2,465
edits
New GTS restrictions fall short of ideal (view source)
Revision as of 20:52, 3 July 2007
, 3 July 2007no edit summary
mNo edit summary |
mNo edit summary |
||
| Line 25: | Line 25: | ||
At first glance, this appears to be a victory for those against hacking. Players offering their legitimate Pokémon will no longer receive unwanted, hacked Pokémon in return. However, the "victory" is a double-edged sword, as hacked Pokémon may still be ''offered'' for trade. As the GTS does not give searchers the option of viewing the stats, capture locations and original trainers (OT), of hacked Pokémon, unless a trade seems obviously shady, it is near-impossible to tell if an offered Pokémon is legitimate. I was genuinely surprised when I attempted to trade a {{p|Palkia}} I received in a trade a few weeks ago; I received the roadblock message. According to the summary page, the Palkia has a non-suspicious OT and was captured at [[bp:Spear Pillar|Spear Pillar]] at Lv. 47. However, according to the GTS, the Palkia is hacked. | At first glance, this appears to be a victory for those against hacking. Players offering their legitimate Pokémon will no longer receive unwanted, hacked Pokémon in return. However, the "victory" is a double-edged sword, as hacked Pokémon may still be ''offered'' for trade. As the GTS does not give searchers the option of viewing the stats, capture locations and original trainers (OT), of hacked Pokémon, unless a trade seems obviously shady, it is near-impossible to tell if an offered Pokémon is legitimate. I was genuinely surprised when I attempted to trade a {{p|Palkia}} I received in a trade a few weeks ago; I received the roadblock message. According to the summary page, the Palkia has a non-suspicious OT and was captured at [[bp:Spear Pillar|Spear Pillar]] at Lv. 47. However, according to the GTS, the Palkia is hacked. | ||
Some have guessed that the inability to trade such Pokémon is ''not'' due to hacked status, but rather ''legendary'' status. A similar restriction arose on the online random battle function of [[bp:Pokémon Battle Revolution|Pokémon Battle Revolution]]; players are now apparently unable to battle with legendary Pokémon, hacked or not. However, responses by Nintendo via e-mail signal that this is due to a "technical difficulty" and should be resolved with two weeks. However, at this point reports are scattered, so it is difficult to come to a conclusion. | Some have guessed that the inability to trade such Pokémon is ''not'' due to hacked status, but rather ''[[bp:Legendary Pokémon|legendary]]'' status. A similar restriction arose on the online random battle function of [[bp:Pokémon Battle Revolution|Pokémon Battle Revolution]]; players are now apparently unable to battle with legendary Pokémon, hacked or not. However, responses by Nintendo via e-mail signal that this is due to a "technical difficulty" and should be resolved with two weeks. However, at this point reports are scattered, so it is difficult to come to a conclusion. | ||
The retained ability to offer hacked Pokémon by depositing them in the GTS encourages hackers even more. Hackers now have a guarantee they will receive legitimate Pokémon in exchange for their bootlegs. Obvious hacks, such as the two shiny {{p|Mew}}s I saw offered on the system today, can now only be exchanged for legitimate Pokémon. Smart players who are against hacking will simply ignore these, effectively clogging the search function with Pokémon that won't be traded. Those with less knowledge of the GTS system and the prevalence of hacks will end up trading their often-rare, often-cherished, legitimate monsters for cheap knock-offs. | The retained ability to offer hacked Pokémon by depositing them in the GTS encourages hackers even more. Hackers now have a guarantee they will receive legitimate Pokémon in exchange for their bootlegs. Obvious hacks, such as the two shiny {{p|Mew}}s I saw offered on the system today, can now only be exchanged for legitimate Pokémon. Smart players who are against hacking will simply ignore these, effectively clogging the search function with Pokémon that won't be traded. Those with less knowledge of the GTS system and the prevalence of hacks will end up trading their often-rare, often-cherished, legitimate monsters for cheap knock-offs. | ||
For Nintendo to ''truly'' curb the hacking epidemic, it must impose restrictions on the GTS for ''both'' methods of trading. Simply disallowing the trade of hacked Pokémon makes little difference if those same Pokémon can be deposited for offer without any obvious indicator of their bootleg status. In any case, Nintendo owes it customers an explanation or at the very least a practical set of guidelines for avoiding hacked Pokémon. | For Nintendo to ''truly'' curb the hacking epidemic, it must impose restrictions on the GTS for ''both'' methods of trading. Simply disallowing the trade of hacked Pokémon makes little difference if those same Pokémon can be deposited for offer without any obvious indicator of their bootleg status. In any case, Nintendo owes it customers an explanation or at the very least a practical set of guidelines for avoiding hacked Pokémon. | ||