"We have witnessed lying, humiliation, killing, deportation, and torture, and in each instance it was impossible to persuade the people who were doing these things not to do them, because they were sure of themselves and because there is no way of persuading an abstraction or, to put it another way, the representative of an ideology."  Albert Camus

"But no one can ever make us regard the privileged individual who all his life eats three square meals a day and owns a fortune in blue-chip securities but locks his doors whenever there is a disturbance in the streets as a man of order.  He is merely a man with fear in his heart and money in the bank."  Albert Camus

"In some ways it is a matter of indifference to us that some people are wealthy and enjoy all the things that go with wealth.  If our personal feelings are of any interest, we would add that the glittering lives of the wealthy strike us as impoverished and not terribly enviable."  Albert Camus

"It is not possible to opt for a democratic politics at home while engaging in action that denies the very principles of democracy abroad."  Albert Camus

"We are being asked to love or hate one or another country or people.  But a few of us are only too well aware of our similarity to our fellow human beings to accept this choice."  Albert Camus

"If the nation is to work, it must feel that it is working for itself and not in order to cement the privileges of a few."  Albert Camus

"Alas, it seems that the only virtue that Combat can claim for itself is the kind that lacks intelligence, by which we mean the kind that is stupid enough to risk dying of hunger.  Poor but free before the strike, Combat is back, poorer than ever but still free and determined to stay that way." Albert Camus

"I have always believed that if people who placed their hopes in the human condition were mad, those who despaired of events were cowards.  Henceforth, there will be only one honorable choice: to wager everything on the belief that in the end words will prove stronger than bullets." Albert Camus, Excerpt from Combat.

We are in the midst of a mythic battle approaching the likes of Mothra v. Godzilla, with cheaters playing the role of Mothra and punkbusters playing the role of godzilla.  Caught in the middle was the ordinary person- what would happen to their game as Godzilla battled Mothra?  Would it be crushed like a soda can?  Today, we are all to aware of the presence of aimbots, glitchers, hackers and their negative effect on our MMO experience.  Some people advocate paying for protection, much like software companies tried to implement a variety of hardware keys and copy protection schemes.  These schemes were eventually bipassed by sophisticated copying devices.  Critics wonder why they should pay for other people's crimes.  It makes no sense for ordinary consumers to bear the brunt and cost of sophisticated, yet ultimately futile, technological policing schemes.  As the Chinese maxim states, "If you build better sheilds, we will build better spears."  The cat and mouse game will continue. 

Lacking in all of this is an understanding of why people are hacking to begin with?  It seems that the cheaters somehow feel excluded and marginalized from the broader MMO community.  They certainly appreciate the attention their exploits garner them, but the problem seems deeper than that.  There is apparently no buy-in to the community by these people.  They never believe they are actually a part of the "Battlefield Nation".  To be sure attempts at locking down the modding ability of games, control and maximize revenue streams, and the perceived lack of support for games and franchises has increased the amount of alienation that exists between gamers and the companies that produce these games.  Game companies and gamers must work to rebuild their relationships with one another.

At the same time, the only real solution is an ethical one.  That is, one in which the players simply choose not to cheat rather than a more "effective" policing policy.  However, in order for an ethical solution to emerge, it would seem that the humiliating circumstances that have led the outlaws to pursue their causes would have to be reduced.  This requires increased ownership of the game by the community.  Such buy-in was rampant during the initial 1942 release, when excitement was high, mods were everywhere and the gaming was good (though we still endured our share of disappointments).

NEVERTHELESS, WE MUST PUT THE PROBLEM IN A REAL CONTEXT.

A continued fixation on the hacking glitching problem- the hysteria- if you will could lead to real strategic mistakes.  The problem itself has been vastly overstated.  Or to put another way, GODZILLA and MOTHRA were mythical in nature.   

The amount of glitching/hacking that is occurring is NOT THAT MUCH.  For 2142, I found only about 1,500 people on the MBL and PBBANS and some of these names were redundant.  That means that the problem is a very small percentage of playing.  Players themselves are often aware when something "is not quite right" in a match and a good admin might help solve some of these problems.  Tweaks to the vote system which make it easier to track players who are repeatedly kicked as well as a modification of the system could focus on giving players more control and not resting it in the hands of a distant for-profit privatized police force. 

More investment in policing will reduce investments in booster packs and glitch fixes.  Decisions must be made and the cost of these decisions must be openly appreciated.  I for one support investments that improve the quality of the gaming experience.

For those who do chose to engage in the mythic battle between the so-called self-appointed forces of good versus evil, I would only echo the following sentiment, "Battle ye not with monsters, lest ye become one."

Have you seen this great BF2142 site with awesome tips and videos?

http://1541.freehostia.com/1541home.html

I noticed the sound is a little out of sink on the Fliiby video's but these people really seem to know what they are talking about.

This a forum for 1541.

This is an SMF run site.  We took the Counterstrike SMF theme and converted it to BF2142 (hee hee hee). 

Pappachubby began with the assertion that he rocks and we started a poll.

We have several sections, few of which will probably prove of much use to anyone.  Most notably, our job seekers section which will probably be totally useless.

On the other hand, the head of 1541 has yet to be ordered to pay $8Million in fines. 

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/711b7716-cae7-11dc-a960-000077b07658.html

We also have bot named "Player" who will occasionally make a fake posting (planted question).  Consider this our disclosure.

In any event, to all you gamers out there, we simply say:

Make Love.  Fake War.   

Well, you have been getting a bit better.  But what do you think about the forum site?