Does this count as cheating?

[SWard]

So I'm doing a playthrough of DOS2 and the giftbag for the definitive collection comes with some new armour sets and there's stuff you need to do to find keys for it, craft them etc, which just don't seem to be in the main game or thoroughly explained in the journal....

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3ct6xzvf4c


Is having your phone open with a guide on it next to you while you find the bits cheating?

I just know there's no other way I could get this set, it's too vague otherwise

 

[DXCHASE]

Nope! Isnt that a reason why people use dual monitors? So they can keep the guides open on one and play the game on the other? lol, sometimes its just a better time management tool than anything else. I dont have time to look for parts all day.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I'd never have finished Dark Souls 1 or 2 without the community guides. If people have hundreds of hours spare to work everything out for themself in games that are opaque like that, more power to them.

 

[SleepingDog]

In single player mode - no - it's your game and time. One caveat is that you are honest in your discussions with other gamers and don't make out that you are better than you really are. Me sometimes I cheat shamelessly other times not at all.

For multiplayer games - don't play them so don't have a clue.

 

[ZedClampet]

So I'm doing a playthrough of DOS2 and the giftbag for the definitive collection comes with some new armour sets and there's stuff you need to do to find keys for it, craft them etc, which just don't seem to be in the main game or thoroughly explained in the journal....

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3ct6xzvf4c


Is having your phone open with a guide on it next to you while you find the bits cheating?

I just know there's no other way I could get this set, it's too vague otherwise

Guides aren't cheating. Different players have different tolerance levels for floundering around trying to figure out what the developers want. Some people enjoy it. Others feel their time is being wasted. In any event, a lot of games almost require trips to a wiki these days. I think developers almost rely on players doing that.

 

[WoodenSaucer]

My wife swears that using a guide or walkthrough is cheating. Personally, I use them a lot, but only in situations where I'm stuck, and I really don't want to spend hours trying to figure one thing out.

 

[Pifanjr]

I would say it's technically cheating, but no one cares if you cheat in a single-player game.

Actually, upon further thought, I think it's impossible to cheat in single-player games. You can just call it "making house rules".

 

[ZedClampet]

I would say it's technically cheating, but no one cares if you cheat in a single-player game.

Actually, upon further thought, I think it's impossible to cheat in single-player games. You can just call it "making house rules".

Depends on the game whether it's "technically cheating". Some games, like Warframe, actively encourage you to use the wiki. They just flat out tell you to use it. Stationeers and several others that I've played are the same way. I've also seen developers link to video guides make by players. Space Engineers used to do that when it first came out and also had a lot of info on their forums, which is basically the same thing as a guide.

On the other hand, if you are playing an adventure game and you want to know, for instance, where puzzle pieces are and you use a guide, you could probably call that cheating if you wanted to.

 

[Pifanjr]

Depends on the game whether it's "technically cheating". Some games, like Warframe, actively encourage you to use the wiki. They just flat out tell you to use it. Stationeers and several others that I've played are the same way. I've also seen developers link to video guides make by players. Space Engineers used to do that when it first came out and also had a lot of info on their forums, which is basically the same thing as a guide.

Agreed, I was only referring to using a guide for DOS2 specifically. Some games just open a wiki in your browser when you try to open a guide in the game.

On the other hand, if you are playing an adventure game and you want to know, for instance, where puzzle pieces are and you use a guide, you could probably call that cheating if you wanted to.

I actually had another thought after I made my post. Whenever you make house rules, you're actually creating a new game. In a lot of cases the house rule is minor enough that the "new" game is functionally the same as the original game. However, it's a matter of subjectivity where the line is at which point a house rule changes the game too much to be considered the same game.

As for adventure games, those often are hardly games in the first place, since they typically don't really have a fail state. The only fail state is typically when you get stuck and don't have the patience to click every pixel and combine every item. Using a guide removes that entirely, changing it from barely a game to not a game at all.

 

[ZedClampet]

The only fail state is typically when you get stuck and don't have the patience to click every pixel and combine every item. Using a guide removes that entirely, changing it from barely a game to not a game at all.

That's pretty much why I stopped playing point & click games. I didn't have the patience, and using a guide made the whole thing feel pointless.

 

[Frindis]

That really depends on the game and what limits you set yourself. If I play something like Path Of Exile, I'm not going to be inventing (I will be reinventing though) the wheel again, but if I play something like a point&click game I would try my best not to look up any guide as I would consider that cheating in it's purest form. I would be able to finish the game, but I wouldn't finish it without any help, so in that sense, I did not really finish it completely by myself. Does it really matter in the end? Absolutely not.

I also think it depends if you REALLY like the game and want to invest your time in it. Like when I played Metro Exodus, I would get stuck a couple of times, but there was no way in hell I would search for any help. That was my game, my moment, and my journey.

I guess some stuff is more trivial also though, like I am playing Starbound now and will have info on my second monitor about getting the best pets, how to set up an automatic farm, etc. If I had all the time in the world, I'd probably try to find it out by myself, but that is just impossible when you have tons of games you play.

I guess you would not call it much of playing games if all you did was have a miserable time looking for stuff and never finding them either. Games are in the end supposed to be fun, aren't they?

 

[WoodenSaucer]

On the other hand, if you are playing an adventure game and you want to know, for instance, where puzzle pieces are and you use a guide, you could probably call that cheating if you wanted to.

And if you don't want to call it cheating, you don't have to.

 

[Zimbaly]

Yes, but it's a forgivable one. Some games are just nuts. There's a certain puzzle in a certain Tales Of game that I had to use a guide. I'm not gonna lie. I cheated and it was one of the few times I did not feel bad at all.
I'd do it again every time.

 

[SleepingDog]

That's pretty much why I stopped playing point & click games. I didn't have the patience, and using a guide made the whole thing feel pointless.

Not even if the story is intriguing or funny or just damn weird?

 

[Brian Boru]

Is having your phone open with a guide on it next to you while you find the bits cheating?

Of course it is, what's wrong with you?
Uninstall the game immediately, and play only on consoles for a year—without option for parole.

What's much better is browser or OneNote/EverNote open on your second monitor, that's what us pure-of-heart do 😇

Ah @DXCHASE another 😇

One caveat is that you are honest in your discussions with other gamers and don't make out that you are better than you really are

Aw c'mon man, no way I'm going back to edit all those posts!

My wife swears that using a guide or walkthrough is cheating

Look on bright side—she can't ***** at you for not asking for directions

DOS2

So, I had to look up what DOS2 might be—pretty sure it wasn't an OS or space station. The big Q is: was that cheating?
😇 or ???

Does it really matter in the end? Absolutely not.
…
Games are in the end supposed to be fun, aren't they?

Tru dat, heed the wisdom from between the flappy ears.

I cheated and it was one of the few times I did not feel bad

If something makes you feel bad, avoid it of course. Applies to gaming too

Conclude:
It's your game, screw what anyone else thinks, play it your way!