An article on Robocraft Cheating

[katzohki]

I thought I would like to write something to address the problems the Robocraft community is having with cheating (or “hacking”) and hopefully we can come to some conclusions together about why this is happening. Why do good games get hacked?

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In-game cheating (or “hacking”) has become a significant issue in the online game of Robocraft. An update has recently come out to deal with some of the cheating and I hope that it will be very successful, but I think this is still an opportune time to discuss cheating. In this article I will go over my personal experiences with the game and with cheating. The motive behind cheating and the impact it is having on Robocraft will be discussed. Hopefully this will be helpful to the reader in coming to some conclusions about the subject of cheating.

Cheating has been in video games since the very beginning. In many cases, cheats were programmed into the game intentionally. For example GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64 had cheats that could be typed in using the controller to access things like DK Mode or unlock weapons and levels in single-player mode. Personally, the first examples of multiplayer cheating that I experienced were what we called “screen-watching.” Since these games were played with up to 4 players on the same screen a player could cheat by watching the screen of another player to see where they were. Since everyone did it, this more or less became an even playing field where shooting skill mattered the most to win.

Sim Tower was the first game, that I can remember, that I “hacked” by manipulating the game’s code. It was possible to use a program, such as Hex Edit, to change values in the game’s save files. By watching the numbers that changed in connection with the money in-game, I was able to figure out what values in the file to change to give my self billions of dollars. Since I wasn’t very good at the game, this transformed it into something more like a “creative mode” where I could build the tower however I wanted.

Online games, such as Counter-Strike, had cheats developed for them in a similar, but more sophisticated, manner. “Screen-watching” later became known as “LAN cheating” which was unique to playing games like Counter-Strike in PC Cafes. Patches (“hacks” or “1337 H4X0RZ”) were developed that modified the program to allow the user have unfair advantages over other players like auto-aim, x-ray and so on. This impacted the game, and the clan I played with, in a big way, but the game lived on. Reputable servers that reliably banned cheaters became the solution to avoiding them.

Another form of cheating is glitching, which is to take advantage of unintended consequences in the game’s programming. In Counter-Strike it was possible to gain a speed boost by crouch-jumping (“bunny-hopping”). Since everyone did this, it became like the screen-watching and was essentially a level playing field again (I still bunny-hop in TF2). Another more serious glitch was on one map (de_dust) where it was possible to “totem-pole” (climb on top of each other) above the map’s ceiling and walk around in the air. Glitching can have a similar impact on the game experience of others, especially when it is used to gain an unfair advantage over others.

So why do people cheat? The bottom line answer is because “it’s fun.” Dominating, doing well and winning in a match of an online game gives the player a good feeling and rewards our competitive nature. Likewise, losing a match provides a player with disappointment. This “risk-reward” factor is what gives competitive online gaming its fun. When a player cheats to dominate a match he is rewarded with the satisfaction of defeating the enemy team and feeling like he really trounced the other players. You could compare this to the feeling a player gets in a single player game, such as GTA V, when the player takes on a large group of enemies and single handedly defeats them all.

Cheating is also done to gain an advantage over skill. These kind of cheats are less blatant than the insta-kill, dominating types. They can be used to assist with aiming (auto-aim or zero recoil), reveal other players, place weapons in unusual spots and even add points (RP and GC in Robocraft) to the player’s account. This style of cheating is less obvious and less frustrating to other players, but it still provides an unfair advantage and a detriment to the game’s development. Adding these points can allow the cheater to build robots essentially for free without having to progress in the game. Some of the websites that provide these cheats even provide training or discussions on how to use these cheats in a subtle way to avoid detection.

A further reason for cheating is the reaction it generates from legitimate players. Known as “trolling,” the act of intentionally eliciting a negative reaction from a person or group is essentially a form of online bullying. Forum posts, discussions and even this article which denounce, criticize, rage and even attack cheaters are the kinds of reactions that some people love to see. To those people, these reactions provide reward through a “breaking the rules” sense of satisfaction. When the cheaters feel that there is nothing that can stop them, this satisfaction must be greatly increased. Public failures to stop cheating can greatly lead to their satisfaction.

The impact that cheating has on Robocraft, a free to play game, is a clear, real and I would guess measurable one. In an article for PC Gamer on the subject, Gabe Newell is quoted as stating that cheating is “a negative-sum game, where a minority benefits less than the majority is harmed.” The game experience is harmed by cheaters by making it a less fun, even rage inducing experience for all the other players. This harms the user base of Robocraft to the point where some players leave the game. Many others post discussions criticizing the developers, Freejam, for their supposed lack of action. This situation leaves the community with a negative attitude and the fans may be seen in a bad light.

As a developer, at the end of the day Freejam is a business. That means they have to make money in order to survive as a business. As a new indie developer, that is probably a very hard thing to do with a free game. According to their website Freejam was founded “by five guys with a solid belief in one simple game idea.” Based on their photos on the website, I would guess these people are mature, maybe married, people who have responsibilities such as a mortgage or rent, car payments and feeding themselves. And they are relying on the success of a free game to support themselves and their business. I do not think they would be willing to put in the effort and take the risk if they didn’t believe in the game and weren’t willing to do anything to make it succeed.

Cheating in the game takes away from the bottom line of the game’s income. In-game currency (GC or Galaxy Cash) is the game’s main source of income. When the community becomes embroiled with discussions about cheating and a negative attitude fewer new players come to the game. Only a small percentage of players spend real money in the game and fewer players means less revenue for the developers. Buying the GC is almost, in a way, like a “cheat” since it can be used for access to upgrades earlier than would be possible with normal gameplay. It does not, however, give an unfair advantage over other players.

Besides driving players away, cheating affects the revenue of Freejam in a much more direct way. There are cheats that are capable of giving the player Galaxy Cash, Robo Points (both can be used to buy items), Tech Points, robot Garage Slots and even blocks. There is nothing closer to taking money directly from the pockets of the developers than this. Since they rely on people purchasing GC for buying Garage Slots and early access as a source of income, this directly takes away from the bottom line. You could say it’s a lot like stealing and it hurts the developers, badly.

There are some things that as members of the Robocraft community we can do to help. Number one is don’t cheat. Number two is to support the development of the game by spending money on it. Namely that means buying Galaxy Cash. I recommend you use it for more Garage Slots so that you can build more robots. Another way that GC can be used are to convert TP to Uber TP which can be used to unlock higher-tier cubes. Cosmetic items can only be purchased with GC, or you can buy regular cubes (weapons, armor etc) with it.

We can also help by having a positive attitude and patience. Coding isn’t easy and anti-cheat programming takes away from time that could be spent coding in new features for the game. It helps to keep in mind that suggestions as to what needs to be fixed are not necessarily helpful (bug reports and new cheat reports are). Solutions may seem simple, but what is needed is not a quick fix that will simply be undone again, but rather a complex solution to prevent cheating in the long run. Demanding that the developers fix something or threatening to stop playing the game does not help, it hinders.

You can help the development of the game in many other ways. Show the game to your friends, start a platoon together and bring new players to the game. Post Youtube videos, pictures, content of the game and especially your robot builds! Edit the Robocraft wiki to help new players to the game. Coach new players to the game on how to build robots and battle. Give the developers positive feedback when they have made a change that you think is positive. If you want to criticize, do it in a positive way, don’t insult them, but suggest a way in which it could be better. In general have a good attitude and make the community a welcoming place to all.

Good luck, and have fun!

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Thank you for reading, I hope this article is of use to the community and to the developers of Robocraft, Freejam. I hope to see you in-game!

<3 Katzohki

I will cross-post this on the Robocraftgame.com forums.
Here are some other articles, including the aforementioned, on the subject of cheating:
http://www.pcgamer.com/hacks-an-investigation-into-aimbot-dealers-wallhack-users-and-the-million-dollar-business-of-video-game-cheating/#page-1
http://kotaku.com/5919160/one-shot-one-kill-no-skill-why-a-regular-gamer-started-paying-to-cheat-at-video-games
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131557/how_to_hurt_the_hackers_the_scoop_.php

[Freddymc]

Robocraft has lots of hackers because its free, and practically every FPS will have hackers because being in first-person opens many advantages through hacking

[grey]

a whole eassy on hackers and when that first started to hack? it doesnt take someone stupid to know this, this is common knowledge

[Valmorgan]

Good article.

Personally, I think there should be criminal repercussions for cheating in online games.

If you're caught cheating in Vegas you are screwed big time, what is the difference, really.

[katzohki]

Originally posted by Valmorgan:

Good article.

Personally, I think there should be criminal repercussions for cheating in online games.

If you're caught cheating in Vegas you are screwed big time, what is the difference, really.

Two differences:
It's hard to prove, in a court of law, that they have harmed you in some way.
Generally the sites where the cheat programs and forums are downloaded from are hosted in China or Russia. That means you'd have to get Interpol or FBI involved to even get started. The PC Gamer article has some good points on this.

Thanks for the comments :)

[Valmorgan]

Originally posted by katzohki:

Originally posted by Valmorgan:

Good article.

Personally, I think there should be criminal repercussions for cheating in online games.

If you're caught cheating in Vegas you are screwed big time, what is the difference, really.

Two differences:
It's hard to prove, in a court of law, that they have harmed you in some way.
Generally the sites where the cheat programs and forums are downloaded from are hosted in China or Russia. That means you'd have to get Interpol or FBI involved to even get started. The PC Gamer article has some good points on this.

Thanks for the comments :)

Well what the hell are we funding that joke of a UN and interpol for if not for this?

[Starman]

Nice post about cheating and it's effects.

I think the game should require an up front cost of $5. This way it costs a cheater $5 each time he gets caught and banned. He wont be doing it for long. In the end, the devs get money. F2P is an easy target for hackers.

[Darthudd]

Originally posted by Flukester:

Nice post about cheating and it's effects.

I think the game should require an up front cost of $5. This way it costs a cheater $5 each time he gets caught and banned. He wont be doing it for long. In the end, the devs get money. F2P is an easy target for hackers.

Agreed, if they had charged a $10 fee at the start and given a demo, lots of players would still have paid after playing the demo. On top of that give 30 days of premium and game on.

On top of this if game companies used the money they spend on anti hacking as a tax write off, the lazy assed goverments would get off their butts and do something about it.