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I just want to clear up a few myths and have an actual logical discussion about this problem instead of a flame.
First, there is a difference between hacks and bots. Most games worth 2 cents don't allow the game client to control any data. In these games bots are made to do what the game client does, just without any manual input from the user, it makes virtual inputs for you. This is not hacking. It is annoying but it isn't hacking.
When a game client controls some data Like position data, or data on how fast you can move, the user can just send whatever legal values the game allows to the server. For example, in WoW, if buffs were controlled by the client, a user could send to the server that he always has blessing of kings on, or something like that.
You can see the key difference here, one gives a player an advantage over everyone else, while the other is just people being lazy. The arguement by a lot of people saying the game won't fail because of this is that all games have hacks in them. This is true, to a very limited extent, and yes, WoW has had ligitamate hacks in it. I have seen them myself. However, the difference between the other titles and this one is that hacks in other games get patched VERY quickly. Aion has had 5 patches, and has an upcoming expansion/update with no signs of fixing this issue. Like most games I fear people will talk this down and say Aion is awesome, then when they get to the abyss ( this being a primarily pvp game ) and find out how many people are willing to cheat to win, they will themselves complain about it. On top of this many will revert to cheating who otherwise would not have, just to stay competitive.
On the subject of NCsoft paying companies to delete videos. While it could be true they are just trying to limit the problem ( which is impossible at this point ) it seems like the more likely situation is that they are releasing this game in many countries soon and do not want the bad PR. Many of us have dealt with NCsoft before, they are not above using shady business practices to achieve their goals.
I cannot comment on the deleting of forum accounts on the Korea forums and other forums, individuals who host forums do own them, and have the right to censor them. I can say that banning ligitimate players who are trying to help bring the issue to light by proving it's existance ( because the company, NCsoft Korea NOT NCsoft NA, is pretty much taking a denial stance on this. ) is shutting out their player base. They are reaping what they sow at this point. From everything we are hearing in china and Korea people are leaving in droves. We won't be able to prove that until subscriptions run out and all is said and done.
Many say that it will get patched and it's not a problem. As a game programmer myself ( indie company) I can tell you that this should have been #1 priority after finding out it's existance. Something that effects gameplay this badly should be far above new content and fixing other bugs. On top of that, it is well known in the game industry to not let the clients control data. This is very bad planing and development on the teams part. Also a patch for this is not hard. it really is as simple as moving who controls the data. The data can be controlled the same way, just by the server and not the client. Why they are having problems moving it is beyond me. I don't know if they think gameguard will fix it or what. I can't think they people who are capable of making a game this well and this large would be dumb enough to think gameguard can fix this. They did however use it.....which is also beyond me, as any hacker with half a brain and google can route it easily.
In conclusion, I have preordered Aion, I am not a "Aion will fail" monger. I will play with the rest of us. However I will probably also leave if the issue is not fixed. In a game with such an emphesis on PvP this issue breaks the main gameplay component. I hope against hope that the issue gets fixed because Aion looks lovely, but to play this issue down is a mistake. This is a big deal, and yes, it is a game breaker.
EDIT: Fixed some spelling errors.
Comments
i remember the teleport hack, speed hack, and dmg hack in WoW back in the day, most people dont, thats because blizz took care of them eventually (took like a year or so), people just need to just wait and relax it wont affect you unless they do it in PVP and in which case Admins will just ban that person after so many complaints and reviews, having to spend 50 dollars and re level back to 50 is a pretty strong deterrant for people to continously hack openly
It is still possible to modify position and movement speed in World of Warcraft.
No game developer has the server resources to allocate to controlling these things in a complex 3d MMORPG. It's simply not feasible.
World of Warcraft, of course, has implemented systems to detect illegitimate data automatically. This took a few years. There are still teleport bots in World of Warcraft that mine ore for gold farming companies, because it takes time to confirm a cheater.
Unfortunately, it is simply impossible to prevent people from using these kinds of hacks on throwaway accounts. What's important is being able to punish players for using them. You almost never see somebody speed hacking or teleporting in WoW who isn't a gold farmer because they don't want to get banned.
I'm willing to bet that this issue will be addressed in good time. It's an issue that all games face. You have to give some measure of control over the game to the client in order to have a game that is responsive and can be supported by the server hardware available to you. Aion is not different in this. It's fairly run-of-the-mill for movement and position to be client side. Considering the massive amount of content that has been added to the game in the time that it has been released, I wouldn't be surprised if some cheating detection is being developed and slipped in as well.
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Thank you, I was going to say this. WoW has been out for 5 years and hacks are still around for it.
OP: What hack are you speaking of with Aion?
"There is as yet insufficient data for a meaningful answer."