Blizzard Bans Single Player SCII Cheaters

[News Reader]

Blizzard Bans Single Player SCII Cheaters
The digital scoundrels at CheatHappens.com have posted an interesting article about what they're calling an "unprecedented act" from Blizzard. Namely, at the beginning of this month Blizzard began banning the Battlenet accounts and CD keys of StarCraft II players who were using cheats and trainers (at least one of which was created and distributed by [...]

Author: Quintin Smith
Category: RockPaperShotgun Blizzard StarCraft II: Wings Of Liberty
Publish Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 14:10:14 +0000



The digital scoundrels at CheatHappens.com have posted an interesting article about what they're calling an "unprecedented act" from Blizzard. Namely, at the beginning of this month Blizzard began banning the Battlenet accounts and CD keys of StarCraft II players who were using cheats and trainers (at least one of which was created and distributed by CheatHappens.com) in their single player campaigns and in matches against the AI.

Blizzard's stance is that since those single player games affect the achievements and score displayed in multiplayer, they can't be standing for it. In response, CheatHappens point out that these elements "have no bearing on multiplayer standings, matches or games". Personally, I always thought achievements were harmless. This is causing me to reconsider.



Read more... - Read comments...

Source: Rock, Paper, Shotgun

[Roman Totale]

But...why?

[Grimmie]

Warning, warning, incoming policy U-turn detected.

Sort it out, Blizzard.

[Dog Pants]

But...why?

I would be sorely pissed off at this.

[buzzmong]

I'm half and half with this.

If those comments on RPS are correct, it's specific methods of cheating that are getting people banned for 14 days.

Apparently if you use the official built in cheat codes for the game you're fine because using the proper codes disables the achievements. The achievements themselves being visible publicly and used for a couple of things. However if you use trainers and other hacks to cheat to get the achievements, then Blizzard are coming down with the ban hammer.

I'm kinda OK with that because it's similar to stat padding for BF games with the public scoreboards, in reality it doesn't actually affect anyone but it's still rather unfair and a tad annoying.

However, the ban itself apparently only extends to the online services, so you can still still play the game in offline SP. I still think that's possibly a bit too much though, a proportionate response simply would have been to wipe his achievements like Valve (and even DICE) do when they detect you've cheated to get them.

[Joose]

I'm half and half with this.

Sort of this.

On the one hand, I think people should be allowed to play their single player part of the game however they like. If they want to cheat their way through, then fine, as long as it doesn't affect other people.

On the other hand, this kind of cheating *does* affect other people. Lots of people really enjoy getting hard to get achievements, and if you can get them easily by cheating it spoils it a bit for everyone else. Think of it like this: if they were using hax to get level 80 WoW Characters with rare mounts and a trillion gold, would there be any question over them getting banned? No. But if they could do that, it wouldn't directly affect other WoW players (ignoring PvP for the moment), so what's the difference? As far as I can see, the only difference is that we at 5punk don't really give that much of a shit about achievement based willy-waving. Some people do, and I think its perfectly acceptable for Blizzard to defend those people, however silly I think they are.

The fact that there are in built cheats that disable the achievements system kinda kills my first argument dead though. If people want to cheat their way through the game, they can, ban free. Unless I'm reading this wrong, the only reason to use 3rd party cheats is to get achievements. So fuck em, ban the wankers.

And lets get a bit of perspective: they are not getting perma-banned. They are temporarily getting banned from multiplayer only.

[FatherJack]

Like the XBox ones, they do seem overly precious about the integrity of the achievements.

I don't care much unless it affects me, I only compare my achievements with people I know, but something that gives you extra money in a game like WoW with an online economy affects everyone as it drives all the prices up.

A ban from battle.net equals no single-player though (or WoW), and I don't know the extent of the cheats they were using nor what official cheats are available. It seems a little two-faced to provide singleplayer cheats, yet also issue bans for using them - if there was an option to turn off achievement-gaining if you wanted to experiment with some third-party hacks, then that would remove any ambiguity about whether the cheaters deserved to be punished.

So I too am half-and-half. If a company want to protect the integrity of their online scoring system, then they're within their rights to take steps to do that. But if someone wants to cheat their way through the singleplayer game, because they've bought and paid for it and perhaps won't experience all the content any other way, then the company should butt out and let them get on with it, or at least give them an offline mode to do it in.

[Grimmie]

Achievements unlock player portraits, the best being Sarah Kerrigan.
To get that achievement, you have to complete single player on Brutal.

There are so many fucking people with that portrait now it sort of devalues it.
It also scares me.

[FatherJack]

That was the only portrait I wanted from the whole list, yet I can't even beat the first level on Brutal. How dare they deny me that content!

[Grimmie]

I think I played a few levels on hard before telling the computer it was using bullshit tactics.
Then I played the rest of the game on Normal.

I have no idea how you can do the final level on Brutal.

[Joose]

But if someone wants to cheat their way through the singleplayer game, because they've bought and paid for it and perhaps won't experience all the content any other way, then the company should butt out and let them get on with it, or at least give them an offline mode to do it in.

That's my point though. There *are* officially sanctioned cheat codes that you can use to do that. They let you cheat your way through the game, but turn off achievements whilst you do that. The only reason I can see for using he third party cheats is to get achievements. Like Grimmie says, allowing that devalues the achievement.

Think of it this way: instead of reading it as "cheating in SP" read it as "hacking the achievements system".

[FatherJack]

The only reason I can see for using he third party cheats is to get achievements.

Well, that's the only reason I can see, too - but I wasn't making the assumption. Maybe the built-in cheats don't go far enough for some. Or maybe they are hacks to modify the experience.

However the article over at Cheathappens doesn't do them any favours, it like me says people just want to get through the game - although if that is (as you say) possible with the official ones, then that argument falls a little flat. They further discredit themselves by dismissing achievements as merely 'markers' of an individuals progress through a game, which while I personally don't place much value on them, it is adundantly clear that many people do and foolish of them not to recognise that.

[Joose]

Well, that's the only reason I can see, too - but I wasn't making the assumption. Maybe the built-in cheats don't go far enough for some. Or maybe they are hacks to modify the experience.

Well, the official cheat codes that *wont* get you banned will let you:

Enter god mode
Get infinite resources
Disable unit resource requirements
win the current game
get all the research options
make units free

as well as a few other things that the above kinda makes obsolete. Frankly, if you still cant get to the end of the game using those cheats, I can only assume its because you don't have arms. Or a head dobber.

As for modifying the experience: we are talking about a game with one of, if not *the* most flexible game editors for RTS's ever. Fucking about with the game editor wont get you banned.

[Dog Pants]

As far as I can see, the only difference is that we at 5punk don't really give that much of a shit about achievement based willy-waving.

I do!

Secretly anyway. I think it's more the collector in me though. Although a little gloating is fun. It makes my willy bigger.

[Roman Totale]

It makes my willy bigger.

You'd have to sew it back on first.

[Dog Pants]

I did, just in the wrong place.

[Baliame]

I do!

1920 points in Starcraft. I NEED TO GET MORE. I CRAVES DEM.