More transparency with what is deemed exploits

  • HiradC
    Lord
    Insider

    I know the only safe method with 'glitches' is not to use any in order to be safe from risk of being banned. I would like more transparency from devs/mods in terms of what is and isn't ok. I know you can't give exact boundaries because people will always test their limits but some indication of what and why would help me personally. Even if it doesn't seem consistent across every encounter I would rather any info than none.

    It does currently feel like it's down to an individual and their own morale compass to decide what they deem is an abuse of exploits that give unfair advantage.

    I will reference some examples for context but obviously won't discuss how anything is done.

    I hear originally the sword lunge wasn't 'Intended design' but has been approved

    Some people think use of quick swap is an exploit. I think it's clear that it is so commonly used that it can't really be bannable. This does imply a level of control is down to the community and how much they adopt certain methods.

    Harpoon and map boarding recently patched, but I don't think bans were issued based on their use.

    I have seen many people including sot partners use a Mermaid glitch to check for tuckers or where other crews have run to

    Some people tend to adopt a 'if it's in the game its fair play'. I personally don't agree with that but it isn't easy to judge what is seen as game breaking and would have bans issued for.
    This seems to have been in game for some time which implies either accepted or just low priority. I suspect this would have a higher rate of bans simply because a lot of players without knowing about this would report for teleport hacks.

    There are silly bugs in the game which as far as I know give no actual advantage but have strange collisions where you are flung upwards into the air.

    There was a cool visual glitch previously in tunnel of the damned, I'm not aware of it allowing any advantage but with rowboats you could swim up through the sea and see somewhat unrendered map with cool visuals. This was patched so I don't know if this means it actually did cause issues or something else.

    Originally portal hopping was queried but we did get confirmation it was deemed ok

    [Post edited by mod]

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  • WolfManbush
    Champion

    If someone isn't morally conflicted, it then goes to self preservation

    if someone doesn't want to risk their account over something then they should abstain from it. No matter how safe they think something may be

    keep the conscience clean, keep the record consistent and then people typically stay outta trouble

    at the end of the day none of it's really worth the drama or account consequences

    they aren't gonna condone anything that isn't intended, people gotta watch out for themselves and hopefully look out for others, including opponents and competitors.

  • Soulstinger2k20
    Master
    Insider

    Someone recently showed me a blackscreen glitch in PL hideout that ports you to Sea Dogs, useful for searching for more chainshots but also worriesome that you might catch a ban for it

  • MopWieldingHedgehog
    Legend
    Insider
    Moderator
    Boatswain

    @hiradc

    I have edited your post. While you may feel like "everyone" knows about said exploits, they don't. As such, we don't really need to provide a mini tutorial on how to abuse exploits, especially since some may get you in trouble (which is the whole point of your post, no?).

  • ZiG ZaG LTU
    Commander
    Insider

    Imho opinion - If you find an exploit in the game that works with tools given in game and nothing outside of it, then people should do it to the point where developers either see it as a feature or are forced to work on it and remove it.

    It would not be fair to punish players for using an exploit that does not require any third party software or similar.

  • a10dr4651
    Commander
    Insider

    If Rare openly say these exploits won't get you banned, then players will take that as its fine to use them. If an exploit is reported and it gets patched, thats answer enough. It is on Rare to patch out unintended gameplay features and us as the player if we seek a fair game for all to report these exploits.
    Thats my take on it anyway.

  • HiradC
    Lord
    Insider

    @xshirahx I had tried not to give enough info to do anything so fair enough

  • Unleet1
    Lord
    Insider

    @soulstinger2k20 said in More transparency with what is deemed exploits:

    Someone recently showed me a blackscreen glitch in PL hideout that ports you to Sea Dogs, useful for searching for more chainshots but also worriesome that you might catch a ban for it

    Been around for years in some shape or form. Apparently Rare has been patching these glitch spots for years, but people continue finding new ways...

  • WolfManbush
    Champion

    @zig-zag-ltu said in More transparency with what is deemed exploits:

    Imho opinion - If you find an exploit in the game that works with tools given in game and nothing outside of it, then people should do it to the point where developers either see it as a feature or are forced to work on it and remove it.

    It would not be fair to punish players for using an exploit that does not require any third party software or similar.

    Something to keep in mind is that people generally don't start out justifying the extreme. It starts out justifying a little of this and justifying a little of that which can lead to justifying things that clearly are over the line.

    Like when a lot of people were doing the athena loot shipwreck exploit. That was wrecking servers to where people were lagging out and people were justifying it.

  • ZiG ZaG LTU
    Commander
    Insider

    @wolfmanbush Since that was patched, how exactly did people do it?

    Don't get me wrong, if you are playing as usual, but find an exploit as an example :

    • Lords of the sea tall tale, the ghost crates dropped by ships could be sold, people were making millions per hour. - Should not be punishable.
  • WolfManbush
    Champion

    @zig-zag-ltu said in More transparency with what is deemed exploits:

    @wolfmanbush Since that was patched, how exactly did people do it?

    Don't get me wrong, if you are playing as usual, but find an exploit as an example :

    • Lords of the sea tall tale, the ghost crates dropped by ships could be sold, people were making millions per hour. - Should not be punishable.

    That's out of our control. The messaging should be to keep people out of trouble on a topic like this. Getting caught up in a pattern of exploity behavior does run a risk in the long run, even if there is never enforcement about it someone is still stuck in a cycle of "will this get me in trouble?"

    It's not worth it in the long run even if the only consequence is the stress/worry. Establishing a record of livin' on the line isn't really something that will come in handy, if people keep a consistent record of fair play then they at least have something to work with if a problem ever arises.

  • ZiG ZaG LTU
    Commander
    Insider

    @wolfmanbush But with that particular example it would be extremely unfair to get punished, even if you were 1000% aware that it is an exploit. You would just be playing the game as intended and not picking up valuable loot dropped by NPCs would be foolish imo, extending the part where they drop would not be an exploit, more like farming. Plus you would still need to sail to an outpost to sell them all.

    I missed the opportunity by 15 minutes and all those crates I gathered were worthless in the end :D

    Removing the 'unfairly' earned gold would be one thing, punishing a player for a poor design with unintended consequences is another.

  • WolfManbush
    Champion

    @zig-zag-ltu said in More transparency with what is deemed exploits:

    @wolfmanbush But with that particular example it would be extremely unfair to get punished, even if you were 1000% aware that it is an exploit. You would just be playing the game as intended and not picking up valuable loot dropped by NPCs would be foolish imo, extending the part where they drop would not be an exploit, more like farming. Plus you would still need to sail to an outpost to sell them all.

    I missed the opportunity by 15 minutes and all those crates I gathered were worthless in the end :D

    Removing the 'unfairly' earned gold would be one thing, punishing a player for a poor design with unintended consequences is another.

    I do have personal opinions on different activities depending on their severity and effect on the environment but as the topic is a general approach I'm just focused on putting messaging out there that will keep people outta trouble. I personally see it as my duty at my stage of experience to put out messaging that is looking out for people that read stuff like this and get confused or are unsure about how they want to approach things. What should or shouldn't happen ultimately isn't up to me, I don't want people getting caught up in a pattern that can end up causing issues or harm down the road.

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