There goes the honest internet gaming (if it's true)

[andrei]

ASUS To Enable Deathmatch Cheating

ASUS Computer has announced a new weapon for users of AGP-V7700 and AGP-V7100 series graphics cards--3D SeeThrough technologies. In a press release, ASUS quotes its vice-president, who boasts that the technologies will enable users to see through walls in 3D action games, among other things. The “special weapon” enables a transparent view, a wireframe view and extra light. The press release goes as far to state that people without an ASUS VGA card should not compete against those with one--because the result will be a searing loss in deathmatch and other online competitions.

A really bad day

The world is bad. There´s a shareware tool for game developers available, that allows you to make objects/games transparent or in wireframes. This tool was made to help game developers to optimize their games. But I received 5 e-mails with the URL of this tool in the last hour so it seems this tool is allready very popular and might be used allready by cheaters out there. I think you´ll understand that I won´t post the name or URL of this tool. But you should know that it exists - and make pressure to prevent such things. A really bad day for the gaming community today.... :-(

[This message has been edited by andrei (edited 19 July 2000).]

[paulcs]

Didn't the old Mystique do this?

Paul
paulcs@flashcom.net

[Kruzin]

There was also a voodoo2 card that did this.
All I can say is "how lame". If you're so skilless that you have to cheat like that, you should be playing solitare.

[Gurm]

Umm... if you're playing Quake3 or UT, the software already does an awful lot of backface culling and hidden object removal. How useful will this really be?

- Gurm

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Listen up, you primitive screwheads! See this? This is my BOOMSTICK! Etc. etc.

[Liquid Snake]

WTF? That just doesn't make any sense. As long as I've been playing net games, I've never cheated, except out of curiousity (to see what a cheat did) or for fun.

[xortam]

Hey guys, its just a game. Get over it. Overly ambitious people always find a way to corrupt it to their advantage (kinda like life, huh?). I feel like HPBs "cheat" if they're playing against LPBs. Faster gaming platforms have an advantage over slower ones. There's a lot of work that could be done to help ensure a level playing field, but at what expense? After all, its just a game.

[HollyBerri]

Yeah, xortam, it's just a game, but there's cheating and there's cheating.

Let's face it, such a technology would take all the fun out of any game for anyone who didn't have it... and a lot of people who might buy into it will find that there's no fun to be had either.

I'm sure there's a lot of people who might want it, but there's a lot more who won't.

Plus, every service like Battle.net and Heat.net and maybe even id themselves will probably strong-arm ASUS into dropping this. I mean, who is going to want Q4 (which would probably be another online game) with such a handicap staring them in the face?

And does this kind of thing work on Everquest/Ultima Online kind of games? There's them to consider as well.

Just ugly. I think it'll prove to be a big failure.

---------------------------
Holly

[TnT]

The best part about this issue is Asus' quote. It had something to the effect that this is done to ensure Asus' customers always have the advantage. Says a lot about the guys in suits in a company doesn't it?

xortam, your point about it being just a game is, how should I say, irrational. Because it's a game I shouldn't care if people cheat or not? This doesn't make any sense. I play a game to have fun, but how can I have fun if others use such an exploit. Having a low ping gives players an advantage, but skill is still involved for LPBs and HPBs. While seeing through walls require absolutely no skill.

[xortam]

Its funny how expressions like "its just money", or "its just a game", can evoke such an emotional response. I expected that. Sure you should care if others cheat. My point about it being just a game is just that we should temper our anger. It isn't worth making a Federal case out of it. I think it would be idea if games were developed to assure that all on-line players had an equal opportunity at winning, regardless of their platform and network link. The game would then be one that fairly pitted the skills of each player against another. This equality is not currently the case in FPS on-line gaming, w/o Asus meddling. If the game market determined that it was important enough, it would dictate that these inequities be corrected. Who knows? If Asus does deliver this product, maybe game developers will be pressured into patching these games to prevent it. Is that what we want them spending their time doing? The point is some people cheat. How much do we want to spend preventing this? Is it worth it? After all ...

BTW, Holly, I read the Carmack (Id) was already developing the next in the Doom series, and it was a single-player game.

[Thundrchez]

Yet another reason for me to not like Asus.