Cheating in online games

On online games, cheating subverts the rules or mechanics of the games to gain an unfair advantage over other players, generally with the use of third-party software. What constitutes cheating is dependent on the game involved, its rules, and consensus opinion as to whether a particular activity is considered to be cheating.

Cheating is present in most multiplayer online games, but it is difficult to measure. Various methods of cheating in online games can take the form of software assistance, such as scripts and bots, and various forms of unsporting play taking advantage of exploits or glitches within the game. The Internet and darknets can provide players with the methodology necessary to cheat in online games, with software often available for purchase.

As methods of cheating have advanced, video game publishers have similarly improved methods of anti-cheating, but are still limited in their effectiveness. Punishments for cheaters also have various forms, with legal measures also being taken against those who create or use cheats. While some countries include laws that prohibit and punish cheating, video game companies have a history of citing copyright infringement in lawsuits against cheaters.

An aimbot or autoaim is a type of computer game bot most commonly used in first-person shooter games to provide varying levels of automated target acquisition and calibration to the player. They are sometimes used along with a triggerbot, which automatically shoots when an opponent appears within the field-of-view or aiming reticule of the player.

Aimbotting relies on each player's client computer receiving information about all other players, whether they are visible from the player's position or not. Targeting is a matter of determining the location of any opponent relative to the player's location and pointing the player's weapon at the target. This targeting works regardless of whether the opponent is behind walls or too far away to be seen directly.

Some servers allow inactive players to spectate, watching the game from the viewpoints of the active players. Recording of gameplay actions is also often possible. If someone was using a targeting aimbot, the bot would be obvious to the spectator as unnatural exact position tracking. Some aimbots and triggerbots attempt to hide from spectators the fact they are being used through a number of methods, such as delaying firing to hide the fact it shoots the instant an opponent is in the cheater's crosshair. Some triggerbot programs can be easily toggled on and off using the mouse or keyboard.

Cheat suites may incorporate these in addition to other features, including adjustments to extrasensory perception, move speed, ammo count, and player radar. Neophytes may colloquially define these suites as aimbot programs.

In the peer-to-peer gaming model, lagging is what happens when the stream of data between one or more players gets slowed or interrupted, causing movement to stutter and making opponents appear to behave erratically. By using a lag switch, a player is able to disrupt uploads from the client to the server, while their own client queues up the actions performed. The goal is to gain advantage over another player without reciprocation; opponents slow down or stop moving, allowing the lag switch user to easily outmaneuver them. From the opponent's perspective, the player using the device may appear to be teleporting, invisible or invincible, while the opponents suffer delayed animations and fast-forwarded game play, delivered in bursts. Some gaming communities refer to this method as "tapping" which refers to the users "tapping" on and off their internet connection to create the lag.