cheating in quest?

[Disneychick74]

The only thing I can think of is some kind of autobot program that allowed someone to have their computer do the work.
But IF that is the case they must be pretty darned smart because to be able to program something like that (I would assume) would take a little time.

But when I ready Yavn's post that was the impression I got...cheaters using a program other than VMK to complete the quest.

 

[TikiDude]

Apparently, he has the same reaction to VMKPal as my mom does to Firefox. They think it's harmful. :O

 

[Dreamytime]

The original fireworks, before re-mixed, out of the clear blue, had some unbelievable scores. In fact the best fireworks players pointed out that they calculated the highest possible scores and these were beyond possibility.

So it became obvious that someone was cheating somehow.

The old fireworks was a simple game to use a macro to play for you. It was repetitive - never changing. It would take any 14 year old with any computer experience less than an hour to set up the macro to play for you.

I cannot see how a macro could have been used to play pirate, mansion or cruise.

*Mansion - just too random
*Pirates - you never know which ship you are going to be so even if you are playing with mules it would be more likely than not to ground yourself than successfully shoot and health
*Cruise - you can take pictures of the animals with a macro - once again they are repetitive and never changing - however the film and gas cans are not.

If there is someone who is actually 'hacking' into the game, then I am seriously impressed. And one has to wonder why someone who is that smart is hacking into a game for pixel profit?

 

[BayKid]

oh please, if vmk was really interested in shutting the quest down because of cheating then why require POTC to be manipulated like it was in order to complete the quest? yeah ppl, it's a form of cheating, and Yavn saying it's "teamwork" doesn't change this....manipulating the outcome of a game ie., agreeing to play a game knowing all would throw the game so one person would win credits, is cheating..now this is not an insult aimed at those who particpated, because you were only doing what you were forced to do in order to participate in the quest...this is an accusation i make against vmk for encouraging this act and basically requiring it....oh the shame lol!!

P.S. know i didn't complete the quest, when i saw what was needed in POTC i refused to continue out of principle though my friends offered to add me to their "team"....and i'm soooo glad i did quit, i enjoyed a fun weekend away from the PC lol!

 

[IlikedisneyandVmk]

oh please, if vmk was really interested in shutting the quest down because of cheating then why require POTC to be manipulated like it was in order to complete the quest? yeah ppl, it's a form of cheating, and Yavn saying it's "teamwork" doesn't change this....manipulating the outcome of a game ie., agreeing to play a game knowing all would throw the game so one person would win credits, is cheating..now this is not an insult aimed at those who particpated, because you were only doing what you were forced to do in order to participate in the quest...this is an accusation i make against vmk for encouraging this act and basically requiring it....oh the shame lol!!

P.S. know i didn't complete the quest, when i saw what was needed in POTC i refused to continue out of principle though my friends offered to add me to their "team"....and i'm soooo glad i did quit, i enjoyed a fun weekend away from the PC lol!

Your exactly right!

 

[GoofyGeggy]

...i enjoyed a fun weekend away from the PC lol!

There was a weekend away from the PC...and away from the Pirates Lobby? I don't believe you!

 

[aengus]

The old fireworks was a simple game to use a macro to play for you. It was repetitive - never changing. It would take any 14 year old with any computer experience less than an hour to set up the macro to play for you.

I cannot see how a macro could have been used to play pirate, mansion or cruise.

*Mansion - just too random
*Pirates - you never know which ship you are going to be so even if you are playing with mules it would be more likely than not to ground yourself than successfully shoot and health
*Cruise - you can take pictures of the animals with a macro - once again they are repetitive and never changing - however the film and gas cans are not.

If there is someone who is actually 'hacking' into the game, then I am seriously impressed. And one has to wonder why someone who is that smart is hacking into a game for pixel profit?

Dreamy you may very well be right, but dont you remember when someone beat scores in fireworks BEYOND what was possible even if all were hit? Someone was replaying stage 5 level 3 over and over. People were angry the high scores of all time were ruined over it.

 

[GoofyGeggy]

Dreamy you may very well be right, but dont you remember when someone beat scores in fireworks BEYOND what was possible even if all were hit? Someone was replaying stage 5 level 3 over and over. People were angry the high scores of all time were ruined over it.

I have screencaps to show the insanity.

 

[Dreamytime]

That was "Before Dream"...Remember I started November 2006 and didn't play Fireworks right away. In fact I played Fireworks for 1 1/2 month before the change to 'Remixed' and had just gotten the 'magic score' in time to get a 5 star and a couple extra to trade.

Truly I remember only the people that dominate the mini-game today were dominating it then (btw, not enough girls on that list!!)

So I guess it is true that you can hack in to play just portions of the game over and over to your point benefit. Sad... They must not have the kinda friends that most of us have...the ones that will play over and over to help you get your score.

 

[aengus]

I have screencaps to show the insanity.

gg I would love that screen shot to tuck away in the archives if you could pm it or post it i would love that

That was "Before Dream"...Remember I started November 2006 and didn't play Fireworks right away. In fact I played Fireworks for 1 1/2 month before the change to 'Remixed' and had just gotten the 'magic score' in time to get a 5 star and a couple extra to trade.

Truly I remember only the people that dominate the mini-game today were dominating it then (btw, not enough girls on that list!!)

So I guess it is true that you can hack in to play just portions of the game over and over to your point benefit. Sad... They must not have the kinda friends that most of us have...the ones that will play over and over to help you get your score.

yes, they really did somehow. I am sure the cheaters thing comes from something similar this time. Wonder if they just got it play more stages then it should, or maybe just score higher per hit. Never know I suppose unless they want to come out and brag.

 

[LittleWoodenHead]

I cannot see how a macro could have been used to play pirate, mansion or cruise.

*Cruise - you can take pictures of the animals with a macro - once again they are repetitive and never changing - however the film and gas cans are not.

Actually, on several screens, there might be one or two animals that vary between 2 different locations. For example: In the second round Forbidden Temple, the first snake can appear in either the archway at the top left or near the entrance to the skull head on the right.

Even if the animals, gas cans and film didn't change, wouldn't the uncertainty caused by lag preclude the effective use of macros? Sometimes it is so bad, you could actually leave a room without seeing a single animal (if you didn't hang around and wait for them, that is.)

 

[GoofyGeggy]

gg I would love that screen shot to tuck away in the archives if you could pm it or post it i would love that

Will do...as soon as I get home after work. Stupid work, getting in the way of my VMK time. When will work learn? (say that five times, fast...)

 

[caribbound]

It's the little old lady from the Caribbean (go granny, go granny, go granny, go!)

Sing with me, now!!

I resent that. Or maybe I should be proud...

I'm a cheater you're a cheater wouldn't you like to be a cheater too?
Yes I use Pal bc I would surely lose the paper containing the titles and passwords of my characters, clones (oh gosh I have about 5, my main being one of them since I didn't like my original title much), and kids regular and born in park characters. Surely you don't expect me to remember it in my 40 yr old outdated brain memory?

The guy informing ppl not to combine TDM bc it doesn't recharge faster might be one for vmk to look into banning, imo, though he could be a sole player on the top 10 daily and never actually joined a team, just did a few clones...which is probably cheating anyway.

At least I don't feel so bad about helping one of my kids through it now. Never even tried to start the other.

 

[redshoe]

I resent that. Or maybe I should be proud...

Definitely proud...although I was actually making reference to the Pirates of the Caribbean mini-game!

And now I have that song in my head. Guess that's what I get, huh?

 

[qruthie]

I'm not convinced anyone cheated on this quest. If there were cheaters, I'd guess they were of the "create a macro" sort. There are all kinds of macros out there such as ones that toss out gazillions of mouse clicks. There may be some that give you an advantage in some of the VMK mini-games. I really don't know as I have no desire to use macros with VMK. I don't want to be banned for such a flagrant violation of VMK values.

Throwing a game is not cheating - at least in VMK. Check the values. They say nothing about throwing a game/cooperative playing. In addition the values say nothing about using answer guides/spoilers. I will even assert that using answer guides/spoilers is not cheating and is in fact, another form of cooperative playing. I see no difference between helping someone complete the Pirates Ship Battle task or helping someone figure out the Shipwreck Graveyard task. Now, I do understand if this type of playing is against one's personal values and I respect that. I understand and respect peoples' choices to not play cooperatively. Please grant me the same respect and understanding when I play VMK within their values. I don't cheat in VMK.

Now, for the mixed messages. We just went through a pirate themed month with games having to do with pillaging and plundering. We were encouraged to behave like pirates. Yet, yavn got upset when we acted like pirates during the big quest. We pillaged, we plundered, we rifled and we looted. We were pirates. And maybe some people actually cheated (much like a real life pirate). To me that is a huge mixed message.

And the biggest mixed message is about cheating. I find it hard to take yavn's complaints very seriously when I can walk into the Main Street Magic Shop and buy magic pins that are specifically designed for cheating in the game of checkers. Apparently cheating is supposed to be against VMK values unless it is VMK sanctioned cheating?

yavn says they learned a lot during this quest. Well, I learned a lot during the Gingerbread/Holiday Room Contest. I guess Main Street USA goes both ways!

 

[BayKid]

I'm not convinced anyone cheated on this quest. If there were cheaters, I'd guess they were of the "create a macro" sort. There are all kinds of macros out there such as ones that toss out gazillions of mouse clicks. There may be some that give you an advantage in some of the VMK mini-games. I really don't know as I have no desire to use macros with VMK. I don't want to be banned for such a flagrant violation of VMK values.

Throwing a game is not cheating - at least in VMK. Check the values. They say nothing about throwing a game/cooperative playing. In addition the values say nothing about using answer guides/spoilers. I will even assert that using answer guides/spoilers is not cheating and is in fact, another form of cooperative playing. I see no difference between helping someone complete the Pirates Ship Battle task or helping someone figure out the Shipwreck Graveyard task. Now, I do understand if this type of playing is against one's personal values and I respect that. I understand and respect peoples' choices to not play cooperatively. Please grant me the same respect and understanding when I play VMK within their values. I don't cheat in VMK.

Now, for the mixed messages. We just went through a pirate themed month with games having to do with pillaging and plundering. We were encouraged to behave like pirates. Yet, yavn got upset when we acted like pirates during the big quest. We pillaged, we plundered, we rifled and we looted. We were pirates. And maybe some people actually cheated (much like a real life pirate). To me that is a huge mixed message.

And the biggest mixed message is about cheating. I find it hard to take yavn's complaints very seriously when I can walk into the Main Street Magic Shop and buy magic pins that are specifically designed for cheating in the game of checkers. Apparently cheating is supposed to be against VMK values unless it is VMK sanctioned cheating?

yavn says they learned a lot during this quest. Well, I learned a lot during the Gingerbread/Holiday Room Contest. I guess Main Street USA goes both ways!

i see what you are saying and i respect your point of view...my opinion is that if you manipulate a game in order to decide the outcome (as in friendly pirates) its cheating, period...now don't get me wrong, i don't mean to suggest it is cheating as defined by vmk rules cuz i don't--there is nothing that says you cannot play "friendly" pirates for credits. and OBVIOUSLY vmk tolerates and even ENCOURAGES it apparently since they set the POTC game points needed to complete the quest at an unreasonable level that no one person could get on their own. now, i make no moral judgements about those who do it...i personally don't play "cooperative" or "friendly" pirates, whatever ppl like to call it, cuz i find it BORING lol...

what i AM annoyed about however is having VMK essentially require me to play pirates that way just to participate in a quest! whether or not you would agree that throwing a game (and that is exactly what ppl purposely do in pirates) is cheating, the fact that VMK endorses manipulating outcomes of games is hypocritical and ridiculous. and to do it on such a grand scale which required the mess VMK made of the lobbies is insulting. This "team" concept encouraged those playing together to essentially treat outsiders like pests by continuously booting them from games. this of course is the norm on any given day when ppl are in there making credits...for a game that prides itself on including newcomers and friends to help one another and act friendly this is unacceptable.

and you make valid points about VMK's mixed messages, especially about the "magic" in checkers which we all know of course as an endorsement of cheating by VMK lol! so hey VMK, don't preach about cheating pleeez! and i disagree with you however, that providing a list of answers to a quest is not cheating--of course it is! maybe it isn't written in a values page on the website, but does it need to be?? try pulling that maneuver in a classroom and see what it gets you...that said, i have been guilty of using them on quests too lol, cuz i'm just too lazy to do the work! but yeah its totally cheating...

now it would be very easy to say "lighten up, it's just a game!" and i would agree. but this quest, and the mayhem and frenzy-like atmosphere that was created because of the prizes given and the MANNER in which a player had to complete it, was just too much and a shame...and i lay my frustration with VMK solely on the POTC portion of the quest. Had VMK not required this "team" approach to the game (which i don't believe is how the game was intended to be played to begin with) and had they not set such a lofty point requirement, almost NONE of this mess would have taken place. i lay the blame ENTIRELY on VMK.....

if VMK learned anything from this (and who knows, MAYBE they did) i hope they remember who the target audience is and don't purposely exclude them from having a good time too...this quest was obviously not meant for kids to complete (even us who are almost ready for the adult club)