

I apologize for massive amount of posts I have done on this. I realize now that I should have written this long one from the start.

Let me start by saying that I am looking at this from a different perspective than most: I am a game producer who has worked in Japan in the games industry for over a decade. I have and understanding of the possible side effects and sensitivities that might exist pertaining to this and similar topics.I am not saying this makes me correct, but it does mean that I likely will be considering different things than most of you are when formulating my opinion.

I am not attacking anyone for having an opinion on this matter, even those that radically differ from mine. I am disappointed in the those who created, and spread, the tools that are not affecting the MH4U community in negative ways (and no, I do not think that was the intention). This is very much a battle over two ideas that both spring from love of Monster Hunter, and a debate over what is a good/bad expression of that love.

Three Types of Games

There are offline games, games that have an online component, and games that are purely online. It is arguably not a huge offense to modify or hack an offline game since it does not affect other players. Games with offline features it’s sensitive depending on if the modifications can affect other players and what negative effects the modification could bring. Pure online games have absolutely zero toleration for hacking and that’s because their online model is dependent on an even playing field and people feeling that grinding or paying for stuff is worth their time to do. Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate falls into the second category.

Breaking open DLC

I was against the proxy server stuff (get locked DLC before it was released) and going online with said gear because it made an unfair situation for players. Arguably one of the selling points of an online game like this is that you see different gear and weapons when you hunt with other people and that gives you new goals of things you want to make. A player walking into a room, seeing a cool weapon, then being told “you can’t get this yet unless you cheat” is unfair. It makes them feel discouraged and not on the same playing field. It takes the fun out of seeing random hunters in their gear (another reason why the guild cards display all this info) as they have to stop and ask “can i even make that”? Believe it or not, for some players being able to casual play and see new stuff and go off to make that stuff is the core online loop for them, and going online with random players with gear you are not able to get is going to affect the longevity of the game for them. That is not fair and it goes beyond “it’s mine i can do as i please” as you are now potentially affecting innocent players, even if this was not your intention.

Modified DLC

First off, modifying game data is a no-no. You could potentially corrupt your save data (you cannot be positive how flag changes will react unless you debugged the game) and you are making the game run in unintended ways (often fun ways, no one will argue that). The issue with modified quests is that you are now brining that stuff online, again, which can affect the community. You are also now potentially ruining the game for another type of online player, the 100% completionists. There are a good handful of players that spend many many hours to hunt gold crown monsters so that they can unlock every achievement. They get a great deal of satisfaction from walking into a room or sharing their guild cards to show that they completed all of them. I don’t care if you find them unimportant, you do not have the right to make these players feel that their hard work has been invalidated, or done in vain (since some players can just do a custom quests with a large monster).

Secondly, MH4U is still a game in service, so to say. CAPCOM is spending actual money and time and effort to promote their monthly DLC packs. I don’t care if you feel that they are late, it does not give you the right to get online promoting your ‘own DLC’ in the middle of their campaign, it’s plain rude. This ties in the breaking open DLC issue but you may like or dislike their unlocked on-the-card DLC but the fact of the matter is that they worked hard this time to bring over most of the collaboration gear (all of which required new contracts and rights to obtain) and even created exclusive DLC for the west. They may not be using the business model you like, but they are doing what they feel is a favor to the west and scoffing at them is not how you get them to change their mind.

I want to take a second to explain some reasoning behind on-the-card DLC. We’ll get to development, but debugging a game is very expensive work. Developers know this. If you release content post launch that is introducing new code, it will require a full debug of the game, especially for games like MH in which a mistake that costs players their save data could mean the death of the product. One memory address is wrong and stuff start happening. We are not talking a few thousand dollars. We are talking much more.

Now, Capcom has taken the stance that they do not want to do paid DLC for Monster Hunter since it’s an online game and back to my point above, it’s unfair for some players to see gear that they can’t get because they do not have the money or a credit card to purchase the content. So their only choice then was to create DLC that is new, but that is super expensive to do and frankly they cannot recognize enough additional sales due to the DLC to justify the time and money (trust me they all want to, but they have a business to run). At this point it’s better to move your development line onto the next game so they can have a healthy time cycle to create a great new product in the series. As they stated in previous CAPCOM blogs, a new monster takes about half a year of work when you consider the designing, planning, modeling, programming, etc. if they started work on all of this during the main development cycle of the game wouldn’t you prefer they just include it all in the game? Sure, and that is what they do, which I applaud.

OK so they could just get rid of DLC altogether. Well, they like to create reasons for players who may have gotten tired of playing a reason to come back. It gives them a way to get new media exposure so that people who missed the articles and hype when the game was released might get exposed to the game. Believe it or not, not everyone is 100% informed. I guarantee someone looked at the July DLC stuff and said “what is this monster hunter game? Looks fun!” or “I didn’t realize it was out in the west. Cool!”.

But first and foremost this is their product. You can be vocal that you don’t like the business practice but breaking it or creating your own content is not how you do this. It means that if they have surprise content or good stuff to look forward to on the Japanese game, they will hold off releasing the western one until the DLC cycle is done (1 year) because the moment they release in the west there is a risk all of it will be not only exposed, but being used online. The attitude of “what I am doing is going to help keep hardcore players like me interested in the game!” anyone can understand, but it’s simply not your call. This is their business. I for one don’t like the idea that G rank versions of monsters are locked away, but I do feel that I got my 50 dollars worth in the game for its content and if the business model is meh then I can speak about it on twitter, but that’s that. A howling animal might eventually be heard but a biting animal may find itself without a person wanting to feed it anymore.

Modified DLC [BAD STUFF]

All this community work in dissecting code and sharing findings, and tinkering publicly leads to modified content that, although might not be malicious in intent, really harms the community. This is what we are dealing with now. Quests that knock you up to HR999 right away, quests that make it easier than ever for players to cheat and get items. HR is an issue, like the people who look for new gear, or care about completing all the trophies, there are those that take pride in hunter rank. They spend lots of hours to get up to HR999 and this type of player has always existed. To them you ruin the online game the moment you invalidate their hard work. This is not your decision to make.

Then think of the player who walks into a modified quest room without knowing. Imagine going from HR8 to 999 in one hunt, no longer able to enjoy unlocking new monsters and quests, etc. And you would be labeled as a cheater for the rest of your time online. This is not fair to them.

Then think about what happens if save data corruption starts. Did you debug the game? Do you know for a FACT nothing will result from the hacked data? Are you in the position to make that decision? No, you are not. You are risking the death of the game and in good reason you are a not helping CAPCOM, threatening to ruin what they worked so hard to create. An environment where people do not feel save to hunt with random people will kill the longevity of the game, not make it longer. Now let’s say “Oh just patch it man”, well that takes QA and submission to first party, and even perhaps changes to their severs and how they handle data. That is time and money and sometimes too risky to patch.

My Take

There comes a point where you need to draw the line and realize that just because you can do it does not mean you should. Some people say that they are doing the game a favor, but my creating uneven playing fields online in a game where it arguably matters, by being a rebel and ripping open your christmas presents early (so to say) you are disrespecting their DLC plans, and by embracing modified quests you are opening the door to greater exploitation when the badly modified custom quests come, which are going to learn very fast. It’s harmful to the community and potentially harmful to Capcom’s business.

People are doing this out of love for Monster Hunter, I get that. But risking ruining the game for other players and disrespecting a company who has shown they are trying very hard to show you MH love is wrong. Custom Quests would not be accepted but would be less of an issue if the DLC cycle was over and you weren’t ruining that or their marketing, and the next game was upon us. Some games allow modifications but that doesn’t mean you can go and modify whatever you want. If people were to release a level editor for the next Mario Brothers, you think Nintendo would be happy? No, they would not. So don’t think that Capcom should not be bothered by this. They were bothered when the Japanese community had modified guild quests and they are bothered now. Don’t be part of the problem, please.

I am disappointed in the people who created and released the tools to do so, as the normal community would not have that ability. For me, if people broke the rules and had a box open with the spoils they got, I would be forced to feel a sense of responsibility if I were to reach in and grab from that box.

I stand against the game modification not because I hate the idea or what it does, but because I cannot accept something that has the potential to hurt the community I love so dear and work hard to be a part of, no mater how good the intentions were at the start.

Happy Hunting.



-Gaijinhunter