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Could Bethesda be the first to use failsafes against cheaters?

November 29, 2008 in Rumor comments 4

Just a few moments ago within the PS3 forum of Fallout 3, I noticed a discussion about a glitch that gets you free experience due to taking advantage of not able to kill children in the game.

Now a member reported a bug with this glitch that causes you to be "thrown into another world before being frozen to the spot and not able to move".

This got me thinking to a few of my experiences within the world of Fallout 3. You see no matter what game I play I always have two saves handy, a legit save to play the game normally and a cheat save to experiment and well cheat. Not only that but I also have the PC version and so it is incredibly tempting at times.

One experience came to mind when I was completing the Oasis side quest which gave you three options. I decided to save at that fork in the path and follow each one, reloading if I didn't like the outcome. Of course this also meant going through the cave and various enemies every time upon reload and so I used the console command "TCL" which toggles collision and allows you to walk through walls.

This cut the gaming time in half but once I set foot (switched TCL off) outside to complete the quest I found myself rooted to the floor and frozen like I was in a cinematic, the only ability I had was to look around while everyone continued their lives as normal. I thought at first that this was irony for the option I chose but no, after reloading it happened every time. I decided this time to not use TCL and funnily enough I was able to walk freely with no problems.

Now this hasn't been the only time it has happened and yes on the PC version you can simply type in "enableplayercontrols" to continue playing yet what about the console users?

They will have to reload and although they don't have console commands, they do have glitches they can take advantage of. So what does this mean?

Well that's the big question indeed, does this mean Bethesda Softworks are onto a winner to eliminate cheating within games? Does this mean they are trying out specific features within a single player game to use in this alleged MMO that they are rumoured to be making? Or does this mean I maybe over thinking a mere glitch that has happened to me and it is coincidence that it has happened each time I have cheated and happened to others that have cheated?

Your thoughts?

ShadowJ
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  • 0
    Salvador_Dog Nov 30, 08
    i recall another game using a cheat failsafe, i can't remember the name of it but it was an old game for either the SNES or Genesis.

    i see this as a two edged sword, it keeps players away from the temptation of cheating through the story, but it also stops the players that want to fly through everything from doing so.

    In this game i think its done perfectly, Bethesda is known for immersion, and giving the connection between player and game, and if your super kill guy from the get go, then your not connecting with the character, which in essence is the players vision of himself/herself.
    • 0
      ShadowJ Nov 30, 08
      Hmm very true but there was something that Beth Soft forgot. They forgot that most people like to explore and well they wandered onto essential characters of the main quest, innocently asking questions only to find they skipped most of the main quest without trying.

      All it takes is stumbling upon one of the locations featured in the main quest and talking to the NPC involved there or collecting a quest item. Then again I do recall doing this and the game "froze" me once again.

      However you are right about the intentions as the game is about survival and connecting with the character. If anything to me, it does look like a prototype feature and so we may see it in future Beth Soft games
    • 0
      Salvador_Dog Nov 30, 08
      really? i didn't think you could skip ahead, i went to the GNR station before getting the info off Moriarty and i still had to go talk to him. i guess it just happens in some parts.

      i hope Beth Soft does implement this into future games, i was tempted into doing the cheat in question, and i really didn't have to do much of anything after that, it seemed to tear me from the story
      • 0
        ShadowJ Nov 30, 08
        Aye, there are three areas, four including the one you mentioned that you can skip ahead.

        You can skip straight to the GNR building if you stumble across it.

        You can skip to Rivet City if you just bypass GNR building and ask Doctor Li (this one I did)

        You can skip to Vault 112 and lastly, you can skip straight to Vault 87. Of course you still have to rescue the kids from Paradise Falls and then Little Lamplight but again if you stumble across this without doing the main quest then you would think it is just a side quest and do it anyway.

        The game froze on me at vault 87 though after getting the GECK, so I assume that Beth Soft don't mind the quest skipping until this part, which sounds right as it is literally halfway through the quest

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