15 replies to this topic

[Kalx]

With so many threads about how people should not have been banned for abusing a bug in game (which implies it's ANet's fault for letting said bug exist), I wonder why that happens.

Most of the times, it's because of the thrill of rewards: by performing an exploit, the player is rewarded in unusual and unintended ways, such as with extra money, weapons or karma, whilst reporting it gives you nothing back, and is frowned upon by the majority.

Now I wonder: what if ANet started a system in which if you found an exploit, reported it, and it gets confirmed and fixed by the devs, the player receives a reward? Stuff like unique item models, or maybe "special" items as black lion keys, transmutation stones and boosters. I know a few games that had this feature, such as GunZ for instance, where you got a bug-finder armor.

This would make players think twice before abusing an exploit and have players actively "working" for them in those findings, almost as a secondary QA team, eager for the rewards they can get for finding such a thing.

So my question is, would you report a bug instead of exploiting if a system like this was implemented?

[Zorpen]

Coll idea, but its just as if you were rewarded for obeying lets say traffic regulations in real life, or not stealing something from some shop when owner forgot to lock it for the night.

EDIT:
I may be wrong but im pretty sure that not exploiting is part of the EULA, so you wont be rewarded for doing so.

Edited by Zorpen, 31 August 2012 - 12:16 PM.

[Kalx]

Zorpen, on 31 August 2012 - 12:13 PM, said:

Coll idea, but its just as if you were rewarded for obeying lets say traffic regulations in real life, or not stealing something from some shop when owner forgot to lock it for the night.

EDIT:
I may be wrong but im pretty sure that not exploiting is part of the EULA, so you wont be rewarded for doing so.

I'm not saying you will be rewarded under the current system, but to avoid stuff like the weapon exploit and whatever comes next, it would be a helpful system that would encourage players to not abuse the bug at all, because as it seems, the potential for a ban is not quite enough to shy players away from the "dark side"

[Scyn]

Zorpen, on 31 August 2012 - 12:13 PM, said:

Coll idea, but its just as if you were rewarded for obeying lets say traffic regulations in real life, or not stealing something from some shop when owner forgot to lock it for the night.

EDIT:
I may be wrong but im pretty sure that not exploiting is part of the EULA, so you wont be rewarded for doing so.

Not using an exploit and reporting it are two separate ideas. I'm not aware of anything in the EULA that requires you to report anything out of the ordinary. What he's suggesting is more along the lines of a bar owner offering you a free drink for pointing out a way that people could scam him.

[K0tY]

We should totaly reward the honest and good people, because everyone is bad, so if you found a good person, he should be rewarded for that.

[KazNaka]

I agree. Honestly speaking, if I found an exploit that's virtually undetectable, I'd probably continue to exploit it instead of reporting. The reward would have to be good enough to outweigh the opportunity cost of continuing to exploit.

I know exploiting is breaching the EULA in the first place, but I'm just talking realistically here.

[Coren]

I report exploits no matter what, my reward is a balanced game. Fair play.

I'm sorry but your idea is backwards and counter productive. If you need a little sweet for doing the right thing, then best go to kindergarten, they reward children for this sort of thing.

Do the right thing for its own sake, or don't bother.

Edited by Coren, 31 August 2012 - 01:14 PM.

[Zorpen]

KazNaka, on 31 August 2012 - 01:04 PM, said:

exploit that's virtually undetectable

There is no such thing, ANet is constantly monitoring exp/items/gold or whatever gaining by any given player.
You are not (no offence) alpha and omega and if you find an exploit i bet many other players will too.

[Coyote]

A nomal player that does do it once or twice and reports gets the benefit of the unexpected reward from the error. It is only those that abuse and or don't report that get suspended or banned.

[AMIX_GW2]

Coren, on 31 August 2012 - 01:07 PM, said:

I report exploits no matter what, my reward is a balanced game. Fair play.

I'm sorry but your idea is backwards and counter productive. If you need a little sweet for doing the right thing, then best go to kindergarten, they reward children for this sort of thing.

Do the right thing for its own sake, or don't bother.

^THIS

[Dahk]

Kalx, on 31 August 2012 - 12:08 PM, said:

So my question is, would you report a bug instead of exploiting if a system like this was implemented?

You really should never exploit a bug without expecting to eventually get banned.  It's too damn easy to get caught for stuff like this in an MMO, yet it never fails to surprise me at how many people think they can get away with it.  I guess people just see their friend that exploited the bug and think "WELL THEY DIDN'T GET BANNED, MUST BE OK!!!" and do it, but few realize that you rarely see the punishment dealt for a bug until a while after it's been exposed.

[Kalx]

Coren, on 31 August 2012 - 01:07 PM, said:

I report exploits no matter what, my reward is a balanced game. Fair play.

I'm sorry but your idea is backwards and counter productive. If you need a little sweet for doing the right thing, then best go to kindergarten, they reward children for this sort of thing.

Do the right thing for its own sake, or don't bother.

I know, I actively report stuff like this for no reward as well. My idea is to reach a whole lot more players, those who are tempted to exploit a bug instead of abusing it and ruining the game for others.

Giving a reason to not exploit the bug would help in the way that, sometimes, by the time the bug is fixed and people are banned, the damage to the whole community is already done.

Edited by Kalx, 31 August 2012 - 02:19 PM.

[Coren]

Kalx, on 31 August 2012 - 02:17 PM, said:

I know, I actively report stuff like this for no reward as well. My idea is to reach a whole lot more players, those who are tempted to exploit a bug instead of abusing it and ruining the game for others.

Noble but naive. The moment someone other than Anet doesn't offer a reward for playing fair they'll feel cheated and go back to being exploiters or uncaring about exploits.

Same goes for when you raise a child. If you give a sweet for them to behave, they'll behave. The MOMENT you stop they'll go back to being undisciplined. Educate children to learn how to behave. Same goes for gamers.

[KazNaka]

Dahk, on 31 August 2012 - 01:25 PM, said:

You really should never exploit a bug without expecting to eventually get banned.  It's too damn easy to get caught for stuff like this in an MMO, yet it never fails to surprise me at how many people think they can get away with it.  I guess people just see their friend that exploited the bug and think "WELL THEY DIDN'T GET BANNED, MUST BE OK!!!" and do it, but few realize that you rarely see the punishment dealt for a bug until a while after it's been exposed.

but what if it's not a bug per se. What if it's just the game mechanic, and you found some sort of loophole in the system, and perhaps the reward isn't as extreme as an exploit (like infinite ____) but enough to give unusual advantage over others? Would you report it then? Could you even get banned for such a thing? People would think not and keep doing it.

[Dahk]

KazNaka, on 31 August 2012 - 03:31 PM, said:

but what if it's not a bug per se. What if it's just the game mechanic, and you found some sort of loophole in the system, and perhaps the reward isn't as extreme as an exploit (like infinite ____) but enough to give unusual advantage over others? Would you report it then? Could you even get banned for such a thing? People would think not and keep doing it.

If you think that you MIGHT get banned for it, you probably will.  I've been playing MMOs for almost a decade now and I've lost count of all the people I've seen get banned for abusing something that they conveniently rationalized as not being a full bug.

[NickOfTroy]

Absolutely no reason this shouldn't be implemented, OP