ACPG: Anti-Cheating Proposed Guidelines
Many players of Nintendo's Animal Crossing brand social simulation video games have an anti-cheating ethic. However, not everybody has the same anti-cheating ethic.
What is cheating?
While growing up, Chester was tormented by classmates who called him "Chester the Cheater", after the mascot for Cheetos cheese-flavored corn snacks. In order to compensate, Chester had to develop a strong sense of what is and is not cheating:
Time travel
- Traveling to before you last logged out (the past) is cheating.
- Traveling to after the IRL present (the future) is cheating.
- Traveling to a time between when you last logged out and the present is a flashback, not cheating.
PC based editing
- Editing your wallet, bank account, or inventory is cheating.
- Editing your patterns is not cheating.
- Dropping stuff on your town is cheating in general.
- Dropping K.K. songs on your town is not cheating, as K.K. states in the game that he wants his music to be free.
- Using a PC tool to give you completion gifts is cheating. This includes filling the fish catalog (golden rod), the bug catalog (golden net), or the museum.
- But filling furniture and clothing catalogs is not cheating, as they make catalogs function more like those in the so-called real world.
Survey
Chester wants to know what other members of the Animal Crossing community think. Feel free to send him your thoughts through the Pin Eight contact form.
GameCube
In Animal Crossing for Nintendo GameCube ("ACPG"), is it cheating...
- to use an unlicensed power strip with your GameCube?
- to use an unlicensed AC adapter with your GameCube?
- to use an unlicensed video cable with your GameCube?
- to use an unlicensed controller with your GameCube?
- to use an unlicensed GameCube Game Boy Advance cable with your GameCube?
- to use an unlicensed memory card with your GameCube?
- to play with two GameCube systems using a single copy of ACPG?
- to enter a player-to-player trade code three times, sell the items back to Tom Nook, save, restart ACPG, and repeat the process?
- to enter a Mario Set universal code three times, sell the items back to Tom Nook, save, restart ACPG, and repeat the process?
- to buy two memory cards and get Nookington's without the help of another human player?
- to use two GameCube systems, two unlicensed video cables, two unlicensed controllers, two unlicensed memory cards, and one ACPG disc to generate trade codes for for-sale items, trade them between characters in the two towns, and duplicate items that way?
- to buy the Forbidden Four NES games (Mario Bros., Ice Climber, Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda) on Wii Shop Channel?
DS
In Animal Crossing: Wild World for Nintendo DS ("ACWW"), Is it cheating...
- to use an unlicensed battery in your DS?
- to use an unlicensed charger with your DS?
- to use an unlicensed screen protector with your DS?
- to use an unlicensed stylus with your DS?
- to use an unlicensed USB Wi-Fi dongle with your DS?
- to use a homebrew tool that recovers your town after you get seeded?
Combining
"By your powers combined, I am Captain Planet!" Would it be cheating...
- to play a homebrew game that imports your character's name and appearance from ACWW, where your ACWW save file is not otherwise affected?
- to use a homebrew tool for ACWW that allows players to trade items, following the rules of "Hear code" and "Say code" in ACPG, especially if the tool rejects all universal codes?
Don't be afraid to speak your mind!