Earning Trophies on 3rd Party, Independently Revived PSN Game Servers

[MMDE]

19 minutes ago, Sergen said:

 

What I have been saying and what 99% of people who have posted on this thread have been saying is that if the person can legitimately perform the actions that trigger the trophy to unlock, that means they did legitimately fulfil that requirement. The SFV example was editing values on the game to drastically increase in-game currency and more likely than not it would have been in the ToS for Street Fighter V/PSN and Fight Money for that game is also used to purchase the new DLC so of course the developers would want to crack down on it and create rules within the game about exploiting it. What's funny is that I've not actually seen anyone get flagged for Street Fighter V although people were using that exploit. 

 

There's a reason the thread title begins with "legitimately", I personally would not support people getting a server back online then editing it for personal gain by making the game award the XP 100x faster and unlocking trophies instantly. What I support and what nearly everyone else supports is people being allowed to go online with that game and earn the trophies the legitimate way, grinding the game, boosting the game and not doing anything that wasn't possible to do on the game before the servers closed. 

 

I would like to ask @grimydawg, @BlindMango & @Sly Ripper what they think about this. I feel like if anything is going to go ahead in regards to servers being brought back in any capacity, a rule needs to be established and what I've frequently suggested is people providing evidence that their trophies are legitimately earned without CFW, considering the work can still be done on an unmodded OFW PS3 while you can actually get online with a publicly available DNS server. It really does not affect anyone or put them at an unfair advantage compared to others, because the games would still take the same time as they did before, they'd just be possible and people would just need to provide evidence that shows they were not giving themselves unfair advantages within the game. If anything, it helps developers because people buy the game and buy the DLC and it's not costing them anything for someone else to run the server for them. 

 

It's hard to detect who has used that stuff for SFV, and people used it with PS4 at a time when you couldn't flag PS4 games.

 

You colored the thread about things that was allowed and isn't what you're asking about at all. Conflating it with things it's not. etc This is dishonest.

 

If you want to discuss custom servers etc, you may want to start the thread talking about that and not a lot of other unrelated stuff.

 

And I already told you I asked them. I told you so before you created this thread, and you don't need to quote them here too. In fact, BlindMango has already responded in the other thread, and his response was based on misinformation you spread here.

 

What you talk about isn't called custom FIRMWARE, it's however custom software. It's not changing the main software running your PS3, it's creating custom software a game is going to communicate with. The server is going to tell your game to do various things. How is this not what SF5 is about? This was possible on OFW PS3 and PS4 too. In this case we can detect it.

 

If you want to actually discuss custom servers, make the thread be about that, don't sugar coat it and talk about other misleading stuff, hoping to attract a lot of people, garner support and maybe sway some other staff. Be honest, talk about what it is actually about, and the problems with it, how to solve those. Suggest requirements for the servers etc.

Edited March 15, 2018 by MMDE

[hore]

this is the other reason i still visit PSNP forums  my favourite part of it all is the name of the thread that conceived this discussion; it almost seems to foreshadow this very thread 

 

anyway, it's clear that this should be flaggable; we need the leaderbored squeaky clean. we don't want to end up like the other, rival trophy sites that support this CFW

 

Spoiler

 

[Leaderboards]

Just now, Thropy_Hore said:

this is the other reason i still visit PSNP forums 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

PSNP is the gift that keeps on giving...

[Sergen]

22 minutes ago, MMDE said:

 

It's hard to detect who has used that stuff for SFV, and people used it with PS4 at a time when you couldn't flag PS4 games.

 

You colored the thread about things that was allowed and isn't what you're asking about at all. Conflating it with things it's not. etc This is dishonest.

 

If you want to discuss custom servers etc, you may want to start the thread talking about that and not a lot of other unrelated stuff.

 

And I already told you I asked them. I told you so before you created this thread, and you don't need to quote them here too. In fact, BlindMango has already responded in the other thread, and his response was based on misinformation you spread here.

 

What you talk about isn't called custom FIRMWARE, it's however custom software. It's not changing the main software running your PS3, it's creating custom software a game is going to communicate with. The server is going to tell your game to do various things. How is this not what SF5 is about? This was possible on OFW PS3 and PS4 too. In this case we can detect it.

 

If you want to actually discuss custom servers, make the thread be about that, don't sugar coat it and talk about other misleading stuff, hoping to attract a lot of people, garner support and maybe sway some other staff. Be honest, talk about what it is actually about, and the problems with it, how to solve those. Suggest requirements for the servers etc.

 

What I discussed in my opening post was my opinion and asking people for opinions. I also linked the original thread, why should I have to copy everything someone else said because other people won't look at a link? 

 

• Is it wrong that this website currently does not have a rule set in stone regarding what was discussed?
• Is it wrong for someone to say that a server was "revived" because the servers can be brought back online in a completely identical way to how they were before?
• Is it wrong that in the ToS of PSN, everything I have mentioned has not been listed within the rules?
• Is it wrong that other network based exploits have been given the all-clear for use and even promoted at times for trophy guides?
• Is it wrong that I said an external software that allows people to connect through LAN ONLY IF THEY USE THE SOFTWARE ON THEIR PC has also been given the all-clear?
• Is it wrong that the person who said they were capable of restoring the Bulletstorm servers has also informed another person that it would be possible for one person to set up a DNS and the other people only need to input the DNS code to connect to the online? I'd trust that works considering the guy actually proved that he could play Bulletstorm online. 

 

I don't see where I spread some "misinformation", screenshotting our conversations for PMs might be considered a breach of privacy towards you, so I created the discussion within this thread. People are free to their own opinion and everyone understands that the whole premise of this topic was to discuss people being able to go online and earn trophies with a server that has been revived. Another word I used in my topic title was "Independently": meaning that a person did it on their own. "Independently revived" would mean that a person did the work of their own choice. I consider the trophies "legitimately" earned if the person can perform all the actions within the game on those servers and still trigger the trophies, I wouldn't be endorsing the hacking of trophies through inflating stats through an emulated server. 

 

I shouldn't be blamed for people not knowing what the term "independently revived server" means. 

 

Also, anyone who was willing to spend 5 seconds looking at the link I put in my opening post would also see what the person's intentions were and I was simply looking for opinions about it. People make threads where only a YouTube video is linked and nothing else, yet I'm blamed for "misinformation" because I gave an opinion and tried to create discussion about something that is new to trophy hunting. It's better to discuss this and maybe get things wrong or argue than let people do it and get flagged then not be unflagged because it was "against the rules" although the rule never existed to begin with. 

Edited March 15, 2018 by Sergen

[Zolkovo]

@MMDE Thanks a lot for those long informative posts, I found it interesting and learnt quite a bit.

 

And yeah at first I thought this thread was actually about "reviving" servers because of the title and OP but what's being proposed here is actually not the same thing so I would sway on the side of caution as it doesn't seem like this sort of thing can be policed or regulated properly.

 

"Alternative" servers would be a more appropriate title.

Edited March 15, 2018 by Zolkovo

[Leaderboards]

I read all the posts in this thread.

 

Examined both sides. Both offered great points.

 

After much examination and introspection, I have reached a conclusion (for myself, not for others): Leaderboards are useless, I don't care lolz.

 

See you guys later, my cousins are helping me hack some PS3 games >:)

 

But remember, always...

 

@Sergen is #1 on MY leaderboards

 

Also, never forget! Regardless of the Leaderboards, You can do anything you work for! You guys are all champions in my book. Peace and love!

 

 

Edited March 15, 2018 by Super Sand Virginia

[BlindMango]

55 minutes ago, Sergen said:

I would like to ask @grimydawg, @BlindMango & @Sly Ripper what they think about this.

 

I've been reading the thread to see what everyone else thinks about it, because to be honest with everything else on what constitutes a flag being pretty obvious and clear to me, this is something for the first time that is not so clear to me.

 

Essentially, it's not like you're doing this within the game environment. You have to go out of your way to do a number of things outside of the game to get an online function which does not work to actually work again through a non-official means. And is that ultimately fair, and does it still have everyone on an equal playing field in their ability to get a trophy? I'm... not sure to be honest.

 

Both Sergen, MMDE, and everyone in the community are making really important points about this, so don't discount any of those opinions. This is fairly new grounds for trophy hunting, and well everyone's opinion on it is important because it will ultimately decide if this thing will be flaggable or not.

 

If we do end up allowing this, I think the hardest thing for me is trying to imagine the future of this kind of thing and thinking about what 'abuse' to trophy unlocking this could allow, and if it would be worth allowing or not 

 

So again, I'm just seeing what everyone else thinks about it for the time being. We have to factor in all of the details this sort of thing entails and how that affects many of these games, it's not as easy as turning a setting on or off in your console, and the full details about everything involved are what people will want to keep in mind

 

Edited March 15, 2018 by BlindMango

[Afro_Gear]

3 minutes ago, BlindMango said:

So again, I'm just seeing what everyone else thinks about it for the time being.

 

And to be fair, I think that is why @Sergen created this thread. Don't think he was trying to go behind anyone's back, but rather bring it out to the community to discuss. Good talk everyone and I'm very excited to see what the future holds!

[Sergen]

12 minutes ago, Super Sand Virginia said:

I read all the posts in this thread.

 

Examined both sides. Both offered great points.

 

After much examination and introspection, I have reached a conclusion (for myself, not for others): Leaderboards are useless, I don't care lolz

 

But...

 

@Sergen is #1 on MY leaderboards

 

11 minutes ago, BlindMango said:

 

I've been reading the thread to see what everyone else thinks about it, because to be honest with everything else on what constitutes a flag being pretty obvious and clear to me, this is something for the first time that is not so clear to me.

 

Essentially, it's not like you're doing this within the game environment. You have to go out of your way to do a number of things outside of the game to get an online function which does not work to actually work again through a non-official means. And is that ultimately fair, and does it still have everyone on an equal playing field in their ability to get a trophy? I'm... not sure to be honest.

 

Both Sergen, MMDE, and everyone in the community are making really important points about this, so don't discount any of those opinions. This is fairly new grounds for trophy hunting, and well everyone's opinion on it is important because it will ultimately decide if this thing will be flaggable or not.

 

If we do end up allowing this, I think the hardest thing for me is trying to imagine the future of this kind of thing and thinking about what 'abuse' to trophy unlocking this could allow, and if it would be worth allowing or not 

 

So again, I'm just seeing what everyone else thinks about it for the time being

 

I just want to say that to anyone, including @MMDE that my idea was not to mislead people. I did not think the way I worded the thread was going to come back and bite me on the ass, because I thought the title would be clear upon glancing. I appreciate all opinions, for and against and of course this does need to be an established rule if people are going to try to play online on games with DNS codes or networking through their PC and so on. 

 

Considering the person who was able to restore Bulletstorm also managed to provide people with the information necessary for people to replicate his server he used, anyone could perform what he did and earn the trophies legitimately in the game, thus not giving anyone an advantage. If their time stamps are after the servers got shut down, they should be able to provide evidence of being able to earn the trophies legitimately when they connected to the game and played it. 

 

You may not be doing it all within the game environment, but when you actually play the game and work towards the trophies, all the trophies must be attained in a legitimately fulfilled way, you perform the action that the game requires, that causes the game to recognise your actions and award you with the trophy. 

 

What I do think personally is that in this scenario, it would take more effort for anyone to restore a server compared to simply using CFW to hack the trophies, so I think anyone who was to actually go out of their way and bring back a server would actually want to be playing the game legitimately. 

 

When you use another person's save file, all the stats are set in stone and you do one action and it unlocks all the trophies corresponding to that action. When you join a modded lobby you come into contact with someone who hacked the game to give other people advantages and they might unlock trophies, but in this case it does not give the person any advantages when they've logged in, it simply allows for actions that were once possible to perform through the game's servers the chance to be replicated while also earning the trophies at a later date. 

 

It's been the first time in a long time that I ran out of reputation points to give and it's because a lot of people have left good points and altogether been very positive about what was discussed here, so thank you to everyone who has shown their support and left an opinion here, it's your opinion that counts towards implementing things like this. 

Edited March 15, 2018 by Sergen

[TheLakota]

It will be the bitterest of pills on the day @MMDE has a modder unlock a trophy without his knowledge. 

 

I'll be sure to pour one in your memory though, broseph. 

 

 

On topic , I'm amazed an individual took the time to do this and I wholeheartedly support them in their endeavors. 

[ProfBambam55]

f**king butcher's hands...i keep clicking on people's profiles by accident...i vote you change the word revived to reincarnated in thread title...much more clickbaitey and appealing...

 

and just to make sure I understand this correctly...this talk is pretty much new territory here, yes?...someone is trying to create a clone of a dev's server that has been shutdown...for potential users they are trying to make it publically accessible by just inputting a specific DNS setting through our console with no need to run outside software/firmware?...the server may or may not be a perfect replica of the original one...so far this is all theoretical and might function for one or two games...

 

the worry is when the servers have mods applied to them which they totally could...i.e. amped up weapons, no damage, xp bonuses, increased rare item drops, etc...basically $hit that was never in the game originally that could be seen as advantageous...is this what is going on with the server mentioned by the OP?...

 

a second worry is that the clones will be cloned and then modded and no one will be able to differentiate between them if used to cheat on trophies...is this the case with the existing server that we are talking about?...

 

then there is a concern of server's being private access only, right?...is this the case for this potential one or two games?...

 

and then we have the seeming need to make a concrete rule about flagging trophies for this even though it seems we don't even really know how all this works or will realistically play out...and it would currently affect a handful of users on one or two games, yes?... 

 

I agree that people can already cheat trophies if they really wanted to so it's kind of a non-issue...if the time stamps look legit then I don't see a problem...

 

as far as earning trophies, it would seem that we don't even know how that would work yet...i'm guessing the servers don't save your data so cumulative type trophies probably wouldn't be achievable unless your progress was saved in your ps3 data...

 

i think this thread is a little premature but as I said before, creating independent servers, genius...allowing public access so people can play them again, awesome...earning trophies that were unobtainable but are now possible again due to the above, icing on the kale (it auto-corrected cake and I left it...apparently I type kale more than cake)...

 

i have one question: has anyone even earned a trophy on this type of server yet?...

 

 

 

Edited March 15, 2018 by ProfBambam55

[TheLakota]

1 minute ago, ProfBambam55 said:

f**king butcher's hands...i keep clicking on people's profiles by accident...i vote you change the word revived to reincarnated in thread title...much more clickbaitey and appealing...

 

Zombified?

[B1rvine]

2 hours ago, NathanielJohn said:

How is "but someone could cheat and pretend to be legitimate!" an argument here? People can already do this. If someone wants to set up a private server to unlock trophies for them illegitimately in a game that is still online, they can do that. And they can do it in a way that looks completely legit. And there's not a rule or a website in the world that can stop them.

 

But suddenly that shouldn't be allowed for old games, because "oh no what if they cheat old games too"?

 

You missed my expanded answer.  I'll add to what I said before.  Even if servers are exact replicas, this is still a bad idea. Here's why:

 

Slowly but surely, even custom servers will eventually be taken offline by their hosts.  Maybe new servers will replace those, but eventually a game's online life will cease to exist.  At that point, only people with the knowledge and equipment to setup a server will be entitled to various trophies because they can essentially set it up for themselves, get the trophies, and take it offline.  This creates a situation where some people will have access to the trophies and others won't.

 

To answer your question: believe it or not, many CFW users with "legit stamps" are already flagged and removed.  There aren't many disputes on those though.

 

I do encourage these servers to go up though, purely for enjoyment and those who want to play the game and experience it all.

[ProfBambam55]

25 minutes ago, B1rvine said:

Slowly but surely, even custom servers will eventually be taken offline by their hosts.  Maybe new servers will replace those, but eventually a game's online life will cease to exist.  At that point, only people with the knowledge and equipment to setup a server will be entitled to various trophies because they can essentially set it up for themselves, get the trophies, and take it offline.  This creates a situation where some people will have access to the trophies and others won't.

this idea is barely started and we're already worried about when they shut down?...just call them unobtainable and flag them again...seems simple...at this point only people with knowledge on how to edit timestamps or use cfw can earn them so we call them unobtainable and flag them...the above quote is a silly reason to not allow people to earn trophies on a private server imo... 

 

a site like this would be an excellent place to promote these servers as far as I'm concerned..."hey guys, jpn server 1 for 50 cent blood in the sand will be up this week...join up if you wanna play some good co-op and knock off them trophies...dns is 0.0.82.186"...f**king awesome...i would actually volunteer to remove myself from the leaderboards if this was possible but the site frowned upon it and I was flagged..."oops, I picked up a modded uzi"...f**king awesome...sign me up...haha... 

Edited March 15, 2018 by ProfBambam55

[B1rvine]

4 minutes ago, ProfBambam55 said:

just call them unobtainable and flag them again

 

That's the issue.  Any game with an online component will suddenly never be unobtainable.  Someone can setup a "legit server" just for, and exclusively for themselves, without making it public knowledge, earn the trophies, and shut if off, after being the single beneficiary.  To me, that's not much different than using CFW to just add trophies in place.

 

So yeah, this creates an unfair environment, and THAT shouldn't be allowed. 

 

@BlindMango (Since to make sure you see the sole voice of dissent (other than MMDE of course)

[Conker]

Imo I think this is perfectly fine since you will still be having to earn the trophys .

 

p.s would love to see this done for 50 cent blood on the sand, a game I never got to doing 

[ProfBambam55]

59 minutes ago, B1rvine said:

 

That's the issue.  Any game with an online component will suddenly never be unobtainable.  Someone can setup a "legit server" just for, and exclusively for themselves, without making it public knowledge, earn the trophies, and shut if off, after being the single beneficiary.  To me, that's not much different than using CFW to just add trophies in place.

 

So yeah, this creates an unfair environment, and THAT shouldn't be allowed. 

 

@BlindMango (Since to make sure you see the sole voice of dissent (other than MMDE of course)

are we not talking about one or two games having basically "new" public servers here?...sorry, I'm tired and no longer understand what you're going on about...

 

if someone told me that tomorrow  I could play 50 cent blood on the sand mp between 20:00 - 1:00 and as a bonus, be able to earn trophies, I'd schedule my day around it and would find it silly if this site flagged me if I earned them according to their requirements...even if I used modded weapons and my timestamps looked legit, I'd find it silly...even if I couldn't take damage, had the option of flying, and had modded weapons but legit looking time stamps I'd find it silly...i'd even be willing to pay for the experience...call me a cheater all you like...i played 50 cent again...i win...haha...would be worth getting kicked off the leaderboards...

 

"sorry guys, I can't join tomorrow I don't want to get a flag on psnprofiles"...haha...life's too short...

 

I mean, just look at it...beautiful...

Edited March 15, 2018 by ProfBambam55

[Gage]

49 minutes ago, B1rvine said:

 

That's the issue.  Any game with an online component will suddenly never be unobtainable.  Someone can setup a "legit server" just for, and exclusively for themselves, without making it public knowledge, earn the trophies, and shut if off, after being the single beneficiary.  To me, that's not much different than using CFW to just add trophies in place.

 

Then at that point they get flagged, and if they want to be unflagged provide proof/method of how they did it. This is completely different than just CFWing trophies and comparing it to that is being incredibly shortsighted. 

[B1rvine]

19 minutes ago, ProfBambam55 said:

are we not talking about one or two games having basically "new" public servers here?...

 

No, we're not talking about the same thing.

 

I'm talking about "private servers" for the privileged, since they can be classified as "independently owned and revived."  There's no difference of how the trophies would be earned between public and private, just how many people have access to them.  Would it be a good thing if someone built themselves a server just for themselves, and for arguments sake, lets say it's identical to that of the real one by the company, just so they could be the only person to get the trophies 10 years after a game went down?  

 

9 minutes ago, Gage said:

 

Then at that point they get flagged, and if they want to be unflagged provide proof/method of how they did it. This is completely different than just CFWing trophies and comparing it to that is being incredibly shortsighted. 

 

You're missing my point completely.  See my response to BamBam above.  And it is comparable to CFW, because only people that have the know how will be able to earn trophies in the manner.

[Snokes]

If people spontaneously setting up a private server that excludes others or the settings/conditions of the server environment being altered from the original are a potential issue, why not set up some official site regulations with site-endorsed servers? Like, maybe expand the site staff to include select, trusted individuals that will have the rights to host legitimate servers that users can have access to. Maybe add a new section to the forums where announcements on these servers can be made that explicitly outline what times these servers will be up and for which games. Perhaps there could even be a sign-up a week or so prior to each event to keep track of who exactly has partaken in them. If a user's time stamps for the related trophies don't fall in line with the server postings or their names aren't on the sign-up sheet, then they can be easily identified as illegitimate.

 

I'd imagine this is all a little easier said than done, though. I've got no clue what the funding for this site is nor how it's allocated. Hiring more staff (I'm assuming the site staff is compensated in some way) could possibly be too expensive for all I know. There's also the issue of just how many users would make use of this compared to the cost it'd take to maintain (also working under the previous assumption). Maybe keep this utility exclusive to Premium Members or charge some small fee per session to minimize costs? I'd totally pay $5 to finish Ghostbusters. However, with only two games reportedly working with these servers so far, Demon's Souls and Bulletstorm, it's probably a bit premature to enact something like this.

 

In general though, if it's decided that monitoring this kind of thing is more effort than it's worth, then I think that's fine. In spite of my immense dislike for online trophies and the limitations they impose, they were more or less given the time needed to accomplish them at one point in time, and if it's decreed that official server shutdowns mark the end for them, I say that's fair enough. I'm just spitballing a suggestion.

[ProfBambam55]

18 minutes ago, B1rvine said:

 

No, we're not talking about the same thing.

 

I'm talking about "private servers" for the privileged, since they can be classified as "independently owned and revived."  There's no difference of how the trophies would be earned between public and private, just how many people have access to them.  Would it be a good thing if someone built themselves a server just for themselves, and for arguments sake, lets say it's identical to that of the real one by the company, just so they could be the only person to get the trophies 10 years after a game went down?  

is that what this thread is about?...i guess I must've missed the point then...

 

if someone did that I'd promote them to site moderator instantly...genius...a diamond in the rough...seriously though, your example is kind of ridiculous and really, who cares?...if someone is willing to spend that much time and effort to earn a handful of trophies, please don't flag them...just let them be...think of where you'd have to be at mentally and emotionally to be in a position where a few online trophies became that important...

 

this reminds of the recent topic about belts in a fighting game or something...am I the only one who kind of felt pity for the guy thinking he's "the chosen one"?...mental illness perhaps...just let him have them if that's all he's got in life is what I thought...yes, it's off topic...your example just reminded me of him...same type of obsession....

[kraven_15]

As long as it can be shown that they're running the same thing as when the servers were up without enhanced modifications, I don't see the problem. In fact, as is evident, I think a lot of people would love the opportunity to polish off some games they didn't get the chance to or complete ones they missed out on. The whole idea of not worrying about server closures just seems right  

 

I read all the previous posts and found it quite interesting. I can see the concern for what could potentially happen with people altering things to their benefit... but from my very limited understanding, someone would have to be very compute literate to set something like this up. As mentioned, it seems like a lot of effort to cheese something that will get you flagged / caught. As long as someone can prove they didn't use one of these, as of now non-existent, rigged servers, I can't see the issue. This seems different from the Street Fighter example brought up earlier.

 

Also, if you have the capacity to create one of these unrigged servers and can unlock the trophies and prove you did it legit, then good for you. You would simply need to prove it. There are people on this site who care passionately enough and are smart enough I'd imagine to determine if there's been additional tampering.

 

I agree with a comment above about the site being able to monitor or host such events or at least approve certain ones that are unrigged. I don't however believe they should charge money for it as mentioned... the whole 'pay for our approved servers or we'll flag you' doesn't really sit well.

[Leo_the_Lion25]

I've been reading the thread to see what other trophy hunters think. The first game this appeared on was Bulletstorm (PS3). I did that game legit and servers closed for it and people didn't care about that game at all. Now that it has a custom server and people can earn trophies for it again. It seemed very weird to me. I never would have thought it would have been possible but they did go out of their way to make it possible. Is it fair? I think it is somewhat but still it is harder for those people playing on custom servers to get the trophies that require more people. All of the boosters in that session need to be doing the custom server thing and have it set up. That is some serious hardwork and effort if all those trophy hunters get together like that. 

 

So is it fair to see other people obtaining trophies from a game that nobody cared about on PS3 when it was live? I think it is as my opinion has changed on it. I won't be doing it as it seems too complicated to setup despite reading what the author of the custom server posted. Other people might have a better understanding of these custom servers and maybe more of them will appear. 

 

As long as there is proof that a custom server exist. And you did it with that server then by all means. It is fair and shouldn't be a flag for those people. 

Edited March 15, 2018 by Leo_the_Lion25

[HailHale81]

1 hour ago, B1rvine said:

I'm talking about "private servers" for the privileged, since they can be classified as "independently owned and revived."  There's no difference of how the trophies would be earned between public and private, just how many people have access to them.  Would it be a good thing if someone built themselves a server just for themselves, and for arguments sake, lets say it's identical to that of the real one by the company

Kinda like how people who are privileged enough to have enough money to buy private servers in many mp games like battlefield and boost the trophies in a private server while others need to play public matches.I know it's not the exact same thing but who cares. People can get advantages that others can't all the time. That's life. As long as the servers aren't modded to give trophies instantly and they act like normal severs then it shouldn't be an issue. I'm sure the moderators are smart enough to figure what looks legit and what doesn't. If anything the site should have sanctioned server times for games if it comes down to it. Say one month is demons souls month and one is bulletstorm and whatever else comes along. Be a nice thing to add to the boosting sections.

 

If all people are worried about is the know how(assuming the servers are identical to before) ,then post how to do it in the game forum or the guide. As soon as someone figured it out for demon souls it was all over this site and facebook groups.

 

I'm all for this if the servers are just as normal as they were before. This site cherry picks so many things that are ok and that aren't it's getting kinda ridiculous.

[Sergen]

It kind of seems like people arguing against the whole idea aren't understanding that for a person to run a private game server on PSN independently, it takes massive amounts of effort and knowledge of networking and so on. In-fact, the person who even restored Bulletstorm has said he works in IT. If it has only been someone who has worked in that field who has been the only person in years that brought back a server for a game in a playable state, how would someone who randomly thinks they can hack trophies figure out how to make their own private server?

 

People who want to hack trophies for unobtainable games have shown time and again that they would CFW the game and put the time stamps on their account, there's literally never going to be a single person who goes through all the effort to make a private server, people hack trophies to skip a grind but bringing back a server privately on your own with no help would take more hours than if you were to spend the time doing the entire game legit. 

 

Also, people saying "what if people simply run private servers and don't tell anyone how to do it?", here's the thing: if one person can do it, someone else could as well, there are PC and PS2 servers that people use to connect to a once dead online server and not a single one of them was kept private so only 1 person could use it. 

 

Every argument can include "what if the person uses this to hack trophies?", people use some people's legit time stamps to hack trophies as well by using their time stamps as a reference point, you never see people saying that everyone could potentially be a hacker because someone with CFW could easily copy everyone's time stamps. 

 

Everything else that constitutes a flag on this website also includes some form of breaching of the ToS for PSN. Modifying save data is against the ToS and modding online lobbies to give other players an unfair advantage is against the ToS. People get flagged for joining modded lobbies that auto-pop trophies because you cannot confirm factors such as: Did they seek out a modder independently to unlock the trophies for them through the game? or Did they hack the game themselves? But with some regulations regarding restored game servers, like making people prove that they got some of the trophies legitimately while playing on that server, it would be something that could be confirmed unlike everything else that is in the flagging rules of the website currently. 

 

Currently there's not a rule in the PSN ToS that prohibits game server emulation or connecting to an emulated game server by manipulating network settings. It is simply bending the rules to try to flag people for playing on an emulated server, especially when other network related exploits are allowed. 

 

People brought up the fact that people could edit Street Fighter V Fight Money by manipulating their network, however in regards to that it would be something that Capcom would prohibit in the ToS for Street Fighter V because Fight Money is an in-game currency that is used to purchase DLC that you would otherwise have to pay real money for. 

Edited March 15, 2018 by Sergen