A Support/Hackers Discussion

[DHRifleman]

Unfortunately there will always be those that will try and cheat the system. Some for what they gain from doing it, and some just to do it. Hackers will do it for the second reason, and cheaters will do it using the hacks found on the net. Those hacks should be on EW's watch list, and I am sure they are. Those using them will get caught and be banned.

Having the forum members doing the shaming, and publicly reporting anyone they think is cheating or hacking will just be a big witch hunt and totally counter productive.

Personally I agree with Tanngnjostr suggestion on limiting the comps for guests. They should have only the standard comps for the full time free animals, any other comps they should be segregated from the member comps and only earn gm$. This would remove the incentive some might have on being a guest trying to get items (em$) for free via cheating, and offer an incentive to becoming a paying member. They still get the competition aspect of the gameplay, it is just in line with the amount of monetary support they have given.

[BCKidd]

Having the forum members doing the shaming, and publicly reporting anyone they think is cheating or hacking will just be a big witch hunt and totally counter productive.

Yes, if it can't be proven I would agree. However if it can be proven and EW proves it, then I somewhat agree with Pnshen's post. There should be a list of the cheaters for the public forum users to see. I think if these cheaters are banned for a short time and are allowed back to theHunter game and forum, their names should have a couple of asterisks (**) or another means of identifying them- as once being banned for CHEATING. Those that are banned due to forum policies shouldn't have to live through that type of embarrassment, cheaters tho'- dang right they should. Peace.

BCKidd.

[tbug]

Personally I agree with Tanngnjostr suggestion on limiting the comps for guests.

I have pointed this out in the past with few willing to believe me. Of all the cheaters I have reported, they were about 50/50 members vs guests.

[cajunman45]

Oh we can talk about Hackers / Cheater now .Every time we tried to talk about it Mods locked the thread . From the first time hackers and cheaters started in thehunter They been winning comps. and nothing has been done about it .I had a cheater join my server banned him quick. He bounced around all over loggers in seconds.

[Tod1d]

Oh we can talk about Hackers / Cheater now .Every time we tried to talk about it Mods locked the thread .

No, you can talk about hacking / cheating. If you mention specific names, post links to profiles, or single out a specific member/player in any way,
OR mention names of hacks or link to them, then you are breaking the CoC.

Cheaters should not be publicly shamed, or given any publicity at all. They should be summarily banned & forgotten.

The process is, and will most likely always be: report them to support.

[Trackfield]

Tanngnjostr, I appreciate you answering Max20077 questions on guest, it was spot on, and I agree completely with you.

tbug, no one is saying members do not cheat. They do, but I can only go by the numbers I have reported, and if the player still shows up via search for friend.
You go by your numbers, that's cool. I commend you for reporting them. If they were deemed cheating, at least EW got a bit of their moola.
So paying members did not foot the whole bill for the EM$ they stole from honest members.
With guest, not so much, except what weapons or equipment they got through cheating in comps before caught.

I personally do not believe we need to post names, nor shame any players, on the forum, as they might not be guilty.
Used to play a game online many moons ago, called DSO, online game, and if the Devs, after checking caught someone cheating and banned their account, there was a message that went across the server to all, saying "player name" has been dragged into the desert and left for the vultures. or something like that. Entertaining, at the time...but it was the devs that did that message, and named the cheater.

Still does not make it right that EW can't figure out how to find them. But most of all, how to make it right by taking their EM$, taking their trophy and giving it to the honest hunters.

[cajunman45]

Oh we can talk about Hackers / Cheater now .Every time we tried to talk about it Mods locked the thread .

No, you can talk about hacking / cheating. If you mention specific names, post links to profiles, or single out a specific member/player in any way,
OR mention names of hacks or link to them, then you are breaking the CoC.

Cheaters should not be publicly shamed, or given any publicity at all. They should be summarily banned & forgotten.

The process is, and will most likely always be: report them to support.

From David ::::Following a lengthy discussion within the moderation team and, with some input from staff at Expansive Worlds, it has been decided that any new threads/posts relating to cheating are going to be removed immediately and without exception. The reason behind this decision is the fact that such threads, given the passion people feel towards the matter, always result in high levels of toxicity and posts which violate the code of conduct. If you believe someone is cheating please report them by sending an email to [email protected]. If you see someone's hunt history and believe they have harvested more animals than is possible without using an exploit or cheat, please report them to support. Please do not feel the need to create another thread about cheating. It will be removed immediately.

I can confirm that staff at Expansive Worlds are aware of the current situation. There is no need for people to continue to discuss the matter, or debate whether or not Expansive Worlds know, or care about the situation. The matter will be dealt with in due course and an official update will be given by a staff member when more information becomes available.

Thank you for your cooperation.

[Trackfield]

This is not a thread naming anyone, and it a post of what the players (both guest and members) want and to let EW know we want this problem fixed, or at least taken care of quicker.
It is a discussion that effects everyone, guest or member.

We all see the sticky here in the general forum. btw, dated Feb 22nd, 2016.

Only one person crossed the line, and Tod1d or one of the other mods took care of that, or the poster deleted it.
They are very good at what they do, but thanks for the heads-up.....

[DHRifleman]

Having the forum members doing the shaming, and publicly reporting anyone they think is cheating or hacking will just be a big witch hunt and totally counter productive.

Yes, if it can't be proven I would agree. However if it can be proven and EW proves it, then I somewhat agree with Pnshen's post. There should be a list of the cheaters for the public forum users to see. I think if these cheaters are banned for a short time and are allowed back to theHunter game and forum, their names should have a couple of asterisks (**) or another means of identifying them- as once being banned for CHEATING. Those that are banned due to forum policies shouldn't have to live through that type of embarrassment, cheaters tho'- dang right they should. Peace.

BCKidd.

I am sure that anyone banned for using a hack will not be back, and if they somehow did come back it would be under a different name, so shaming the name banned would only make them feel like they got away with something. The true hacker wants the notoriety that comes with showing how to cheat a game and why they get posted on the net. Silently shutting them down takes that away.
As Tod1d said, they should be removed and quickly forgotten.

The only time I could see some leeway would be if a player ended up capitalizing on a game mechanic that doesn't work properly. Now if they go out of their way to do this over, and over it is an exploit, shooting an animal stuck in the trees I feel is not. Going to a spot where animals are always stuck over and over is. Even then there should be a warning and a close observation of the player after that.

As for the guests being segregated and only getting GM$, that is more for the incentive to get them to become members, and a side bonus of some not using the hacks.

[pnShen]

From David ::::Following a lengthy discussion within the moderation team and, with some input from staff at Expansive Worlds, it has been decided that any new threads/posts relating to cheating are going to be removed immediately and without exception. The reason behind this decision is the fact that such threads, given the passion people feel towards the matter, always result in high levels of toxicity and posts which violate the code of conduct. If you believe someone is cheating please report them by sending an email to [email protected]. If you see someone's hunt history and believe they have harvested more animals than is possible without using an exploit or cheat, please report them to support. Please do not feel the need to create another thread about cheating. It will be removed immediately.

I can confirm that staff at Expansive Worlds are aware of the current situation. There is no need for people to continue to discuss the matter, or debate whether or not Expansive Worlds know, or care about the situation. The matter will be dealt with in due course and an official update will be given by a staff member when more information becomes available.

These are the reasons why the discussions are suppressed_.

1. "given the passion people feel towards the matter" > well, that is a good thing. Passion is what drives people, you cannot speak about important things with pokerface. Please see my previous comment about being politically correct.

2. "result in high levels of toxicity" > if the level of passion is high, that is a good thing. If the level of improper language, cursing, obscenity, verbal fighting, etc is high, then why would it be different than any other discussion? No need for applying specific rules, it must be erased from the forum.

3. "no need for people to continue to discuss the matter" > the need of discussion is not EW to decide. If something is important, people want to discuss it over and over again.

4. witchhunt: That keeps the witches away! See my post about the psychology of misbehavior.

other unspoken reasons:

5. it generates data and space on the forum: well, that's what EW must provide, not? If the number of these posts are high, they need a topic.

6. it generates work for mods: I really don't want it to be harder for you, I know it is many work already, but that's what you volunteered for. That is not a real reason for suppressing a matter. I will not ask EW to not make the new reserve, because it generates so many translation work I volunteered for.

7. It will remind people about EW's omission about handling the hackers. WE is running a business, so they must take the heat. I believe there are other forums, where they cannot moderate and the overall view about the game is lot worse.

Comment: i usually don't get aroused about game bugs. Yesterday i tracked three hogs that had intestines in their heads and whole torso. Was an annoyance, but i don't care. The only thing that arouses me is when somebody's achievement or work is destroyed by somebody's misbehavior or omission. That was the subject about banning for system bugs, and that is not banning for hacking.