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Confessions of a
Cheater
(taken from www.gamepig.com)
Like many people, I picked
up Quake II at the frantic urging of a friend who had previously
been addicted to Quake I. It was the start of a beautiful
love/hate relationship that eventually lead me down the ominous
path of cheating in online games. Here is my story.
In the
beginning...
I began with Quake II single
player to become familiar with the controls, although my ultimate goal
was multiplayer online gaming. I immediately became completely
engrossed in the Q2 single player experience. Never had I played
such an exciting and immersive game. Admittedly, I wasn't very
good at it, dying many times in the first level alone. After a few
days of dedicated single player, it became apparent that I would never
be able to finish the game. After complaining to a friend about my
lack of single player expertise, he informed me of GOD MODE. God.
Three letters that would unleash the cheater in me forever. I went
back into the game with renewed passion. I was invincible, what an
amazing feeling. Just a few hours earlier I was defining the word
'suck', now I am cruising through the levels with ease. I am a
God. I never did complete the single player game, I grew bored and
moved on to the incredible world of multiplayer Quake II. A world
that I would become trapped in for years to come.
Kill or be
killed... dead again...
I was not completely new to
multiplayer gaming. For a brief period I had played Doom II on my
14.4 modem versus a nearby friend. Although the experience was an
enjoyable one, it was nothing like what I was about to experience with
Quake II. I hopped on to a DM server (the only mode of multiplayer
I was aware of at the time). The game was fresh for everyone at
the time, so there was no bad mouthing or taunting, everyone was
friendly and obviously enjoying themselves immensely. With the
exception of myself, everyone had a relatively even number of frags by
the end of the map. I, on the other hand, ended the map with a
whopping score of negative one (I had popped myself with my own grenades
several times). I didn't lose heart, simply chalked it up to a
first time experience. I hopped on to another server in the hope
of finding some lesser skilled opponents. My second attempt was
slightly more successful. Although I was not quite the killing
machine I had hoped to be, I did get some frags this time, and I was not
the low scoring player at the end of the map. There was one player
who reached the server's 50 frag limit with seemingly little effort.
I was envious of his skill and at the ease in which he proficiently
owned everyone in his path. I decided then, that one day I would
also top the score charts. That day was not too far off in the
distance.
A great
discovery...
After thoroughly enjoying
Quake II Deathmatch for a month, I discovered Planet Quake, and games
within the game called MODifications. My first download was
Capture the Flag. CTF added so many new and exciting elements to
Quake II. Not only was CTF a great game, but I also received
points for the victories of my teammates. I quickly learned that
being on the most skilled team would mean I would not have to rely
merely on my own meager skills in order to come out on top. This
didn't take away my burning desire to be #1, but it did subdue it for a
time. It wasn't long before I found myself tasting more MODS.
Jailbreak, Weapons Factory, Action Quake and Rocket Arena were all on
the menu.
One is the
loneliest number...
Throughout my public server
experiences I was always noticing the high ranking players being asked
to join Clans. It didn't take me long to figure out that clans
were groups of the best players (or so I thought) who competed in
various leagues and tournaments. I wanted to be a part of this. One
slight problem... no one was approaching me to join them.
Apparently I would have to greatly improve my game if I wanted to be a
part of this aspect of online gaming. If I would not receive the
offers, I was going to have to take a more direct approach and apply for
tryouts on my own. Bear in mind that although I had improved
immensely since my first online experience, I was still far from being
the next Thresh Junior. I began cruising clan websites, and
selected many CTF clans to start with. Some of the clans I
approached I would later find out were some of the best clans in the
scene. Respected and revered CTF clans such as Peacemakers,
Crayola Clan, LoR, Elite Strike, Rest in Pieces, bezerker, Damage
Incorporated, Red Dragons and Bastards. I was granted a few
tryouts, all of which ended in embarrassment for me. Although most
were gracious in their rejections, I felt as though I was being
ridiculed by the CTF community at large. Which of course was
untrue since none of them knew me from a hole in the ground. It
was then that I visited a website which described a truly wondrous
cheat.
Tis better
to frag than be fragged...
When the autoaim program
called ZBOT first came out it was easily spotted on servers.
Although at first people just thought [Z-Bot] was a clan tag, it soon
became public knowledge that was actually a cheat which provided players
with precision aiming. However, the default field of vision was so
high that the [Z-Bot] players were shooting opponents that they couldn't
even see. Because of this high FOV, the Zbot players could be
detected by more than just their unusual tag, they were also the players
shooting out of their own backs. By the time I found ZBot they
were already fairly common knowledge, so actually getting to use it was
next to impossible without getting kicked off the servers. That's
when I discovered Zorbot. A glorious ZBot hack which removed the
[Z-Bot] tag. I also learned to adjust the field of vision to a low
enough setting to avoid visual detection on the servers. The
moment of truth... The first thing I did was to select a new handle.
I wanted this to be a whole new start for me, as well as a fallback
should I be detected. No more mediocre playing for me, I was about
to become a Quake II superstar (or so I thought).
My first game as the new and
improved me. I hopped on to play some CTF, ZBot enabled. I
went straight for the weapon which had eluded me thus far, the Railgun.
Staying inner base I started to pick off my opponents one by one
with ease. Not only was I a killing machine, but a defensive ace
as well, racking up the points to lead my team to victory time and time
again! After sitting atop the score chart for the 4th map in
a row, it finally happened... someone asked me if I was in a clan.
That question couldn't have been sweeter. I was being complimented
for my (ZBot's) excellent rail skills and finally people wanted me in
their clans. Without hesitation, I agreed to join a new clan
called Clan BBQ. I started practicing with my new clan, no one was
the wiser about my mock skills and I was quickly recognized as
their star player. Although, just as I was not satisfied to
be a mediocre player, I was also not satisfied to be in a mediocre clan.
I would leave BBQ and earn tryouts in the top ranked clans that turned
me down a few months prior. Again I chose a new name and made a
fresh start, wowing the 'elite' players on their clan servers.
Impressed with my superior rail skills above all else, I was soon
invited to join one of the dream teams I had put on a pedestal long ago.
Once again, as with single player, I was a God.
The end is
near?
Cheating in Quake II was
becoming more wide spread, many people were appalled and upset that the
game they loved was infested with cheating maggots like myself. I
fully blame the inexperienced rookie cheaters for blowing our cover
and exposing our cheats to the public. Many in the community
decided that something must be done about this rampant cheating, thus
programs like BW Admin were born. BW Admin was really well
received by the Q2 community, and servers were quickly
upgraded with this latest cheat protection set to detect the impulse
commands sent to the server by ZBot. But add-ons like BW Admin
were flawed at first, kicking and accusing innocent players who
were merely lagged out. This realization lessened the faith of the
users who replied on this form of bot protection. Respected
players were being accused by BW Admin, which was great for the cheaters
like myself who would also get nailed by BW Admin when it was first
released. Another concern was new Quake II patches which
would not be compatible with ZBot/Zorbot. One was on its way and
the community at large were happily waiting to see which of the
community's star players would suddenly go missing with the arrival of
the new patch, because their bots would no longer work.
Fortunately this did not pose a problem for me, the updated bot was
released the day after the new Q2 patch.
Although a time of much
concern for me, a worse time had arrived, the end of ZBot. An
announcement was made that no longer would Zbot be updated to bypass the
new versions of server bot protection and Quake II updates. The
false skills that made me who I was would now drive me from the game I
loved, unless I could find an alternative FAST. Within a few days
I happened upon the Mecca of all cheat websites. Apparently only
known amongst a small group of people, the site was dedicated to
cheating in Q2. Within moments I was the relieved owner of the
latest in autoaim technology, RatBot. Not just RatBot though, the
grand poobah of them all, the hacked RatBot, able to bypass all known
detections. I could safely continue my charade.
The clan
whore...
Throughout my stint in one
of the top CTF clans, I had received many a compliment for my sharp
shooting. I admit that it went to my head. I finally decided
that I was too much skill for one game alone. I felt it was time I
took an active role in other Q2 communities. Unknown to my
clanmates, I took on yet more names and began playing some serious
Rocket Arena and Action Quake. I would soon be recognized for my
skill in these games, amongst the top players, I would be known as both
railer and sniper extraordinaire. I started playing on the servers
where the top ranking clans would be.
In Action I quickly found
myself gaining the respect of players from Deathsquad, 20 Inch Dongs,
Doggus, Elite Assassins, Goon Squad, Ultra Violence Clan, Action
Mafia Cleaners, and Armed Weapon Experts. It wasn't before long
that I had secured a spot as one of the top snipers on one of these
teams.
In Rocket Arena I did the
same. My CTF clan did not know I played Action. My Action
clan did not know I played Rocket Arena. A different name for
every occasion, all with the same false skill that put me on the map.
Again I played with people from the top clans, matching rails with players
from clans such as eNGINe, Damage Inc, Asian Express,
Pirates?!?!, Epic, Clan Marauders, Clan 51, Apocalyptic Vengeance,
and Napalm Killers. With little effort I had my pick and opened
the door to one of these teams.
Now a trusted and active
participant in three of the best clans Q2 could boast, it was time to
take things a step further in the hope of one day being considered the
best player in each respective MOD. I downloaded the latest and
greatest cheats to accompany my bot, including the famed Nose Pak and
Rocket Trails by sYx66. Although these cheats were not new, he did
deserve credit for putting them together in nice neat paks for our
cheating pleasure. Then there was the invisible wall cheat, which
has recently been made public again by Megavolt (AKA [E:9]Phr00t).
With Pinnochio noses, glowing models, enhanced sounds, and invisible
walls, I was effectively able to broaden the skillset between you and me
once again. On top of my Railgun skills, I had now become known
for my ability to predict the movements of my opponents.
The final
word...
For every cheat you know
about, there are ten that you do not know about. For every cheat
detection program available, there are cheats that bypass that
particular detection. For every person saying a particular cheat
is not possible, there are people out there proving them wrong and
making the proof public. I have only mentioned the most widely
known cheats, I can't give out all of my secrets.
I am still a cheater.
I am a false Quake God. I am still on your servers. I am a
trusted member of your clan. And much to your dismay, I have long
since found my way into Q3A.
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