Getting Over Cheating

[ImInSpace]

- Do you/have you ever, sometimes, maybe frequently feel the urge to open the console and cheat?

My first Char, the first ever, was a classic warrior from Cyrodiil. I did not know about the command console yet, and the game was to new to me to even think about skipping anything, may it be per cheat or whatever.

I admit that my game was cracked back then, a friend got me a copy. I was pretty new to gaming and had no idea whatsoever.

(Dont worry, I bought a copy when I started modding, it was just for trying out the game)

When it got boring and i searched the internet for more secrets to discover, i stumbled across a site with cheat tipps. And there it started.

However, I wouldnt count my "pre-cheated"-chars. Sometimes I make a new char and instantly cheat some skills and armor, but only to play on adept/expert (depending on how much i cheated ;) ), because I want a real challenge from the beginning.

But yes, I often feel the urge to just cheat that bit of money or cheat that location on the map...you know.

- Outside of saying "Just stop cheating", what advice can you give to get over this urge to cheat?

My approach to stop myself from cheating is often to outweigh the needs of the many. I make myself a detailed character, with backgroundstory, profession, a set of skills (withh CCO mod like in Oblivion) and start the game with 6 main skills i cheat to a certain level and with some perks, because a hunter doesnt need to learn how to shoot the bow.

I just cheat it so it makes sense, and then i begin my adventure with the feeling of not beeing a level 1 vanilla Dragonborn that cant even kill a bear.

This takes out the urge to cheat in the beginning.

On my current, pretty new char, I only cheated once (apart from the start), and that was when I got 100 Gold for almost dying in a bandit raid. You get 100 for risking your damn life. I added 300 more, to stop myself from shooting that guy.

Back to topic.

Later in the game I stop myself from cheating by BEEING my char, acting like he would. Be the tree. Bee the treeee.

Cherio,

Ciro.

[ElioraArin]

Maybe it's a little overly but I imagine a background story for my character before I start a play through. I then install a house mod that fits my characters history, & when they arrive I use the console to give them a starting amount of money & items to fit with their story (trying to keep it level friendly if possible).

From then on I can resist cheating until they meet a follower for the first time & I want to give them appropriate starting items to fit with that play through, or for example when I've defeated an enemy I feel would realistically have certain items (like Thalmor having elven weapons).

If I don't want the character to start with a home I have them find a "confiscated" bag of belongings in the keep that I feel they would have had on them before being captured (I usually give them this bag even if they have a house to go to so that they leave the keep with the travel items I feel they would believably have had while travelling to Skyrim).

I find this eliminates the desire to cheat too much throughout the game, it allows you start as whoever you want to be, then develop your character from there, which is part of the fun of the game!

[vram1974]

I use some exploits now and then, like riding a horse up a mountain instead of taking the long way around.

 

I also blatantly cheat using the console to sell my gear. Instead of wandering everywhere trying to find a vendor to sell everything I just give the vendor the gold so he can buy it all.

 

I've had to cheat a few times when my character got stuck in walls and "tcl" out.

 

Two of the very common cheats I've used is the lockpick cheat and the no burden cheat. But I'm not using those right now.

 

Very rarely, if the game spawns an enemy while I'm busy concentrating trying to do something I'll just open the console and kill it but won't loot it.

 

And recently I was ashamed to admit that after 2 hours of battling Alduin on Master and Expert and being unable to kill him I console killed him so I could advance in the quest. I actually felt so lame about this that I started a new character afterward.

 

I also feel like "fast travel" is lore-breaking cheating so I never fast travel EXCEPT if there's a game glitch and I try to fix it by fast travelling.

[Avastgard]

This is a very interesting topic. I'll assume that by "cheating" you mean using the console to get unfair advantages.

- Do you/have you ever, sometimes, maybe frequently feel the urge to open the console and cheat?

No, I don't usually feel the urge to cheat. I usually just use the console to get rid of a bug or when I'm stuck at a place. Very rarely, I use it to prevent from falling a fatal height. I have cheated, although not frequently, to test a new mod that requires, e.g., an ingredient I don't have at the time. When these advantages won't make any big difference in the game, I just save over them.

I totally understand how a game's genuine experience can be ruined by cheating. My first playthrough of Majora's Mask was done following a walkthrough in a magazine. At the time I didn't really see what harm that could do, but in the end I found out that the game was completely ruined for me, as all the personal feeling of reward by exploration was completely gone, since everything was handed to me by a magazine.

But, to be honest, I don't think that cheating in Skyrim is a problem, considering it is a game made for your entertainment. If what you do is entertaining, than what harm is there? As long as it is restricted to a game, I see no big problem. But, judging from what you wrote, you actually found yourself in a situation you didn't want to be, and that is not entertainment anymore.

I'm not a psychologist, but I think the fact that you are self-aware enough to identify this behavior as being harmful to you is already a first step. What I really think you have to ask yourself is if this is affecting your personal life. What sounds exceptionally striking in your account is how simply thinking about being a "god among men in Skyrim" is exciting. That sounds like a "hand" of the game touching your personal life, and that's usually bad. Please don't take this the wrong way but if you you think this has any reflection on your real life, I'd recommend doing therapy to explore that. I started doing therapy about a year ago (for totally different reasons) and the only regret I have about it is not having started it sooner. The only reason I am suggesting that is because, like I said, you seem to be reasonably self aware.

Outside of saying "Just stop cheating", what advice can you give to get over this urge to cheat?

As for real advice to stop cheating, maybe try roleplaying, like other people suggested? I remember reading a blog about a guy who tried playing using nothing but illusion magic (http://www.pcgamer.com/an-illusionist-in-skyrim-part-1/). No weapons or other kinds of magic. Maybe setting some boundaries as personal challenge could help you. If you find yourself being completely incapable of abiding by your own rules, then your problem might be worse and I would reiterate the advice about therapy.

[cdcooley]

The urge to "cheat" comes from thinking you are playing a game with winners and losers. As a single-player roleplaying game, the only thing that really matters is if you are having fun. If using a console command increases your enjoyment then use it. If it leaves you feeling less satisfied when you're done then you'll know not to do that again.

 

I also feel like "fast travel" is lore-breaking cheating so I never fast travel EXCEPT if there's a game glitch and I try to fix it by fast travelling.

Fast-travel is simply a story-telling game mechanic. It's not cheating and it can't be "lore-breaking" because from the character's perspective it doesn't exist. It's equivalent to a novel including phrases like "the next morning," "later that afternoon," or "three uneventful days later when they finally reached their destination." The assumption behind fast travel is that your character walked to the new destination. It even takes four times as long to get there using fast travel as it would if you had used the standard running pace because the game assumes you stopped for breaks, avoided enemies, etc. and generally took the safe but boring route to get there. A healthy dose of fast travel to bypass the familiar roads gives you more game time for real exploration.

[ElioraArin]

Agreed, also, if you mount your horse & then fast travel while on horse back you will arrive at your destination at a speed equivalent to as if you did all the above while riding rather than walking (ie it's faster than if you fast travel while on foot) :D

[Laereal]

Man, I use the carryweight command all the time because being slow and overburdened kills the mood/flow through the game. And there's glitches to console your way out of and gear from mods I can't access otherwise, which I feel no shame in doing as well. I offset all of this by being slow and meandering through the rest of my playthrough, which is still my first. It's still fun as hell, at least when I actually snatch some time away to play!

 

I want to add some challenges in my next playthrough, but I certainly will install a bag of holding to keep pointles tedium and other frustrations to a minimum. :)

Edited August 2, 2015 by Laereal

[shep8234]

I have played this game many times now, so when i just want to whip up a quick character, yeah i use the console and other things to speed up the pace, but i have enjoyed the game through it's entirety, with the exception of being forced to use the console because game mechanics or scripts are missing, But honestly the cheating thing is a decision for each player, if it bothers you, then don't do it, but honestly lets face it, even with mods and other things to make the game more enjoyable there is times when you can't help not to use the cheat system, Skyrim is a great game but it has many flaws, and sometimes working through them means to take the short cut.

 

Me personally it doesn't bother me, i have done the grind pretty much did everythign i wanted to do, Now i just make up quick characters and go at my own pace, like i said before i enjoy this game because of the amazing story, so mechanics and should i cheat or not, don't bother me at all, it's a persoanl preference. Cheers!

Edited August 2, 2015 by shep8234

[ElioraArin]

Does anyone else find it hard to even finish a play through because they keep discovering more mods they just have to have, or is this just me?!? :D

[vram1974]

 

I also feel like "fast travel" is lore-breaking cheating so I never fast travel EXCEPT if there's a game glitch and I try to fix it by fast travelling.

Fast-travel is simply a story-telling game mechanic. It's not cheating and it can't be "lore-breaking" because from the character's perspective it doesn't exist. It's equivalent to a novel including phrases like "the next morning," "later that afternoon," or "three uneventful days later when they finally reached their destination." The assumption behind fast travel is that your character walked to the new destination. It even takes four times as long to get there using fast travel as it would if you had used the standard running pace because the game assumes you stopped for breaks, avoided enemies, etc. and generally took the safe but boring route to get there. A healthy dose of fast travel to bypass the familiar roads gives you more game time for real exploration.

 

Perhaps. But is there a safe way to travel from Riften to Markarth without a single NPC or animal or dragon encounter? And why would you want to do that? I suppose JRR Tolkien could have skipped to Mordor but... not as fun.

 

Still, you're right. It's all about what you find lore-breaking, not me. Personally I don't like it because I feel like the character is using a transporter beam. But others can roleplay it as an uneventful trip.

 

We often have to roleplay silly things that happen to us in Skyrim.