CHEATING in GT Academy!?

[Forcednduckshn]

I have never been one to cry hax because someone is quicker than me. I am far from the fastest, especially in GT5 having no previous Gran Turismo experience.

z06 pointed out to me that it is possible to practice in Seasonal Events without posting a lap time on the leaderboards, so this is what I will make myself believe in order to have peace of mind.

I'll give the guy the benefit of the doubt and just drop it. If he does end up being a multitagger, then well, it won't be the first time I've caught someone doing that in an online tournament.

TRCHunk,

As a guy that is in the top 10/20 right now (and moving up) I just want to thank you for keeping a lookout for the cheaters. There is no place for it here and I would hate to see some people bumped because of it. Please continue to keep a eye out. It's much appreciated (even if some people feel the need to break your balls about it.)

Thank you,

Nick

 

[SLAPHAPPYFRANKY]

I noticed that to. It does seem a little fishy coming out of nowhere and setting those times. If his cheating then they'll find it and if not then when/if he comes to the finals and cant drive then we'll know.

 

[Tommy_861]

I just don't see what the big issue is. Just because someone creates a PSN account simply for the reason of the contest, as long as he/she is not using another PSN for the contest as well does not mean he/she is cheating.

Maybe they just want to do the contest anonymously, who knows, who cares its their business and not yours. You can see their replays, in the end they are just out driving you (and me).

 

[blindsidefive0]

I just don't see what the big issue is. Just because someone creates a PSN account simply for the reason of the contest, as long as he/she is not using another PSN for the contest as well does not mean he/she is cheating.

Maybe they just want to do the contest anonymously, who knows, who cares its their business and not yours. You can see their replays, in the end they are just out driving you (and me).

I don't think the issue is that they are creating a 2nd PSN just for the contest. The concern is that someone might be competing with 2 separate PSNs.

Right now it's easy to say "just make the top 128" because one or two spots don't really matter (and likely drivers over 100+ will just be eliminated in the next round anyway). However, when round 2 and 3 are cut to 16 and 8, respectively, each spot is going to matter - especially to that 9th driver who doesn't get to go to Orlando.

I don't know if anyone is cheating, and right now I don't care - but I empathize with the concern.

 

[Tommy_861]

I don't think the issue is that they are creating a 2nd PSN just for the contest. The concern is that someone might be competing with 2 separate PSNs.

Right now it's easy to say "just make the top 128" because one or two spots don't really matter (and likely drivers over 100+ will just be eliminated in the next round anyway). However, when round 2 and 3 are cut to 16 and 8, respectively, each spot is going to matter - especially to that 9th driver who doesn't get to go to Orlando.

I don't know if anyone is cheating, and right now I don't care - but I empathize with the concern.

Heres the issue. There is no limit on how many laps you complete nor is there anything to show how many, nor does it affect your ranking. You could literally do a billion laps and come in first and that first one is all that matters. So there really is no advantage at all to competing with multiple PSNs. Not only that they can easily cross reference PSNs and real life names/etc so if the same person is registered twice they can be busted very quickly, and then the next players move up. You're probably actually harming yourself by entering twice as you will likely be caught. I'm sure once the people are cut down to lower numbers, real names and info will be checked, they aren't that dumb.

 

[blindsidefive0]

Heres the issue. There is no limit on how many laps you complete nor is there anything to show how many, nor does it affect your ranking. You could literally do a billion laps and come in first and that first one is all that matters. So there really is no advantage at all to competing with multiple PSNs. Not only that they can easily cross reference PSNs and real life names/etc so if the same person is registered twice they can be busted very quickly, and then the next players move up. You're probably actually harming yourself by entering twice as you will likely be caught. I'm sure once the people are cut down to lower numbers, real names and info will be checked, they aren't that dumb.

It could also be a mistake - you get logged off during a session where you post some nice laps and log in to your "other" PSN...

Or you could just throw up some laps to help a friend out by getting to the next round.

There's more than one possibility of why someone might do this, and thus why this is explicitly called out by the sponsors in the official rules.

 

[Tommy_861]

It could also be a mistake - you get logged off during a session where you post some nice laps and log in to your "other" PSN...

Or you could just throw up some laps to help a friend out by getting to the next round.

There's more than one possibility of why someone might do this, and thus why this is explicitly called out by the sponsors in the official rules.

The first mistake couldn't happen because to access the GT Academy you would have to register both PSNs for the game.

The second thing you would be using someone elses PSN, there really is no way to police who is actually driving. For how much this really happens it would bump out what a couple people? I hate to say it but if you're in the bottom 28 (heck probably the bottom 75) in your region chances are highly unlikely you're gonna beat the top guy anyway. Either way it wouldn't explain why these super fast guys have 0 Aspec.

Specifically they wrote it out in the rules because they want 128 unique drivers in each region. If they didn't do that then someone could conceivably lock out the top 10+ on their own just for bragging rights. Their only motivation is to get a diverse and unique group battling to the end. Not to have 15 guys dominate the leaderboard and cut the competition short. I believe thats the only motivation because there is 0 competitive advantage otherwise.

 

[blindsidefive0]

The first mistake couldn't happen because to access the GT Academy you would have to register both PSNs for the game.

The second thing you would be using someone elses PSN, there really is no way to police who is actually driving. For how much this really happens it would bump out what a couple people? I hate to say it but if you're in the bottom 28 (heck probably the bottom 75) in your region chances are highly unlikely you're gonna beat the top guy anyway. Either way it wouldn't explain why these super fast guys have 0 Aspec.

Specifically they wrote it out in the rules because they want 128 unique drivers in each region. If they didn't do that then someone could conceivably lock out the top 10+ on their own just for bragging rights. Their only motivation is to get a diverse and unique group battling to the end. Not to have 15 guys dominate the leaderboard and cut the competition short. I believe thats the only motivation because there is 0 competitive advantage otherwise.

1st - good point, although who knows what kind of bugs might pop up with connection issues (i.e. allowing an unregistered user name)...I'm not really concerned with this anyway though.

2nd - I'm not worried about #129. They will miss out on a poster (I think...), but are unlikely to make round 3. However, every spot matters in round 3, especially in some regions. In the Northeast, the 8th driver right now is ranked 19th in the US (given that 16 make it to Silverstone, this person could have the skills). It would be a shame if one of the top drivers helped out a friend to get a trip to Orlando at the expense of #9 in a particular region.

I'm not calling anyone out, and at this point I don't really think anyone is cheating. My point is that cheating is a real issue in the latter time trial rounds so I'm okay with threads like this that discuss suspicious behavior (although discussion about suspicious LAP TIMES usually just means you are slow/jealous).

 

[Tommy_861]

1st - good point, although who knows what kind of bugs might pop up with connection issues (i.e. allowing an unregistered user name)...I'm not really concerned with this anyway though.

2nd - I'm not worried about #129. They will miss out on a poster (I think...), but are unlikely to make round 3. However, every spot matters in round 3, especially in some regions. In the Northeast, the 8th driver right now is ranked 19th in the US (given that 16 make it to Silverstone, this person could have the skills). It would be a shame if one of the top drivers helped out a friend to get a trip to Orlando at the expense of #9 in a particular region.

I'm not calling anyone out, and at this point I don't really think anyone is cheating. My point is that cheating is a real issue in the latter time trial rounds so I'm okay with threads like this that discuss suspicious behavior (although discussion about suspicious LAP TIMES usually just means you are slow/jealous).

I agree with your concern of someone helping a friend. In those cases I doubt they will be able to be policed, I guess unless someone just wants to get their buddy who has never ever played the game before up there (where the concern would be on a 0 A-spec PSN). It seems like such a far out possibility. I guess it is possible I just don't think its as prevalent as anyone may think it is. Plus I think its earlier than the final group that has to perform in Orlando. I believe its round 3 has to be played in person at an event, so I doubt anyone is going to actually make it to Silverstone that doesn't legitimately belong there based on the rules.

 

[blindsidefive0]

I agree with your concern of someone helping a friend. In those cases I doubt they will be able to be policed, I guess unless someone just wants to get their buddy who has never ever played the game before up there (where the concern would be on a 0 A-spec PSN). It seems like such a far out possibility. I guess it is possible I just don't think its as prevalent as anyone may think it is. Plus I think its earlier than the final group that has to perform in Orlando. I believe its round 3 has to be played in person at an event, so I doubt anyone is going to actually make it to Silverstone that doesn't legitimately belong there based on the rules.

I think we agree (interwebs makes communication hard)...and I know that the last round of gaming is live in Orlando, I just hope the right people get to Orlando because it's not inconceivable that a 9th or 10th place guy could advance to Silverstone if given the shot.

Per your sentiment on this issue, as soon as I get home all I'll be worrying about is how to crack :46 at the Cape, not whether one of the top drivers is inviting friends along with him through the competition.

 

[Dapper]

Have you guys watched Ferris' Cape Ring replay? If that was his best lap he won't last long during live competition, especially if damage is turned on.

 

[blindsidefive0]

Considering that was posted just 40 minutes after Ferris's Rome time, he/she might be able to do better. He/she also posted his 3 fastest laps all within a time frame of about 2 hours.

Just a thought for the "let it all hang out" drivers - I would be willing to bet they do just fine in a live competition. If they have the reflexes to keep a car on the track while driving like that, they should be able to react to anything during a race...now if it's a longer race with tire wear, driving style will need to be adjusted accordingly.

 

[SLAPHAPPYFRANKY]

Have you guys watched Ferris' Cape Ring replay? If that was his best lap he won't last long during live competition, especially if damage is turned on.

I'll have alook at it tonight. I think after 4 days of doing no times I think I need to do something.