Where's the self entitled computer/software/network/system/game designer engineering expert who tells us that there's no hacks and/or cheats in this game?! Usually, there's at least one of these fellows in a thread like this

 

That's why I now have a device for recording game play when I believe hacks are happening... someone once told me on these forums there was no such thing as Hacks... did I have video proof?

At the time I didn't, so I said "no"... his response was... "then if you have no video proof, it didn't happen ;)"

Seemed like a hacker just wanted to rub my face in it, that he could get away with doing it...

This really annoyed me to the point that I setup the recording device... since then I take great pleasure in shooting down that statement with backed up evidence... I just wish Bio would tell me where to send it?????

Bio... care to comment?

So much ignorance of how network communications actually work going on in this thread.

 

Someone using a 'lag switch' would not benefit from it. The game would rubber band you back to the position you were at when you re-sync. Using it to avoid envrionmental damage or 'pass the ball after dieing' would not work either - these are things that the server controls. If the server thinks your dead, it automatically handles the ball being transferred, and any packets from a lagged client saying "Hey I'm passing the ball" are ignored (Server: Lol nope, you're dead son). Claims of this happening could be from passes being mid-air while the carrier dies (and could also be combined with the known bug of the pass circle not showing up, but rewatching this on video will clearly show the beacon of light over the carrier disappearing before they die, showing a pass).

 

Similarly, lagging yourself out in a fire trap would not help as the server would know where you are and still apply the damage, and your death.

 

Also, the 'lag attack' that you guys commonly see, the one which affects your framerates, is occured by the server loading a new instance of the warzone for another group of players. This has been noticed if you are the center of huttball at the time, you'll see a bunch of nametags pop up for a few seconds during the lag, then disappear. It also shows up in Novare, right in the center of the map where the speed boost is. Your client is loading, and then unloading the profiles of all these players. Why the system bothers sending this information to a completely different instance is just another case of this game's horribly inefficient coding.

 

Source: I'm a coder on an MMORPG Project.

 

Raw thank you for that explaination few people can get on here and give articulate responses, however the "lag throttles" or whatever you want to call them exsist. It is common knowledge, and on our server(shadowlands) are quite rampant. My headcount currently stands at 32 toons that are banned or suspended. The vast majority for exatly these things other players are commenting about in this thread. I even heard unsubstatiated rumors of entire republic guilds being investigated for their rampant use of a variety of hacks including the lag stuff. Since it is apparantly quite easy to utilize this exploit/hack with either 3rd party software or the "print screen" spam. Its use has increased 3 fold in the last month. Please if you notice something odd, and mean odd (please know that certain talents and abilites are quite often confused with hacks). For example the sentinel in denova that can solo cap the south node whilst being dps'd by no less than 4 enemy players, who then force camos and 10 seconds later (not 4), comes out of stealth and lag throttles his damage so that 3 abilities occur at once and essentially one shots you. That's odd. Or the focus guardian that you are 1v1'ing uses resolute to break your force choke and after some good ole fashioned smashing on both sides, insta heals himself to 100% instantly, and after taking a aoe blind uses resolute (2 min cd) immediatly again! That's odd. and this is just since Yesterday!

So much ignorance of how network communications actually work going on in this thread.

 

Someone using a 'lag switch' would not benefit from it. The game would rubber band you back to the position you were at when you re-sync. Using it to avoid envrionmental damage or 'pass the ball after dieing' would not work either - these are things that the server controls. If the server thinks your dead, it automatically handles the ball being transferred, and any packets from a lagged client saying "Hey I'm passing the ball" are ignored (Server: Lol nope, you're dead son). Claims of this happening could be from passes being mid-air while the carrier dies (and could also be combined with the known bug of the pass circle not showing up, but rewatching this on video will clearly show the beacon of light over the carrier disappearing before they die, showing a pass).

 

Similarly, lagging yourself out in a fire trap would not help as the server would know where you are and still apply the damage, and your death.

 

Also, the 'lag attack' that you guys commonly see, the one which affects your framerates, is occured by the server loading a new instance of the warzone for another group of players. This has been noticed if you are the center of huttball at the time, you'll see a bunch of nametags pop up for a few seconds during the lag, then disappear. It also shows up in Novare, right in the center of the map where the speed boost is. Your client is loading, and then unloading the profiles of all these players. Why the system bothers sending this information to a completely different instance is just another case of this game's horribly inefficient coding.

 

Source: I'm a coder on an MMORPG Project.

 

You are a coder? I doubt it.

 

Little history lesson for you - lag switches are around since the days of Halo 2.

They worked then and they work now and they worked in many games inbetween.

 

The best defense against it is to immediately disconnect the user when the connection is throttled.

That's the approach many games have taken - LoL being one example.

 

Want easy proof that it works in swtor?

1) Find an aggressive mob.

2) Run towards it just before you aggro, then hit the lag switch

3) Keep running past it until you hit the "invisible wall".

4) Toggle the lag switch off and, voila, you are past it without getting aggroed and without getting rubberbanded.

It works every time - you probably could just disconnect/reconnect your cat6 cable to get the same results.

 

What works in PVE, works in PVP.

But using lag switches in PVP is harder because it requires some practice to get the timing right.

Hence, most cheaters prefer speedhack-type software because it is easier to use.

 

Now stop bs'ing people with false information!

Source: I'm a coder on an MMORPG Project.

 

Which means nada without a bit of expansion. I'm COO/CIO/CFO of an infrastructure design and lifecycle management organization. I.E. I buy components and build my own computers every few years.

 

Seriously though, my own experiences in this game differ from your opinion, so I'll go with those.

Edited March 20, 2013 by Joesixxpack

That's why I now have a device for recording game play when I believe hacks are happening... someone once told me on these forums there was no such thing as Hacks... did I have video proof?

At the time I didn't, so I said "no"... his response was... "then if you have no video proof, it didn't happen ;)"

Seemed like a hacker just wanted to rub my face in it, that he could get away with doing it...

This really annoyed me to the point that I setup the recording device... since then I take great pleasure in shooting down that statement with backed up evidence... I just wish Bio would tell me where to send it?????

Bio... care to comment?

 

they want and shoudl review game data, if you see something ticket it so they can review it. Same thing Xboxlive did and caught a lot of people lag switching. always include as much information in the ticket as you can so they can find the person and the game log (no idea how long they keep info but I would assume they maintain some kind of log system). Otherwise you could bug report loot drops to high level gear. forums are jsut for venting, I would never expect them to say anything here, as it would just lead to flame wars, and we are not playing that game we are playing Stun...err I mean Star Wars.

I've heard of lag switches before, and have been paying attention a bit more. There are a couple of people in particular on PoT5 who seem to 'bring the lag' with them when they are close.

 

Or I may be reading into it; in any case I'll watch them a bit longer.

 

I've noticed this. I have seen the speed hack, so I know that's in game. And the stand in the center ball holder thingy in hutt ball and they track sideways back to towards their starting area when they jump out. Not sure what the purpose of that is.

The 30 second lag spikes that often result in a disconnect.

 

It's not the internet. Web pages work fine when it happens. No other games do this to me.

 

But I'm not entirely sure it's a lag hack either. When it happens, I can't get the launcher to start the game again. Web pages are still working fine.

 

There's something specific to either the Hero Engine or Bioware servers that is probably the cause of it. That means no fix is inc so just get used to it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheating_in_online_games

 

read a bit

not sure were to put this but this has been happening to me when i vs this one person in a warzone every single match and i have 4 toons that i pvp with and i get this everytime i am playing against this guy so i just decided to start leaving the wzs when this person is in them.

thats exactly what happens to me and it just happened two matches in a row

 

once right when the enemy team came to my voidstar door and once halfway through a huttball when the enemy team finally started mounting a comeback

Nothing new to me. I've seen people do some lag switching before in warzones. Not sure how they are getting away with it but Bioware should put some more emphasis on catching cheaters that ruin the game.

Where's the self entitled computer/software/network/system/game designer engineering expert who tells us that there's no hacks and/or cheats in this game?! Usually, there's at least one of these fellows in a thread like this

 

Oh they've already enlightened us with their incredible knowledge, oops I mean denial.

 

Oh, okay. Just saw it. I'm more relieved now.

^ this.

 

Nah mate. It's all those shadows needing nerfs!!!

Plenty of hacks in this game, I saw once a sorcerer doing Force Camouflage + Saber Throw...

One of these days someone who actually does hack/cheat whatever you want to label it as will grow some balls and admit it. Why would he do this? Because he no longer cares.

 

This person will be someone everyone knows/trust/believes is a legit player and who is seen participating daily.

This person will finally get bored with the game and say F*** it! Hey dudes, guess what........

 

When this happens a few things will occur.

 

1) The people who say that cheating doesn't exist in the game will have to eat the hat of my choice.

2) The game designers and their suits above them will have to openly address it to the community and fix it asap.

3) The majority of offenders will get banned, the legit players will stay, and once and for all we'll know who the best pvpers REALLY are.

4) PVP will improve which benefits everyone. Number 3 also benefits everyone involved.

 

In addendum to number 2, yes i'm aware that BW has addressed speed hacks etc. I do read the launcher when i log in. I'm simply referring to a NEW "state of the game" "we're dropping the hammer" type of response.

 

Remove the bad apples and the rest of the apples don't spoil = all apples are fresh and ready to eat when you expect them to be.

There are certain players that I always seem to get a lot of lag against. Before that, everything is running smoothly. But then suddenly, I have a frozen screen and then when it goes away I'm dead. The other day I was in Huttball, and it had not been lagging at all, we were tied 1-1. Only a few minutes remaining, and the other team has the ball. I am running with another teammate or two behind the guy with the ball, trying to reach him so I can stop him, but then suddenly, there is terrible lag, and I can't do anything. The defenders couldn't touch the guy, and he ran uncontested to the goal line and scored, and we lost the game on that late goal. It's always strange when something like that happens.

One of these days someone who actually does hack/cheat whatever you want to label it as will grow some balls and admit it. Why would he do this? Because he no longer cares.

 

This person will be someone everyone knows/trust/believes is a legit player and who is seen participating daily.

This person will finally get bored with the game and say F*** it! Hey dudes, guess what........

 

When this happens a few things will occur.

 

1) The people who say that cheating doesn't exist in the game will have to eat the hat of my choice.

2) The game designers and their suits above them will have to openly address it to the community and fix it asap.

3) The majority of offenders will get banned, the legit players will stay, and once and for all we'll know who the best pvpers REALLY are.

4) PVP will improve which benefits everyone. Number 3 also benefits everyone involved.

 

In addendum to number 2, yes i'm aware that BW has addressed speed hacks etc. I do read the launcher when i log in. I'm simply referring to a NEW "state of the game" "we're dropping the hammer" type of response.

 

Remove the bad apples and the rest of the apples don't spoil = all apples are fresh and ready to eat when you expect them to be.

 

I believe you're right about almost everything in this prophecy...except for #3, the bans in particular. At most, they'll, get light suspensions.

 

APB used to publish the names of the players they had banned for cheating - it was amazing how often it would be EXACTLY who you also suspected. The longer players play a game, the more familiar they become with what is/isn't "normal" in PvP....abnormal things aren't rare.

I believe you're right about almost everything in this prophecy...except for #3, the bans in particular. At most, they'll, get light suspensions.

 

APB used to publish the names of the players they had banned for cheating - it was amazing how often it would be EXACTLY who you also suspected. The longer players play a game, the more familiar they become with what is/isn't "normal" in PvP....abnormal things aren't rare.

 

Your right about the suspensions. If Bio were really serious about the problem they would ban for more than a week at a time. I "know" of players who have been banned for speed hacking at least 5 or 6 times (they know my feelings on this and I have since left the guild). They only get banned for a week. Seeing as how they only play the game once a week or so, this has absolutely no effect on them.

Bio needs to bring in a better deterrent than one week... "before a few bad apples" destroy the game.

 

I also whole heartedly agree with publishing their names and guilds. I have been advocating this for a awhile and have suggested it to Bio. They seem to be soooo worried about these peoples privacy they won't do it.

Well if they are banned completely from the game... and if there is no real life personal information disclosed... WHAT DOES IT MATTER?????

 

Who agrees we should have a Name and Shame forum Sticky for the caught cheaters who get banned?

If so, I would gladly sign a forum petition to make this happen...

Anyone willing to start a petition topic, asking Bio to do this?... I'm guessing if enough of the community wanted it, then Bio might do something.

 

I also started another thread at the beginning of the month, asking what the community actually thought of hacking... not much response to it yet... please have a look and add you thoughts

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=609152

it would certainly make the legit subscribers feel better and maybe be a deterrent to those using cheats

 

i'd read it first thing every morning see if there's anyone i know on it. like seniors and the obituaries

I'm not gonna lie, I feel that this is happening quite a bit. There are a few players that when I'm against them in WZ's, my packets will spike enormously throughout a match -- as you said -- at critical times.

 

This ^

I sometime play the game tethered to my phone over a 4G connection. During a recent match, I was about to score in a hutball match. A guardian got in front of me and pushed me into the pit. Next second, I am back in the endzone and I score. It's clear to me that a lag spike over my cell connection just went massively in my favor. On the other hand, it was unintentional.

 

Just throwing this out there. This game is full of cheaters, so I am not trying to suggest people are not exploiting lag in their favor. My best guess is that they are. That said, I expect that guardian thought I cheated.

 

(Why do I play tethered? I travel for work. I play on a laptop and often the hotel internet sucks way worse than my cell phone's 4g)

Edited March 21, 2013 by KamujinKravshera

I'm not gonna lie, I feel that this is happening quite a bit. There are a few players that when I'm against them in WZ's, my packets will spike enormously throughout a match -- as you said -- at critical times.

 

Hmm... I started thinking I was going paranoid, but since there seems to be numerous persons agreeing they experience the same thing, I feel a little relieved.

 

For the story, today I faced an Operative who made me freeze each time he popped from stealth. There was even a time I freezed for several seconds, and when the image started being normal again I was falling dead as he just delivered the killing blow (from 100% to 0% health).

Basically, if it appears to a kind of cheat, he sadistically allowed me to see my last second of life.

Edited March 21, 2013 by Altheran

I have Started a name and shame Petition... please sign if you agree

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?p=6031298#post6031298

Beta tester here. Founder. Pro. I've played all classes of all MMOs. I've been working for years as a [fill accrd. to convenience] expert and I'm the best [fill smth. appropriate] on my server. My dad is rich. My mum was a prom queen. My dog has won several contests. And I tell you: There's no such thing like cheating or hacking. Edited March 22, 2013 by Cretinus

Just like to say all hacking vids i've seen its the imps doing it just sayin