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View Full Version : A Sense of Proportion?



kalten
Mar 7, 2001, 12:21 PM
Dear Folks,

I am relatively new to PSO (well OK I have been playing it offline since it was released over here in the UK and have managed to complete the game on normal difficulty level, I am now a level 43 HUMar named 'Kalten')

Start again - I have only just started playing PSO in online mode.

Looking at the messages posted here there seem to be endless threads about duplicating the rare items that can be found in the game ('duping?') and using cheat codes to increase your levels and stealing other players' weapons and money when they die (along with some very strange stuff about harassing female players for cybersex.)

I am sure I am missing all sorts of complex and subtle aspects of these topics, but the solution to these problems appears to be simple. People have cheated at games (of all sorts, not just computer games) ever since they were invented. So expecting them not to cheat is naive? If I am playing the game and I find some rare weapon or shield or armour or whatever, then that is through my time and effort and I feel suitably good about that. If some other player wants to use a cheat to get this item or get it from another player who has copied the item, this only damages them and not me. I would not want to take the easy option of accepting anything from another player that I could obtain myself by playing the game fairly.

If I decide to hook up with a team of complete strangers and play the game online then I should realise that I run the risk of them not behaving honestly and taking the chance to steal my weapon and money if I die. In the same way as meeting up with a group of strangers in a bar and paying pool with them carries the risk of losing my money or being mugged in the rest room? I am sure there are well established communities of players where there is a good chance that you will be playing with honest partners who will help you rather than rip you off?

I am leaving to one side all the debate about the 'black screen of death' and how to backup your data and how the online servers are going to stop you doing this. These are technical issues rather than moral problems.

In conclusion it seems to me that the game mirrors real life, you have the chance to behave honestly and responsibly and help your fellow players. Or you can be dishonest, cheat and treat the other players badly. So just like real life you make your choices and try to be careful out there.

Rgds,
Iain Noble

PS. And of course try to temember it is only a game. A way of passing the time. A form of entertainment. It is not real life.

Lightning
Mar 7, 2001, 12:40 PM
i agree totally with this one - i'm from the UK too, so maybe we just havent been exposed to as much "cheating crap" as US players, but it does seem rather overblown

i've spent a good few hours online with PSO now, and apart from ppl wanting to do nothing but trade in the lobbies and not get a game going, i havent really been overly bothered

hell, i hadnt even heard of duping until i started reading these forums

end of the day, it doesnt bother me - if i think someone is suspect i wont let them into my team or join a game with them - no one says you HAVE to sit around and take it, just leave the ship and find somewhere better http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_smile.gif

such ships are out there, believe me http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_wink.gif

Lightning SnowLeopard

<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: Lightning on 2001-03-07 09:41 ]</font>

Neojin
Mar 7, 2001, 12:52 PM
Ya Brits have a nice outlook on things. Perhaps my German lineage is coming thought cus I whole heartedly agree.

I'm not gonna get into the big cultural and age thing. But I do think alot of lies in how we are as individuals.

"In conclusion it seems to me that the game mirrors real life, you have the chance to behave honestly and responsibly and help your fellow players. Or you can be dishonest, cheat and treat the other players badly. So just like real life you make your choices and try to be careful out there."

Very nicely said, i'm sure its been said in one form or another before, but posts like this I dont mind seeing over and over hehe.

[b]Ryiko! lv 28 Shortie FOnewearl[b]
[b]Let me BWAST stuff too!! Puck 9[b]

MilkManX
Mar 7, 2001, 01:03 PM
I havent had any problems like most of these posts but I have seen it happen to my friends. I agree with your outlook but I think most of the people who post here have spent countless hours in pso. I think it comes down to respect that we want and that the cheaters obviously for the game or themselves.

Nordramor
Mar 7, 2001, 01:26 PM
Nice sentiment folks, but you're missing a few key points:

PSO does mirror real life, but it does also not. Yes, you run the gambit of odds whenever you hang out with total strangers, but the vast, overwhelming majority of 'real' people are law abiding citizens who are not interested in subverting the system for personal gain. I can go hang out with most unfamiliar people in social organizations with little realistic fear that they will beat me up and mug me. This is not true on PSO. There are plenty of people (Apparently not in Europe, but plenty in America) who will gladly cheat, steal, hack, etc. in order to gain an advantage. There is no reprocussions (yet, I hope Sega starts banning) for such actions, unlike in real life where you get sent to jail. There is nothing I can do with the PSO software to end this myself, other than playing exclusively offline or only with known people. Both of this 'workarounds' pretty much spoil the whole 'social fun with strangers' appeal that PSO has for me.

On your second note, that cheating only hurts the cheater, you are again wrong. Cheating hurts everyone. You obviously haven't been in a game yet where EVERYONE HAS A SPREAD NEEDLE. It takes, on average, approximately 2.7 seconds for three Rangers/Hunters with Spread Needles to clear an entire room. If you don't have a Spread Needle, or something similiar, you're not going to get much experience, or have much fun. So cheating makes the online experience boring and frustrating for the non-cheaters.

Wait, can't you just leave the game and find a game where there are no cheaters? Once again, a nice sentiment. But the point here is that you are being FORCED to WASTE YOUR TIME just trying to find a game to play PSO THE WAY THE GAME CREATORS INTENDED. Changing ships, blocks, leaving/entering games, etc. all consumes a decent amount of time that could otherwise be spent ACTUALLY PLAYING THE GAME instead of staring at loading screens.

But don't most cheaters only hurt themselves and other cheaters by hacking/duping? Again, you are wrong. Most hackers/dupers also have the extreme discourteousy to GIVE AWAY HACKED ITEMS TO NEW PLAYERS WHO DON'T KNOW ANY BETTER. To feed there own overblown sense of ego, they are essentially subverting people. Many cheaters REFUSE TO ADMIT they cheat and INTENTIONALLY LIE to players, especially new/ignorant ones. Trading has been RUINED because the sense of rarity in the game has been DESTROYED by newbies expecting to get S-Beat Blades for their Varista.

So cheaters are bascially saying, to the general non-cheating public SCREW YOU, WE DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT YOU, YOUR ENJOYMENT OF THIS GAME MEANS JACK **** TO ME. You can take the whole concept of PSO as a fun social experience and SHOVE IT UP YOUR ***, because ALL I WANT IS THE ELITE ITEMS.

And I don't appreciate them for doing this one bit.

Nordramor
Nordy!

Ambrai
Mar 7, 2001, 01:35 PM
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