HOMM2 - What is cheating?
Yu De Lin
What's considered as cheating in Homm2? Especially in multiplayer games.
When your opponent shows up with dragons by week 2, you begin to wonder...
maybe the guy is just lucky, maybe not.
The first thing that comes to mind is using editors to hack into
the save files. This would be the most blatant form of cheating.
What about the less obvious ones?
- Like replacing the opponent with a CPU player (when the other side quits)
and then apply cheat codes to the game?
This is a hassle, and i dont think that many people would do this.
- Loading the map into map editor and see everything.
Or better yet, having the map and the game side by side while
you are playing.
This is can be done easily and leaves no trace to be detected.
What surprised me was that this is a wide spread practice among
the high ranking players! I've always wondered how the other guy can
move through the map with pin-point accuracy? well, now i know...
Having inside knowledge of the map is a huge advantage,
even more so on larger maps. Now my question is how can i remain
competive without resorting to such "tactics"? Resorting to this method
to win a game just goes against my code of gaming ethics.
For me, exploring the map is part of the fun because you'd never
know what you'll run into. Making decisions like which road to take,
which monsters to battle. For some people, everything is just
mechanical, everything is planned out since day one.
That just seem more like work than fun to me. I guess to some people,
winning is more important than anything.
Ok, enough whining, off to more Homm2.
Hopefully my next opponent is an "honorable one"...
ShengLong
Brain Death
On 26 Nov 1997 03:43:48 GMT, Yu De Lin <yu...@cs.buffalo.edu>, clearly under the influence
of several strong ales, claimed:
>When your opponent shows up with dragons by week 2, you begin to wonder...
>maybe the guy is just lucky, maybe not.
There is a cheat that gives you five black dragons provided your hero has an open slot for
them. Don't know if it works in multiplayer or not. And if your opponent has black
dragons by week 2, I doubt if it was luck.
>What about the less obvious ones?
>- Like replacing the opponent with a CPU player (when the other side quits)
> and then apply cheat codes to the game?
>This is a hassle, and i dont think that many people would do this.
I don't think it would work, either--the computer saves the game as a single-player game
if you've replaced your opponent with a CPU player, so if you go to play another
multiplayer session, you won't even see the saved game. You could of course gain
knowledge of the map and events, but there are a lot of easier ways to do that, as you
point out below.
>- Loading the map into map editor and see everything.
> Or better yet, having the map and the game side by side while
> you are playing.
Uh, or using the reveal map cheat--8675309. Again, I don't know if this works in
multiplayer, and whether it reveals the map to your opponent.
>This is can be done easily and leaves no trace to be detected.
>What surprised me was that this is a wide spread practice among
>the high ranking players! I've always wondered how the other guy can
>move through the map with pin-point accuracy? well, now i know...
I suppose that's how they got their high ranking. Cheats and trainers seem okay to me for
single-player games, but it does suck that people take advantage of cheats rather than
trying to win the game fairly in multiplayer.
>Having inside knowledge of the map is a huge advantage,
>even more so on larger maps. Now my question is how can i remain
>competive without resorting to such "tactics"? Resorting to this method
>to win a game just goes against my code of gaming ethics.
Um, play only folks who don't cheat, or folks who can't win even when they cheat. The
first is hard to determine, and the second is not very fun to play.
>For me, exploring the map is part of the fun because you'd never
>know what you'll run into. Making decisions like which road to take,
>which monsters to battle. For some people, everything is just
>mechanical, everything is planned out since day one.
>That just seem more like work than fun to me. I guess to some people,
>winning is more important than anything.
That seems to be the case. Indeed, that's why I seldom play anything on the net,
preferring to play via direct modem hookup with people I know. On the net there's so much
anonymity that plenty of folks cheat who wouldn't dream of doing it to a friend. I'd
rather play against somebody that I can yell at for cheating the next day.
>Ok, enough whining, off to more Homm2.
>Hopefully my next opponent is an "honorable one"...
This is indeed the only answer--locate the honorable opponents or play the game hotseat,
where nobody can cheat without others noticing.
BD
Ronald Gretz
I played HOMM2 for quite a while before I learned about the cheats.
While it was real neat the first time I played a scenario against the
cpu and invoked that 'get 5 dragons thing' several times to make a
"super hero" and then walked it all over the map, I was shocking made
aware when I established a hi score that the game "reminded" me that I
had won by cheating by putting that word next to my name in the hi score
list. Never used the cheat after that 1st experience to win again.
Somehow that lingering reminder at the top of the hi score list has made
it real tough to remove no matter how many times I play it without
cheating now.
--
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Jim Lindsey
Yu De Lin wrote in message <65g5tk$4tl$1...@prometheus.acsu.buffalo.edu>...
>What's considered as cheating in Homm2? Especially in multiplayer games.
>
Useing any cheat codes or the switch that puts you into debug
mode (this allows you to give any seconday abilities, monsters,
spells, unlimited movement to your heroes; as well as to build
anything in your castles for free). Fortunately the newest patch
will tell you if your opponent cheats in any of these ways.
As to using the map editor to see everything, that is considered
cheating in the Oracle League (the largest Heroes gaming league
on the net), but it is impossible to detect (other than your opponent
will seem to take forever on his turns).
You do, however, seem to be saying that planing your campaign
and practicing the map is either a form of cheating or not that
much fun. I disagree. Working on a map and practicing it to
find the best stategy is, for me, what stategy games are all
about.
If you wish to find honorable players, please consider joining
the Oracle League. You can find it at:
www.webleague.com/oracle/
Be Good,
Jim
Lindsey
Yu De Lin
Jim Lindsey <alv...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
: Yu De Lin wrote in message <65g5tk$4tl$1...@prometheus.acsu.buffalo.edu>...
: >What's considered as cheating in Homm2? Especially in multiplayer games.
: >
: Useing any cheat codes or the switch that puts you into debug
: mode (this allows you to give any seconday abilities, monsters,
: spells, unlimited movement to your heroes; as well as to build
: anything in your castles for free). Fortunately the newest patch
: will tell you if your opponent cheats in any of these ways.
yes, the patch is very important for multiplay.
here's the URL for anyone who doesn't have it already.
http://www.3do.com/nwcomputing/download/download.html#IBMPatches
: As to using the map editor to see everything, that is considered
: cheating in the Oracle League (the largest Heroes gaming league
: on the net), but it is impossible to detect (other than your opponent
: will seem to take forever on his turns).
i always thought the longer my opponent took, the better he/she is.
never thought about this other corelation, hmmmmmmmm!
: You do, however, seem to be saying that planing your campaign
: and practicing the map is either a form of cheating or not that
: much fun. I disagree. Working on a map and practicing it to
: find the best stategy is, for me, what stategy games are all
: about.
Maybe you've misunderstood, allow me to clarify...
For me, planning from the information that is gathered LEGALLY is ok.
But, looking at the map editor and planning from there is a no-no.
: If you wish to find honorable players, please consider joining
: the Oracle League. You can find it at:
: www.webleague.com/oracle/
Well, I'm in a few leagues, and Oracle is no exception...
A couple of people have admitted to me personally that they have
used the "map editor cheat", even in tournament games.
And some people have told me that they know quite a few others that
practice this "map editor cheat".
(These are high ranking players who i wish to hold their names anonymous.
I still play against them, but I will consider myself handicapped.)
I hope i'm not over generalizing when i said "this is a wide spread
practice among high ranking players."
I certainly HOPE that this is not true, but from what I've encountered
so far, it seems like this is the case.
: Be Good,
: Jim
: Lindsey
SL