Notice A statement on cheating in Elite Dangerous.

[Attack Chimp]

Good question. A player/commander's ship should be subject to destruction for blocking a port/starship base "mailslot".

In the incident I recall reading about, someone with a way-modded ship (modded as in "cheat") did the blocking and his ship could not be destroyed. This was done to make a point to FDev.

That's my recollection. Anyone please correct me if I am inaccurate.

I watched the entire event.

Dude god hacked his boat and stuck it in the slot. He was eventually pushed out by another commander. Dude's shields never dropped. Maybe an hour twenty total time?

 

[CMDR Jowley]

↑↑↓↓←→←→BA

 

[Fast and night furious YT]

Hello Commanders,

We wanted to take some time to address some of the concerns the community has raised regarding the use of cheats in Elite Dangerous.

Cheating in our game is something that we take very seriously, and do not condone. Using a cheat engine, mod, hack etc. is in direct violation of the Terms and Service and EULA agreed to by all players upon setting up a Frontier account. We support honest competition between players, different playstyles and each Commander’s ability to blaze their own trail, and we strive for them to be able to do this in a fair, safe environment.

We continuously work alongside our development and support teams to combat the tools that make cheating possible, and to take action against accounts found to be using them.

As with any online game, combatting cheating is an ongoing process, and something that we are always working against. We work continuously to review and improve the tools, tracking and the safeguards required in order to tackle issues when they arise. We are not able to discuss the specifics of tools and processes that we have, as this would give the cheaters a significant advantage in being able to circumvent these efforts.

When it comes to taking actions against accounts we have identified as using cheats, we review every report on a case by case basis. While there has been a level of discussion regarding these cheats within the community recently, we can assure people that the number of people using these are a very tiny number of players. We are still working on new and improved ways of stopping these cheats and tracking and measuring activity now and in the past.

We strongly advise that no player runs Elite Dangerous using a cheat client, hack, software mod etc as this will put your account at risk now, and in the future.

We also advise against promoting or publicising of any programs which claim to mod/hack or cheat for Elite Dangerous. Doing so can give players a false sense of legitimacy regarding these programs and ultimately lead to increased risk to players accounts. Rest assured that we continue to actively work on and address cheating in all forms and will continue to do so.

If you come across a player you suspect is cheating, please do use the in-game reporting tool to send us that information. You’re also welcome to contact our support team via a ticket to provide supporting evidence such as photos or videos.

Thank you for your time, and fly safe.

Just wondering, is it possible for me to get horizons without paying for the base game again?

 

[Riverside]

Just wondering, is it possible for me to get horizons without paying for the base game again?

It is possible yes, the usual way is to buy Horizons from the same place you bought the base game.
Is there more to this? Because I don't see how your question is related to cheating.

 

[Deareim]

It seems to me that FDev has lost control of one of its flagship games, ED.

I am fairly certain that most players who join a MMO game want to play with other players and FDev has lost control of that game environment (PvP).

A relatively small but very vocal and oh-so-rational contingent of gankers (we're good for the game; we teach new players that it's dangerous out there) seems to rule much of PvP. Does anyone other than FDev management actually believe the gankers' "rational" arguments for indiscriminately murdering other players? I don't. They're liars. They appear to be refugees from COD, Battlefield, and other games whose focus is murder, where all that matters is the number of kills a player makes. By continuing to tolerate their antics, FDev is de facto legitimizing murder as game play in ED.

I continue to ask myself:


In a semi-realistic, human populated galaxy, gankers would be classified as terrorists, tracked and relentlessly hunted by authorities until they were exterminated. Every time they were in Open Play, there would be markers, easily identified in the galactic map, showing their current locations. Not only would other players be able to track them as Bounty Hunters, but the local and galactic authorities would relentlessly pursue and attack them until they were exterminated.

Consider that ED is a game rich with opportunities to do many interesting and entertaining things. There are so many "professions" available to players. To choose murder as a profession is nonsense. Indiscriminate murder provides no income, no ranking (other than notoriety). Piracy is a profession; murder is not.

I have played games (COD, Battlefield, and others) whose focus is murder. Knowing that in advance, it was the norm and expected. However, those games were ruined by cheaters and I stopped playing them because of it.

My perception is that FDev is doing little to nothing about cheaters, gankers, and cheating gankers. I believe my perception is correct. When the ganker community starts complaining about cheating gankers, I think the problem must be pervasive (although this situation does warm my heart).

For rational people, everything we do or do not do, has a rationale, a payoff, a reward of some sort.

Ask yourself: What is FDev's payoff for essentially doing nothing about these problems that are significantly effecting game play and interfering with other players' ability to legitimately play this game?

It is my observation in Life that people do not stop ineffective/self-damaging behavior until their pain level exceeds their payoff. Only then does behavior change. I think this no less of corporations and other human organizations. Right now, it appears that FDev's pain level is not high enough to force it into appropriate, remedial actions.

I predict that until FDev is able to determine that its current state of relative inaction on these subjects is negatively effecting its corporate bottom line, nothing will be done to rectify them.

It is a game, open to any kind of gameplay. Go solo or PG if not happy. I don¨t get all the drama here...

 

[Fast and night furious YT]

I know this is irrelevant to the post but does anyone else really want split screen on solo mode at least. I would also love to see a sandbox mode where you have unlimited money

 

[Flare Star]

I know this is irrelevant to the post but does anyone else really want split screen on solo mode at least. I would also love to see a sandbox mode where you have unlimited money

Everybody will have great fun without grinding in sanbox mode, so NO it won't be a feature. Thanks for your advice.

 

[ebbrell]

Thanks fdev, let's hope you can it happening

 

[MelanieFox]

It seems to me that FDev has lost control of one of its flagship games, ED.

I am fairly certain that most players who join a MMO game want to play with other players and FDev has lost control of that game environment (PvP).

A relatively small but very vocal and oh-so-rational contingent of gankers (we're good for the game; we teach new players that it's dangerous out there) seems to rule much of PvP. Does anyone other than FDev management actually believe the gankers' "rational" arguments for indiscriminately murdering other players? I don't. They're liars. They appear to be refugees from COD, Battlefield, and other games whose focus is murder, where all that matters is the number of kills a player makes. By continuing to tolerate their antics, FDev is de facto legitimizing murder as game play in ED.

I continue to ask myself:


In a semi-realistic, human populated galaxy, gankers would be classified as terrorists, tracked and relentlessly hunted by authorities until they were exterminated. Every time they were in Open Play, there would be markers, easily identified in the galactic map, showing their current locations. Not only would other players be able to track them as Bounty Hunters, but the local and galactic authorities would relentlessly pursue and attack them until they were exterminated.

Consider that ED is a game rich with opportunities to do many interesting and entertaining things. There are so many "professions" available to players. To choose murder as a profession is nonsense. Indiscriminate murder provides no income, no ranking (other than notoriety). Piracy is a profession; murder is not.

I have played games (COD, Battlefield, and others) whose focus is murder. Knowing that in advance, it was the norm and expected. However, those games were ruined by cheaters and I stopped playing them because of it.

My perception is that FDev is doing little to nothing about cheaters, gankers, and cheating gankers. I believe my perception is correct. When the ganker community starts complaining about cheating gankers, I think the problem must be pervasive (although this situation does warm my heart).

For rational people, everything we do or do not do, has a rationale, a payoff, a reward of some sort.

Ask yourself: What is FDev's payoff for essentially doing nothing about these problems that are significantly effecting game play and interfering with other players' ability to legitimately play this game?

It is my observation in Life that people do not stop ineffective/self-damaging behavior until their pain level exceeds their payoff. Only then does behavior change. I think this no less of corporations and other human organizations. Right now, it appears that FDev's pain level is not high enough to force it into appropriate, remedial actions.

I predict that until FDev is able to determine that its current state of relative inaction on these subjects is negatively effecting its corporate bottom line, nothing will be done to rectify them.

Well, this seems viable for GTA V or RDR Online but space is really big.
If you want to punish gankers, well search 'em and do it the usual way.
Track 'em down (bounty board, last seen, follow 'em), and MURDER (lol) 'em.
Nothing hinders you.

Which leads to the question is shooting pixels murder?
It's a game commander. Not the reality.

Let's get back to cheaters, shouldn't we?

 

[Axacuatl]

Well, this seems viable for GTA V or RDR Online but space is really big.
If you want to punish gankers, well search 'em and do it the usual way.
Track 'em down (bounty board, last seen, follow 'em), and MURDER (lol) 'em.
Nothing hinders you.

Which leads to the question is shooting pixels murder?
It's a game commander. Not the reality.

Let's get back to cheaters, shouldn't we?

As nothing much is happening in this thread anymore, I can just spend another couple of words on the gankers issue: it is ultimately the choice of FD how Open plays out in ED.​

​

The last time I tried it near the bubble, it was just as if I had logged into some kind of Eve online or CoD, Battlefield space sibling. Gankers effectively preventing any other game style (other than exploration which takes you beyond their reach but still too risky when re-entering the bubble). The point is that while in real life gankers would have to fear the grave consequences like (perma-death or) imprisonment for many months as the downside of their actions, in ED there is no true equivalent making it a more difficult choice. And of course an eco-system full of gankers and not much else would soon collapse because parasites need somebody to feed on who is doing the actual productive work for them. All of that is not being simulated by FD.​

​

So for me ED Open is just a more complex version of CQC and I cannot be bothered to log into it - I enjoy the game playing solo or with friends in private groups.​

​

For me as a player having opted for a different playing style than that of a ganker, Open is simply not an option. Even at this point, where I am returing from Beagle Point I just avoid it - just in case, you know. Why risk anything if FD have made sure that isn't attractive to playing styles other than those looking for PvP combat.​

​

Nothing more to add really. This could be a chance for another game to separate itself from ED but I'd want it to also have some complexity like ED because I enjoy ED very much as long as I am not exposed to Open.​

​

​

 

[DawnTreader777]

Hello Commanders,

We wanted to take some time to address some of the concerns the community has raised regarding the use of cheats in Elite Dangerous.

Cheating in our game is something that we take very seriously, and do not condone. Using a cheat engine, mod, hack etc. is in direct violation of the Terms and Service and EULA agreed to by all players upon setting up a Frontier account. We support honest competition between players, different play styles and each Commander’s ability to blaze their own trail, and we strive for them to be able to do this in a fair, safe environment.

We continuously work alongside our development and support teams to combat the tools that make cheating possible, and to take action against accounts found to be using them.

As with any online game, combating cheating is an ongoing process, and something that we are always working against. We work continuously to review and improve the tools, tracking and the safeguards required in order to tackle issues when they arise. We are not able to discuss the specifics of tools and processes that we have, as this would give the cheaters a significant advantage in being able to circumvent these efforts.

When it comes to taking actions against accounts we have identified as using cheats, we review every report on a case by case basis. While there has been a level of discussion regarding these cheats within the community recently, we can assure people that the number of people using these are a very tiny number of players. We are still working on new and improved ways of stopping these cheats and tracking and measuring activity now and in the past.

We strongly advise that no player runs Elite Dangerous using a cheat client, hack, software mod etc as this will put your account at risk now, and in the future.

We also advise against promoting or publicizing of any programs which claim to mod/hack or cheat for Elite Dangerous. Doing so can give players a false sense of legitimacy regarding these programs and ultimately lead to increased risk to players accounts. Rest assured that we continue to actively work on and address cheating in all forms and will continue to do so.

If you come across a player you suspect is cheating, please do use the in-game reporting tool to send us that information. You’re also welcome to contact our support team via a ticket to provide supporting evidence such as photos or videos.

Thank you for your time, and fly safe.

So no one addressed some legitimate questions about what is a cheat client, hack, software mod, "ETC". I really think someone needs to address if something like Voice Attack or some other voice activated macro software is considered cheating.

 

[Darth Ender]

i consider using a mouse for flying your ship around as cheating.

Though most people would consider anything that edits memory directly as cheat software. (literally the most common tool is called Cheat Engine)
Something that targets the network stack and drops packets given a set of criteria specifically meant to interfere with the normal function of the game would also be cheat software. (This would be trivial to script up...and doesn't even have to run on the local computer)
Something that macro's multiple actions in the game together external to what the game allows itself, could also be considered cheat software once it becomes semi-complex in what it is automating. (probably the most controversial ...and widespread)

Some of these things are detectable and some are not. Some of both of those things can be mitigated by proper design that makes their use impossible or inconvenient. You can get the gist of what fdev considers a problem by just looking at what they've decided to implement in the game ... you can choose to take advantage of that or to not... up to you ...but you will be at a real disadvantage to those that do. Even if you just pve (if you care at all about the bgs/pp)

 

[zimms]

i consider using a mouse for flying your ship around as cheating.

[...]

In that case you're just wrong though.

 

[Darth Ender]

In that case you're just wrong though.

the mouse pointer gives you the final position of any movement you make before the ship reaches it. So you always know where the ship intends to be. Not the case with hotas. And how do you enjoy a game where you're a pilot in a space ship by using a mouse instead of a stick? It's disgusting. Thinking about it makes me vomit a little just to get the bad taste of mouse flight out of my mouth. Cheating is a nice term to call it.

 

[Sunyavadin]

Players dont want cheats ruining games just BAN them for ever, you already have their money for their games anyway, whats your loss, I know players loose out and that has a financial investment too especially for promotion of the game.

I mean, at the end of the day, that's how you turn cheaters into recurrent revenue streams, to help fund ongoing development of cheat detection, since they're not likely to be the type to spend money on cosmetics, but you can make sure they pay for every account they burn through.

 

[Ratkatcher]

... a pilot in a space ship by using a mouse instead of a stick? It's disgusting. Thinking about it makes me vomit a little

No, that is just standard bile...

 

[RexKraemer]

the mouse pointer gives you the final position of any movement you make before the ship reaches it...

This is actually not the case!
The mouse pointer just shows the direction of your turning of two axes (pitch and yaw). The distance from the center of the mouse pointer defines the force (power of thrust of this axes). While your ship changes this axes the mouse pointer stays where it is, which means that the "final position" doesn't exist but changes with your moving.
It is just the same like a joystick/hotas, where you just move the stick out of the center.

 

[Northpin]

I play on xb using the elite controller - it is really comfortable for FA ON and gimbaled, but i find that it lacks precision for fixed weapons and for FA OFF.
recently i started an alt on PC, using kb and relative mouse - i find this setup ideal for FA OFF and fixed.
I have little hours on pc playing, but i'm already better in FA OFF than on XB where i have over 2500h
Also i got me a Corsair Scimitar pro mouse - having pips macro and 5 speed binds on the mouse itself is really helping.

 

[Lunchmoney]

i consider using a mouse for flying your ship around as cheating.

the mouse pointer gives you the final position of any movement you make before the ship reaches it. So you always know where the ship intends to be. Not the case with hotas. And how do you enjoy a game where you're a pilot in a space ship by using a mouse instead of a stick? It's disgusting. Thinking about it makes me vomit a little just to get the bad taste of mouse flight out of my mouth. Cheating is a nice term to call it.

I use a mouse and keyboard. I will happily switch to HOTAS but you will have to buy one for me. If you are interested in doing that I can pm my address

 

[Ralph Vargr]

I have used a Thrustmaster from the start. Elite, with all it's flaws, is much more enjoyable to me using a stick.