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Gameplay Exploits and Common Player Infractions
Clip Dumping
Clip Dumping is one of the most hotly debated "exploits" in the game of Steel Battalion: Line of Contact. It was present in the original Steel Battalion title and was carried over into the online sequel. Clip Dumping, known as "Magazine Rush" to the Japanese circumvents the normal reload interval for multi-magazined MAIN weapons (example: 315-TR, 77-REC, 355-SB, etc.). Use of the exploit results in a rapid discharge of rounds from the weapon in question, typically with devastating results to the target. As each magazine is "dumped" the unused ammunition in the magazine is lost.Example: Weapon: 430-SB Magazines: 4 Damage per Round: 600 Clip dumping the 430-SB would result in a nearly simultaneous firing of 4 rounds at 600 damage apiece. After expending the magazines, the pilot would be left with 19 rounds remaining in the final magazine. How It Is Done: Hold the MAIN WEAPON button on the AIMING LEVER of the RIGHT BLOCK in while simultaneously and rapidly pressing the MAGAZINE CHANGE button on the CENTER BLOCK. Pros: Rapid and devastating rate of fire during an encounter. Cons: Depletion of ammunition supplies Gen Violation
Gen Violation or Generation Violation is not a widespread problem but can be encountered, especially by newer players who have not come to grips with all the details of the game. Typically, a session host will set the requested VT generation in the session settings, as well as verbally state the allowed VTs for a match. The high-level settings for a session include 1st GEN, 2nd GEN, 3rd GEN, ANY and combinations of these. It is generally accepted that players may take any generation VT at or below the requested generation setting of the session, excepting special rules that the room host may request. Gen Violation occurs when a player chooses to take a VT outside of the session or room host requested limitations. Although the host may set and request a specific VT generation limit, the game does not filter the selections for participating players. As such, a 3rd generation VT like an Earthshaker can be taken into a 1st generation (requested) match, and thus be yielded an unfair advantage.As a player, it is your responsibility to understand the rules set down by the session host. These rules are typically based off of VT generation and may also include specific Sortie Point value maximums for VT selection. During the VT selection pre-sortie menus, each available VT is displayed with its associated Sortie point value, as well as other specifications. Be certain to select a VT that complies with room host rules. If in doubt, ask one of your teammates. Pros: Platform advantage over other less powerful VTs. Cons: Depending on room settings, expensive Sortie Cost VTs may be limited in respawns (varies) Pre/Early Ejection
Pre-Ejection is quite simply, ejecting from your VT during battle prior to actually sustaining critical damage to the vehicle. Punching out early effectively denies your opponent a kill statistic for their profile. While this may be important to some players, the effective result of abandoning your VT is the same, VT loss. Back in the heady days of Campaign mode (pre-Sept 30,2005) pre-ejection was oftenc considered one of the worst offenses you could commit against other players, at least those that cared about their kill/death statistics. Since pre-ejecting is typically done when a pilot is about to be destroyed anyway, the effect on the battle outcome is negligible.There are good reasons NOT to pre-eject. For one, it greatly annoys some players that are concerned about their kill statistics in-game. This aspect has become less of an issue since the end of Campaign mode, but some players still get offended. Pre-ejecting can cause some slight confusion to your attacker as they will not receive a "DESTROYED" indication on their display, making them wonder if they really got you or not. A few final words about pre-ejection. Being hit with the Stun Rod can sometimes result in a pilot panic that includes inadvertent pressing of the EJECT button. I admit to having done this a few times myself. Unlike the Gauss, getting hit the the Stun Rod is almost always a complete and unsettling surprise. As a pilot, if you unfoot an opponent, or better yet, Stun Rod them, it is your responsibility to finish them off in a "timely manner" standing over them to gain a time advantage for their being immobile and out of combat isn't considered "sportsmanlike" and may result in someone pre-ejecting on you. How It Is Done: Simply eject prior to sustaining critical damage to the VT. Pros: None (other than denying your opponent a kill) Cons: Loss of VT while it may still have durability (and fighting capability) remaining. Suppy Bin Dumping
Supply Bin Dumping shares several attributes with the Clip Dumping exploit, primarily in that it circumvents the normal reload interval for weapons. Supply Bin Dumping is primarily used for long reload interval artillery or missile weapons.How It Is Done: Typically, refuel dumping is accomplished by slidestepping into and out of a Resupply Depot, usually with override ON and facing the general direction of the target(s). After firing a salvo off, slidestep back into the Resupply Depot and back out again, rinse, repeat. Doing this effectively negates the normal refire/reload interval on all weapons. The refuel cycle of the Resupply Depot (the framed base structures usually found in close proximity to actual bases) resets the reload interval time as well as reinstating full ammo supplies for the selected weapon. For short reload interval weapons (smooth bores, machine guns, etc.) the interval reset is not useful. However, for long reload weapon and/or those with limited ammunition (8-MLR, 12-MLR, SL-GM, MM, AVTDV) the net result is an endless supply of ammunition, and a much higher refire rate than would typically be possible. With 8/12-MLR type weapons, this allows a single support VT to put a massive volume of fire downrange in a very short period of time. For SL-GM and MM type weapons, the overwhelming number of self-guided missiles will quickly exhaust the normally sufficient CHAFF supplies of a targetted VT, resulting in unavoidable destruction. This tactic is even more deadly when combined with lock guided missiles like AS-MIS or PZ-MIS, enabling the depletion of chaff supplies in short order. Pros: Nearly infinite ammunition supplies and a much higher rate of fire for normally long reload interval weapons. Cons: Can only be accomplished at a resupply depot location. Toggle Break / Active Shutdown
Toggle Break or "Active Shutdown" is the technique of enacting the Ambush Mode while actively moving and fighting in a VT. The exploit undoes any active locks that enemy VTs may have, creating confusion for pilots. While executing the technique, the VT can continue to move and fight except for the brief instant where the VT systems enter "Ambush Mode".How It Is Done: When targetted and locked on, throw all of the toggle switches to OFF. It takes 3 seconds for the indication meters to reach the "zero" mark and enter the VT into "Ambush Mode." While the guages are descending, the VT will remain functional and mobile, able to do all the things it normally can (move, fire weapons, slidestep). The level of mobility is higher for 2nd and 3rd generation machines, especially with override on. After the meters reach zero, any enemy VTs which have a positive target lock automatically have their lock broken. Immediately after the locks are broken, all the toggle switches are flipped back to the ON status. This immediately restores the VT to full working potential, despite the 1 second or so it takes the meters to reach full status. Using this technique effectively allows a VT to remain moving and active (firing weapons, chaffing, etc.) for both the 3 seconds of "power down" and the 1 second of "power up" time. Given that VTs don't simply stop dead when the toggles are flipped off, (momentum of previous movement keeps the VT from being stationary), a pilot can achieve repeated lock-breaks while still moving and fighting. Pros: Breaks target locks from all enemy VTs without loss of movement or capability Cons: Correct timing of the toggle off/on sequence is critical and requires a pilot to take a hand away from the controls. Before I understood that this technique existed, I always attributed the loss of lock to either latency or incorrect LOCK ON/OFF button presses (aka pilot error on my part), or some combination of the two. Watching replays of combat and viewing the multi-monitor view of the toggle switch status gave away what was going on (you can see the toggle status drop to zero, then get flipped back on repeatedly during combat). Intentional Connection Error - "Pulling the Plug"
Almost hand-in-hand with pre-ejection is the unsavoury practise of Intentional Connection Error, often referred to by players as "pulling the plug." This tactic removes the player executing it from the current session, and depending on method, disconnects them from XBox Live as well.This tactic is most often used by players that do not want "negative" statistics tallied against their pilot profiles (VTs lost or mission losses). Removing themselves from the match via a connection erroring technique ensures that these statistics are not written to their pilot save profile at the end of the match. Under ideal circumstances, dropping an offending player would simply leave the remaining players unaffected. Unfortunately, due to the way the game netcode works, creating an intentional connection error will often drop other players in the session, if not all players. In Campaign mode play, any VTs allocated to the session would also be lost, which could be highly frustrating for players that had dedicated rare VT models to the current sessions' mission. As the effect of intentional connection errors became common knowledge, this technique would often be used maliciously against "superior teams" to deny them both a win and their rare VTs. When a player "pulls the plug" the effect on the game session can be quite dramatic and usually involves a massive "lag spike" during which the "TRYING TO CONNECT..." dialogue will show on the screen. During this period the game code tries to re-establish and re-balance the peer-to-peer connections between the remaining players. It is during this time that other players may be dropped, or the entire session may "lag out" and discontinue. If an opposing team member is destroyed and there is a sudden lag spike, followed by that player seemingly "nowhere to be found" it is likely that they connection errored themselves. How It Is Done: Intentional Connection Errors can be caused by anything that removes a pilot from their current XBox Live session, this can include powering off the XBox console, pulling the network cable out of the console, or powering down the broadband modem. Connection Errors can also occur (but tend to be less lag and drop inducing) if a player leaves a session to join another (through a Friends List invite or JOIN request). Pros: Prevents "negative" statistics from being tallied against a pilot profile. Cons: None for the player. The remaining players will experience a massive lag spike, followed by the possibility of futher players dropping from the session, or the session being dropped entirely. Money Matching
Money Matching is an exploit that was primarily used in Campaign Mode prior to the Duplication Exploit (see below) being discovered. Due to the way the game awards points based on attacker and defender VTs (as well as rank) pilots using mass production generally available VTs would be awarded large numbers of Supply Points and Command Points (towards rank) for the destruction of rare VT models. The awards points were even greater if the rare VT in question was captured intact (by "legging" it). This game mechanic led to the practise of running "Money Matches" for the sole purpose of increasing rank and earning large sums of Supply Points.How It Is/Was Done: A group of 6 players would be required for Campaign Mode (minimum 3v3 participants). Both teams would enter into a mission with one team bringing lower classed VTs and the opposing team bringing rare VT models. The two teams would then meet at an appointed location in the map. The Rare VT team would then stand still and let the other team VTs "leg" their VTs, resulting in the capture of the platform. At the end of the match, the "Low end" VT team would have captured the VTs of the opposing team, as well as earned large amounts of Command and Supply points. The Money Match would then be repeated with attackers and defenders swapping roles, which would result in the VTs being returned to the original "owners" and more Command and Supply points being awarded. Pros: Quickly increase Supply and Command points as well as earning captured VT statistics for end of Turn and end of Round awards. Cons: Required a willing team of conspirators to participate. Trade Duplication Exploit
The Duplication Exploit did exactly what its name implied; allowed players to duplicate rare items and Supply Points through a loophole in the Trade system of Campaign. This exploit allowed for the creation and dissemination of thousands of copies of rare, high-level Optional Parts, as well as Supply Points. The exploit could also be used to "clone" VTs, but because the VTs were serialised items, the duplicated instance of a VT would "disappear" after a single use in a mission, or if a player logged out of their Campaign account.How It Was Done: During a trade session, if both members involved in a trade session logged out of the Chat/Trade room at the midway point the Trade function would create duplicate copies of an item, one for the recipient and one for the sender. If multiple items were being traded and the duplication exploit used, mirrored copies of the multiple items would be produced (ex. if 5 Balancer 3 optional parts were being traded, the game would create 5 more parts leaving each player with 5 for a total of 10). Pros: Duplication of rare parts and Supply Points Cons: None (other than the fact it effectively killed the online Campaign mode for Line of Contact) The Duplication Exploit was eventually patched in September of 2004 (7 months after launch) by Nudemaker but it was really far too little too late. There was also an accompanying database "wipe" of Optional Parts data for Campaign player profiles but this was largely ineffective as any players logged into the Campaign server during the wipe (many) retained all of their duplicated optional parts. No wipes were ever done to reset ill-gotten Supply Points or Command Points. VT Theft
Prior to the Unlock Code being released after the end of Campaign mode in September 2005, the only way to "unlock" additional VTs for usage in Free Mission mode was to have owned them in Campaign mode. Ownership of a VT model, even if only for a few minutes, permanently made the model available for Free Mission mode (as long as the LOC save profile on the XBox hard drive was not deleted or damaged). This game mechanic lead to the concept of "touching" VTs for Free Mission unlock purposes. The problem arose in that a certain amount of trust was required on the part of the original owner of the VT. In almost all cases, the person desiring to "touch" a rare VT would not have anything of sufficient collateral to put up for the duration of the trade. Inevitably, a small number of players would betray the trust placed in them and leave a trade session without returning a VT to its rightful owner. Because of this, the ability to get touches on certain rare VTs became nearly impossible, with Earthshakers and Rapiers being the most difficult to sort out.How It Was Done: The Recipient of a rare VT trade for "touching" purposes would simply leave a Trade/Chat session without returning the property to its rightful owner. Pros: Free VT Cons: Blacklisting by the Steel Battalion Community This cheat is no longer of any consequence now that Campaign mode has been shut down and the Unlock Code is available for Free Mission mode VT and Mission unlock. Spy Accounts
Limited production VTs were always difficult to come by in Campaign Mode, but obtaining them was even more difficult due to the existence of Spy Accounts. In essence, Spy Accounts were "dummy" accounts created by players from other factions within opposition factions for the sole purpose of raiding the Supply Bins of those factions for limited or rare VT models. Often these Spy Accounts were created using 2 Month Free XBox Live trial cards (often included with XBox Live enabled games). This in itself was annoying and unbalancing as it would become quite common to enter a battle against a PRF faction aligned side, but end up having to battle VTs from Jaralaccs, Hai Shi Dao or Right Brothers factions, often limited models with unique capabilities. Coupled with this problem was that players maintaining Spy Accounts would often not "dump" their hangars of rare VTs when the accounts were about to expire, resulting in the VTs allocated to those accounts FOREVER being lost to the gaming population. Unfortunately, the Steel Battalion: Line of Contact game server did not have any "clean up" code to help with item re-allocation for closed or inactive XBox Live accounts. The end result was a massive shortage of rare VTs for all sides, which near the end of the game could be counted on one hand for certain models.How It Was Done: Spy Accounts were often setup using 2 Month XBox Live Trial Cards. The pilot would then login as an opposing faction pilot, purchase rare VT models, then "trade" them to his primary account for actual usage. Pros: Access to all faction Supply Bins Cons: Cost of maintaining multiple XBox Live accounts (if not on Free Trial), rare VT depletion from the "normal" playerbase. |
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