Integrity matters

[Len_]

Would it make you feel better if I told you your achievements will NEVER matter to me? We're all playing the same game so there's no need to pretend there's anything that actually hard or impressive to do. If you want prestige this is the wrong game.

[Aviatorhead]

Modbeast culture

What started years ago as innocent user interface tweaks has metastasized like a cancer into what we all refer to as “modbeasting”, players who have overhauled their character models, animations and environments into hyper-sexualised or distorted forms using client injectors. Defenders love to say “it’s client-side, it doesn’t hurt you”, but that misses the point entirely. It fractures the shared universe we all inhabit, and entrenches parallel ecosystems and cults of personality that enables and fosters egregious conduct.

Who actually gives a damn though. Like if somebody wants their character to look sexulized and I can't see it or even have any idea it's happening then why should I or anyone else care. I have never once in ny years run into this sort of 'egregious conduct' and if I did it'd be pretty easy to just report the people harrassing me and move on.

Seriously, your game is not impacted because someone else's character looks different on their screen in a way that you will never know about, unless they tell you (outing themselves as someone who breaks tos in a way that's easily reportable) or you use mods yourself.

[caffe_macchiato]

It looks like Square Enix keeps deleting threads about their lack of TOS enforcement. If they delete this one, I’ll make the next one.

What they did with Visna is disappointing. I don’t understand why Square Enix wants this in their game. Many games have mods, but FFXIV is unique in how far people can take them. Why do Final Fantasy XIV players like this so much?

[Carighan]

What they did with Visna is disappointing. I don’t understand why Square Enix wants this in their game. Many games have mods, but FFXIV is unique in how far people can take them.

Eh, so one thing, it's not the game. You're talking policing fan art, essentially. Possibly, but not as simple as removing something that's actually in the game.

Also, your second point... can you actually show that? That uniquely FFXIV can be "taken further" than other games? Or were you just making stuff up and not thinking about what you're typing?

[Bubert]

Personally I do not care about modbeasts. I do not associate with people like that nor I go to the “venues” to rp or erp. The only thing that its annoying is their chat spam advertising the places where they hang out.

I also don’t really care for mods that do things for the people, like making their gameplay easier etc. The disabled play this game and I’m sure mods like that help them a lot, bad players also exist and lazy players also exist, but again that doesn’t affect me personally what they do on their own computer. Even in the frontlines I do not care, I’m not there to win I’m there for the PvP series rewards. Lol

As for achievements… I also don’t get it why you care if they are useless as you say? How does it affect you personally when someone got a title or a weapon by cheating? Trust me, most players do not care about your titles or whatever else!

Overall learn to enjoy the game because this complaint is some cheesefinger behaviour I’m sorry…

[caffe_macchiato]

Eh, so one thing, it's not the game. You're talking policing fan art, essentially. Possibly, but not as simple as removing something that's actually in the game.

Also, your second point... can you actually show that? That uniquely FFXIV can be "taken further" than other games? Or were you just making stuff up and not thinking about what you're typing?

YOU are not thinking about what you’re typing. As said previously, FFXIV is the only MMO with a custom API that allows for arbitrary code injection. This means you can manipulate any client data stored in RAM as well as data that your client sends to the server. RAM data includes manipulating existing models, animations, posing, weather; inserting external assets into RAM; and interacting with any other plugins which are also loaded into RAM. Client server calls include positioning in the world, including PvP (allowing for under-floor and speed hacks), removing animation lock, and skipping unskippable cutscenes. No other MMO allows for this. ONLY Final Fantasy XIV as a conscious decision by Square Enix.

fan art

It’s not “fan art” if it’s done using assets created by Square Enix, with tools that are allowed by Square Enix, using a modding method endorsed by Naoki Yoshida, created exclusively in Final Fantasy XIV, and posted online using Final Fantasy XIV official hashtags.

Square Enix has low standards. Why can’t we be better than them?

[Kaurhz]

Honestly,

for the most part if you want integrity this is the wrong game. Both the community and the developers are for the most part fine with it, unfortunately.

[RaionKansen]

Sounds like you should just do some content

[Kup]

Can be. But most people don't. And people generally ignore anyone that does or don't notice it. It's not the massive problem you're making it out to be ie. everyone in my FC isn't automating their gameplay; everyone in a linkshell I'm in isn't automating their gameplay; if these things were the case, then I'd agree.

It's good that you haven't encountered it much if you're being honest about it. However, many people have. I have. I personally know quite a few people who automate various aspects of the game. I've seen many more that I don't know doing it. It's quite widespread indeed. More people will do it over time too.

[Scintilla]

For the most part, I have little/no care about most of these things.

Achievements mean nothing to me. What players want their character to look like to themselves means nothing to me. Cheating exists, yes. More should be done about it where it affects other players gameplay, definitely. But, for the most part, none of this really affects me enough to bother me much.

PVP has become pointless across all game modes. It continues to be infested with cheaters, hackers, win-traders, queue-sync abusers, and beyond all of this rampant cheating, ranked may as well not exist at all because of the bots and other tactics designed to keep those who do not pay out of the rankings. Much like the rest of the game, plugins to cheat in PVP are freely available and I really hope that people are no longer in denial about the rampant cheating.

My view on this hasn't changed. Cheating does exist in PvP and there is solid evidence of it. I don't deny that it happens, particularly within Ranked CC, but it's not remotely as common as players think. The amount of times I've seen baseless accuations of 'cheating' within FLs purely because my team are playing dreadfully and another team is doing well. It's not that they're cheating - you're just bad. Some are definitely true, there's no doubt but majority of the accusations have just been excuses for their own failures