Buying a second account... Would it be considered cheating?

[3361 1]

Hi, I'm considering to buy a second Arma 2: CO game, since I have some spare cash. Would you consider that cheating?

I will list a few reasons below as to why I might buy this second copy of the game:

* I'm about to die on DayZ, and I don't want to lose my stuff, this account could take it.

* I don't want to travel back and forth through the entire map if I die, since my base is on the other side of the map. This account could get my car when/if I get one, and pick me up. It would also be a lot closer to where I died, so it could get back my stuff.

* Target Practice :D

* Learn how many bullets are needed to kill someone with different weapons without actually having to go killing some innocent survivor (I'm not a bandit)

* A few of my friends who don't have this game could play it with me, without them also having to buy it.

* I could transfer blood from myself, to myself :P

* Could have one account watching my base while I do other things on my other computer. If someone comes, and I think I can kill them, I can log on and try :D (Not killing them to be mean, but to try to hide my base :S)

Probably a few more reasons, but none that I can remember at the moment...

So, what do you think? Would this be considered cheating? I personally think it would be cheating to some extent, but I also think 3rd person, corshair (don't know how it's spelled), the debug monitor, and all that stuff would be considered "cheating", at least if you think this game is somewhat supposed to be as realistic as possible.

If realism isn't the goal, then why shouldn't you be able to be in control of 2 different people? :D

[steve t 32]

To each their own but personally I feel that this will be taking away from your experience.

The risk of dying and having to start over is an integral part of the mod. If you take that away, you may as well buy a BF3 where dying does not matter.

I would rather play the game as it was intended although I make certain exceptions. There issues which exist in this form of the mod, (pre-stand alone), like coming across a stash of vehicles. They are probably hacked in...and one needs to make a choice. Do I take one or not?

This morning I came across a stash of boats, atv's cars and such. I ended up taking a bike....my argument being that if I do not, the next guy will.

I wish I had a countdown timer for the stand alone......I simply cannot wait for the launch.

[Axxassin 49]

or you will just use one of the acocunts to hack..

[azlen 14]

I don't see any reason to see it as cheating. You are giving yourself an advantage, and although i'm sure there are some people out there who might say otherwise, what's wrong with that? If you can enhance your own gaming experience, I say go for it. But also keep in mind that in regaurds to grabbing your stuff between characters, you are going to be more attached to your things, and constantly worrying about dying to that extent detracts from the fun of the game! Just something to think about.

~Azgaurd

[RabidDiabetic 63]

I don't think it's cheating but close to it. You are giving yourself an advantage that the other people in the game do not have by playing the game as intended. In my personal opinion you are turning it into a classic pay-to-win type game. Free to play games that have an in-game store that you can use real money to purchase items that get you ahead of the competition. In my opinion by buying an extra account that is what you are doing.

tldr: Not cheating but taking away from what the game really is

[raoul05 7]

nowadays it's pretty much the only option to safe some gear..

works like a charm too (google Arma OA cdkeychanger)

[RabidDiabetic 63]

nowadays it's pretty much the only option to safe some gear..

works like a charm too (google Arma OA cdkeychanger)

Now this is certainly cheating if I'm reading this correctly. fyi when you google said phrase the first website is called "***" I mean come on.

[3361 1]

I bought a new account, but I won't be using it to store items when I'm offline, never said I was going to do that. I only want it so I can more easily transport items, and bring some extra supplies if my main Character is about to die.

[raoul05 7]

huh? how are you gonna access your second account if not by changing the cdkey?^^

and w/o tents how else are you gonna store items?

[3361 1]

Steam changes the CD-key for you if you launch the game once on steam, or so someone else who has 2 copies of the game said.

I will be using tents, what I meant is that I won't be storing items IN this accounts inventory when I'm offline. My items will be in a tent where everyone can steal it.

[Herb (DayZ) 121]

* Target Practice :D

* Learn how many bullets are needed to kill someone with different weapons without actually having to go killing some innocent survivor (I'm not a bandit)

arma 2?

[3361 1]

arma 2?

I feel really stupid now :S

Haha! :P Well, I'd rather do it in DayZ anyways... But aren't guns slightly changed? The range and damage at least?

[RabidDiabetic 63]

I bought a new account, but I won't be using it to store items when I'm offline, never said I was going to do that. I only want it so I can more easily transport items, and bring some extra supplies if my main Character is about to die.

The first thing I said is still valid, giving yourself an advantage others don't have. You are essentially replacing the need to find other like-minded survivors to help you with a dummy account to help yourself. Again, it's not cheating just taking from the overall experience of the game in my opinion. It breaks down like this no matter how you wanna look at it: pay more money, make the game easier.

[RabidDiabetic 63]

Steam changes the CD-key for you if you launch the game once on steam, or so someone else who has 2 copies of the game said.

Took this the wrong way, I was reading changer and thinking generator. My bad.

[azlen 14]

I don't really see it as pay to win. Here is what pay to win is: You pay money, life gets easier by a flat amount. The only tradeoff is the money. With another account, this is not so. Because WITH that second account, think of what all comes into play. He has to actively manage 2 blood levels, 2 inventories, 2 locations, 2 whole games essentially. Another account adds alot more technical control to be used effectively. It isn't some bot that will be a dead-aim sniper and always have blood bags/bandages/epi-pens ready and waiting. HE still has to do everything himself. All it does is give him more options in regaurds to the game, but does it just make the game easier? I say no. I see what you are saying, that someone with only one account can't do what he does, but their life is also much easier, choices are simpler. Having two accounts doesn't just make the game flat out easier, so that's why I say it isn't exactly cheating.

As I said before though, it WOULD detract (in my opinion) from what DayZ should be. But is it cheating? Not really. Just more possibilities to a game.

~Azgaurd

[raoul05 7]

Steam changes the CD-key for you if you launch the game once on steam, or so someone else who has 2 copies of the game said.

yeah well there's a world outside of steam... and it's beautiful

My items will be in a tent where everyone can steal it.

until the server restarts, that is... then everything is gone ;)

Edited September 5, 2012 by raoul05

[3361 1]

yeah well there's a world outside of steam... and it's beautiful

until the server restarts, that is... then everything is gone ;)

Well, there probably is, and when I need something steam can't provide, I of course go there.

Well, you can save your tents, so it doesn't disappear, no? That's at least what other players told me :S

[3361 1]

Well, I kinda disagree on the point that it will remove some of the fun of the game.

When I'm about to die, and I'm standing alone, bleeding out, I log off, and wait for one of my 6 friends who I play with to help me. I survive almost all the time, and if I am unlucky and die, they take my important stuff back to our camp. Now that I have this second account, the same thing will happen, just faster.

And I'm not going to be using it for other things than to move items from one place to another, possibly heal myself when I run out of cooked meat, and send it on a trip to town from time to time.

I don't see that it removes much, does it? Is there something I'm not noticing? Like Azguard said, I will have to get food and water for this Character too, going to treat it the same way as I'm treating my main Character.

Is there something I'm missing, that I'm taking away from the experience of this game? (if that's the case, I might just use it so I can play separately on two accounts, and have 2 different Characters whom don't interact with each other)

[raoul05 7]

Well, there probably is, and when I need something steam can't provide, I of course go there.

didn't mean to be a smartass.. it's just that w/o steam you can just change the cdkey that arma stores in the registry and switch from one account to the other with ease. But i'm sure there is a way to do this w the steam version as well.

Well, you can save your tents, so it doesn't disappear, no? That's at least what other players told me :S

well that's the problem... as of 1.7.2.5 tents do not work as intended. Meaning after a server restart everything stored within the tent will be gone (saved or not)

this is pretty much the only reason we bought a second acc. so we'd have a safe storage until this goddamned bug is fixed.

[pillerking@yahoo.com 72]

[HMS 115]

Simple answer to your question:

No.

[3361 1]

didn't mean to be a smartass.. it's just that w/o steam you can just change the cdkey that arma stores in the registry and switch from one account to the other with ease. But i'm sure there is a way to do this w the steam version as well.

well that's the problem... as of 1.7.2.5 tents do not work as intended. Meaning after a server restart everything stored within the tent will be gone (saved or not)

this is pretty much the only reason we bought a second acc. so we'd have a safe storage until this goddamned bug is fixed.

Didn't think you were a smart-ass, it might be even easier to switch outside of steam, but I prefer what I already know.

Tents don't work properly? WHY DON'T THEY JUST R4PE ME IN THE A$$ WITH A CHAINSAW!?!?!? :'(

I haven't been at my camp in a couple of days, don't know when server reset is, and all my good stuff is there :S

[RabidDiabetic 63]

I don't really see it as pay to win. Here is what pay to win is: You pay money, life gets easier by a flat amount. The only tradeoff is the money. With another account, this is not so. Because WITH that second account, think of what all comes into play. He has to actively manage 2 blood levels, 2 inventories, 2 locations, 2 whole games essentially. Another account adds alot more technical control to be used effectively. It isn't some bot that will be a dead-aim sniper and always have blood bags/bandages/epi-pens ready and waiting. HE still has to do everything himself. All it does is give him more options in regaurds to the game, but does it just make the game easier? I say no. I see what you are saying, that someone with only one account can't do what he does, but their life is also much easier, choices are simpler. Having two accounts doesn't just make the game flat out easier, so that's why I say it isn't exactly cheating.

As I said before though, it WOULD detract (in my opinion) from what DayZ should be. But is it cheating? Not really. Just more possibilities to a game.

~Azgaurd

The way see it given my limited playtime is like this. It's like a personal bank. You say he has to worry about playing the game twice now basically, but really he has a main character and an expendable one. I hear getting into Cherno can be a very risky task, but can be very rewarding. Your classic high risk/high reward scenario. Now take away the risk. You leave your good stuff with a character that is fully mobile and you take another one to Cherno for a no risk run at supplies.

If you use it like a tent and don't move it from one spot and you are truly just using it in place of tent storage then fine. But if you hop in a car to go pick up your other account that just spawned at the beach that's a different matter. You CAN take all risk out of the game by having a safe character at all times and you still have to only maintain that character because the other is expendable.

Now you can say you only want to use it for this or that and you aren't going to exploit it but from a point of view wider than what YOU say you will use it for makes it cheap. Like I said it's not cheating but certainly exploiting an advantage you weren't meant to have by playing the game with one account as intended. You are paying to give yourself an advantage.

You CAN view it as:

He has to actively manage 2 blood levels, 2 inventories, 2 locations, 2 whole games essentially. Another account adds alot more technical control to be used effectively.

However you would be forcing yourself to play that way when in reality only one of the accounts NEEDS to live, the other can be let die if he has nothing of value.

I'm not saying this is how everyone will use it I'm just pointing out that it can be used this way in which case it's still not cheating but a game-breaker for sure.

[3361 1]

Vrael, I see your point.

[RabidDiabetic 63]

Vrael, I see your point.

I mean you could absolutely use it in a totally fair and even more challenging manner as others have pointed out I'm just pointing out that the ability to exploit it majorly is clearly there.

I'll be honest the reason I see the exploitation so obviously is because that's how I think. I've always looked at games as how can I get the end result fastest even if it costs me real money. This game gives me a totally different feeling though and I'm excited to play the game and dread getting to the point where I have everything I need and have to look around and say "what now?"

I hope you resist the urge to exploit the second account because I think it will ruin the game for you in the long run. However using it in place of tents given their current state seems absolutely legitimate.

Enjoy