A game networking expert declares that The Division’s code is severely flawed, and that putting a stop to hacking would require completely reprogramming it.
Playing The Division has been a very rocky experience for gamers, especially those who picked up the title on PC. One game networking expert believes he understands why it’s so easy for gamers to use exploits and cheats on The Division, and unfortunately, there isn’t an easy solution.
According to Glenn Fiedler, The Division’s programming is flawed from the ground up. Although he himself didn’t work on the game and hasn’t played it, he’s a professional game networking expert that’s worked on big name games like Journey and God of War: Ascension. Fiedler believes that The Division’s basic code was copied from the console versions to the PC with no modifications made to it. This is particularly discouraging since The Division’s netcode is apparently flawed and causing lag problems for players.
Worse still, Fiedler believes that the game isn’t designed like most modern FPS games in order to combat hacking from the get-go. Based on the gameplay and hacks he’s seen utilized, he believes that The Division is using a trusted client network model. What this basically means is players are able to change values on their side, and it actually affects the game’s world for other players. If the game utilized a server-authoritative network model, like most modern FPS games, cheats implemented by the player would only be seen on the player’s side. For example, if a player used a cheat to increase their weapon’s FPS, it might appear on the player’s side that they were dealing more damage, but their target wouldn’t actually suffer additional damage.
Worst of all for PC players, Fiedler says that the exploits, cheats, and bugs are likely to keep coming because the only way to fix it would be to rewrite the game entirely. This is bad news for gamers, and means that Ubisoft’s promise to compensate The Division players who have fallen victim to bugs may be difficult to fulfill. However, it also explains why the developer intends to punish players who use these exploits; if it genuinely can’t fix them, then the only thing it can do to discourage cheaters is to promise punishment or total banishment from the game.
If Fiedler’s accusations about The Division’s programming are true, it’s a disgrace. The Division was designed to be played online and with a big emphasis on PvP play; but the finished product doesn’t meet expectations and doesn’t fulfill the standards other FPS games have upheld. Between the exploits, broken stats, and apparent ease with which players can cheat, PC gamers might only be able to enjoy the experience of playing The Division by playing it solo and avoiding PvP content entirely.
The Division is now available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Gaffer on Games
