**NEWS FLASH** WHAT YUJI NAKA (President of Sonic Team) HAS

[Sheepss]

I got my Nintendo Power this month and found a question and answer section but I will only post one ( unless anyone says different)...I thought all of you less fortuneate to recive NP...I'll shut up and post it now...

QUESTION: The Dreamcast version of PSO had its fair share of online cheaters and hackers. What has been done to cut down on such problems in the Ninteo GameCube version?

Yuji Naka: Well, we can't really go into the exact details, of course, but we've taken all the experience of what happened with the Dreamcast version of PSO and have spent a lot of time trying to make it more secure for a fun gaming experience.

Sounds like they really made an effort to combat hacking and cheating...but never really went any furthur...

This is Sheepss singing out...



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sheepss on 2002-12-01 17:15 ]</font>

[EsperFlame]

Yuji Naka: Well, we can't really go into the exact details, of course, but we've taken all the experience of what happened with the Dreamcast version of PSO and have spent a lot of time trying to make it more secure for a fun gaming experience.

Thats business talk for "We've improved over the old version and blocked all the old ways to hack". My question would be what about new ways?

[Tavia]

Thats business talk for "We've improved over the old version and blocked all the old ways to hack". My question would be what about new ways?

Can't fix them until they're discovered, can you? They are "new," after all.

[Sheepss]

Hmm....You'r probably right but think abut it...they have HAD to found some way of checking out the new game and testing for bugs before they actually made a new game...I think...

[Sapphire87]

Sonic Team should make an effort to permanetly ban accounts this time. It's not their fault that there's cheating on PSO. It's only Sonic Team's fault for having a blase attitude toward punishing the perpetrators. The problem with the DC was that there was no incentive to stop cheating since you knew you could get away with it. Sonic Team tried patching the enable code several times but this was a futile attempt. As long as you can read about "mass bannings due to cheating online", people will have second thoughts about popping in their Xploders in the future.

[Tavia]

On 2002-12-02 16:23, Sheepss wrote:
Hmm....You'r probably right but think abut it...they have HAD to found some way of checking out the new game and testing for bugs before they actually made a new game...I think...

Sure, they could. You know they did bug testing, too; everyone isn't falling through floors, having their game freeze when they equip an item, walking through walls, et cetera. The game, really, is not bug-ridden. Even the famous "EverQuest" is currently suffering because of a program called "ShowEQ" -- if I remember correctly -- that lets people cheat.

It happens... unfortunately. Cheaters exploit the bugs and make them famous. Really, only having one or two problems in a game is excellent. Think of everything you do in PSO. Even moving your character a step forward is taken for granted. There are so many games where the control is horrible, the graphics shoddy, the style unoriginal, with bugs and polygon clipping everywhere... there are countless things that are wonderful about PSO as it is.

SonicTeam really cannot do much to repair this. If they replaced all of the copies of PSO in the world, they would have to eat the cost of every disc that was returned. They could not rewrite them. Maybe they could recycle them, but that's hardly a financial return.

All you have to do is find people who do not cheat. I find that pretty easy to do.

[Vol_Opt]

.. Playback mode engaged..


On 2002-12-01 17:12, Sheepss wrote:
I got my Nintendo Power this month and found a question and answer section but I will only post one ( unless anyone says different)...I thought all of you less fortuneate to recive NP...I'll shut up and post it now...

QUESTION: The Dreamcast version of PSO had its fair share of online cheaters and hackers. What has been done to cut down on such problems in the Ninteo GameCube version?

Yuji Naka: Well, we can't really go into the exact details, of course, but we've taken all the experience of what happened with the Dreamcast version of PSO and have spent a lot of time trying to make it more secure for a fun gaming experience.

Sounds like they really made an effort to combat hacking and cheating...but never really went any furthur...

This is Sheepss singing out...



<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Sheepss on 2002-12-01 17:15 ]</font>


.. Bzzt..

.. Statement is as threatening to cheaters as a plastic spoon is to a tank..

[DJ_Monkey]

This statement doesn't give me any hopes about cheating. If they really wanted to fight the cheating, they would enlist the aid of the hackers who tried to ruin the game. Maybe even pay them a little, or give them exclusive items. Then watch the open flaws in the game get fewer and fewer.

This has worked for the PC industry for years(in fact, Mitnick[probably the most famous hacker ever] was hired as a security consultant]), so why not try it with the consoles? The amount of people that will buy the HLs for a more-secure game will more than pay for the costs of hiring the hackers.

And we wouldn't have as many FSoDs(Baru knows how to stop it...hint hint) http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_wink.gif

[Sheepss]

.. Playback mode engaged..

.. Bzzt..

.. Statement is as threatening to cheaters as a plastic spoon is to a tank..



What the heck is with the STUPID BUZZING and clicking and hissing?!?!!?

Back to the subject...
Sonic team did make an effort and did get rid of lots of pontential bugs, but they went no further then the simple things that you could think of...like walls that you could walk through, camera bugs, things like that, but they didn't consider that...oh say...maybe if you went and talked to this guy and went to another guy and fought him then went and traded for something, then the cheat is activated.
They needed to go into a little more detail on the hacking process...and things like that.

[Spy]

It's that cheapskate Vol Opt! Shoot out his monitors everyone, quick!

[Tiger]

well at least we had a longer time of non-cheating then with the DC version http://www.pso-world.com/psoworld/images/phpbb/icons/smiles/icon_smile.gif

[Vol_Opt]

On 2002-12-03 20:35, Spy wrote:
It's that cheapskate Vol Opt! Shoot out his monitors everyone, quick!



.. Bzzt..

.. This unit is not a cheapskate.. This unit's monitors cost ten dollars apiece..

[BigDaddy]

It is not the quantity of bugs but rather the size of the bugs and how far it affects the game and the community.

Look at the dupe bug that Sonic Team let through. Now the Japanese and U.S. servers are separated and they have to release a ver1.1, which deletes your entire inventory regardless of whether you are legit or not. Look at the U.S. version, considered the "legit servers," but now even the new dupe bug on it is starting to get aorund.

Look at the PPPoE problem, another reason why there will be a ver1.1. How many BB users have unfortunately suffered from this problem, which should never have been a problem to begin with?

It is size, not quantity.

[Spy]

On 2002-12-04 08:23, Vol_Opt wrote:

.. Bzzt..

.. This unit is not a cheapskate..



T_T !!! You never drop anything for me except monomates!

[Sheepss]

On 2002-12-04 08:51, BigDaddy wrote:
It is not the quantity of bugs but rather the size of the bugs and how far it affects the game and the community.

Look at the dupe bug that Sonic Team let through. Now the Japanese and U.S. servers are separated and they have to release a ver1.1, which deletes your entire inventory regardless of whether you are legit or not. Look at the U.S. version, considered the "legit servers," but now even the new dupe bug on it is starting to get aorund.

Look at the PPPoE problem, another reason why there will be a ver1.1. How many BB users have unfortunately suffered from this problem, which should never have been a problem to begin with?

It is size, not quantity.



I completely agree with you and this is what I was trying to say!!...even thought I presented it confunsingly...

[LM]

On 2002-12-03 09:43, Vol_Opt wrote:


.. Statement is as threatening to cheaters as a plastic spoon is to a tank..



I dunno, if I were in a tank, and someone threw a plastic spoon, specificaly plastic, I think I would sh!t myself.

Hehehe, j/k. I wouldn't know how big the problem is or not, because I can't get online, but, I know they can do alot more to prevent/fight what happens.

[EsperFlame]

I sent an e-mail to Sonic Team adressing the cheating issues people have brought up about the GCN version of PSO. All they did was assure me that measures were being taken to prevent any cheating. Also, when I responded to that asking about the fact people think account banning was an empty threat and what they were going to do about it, they had told me that several accounts have already recieved temporary and permanent bans. All I gotta say is man permanent bans suck. I feel sorry for those who got banned for good.

[Sheepss]

Hehehe, j/k. I wouldn't know how big the problem is or not, because I can't get online, but, I know they can do alot more to prevent/fight what happens.



They could do a LOT more to help us if they really wanted to...well not a LOT but more then they are doing now...I'm NOT TRYING to dis them but I'm just saying that they cuold help more.

[SiliconX]

That's the thing. I'm willing to wager they're not doing "nothing"

Sonic Team probably has something up their sleeve, they're probably just waiting for the right time to implement it. They are charging a fee, which, assumedly, is to maintain a secure online environment. If people are breaking the rules set by the ToS, which would, in turn, affect other users, then Sonic Team would be playing a dangerous game by just turning the other cheek.

So i'm optimistic. To panic a wee bit after cheating has been discovered is jumping the gun a little bit.

Just my opinion

[Tavia]

On 2002-12-08 04:33, SiliconX wrote:
That's the thing. I'm willing to wager they're not doing "nothing"

Sonic Team probably has something up their sleeve, they're probably just waiting for the right time to implement it. They are charging a fee, which, assumedly, is to maintain a secure online environment. If people are breaking the rules set by the ToS, which would, in turn, affect other users, then Sonic Team would be playing a dangerous game by just turning the other cheek.

So i'm optimistic. To panic a wee bit after cheating has been discovered is jumping the gun a little bit.

Just my opinion


This post inspired me to add something, as well. Anything that SonicTeam does costs money. Their simply working for Sega requires them to receive a salary, and anything up and above that will incur costs in time, materials, et cetera.

Now, while the gamers of course want the most luxurious experience possible, think about it, everyone... would you rather have SonicTeam jump at every tiny thing immediately -- potentially inspiring someone to yank their collective chain and keep them from spending so many resources in the future -- or wait until something big, like new PKing techniques, comes about?

I really do think people are blowing everything out of proportion. I still have perfectly enjoyable PSO gaming experiences. If you think something is duped, don't take it... if someone is rude, quit the game. No one is forcing you to "deal with it." And while some people say it's spoiling the game to see low-level characters using special weapons, I think that is laughable too. You can see it in plenty of screenshots right here on PSOW, and I don't see a lot of people frantically running away from this website, hollaring "Waaaah! PSOW ruined my experience! ::sob::". So...

Just calm down and find decent gamers to play with, people. Really.

[Sheepss]

Well...we can still have fun...but you never know...when you have something wort trading and you have found that one in a million person that has EXACTLY what you are looking for...you don't exactly know if it is a dupe or not. It is sorta fun guessing if it is a dupe or not, but then again you don't want it to be....I have devised a plan though to catch dupers...not sure fire but...Im working on it. It might not work...the public is on a need to know basis, so don't get too hyped up over it. The end.

[Vantamiath]

The facts of online cheating are as simple as these steps.

1. Everyone gets the game, thinks its peachy, no insentive to start cheating..*fluffy bunnies*.

2. Game still is fun, start to notice people get bored with the game. *Muddy fluffy bunnies*.

3. Those bored people go out and try to screw over everyone elses experience, with any means possible.
*Bunnies with all their hair shaved off*.

4. Once this happens you become the shmo refered to in step 3, you go out and try to screw everyone over, or you simply quit playing the game. (Or if you're me you go out and search for the other "few" people out there)
* Shaved bunnies with mohawks and green teeth*.

5. You realize as long as you know atleast 3 other people who dont cheat, everything will be fine..sorta.
*Starts gluing hair back on bunnies and brushes their teeth*.

[Sheepss]

...I'm sorry but that was just really desturbing. Really desturbing...

Back to buisness...this "sure fire way" of stopping dupers in thier tracks...is not working so well...so much for my logic. Ya know?...Sonic Team should just take a look at all this that is happening. After about...hm...at least a week....they'll see...OOOHH!H!...this might seem a little strange...but if we manage to actually get a rep. form ST on here, then EVERYBODY start acting like dupers...that would be funny...but not too effective...Ah well...My points are starting to be worn out...

[Maverynthia]

Well, it WOULD be nice for SEGA to post an anti-cheating e-mail address on the main site.

If you've seen a Cheater contact SEGA at nocheater@sega.com or something...I still don't know who to send the n00b info too...