Question: Is Powerstrip Cheating?

SuperTeflonSuperTeflon Join Date: 2003-12-31 Member: 24893Banned
I got into this argument with some nubcaek on an IRC channel. According to him, using Powerstrip is completely legit and fine, because it let's him play the game.

I believe that it's a blatant hack, and you really should be banned for using it. It's intentional modification of a map to modify visibility to your advantage. It's no different then changing terrorists so their models have huge spikes coming out of them so you can see them hiding, claiming 'it's too hard without it'.

In case you don't know, Powerstrip is a program that rips apart a map maker's hard work, strips out light entities (or something, I don't know how it works), basically removing ALL shadows from the game, making every room nice a bright so nothing can hide.

What's the NS team's official stance on it? Hacky cheat or not?
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Comments

  • ImpendingDooMImpendingDooM Join Date: 2003-08-26 Member: 20223Members
    Well, what if your like me and use PowerStrip to only OC your Video Card? If people were more specific as to what options are considered cheating instead of shun the entire program there would be alot less people confused as to why the game looks like crap when all they want to do is get more FPS out of the card.

    Does PStrip automatically rip everything out?
  • SuperTeflonSuperTeflon Join Date: 2003-12-31 Member: 24893Banned
    edited February 2004
    <!--QuoteBegin-ImpendingDooM`+Feb 4 2004, 04:14 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (ImpendingDooM` @ Feb 4 2004, 04:14 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> Does PStrip automatically rip everything out? <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Beats me, all I know is a great many people use it to 'fix' maps. Like I said I don't use it, but I know it's main feature is that it literally hacks the map apart for your advantage.
  • SuicideRusherSuicideRusher Join Date: 2003-02-23 Member: 13893Members
    edited February 2004
    i couldnt care less if someone haxed their gamma

    no care at all, plus some old monitors are _really_ dark so they have the right to use powerstrip

    (my old 15" was so dark i couldnt see a thing in shadowed areas)
  • Maj_MistakeMaj_Mistake Join Date: 2003-05-21 Member: 16577Members
    PowerStrip just gives you keyboard shortcuts to adjust your gamma on the fly. It basically does all the jobs that Display Properties does but consolidates them and gives you better access to registry settings. It doesn't edit map files as far as I know.
  • SwiftspearSwiftspear Custim tital Join Date: 2003-10-29 Member: 22097Members
    depends on the situation weather or not the use of powerstrip would be ethical. It certainly wouldn't be allowed in CAL (at least as far as I know), and I would frown on anyone who is using it simply to gain an unfair advantage. But I know first hand the myriad of gamma and brightness problems monitors and screwy video cards can cause. Using powerstrip to make the game playable when it otherwize wouldn't be I think is within ethical limits, prosumably if you are simply struggling to play the game, you would have no reason to attempt to play in any official setting anyways.
  • EpidemicEpidemic Dark Force Gorge Join Date: 2003-06-29 Member: 17781Members
    LOlolol, it's not cheating by any means. I could if I wanted adjust my gamma in my screen options, gg Microsoft h4x.
  • SwiftspearSwiftspear Custim tital Join Date: 2003-10-29 Member: 22097Members
    powerstrip is capable of striping the lighting in the map and producing an equaly lit surface throught the entire map with the intention of making it impossible to hide in dark corners. That element of it is definately cheating.
  • coriscoris Join Date: 2003-07-08 Member: 18034Members, Constellation
    I use Adobe Gamma, is that a 'hax' too?
    You can't blame people with really dark monitors (like me) to turn up their gamma to get the same brightness you do without it.

    OMG U HAXOER NUBCAEK YUO SEE AS MOUCH AS I DO!!!!!!!111
  • EpidemicEpidemic Dark Force Gorge Join Date: 2003-06-29 Member: 17781Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-Swiftspear+Feb 5 2004, 01:04 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Swiftspear @ Feb 5 2004, 01:04 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> powerstrip is capable of striping the lighting in the map and producing an equaly lit surface throught the entire map with the intention of making it impossible to hide in dark corners. That element of it is definately cheating. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Have you tried photostrip?
  • SwiftspearSwiftspear Custim tital Join Date: 2003-10-29 Member: 22097Members
    Nope, why, am I getting them mixed up or something? I don't go looking up the names and features of hacks in general, I don't use or need them.
  • BJayDBJayD Join Date: 2002-09-02 Member: 1263Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-SuperTeflon+Feb 4 2004, 11:00 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (SuperTeflon @ Feb 4 2004, 11:00 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> In case you don't know, Powerstrip is a program that rips apart a map maker's hard work, strips out light entities (or something, <b>I don't know how it works</b>), basically removing ALL shadows from the game, making every room nice a bright so nothing can hide. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    I think that's the problem, you haven't a clue what it's uses are. You fail to realise that computers drastically vary. Default settings on your computer will look and perform totally different to default settings on another. Some things rely on a lot of outside factors, like gamma.
    Before release of NS, a "funny" screenshot was posted on the forums and when I viewed it, I could see nothing but black and a few glows. After spending almost half an hour talking to people on IRC about it, them trying to pinpoint the humour, we realised I couldn't see it because on my crappy graphics card and monitor it was so dark that barely anything was visible. Yet they could see everything on it perfectly. The same applied in game, with identical settings, they can see things that just appear black on my computer. This is when I discovered PowerStrip, I could alter my gamma and brightness settings within the game to an acceptable level, allowing me to actually see things.
    PowerStrip doesn't strip out lighting and shadows that I am aware of, you can simply change graphical settings to allow you to increase brightness etc. Of course it can be misused and made too bright so that dark corners are light enough to easily see, but punishing those that use such a program legitimately isn't acceptable.
    Also, since then I have purchased a newer computer and haven't even bothered installing PowerStrip (which is a nice tool excluding it's gamma changing abilities) because I can see perfectly fine in game with default properties.

    So in conclusion, don't be so quick on the trigger to accuse people of "hacking" for trying to simply make their computer perform in a similar way to their opponents. I know first hand now that I have had the priveledge to compare the same game on different computers, that even with identical configs and settings there is a dramatical difference.
  • FinaFina Join Date: 2002-11-01 Member: 3267Members
    edited February 2004
    Powerstrip is a video card overclocking and tweaking program, like RivaTuner, Rage3d Tweak, and the other DOZENS of programs that serve a similar purpose. If using one of these programs is cheating, then I, along with most dedicated PC gamers which use these awesome programs, are cheaters.

    Powerstrip has absolutely nothing to do with Half-Life. It cannot modify .bsp files in any way whatsoever. Even if a program could modify the BSP file for such a purpose, the end result would be a file that differed from the servers, and would be unplayable online. Not to mention the idea of decompiling the bsp and recompiling it in full-bright mode, the FPS would hit the floor if it re-compiled at all.

    Some of these programs do have options to make key binds to do simple things like modifying the gamma, brightness, and contrast settings on-the-fly, which have perfect legitimate use. I can see why one might complain about the idea of this, but it is still a far cry from what you're claiming.

    Edit - Ah, Vo0do0-MoNk3h beat me to the point.
  • SpetzSpetz Join Date: 2002-11-05 Member: 7100Members
    It doesn't do that.

    All it does is increase the brightness of your monitor across the board allowing people with very dark monitors, that can't otherwise see anything, to be able to see at all. Sure, if you crank it up VERY high then it will wash out all the colours in the map and not make it very nice to look at and strain your eyes. Powerstrip is mearly a shortcut to adjusting your gamma in advanced display properties.

    What is hacking is using conifig commands to remove all the lighting/make the textures brighter. That is hacking and will always be hacking. Anyone that says otherwise is clearly ignorent/new.
  • TrixalopeTrixalope Join Date: 2003-10-14 Member: 21684Members
    In a much more simplified answer.

    Some people use it as a necessity to make the game remotely playable (dark monitor people).
    Others use it to gain unfair advantage (people who can see fine, but want a gl_monolights effect.)

    Can anything be done about it? I doubt it.
    If there could, would there? I doubt it. Simply because it's up to the ethics of the gamer to not use it if they don't need it.

    It is, however, programs like this, why I never hide in dark corners anymore. I just leap-focus-bite my way through armies of marines. The subtle approach nearly always fails nowadays.

    For the record, some cards have these features. Like my ATi Radeon 9800 Pro. I can press Alt + F1 and incrementally increase my gamma, as well as Alt + F2 to drop it. Alt + F3 for my brightness, and Alt + F4 to decrease it.
  • kolokolkolokol Join Date: 2002-11-18 Member: 9166Members
    Tbh i like keeping the atmosphere, when i play dark corners are dark, and if u hide i just can't see you.
  • MrMojoMrMojo Join Date: 2002-11-25 Member: 9882Members, Constellation
    Powerstrip more often than not is used to remove dark places in maps, which were intentional. So, yes, I do believe it's cheating.
  • EpidemicEpidemic Dark Force Gorge Join Date: 2003-06-29 Member: 17781Members
    edited February 2004
    So I presume you have gotten that information from hax.org MrMojoo?

    Also for the fact that it doesnt make you look like a cocky idiot - Would you think adjusting the gamma on your screen is wrong? in your settings? which gamma settings is legible? Is it cheating to clister a crosshair onto my screen?
  • MrMojoMrMojo Join Date: 2002-11-25 Member: 9882Members, Constellation
    I do think that adjusting your gamma to be almost bleached out ( as is the case with many who posted screenshots) is cheating as well. It's not the intended use of a map to have no dark parts whatsoever.
  • SlayerOfSkulksSlayerOfSkulks Join Date: 2003-06-23 Member: 17634Members
    Whoa, everyone cool it!

    Teflon: what's happened here is that you've been on the far end of a game of chinese whispers. As a lot of people here have noted, powerstrip is simply a monitor settings program, NOT anything to do with altering maps.

    And while there are probably people who use it for cheating means, as Mojo and others have mentioned, it does have a legitimate use for people whos monitors or video cards don't display as bright as was intentioned, and that's probably what most users use it for. (and for the record, I used to also have the problem with forum pictures being too dark to even see when viewed on my work machine, which looked fine from my home PC, which is exactly the sort of problem that this program solves.)

    So everyone... deep breath...

    ::in....::

    ::out...::

    ...and relax.

    <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
  • rknZrknZ Join Date: 2003-10-23 Member: 21885Members
    Well I didn't know that you could get a gl_monlights type effect using powerstrip, if this is true then using that feature of the program is pretty much cheating in my book... However you cant do **** all about it, so why WHINE? I used to use powerstip but the thing at start up annoyed me so I just di the exact same thing in my GeForce Control Panel options...
  • LeetLlamaLeetLlama Join Date: 2003-08-27 Member: 20260Members
    Trying to limit gamma in a game is really pointless, especially for a mod team with limited access to the games engine.

    All it does is make a nice big Can-CanNot line. I can see you because I know what I’m doing on my computer, and you can not because you’re just a casual player. The NS team will have to try a lot harder than just a gamma lock if they want to have people hiding in a dark corner. HalfLife is too old for all this new gameplay crap <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html//emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif' /><!--endemo-->

    As for Powerstrip, there is nothing you can do about it one way or another. It is like those people who have "broke" graphics cards that allow them to cloaked players, unless you are standing behind the other player, it is impossible to tell what is going on in their computer or if it's just skill.
  • TyrainTyrain Join Date: 2003-01-03 Member: 11746Members
    <!--QuoteBegin-MrMojo+Feb 5 2004, 04:04 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (MrMojo @ Feb 5 2004, 04:04 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I do think that adjusting your gamma to be almost bleached out ( as is the case with many who posted screenshots) is cheating as well. It's not the intended use of a map to have no dark parts whatsoever. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Sooo if your monitor is at max gamma and its still dark turning it up with a gamma tool so that the NS Gamma tool shows you "perfect" results is cheating because I used powerstrip?

    If someone uses it to remove dark corners THAT is cheating. But you can't blame the program.
  • EpidemicEpidemic Dark Force Gorge Join Date: 2003-06-29 Member: 17781Members
    That's stupid to say that. You can also say you cant blame a hack program because you can use it to hack with instead of taking up system resources..
  • Marine0IMarine0I Join Date: 2002-11-14 Member: 8639Members, Constellation
    Powerstrip isnt specifically designed to give people the edge in games however, unlike a hack. Its merely a monitor gamma modification tool, and is completely fine to use unless you are trying to procure yourself an edge ie seeing the map as if it were broad daylight and so you can see cloaked aliens etc...
  • Minstrel_KnightMinstrel_Knight The truth and nothing but the truth... Join Date: 2002-11-21 Member: 9562Banned
    Adjusting your gamma is cheating cheating cheating!!!! We must lock NS gamma commands at the default values in the next version so that these evil people cannot gain an unfair advantage by adjusting it! While we're at it we should lock the mouse sensitivity too, I mean what kind of crap is it that someone can turn faster because he has a higher sensitivity than me? Complete exploit and should be fixed. Get on it NS team.
  • RestrikRestrik Join Date: 2003-08-10 Member: 19392Members, Constellation
    <!--QuoteBegin-Epidemic+Feb 4 2004, 10:28 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Epidemic @ Feb 4 2004, 10:28 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> That's stupid to say that. You can also say you cant blame a hack program because you can use it to hack with instead of taking up system resources.. <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
    ...that makes no since at all

    My monitor at home is old about 6-7 years, and i have the brightness and contrast settings all the way up on it; yet when I play NS, its like staring at a black screen w/ a few flashes from a muzle and a sound of a clunk from a dead restrik.

    I use PS only to get it to the point where I can see. If I had the money, I'd go out and buy a new Monitor b/c its like this with all my games, not just NS.

    PS isn't a hack, and turning up the gamma on your monitor to see cloaked players is more of an exploit than a hack. hacking is when you edit or change the standard configuration of game files to give you an edge in the game.

    With the reasoning people are displaying here, a person using low poly models on an extreamly fast and capable machine, could also be considered hacking b/c it gives them a better FPS so they can make desisions faster and better...
  • ZdrozZZdrozZ Join Date: 2003-01-11 Member: 12158Members, Constellation
    OMG OMG OMG I have a new PC for some weeks now, this computer is HAX it allows me to tune my gamma without using powerstrip!!! BAN ME!!! We need a rule that only people with at least 2 year old computers and 3 year old monitors are allowed to play NS!!!!!!11111
  • LastLast Join Date: 2003-10-06 Member: 21463Members
    Wow teflon, get over yourself. You'd call hax if someone got a new video card or something :rolleyes:.
  • StoatBringerStoatBringer Join Date: 2003-06-09 Member: 17144Members, Constellation
    In some shocking news I've recently heard that "computer shops" allow you to purchase "more memory", "faster processors" and "broadband modems" which can increase your FPS!

    When will Flayra protect us against these blatant CHEATARS?!?
  • AldarisAldaris Join Date: 2002-03-25 Member: 351Members, Constellation
    Enough with the sarcasm already, ok? its not benefitting anyone and quite annoying tbh.

    Anyway, although Teflon got it wrong what PS does precisely, he has a point in that some people will and do use it maliciously to gain an advantage. However locking gamma will stop some people playing. I'd say keep things the way they are, the people who use it to counter the few really dark places on maps are probably barely a scratch on the players we'd lose because they wouldn't be able to see anything anymore.
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