ZOS banning cheaters - Question on the FoV addon/mod

FezzikVizzini

Drazhar14 wrote: »

I just ran around killing stuff using the mod, the first person view is so much more enjoyable now!

So, you totally trust a stand alone .exe to alter your client memory and do nothing else at all. You are quite sure of this ?

So - and I am not saying this exe does it - next time you run one of these things and it records your user id and password you will not complain will you.

I would NEVER trust something that is not an actual ADDON. You are asking for trouble - but hey. It's your call.

Gillysan

FezzikVizzini's concerns are spot on. I hope soon ZOS gives us one made by them and not a third party.

In the mean time, for those who dare, this is reddit link it contains the link to the actual exe. Note: do not call this an add-on! It is most certainly not an add-on!

http://www.reddit.com/r/elderscrollsonline/comments/22jiih/how_do_increase_your_fov_and_support_confirming/

otomodachi

Hope this modification works safely for you guys. This thread is great, definitely seems like a "win" for the ZO team, here. Just glad all around.

Drazhar14

FezzikVizzini wrote: »

Drazhar14 wrote: »

I just ran around killing stuff using the mod, the first person view is so much more enjoyable now!

So, you totally trust a stand alone .exe to alter your client memory and do nothing else at all. You are quite sure of this ?

So - and I am not saying this exe does it - next time you run one of these things and it records your user id and password you will not complain will you.

I would NEVER trust something that is not an actual ADDON. You are asking for trouble - but hey. It's your call.

The Dev team examined it and said it was okay to use... that is why I waited, for the reasons you stated.

marcmyb14_ESO

FezzikVizzini wrote: »

Drazhar14 wrote: »

I just ran around killing stuff using the mod, the first person view is so much more enjoyable now!

So, you totally trust a stand alone .exe to alter your client memory and do nothing else at all. You are quite sure of this ?

So - and I am not saying this exe does it - next time you run one of these things and it records your user id and password you will not complain will you.

I would NEVER trust something that is not an actual ADDON. You are asking for trouble - but hey. It's your call.

If they didn't trust it or they thought it was doing anything else other than what it claims, they wouldn't allow it, obviously. So it's just you being paranoid, imo. If 49 virus scanners AND ZOS tells you it's safe, and you still don't trust it, you shouldn't even be using a computer. Who knows, you might actually be exposing your IP address when you go to a website!

Sakiri

I cant use higher fov in 3rd person... why on earth would anyone do it? I see people mentioning it.

I can see first(I dont play first person) but all higher fov does in third person is screw with my aiming by moving the crosshair. ><

FezzikVizzini

marcmyb14_ESO wrote: »

FezzikVizzini wrote: »

Drazhar14 wrote: »

I just ran around killing stuff using the mod, the first person view is so much more enjoyable now!

So, you totally trust a stand alone .exe to alter your client memory and do nothing else at all. You are quite sure of this ?

So - and I am not saying this exe does it - next time you run one of these things and it records your user id and password you will not complain will you.

I would NEVER trust something that is not an actual ADDON. You are asking for trouble - but hey. It's your call.

If they didn't trust it or they thought it was doing anything else other than what it claims, they wouldn't allow it, obviously. So it's just you being paranoid, imo. If 49 virus scanners AND ZOS tells you it's safe, and you still don't trust it, you shouldn't even be using a computer. Who knows, you might actually be exposing your IP address when you go to a website!

"Edit: Looks like the team took a close look, and we see no reason why you shouldn't be able to use this mod. Thanks for your patience while we looked into this, and enjoy!"

1) So, you have tested this on all 47 of your virus checkers have you ? And you call me paranoid.
2) Where in the above reply does it say they have checked it for safety. ? All it says is that there is no reason (eg breaking TOS etc) to not be able to use it.
3) Virus checkers check for exactly that. Viruses, trojans etc. These are things that do nasty things that can be checked for. Not for loading random things into a specific progaram such as ESO client. Do you honestly think that a minor .exe for an online game will be examined by virus chcking software ?
4) With all the bugs in this game you honestly think that Devs are going to spend time reverse engineering code from a .exe to see if it OK ?
5) ZOS will not even say official API addons are "safe" let alone a stand alone .exe - You really think they would leave themselves open to more hassle ?

So, no. I am not being "paranoid". Just pointing out the potential problems.
You on the other hand are either incredibly trusting or just very nieve.

marcmyb14_ESO

You haven't heard of VirusTotal? It's a website where you can upload a file it scans it on 50 different virus scanners. I don't keep an anti-virus on my computer at all. And do you honestly think they wouldn't check it for safety before OK'ing it? I'm afraid you are being
paranoid.

Sure, there's plenty of reason to be concerned about random exe's on the internet. But plenty of people have been using this for quite some time now and haven't reported any issues, so I'd say it's safe. That doesn't mean I wouldn't rather have an internal game slider, but since that's not an option right now, I'll take what I can get.

marcmyb14_ESO

Sakiri wrote: »

I cant use higher fov in 3rd person... why on earth would anyone do it? I see people mentioning it.

I can see first(I dont play first person) but all higher fov does in third person is screw with my aiming by moving the crosshair. ><

I'd say it's mainly for first person because playing first person with default FOV is pretty bad atm. I can't do it. However I like it for 3rd person too, makes it look like I'm running and riding horse faster.

Gillysan

Well this works but it affects your 3rd person as well. At max that the hack lets you do (74) you get some slight fish eye lensing in 3rd person. There is no interface for it as well and no documentation, although it is a very simple to use.

Two key things...
Original FoV value: 50
Max value: 74

If you want to change back to original you have to run the exe again and type in 50.

Note: the original reticule positioning, which confirmed with other players, is that the reticule normally is above your character and tiny bit to the right. The original is not perfectly centered above your character.

Also, the biggest concern, who authored this? Where did it come from?

Gillysan

Sakiri wrote: »

I cant use higher fov in 3rd person... why on earth would anyone do it? I see people mentioning it.

I can see first(I dont play first person) but all higher fov does in third person is screw with my aiming by moving the crosshair. ><

This is an issue with 1st person. You already have 360 view in 3rd. Well to clarify, you can see what is going on behind you and all around already.

See my note above, the targeting reticule was never perfectly centered to begin with.

FezzikVizzini

marcmyb14_ESO wrote: »

You haven't heard of VirusTotal? It's a website where you can upload a file it scans it on 50 different virus scanners. I don't keep an anti-virus on my computer at all. And do you honestly think they wouldn't check it for safety before OK'ing it? I'm afraid you are being
paranoid.

Sure, there's plenty of reason to be concerned about random exe's on the internet. But plenty of people have been using this for quite some time now and haven't reported any issues, so I'd say it's safe. That doesn't mean I wouldn't rather have an internal game slider, but since that's not an option right now, I'll take what I can get.

Jeez. You did not read anything I wrote did you ?

I will try to make this nice and simple.

The exe we are talking about most likely does nothing more than check for the ESO image being in memory and then changes the address where the default FOV is stored. I dont know what that is but lets say it is 90.

The code will then change that address to another value.

Therefore, it is changing the value of an address in memory to some other value. Exactly like cheat engine does.

Now, a virus checker will scan a file and attempt to find code or patterns that match ones in its database. If it is not present in the database then it can't detect it. Simple as that.

Please tell me how any .exe that merely contains code that has the equivalent of
the following (and I am using pseudocode here - look it up) can be detected as malicious by a virus checker.

LOAD ESO.EXE startimage + 2096 100
LOAD ESO.EXE startimage + 4096 200

Exactly, it can't.

Or are you that brain dead that you think that Microsoft Essentials. Kapersky etc have taken this little .exe, looked at ESO (and good luck there as the client keeps changing) and analysed what the memory addresses being alterered actually do.

I suggest you get some basic computer knowledge before posting next time.

Oh, and by the way I never suggested that this did have anything wrong with it. If you could be bothered to read I merely pointed out that it was possible.

But, you didn't bother to read that.

Attorneyatlawl

ZOS_GinaBruno wrote: »

Apologies, everyone. We'll check on the status of this now.

Edit: Looks like the team took a close look, and we see no reason why you shouldn't be able to use this mod. Thanks for your patience while we looked into this, and enjoy!

Awesome, This really will help me enjoy the game a lot more and it'll let my relative (mom believe it or not) play without
feeling motion sick. I am ecstatic.

For those asking, it can be found on reddit now, I will mirror it soon so it's a more permanent and trustable link though.

Durandal

Thank you ZOS for allowing this!!! I know you all are working on a slider, but having this now allows me to enjoy 1st person lvling up without getting dizzy! /Cheers!

Attorneyatlawl

Sakiri wrote: »

I cant use higher fov in 3rd person... why on earth would anyone do it? I see people mentioning it.

I can see first(I dont play first person) but all higher fov does in third person is screw with my aiming by moving the crosshair. ><

The default one is constricted and also has far too low a zoom distance... this handles both in one fell swoop.

Scanned the thing with every AV known to man and the only thing that comes up is one heuristic from a lesser-known one that is probably a false positive. That combined with ZOS looking it over gives me the confidence to use it for now.

elderscrollsb16_ESO109

@ZOS_GinaBruno would it be possible for ZOS to post back the actual exe that you tested and which is safe.

This is in order to avoid that a hacker make a malicious version that people may use, thinking it's the "ZOS approved" one.

Edit: or if not possible, give use the file hash please

Charg

Woop woop we are allowed to use it! Hurray!

Charg

elderscrollsb16_ESO109 wrote: »

@ZOS_GinaBruno would it be possible for ZOS to post back the actual exe that you tested and which is safe.

This is in order to avoid that a hacker make a malicious version that people may use, thinking it's the "ZOS approved" one.

Edit: or if not possible, give use the file hash please

Go to the reddit page I linked a few pages ago, there's the direct download linked to it. It's 100% safe trust me.

Gillysan

I'm still concerned about this .exe. I call it a hack not a mod even though we have official word now.

Here are my comments from our guild page, copy/pasted here...

UPDATE 2 ===========
Well this works but it affects your 3rd person as well. At max that the hack lets you do (74) you get fair amount of fish eye lensing in 3rd person. Even in 1st person there is a bit of fish eye. So it will take a little getting used to. There is no interface for it as well and no documentation, although it is a very simple to use.

Also, it has the effect in 3rd of zooming out.

Two key things...
Original FoV value: 50
Max value: 74

If you want to change back to original you have to run the exe again and type in 50. I put a short cut on my 2nd monitor to quickly access it. You also have to run this after you start the game every time because you go back to the default FoV.
It would be so much better if there was an FoV feature in the actual game. One that kicks in and affects only 1st person. Soon as you hit V to go back to 3rd person it's off.

This hack seriously makes 1st person much more comfortable experience. You can even resource collect and dungeon crawl better. On my bow ranged Nightblade this is awesome.

Note: the original reticule positioning, which confirmed with other players, is that the reticule normally is above your character and tiny bit to the right. The original is not perfectly centered above your character.

FishBreath

I just tried the mod, and it's great. 68 vertical FOV is perfect for me. At least to my knowledge the max value 74 gives wider than 90 horizontal FOV.

Here's a good FOV calculator (with even formula included):
http://www.rjdown.co.uk/projects/bfbc2/fovcalculator.php

68 vertical FOV should be 100 horizontal FOV with 16:9 ratio resolution.

Carde

driosketch wrote: »

Carde wrote: »

You gotta mark people like this @ZOS_GinaBruno to get them to see it.

(Sorry Gina, payback for the crossbow )

Hassling the mod who enshrined an embarrassing post of yours because she found it amusing... "I too like to live dangerously"

She knows it ain't hassling, its love.

ArconSeptim

Well for me all addons are stupid and cheating tools, I play without them.

pox67

ArconSeptim wrote: »

Well for me all addons are stupid and cheating tools, I play without them.

/golfclap

This is great, makes a world of difference when playing and feels more natural. Props to the coder who wrote TESO_FOV and props to ZOS for allowing its use!

felixgamingx1

Charg wrote: »

Hello? Ginabruno? Do you perhaps know if the devs will put in a FoV slider in the next big bugfix patch that's coming today/tomorrow?

There is a FOV slider already...

Attorneyatlawl

felixgamingx1 wrote: »

Charg wrote: »

Hello? Ginabruno? Do you perhaps know if the devs will put in a FoV slider in the next big bugfix patch that's coming today/tomorrow?

There is a FOV slider already...

No, there is not.

Malokir

This is a nice work around until the game provides it's own fov slider (and no, there isn't one yet).
thx for allowing it!

mndfreeze

ThommyGunn wrote: »

I've always been confused by the FoV missing complaint. In my settings, there is a slider right there under graphics, has been since early access. Its set 3/4's to the max. Is it missing from some? Do graphic card drivers or cards themselves need updated? Or is there to be a second FoV slider for something.

Again, its there for me and I can post a screenshot when I get home from work.

Just confused is all

Hey, can you take a screenshot of this because I don't have it for sure. I *DO* have sliders for the ui scale, which is NOT the same thing as FOV...

To add my opinion WAY late on this thread, if the game only had 1st person then IMO a FOV adjuster would be cheeeeaap since it lets you see more 'around' your character then you can by default, giving advantage in pvp over others who dont use it, but since they freely let you 3rd person and move the camera all over, its a moot point. I would really like to see this option added into the game options though and not have to be a 3rd party .exe. Random exe's from da intarwebnets dun git me skurred n stuph.

That said, I love first person view. Especially for ES games. The immersion factor is just, there. 3rd person always made mmo's feel more diablo-esque then immersive like dungeons and dragons paper and dice was as a kid..

God servers hurry up and come back online...

AryaWythers

Valn wrote: »

djodars wrote: »

In my opinion, any software that enhances or gives you an advantage in-game that isn't permitted by the API should be considered cheating.

I wouldn't consider a FOV cheating...

FOV just makes first person view better but 3rd person view will always be better than 1st person because you can see more.

Lol...I remembered when people in GW2 used stuff like that and it ruined PVP cause of siege FOV. Hope that they will ban people here too if it ruins the AvA like it did in GW2

ChairGraveyard

Some caution is fine people, but just assuming any program is a potential keylogger/backdoor without any actual evidence to that fact, is total NONSENSE.

Furthermore, it is trivial to verify that the FOV fixer program does not import any functionality that would allow it to utilize a network (I've done this myself, anyone can - just go look at the DLL information about the program - no network DLLs are referenced).

In any case - ZOS already stated they won't ban for this, and anyone with a brain can verify it doesn't use the network. So the rampant paranoid speculation in this thread is just nonsense.

marcmyb14_ESO

FezzikVizzini wrote: »

The exe we are talking about most likely does nothing more than check for the ESO image being in memory and then changes the address where the default FOV is stored. I dont know what that is but lets say it is 90.

The code will then change that address to another value.

Therefore, it is changing the value of an address in memory to some other value. Exactly like cheat engine does.

Now, a virus checker will scan a file and attempt to find code or patterns that match ones in its database. If it is not present in the database then it can't detect it. Simple as that.

Please tell me how any .exe that merely contains code that has the equivalent of
the following (and I am using pseudocode here - look it up) can be detected as malicious by a virus checker.

LOAD ESO.EXE startimage + 2096 100
LOAD ESO.EXE startimage + 4096 200

Exactly, it can't.

Or are you that brain dead that you think that Microsoft Essentials. Kapersky etc have taken this little .exe, looked at ESO (and good luck there as the client keeps changing) and analysed what the memory addresses being alterered actually do.

I suggest you get some basic computer knowledge before posting next time.

Oh, and by the way I never suggested that this did have anything wrong with it. If you could be bothered to read I merely pointed out that it was possible.

But, you didn't bother to read that.

Why so angry?

I know how virus scanners work, and I know how the exe is purported to work. I was simply stating that as far as viruses/backdoors/trojans go it isn't a concern. Virus scanners DO test for those kinds of things. It's called heuristics, and since it is found to be safe, we can assume that the program alters ESO and nothing else on the system.

With official confirmation (after some time checking with the development team) that the program is allowed under TOS, I would say it's safe to assume that they also checked to make sure it does nothing else but alter the FOV, otherwise they wouldn't allow it. I think they've got enough problems on their hands.

I may not be a programmer, but I do have basic and intermediate computer knowledge. It doesn't take a genius to understand this stuff, and I don't attempt to look smart and be abrasive to people to get my point across.