RamboPreacher
11-12-2004, 04:06 PM
I sent an email to corporate at Activision about my concerns with the "cheat meter" in this new Xbox game. I was concered because before I heard about that component (which got me all riled up about cheating in paintball), I was going to use that game to actually justify my acquiring of an Xbox (finally). Here is the response from the company that wrote the game - i am probably going to be getting an xbox now. :)
Dear Rambopreacher,
Our friends at Activision passed your email along to me. My name is Patrick Moynihan and I am the one of the owners and founding members of WXP, the software development company that created Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball.
Please allow me to explain what has been called the “Cheat Meter” in our game (we prefer to call it the “Paint Meter” and of course our paint sponsor, Severe, would prefer to call it the “Severe Paint Meter”).
First of all, if you get struck by more than one paintball, you will never even see the paint meter – getting struck by more than one paintball is instant elimination. Also getting struck in the face by a single paintball is instant elimination. The paint meter only appears when a single paintball makes contact with you in a location other than the facemask (most common as a random shot off the break). When you get struck by a single paintball, there are several possible outcomes.
The paintball could “bounce” and not count as a hit
The paintball could break and count as a hit
The paintball could break but not be noticed by a referee when playing on
The paintball could break, and be noticed by a referee when playing on. Penalty incurred.
I understand your concern is with outcomes 3 and 4 – playing on. Most notably your concern is with outcome 3 – playing on and not getting caught. This is definitely cheating and I think most people would agree that in real paintball this is a bad thing. That is why the paint meter is optional in our game. There are two ways to avoid using the Paint Meter in Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball:
1. Turn it off. The Paint Meter is optional. When you host a multiplayer game, you can turn the paint meter off and it will never show up. When you join a multiplayer game you have the option to see a list of games that have the Paint Meter disabled.
2. Ignore it. This means that you choose not to take the skill test to get one of the potential outcomes of the paint meter. Instead, you are gracefully eliminated after about 2 seconds.
The outcome of getting struck by a single paintball is determined by the paint meter and the user’s skill. This is like a “mini-game” where you get a chance to affect the outcome of a single paintball strike. The percentages break down like so:
5% - Bounce
10% - Ref Call - Clean – Play on
60% - Eliminated
15% - Ref Call – Caught Playing On – 1 for 1 penalty
10% - Ref Call – Caught Playing On – 3 for 1 penalty
This system was developed with professional paintball players, including Greg Hastings, as a way to simulate the many different outcomes of a real game of paintball in an interactive way. In addition, the Paint Meter mini-game is quite a bit of fun! It adds a new dimension to the first-person shooter and breaks up the action with a different kind of play mechanic.
Video games often allow people to do things that they couldn’t do in real life. You mentioned football games in your email. Ever play NFL Blitz? It’s a blast to play exactly because it lets you break the rules – tackling after the play is over, etc. If you did that in a real game of football you’d be in big trouble! But that is why it’s fun to do in a fantasy environment. And at the very least, our game does provide consequences – in fact the consequences are modeled after the real rules of tournament Paintball (1 for 1 and 3 for 1 penalty calls)!
I do appreciate your concerns and I hope that I have been able to address them adequately. If not, then I apologize and am sorry you won’t be able to enjoy our game.
Best wishes,
Patrick Moynihan
WXP, Inc.
Dear Rambopreacher,
Our friends at Activision passed your email along to me. My name is Patrick Moynihan and I am the one of the owners and founding members of WXP, the software development company that created Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball.
Please allow me to explain what has been called the “Cheat Meter” in our game (we prefer to call it the “Paint Meter” and of course our paint sponsor, Severe, would prefer to call it the “Severe Paint Meter”).
First of all, if you get struck by more than one paintball, you will never even see the paint meter – getting struck by more than one paintball is instant elimination. Also getting struck in the face by a single paintball is instant elimination. The paint meter only appears when a single paintball makes contact with you in a location other than the facemask (most common as a random shot off the break). When you get struck by a single paintball, there are several possible outcomes.
The paintball could “bounce” and not count as a hit
The paintball could break and count as a hit
The paintball could break but not be noticed by a referee when playing on
The paintball could break, and be noticed by a referee when playing on. Penalty incurred.
I understand your concern is with outcomes 3 and 4 – playing on. Most notably your concern is with outcome 3 – playing on and not getting caught. This is definitely cheating and I think most people would agree that in real paintball this is a bad thing. That is why the paint meter is optional in our game. There are two ways to avoid using the Paint Meter in Greg Hastings’ Tournament Paintball:
1. Turn it off. The Paint Meter is optional. When you host a multiplayer game, you can turn the paint meter off and it will never show up. When you join a multiplayer game you have the option to see a list of games that have the Paint Meter disabled.
2. Ignore it. This means that you choose not to take the skill test to get one of the potential outcomes of the paint meter. Instead, you are gracefully eliminated after about 2 seconds.
The outcome of getting struck by a single paintball is determined by the paint meter and the user’s skill. This is like a “mini-game” where you get a chance to affect the outcome of a single paintball strike. The percentages break down like so:
5% - Bounce
10% - Ref Call - Clean – Play on
60% - Eliminated
15% - Ref Call – Caught Playing On – 1 for 1 penalty
10% - Ref Call – Caught Playing On – 3 for 1 penalty
This system was developed with professional paintball players, including Greg Hastings, as a way to simulate the many different outcomes of a real game of paintball in an interactive way. In addition, the Paint Meter mini-game is quite a bit of fun! It adds a new dimension to the first-person shooter and breaks up the action with a different kind of play mechanic.
Video games often allow people to do things that they couldn’t do in real life. You mentioned football games in your email. Ever play NFL Blitz? It’s a blast to play exactly because it lets you break the rules – tackling after the play is over, etc. If you did that in a real game of football you’d be in big trouble! But that is why it’s fun to do in a fantasy environment. And at the very least, our game does provide consequences – in fact the consequences are modeled after the real rules of tournament Paintball (1 for 1 and 3 for 1 penalty calls)!
I do appreciate your concerns and I hope that I have been able to address them adequately. If not, then I apologize and am sorry you won’t be able to enjoy our game.
Best wishes,
Patrick Moynihan
WXP, Inc.