Flawless Widescreen fix - Legitimate or not?

[Alexious]

I have the Flawless Widescreen software (although I rarely use it), and I just launched it in curiosity to check if any of the newer games are in needed of a "widescreen fix". In essence, these tweaks are meant to fix incorrect aspect ratio/field of view leftovers in games.

To my surprise I found Planetside 2 in the list. This is the description of the fix:

PlanetSide 2 - Patch
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Corrects the field of view while in a vehicle to match the field of view while on foot. The patch will also fix the bug that causes the infantry field of view not to be updated if the vertical FoV option is changed while in a vehicle.


Now, I'm wondering if this is punishable by Sony Online Entertainment or not. Obviously it's not a cheat, but nonetheless it's classified as a memory hack.
It would be great if we could have an official response on the team.

[Cee]

I hate the fov on the Flash, also it really needs a freelook key!!!
Keeping an eye on this.

[Zehtuka]

If it overwrites the game memory you have your answer in relation to cheating :)

[Alexious]

If it overwrites the game memory you have your answer in relation to cheating :)

Except it's not really cheating at all, just fixing a few problems with widescreen implementation.

[Murkie]

You assume that the restricted FOV in a vehicle isn't a design decision rather than a bug.

[Tooterfish]

I have over three grand invested into my monitors alone. I run Nvidia Surround on 3 U3011's. Often the FOV restrictions punish people in my demographic to make the game seem more fair to people with less invested into their computer. So, I can easily say that the 'what is fair' debate is valid on both ends, because it isn't entirely the single 23" monitor guys being screwed over.

[Electrofreak]

I think it all comes down to whether the fix constitutes any kind of unfair advantage. As SOE is tied up with fixing other issues right now, I doubt they'll take any kind of punitive action against people just running a 3rd party fix.

That said, if the fix gives you an advantage you're not meant to have, they might start swinging the banhammer.

[Alexious]

I don't think so, clearly that's not what the Flawless Widescreen software is about. It aims to deliver "flawless" widescreen implementation, nothing more.

[Forsaken One]

Corrects the field of view while in a vehicle to match the field of view while on foot.

You assume that the restricted FOV in a vehicle isn't a design decision rather than a bug.

fix gives you an advantage you're not meant to have

The bold is pretty much is what I'm thinking. The way I see it the vehicles are already power houses, and as such you should be limited to a more realistic cockpit view of said vehicle.

[Hamma]

The reason the FOV is different in vehicles is because they did not make the cockpits to fill the larger FOVs. Higby talked about this in the past. In essence, it's a design decision.

[Cee]

The reason the FOV is different in vehicles is because they did not make the cockpits to fill the larger FOVs. Higby talked about this in the past. In essence, it's a design decision.

Needs more head turn then!

[TheStigma]

I'm usually of the mind that FOV is something that should be left as free as possible rather than being used as some sort of in-game limitation - so personally I would be all for this kind of thing.

That said - anything that alters the game memory from outside the game is bound to be high-risk - if this game actually has any sort of hack-detection (we don't really know, they haven't told us anything spesific). It just fits the most typical type of hacking and is easily detectable if they are actually checking for such things. If...

-Stigma

[Forsaken One]

I have a deep dislike of cheating in all forms. my most hated is when people exploit bugs or overlooked things in games code and call it skill. (stafe jumping skiiing etc.)

As such FoV has always been a touchy subject to me. The question is.


When does changing FoV and any money part (better comp parts etc.) to give an advantage become cheating?

If I was rich and got myself a 100 inch wall monitor and set my FoV to idk whatever max it could handle, flew up to the highest point in game and could easily see where almost every player was.... is that cheating?

Where and when along the line did the parts and settings become cheating if it was ok to change around for those with lesser specs and stuff?

[Tooterfish]

When does changing FoV and any money part (better comp parts etc.) to give an advantage become cheating?



I really don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or offend people but I think that if this is really how you feel, you're better off on consoles. Additionally, I've seen my games get torn apart, pixelated, devolved into garbage by the need to keep console customers happy on their $200 systems via ports; which are the majority of games these days. When we finally get an exclusive of our own, I'm seeing the same happen to accommodate similar types of people who, like console players, will complain if someone else is enjoying a higher-end experience. Things like FOV are not intended to provide an advantage, it keeps us (guys with large monitors and surround/eyefinity configs) from feeling physical pain by motion sickness and headaches. As it is, I have to dumb everything down on my set up to keep the lower/mid-range enthusiasts happy.

[Forsaken One]

I really don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or offend people but I think that if this is really how you feel, you're better off on consoles.

I don't wish to hurt anyone's feelings ether but as we already have KBs and mice with macros the only thing left is built in aimbot ability. That computer part should sound fun to you. :)

will complain if someone else is enjoying a higher-end experience.

This is another problem with lots of people, stuffing their cheats under something elses rug.

There is no problem with you getting better graphics, sound, etc etc.

But when you start becoming able to see more or hear more its little better then a cheat.

an example of this is in some FPS games the sound files can be tweaked or one can use high end sound mixers/speakers to hear the footsteps that they shouldn't hear and in such a way that they can easily tell at any time where the other is. mostly the high end speakers or stuff was found out after the game stopped really being updated and so was never fixed, but still cheating.

Being able to see stealth/through walls/things that shouldn't be able to be seen being able to be seen via high end hardware is another example.

FoV falls under being able to see more and have more awareness then the guy next to you. That's the same as calling a maphack a higher-end experience.

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As for widescreen as a whole it was a stupid idea to invent ( what next? a round monitor?) and some FPS games don't support "real" widescreen because it is in fact a cheating device in FPS games do to the fact seeing more left and right is a huge advantage in a FPS game where a little less up and down tends to mean nothing downside wise.

As for defending those that have a widescreen. No one told them to buy a gimmick monitor let alone one that was known to give a huge advantage in FPS games. If they wish to use it I fully support them ether getting a stretched screen of what the box monitor can see or having to deal with the black borders on the sides to see in a basic box.

and widescreen isn't even a computer thing its a TV and console thing too so don't try pulling I'm anti pc crap.

[Roidster]

flawless widescreen worked great in beta,i updated for release,and i still get that zoomed in look running triples,right now im running on a single and i hate it,i hope some fixes come soon

[TheStigma]

Anyone calling widescreen a (paraphrase) "stupid gimmick cheating device" obviously has no idea what he is talking about... at all...

-Stigma

[Forsaken One]

Anyone calling widescreen a (paraphrase) "stupid gimmick cheating device" obviously has no idea what he is talking about... at all...

-Stigma

It falls under macros in rpgs, modded controllers on consoles.

Again the simple note is. Its only not cheating to you because you wish to cheat.

A guy with a device saying "haha I have more map awareness but its not cheating because I brought something to give it to me"

Is the same as a guy saying "haha I have a aimbot/wallhack but its not cheating because I paid for it from site X"

and what is widescreen then? most TV and things are for box screens. They have to make everything special which costs them more for widescreen users. Widescreen is a gimmik and will never replace the box.

I will admit that its "not a device made for cheating" however when it comes to something like a fps it gives users a very unfair and stupid advantage.

Again, if they want to use those screens for fps games stretch what the box screen can see to fit or give them black side borders to see the box, problem solved.

[JoCool]

Widescreen fix is fully legitimate.

I cannot play without it for prolonged duration since I get motion sick after a while in the Mosquito - imagine, just like you would read a book in the car. It is the same. I use the fix together with a Shader injector to get a sharper picture and remove the onlayered blur, which is especially disturbing if you take a look at the unsharp minimap.


Also, it is not cheating. If you considered the enhancing of graphics cheating, you may also consider 16:10 or 4:3 cheating since then you will see more of the upper and lower corners of the screen, and higher ingame resolutions cheating since it allows you to see further more precisely. So you will have to ban different monitors from playing the game, since 4:3 see more than both 16:xx, and 16:10 sees more than 16:9. Why not ban users who play with low effects - they can see through smoke while anyone playing with medium or high cannot.


I'd smack your head against the table and then hand you a whiskey if it would help to recalibrate your brain, but I am sure it would not. You are stuck with your opinion, the same opinion you have posted multiple times in a row now. We got it, you won't change it. That's okay, so move on.:evil:

[Forsaken One]

I cannot play without it for prolonged duration since I get motion sick after a while in the Mosquito

The legitimate fix is to play with the screen set on box mode (black borders instead of stretched view).



Widescreen fix is fully legitimate.
I'd smack your head against the table and then hand you a whiskey if it would help to recalibrate your brain

Its funny the one who wish's to have their cheating legitimized is the same one who would result to violence because they see the truth of what the other says and can't accept it.

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A simple but funny fact. This whole thread is about modding a MP game so that one can use their monitor to see more instead of forcing their monitor into a box shape mode to see the legit view.

[Fyrn]

I have people talking into my ears, telling me where enemies are that I can not see yet. Clearly I'm a cheater.

Imagine the pure carnage I could produce if I would be able to see 10° more of the game. I'd be unstoppable!

[Forsaken One]

I have people talking into my ears, telling me where enemies are that I can not see yet. Clearly I'm a cheater.

Now its just getting to stupid levels of people trying to defend it. :rofl:

Teamwork=another real being helping you through the beings skill of recon/whatever. Not a device/program.

Using your example being able to aim is the same as useing a aimbot/device/program.

[Roidster]

hey you wanna play on a single monitor,that your priority,multi monitor gaming is the next evolution in PC gaming,get used to it,only a matter of time before everyone is doing it,just like back in the day when everyone had 4:3 monitors,then 16:9 was released,and people started using them,and people would say your cheating,you can see more then me,now everyone uses a 16:9 monitors,not too many people are using a 4:3 CRT monitor these days

[Roidster]

flawless widescreeners are getting banned

[Snipefrag]

Well. It sounds like a moot point to me, SOE have made their decision, use it and you will get banned. Dont like it? lobby the devs to fix the widescreen issues you are having. Dont take it into your own hands and use tools that mess with the games memory to achieve the same effects.

[Hamma]

Yep sounds like it's in peoples best interests to NOT do this.

[Sunrock]

hey you wanna play on a single monitor,that your priority,multi monitor gaming is the next evolution in PC gaming,get used to it,only a matter of time before everyone is doing it,just like back in the day when everyone had 4:3 monitors,then 16:9 was released,and people started using them,and people would say your cheating,you can see more then me,now everyone uses a 16:9 monitors,not too many people are using a 4:3 CRT monitor these days

I wonder if you're not missing the point here. No one is saying using 3 monitor setup is cheating because you have a bigger field of view. Not even SOE. However to force it with a 3rd party program to do this will trigger the warning clocks that some one is doing something to the software that can be used to cheat in game like a speed hack for an example. And as SOE can't confirm exactly what you are doing they ban you just in case.

I think this is a good policy. Better to ban a few innocent players then let anyone slip through the cracks. Cheating in online game is unacceptable and if I was the Emperor of the Word I would enforce a death penalty on every one that use or write cheats in any multilayer game. That is how serious this things are.