Cheater Gamercards Will Be Marked

@noliferuin (PSN+XBL): Oh god that is so true. It always happens when you least expect it. XD

Why this and not people with LAG Switches in Call Of Duty? You really think a 21.6 KTD is possible?

baldwinsucks

@Crumplecorn: Its one of the best ways to exercise your thumbs!

Demi Moore also took off her shirt in Striptease and it made me cry.. in a bad way. Come on, one nipple went up the other went off to the left.. YOUR OVER $)< GET OVER IT lol.

Anyway,Im so glad they are doing this, even though all it will do is make the person start a new account. But, making your gamerscore higher then it should be just to look cool is just pathetic. I mean, you didnt earn the achievments, so that means you didnt learn anything else from it, which means you still suck.. so you did all that work just to make sure people know you suck??

Crypysmoker

@Crumplecorn: Well, we´ve been playing without gamerscore for more than 20 years so...

Daniel Pizarro Sánchez

@the-hypnotoad: Well, my little brother enjoys it a lot. And let´s be honest, the game was developed with gamerscore boost in mind, just see how easy achievements are.

Daniel Pizarro Sánchez

@Xcite79:

Gun is a good game. The glitch can only be done after having completed the game, and it's for the difficulty achievements, which do not stack. If they stacked, I'd play on Insane and get them all at once. As they don't, I'm not about to play the same game four times.
Sorted, respect due.

STOP WITH THE STUPID QUESTIONS! Why is everyone asking is this or that a cheat? If you can't play it the way it is suppose to be played than its cheating! You undermine the good thing about achievements by cheating!!!

@carrliadiere:

Gun was a good game. Trying to do a cheat for 1000 achievements is pathetic.

Come on, this is ridiculous.

Gamercard branding should apply to gamers that perfom INGAME cheats and ruin the experience for everyone else in multiplayer matches, not some addicts that do whatever means necessary to gain some more useless points in.

@zgreenwell: Team Killing can be taken care of as long as most games do it like Halo does. If you get team killed by someone you can punish them or forgive them. Games should track if the person killed a teammate more than one time. The second team kill should allow the person killed to kick the player.

@Kuciwalker:
Thats not considered cheating, that was the intent of the developer. Therefore anyone has free access to gain gamerscore however they so choose.

@Heliophage: I don't think Microsoft relies on just gamer feedback. I suspect that MS starts with gamer feedback to know who to monitor. From there, MS probably looks for any telltale signs of cheating (e.g. a Masterchief failing to die from a sticky grenade to the face) or perhaps even more objective measures such as speed of movement, etc. However, insofar as MS monitors such things, I'm sure they're very quiet about what and how or else it would simply help the cheaters to cheat more effectively.

As for marking cheaters, I'd like it to be more obvious than just adding in a comment. It should change your tag to a special image and mark your name in some way. That way, when I see the list of players in an online match, I'll know ASAP who is a cheater (and who to heckle!).

@Crumplecorn: fun...like you used to have every time you put another quarter in the machine.

damn whipper-snappers, always gotta get an 'atta-boy' to show everyone else they had fun instead of just having fun and not caring.

@surft : doubt it.

@the-hypnotoad: Uh-oh...

twinturbo2

@Xebu:

Excellent link, cheers. I'm probably going to go ahead and get the 1000 on Gun. It'll still take about 15 hours anyway.

@carrliadiere: It's mostly focussed on GameSavers. People who share and modify saved games so the achievements all pop automatically without actually playing the games.

A classic example is Rumble Roses XX. It takes MONTHS to unlock the full 1000 in that game yet there are people who show 1000/1000 after just one day...

...or more specifically just 1 second! You can view the unlock TIMES for an achievement on xbox.com with this Firefox add in:
[xboxcheaterwatch.wordpress.com]

It makes it quite obvious when someone is playing with saves.

Xebu

@Valnen: Does boosting actually count as cheating? it's not like they're modding the game is it? Leave achievement whores alone!! D: They love their aunts!!

Deathbearer

Is there a way to report boosters? Could I go around pretending like I'm going to help people boost and then report them? Sounds like a good way to clean up live. Microsoft should have people out there doing that.

Valnen

@carrliadiere: That's fine.

The sorta thing they're looking to stop is people swapping profiles mid-load or whatever to 'glitch' the achievements from one profile to another, like the recent Gears 2 glitch-fest.

They also wanna stop people using 3rd party equipment in modded 360s to unlock all the achievements without having to play the game.

blah...blah...blah...who cares about other peoples gamerscores. Unless they are cheating online, then I don't care about it!

Yeah, this is all fine and well for Console. But what about Games for Windows - Live Titles? Is modding your game considered cheating? Is using the Console considered cheating? The reason I got these games on the PC in the first place, was so I could mod them.

@ganzta: Not really. You are bound by the Terms of Service layed out by Microsoft which can change at any time without your notice or approval. A 'court of law' would insinuate that you were somehow an equal party in the ToS, but you are not.

There is/should be an appeal system however for all those mis-tagged as cheaters or someone who got caught up with someone cheating and reaping the same benefits without knowing what you've done (although, good luck proving that).

As for a "Exclude cheaters" in matchmaking, it isn't that much work really. Since the gamertag would have a "Is cheating" attribute, the matchmaking system would see this, deny this person from joining your game or skip a game with gamertags marked 'cheaters'. A lot of matchmaking systems already do something similar when finding matches based on your 'zone' (i.e. underground, recreational, etc).

SSUK

I wish I could just turn off the gamerscore. I'd keep the achievements, though. It's nice to compare how far people are in the games.

CordableTuna

@carrliadiere: No that is not cheating. The cheating they are on about is using 3rd party equipment and glitching the gamer score like that.

@EldonTLH: And the only people getting hit are game savers that are using methods which are not done via the console only and using 3rd party equipment.
Which IMO is the way they should keep it and find better ways to even stop it to start with.

@EldonTLH: Then why do I have someone on my friend's list who is "Name CHEATER"

@FillionSmythe: Lol, "hire."

Jacob Stephen Cook

So what about games that have CHEAT CODES BUILT IN, like Fallout 3 on PC, which has the same command console as Oblivion?

It even has commands for adding achievements.

Kuciwalker

@the-hypnotoad:

Basically you complete the game on easy, then you can reload your last save and use a graphical glitch to get to the end of the game to beat it on medium, then hard, then insane.

Is it cheating? At most it's cheating yourself of the experience of the game (four times), but why would that bother anyone else?

@Kazzahdrane: I recall they never did. There was just this example account...

[www.slashgear.com]

...and the only parts that actually hold true are the zero gamerscore and the "What happened to their Gamerscore?" section, something like this:

[live.xbox.com]

Decent enough punishment without added ridicule although I wonder if it has affected more than a few dozen accounts by now.

I am so glad that MS are taking this step. Fix the dashboard that ever since NXE has meant people who bought a lot of content in the past have to wait ever longer in order to browse marketplace? Meh, who cares about that when there's GAMERSCORE CHEATERS ABOUT! Parity between the US and other regions? LATER, WE HAVE TO GET THE CHEATS FIRST!

Shit like this is why I am no longer a Gold subscriber. I am not prepared to pay more than the Americans for lesser service whilst MS continue to 'improve' the wrong aspects of my gaming experience. I didn't ask for this refurbished console when my first one RROD'd, and I should not be expected to pay to replace the DVD drive which has never worked properly since they sent it to me.

CheekyLee

@cb8673: You still can.

@Alienation:

If that were to really happand microsoft would need a curt of justice. I mean, people still pay to get online. What if they feel that they really havn´t done anything wrong? maybe It was a misstake? How would they handle It?

@wtf_G:
Oh so more it's more gamer score shenanigans orientated.
That's not gonna solve anything! Also yeah you are right.
I have friends that hire out crap games just for gamer points and achievements but they fecking hate the games!
Wasting time not playing amazing games!! Idiots!

I could have sworn this was super-old-news.

@AncientUnknown1: Man, I can't wait until they can find a way to reliably find people using rapidfire controllers in Halo 3. Apparently me whinging about it in the postgame lobby isn't working :(

@FillionSmythe: It's possible to edit your game saves to magically obtain all 1000 gamerpoints in a game. I'm sure it's at least somewhat detectable, or else they wouldn't be talking about punishing it.

Again, to me, this does not bother me in the slightest. Achievements get you nothing, and unless someone is on your friends list, chances are you won't even bother to look at their score anyhow.

wtf_G

But if their gamerscore has also been reset to zero, that doesn't leave them a whole lot of reason to stick with the branded gamertag instead of making a new one.

MechaTama31

@Ps360facepunch: No idea what the hell point you're making, but it's 'liar'.

wtf_G

It's good to know MS is taking this seriously. The ability to cheat renders Gamerscores meaningless, and without Gamerscore, what reason is there to play videogames?

I'm not aware of this "cheating" can somebody explain?
Are they talking about glitches and exploits?
If so how would MS even know? It's not like they can see what people are doing in every game or detect anything for that matter!

I'm just curious because if MS can do all this then great as it will be better for everybody.

@the-hypnotoad: I, for one, thought it was a pretty fun game. Sure, it was no Braid, Castle Crashers or Ikaruga and I sure as hell wouldn't have bought it myself but fun nontheless.

If it had online multiplayer I could easily imagine myself playing it again once in a while.

@the-hypnotoad: Is playing Avatar considered cheating then?

Um... Avatar?

EmeryTriton

@Jon: If it's part of the game then it's not a cheat. Manipulating games in order to get things via saves or networking items is what they're up against.

You can't ban everyone with Avatar afterall.

@nerdrage32: They do have a system for marking out racists online. It's called a "GamerTag".

ThursdayNext

Hmm, I just used the Citadel glitch in Fallout 3, does that count as cheating?

@Stevil_T: Nope, they mean all of it. Achievement cheating as well.

@Stevil_T: Explains why I didn't know. lol

@Crayon Box of Fury: if you forget, a quick rinse in the sink before the crucial time is the way.

@the-hypnotoad:

I think a glitch is safe, its in the game. Cheating in this case refers to using something else to break again. (File save tampering) (Trainers, if that's possible)

My Gamertag is:
[CHEATER] <--- LIER

There's already a mark for this - anyone that has the Doritos Dash of Destruction under their games played list.

the-hypnotoad

If I accidentally stumble into a glitch that grants me an achievement or whatever it is that sets off the "cheat!" pointer , will I still be branded with the big star and sent off to Dachau?

@carrliadiere: I think you know the answer to this already. If something lets you get 1000 achievement points in an hour, it's probably cheating.

the-hypnotoad

@stupid_mcgee: uber pyro > zerg rush: Oh, she did 'shit' alright. It was called Charlie's Angels 2.

Stevil_T

So they just create a new gamertag. But at least it's something.

Really, I'd like them to go after people with modded controllers who use them during competitive online play.

AncientUnknown1

@xxXX_Insanities_Birth_XXxx: Yes, it does seem pointless in that regard. They should follow through with this, like something like rooms where cheaters are banned, or a setting in your profile - 'Exclude cheaters in matchmaking'.

Hard work, yes. But still.

Alienation

@carrliadiere: They mean online cheating.

Stevil_T

Will the Scarlet Letter also be branded on their consoles? They could use three of the lights on the front to form a C shape. Or would that be too confusing considering the lights have other meanings?

Cururu

@Heliophage: I actually only play on the PC, so there's no rating. That's one thing that I wish Steam would add. I would really, really, really like a user feedback system for Steam.

I do play 360 games sometimes on my friend's system and I have heard and read about how broken the rating system is. I agree, MS needs to fix that.

@Kazzahdrane: Yeah, I recall there being one they changed to "CheaterMcCheat" or something on that line.

Ben9

@zgreenwell: I hate when the report system is abused. One of my friends (who doesn't cheat) beat a clan member on SF IV so the whole clan reported him just for winning.

I don't like when other people achievement whore cheat though, it's not really something that bothers me out right but it's just stupid and pointless so I say punish them anyway.

xxXX_Insanities_Birth_XXxx

@stupid_mcgee: uber pyro > zerg rush:

I bet they all had full star ratings on their gamercard too... that system needs to be redone.

Oh no! I should really keep my score clean if I want to impress the ladies!

@zgreenwell: Same here, I don't cheat or look up answers and I'm happy about that, but I'm not sure I care too much about other people's gamerscore. If someone cheats to win at something and it doesn't affect anyone else, I don't think they should have your gamerscore reset for that. It isn't like they are going to restore integrity to gamerscores anyway because people are still going to use cheap methods to get gamerscore. It'd be better if they'd find a way to label someone "Complete prick" for doing stuff like team killing or driving in reverse during a race, or "Racist Bastard" for calling everyone the n-word online.

nerdrage32

@zgreenwell:

The problem with marking people as griefers is that it would probably be based on player feedback, since not every publisher/developer can moderate every game. Then you get entire clans of people marking people as griefers as their own way of griefing.

Unless there's a better system, it'd be difficult to implement.

Is this simply a cosmetic change for gamerscore buffers, or is there some applicable feature that accompanies it, like avoiding people marked as cheaters automatically?

Not that they're in-game cheaters, per se, but people who prioritize gamerscore over all else are annoying in their own way. Trying to get someone to help in Gears of War when they're running after the same weapon repeatedly, or in Halo 3 doing anything to get a triple kill with a sword, or in Call of Duty 4 jumping off of a roof, all for achievements...

It sort of dissolves any notion of competition.

@ganzta: Would it work? Sure I wouldn't put a known cheater as a friend for the idea that they'd probably just cheat me later but when I'm in a 8 way open game on gears 2 (or whatever game) then I'd not quit a match just cos a guy has some cheater logo near him.

xxXX_Insanities_Birth_XXxx

@zgreenwell: If Dante were alive today and played video games, I'd sure one of the circles of hell would be for TKers. I've had a few great Expert L4D sessions destroyed by those assholes.

@zgreenwell:

I agree, I don't really care if someone spends time and money on glitching some system and racking up hundreds of thousands of worthless abstract numbers.

@coffeehair: Everyone can see it, I've seen it a few times already out there and it's f'in hilarious.

And later she went on to star in GI Jane. After that... uh... she married Ashton Kutcher? Wow, Demi Moore hasn't done shit in the past few years.

Anyways, kudos on this. I can understand fudging things on real life matters that are important... I don't condone it, but I can understand it. Cheating in a video game, though? Seriously, how pathetic do you have to be?

Also, obligatory FDR quote:

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checked by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."

As much as I love achievements I don't care so much about someone else out there cheating to boost their gamerscore. It doesn't do anything to disrupt my matches online. The people I hate are the ones who purposely try to kill the fun in any online match they play. Team Killers are the ones who bother me most.

So that other people can see the title "Cheater" or so only MS can see it?

coffeehair

I just rented GUN, which is fairly decent, and I've read of a glitch which enables you to complete the game on medium, hard and insane or whatever very quickly.

Is that cheating? It's a nice 1000 with the glitch, but playing the entire game four times for non-stackable difficulty achievements is not for me.

MS have been doing this for years, I remember them announcing that they had started changing cheater's Gamercard Mottos to "I'm a dirty cheater" and then locking it so it couldn't be changed. Good times :)

There you go! Scar them! SCAR THEM GOOD!

couldn't they just change their tag?

AlphaUltima

@EldonTLH: Zero gamerscore?
the only achievement worth getting!
srsly, gamerscore is retarded.

@carrliadiere:

Man, that reminds me, I need to go back and get the rest of the achievements for Earth Defense Force.

Given the fact that I have a gamerscore of 6459 after 3 1/2 years, I seriously doubt I have to worry about being accused of cheating.

wow this is great gonna screw up my gamercard because someone stole it bought $120 stuff on it and decided to play games on my tag >.<

@Pudgie'sSmokerGivesAGoodTongueing...: *play* sorry.

Pudgie'sSmokerGivesAGoodTongueing

mmm Demi Moore can lay Zoey in the L4D film if there ever is one.

Pudgie'sSmokerGivesAGoodTongueing

@Cururu: Sadly, almost nobody probably understood the Scarlet Letter reference...

Led_Head1991

@chickenplucka:

Getting 1000 pts in Avatar in 2 minutes is not cheating. It's a case of poor game design, but thats not your fault if you choose to play it.

puffa469

@Omnimon:

Well, I understand your argument and I agree in general. There are loads of games I've loved and not cared about achivements. Gun is one of them , I didn't get it thinking about achievements, and I have enjoyed playing it 'to play the game'.

But with Gun, it's irritating that the difficulties don't stack. Just for the sake of getting all the points, I would play on insane and be mildly pleased when I got all four achievements for completing it on that difficulty.

So I don't see it as cheating to complete it once, then use a glitch to get the achivements which should have stacked. Nor do I see it as playing the game with a false heart.

@Crumplecorn: I love how nobody else could see through your thick sarcasm.

@carrliadiere: Your original question implies that it's not ok for their to be games in which you choose not to get 1000 gamerscore.

Do you not play games to play the game? I'm not playing anything through 4 times, and I don't care that I didn't get 1000 gamerscore from a game...

@Who wants toast?:

You mention Braid in the same sentence as Dash of Destruction again and I'll recite various offensive epithets from The Thick Of It at you.

Well these people are cheating in the first place so they probably aren't going to care if there is marking on their gamer card. If anything they will brag about that, and the fact they still get to play on XBOX live regardless.

Great a slap on the wrist, and a glory badge that always works.

@zgreenwell: I was thinking this as well, I don't own a 360 and was interested to see what classes as cheating. So I've read some of the comments and figured it simply means abusing your gamer score. Which is pathetic IMO, does it really matter if someone's ego's so big they think gamer score is everything? If the number was at all related to how good you were, fine, but it's not.

It's like post counts on forums, people assume those with thousands are gurus and those with less than 50 are retards, which is clearly not the case at all.

I don't see why this issue bothers people so much unless I'm missing something and that the gamer scores actually have a valid use out side of "look at the size of my e-penis".

They should have one for all of those annoying freestyle rappers and 13 yr olds too.

Bubbleman!

@Jon: no

@stupid_mcgee: uber pyro > zerg rush: That was Theodore Roosevelt, not FDR.

Moriturus

@ganzta: you pay to play, not to hack the game and then cheat ruining other people experience, that's not in the EULA so they can do what they want, even ban you forever if they will, and it will be all legally right

The scarlet "A" stands for "Avatar"

It saddens me that people actually care enough to cheat for a pointless score. If a higher achievement score every meant "more" to you, your truly pathetic and you really got to start rethinking you life.

99-Luft-Balloons

This is why the mod community sucks for xbox they worry too much about cheaters. This is why if I can I buy PC copies instead, to play online, get dlc for FREE, and mod the hell out of the game. Atleast Sony is allowing a ton more modding in games look at little big planet or Unreal Tournament it makes a game get so much better. Perfect example is Left4Dead on PC the creator mod is coming soon to create all the new maps of undead love we can get.

@FillionSmythe:

I've always wondered what's considered cheating. Modding and altering games obviously is cheating, but what about glitching outside the map? There's no standard across the bar.

ctorrans

HAHA that's what they gt.

ChaderFry

Great news but I myself will never figure out the appeal of bragging to people about how much time you devote playing videogames. Sure achievements can be fun but cheating to get them? WTF? I play games because they are fun and relaxing, not to compete like its some sort of sport.

This is actually awesome. I like it. (Not the Demi Moore shirtless part, the other part.)

@wtf_G: No idea what the hell point you're making, but i am using the bastardized version of the language that spawned from the internet.