How Much Cheating Is Too Much Cheating?

[jpwwong]

Hey guys,

 

I just recently got Oblivion, and got notice of this website which provides all the hints and mods etc. Im torn between playing a fair game and using all the available 'help' out there. Give your opinions on looking at walkthroughs, using mods and cheats to play the game :)

[Stampede]

Single player games are meant for personal enjoyment. People who take cheating too seriously on both sides of the fence, are just sad in my opinion.

 

As soon as the game becomes boring because of cheating, you have ruined it for yourself.

[Dark0ne]

About as far as I went was making light armour and weapons lighter. I was sick and tired of getting weighed down all the time so just set all my core equipment to 1. Meh.

[Malchik]

When you have played it without cheats it is not so bad to take shortcuts IMO provided they are not ones that spoil the game completely. I lowered one of my major skills 4 points so I could go up one final level and maximise Luck. Otherwise I don't cheat. It is however interesting to look at a site like UHS and find out how many quests there are because at least one is unexpected and others hard to find unless you explore very thoroughly.

[Rhydderch Hael]

... I lowered one of my major skills 4 points so I could go up one final level and maximise Luck. ...

You could have taken your chances by spending time in jail to see if any of your major skills dropped to permit a level-up.

 

I guess that's my criteria between console tweaking and cheating. If your could achieve the intended effect (however inefficient such method may be) by playing within the game mechanics, a command or edit that achieves that same effect instantly is a cheat. Basically, the things that circumvent good strategy will detract from the game experience, becomes if you take the strategy out of the endeavour, it's little more than a click-fest.

 

That is not to say the game mechanics are perfect, given that you can remove all strategy (and challenge) through legitimate gameplay, thanks to things like 100% resistances and effects (Chameleon, Spell Absorption, etc).

[Malchik]

Yes I could have done, as I could simply have altered luck to 100 on the console. When you go to jail you do not necessarily lose major skill points and just going back and forward to jail seemed to me to add nothing to the gameplay. So I thought I would compromise. Since the extra five training points could have been used to train any others I'd lost in jail (all my skills are at master level without any form of cheating) I thought it was a fair choice.

[ReinKruze]

it depends on the person. some hate/despise cheating and anyone who does. some dont care about cheaters; but dont do it themselves. others might cheat a little. and there are those (like me) that may cheat alot in order to make the game that much better. i, for one, prefer to use god mode because 1: dying sucks and 2: my comp is laggy which makes it difficult to evade or hit an enemy. but i like to be a thief, so i dont use console cheats inwhich i get gold. (i may occasionally do the console cheat for a few hundred lock picks :P) as for walkthroughs; it is different from cheating. a walkthrough (as the name suggests) guides you through the game (or a quest) or w/e. i use walkthroughs when im stuck; not when i first get the game. also i (and others) cheat because it makes the game a little more fun. for instance: i sometimes use the console to aquire lockpicks. whats the fun in having an entire stealth character with no lockpicks? i'd have to go running into dungeons (risking the chance of skrewing up a quest) and im no melee character. so to make the game a little more fun (and a little less hard) i cheat. it all depends on the person; but most cheaters do have a line that they try not to cross where it goes from fun to dumb, thats my opinion (b^^)b

[es4player]

I wouldnt say using the console is "cheating" more like "Exploiting" because bethesda could have taken that out if they wanted to (its their game not ours we didnt make it) course it is a choice but i use it so i can dominate the game (i DO get enjoyment out of it and i do it over and over and i still have fun everytime)

[cactoblasta]

I honestly don't believe it matters if you cheat or not in a single-player game. If you change the game in a way you're not supposed to then it's your loss, not anyone elses. You should feel free to make whatever changes you like to make it fun for you.

 

Personally I can't stand training fifty minor skills just so I have enough +5s saved up to increase a level. So I use one of the +5 levelling mods. Cheating? Sure, if you like. But it makes the game more fun for me because it takes away the need for what I consider needless grinding of skills.

 

So from my point of view if you only have fun with the game you spent the equivalent of AUS$90 on when you've cheated your way into full daedric at level one, go ahead. Playing a game should never be a chore.

[Povuholo]

I only cheat (god mode, player.coc, tcl) to test my mods, or when i'm playing a character who i'm not seriously planning on doing quests or play a long time with.

 

With normal characters I sometimes do some weird console commands. Setscale 2 for example. You should really do that to a dead npc, that looks weird ;)