Who uses cheat codes in video games?

[Roxxy]

I'm curious as to how common this is. I do, because I am very much a casual gamer, and I don't play for a challenge, I play to feel powerful and awesome. If I want serious gaming with a chance of defeat, I play a tabletop RPG. For video games, I don't want any difficulty.

What about you guys?

[Misery Esquire]

I love difficulty, and messing things up when I don't manage them right, but that said, I have a tendancy to start spawning myself things to fit a story that isn't supported by the game.

[Trazoi]

Save-scumming, yes. Outright cheating, no.

On a subsequent play-through I might play with the fun cheats. I liked Jedi Knight 2 and Academy with the lightsaber one-kill cheat, binding heaps of keys to commands to spawn different enemies, and a cheat button for infinite force power.

And every game is improved with Big Head Mode.

[Zevox]

Not in a long, long time. I can't recall the last video game that came with built-in cheats - that seems to have died with Rareware's talent - and I haven't had a Game Shark/Game Genie/whatever other cheating devices exist in ages.

Zevox

[tyckspoon]

Depends on the game. I've used things like:
-Infinite-money cheats in The Sims, because earning that money isn't really the point of the game; setting up neat houses and screwing with the life of your Sims is.

Using the console for various purposes in Neverwinter Nights/2:
-Spawning pointlessly rare crafting components, so I can create weapons and armor at a time where they are still relevant to my level instead of six levels later when I eventually find that one stupid specific gem in a crate
-Giving myself Collector's Edition/Preorder perks and items
- Deleveling and releveling NPCs so I can control their levelups, because the computer makes *really stupid* build choices for them.

- Creating pokemon that would be technically possible, but require a huge amount of tedium to create through the actual game mechanics.

So nothing that really helps me cheat through the main game- no maxed character stats or infinite health or ammo or whatever- but I'll gladly cheat away stupid design decisions and arbitrary mechanics that get in the way of actually playing the game.

[Acanous]

Starcraft 2 has cheats built in. Just as an example of a newer game with 'em built-in.

I don't cheat or even save-scum the first time through a game. After that, sure. Helps with the replay value.

[Daremonai]

Same as most here - play through properly, then cheats are fair game on any other playthrough.

I'm in total agreement on NWN2 though - what's the point of wasting feats/skillpoints on item creation when the game withholds all the relevant materials?

[Dumbledore lives]

I use cheat codes for stuff like GTA, when I just want to have fun in a sandbox game without worrying about consequences. I'll also use big head mode and stuff like that that is amusing, though they've faded out in recent years. Never really used cheats for easy advancement though, just seems kind of unfair to the developers I suppose.

[psilontech]

I generally shy away from cheating unless it is a game like GTA.

I mean, come on. Flying tanks and infinite RPG ammo. What isn't to love?

[Badgerish]

I don't use cheat codes unless they really add something to the game, like the character-swtich code (shapeshifter) in ONI.

If games have a dynamic difficulty setting (e.g. you can change it during play) I might change that down for sections I'm really not suited for, then change it back afterwards.

[turkishproverb]

I prefer "enhancement codes" "Cheat" implies I did somethign wrong. And I didn't. I swear. You can't prove it!


Crap. Only one way to escape the implications of this thread....

↑↑↓↓←→←→BA

[Teln]

On my first time through, I go strictly vanilla. Same goes for getting achievements. On subsequent playthroughs anything goes.

All this applies to single-player, naturally. Cheaters in multiplayer should die in a fire.

[factotum]

I used to do it occasionally, back in the days when I would keep beating my head against the brick wall of an absurdly difficult game in order to try and finish it*--these days, I just give up and move on; losing repeatedly is not fun for me, and since the whole point of playing games is to enjoy myself, well, you see the issue!

* the original X-Wing being a perfect example of this; I used to savescum between every mission, since you had to start right from the beginning of the game if you died during a mission, and I also figured out how to hack the files to give myself a couple of Ace-level wingmen in missions that allowed them. Even then I found the game extremely tricky...

[Gnoman]

Not in a long, long time. I can't recall the last video game that came with built-in cheats - that seems to have died with Rareware's talent - and I haven't had a Game Shark/Game Genie/whatever other cheating devices exist in ages.

Zevox

Many, many games have console commands (mostly PC, of course, but I've seen a few on consoles) that fill the same role.

I often have to use cheats to some degree to get past bugs or accidentally-bad level design. Other than that, most games are far too easy to bother with.

[Zevox]

Many, many games have console commands (mostly PC, of course, but I've seen a few on consoles) that fill the same role.
:smallconfused: What are "console commands?"

Zevox

[tensai_oni]

Last time I used cheats was when I was 12. "Save scumming" only really applies to games that delete your save when you lose or otherwise do not want you to load upon defeat. Like Roguelikes.

[Roxxy]

:smallconfused: What are "console commands?"

ZevoxIt's when you bring up a command line (usually with ~), then enter a command that does the same things a cheat code would.

[Gnoman]

:smallconfused: What are "console commands?"

Zevox

The console is a command-line interface that many games have had for the last 10 years. You hit a certain key on the keyboard (the console does sometimes exist on game consoles, but it's rarer) that allows you to perform commands. It is, for example, one of the main means by wich fps server operators kick problem players from the game. It also provides access to developer commands that provide the same fucntion as traditional cheat codes.

[OracleofWuffing]

↑↑↓↓←→←→BA

-Infinite-money cheats in The Sims, because earning that money isn't really the point of the game; setting up neat houses and screwing with the life of your Sims is.

And every game is improved with Big Head Mode.
Whelp, that was just about everything I was about to say.

Um... I heart MissingNo.?

Oh, yeah, and there was also that one time I played Super Mario Sunshine with Moon Gravity and Super Jumps via a GameShark. Then I rocket-jumped. Took a couple of minutes to come back down.

[Morty]

I use cheats to deal with the effects of bugs or things I deem to be plain stupid and annoying. It takes a bit to annoy me to the point where I use cheats to circumvent an element of a game, obviously.

[Shpadoinkle]

Generally I don't use them the first time through a game, unless there's a pointlessly stupid section or I screwed myself by doing something that I had absolutely no way of knowing I wasn't supposed to do, or something like that.

Subsequent times I'll use cheats or mod a game to make it more fun. I don't give a crap if it wasn't meant to be played like this by the developer; it's MY game now, I can do whatever I damn well like with it. In Baldur's Gate 2, for instance, I've removed all the traps. Why? Because they're not fun. Having to search for them all the time means you get to walk half a screen, then wait six or seven seconds to see if there are any traps in the immediate area, then you get to progress another half-screen. It's boring and tedious and if you don't do it you get hit with a pointless HP tax.

[Eldan]

Mostly when things would be tedious or annoying without them. I remember accidentally selling or losing quest items in some elder scrolls games and then just teleporting them back. In some games, to get around the grind and get on with the story. I hate nothing more than to repeat same-ish fights a dozen times just to level up enough to go to the next area.

[Starwulf]

I'm with Zevox on this one, I don't think I've used a cheat-code since I was a kid(So about 18 years or so). I do occasionally use a Walkthrough guide AFTER I've already beaten the game, but that's only if there are secrets that I"m aware of but not sure how to get. I'll always spend several hours trying to figure it out for myself beforehand though.

edit: Oh, and I will mod games like Morrowind and the such, games that were specifically made by developers to give power to the players to add stuff. I myself don't mod, I just download cool ones that improve graphics, add massive quest lines and the like. Always fun when you can make Morrowind look like a game that was released just a few years ago as compared to a decade ago. But again, I won't mod them until I've done a couple of vanilla playthroughs.

[factotum]

I remember accidentally selling or losing quest items in some elder scrolls games and then just teleporting them back.

They actually had an in-game way round that in Might and Magic 6 and its sequels--you had to go and talk to this hermit guy who lived up on a mountain and say "I lost it", and he'd return whatever critical quest item you'd lost. The time taken to travel to him meant you couldn't really abuse this, especially since your final score depended how quickly you completed the game!

[Starscream]

When I was younger, I had a Game Genie for my NES that I used a lot.

Mostly it was for silly stuff. "Hey, look Mario can jump so high it takes him like 30 seconds to come down!".

But I did have a few games I could never beat, like Ghosts & Goblins, and Solar Jetman. After years of trying the Genie finally allowed me to see the endings to those.

Oh, and I used the Konami code for Contra. Of course, so did everyone. :smallredface:

[t209]

Lockpick cheat at One time in Skyrim!

[Luka]

I usually spam the car explosion cheat in GTA 3 :smallbiggrin:

[Fargazer]

I used cheats to get event-only pokemon that couldn't be obtained otherwise, and I used them to retrieve a couple quest items that disappeared randomly in Baldur's Gate. Also, on occasion if I'm stuck in an impossible situation where I would have to go to a really old re-load to get out of, I use cheats to get past.

I can't understand why anyone would just load up a game and cheat to make the game really easy, then play though. I watched someone play a Total War game and give themselves stacks of units, going off and crushing everyone. I still have no idea why that's fun.

[Balain]

Like most here I use cheat codes here and there depends on why and what for.

Sims I would use the money cheat all the time.

Skyrim I used cheats to add a bunch of stuff to inventory to make new spells to try out the new spells on a mod.

I have also used cheats if I'm super stuck and can't get past something.

I've used cheats to bypass bugs in many games.

Back in the day when I would play ultima 4 over again I would switch the disks just before it would load and go find a chest and loot it over and over till I maxed out my gold and then switch disks back and back track so everything went back to normal.

Many games I wouldn't cheat per se, but I would exploit some mechanics in the game I wuld find.

[factotum]

I can't understand why anyone would just load up a game and cheat to make the game really easy, then play though. I watched someone play a Total War game and give themselves stacks of units, going off and crushing everyone. I still have no idea why that's fun.

Whenever I've ever cheated in a game it was a game that had a definite ending, so there was an objective to reach. I wouldn't really see the point in something like Total War, but then, I'm not a big fan of that genre anyway.

[Zevox]

The console is a command-line interface that many games have had for the last 10 years. You hit a certain key on the keyboard (the console does sometimes exist on game consoles, but it's rarer) that allows you to perform commands. It is, for example, one of the main means by wich fps server operators kick problem players from the game. It also provides access to developer commands that provide the same fucntion as traditional cheat codes.
Sounds like a PC-only thing honestly - I cannot see how such a thing would work on consoles.

Zevox

[Dogmantra]

I don't know of any console games where you're supposed to be able to get the console, but I'm about 80% sure I've heard about someone managing to get it in Oblivion on the Xbox somehow. I'm also pretty sure it was via an unreplicatable glitch.

[druid91]

Sounds like a PC-only thing honestly - I cannot see how such a thing would work on consoles.

Zevox

There was a console in two worlds... really the only redeeming feature.

[Tengu_temp]

I used to use cheat codes quite a lot as a young kid, but not anymore. If something is easy I don't need to use a cheat, and if it's hard than cheating would rob me of the satisfaction of finally beating it. For example: it took me many tries to beat the boss of act 1 of Witcher 2 (that game doesn't faff around, unlike almost any other RPG released during the last 15 years), but when I finally got him, it was so worth it.

I do savescum sometimes, though. Like in Fire Emblem 7, because having to repeat the whole scenario because I lost one unit is kinda bullcrap. I'll finish that game legitimately one day, though. One day.

[Starwulf]

What is "Save-scumming"? I've never heard of the term until this thread.

[Trazoi]

Save-scumming is when you frequently save before key actions in the game and reload whenever you get a result you don't like. Lost too many X-COM soldiers in that move against the alien ship? Reload. Get ambushed in that FPS and lose a sliver more of your health? Reload. That village hut in Civilization spawns barbarian hordes instead of a free tech? Reload.

It's a fine line between proper save game management and save-scumming. Especially for games that appear to be designed for people who bind quicksave to a mouse button.

[tyckspoon]

What is "Save-scumming"? I've never heard of the term until this thread.

Saving just before some RNG-determined event and reloading that save until the event happens the way you want it to. The thing that immediately pops to mind for me is the only-catch-once creatures in Pokemon, where players will often do this to force their desired Nature (a trait that alters the pokemon's statistics, so you generally want something that heightens the 'mons good point and lowers an ability you weren't going to use with them anyway.) Or what I rather shamelessly do in Fallout (1/2): Save before attempting to pick somebody's pocket. If you succeed, good! If you fail, well, they're annoyed at you and may have initiated combat. Reload save and try again.

[Othesemo]

In a game like Assassin's Creed, in which all success is purely skill in as direct a form as possible, I would have no interest in cheating. In a game like SCII, where it's just a matter of bumping up a series of arbitrary numbers, I'll cheat whenever I'd like. Skills aside, void rushing is fun.

[Mewtarthio]

Note that "save-scumming" has a fairly different meaning in the roguelike community, where it refers to any reloading of saves to try something again. The idea is that saving should only be used to suspend the game so you can pick up where you left off later. Most roguelikes will actually quit the game immediately when you save and delete the save when you reload it.

[Tengu_temp]

My definition of save-scumming is "saving and loading a game where it's normally impossible by copying save files, using emulator saves or other measures". Spamming save/load to get the desired result in a game that already lets you save and load at any moment is not save-scumming.


In a game like Assassin's Creed, in which all success is purely skill in as direct a form as possible, I would have no interest in cheating. In a game like SCII, where it's just a matter of bumping up a series of arbitrary numbers, I'll cheat whenever I'd like. Skills aside, void rushing is fun.

If you look at it that way, games like Assassin's Creed are also about just arbitrary numbers: you make sure the enemies' health becomes 0 while your health doesn't. Just because a game focuses more on strategy than dexterity doesn't mean it doesn't require skill.

[Teln]

Save-scumming only really seems to be frowned upon in the roguelike genre, however. Other times, you get devteams that practically expect the player to do it.

[factotum]

My definition of save-scumming is "saving and loading a game where it's normally impossible by copying save files, using emulator saves or other measures". Spamming save/load to get the desired result in a game that already lets you save and load at any moment is not save-scumming.

I agree with this--I've never heard of reloading to get a better outcome referred to as save-scumming. In games that don't normally allow you to save and reload (like the aforementioned X-Wing, or roguelikes), taking a copy of the save state before doing something and then reverting back to that if you fail--*that*'s save-scumming.

[GungHo]

Yes, I am a cheating cheater who cheats.

I load up trainers. I use console codes to give myself all 18s and a ton of gold. I will take advantage of every exploit I can... in a single player game. I'm only cheating myself... so who cares?

Conversely, if you cheat in a multi-player game, you're the scum of the earth.