Why should I be branded a cheater for playing with a larger screen?

[UODigDug]

Hello everyone, I thought I would come on and ask this question since cheating seems to be a hot topic at the moment.

I've played UO on and off since it began, numerous accounts and never any problems, hell, I remember the times when a desktop monitor couldn't even display what UO can! Anyway, I won't bore you with the background, let's get straight to the point.

With the developers and players stance on third-party programs (Please note I will not name the program in question due to the rules), why am I branded a cheater for using said program to force my screen size to a higher resolution? Surely this functionality should be in the client already, or at least patched in. If a third party can do it, why can't the "official developers"? I'm not a regular player, but when I do get a chance to log on I like to craft and decorate, I'm not a hunter or a money maker, I wouldn't even say I was rich, or close to it.

However, I can't play this enhanced, still-in-beta-and-unfinished, client which seems to be the.. Wait, how many clients now? Regardless of this fact, I like my 2D, I own a copy of UOAssist, something which I no longer use, simply because it lacks the one feature which the "illegal" program in question has, the ability to force my game screen size.

What's wrong with the default size? Let's be honest, in this day and age of huge TV's, that resolution is beyond small, I play on a 40" LCD and as you'll see by the pictures below, you can hardly see anything. Why should EC players have all the benefits, this feature doesn't give me any unfair advantage, sure it does show the odd graphical error which is rare, but otherwise it runs perfectly, once the gumps are set up such as my backpacks and journal you can rarely tell. It could at least be put in the options as a feature not supported but is available, just like other games do.

So I pose it to the community, just for using a feature which is already available via the enhanced client, yet isn't in 2D, why should this ability brand me as a cheater? I do realise that some people say this program does allow people to cheat, though I am unsure how, what I have seen from comparing with UOAssist are near enough the exact same features. (For that don't know the program, it is not a scripting one)

Also to note, I have not been caught, banned, infringed, or in any way penalized or questioned for this, it was simply because I felt someone needed to post about it. If we could keep this discussion mature and not start a flame war on speed hacks and things people do in player vs player then that would be great, I have no interest in such and isn't the purpose of this topic. Thanks.

Here is the default UO on the native resolution of my 40" LCD:
imgPlace.com - Image Hosting - Free Image Hosting - Free Image Uploading - image 84153

Here is the increased resolution:
imgPlace.com - Image Hosting - Free Image Hosting - Free Image Uploading - image 8260

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

Why should EC players have all the benefits

E = ENHANCED.

 

[Merion]

You're mixing up 2 things here:

1. Should the classic client support higher resolutions? Maybe...

2. Do you violate the rules by using a third party program? Yes? Then you're a cheater.

No matter the intentions, reasons or damage done to other.

 

[jack flash uk]

WOW, just WOW really?


Dev's sort this out, i love 2d, never will play enhanced, and I WANT THIS!!!!!!!!!! thanks for sharing you horrible bad cheater you!

 

[Budwieser]

Hello everyone, I thought I would come on and ask this question since cheating seems to be a hot topic at the moment.

I've played UO on and off since it began, numerous accounts and never any problems, hell, I remember the times when a desktop monitor couldn't even display what UO can! Anyway, I won't bore you with the background, let's get straight to the point.

With the developers and players stance on third-party programs (Please note I will not name the program in question due to the rules), why am I branded a cheater for using said program to force my screen size to a higher resolution? Surely this functionality should be in the client already, or at least patched in. If a third party can do it, why can't the "official developers"? I'm not a regular player, but when I do get a chance to log on I like to craft and decorate, I'm not a hunter or a money maker, I wouldn't even say I was rich, or close to it.

However, I can't play this enhanced, still-in-beta-and-unfinished, client which seems to be the.. Wait, how many clients now? Regardless of this fact, I like my 2D, I own a copy of UOAssist, something which I no longer use, simply because it lacks the one feature which the "illegal" program in question has, the ability to force my game screen size.

What's wrong with the default size? Let's be honest, in this day and age of huge TV's, that resolution is beyond small, I play on a 40" LCD and as you'll see by the pictures below, you can hardly see anything. Why should EC players have all the benefits, this feature doesn't give me any unfair advantage, sure it does show the odd graphical error which is rare, but otherwise it runs perfectly, once the gumps are set up such as my backpacks and journal you can rarely tell. It could at least be put in the options as a feature not supported but is available, just like other games do.

So I pose it to the community, just for using a feature which is already available via the enhanced client, yet isn't in 2D, why should this ability brand me as a cheater? I do realise that some people say this program does allow people to cheat, though I am unsure how, what I have seen from comparing with UOAssist are near enough the exact same features. (For that don't know the program, it is not a scripting one)

Also to note, I have not been caught, banned, infringed, or in any way penalized or questioned for this, it was simply because I felt someone needed to post about it. If we could keep this discussion mature and not start a flame war on speed hacks and things people do in player vs player then that would be great, I have no interest in such and isn't the purpose of this topic. Thanks.

Here is the default UO on the native resolution of my 40" LCD:
imgPlace.com - Image Hosting - Free Image Hosting - Free Image Uploading - image 84153

Here is the increased resolution:
imgPlace.com - Image Hosting - Free Image Hosting - Free Image Uploading - image 8260

With a larger screen res your char can see farther out. During a champ spawn or harrower I can see the advantage right away for fields.

So yes, your a cheater. Too bad you had to make a new account to hide who you really are. Maybe you knew the answer befor you came here then?

If you cheat or think you cheat, don't make a new stratics account and come here to find out. You alrdy know the answer when you hide.

The Bud.

 

[UODigDug]

With a larger screen res your char can see farther out. During a champ spawn or harrower I can see the advantage right away for fields.

So yes, your a cheater. Too bad you had to make a new account to hide who you really are. Maybe you knew the answer befor you came here then?

If you cheat or think you cheat, don't make a new stratics account and come here to find out. You alrdy know the answer when you hide.

The Bud.

Thanks for the repy Budwieser, you are right in that I already knew the answer, that is why I asked the question about being branded as one. However, you are slightly mistaken in the way you have seen it.

Back before the Enhanced Client this option existed, however, if enabled everything out of the standard 2D viewing space would be greyed out, basically it was useless, you could still see terrain but anything that went into the grey area such as a player/effect/npc/animal would vanish just as it should. When they created the EC client, the developers removed this grey space so that the EC would have the ability to view a larger area, this fixed the issue with the 2D client as well. But, the viewing distance is exactly the same, the field of view is still a set amount of tiles and anything that goes beyond that vanishes, only the terrain remains, which is exactly the same as the EC. You can see this when viewing a house at the edge of the screen, most of it vanishes and is replaced by grass because it is out of your vision. So I'm afraid it doesn't give you any advantage over what the enhanced client can display. Hope that is helpful.

 

[UODigDug]

Test

 

[Babble]

Hmm, does not change resolution, just what you can see.

There are some free programs out there though which change the resolution of the monitor when you start a program?

 

[jack flash uk]

With a larger screen res your char can see farther out. During a champ spawn or harrower I can see the advantage right away for fields.

So yes, your a cheater. Too bad you had to make a new account to hide who you really are. Maybe you knew the answer befor you came here then?

If you cheat or think you cheat, don't make a new stratics account and come here to find out. You alrdy know the answer when you hide.

The Bud.

Not wanting to start a fight here, but the EC gives you that advantage already

 

[Lord Chaos]

With a larger screen res your char can see farther out. During a champ spawn or harrower I can see the advantage right away for fields.

So can someone using the EC.

So yes, your a cheater.

He's a TOS violator, not a cheater. Big difference.

 

[Lord Chaos]

As long said...lots of the "cheats" are things that overcome deficiencies of the game, most of those could be fixed by the devs simply upgrading the game to include these features.

The problem is that these very holes in the game are the things that scare people away into other games.

 

[T-Hunt]

Dam that be nice to build house with...

Or take pics of your town or village set up..

I realy dont see what advantage this would have in champ spawn ,,,other then seeying a little more of the area..

And i think most groups have pop ins blocked or guarded....

EC is nice but i still find it gets blurry and hard on the eyes as you run...

I dont know any more i think il just play the game until im borred and move on...

 

[Viper09]

You're a cheater in the sense that you're illegally getting abilities for the CC that others can't get who also use the CC.

 

[ChReuter]

Well Dig, I know that on a topic such as this there are many different opinions, so really posting this question here will get you nowhere. My view though is that your paticular brand of "cheating" is no issue with me. As I stated in another post here recently, prior to UOA being UOPro, a lot of players (Even a good percentage of those who were vocally anti-cheat) used it and others even though they were not approved. With those of course, it all depended on how you used it. I feel this falls under the banner of a feature not added that should be, and like the early days of uo with it's very inadequate macro system, some players used outside means to solve the problem. Was it wrong? I suppose, but I didn't care.

 

[Ox AO]

How did you get rid of the gold trm? My view I have the gold trim I couldn't get rid of.

This is on a 21" monitor:
YouTube - UO video expansion

Face it I don't know anyone that plays in the old video format.

My opinion on cheating is using scripts for constant use.

 

[ChReuter]

How did you get rid of the gold trm? My view I have the gold trim I couldn't get rid of.

This is on a 21" monitor:
YouTube - UO video expansion

Face it I don't know anyone that plays in the old video format.

My opinion on cheating is using scripts for constant use.

I'm a complete idiot when it comes to computers... I think figuring out how to use skins for windows, and than firefox was possibly my biggest achievement computer base ever!

Therefore, you now have met someone who uses the original format! Nice to meet you.

edit: Btw, I have a feeling you post will be thrown into the void very shortly, so I'm guessing that this reply will have to go also. :<

 

[Ox AO]

I seriously want this resolution in the Classic Client. If using this brands me as a cheater then where the hell can I sign up?

If the UO Devs were'nt useless maybe they'd include this in the 'booster'?? *hint hint*

Many years ago a developer discussed this and said they couldn't correct the shadow problem.

which is a shadow that gets picked and doesn't go away until you pass out of view. It really is very sloppy sometimes. on both side of your character you get a dark spot that you can not see a thing.

in that clip is an example of a shadow i am referring to just before the gold trim is moved around which clears it.

 

[Ox AO]

ChReuter said,
"I have a feeling you post will be thrown into the void very shortly"

To be honest I do no understand why.

This issue should be dealt with years ago.

Forcing us to play a 13 year old game on 13 year old computer technology.
It is just ridiculous at this point.

 

[Fink]

With a larger screen res your char can see farther out. During a champ spawn or harrower I can see the advantage right away for fields.

Not wanting to start a fight here, but the EC gives you that advantage already

I think EC only shows you the fixed map to those extents and the update range of dynamic objects is about the same as CC. Maybe I'm just used to the larger screen resolution.

The OP, just switch to fullscreen mode or lower your screen resolution. If you feel you need this hack, then clearly it's cheating. You're playing a 17yo piece of software on a mid-range monitor. What were you expecting? Do you boot with Windows 3.1? Do you backup on 5.25" floppies? These are not reasonable expectations for most users.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

The issue HAS been dealt with, just not in the 13 year old client.

Every newer client has been able to have a MUCH bigger gameplay window.

The 3d client allowed any resolution (and zoomed in to stay within the 2d range)

KR had a limited resolution for the gameplay window, but it was MUCH larger than 2d

The Enhanced Client allows any resolution at any zoom level (even across multiple monitors).

And no one is forcing you to play on 13 year old technology, there is newer technology available, people simply CHOOSE not to utilize it.

 

[Ox AO]

Enhanced Client is not an option for me.

I will refrain for giving reasons. It only makes me upset.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

It's an option, just one you choose not to take.

 

[Ox AO]

...

It's an option, just one you choose not to take.

Fine then the 13 yo client never has been updated which is just crazy.

 

[BeefSupreme]

This is something I'd like to see added to the CC as well.

 

[Beleth of Atlantic]

I support UO2d with this feature added.

The enhanced client is not the UO I know and love.

The 2d client is, but I want it to be bigger then this box I am typing in now.

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

This thread hasn't been locked yet WHY?

 

[WootSauce]

This thread hasn't been locked yet WHY?

a) its a pretty good discussion about a feature that now (due to changes made with the implementation of EC) could (should) be available to 2d users if it was added "legally"
b) people at large are tired of the ZOMG CHEEEETER argument
c) mods may be asleep at this hour and not reading and or moderating
d) all of the above

The correct answer is "d"

In all seriousness - if the offending poster would please remove the name of the program from his post, please, that would be good.

 

[The Scandinavian]

Hi there,

damn I want that big screen in 2d.


Regards
The Scandinavian

 

[Lord Chaos]

I think EC only shows you the fixed map to those extents and the update range of dynamic objects is about the same as CC. Maybe I'm just used to the larger screen resolution.

It is the same update range in both, regardless of whether you expand the viewable area.

The OP, just switch to fullscreen mode or lower your screen resolution.

Uhm...lol? Are you serious?

If you feel you need this hack, then clearly it's cheating.

No, its technically a TOS violation, but a shaky one at that even, as no scripts run during the game. Its not a cheat by any standard.

You're playing a 17yo piece of software on a mid-range monitor. What were you expecting? Do you boot with Windows 3.1? Do you backup on 5.25" floppies? These are not reasonable expectations for most users.

We have reasonable expectations in that we want the devs to update what we play, like what other companies do.

 

[Lord Chaos]

And no one is forcing you to play on 13 year old technology, there is newer technology available, people simply CHOOSE not to utilize it.

I am FORCED to play the CC if I want to play the UO I love. I don't want to play other games or odd clients that doesn't belong.

 

[Lord Chaos]

...

It's an option, just one you choose not to take.

Its not a feasible option either, as the EC doesn't run well at all on my laptop and it doesn't run at all on my netbooks.

 

[Petra Fyde]

I think this topic has gone as far as it usefully can.