Cynistra Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) Ok, there is alot of QQing going on the forums now about how Bioware is or should handle what they consider to be exploits. So I decided to make this thread to educate those players about what an exploit is and the most common ways to handle that kind of issues. I will start with the definition of an exploit, in context (gaming). An exploit, in gaming, happens when a player finds a loophole in the game rules and use it to gain an unfair advantage. In single player video games, the only person you are hurting, if at all, is yourself. In a MMO environment, it can hurt the gameplay of thousands by giving the player(s) who are exploiting an unfair advantage over the others. Now, move on to how do one know if it is a bug or intended gameplay? I have been playing MMOs over 15 years and I have exploited more than most of this community could even think of and that, for different reasons. Every single time I exploited a video game, I knew what I was doing was reprehensible and that I was risking a ban, a rollback or to simply lose my account forever. I was taking the risk to get punished for what i was doing. Most exploiters think exactly the way I am, as in they know what they are doing is an exploit. If you are wondering if what you are doing is an exploit, it probably isn't, but if you continue to behave that way, you might get punished for it. To identify an exploit, simply ask yourself, did the devs intend this particular situation to be played that way? and if your answer is no, they did not, then it is an exploit. If you can say, without any doubts, yes, it is intended gameplay, then there is a great chance it is NOT an exploit. If you can't answer the question and do not want to get caught, report it as a bug and get out, as if you move in, you might be considered to be taking advantage of it. Some exploits can cause alot more harm than others and every exploit should be examined and actions have to be taken accordingly. An example is worth more than anything to represent my point: People taking advantage of a bug that let them change the color of their armors causes very little harm compared to a bug that freezes a a raid boss and thus gives the team a free kill and free loot (note: those are pure fictional examples and, to my own personal knowledge, does not happen in SWTOR). Those two issues should and must be handled very differently by the company. as far as actions taken against exploiters, it can vary from restoring the items/stats/gains to their original state to a permanent ban from the game. It can also vary depending on the company's own tolerance concerning exploits. Most of the minor exploits will be worth only an email telling you how bad you are for cheating (from personal experience). There is no definition of how a company will handle this kind of behavior as it is entirely up to them. To clarify some points, I would like to let everyone know I am not exploiting games anymore, as I left behind the competitive gameplay in MMOs. As many players who are or were involved in such things as world firsts or any other kind of competition could tell you, if competitors are exploiting, you have to, would it be just to remain competitive. I am aware this is not a good reason to exploit, heck even to go out of your way to try and break the game, but what I have done is done. It is only now I can realize how bad it can be for a community. Go ahead and hate or like as this thread was made to educate those people who might be interested in knowing more about this topic. I will not debate on this. EDIT: To report a bug you can press the "\" key (default). This will open the bug report window. Simply fill the bug report with as many details as possible. doing this really helps the devs into finding a solution for a fix. If you remapped your keyboard, simply press the "?" button on the top of your screen and select bug report. Edited January 23, 2012 by Cynistra
Turelus Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 Great thread, thank you! I really can't believe people who exploit get upset when they're punished, they knew what they were doing. For those few who really are not aware I feel for them but it's uncommon to exploit heavily and not know what you're doing.
Dodger-San Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 I had a quest yesterday that I could not win. As a Jedi Sage / Healer I had to go through a few groups of Sith Elites and mid level guys, but they were in bunches of 3. I just couldn’t take them all and most of the time I couldn’t take one of the 3 either. Then I noticed that there are stacks of crates positioned around the place, each one was set in 'steps'. So... I tried it, I climbed to the top and sent my companion in backed up with force throw and quake. They slapped my companion down pretty quick but then they lined up to take me on, one at a time instead of ganging up on me. I was able to take all 3 of them down. Then when I thought I was done I started the next phase of the quest and ran to the same thing all over again but this time without the stacks of creates to climb up on, I was waxed quickly and am now stuck of course. But... was that an exploit I did?
Cynistra Posted January 23, 2012 Author Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) I had a quest yesterday that I could not win. As a Jedi Sage / Healer I had to go through a few groups of Sith Elites and mid level guys, but they were in bunches of 3. I just couldn’t take them all and most of the time I couldn’t take one of the 3 either. Then I noticed that there are stacks of crates positioned around the place, each one was set in 'steps'. So... I tried it, I climbed to the top and sent my companion in backed up with force throw and quake. They slapped my companion down pretty quick but then they lined up to take me on, one at a time instead of ganging up on me. I was able to take all 3 of them down. Then when I thought I was done I started the next phase of the quest and ran to the same thing all over again but this time without the stacks of creates to climb up on, I was waxed quickly and am now stuck of course. But... was that an exploit I did? EDIT: I do not pretend to have a definite answer to this question, only my personal opinion based on previous experiences. The final decision as to what an exploit is or is not, is solely to the discretion of Bioware. I would also like to discourage anyone to post anything that could be an exploit on the forums, as this is against the terms of use. thank you. Edited January 23, 2012 by Cynistra
Cynistra Posted January 23, 2012 Author Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) Great thread, thank you! I really can't believe people who exploit get upset when they're punished, they knew what they were doing. For those few who really are not aware I feel for them but it's uncommon to exploit heavily and not know what you're doing. Thank you for the support. EDIT: the interesting part of your post here is the word heavily. This is very important in the sense that most likely the players who found an 'exploit' and moved on (not repeating it continuously) will not get any kind of sanction. To be considered exploiting it needs to be done in an excessive manner. Using your judgment is the most efficient tool you have in your possession to avoid exploits. And please, if you care about playing a healthy game, report the bugs you find. Thank you all. Edited January 23, 2012 by Cynistra
Hamsterkill Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) EDIT: I do not pretend to have a definite answer to this question, only my personal opinion based on previous experiences. The final decision as to what an exploit is or is not, is solely to the discretion of Bioware. I would also like to discourage anyone to post anything that could be an exploit on the forums, as this is against the terms of use. thank you. That is not to say you shouldn't report exploits that you come across to Bioware. They need to know about them so they can be fixed. Edited January 23, 2012 by Hamsterkill
KipMalice Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 (edited) To identify an exploit, simply ask yourself, did the devs intend this particular situation to be played that way? Sweet I am exploiting every time I get stuck or can't finish my quest! Guess I better stop crashing to desktop before I get banned. I guess I shouldn't zone when I have things in the crafting que because it instantly creates items. The rampant amount of bugs in this game it is almost impossible to not exploit. Edited January 23, 2012 by KipMalice
Cynistra Posted January 23, 2012 Author Posted January 23, 2012 That is not to say you shouldn't report exploits that you come across to Bioware. They need to know about them so they can be fixed. Yes, I am aware of that. For those who would like to report bugs/potential exploits, there is a feature to do so ingame. I edited the OP to let people know how to correctly report a bug. I was only trying to avoid people filling this thread with exploits/bugs, as this is not the place to discuss them, I can help people by giving them my personal opinion on the matter in PMs.
KipMalice Posted January 23, 2012 Posted January 23, 2012 Yes, I am aware of that. For those who would like to report bugs/potential exploits, there is a feature to do so ingame. I edited the OP to let people know how to correctly report a bug. I was only trying to avoid people filling this thread with exploits/bugs, as this is not the place to discuss them, I can help people by giving them my personal opinion on the matter in PMs. From early access until now there is a SEVERE crafting exploit that I have reported a dozen times and it is still here. Reporting does nothing. Crafters are going to be so far ahead of people it's not even funny. Literally days of crafting time cut into seconds because BW can't get off their butt and fix it.
Cynistra Posted January 23, 2012 Author Posted January 23, 2012 Ok everyone, as I said before, I will not going to debate over what an exploit is or is not in this thread. If you want my opinion on the matter, send me a PM and take it for what it is, MY personal opinion, not Bioware's. My only goal with this thread is to educate players about 1) What is an exploit in general? 2) An easy way to identify an exploit 3) what they are being exposed to if they are caught exploiting.
Cynistra Posted January 23, 2012 Author Posted January 23, 2012 From early access until now there is a SEVERE crafting exploit that I have reported a dozen times and it is still here. ... Thank you for reporting the bug. You might want to edit your first post that describes how to reproduce this bug. I do not want anyone to get a sanction for participating in this thread nor this to become a thread to look at for exploits. I hope you understand my point. As to the bug not being fixed yet, I am sorry to hear that. Some of the bugs I have found have been fixed, some not. It is how it is and the priority Bioware puts on bugs is beyond my knowledge or power. I can give you my take on bugs in private if that is what you want.
Recommended Posts