Do You Use Cheats In Games

[lexluthermiester]

Can you edit poll to allow multiple responses?

I'll second this. It depends on the game.

The only cheat i have ever used //*and still do *// is NOCD cheat. Those pesky DRM systems of yesteryear!

That's not a cheat, it's a bypass patch(or crack if you wish). NOCD patches bypass the disc checking functions and have nothing to do with game play "cheating".

Only cheats I ever used were on the Game Genie or whatever it was for the N64. 90% of what I play now is online multiplayer and there's no way I'm doing that.

Game Genie and Game Shark! I really miss the shear magic of those days!

 

[crazyeyesreaper]

I cheat regularly in certain games to bypass boring bits. For example I love the total war series but using milita or garbage tier armies for 90% of the game is just boring. So ill force upgrade cities so better units can be recruited and I do the same for the AI. That way armies are actually interesting in terms of composition and it brings about further challenges. The AI in those games prioritizes building armies but seldom upgrades cities therefore you end up with lots of armies but they are all fodder. For example Rome Resmastered is great. But I have high tier phalanx / archers / cavalry while the AI has mass armies of generic peltasts and militia hoplites or hastati. Bypassing that to get to the good stuff makes for a better game. Armies regularlly had archers and cavalry contingents but to never see them till mid to late game makes no sense.

Then in some RPGs while i enjoyed the challenge and grind as a kid. As an adult I do not have the free time for that. In which case I may use mods to boost XP gain or levels in order to enjoy the nostalgic memories.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Then in some RPGs while i enjoyed the challenge and grind as a kid. As an adult I do not have the free time for that.

This! I love gaming, but I don't have time to grind. Cheats to the rescue!

 

[Dristun]

Never in multiplayer games but always when there's fun factor to be found in using them like in GTA or, say, The Elder Scrolls games. Using them just to bypass some challenges - nah, if something is straight up not fun to play I'll just drop and move elsewhere.

 

[Shihab]

Used to use cheat codes in the past, partially to mess things up for teh lulz. Harassing hussars with a shiny Shelby and such. And I agree with Lenne. GTA = cheat codes. One does not simply walk into the beach without his thugtools.

I tend to play the first run of a game vanilla. No mods or anything. Replays I may do with some... adjustments. Increasing inventory limits, infinite sprinting, time speedups (mostly old, emulated console games), etc. Walkthroughs are for 100% runs.

 

[Vayra86]

Modding is cheating I cheat all the time.

That said, cheats can destroy a lot of gameplay ahead of you... use with care.

I get most inspired to cheat when gameplay systems or mechanics of progression is executed poorly. Ill strive to make it nice. Good examples are almost every TES game; combat and level progress/skill trees are abysmal (skyrim) or grindy (oblivion) and I aint got time for that. Fallout 3 onwards, more of the same.

Another motivator to cheat or mod is just because games are highly immersive, and I just want my own fantasy/story played out in the game, while the challenge is secondary to me. Total War is an example. Adding or removing challenge or grind there as a function of better immersion. I like my 'creative mode' in more places basically than whats on offer.

Also... my foray into Mount & Blade was one big fest of insta kill cheating because god almighty that shit is boring AF.

 

[GreiverBlade]

I think most users that cheat have copy or pirated games. Users that pay for they game at full retail price are most likely not to cheat otherwise it would be a waste of money.

that statement is totally wrong for, actually, most peoples ... and also it generalise people who use cheat sometime or often to a category that could be insulting for them
luckily you added "i think most" (tho is suspect it would be a few and not most )

cheat=/=piracy and the waste of money is not true either, for example most of the game i use console command or cheat in have a high replayability (or were bought cheap during promotion)
heck, around 200 of my latest aquired solo games were free (thanks Epic/STEAM/GoG ) no wast of money

also people with pirated copy would not use cheat in game that are not worth it, just like "normal" users.

Puzzle games are one thing i would not cheat either

 

[Ivan Bliminse]

(Sometimes When I Can't Progress Further Without Doing Some Cheats.)​

I think this is true for most people (even those who won't admit it) who play games a lot, but so what..... If it gives you that wee-edge in playing an extremely difficult mission then why not..?!

 

[Selaya]

cheating in multiplayer games (esp when there's a game economy involved) is where the fun begins.
mind you, cheating by itself is fairly trivial - avoiding the consequences is the tricky part of it.

 

[Vayra86]

walkthrough isn't cheat lmfao

Why not? You're getting knowledge about the game you shouldn't have. What's the difference in end result? You had a challenge, with walkthrough OR cheat, you remove that challenge

Lots of games float on the absence of knowledge. Some call it mystery. But its really just not knowing everything. The more you game, the smaller that box of potential secrets becomes; you become 'predictive', expectations supported by experience, and intuition. A walkthrough though, reveals all of it, up to and including the comma.

But its really just not having the full knowledge of how the game works, where things are, how things can work beyond what seems logical, etc. That knowledge can be more powerful than a cheat; after all, you have to keep re-entering a line or command to kill all the things or get more money, but armed with the right knowledge, you can simply cakewalk through the game and there are no surprises (while with cheating, you can still get surprised!). Cheating is like a brute force approach, the walkthrough is a guided tour for the easiest walk in the park. They also destroy your sense of 'discovery & progression in the game' in just about the same way, except with the walkthrough you're still doing the busy work of going places by yourself, but progression becomes an irrelevant game aspect; you already know you'll make it and you even know when.

 

[Arco]

Why not? You're getting knowledge about the game you shouldn't have. What's the difference in end result? You had a challenge, with walkthrough OR cheat, you remove that challenge

I agree and disagree. There are parts where you are just stuck sometimes. That's no fun and doesn't progress anything.

 

[Vayra86]

I think most users that cheat have copy or pirated games. Users that pay for they game at full retail price are most likely not to cheat otherwise it would be a waste of money. Anyway, I don't cheat. I normally play another game if I'm stuck & come back to it later. Puzzel solving games can be a pain sometimes, but a good night sleep fixes it most of the time.

I think you're wrong in that assumption and it may be inspired by 'console gaming'. Lots of console titles just simply don't have any cheats or options to tweak the game. That's where you really get stuck in a game, potentially, and that's also where some true enjoyment can come from. There are no ways around said puzzle or challenge. Just do it. Git gud Console games are also more often paid at full retail price.

PC games however are much more of a mixed bag. Some games just want you to cheat as a way to enjoy the game. Other games are so overly grindy, they inspire it in a different way. And yet other games are competitive and online, and some people have deep issues in these environments, they must win, so they cheat to gain a competitive advantage. And then, yes, there are the console-ey games, that are essentially, most of the time, a linear storyline where cheating only shortens the journey, and gains you barely anything otherwise.

Put differently, it'll depend entirely on what type of game and what target audience you're looking at.

I agree and disagree. There are parts where you are just stuck sometimes. That's no fun and doesn't progress anything.

What do you mean, agree or disagree? There is no disagreement that I see, I only see similarities. Whether its fun or not, is each person's own perspective. Apparently a lot of people think cheating is somehow a bad thing and a walkthrough then is supposedly less bad? I don't see that distinction, nor the negative connotation to either. It is what it is, games are entertainment and we're in it to have fun.

 

[Space Lynx]

I cheated in Stardew Valley single player, as much as I love farming sims, I don't want to do 40 hours of watering and planting seeds just so I can build the addons to my farmhouses, lol

I wouldn't cheat in a multiplayer game though. Still glad I did in single player Stardew Valley, because quite frankly, I had a lot of fun. Where as if I had to do 40+ hours of chores to have that same fun, I probably would have burned out before I got there. That being said, I did build up my farm pretty good before doing that. So I got to experience the game it was mostly meant to be experienced, I just don't have the time to grind like I used to, and even if I did, I wouldn't want to grind, life is too fucking short.

 

[QuietBob]

I don't use cheats in principle. I definitely wouldn't use them to beat the game faster or to gain an unfair advantage over the enemy. I don't game that often, so I don't feel I'm wasting my time, or missing out on other titles by not accelerating my in-game progress.

The very few times I recall cheating was in AoE2, and only to counter the AI cheating. In some scenarios -- even at the easiest difficulty -- the opponents would overwhelm you with top tier units at the very outset. Or when victory conditions change mid-game and a huge enemy army spawns, without giving you the chance to re-build or heal your troops after a major battle

Sometimes I use cheat/console codes to experiment with the game, creating glitches and investigating the mechanics. But I wouldn't do this in a regular playthrough.

Being a completionist, I would occasionally resort to a walk/playthrough when unable to obtain a particular item or collectible. But I'd only do that as a last resort, and after multiple failed attempts.

Also, is savescumming considered cheating? I much prefer games that let you save at any moment, and I always use multiple save slots.

 

[R-T-B]

Modding is cheating

I'd say some mods are cheating, but not all mods are cheating by any means.

I mod a lot but I seldom use "cheaty" mods.

 

[xtreemchaos]

i always try to play the game through without any mods/cheats first then anything gos, ive over 80 mods in skyrim and about 60 in fallout 4 it's the best way to make a game never-ending for free.

 

[droopyRO]

None of the above. If the game gets frustrating i lower the difficulty. My first play thru is usually on medium difficulty. I think the last time i used a cheat was way back when i first played GTA 3.