Treyarch's multiplayer director bristles when discussing how the studio will treat glitchers and exploiters.
Call of Duty, if you didn't know, is popular. So is Call of Duty: Black Ops. Last night, 2.9 million dudes (and dudettes) were online in the Xbox 360 version alone. With this kind of massive draw, it's no surprise that some glitches and exploits have been discovered and reported. And while developer Treyarch could simply opt to ride the wave of these initial reports before speaking to these discoveries, it isn't. On the game's official message board, multiplayer director David Vonderhaar has been saying some headline-worthy words of warning to those who are currently abusing the game and its systems.
"What many of these people want is to be Internet nerd famous," Vonderhaar wrote, according to 1UP. "I'm not going to make them famous and you shouldn't either ... "
"Given the opportunity, I'd personally wield the ban hammer for anyone who thinks he is clever by abusing any glitches. Good thing I don't have the opportunity that often and we actually have a constructive, measured, and well-managed live ops team," he said.
"We said we would support the game. We are going to support it," Vonderhaar continued. "We are disinterested in making mini-celebrities out of douche-bags. You better think twice before you glitch. You never know who in your game doesn't like glitchers who reports you and saves the game in their File Share and tells us about it."
Wow. Hey, guys, don't cheat in Black Ops. If you do, Vonderhaar sounds like he's on the verge of paying you a personal visit of the least pleasant variety. But, in all seriousness, you might want to keep it clean. It sounds like Treyarch has its hands over the Ban Button. Plus, you don't want to be that guy. You know, the guy that launches himself at another person just to blow himself up with a Javelin? That guy.
" Stupid. Ban people because they exploit a glitch? How about you fix your shit instead of banning people. Players make videos to show people how to do it so that the devs get off their asses and fix it. If only a handful of people know about it, then who cares. I wouldn't like people making videos of how my product wasn't up to par either, but I wouldn't say "oh you paid for it and found a bug? Well I'm not gonna let you play it anymore." Customers are doing your job for you, assbag. Be thankful they are making it public and there isn't just a group of dickheads out there keeping it to themselves and ruining it for everyone without telling anybody. Games being released glitchy are becoming an epidemic and the ridiculous "oh we'll fix it after launch" mentality that companies have nowadays is bullshit. How about I pay you half of the $70 now and half when the game is working properly? Don't like that idea? Well I don't like paying full price for a game I can't play properly because you didn't QA it well enough. "
You can't exploit a glitch and make it public for people so that they use it for their own personal gain over players online. That's not how you report a glitch.
Surely, you can argue that it should have been caught during QA but at the same time, I don't expect any developer to find every single glitch or bug in their game. There is always going to be some here and there and eventually they will get patched. Take it easy :).
point 1. i hope eveyone who glitches gets the fucking ban hammer dropped on their asses. mw2 was bad enough with glitches and hacking. hopefully, with the intent of treyach and the ability of theater mode, glitching and hacking will stay on the back burner this time around.
point 2. just because the code is in the game to exploit or glitch does not mean one should do so. yeah, the code apparently allows for unlimited care packages, but that is not in keeping with a balanced and fair playing field.
" @ch13696: I really wish I was joking. His forum post before they 404ed got pasted here. http://kotaku.com/5686079/black-ops-on-pc-suffering-from-mysterious-lag "
Yeah I just read that article. I also read his forum post. It sounds like he's putting the blame from the lag issues on people who don't meet system requirements.
Sorry, but glitching isn't used correctly in the way he intends. Glitching means the game has a fault. People who exploit that fault are exploiting, not glitching. By changing the meaning of the word, the industry (and in this case, Treyarch) are putting the responsibility on the players. It's the responsibility of the developer's QA process to remove said exploitable glitches. Exploits have been a major part of emergent gameplay since games went multiplayer so I find it really unsettling that AAA publishers like MS and Activision are telling off the community for taking advantage of issues which they themselves are allowing to exist.
Zero Tolerance policy on bugs not customers. That's the way it should be.
@SeriouslyNow: Cheating is cheating. I can break your fingers and steal your property cards in monopoly even though it isn't specifically forbidden in the instructions, and I doubt that you are going to blame Parker Brothers for putting a flaw in the game in that case.
" @SeriouslyNow: Cheating is cheating. I can break your fingers and steal your property cards in monopoly even though it isn't specifically forbidden in the instructions, and I doubt that you are going to blame Parker Brothers for putting a flaw in the game in that case. "
That's not a fair comparison at all. Nobody is breaking any game rules in using an exploit. An exploitable bug is part of the supplied game. There are no third party interactions or tools (such as the breaking of fingers) used to allow this glitch to be exploited. Cheating is cheating but supplying a broken product and expecting people to ignore such issues just because you aggressively warn them of retribution is also cheating. It's the responsibility of the developer to provide a working product.
"Sorry, but glitching isn't used correctly in the way he intends. Glitching means the game has a fault. People who exploit that fault are exploiting, not glitching. By changing the meaning of the word, the industry (and in this case, Treyarch) are putting the responsibility on the players. It's the responsibility of the developer's QA process to remove said exploitable glitches. Exploits have been a major part of emergent gameplay since games went multiplayer so I find it really unsettling that AAA publishers like MS and Activision are telling off the community for taking advantage of issues which they themselves are allowing to exist. Zero Tolerance policy on bugs not customers. That's the way it should be. "
While what you said makes sense in a perfect world, That is just not where we find ourselves. The reality is that even if bugs are patched players find new ones or new ways to do old ones. Glitches are inherent to game design and no game will ever be glitch proof.
A game, by definition, is just a series of rules. This is game design. If you design your game poorly, then there will be loopholes in the rules that allow people to exploit them. It is unfair to penalise people for your failure to see the loopholes. If you are banning people for hacking, this is a different matter. But nobody should be banned for simply playing the game as it is.
@zudthespud: Dude with a huge, hundred million dollar game like Black Ops it's absolutely impossible to find every glitch. Dozens, hundreds of testers and a 2 month beta couldn't fix every issue, and it's ridiculous to ask that of them. Some people will get banned, then they'll patch it, that's how it goes.
So if someone is playing the game and it glitches, no fault of the player's, they are banned?
Because I have played COD:MW2, REACH, BFBC2 and they all glitch like f*. Does that mean I am exploiting them? no! How are they going to know someone is doing shit illegally.
//In other news// I just found out COD:BO has a file share (I haven't played the game so don't hit me).
@41d3n: Indeed. Guy sounds like a real cunt. "Yeah we made a buggy game, but let's turn it around on the consumer." He can chew up and swallow the rest of his Krispy Kreme and then shut his fat mouth.
Guys, its pretty clear that he's referring to people who exploit glitches to cheat the game. It IS a form of cheating. I'm glad that Treyarch is taking a hardline stance on this. They don't want people cheating: whether its through hacks or in game exploits, PERIOD.
I think this guy should apologize on so many levels.
People should be able to exploit their video games. They paid their money for this game. They should be entitled to being able to play their software however they want to play it.
" I think this guy should apologize on so many levels. People should be able to exploit their video games. They paid their money for this game. They should be entitled to being able to play their software however they want to play it. "
Sure it's OK when it's single player, but when it comes to online they shouldn't. Why should a cheater win? What about a player that plays fair? Should we just let them lose and say that cheating is the ONLY way to win? This guy SHOULD not apologize. I applaud him for doing this. I haven't played the game myself yet, but I hate it when a game becomes a glitch fest. It makes it unplayable and not making it fun anymore.
"Sorry, but glitching isn't used correctly in the way he intends. Glitching means the game has a fault. People who exploit that fault are exploiting, not glitching. By changing the meaning of the word, the industry (and in this case, Treyarch) are putting the responsibility on the players. It's the responsibility of the developer's QA process to remove said exploitable glitches. Exploits have been a major part of emergent gameplay since games went multiplayer so I find it really unsettling that AAA publishers like MS and Activision are telling off the community for taking advantage of issues which they themselves are allowing to exist. Zero Tolerance policy on bugs not customers. That's the way it should be. "
While what you said makes sense in a perfect world, That is just not where we find ourselves. The reality is that even if bugs are patched players find new ones or new ways to do old ones. Glitches are inherent to game design and no game will ever be glitch proof. "
I'm not saying that games don't have glitches. I'm saying that developers should take responsibility for them first before threatening people. No game is perfect and that's just normal but it's not right to threaten people when the issue isn't caused by them in the first place.
"Sorry, but glitching isn't used correctly in the way he intends. Glitching means the game has a fault. People who exploit that fault are exploiting, not glitching. By changing the meaning of the word, the industry (and in this case, Treyarch) are putting the responsibility on the players. It's the responsibility of the developer's QA process to remove said exploitable glitches. Exploits have been a major part of emergent gameplay since games went multiplayer so I find it really unsettling that AAA publishers like MS and Activision are telling off the community for taking advantage of issues which they themselves are allowing to exist. Zero Tolerance policy on bugs not customers. That's the way it should be. "
While what you said makes sense in a perfect world, That is just not where we find ourselves. The reality is that even if bugs are patched players find new ones or new ways to do old ones. Glitches are inherent to game design and no game will ever be glitch proof. "
I'm not saying that games don't have glitches. I'm saying that developers should take responsibility for them first before threatening people. No game is perfect and that's just normal but it's not right to threaten people when the issue isn't caused by them in the first place. "
And once again repeated, no game will be ever be glitch or exploitable free. It is inherent to game development that glitches and exploits exist, and with a multiplayer-heavy game like Black Ops, will always exist. This fellow is saying, "hey, don't go exploiting the hell out of the game and fucking it up for everybody."
"Sorry, but glitching isn't used correctly in the way he intends. Glitching means the game has a fault. People who exploit that fault are exploiting, not glitching. By changing the meaning of the word, the industry (and in this case, Treyarch) are putting the responsibility on the players. It's the responsibility of the developer's QA process to remove said exploitable glitches. Exploits have been a major part of emergent gameplay since games went multiplayer so I find it really unsettling that AAA publishers like MS and Activision are telling off the community for taking advantage of issues which they themselves are allowing to exist. Zero Tolerance policy on bugs not customers. That's the way it should be. "
While what you said makes sense in a perfect world, That is just not where we find ourselves. The reality is that even if bugs are patched players find new ones or new ways to do old ones. Glitches are inherent to game design and no game will ever be glitch proof. "
I'm not saying that games don't have glitches. I'm saying that developers should take responsibility for them first before threatening people. No game is perfect and that's just normal but it's not right to threaten people when the issue isn't caused by them in the first place. "
And once again repeated, no game will be ever be glitch or exploitable free. It is inherent to game development that glitches and exploits exist, and with a multiplayer-heavy game like Black Ops, will always exist. This fellow is saying, "hey, don't go exploiting the hell out of the game and fucking it up for everybody."
I said I accept that games have glitches. I'm not precluding that reality. I just feel strongly that certain developers and publishers need to take a different approach rather than threatening people before apologising for the glitch. You don't need to repeat something when I already said I accept that games have glitches.
"Stop breathing. " You should get banned for telling someone to kill themselves.
Also is that supposed to be some sort of insult?
He is right , if you buy the game and pay the fees, you should have the right to play the game however you want it. If the developers dont fix glitches and exploits, its them failing as developers, not the gamers. If its in the game, its meant to be used, until the developers take it out or fix it. Its the same thing with dolphin diving, that could be considered an exploit or abusing ingame mechanics. I dont know why i wrote such a long response to such a complete and total retard who goes around telling people to kill themselves. You dont deserve the time of day and here i am replying to you.
@SeriouslyNow: What other way could they take? I mean, they could send a nice message through Xbox Live, I guess. That may not make people stop. People are naturally cynical and shit, so sometimes you need to fight fire with fire instead of all like, "YOU GOTTA BE NICE TO THEM." And it's sort of inherent that the bugs are problem of the developer that developed it. They shouldn't have to say anything, unless, you have a situation like Fallout: New Vegas, where the game shipped is fucking broken. But exploitable bugs are a byproduct of game design. That means any company that ever made a game would have to release a press statement apologizing for all current and exploitable bugs? That doesn't make sense.
I don't really play competitive online games, so my opinion doesn't count for much, but I really don't get the issue here. Exploiting a glitch in a game is surely a legitimate tactic. If the game allows you to do it then it is part of the game. If it is game breaking, makes the game unfair etc. then fix the damn glitch.
so the more i read from treyarch and the more i look at this game the more i want to buy it ill wait a few months, if they support in the way iw didnt they can have my £££
"Sorry, but glitching isn't used correctly in the way he intends. Glitching means the game has a fault. People who exploit that fault are exploiting, not glitching. By changing the meaning of the word, the industry (and in this case, Treyarch) are putting the responsibility on the players. It's the responsibility of the developer's QA process to remove said exploitable glitches. Exploits have been a major part of emergent gameplay since games went multiplayer so I find it really unsettling that AAA publishers like MS and Activision are telling off the community for taking advantage of issues which they themselves are allowing to exist. Zero Tolerance policy on bugs not customers. That's the way it should be. "
While what you said makes sense in a perfect world, That is just not where we find ourselves. The reality is that even if bugs are patched players find new ones or new ways to do old ones. Glitches are inherent to game design and no game will ever be glitch proof. "
I'm not saying that games don't have glitches. I'm saying that developers should take responsibility for them first before threatening people. No game is perfect and that's just normal but it's not right to threaten people when the issue isn't caused by them in the first place. "
And once again repeated, no game will be ever be glitch or exploitable free. It is inherent to game development that glitches and exploits exist, and with a multiplayer-heavy game like Black Ops, will always exist. This fellow is saying, "hey, don't go exploiting the hell out of the game and fucking it up for everybody." "
Ecactly, there is a difference between a glicth that just happens and one that lets someone cheat over and over again, all Treyarch is truong to do is create a level playing field,
Good to know. Lets hope he" walks the walk" when the time comes. Lets face it, people ARE going to cheat lets just hope Treyarch wont pussyfoot around...
105 Comments