourself a disservice by making what is meant to be an exciting challenge, into something mundane and easy.
One last thing to keep in mind. This was in 2005, when if any RMT was around at all, it was rare and just the chinese gil farmers. The last thing on my mind was using this to make money..
_____________________________________________________________________
Why do I care?
I don't care all that much. It's more writing from the shock value of all of the changes in what's become accepted over the years. I've also noticed quite a few "old school" players have issues adapting to the current paradigm of acceptable behavior, since the stigma given to those in the past (on Ragnarok at least) was pretty unforgiving.
So, do I personally care if you bot? Not really, well no, not at all. In fact, I assume everyone at an HNM camp is likely going to be botting and know I'm working against that, which leads me to rarely pursue HNM encounters. However, I do feel that by allowing the behavior to become socially acceptable we are not doing anyone a favor; those who use bots and those who don't, but mostly those who are willing to spend money to make the pliable remains of a dead game less challenging...
A thread recently written on the bluegartr forums made me realize how much the consensus has changed regarding cheating and to my dismay, how accepted cheating has become. The thread can be found here.
In the past, I've never really approached the subject with my true personal feelings about it, having played some devils advocate and trying to keep an open mind about the game in general (also avoiding insulting friends who feel differently). I'm going to be honest about how I feel and how I've pretty much always felt about cheating in this game or any game; though in MMO's obtaining an advantage typically makes one think they will be more content with the attention derived from acquiring additional items or advancement that cheating may provide.
Over the years I've realized exactly what accomplishments in game are and how little they meet the widely accepted definition. This is due in part to having been "at the top", with a character which was at the time one of the best geared character across the server. After realizing none of this provided anything other than possibly a void, due to lack of content and realistic goals, which inevitably assisted to choices made regarding my character's demise. A new perspective became available having gone from the newb, to LS member, to LS leader, to a top LS leader, to a "finished" character leading a top LS, and finally one who no longer played; all aiding in accessing a view of the entire image.
I'm not a gamer, though many will disagree. I don't own a console and the only 2 games I play are FFXI and Chess. I have, in the past, had the opportunity to play consoles and use game sharks to make the games easier. Even in games i somewhat enjoyed, I found absolutely no joy at all from adding a device that made the game easier than originally intended.
I left a few replies on the forum linked above, but I'm going to paste the most recent, since it really encompasses my feelings on the entire subject.
_____________________________________________________________________
BG response to w1zbot user list (and those listed justifying their actions)
- - - -
Logic and reasoning will typically always point towards abusing loopholes and doing whatever is possible to achieve the desired results in the most efficient manner possible - Cheating.
Logic and reasoning were, in the past, outweighed by a sense of accomplishment via achieving these goals without having to resort to a program to achieve them for you. Programs produce an advantage towards achieving the desired results faster and better than the majority. Players were smart enough to realize that by creating a stigma around this advantage, they could benefit themselves by experiencing the challenges in their entirety, while also limiting the number of cheaters.
Since the minority of cheaters has grown closer to what could soon become (or is) the majority, justification for one's cheating is found through comfort in numbers and claims of efficiency.
If you are the type of person who is more inclined to act based on impressing others through gear or jobs leveled, your primary incentive can no longer be hindered by a slandered reputation, so justification and short-lived comfort is more easily obtained. The game becomes easier and soon you feel rather numb about the lack of skill your endeavors required. Cheating will continue to become more and more acceptable with each person who's main interest is advancing their character and achieving goals in the most efficient method available, rather than having fun playing an MMO and making some new friends.
For me, FFXI is a game which already struggles to provide enough challenges to keep me interested and striving to achieve goals. More efficient methods of achieving these not only limit available challenges, but also impose a rather lackluster feeling of accomplishment with each "success". I've never used a bot or a program other than windower, but feel shame every time I realize how much of my skill relies on the distance meter. In the past I organized alliance positioning from ps2 and knew the difficulty in what I was doing provided more self assurance than that Algol our LS received from defeating an easy monster.
Yes, SE could have done a better job with their macros and interface. Does this justify anything at all? Imo, no. Cheaters are cheaters and you don't even need to read this, because you already know you are. That false sense of security found by being around other cheaters is closely shadowed by the guilt of achieving what you have on "easy mode". So click "Very tough" and quit bein pansies and play the game.
- - - -
Obviously, this leaves quite a few things very vaguely defned. What exactly is cheating, what's not cheating, and what's acceptable? To me the answer is simple and opinionated. Doing anything that not everyone in the game is capable of doing, not including hardware inadequacy. In other words, using a PC to achieve results by using a program that an x-box/ps-2 can't. Yes, it's hypocritical. I use windower, the .txt files for macros, distance, and a few other plugins that came with the download. I'm not saying that I have not done some forms of cheating, I just realize that drawing a fine line on the definition of cheating is difficult and really comes down to the community to decide. Whatever that decision may be, would employ a form of punishment to abusers, via a slandered reputation or something capable of applying that the majority would tend to avoid.
_____________________________________________________________________
My unexpected run-in with a cheat
A few months into my Relic Katana goal, my router began acting oddly and annoyingly. When I zoned or logged into an area, anything that occured in that area would not be recognized somehow. For instance, if I zoned into MMJ SP and merited for 2 hours, then disconnected, those 4 merits I attained would completely vanish along with anything else that happened while in the zone. The worst part was I would typically DC at random intervals between 15 minutes and 2 hours of having last DC'd. After a few days of this behavior I managed to deal with it by logging out every so often, to retain my status acquired in the zone, but still wanted it fixed.
A few days later, Fenix or Gaucho or someone asked to borrow my Scorpion Harness +1 (Equivalent back then to about 10mil in today's economy). We fought Xolotl and I DC'd shortly after and logged back in. Believe it or not, this was the first time I even considered that my problem could be used in an "advantageous" fashion. I logged back in, at the beginning of the zone of course - my character not having any recollection of being in the zone, trading a scorpion harness, or fighting Xolotl. Therefore, I still had the SH +1 in my inventory... as did whoever I let borrow it.
It took me a while to grasp the concept that I was capable of duplicating anything in the game (non-ex), including gil, dynamis currency, and anything/everything in between. I felt weird about it. I definitely felt that doing such wasn't right and in taking advantage of this, I would be removing the challenge from the majority of the game. This made me think about playing without a challenge and it was something that didn't seem at all enticing.
I called SE and told them about my problem. When they responded with their typical I-don't-give-a-shit automated response lines, I told them I was capable of duplicating any amount of gil I wanted, completely ruining the game. That was followed up with another "idc" response and I was told to get a new router. It was really funny to me and I never really kept any of this a secret, though my sharing it with everyone in LS chat has been used as an attempt to deface my reputation. Which honestly, makes very little sense to me, but whatever..
Anyways, I ended up duping that SH +1, a Thf's knife for a friend, and one run of dynamis currency, one of which was intended to be duped. Of course, I still felt I was doing myself a disfavor and ended up buying a new router shortly after, which fixed the issue.
So while I don't claim my behavior or the way I handled the situation was correct, I also still completely feel that cheating is only doing yourself a disservice by making what is meant to be an exciting challenge, into something mundane and easy.
One last thing to keep in mind. This was in 2005, when if any RMT was around at all, it was rare and just the chinese gil farmers. The last thing on my mind was using this to make money..
_____________________________________________________________________
Why do I care?
I don't care all that much. It's more writing from the shock value of all of the changes in what's become accepted over the years. I've also noticed quite a few "old school" players have issues adapting to the current paradigm of acceptable behavior, since the stigma given to those in the past (on Ragnarok at least) was pretty unforgiving.
So, do I personally care if you bot? Not really, well no, not at all. In fact, I assume everyone at an HNM camp is likely going to be botting and know I'm working against that, which leads me to rarely pursue HNM encounters. However, I do feel that by allowing the behavior to become socially acceptable we are not doing anyone a favor; those who use bots and those who don't, but mostly those who are willing to spend money to make the pliable remains of a dead game less challenging...