Cheating of any type is against the rules...

It is quite clear that many people are wilfully ignorant of the Officuial Planetside 2 Code of Conduct, which was posted the day the game launched. There isn't any "grey area" - if do anything more than "just play the game" the way SOE/DGB made it, then you're cheating. Period.

https://help.daybreakgames.com/app/...sion/L3RpbWUvMTM2MTU2NjExNS9zaWQvSjlRRnF3amw=
[PS2] Code of Conduct

Answer ID 33614 | Published 06/04/2012 03:55 PM | Updated 04/02/2015 02:52 PM
Senior Drill Sergeant Hicks talking! Listen up, maggots! You will follow my every word to the letter! Is that understood? Right, we’ll begin with a few rules for your edification. You’ll learn them by the numbers. They’ll keep you alive in this man’s war, so follow them exactly!

1. 1. Account security. Nothing is more important than your personal information. You will never share it with anyone else. It is your responsibility to guard your account from infiltration by others with extreme prejudice! This is war here, you slimy little worms! I got your names and I’ll know if you step out of line. Damage to your game characters can happen if you share information with those not fit to be in my beloved Outfit! SOE Outfit officials will never ask you for your password. So keep that information to yourself, or face Termination of your account.

1. 1. Do unto others… There will be no disrespecting other soldiers in MY Outfit, maggots! No inappropriate language, racial insults, harassment. Would you like it? No, then don’t do it to others! Friendly banter is fun, but keep it friendly. If you think someone is the biggest moron on the planet, insult them properly, not by dissing their mothers! What are you grunts, 12 year olds? Insult them like an adult soldier, throw a grenade at their face!
      Report Rule Breakers to me ASAP at Customer Support. False reports may result in a PT detail for you, so be sure a rule has been broken before reporting it or you’ll be doing push-ups instead of killing the enemy! Shooting the slimy worm of a rule breaker in the face once you’ve reported him is fine by me!

1. 1. Cheating is for sissies! Why did you Privates join my beloved Outfit? Because you’re killers, that’s why! Killers don’t hide behind the furniture and give false information! They’re out there, proud, with their real war faces on! Using exploits or third-party software can result in your account being Terminated with extreme prejudice. Report all bugs and exploits to Customer Service so we can stop the pathetic slimy worms that can’t fight without them.

1. 1. Your mind is your strongest weapon. We are proud in PlanetSide® 2 to have a mature, intelligent and loyal Outfit. We haven’t listed every rule because to do so would insult your intelligence. Use common sense, play by the book, follow the rules we have, and don’t act like a slimy enemy maggot! If you find yourself in a conflict, an SOE Outfit Official will make the judgment call and you will be responsible for following it.

1. Think before you buy. Why would you buy something you don’t want? Certification Points and Resources are hard to come by, so spend them wisely! Our Operatives won’t be able to refund any wishy-washy, buyer’s remorse purchases. Read before you buy morons!

Now straighten up, scumbags! I want to see your war faces, your real war faces! Arm up, and head out to massacre the enemy!

Rules of Conduct

Our goal at Sony Online Entertainment is for every player to have an enjoyable gaming experience! To help ensure that everyone has fun playing, we have some policies that we expect all players to follow.
In the interest of keeping the game fun for all, the following are the basic rules of conduct that govern player interaction and activity within PlanetSide® 2 and in the official PlanetSide® 2 forums. Failure to act responsibly and comply with these rules within PlanetSide® 2 and the official PlanetSide® 2 forums may result in disciplinary action against players up to and including account suspensions or termination.

1. Users may not harass or threaten other players or the support staff.
2. Users may not use any sexually explicit, harmful, threatening, abusive, defamatory, obscene, hateful, sexist, racially or ethnically offensive language.
3. Users may not impersonate any Sony Online Entertainment employee.
4. Users may not violate any local, state, national or international law or regulation.
5. Users may not modify any part of the PlanetSide® 2 Client, Server or any part of any PlanetSide® 2 web page or web site, including the PlanetSide® 2 home page located at www.planetside2.com.
6. Users may not arrange for the exchange or transfer of any pirated or illegal software while on PlanetSide® 2 or any PlanetSide® 2 web site or web page.
7. Users will follow the instructions of authorized personnel, including Sony Online Entertainment Customer Service personnel, while in PlanetSide® 2 or on the Official PlanetSide® Forums.
8. Users may not organize nor be a member of any outfits, squads, platoons or other groups within PlanetSide® 2 that are based on, or espouse, any racist, sexist, anti-religious, anti-ethnic, anti-gay, or other hate-mongering philosophy, or are otherwise deemed to be offensive, illegal, pornographic, or objectionable, in SOE's sole and absolute discretion.
9. Users may not give false information or intentionally hide any information when registering for their PlanetSide® 2 account.
10. Users will not upload or transmit on PlanetSide® 2, or on any PlanetSide® 2 web site or web page any copyrighted content that they do not own all rights to, unless they have the express written permission of the author or copyright holder.
11. Users will not attempt to interfere with, hack into, or decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running PlanetSide® 2.
12. Users will not exploit any bug in PlanetSide® 2 and will not communicate the existence of any such exploitable bug (including bugs that grant the user unnatural or unintended benefits in game), either directly or through public posting, to any other user of PlanetSide® 2. Users will promptly report any such activity to Customer Service with a petition and to the Developers through an in-game bug report.
13. Users will not use any known or unknown "exploits" (actions that grant the user unintended or unnatural benefits in game or that are otherwise contrary to the spirit of the game or what the developers intended) and users will not communicate the existence of any such exploit, either directly or through public posting, to any other user of PlanetSide® 2. Such activities include any sort of boosting, stat padding and kill trading. Users will promptly report any such activity to Customer Service with a petition and to the Developers through an in-game bug report.
14. Users will not either individually or together with their squad, outfit, or other groups, engage in any intentional "griefing" of your fellow players. Griefing includes the repeated killing of selected players or groups of players within their own empire or any other grief activity that SOE deems inappropriate in its sole and absolute discretion.
15. Users will not attempt to play PlanetSide® 2 on any server that is not controlled or authorized by Sony Online Entertainment, or its designees.
16. Users will not create, use or provide any server emulator or other site where PlanetSide® 2 may be played, and will not post or distribute any utilities, emulators or other software tools related to PlanetSide® 2 without the express written permission of Sony Online Entertainment.
17. Account Security, in any form, is the sole responsibility of the account creator. Any compromised or stolen account may be suspended during the course of the investigation and may remain suspended until the account in question is verified and secured through the Technical Support Department. If the perpetrator of the theft is found, any and/or all of their accounts may be subjected to account suspension or termination due to their involvement.
18. Orders chat is for Empire strategic coordination only. This is not an appropriate channel for recruiting. Fellow Senior Officers in your Empire will thank you.
19. Users will not recruit for their Outfit in public channels. Chat channels such as Yell, Orders, and Regional are for Empire coordination and intercommunication. Users should keep recruitment confined to private tells with interested parties and platoon/squad channels for the case of Outfit-run platoons/squads.
20. Users will not link websites in public chat channels. If you want to share links, such as your Outfit website, with your fellow soldiers it needs to be confined to private messages with interested parties and platoon/squad channels.
21. Users will not play music over voice channels. This is a combat environment with no room for Disc Jockeys.

That's a very bad way of putting it. Lets take for example they made the game with a certain bug (like nades through the shield). And someone uses that bug. By your definition, that's not actually cheating. The better way to express it, is playing the game in any other way than they intended it to be played.

Crosshair overlays would like to have a word with your ignorance.

All forms of third party software are cheating in my book.

Crosshair overlays? you're a cheater.
TeamSpeak, Mumble, Ventrillo? you're a cheater.
Recursion stat tracker? you may be a cheater.
Windows? cheater.
BIOS? don't even get me started.

I admire your sentiment but sadly not a snow balls chance in hell of anything changing.....

Users will not exploit any bug in PlanetSide® 2 and will not communicate the existence of any such exploitable bug (including bugs that grant the user unnatural or unintended benefits in game), either directly or through public posting, to any other user of PlanetSide® 2. Users will promptly report any such activity to Customer Service with a petition and to the Developers through an in-game bug report.


Users will not use any known or unknown "exploits" (actions that grant the user unintended or unnatural benefits in game or that are otherwise contrary to the spirit of the game or what the developers intended) and users will not communicate the existence of any such exploit, either directly or through public posting, to any other user of PlanetSide® 2. Such activities include any sort of boosting, stat padding and kill trading. Users will promptly report any such activity to Customer Service with a petition and to the Developers through an in-game bug report.

What I said went right over your head, didn't it?

Mice with more than two button? Extra cheaty!

Yes there is. You can bury your head in the sand all you want, but there is a grey area.
For example. Many would consider the recursion overlay to be "cheating", and it technically is according to the rules you quoted.
Yet devs use it and say its fine to use. Others say "you may get banned for it".

Ya, they should just ban us all I guess

crosshair overlays sound like some bs to me, use what the game gives you..

Unfortunately they have the green light as far as the devs are concerned theres been a few instances where they have confirmed that their use is ok. However in the end they always have the can be banned for anything they deem fit even if that thing is nothing.

I think the problem is Administrative and not "Back Door".

i mean the stat stuff and sound effects and whatever im fine with but if youre using some badarse optic, especially if optics dont Normally come on that weapon, i call bs
granted a differnt optic patter, not different zoom i assume, isnt that big a deal but still, cheesers

Now we've got that little bit of complication out of the way, that should solve all future issues on that subject.

Looks like yes, because I don't see how exploiting bugs which forbidden by the rules aint considered as "cheating" too.

It isn't. But the way the OP summarized it, it would be. And that's what I was pointing out. There is a big difference in the how the game can be played and the way the devs intend it to be played. Which brings me back to the nade through shield example I set out. Yes you can throw nades through shields and it can be played this way. And the way the OP summarized it, this would be acceptable. Because as they put, just playing the game the way DBG made it. But the devs didn't intent it to be played this way, which makes it unacceptable. And this is the point I was making.

Players using two accounts to see where enemy is / running two computers . one logged in on the enemies a/c. Using ts3 to relay positions back to outfit members....
How do you know if players are doing this?
If everyone did this the game would suck...

Inject/Derive information from the game engine in any way beyond standard running of PS2? Cheating.

Exploiting an unintended bug? Against the ToS.

Using a program that only alters the visual aspects of the game, that the devs have sanctioned? Go for it.

Things are only grey if you make them grey.

Exploits should be okay. I love exploits