Where is the line...

[Mirilion]

Suppose I want to creaty a magical enchanted armor for my charcter. If I do it, who is to say that it isnt cheating ? what is the difference between that and opening the console and "summoning" stuff out of thin air ?

 

Should I even care ? :wacko:

 

 

Maybe a mod is worthwhile only if you create it ONLY for the use of OTHER players..

 

Waiting for your comments and opinions.

[saldrex]

A mod is ok as long as you keep a bance in the game. If you create an extremely powerful item that makes you like a god to everyone i would concider it to be cheating. If you kept the banance of power and introduce new stronger enemies that you need the items to defeat i would not concider it to be cheating. It is cheep to start with the godly item in a normal game and makes the game less fun for me. I say that the bance need to be kept and if you want to become godly in the game you need to work at it.

[Breton Thief Oriana]

There is no line. A mod is best when it adds to the depth of the game, without taking the rules away, suchas the quest mods, or the image mods, etc. but then, actually, i cant mod anyway, so im not the best source.

[ohGr]

with mods, you can let your imagination run wild, a daedric katana that weights 1pound or whatever, does 500-1000 damage overall, and with a enchantment with a constant effect fortifying strength 10000 points, you can cross the line with mods, and literally, call it unbalanced, very unbalanced, people want a challenge with their games, something to struggle with, something to scream "MOVE TO THE BLOODY SIDE IDIOT!" at.

for cheats, its cheating, god mode, the ability to do anything with a simple 20 word command or whatever, cheats will always be around, for the people who obviously dont want their moneys worth in a game.

[Malchik]

Ho hum. I started a thread about what cheating meant a long time ago. The answer we came to was that everyone has a different view. It really doesn't matter if your conscience can live with it. Saldrex talks critically about unbalancing objects and yet plays at level 500 which seems to be a case in point. Because the objects are invented, but levelling to 500 is perfectly possible in the game, one is cheating and the other not. (I hope I'm not making assumptions there saldrex, it's not meant as a criticism.)

 

For me knowing I can spend several days making potions to sell for a sizeable sum (and having done it once) means I would not worry about giving myself the amount. As it happens I don't because I try other ideas but it wouldn't be cheating to me, simply saving time.

 

So there you go. Whatever you want to do, do it. But if you stop to ask yourself if it is cheating, then don't do it because you have answered yourself by asking the question.

[Peregrine]

I think there's a few questions that can decide cheating/legitimate mod:

(note: I'm ignoring mods that just change the appearance of the game without adding new content, or add something like a house that doesn't really change gameplay)

 

 

1) Does it make sense in the game world? Example, my weapon mod. I didn't like the fact that all the Morrowind spears were so small, so I added a full pike. It does better damage (but is slower) than a daedric spear, but that's how it should be considering it's much bigger. And the other weapons have slightly better damage, and a narrower damage range than daedric ones, but they're made by a civlization of master weapon crafters, so again, it makes sense. If it fits the game world, or has a valid reason for existing (other than its power), it's probably a legitimate mod. If I'd just said "I want more damage" and made a 1000 damage spear for no other reason, then it would clearly be cheating.

 

2) Is it balanced? Does its power make sense for what it's supposed to be in the game world? How does the enchantment compare to the enchantments on other unique items? Does a powerful artifact come with equally powerful enemies that you have to use it against?

Again, using my weapon mod. The damage is better, but they have lower durability, so you have to keep repairing them to get the full benefit. And the damage isn't that much better, especially considering they were intended for a mod that was supposed to be done after finishing the main quest. If it's not way out of proportion to the existing powerful items, then it's probably not a cheat. But if you make a 10000 damage sword, or a +10 health/second amulet, that's cheating, since nothing in the game comes even close.

 

3) How hard is it to get? If it's a powerful artifact, does it have a difficult quest to get it? An item that would be cheating if it was sold for 1 gold in every city would be legitimate as the final reward of a difficult quest. Sure, my weapon mod had the items for sale in Balmora, but with no enchantments. They're not much easier to get then a basic daedric weapon, which you can get at lvl 1 for no risk, or get piles of at higher levels. So if the difficulty of getting the item is about the same as getting an equally powerful item in the unmodded game, it's probably fine. But if you have a stack of 1000 damage swords in every city, that's cheating.

 

4) Why are you using it? If you're using a mod because it adds something to the game world that you enjoy, it's probably legitimate. But if the only reason you use it is because it makes your character more powerful, then it's probably a cheat.

 

 

 

Finally, to answer the initial post: if it's an armor that your character would have for roleplaying reasons, and it isn't more powerful than the other items you've aquired legitimately, then it isn't really cheating. But if you just decide "I'd like to have restore health 10x what I could buy legitimately," then you're cheating just as much as if you open the console and set your health to a few million.