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Oct
08
Gameplay Exploits and Enforcement
It's been some time since this was last discussed, so it seems a refresher may be in order.
There have been those, lately, who have espoused the opinion if that if some gameplay mechanic within the game is exploitable in some way, then it must be "fair game", because "it's the dev's fault that it exists, until they fix it!". Allow to me clarify that notion:
Exploitation of a bug, flaw, or inherent issue in this game, always comes with the potential for an administrative response. The more egregious the exploit, the harsher the response, up to and including being permanently banned from this game.
Everyone knows we have very limited resources, all of which are spent trying to improve and administer this game. Our response to any given situation is at our discretion, and may happen whenever we choose, be that days, or weeks, or months later, based on our availability.
There are also some gameplay rule-lawyers who similarly want us to administratively respond to every small infraction, and batter us with their inflamed sense of self-righteous indignation. We are not receptive to this either. If there is a real issue, simply report the specifics (by Support Ticket), and move on. We'll apply an administrative response to those situations that we believe warrant it, in a manner and time of our own choosing.
For those who ask "but how will I know what is not allowed?": try applying common sense. Those who egregiously and repeatedly exploit a known issue, for their own benefit, particularly on an industrial-scale level, are those individuals who are the most likely to receive an administrative response.
Similarly, our response may be proportional to the amount of our time that you waste. Again, we have limited resources, and wasting our time with stupid stuff (be it dumb exploits, or excessively inflamed injustice over someone else's dumb exploits) is not going to be well received.
This is the reality of administrative response within Vendetta Online. It has been like this for 13 years. It is not likely to change any time soon. We spend quite a lot of time (every week) privately talking to players, telling them to be more polite, or to stop testing the technical limits of our patience. We do this quietly, and non-dramatically in the background, and we have no interest in public floggings. While many parts of the game, abuse-reporting mechanics and other systems will continue to change, the quiet way we handle things is not going to be one of them.
Please keep this in mind, for the future.
John "Incarnate" Bergman
Guild Software, Inc.
There have been those, lately, who have espoused the opinion if that if some gameplay mechanic within the game is exploitable in some way, then it must be "fair game", because "it's the dev's fault that it exists, until they fix it!". Allow to me clarify that notion:
Exploitation of a bug, flaw, or inherent issue in this game, always comes with the potential for an administrative response. The more egregious the exploit, the harsher the response, up to and including being permanently banned from this game.
Everyone knows we have very limited resources, all of which are spent trying to improve and administer this game. Our response to any given situation is at our discretion, and may happen whenever we choose, be that days, or weeks, or months later, based on our availability.
There are also some gameplay rule-lawyers who similarly want us to administratively respond to every small infraction, and batter us with their inflamed sense of self-righteous indignation. We are not receptive to this either. If there is a real issue, simply report the specifics (by Support Ticket), and move on. We'll apply an administrative response to those situations that we believe warrant it, in a manner and time of our own choosing.
For those who ask "but how will I know what is not allowed?": try applying common sense. Those who egregiously and repeatedly exploit a known issue, for their own benefit, particularly on an industrial-scale level, are those individuals who are the most likely to receive an administrative response.
Similarly, our response may be proportional to the amount of our time that you waste. Again, we have limited resources, and wasting our time with stupid stuff (be it dumb exploits, or excessively inflamed injustice over someone else's dumb exploits) is not going to be well received.
This is the reality of administrative response within Vendetta Online. It has been like this for 13 years. It is not likely to change any time soon. We spend quite a lot of time (every week) privately talking to players, telling them to be more polite, or to stop testing the technical limits of our patience. We do this quietly, and non-dramatically in the background, and we have no interest in public floggings. While many parts of the game, abuse-reporting mechanics and other systems will continue to change, the quiet way we handle things is not going to be one of them.
Please keep this in mind, for the future.
John "Incarnate" Bergman
Guild Software, Inc.