Love it or hate it, Pokémon Go is bringing out the best in people. There are the impromptu meet ups, organised walks of thousands, and the general feeling that, yes, humanity isn't so bad, which is quite the feat given the a torturous few weeks we've had in the UK. Unfortunately, like any video game (AR or otherwise), unscrupulous players have entered the Pokémon Go fold, and they've figured out some (admittedly clever) ways of cheating the game out of Pokémon, without even having to walk around to do so.
The first method is actually a way to get Pokémon Go up and running on a PC. The technique, created by YouTuber Travis D, involves installing the Android phone emulator BlueStacks, and then rooting that virtual device in order to install an app that spoofs the reported GPS location. From there, you can play the game just like you can on an Android or iOS phone, without the need to go outside at all. The solution isn't perfect given that you have to tab out every time you want to change your GPS location, and there are random crashes. That's not to mention that, thanks to GPS spoofing, you can effectively take over Pokémon gyms and find Pokémon that would otherwise be inaccessible, thus screwing over those who actually put in the hard work and walk around for miles.
There was a similar cheat unveiled on Twitch earlier this week, dubbed the Pokémon Go Cheat Tool, which involved downloading a modified version of the Android app APK that allowed you to change location at will. In the stream, which has now been removed, the player was able to catch numerous Pokémon without leaving his seat. The streamer also claimed that the hack would allow Pokémon Goplayers to collect items and level up their Pokémon without having to grind or use in-app purchases.
Using such cheats like these or GPS spoofing is banned by the terms of service for Pokémon Go, and players found to be using them have been punished with being unable to catch Pokémon, collect items from PokéStops, or battle in gyms. Notably, however, these measures have so far only been implemented for short periods of time, with players able to play the game normally after a few hours. The short punishment period has led to many players continuing to cheat, including those from rural areas where Pokémon are less likely to appear.
Other players have come up with some decidedly more old school methods of cheating the game. Hatching eggs, for instance, requires players to walk a certain distance, with the game cleverly discounting any travel above a certain speed, like when on a train or in a car. However, it turns out that attaching your phone to a turntable, bicycle wheel, or ceiling fan causes the on-screen avatar to walk around in circles, and thus hatch eggs quicker. Another player attached his phone to the top of a model train and sent it travelling around a track, again increasing walking distance.
Fans of the classic Pokémon games on the Gameboy and 3DS may remember similar hacks that involved attaching a rubber band or a clip to the circle pad or d-pad in order to keep a character walking forward. While those hacks were never criticised by Nintendo, given the multiplayer nature of Pokémon Go, it's unlikely that these will go unnoticed by developer Niantic. And yes, attaching your phone to a drone and flying it around to nearby PokéStops is probably cheating too.
This post originated on Ars Technica UK
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