Achievement Hackers Accounts Reset To Zero

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There is no two ways about it, if you play games online you’ve encountered people that cheat. Most of the time you can’t do anything about it and that is part of the aggravation of dealing with cheaters. That is why I, for one, like Microsoft’s approach to the situation. You can still play online...but everyone knows you are a cheater. :cool:

As part of our regular safety monitoring we have pinpointed a group of players who have unlocked specific Gears of War 2 Achievements through an unauthorized hack. Deliberate cheats like these are in direct violation of the Xbox LIVE Terms of Use and will not be tolerated. As I post this, we’ve begun taking steps to reset the Gamerscores of the offending players. As I have mentioned in the past, this is something we do occasionally to keep the service free of cheating in order to maintain a fair and level playing field for everyone. If you play fair and earn your achievements without glitching or cheating, you have nothing to worry about.
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What's the point? Not like they can't just create a new XBL acct.
 
So do they have their accounts permanently set to zero, or can they accumulate points again after being zeroed out? If the latter, there's really not a definite way of knowing if someone was caught cheating or not.
 
They start earning points again (I cant find the link) but you know they were cheating because in the compare scores tabs you will see the original points (i thought)
 
Are there chinese xbox live achievement farmers, just as there are chinese gold farmers?
 
Does "cheating" to raise their achievement score somehow give them an unfair advantage against other players? If no, then who gives a crap because all it does is make all those e-peen players flaccid.

I get accused of cheating all the time in FPS games even though I don't. I sure am glad it isn't up to Microsoft to block my pc gaming. :p
 
MavericK96 said:
So do they have their accounts permanently set to zero, or can they accumulate points again after being zeroed out? If the latter, there's really not a definite way of knowing if someone was caught cheating or not.
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They can continue to earn points, but they will never be able to get the achievements they earned before the correction on that account.


Isn't DLC and the like attached to your XBL account, though?
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It's tied to their gamertag and Xbox 360 (they can change what system is considered the home system by going to the xbox website, otherwise they will have to be logged on to Live to be able to play DLC).
 
why dont they just do like steam where you can go to their profile and it says right there on the front if they have a cheating history? seems simple enough.
 
So tell me why do score/ achievements mean anything? :rolleyes:

Is it like an arcade game you walk up to and see 3 letters representing the high score?

Forgive my PC master race elitism. :D
 
MavericK96 said:
Isn't DLC and the like attached to your XBL account, though?
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Some DLC yes, some no. I have a Japanese and US XBL acct. A lot of my content swaps between the two accts.

HOCP4ME said:
Which would also reset their score to zero.
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Yes, but a new acct could regain lost achievements. I'm also uncertain if they tag the offending accts to show up as being a cheater in games. If they do, making a new acct gets around that.


Personally, I'd rather they just banned the console's acct.
 
ShagnWagn said:
Does "cheating" to raise their achievement score somehow give them an unfair advantage against other players? If no, then who gives a crap because all it does is make all those e-peen players flaccid.
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THEY care otherwise they wouldn't have artificially inflated thier epeen to begin with which is why in this case the punishment perfectly fits the crime
 
That is awesome. If I had an Xbox, the first thing I would do would be to earn that achievement. :D
 
And this is why I hate consoles and love PC.

1/2 my L4D achievements were gotten via cheats... does Valve care? Pfft no. Not over something that stupid.

Hacks yes, ban their ass. But illegitimately getting achievements? God that's lame.
 
necrosis said:
And this is why I hate consoles and love PC.

1/2 my L4D achievements were gotten via cheats... does Valve care? Pfft no. Not over something that stupid.

Hacks yes, ban their ass. But illegitimately getting achievements? God that's lame.
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So you're a lamer then? I mean, you did just say 1/2 your L4D achievements were gotten via cheats.
 
necrosis said:
And this is why I hate consoles and love PC.

1/2 my L4D achievements were gotten via cheats... does Valve care? Pfft no. Not over something that stupid.

Hacks yes, ban their ass. But illegitimately getting achievements? God that's lame.
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Ah, yes. The kind of player that has to rely on glitches, scripts and other lame tricks just to get achievements that COME NATURALLY WHEN YOU PLAY THE GAME.

I have never once attempted to play a game of L4D only to get a specific achievement and in my first few days, I managed to get 12. I'm up to 48 now and I mostly just play in friends-only games. Do I care about getting all the achievements? No. I only care about playing for fun.

On the other hand, you just admitted that you had to cheat to show off an epeen you couldn't even earn on your own merit. That's more embarrassing than being on a team that wipes on the first round in versus just after the 3 of the people you're with are getting their first achievements in the game. At least I could be happy for those guys getting it legitimately.
 
I like this approach. You get caught cheating, you lose all the benefits you were trying to get.
 
I'm wondering if there were so many cheaters that banning them would put a sizeable chunk in DLC profits.
 
So can you ban someone from joining your server if they have that achievement?
 
It's a pretty smart way of dealing with this. Banning people could potentially drive them away from the console. By simply resetting their gamerscore, you're teaching them a lesson while still keeping them on payroll, so to speak.
 
techrat said:
Ah, yes. The kind of player that has to rely on glitches, scripts and other lame tricks just to get achievements that COME NATURALLY WHEN YOU PLAY THE GAME.

I have never once attempted to play a game of L4D only to get a specific achievement and in my first few days, I managed to get 12. I'm up to 48 now and I mostly just play in friends-only games. Do I care about getting all the achievements? No. I only care about playing for fun.

On the other hand, you just admitted that you had to cheat to show off an epeen you couldn't even earn on your own merit. That's more embarrassing than being on a team that wipes on the first round in versus just after the 3 of the people you're with are getting their first achievements in the game. At least I could be happy for those guys getting it legitimately.
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That's nothing. I basically button mashed my way through my first fight on Too Human and got 4 achievements just out of my first fight.

I think its the Simpsons game that gives you an achievement for hitting START at the title screen.

And Guitar Hero - lose on easy mode. Start a song in easy mode, put the controller down and go to the bathroom or make a sandwich or something. Do you REALLY need a cheat for that?

I don't care about achievements unless its for something that makes the game more interesting and the achievement is just a side bonus. Like in Fable 2, there's one for getting all the gargoyle crap. Well, the gargoyle den has some sweet treasure behind the doors. Screw the achievement. I want my treasure!

I think its stupid to hack and glitch your way to shit. If its an in-game cheat code that's one thing. The developers put that in there for you to find. If its a glitch or game flaw/exploit, you're just being a toolbag at that point.
 
krotch said:
I'm wondering if there were so many cheaters that banning them would put a sizeable chunk in DLC profits.
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More the fact that they just keep coming back. Kinda like what happens on PCs and what happened in Halo 2.

XBL can ban your console from live, but they tend to only do that in more severe cases of hacking and exploits.

Overall the 360 has been a joy with very few cheaters. Compared to the original xbox especially.
 
krotch said:
Some DLC yes, some no. I have a Japanese and US XBL acct. A lot of my content swaps between the two accts.



Yes, but a new acct could regain lost achievements. I'm also uncertain if they tag the offending accts to show up as being a cheater in games. If they do, making a new acct gets around that.


Personally, I'd rather they just banned the console's acct.
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Reset accounts can still earn achievements, but can never earn ones that are lost. Here's the link on it.
 
krotch said:
Some DLC yes, some no. I have a Japanese and US XBL acct. A lot of my content swaps between the two accts.
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There are a few draconian DLC's out there, for example, for the purchased Ninja Gaiden 2 costume packs for 360, you HAVE to be signed into purchasing account at all times while playing the game, or the game won't load the costumes for you. AND, if you happen to disconnect from LIVE while using the DLC costumes, the game will FORCE you to quit to main menu, no matter what you were doing or where you were, and MAKE you select a non-DLC suit.
 
Punishment fits the system abuse. Nice choice MS.

I am glad to see MS monitoring LIVE with banning console hackers and resetting achievements for achievement hackers. Keeping a level playing field is key to a good online gaming community. Which is why its so annoying when publishers/developers don't patch exploits in their online games.
 
So, do these achievements actually do anything? If not, then who cares? The point in countering cheating is so that everyone is on a fair playing level, but someone with 10 achievements vs. someone with 5 is not on a different playing level.
 
Cyrilix said:
So, do these achievements actually do anything? If not, then who cares? The point in countering cheating is so that everyone is on a fair playing level, but someone with 10 achievements vs. someone with 5 is not on a different playing level.
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Yes someone please tell me, wtf are xbox achievements?

I remember BF2 on PC had achievements that gave you serious weapon upgrades. To be without them was a severe hindrance on your game. Flashbangs, .50 cal sniper, SCAR rifle, etc etc. It sucks not to have these at your disposal. I remember flashbangs could only be acquired if you had purchased an expansion pack. But you could still use it in the vanilla game against players who did NOT have an expo pack. I flasbang'd many a helpless foe who could never fight back.
 
How do you cheat to get an achievement? I don't get it either. Why does anyone care if someone cheated in L4D to get an achievement? Is getting achievements in achievement rooms in TF2 considered cheating?
 
Cyrilix said:
So, do these achievements actually do anything? If not, then who cares? The point in countering cheating is so that everyone is on a fair playing level, but someone with 10 achievements vs. someone with 5 is not on a different playing level.

uviuar2 said:
Yes someone please tell me, wtf are xbox achievements?

I remember BF2 on PC had achievements that gave you serious weapon upgrades.
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They're basically just for gamer "points" on XBL and PSN. They don't actually unlock anything special, like ranking up did in BF2. So, no, they don't really mean anything, but there are a lot of people who like to show off their e-penis by collecting them and saying "haha, look how awesome I am". :rolleyes:

To an extent I can understand this because some of the achievements are pretty hard, and completing them feels like a strong accomplishment. But OTOH, a lot of the achievements are super easy, and there's really no point in trying to get them all other than to bolster your Gamerscore.
 
like maverick said, they typically add to your gamerscore. So yes it's a lot like the old school arcades where you're just trying to get more points than the others and your friends. I have a few friends that we're doing this and it's pretty fun and interesting at the same time. You get to see your history of gaming and your friends history and see how they were earned and played. It's just gives a little bit more to the gaming experience.

Those comparing it to steam achievements: Reason it's you REALLY don't care is because those achievements don't add to a gamer score. It was implemented after MS doing it for the xbox. However some achievements are fun for fun's sake (getting gold time survival in L4D)
 
Netrat33 said:
Those comparing it to steam achievements: Reason it's you REALLY don't care is because those achievements don't add to a gamer score. It was implemented after MS doing it for the xbox. However some achievements are fun for fun's sake (getting gold time survival in L4D)
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I thought you got some equipment unlocks for getting achievements in TF2, though?
 
Grentz said:
More the fact that they just keep coming back. Kinda like what happens on PCs and what happened in Halo 2.

XBL can ban your console from live, but they tend to only do that in more severe cases of hacking and exploits.

Overall the 360 has been a joy with very few cheaters. Compared to the original xbox especially.
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Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly fine with my XBL experience. I'm more prone to see cheaters roaming on Steam than I am on XBL.

Vorazan said:
There are a few draconian DLC's out there, for example, for the purchased Ninja Gaiden 2 costume packs for 360, you HAVE to be signed into purchasing account at all times while playing the game, or the game won't load the costumes for you. AND, if you happen to disconnect from LIVE while using the DLC costumes, the game will FORCE you to quit to main menu, no matter what you were doing or where you were, and MAKE you select a non-DLC suit.
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If you disconnect from XBL, but you are still signed into your acct, will you still get forced to quit to main menu? If so, that's a bit on the ridiculous side.

Would definitely keep me from buying anything for that game. Might not even buy that game now.



Anyways, I don't see how any of the achievements are hard at all. Time consuming, yes. Waste of time, yes. Hard? No.
 
these "achievements" in games are really getting to be too much - now people are cheating to get them??!! :eek:

ffs, just play the damn game and be happy.
 
krotch said:
If you disconnect from XBL, but you are still signed into your acct, will you still get forced to quit to main menu? If so, that's a bit on the ridiculous side.

Would definitely keep me from buying anything for that game. Might not even buy that game now.
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You're asking me? It's retarded. You get accidentally disconnected from LIVE, and while still signed in and playing the game, you get this notice that "Biometal content is corrupt. The game will now return to main menu". And there is nothing you can do. And it doesn't care if you were fighting a boss or something like that. And this happens every time. And of course, the content is not corrupt when you're on LIVE. Needless to say that you can't use your costumes or that Mission Pack if you're not online.

Makes Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma on PS3 look mighty appealing atm.
 
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