Game Modding in Danger? Thanks alot GTA

[Cap'n 1time]

From www.beyondunreal.com

Modding In Danger?
RegularX opines on how the fallout surrounding the hidden sexual content in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas will effect custom modifications in the future.

When the ESRB themselves are saying that if a kid can alter the content of a game in violation of the EULA, then it's the responsibility of the company to insure those alterations don't modify their rating .... well, modders have a problem. If a kid in his basement with a hex editor can cost a company millions in sales with a modification, do you really think companies are going to be as interested in offering tools and technical advice for kids to do the same? The days of Counter-Strike are over. Mods are no longer a major selling asset, they're merely a value add to a retail box with low risk to the parent company and great opportunity to find upcoming talent. But neither of those benefits are worth the risk of having a couple of kids take your game, turn it into a sexy romp and then become the focal point of Congressional hearing.

not cool.

In an almost related story Halo 2 hacks have been severly halted due to the missues of modified content being used online. I used to do alot with Halo 1 but since any idiot 13 year old can now due a Projectile Swap thanks to the simplicity of the tools, all the modding scene does is cheat... It seems people just love to take good things and use them for their own retarded pleasures (sick pleasures in the case of GTA:SA).

[FrierTuck]

im not much of a HALO nut, but i still like all the HalfLife1 mods, i dont play online, and i love going at the aliens with infinite ammo, so i guess im kinda cheating myself, oh well, we do need mods though(the cool kind that make you look like elvis or something)

[Kaiser]

What I don't understand is why the ESRB issues an AO rating for a third-party mod. I understand the mod only unlocks features that were already on the disc, but still. If Rockstar had locked those it and made it impossible to access those features through regular play of the game then why does this fall on the shoulders of them.

But then again an "AO" rating is basicly the same as a "M" rating. I guess its okay to kill hookers, carjack, do drugs, murder and steal as long as you don't have sex. What kind of trash is this let me kill hookers with out have to put up with this vulgar pixelated sex game. My young mind is too impressionable and I might actually take this out of the game and go kill people and maybe even have SEX .

[Mental2k]

hmmm, its not gonna effect mods much, this was somebody unlocking something already there, not in fact creating something new, it was more a crack than a mod IMO, however had rockstar not called it a mod at the start then this issue would not have arisen. I think th mod scene is safe, bear in mind most mods occur to FPS games, not many of those are sexual, well, unless you really like the cyber beast from doom 3

[Darksaviour69]

hey mental, where have u been? though u were dead or something..

i hear now they are going after sims 2,because u can remove the bluring of the private with a hack!
http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/07...s_6129609.html

[Mental2k]

Hey exams and stuff, then didnt get much time to get on the net with helpin people and doin stuff for people.

hmmm but there are no actual features in the sims(if you get wat i mean, it'd just be shapes, no details wouldnt it.

[Cap'n 1time]

Remember shadow warriors? that and duke nukem were like the most risque games at the time... but no one ever brought them up... he he he.

[Darksaviour69]

it gets worse
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4717139.stm

US politicians have stepped into the storm over secret sex scenes in the best-selling Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas game.

The House of Representatives has overwhelmingly called for investigation into the companies behind the game........

"The release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was widely anticipated, but an adults-only rating would have severely limited its sales in retail outlets," said Congressman Fred Upton of Michigan.

"It appears that the publisher has blatantly circumvented the rules in order to peddle sexually explicit material to our youth, and they should be held accountable. A company cannot be allowed to profit from deceit."

[Mental2k]

I hate when these people don't know what actually hapened but yet still feel they need to comment

"It appears that the publisher has blatantly circumvented the rules in order to peddle sexually explicit material to our youth, and they should be held accountable. A company cannot be allowed to profit from deceit."

They weren't peddling it, it was frickin hidden away!

"The release of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas was widely anticipated, but an adults-only rating would have severely limited its sales in retail outlets," said Congressman Fred Upton of Michigan.

If he believes this then he is more foolish than I would have thought.

[Cap'n 1time]

rockstar arnt exactly the good guys here either. they lied saying that it was 3rd party modification of the (get this) SOURCE CODE (told you it was stupid) and that they had nothing to do with the content. You can easily load the hot coffee mod with a simple gameshark/action replay code.

I would think that they remember the 3rd party groups got GTA 3 and VC online, not to mention the hundred of mod sites out there. They shouldnt be dumb enough to try to hide content... they knew that this game would be dissasembled and hexed and ripped apart to death. It was only a matter of time before someone found this. So this is either a publicity stunt or shear stupidity on the companies part.