back to article Xbox mod spreads KILLER Borderlands 2 GERM

A bug in Borderlands 2 has spread like virtual flu, permanently killing off characters if they die during a game. Worse, some players are deliberately spreading the infection to gamers they don't like, it has been claimed. The issue only affects Xbox 360 players - the sound you can hear is our very own PS3-loving 'Anonymous …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    hehehehe

    *sniggers*

  2. Lee Dowling Silver badge

    Why?

    Why would you program it that way?

    Why would you leave it in the game?

    Just why? Why would a player who joins a game determine game modes that permanently affect other player's (who WEREN'T using those modes) data? I can sort of understand it accidentally being left in the program because you didn't know it was there or think people would find it, but everyone knows the system is hackable anyway.

    I just don't get it. Why?

    1. wowfood

      Re: Why?

      because they wanted to?

    2. NumptyScrub

      Re: Why?

      quote: "Why would you program it that way?

      Why would you leave it in the game?"

      Probably because they tried it out during development, didn't think it polished enough to release (yet) so decided to leave the code for a possible future release... likely as part of more DLC (buy DLC #3 and get Badass mode! It's teh awesmoe!).

      Another article I saw on this likened it to a Diablo style Hardcore mode. People I know (myself included) have played Hardcore in D2/D3 for the hell of it, and I'm sure I'd give it a go on Borderlands as well, if they ever officially add it. From the sound if it in the article here, while in that mode it also boosts your shield / damage output, which seems to be why some players are hacking the savegames to run it like that on their consoles.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Why?

      Why?

      Because the Devs are all PS3 users

      *snicker*snicker*snicker*

    4. DrXym

      Re: Why?

      The assumption would be that players are not using modded consoles and therefore anything not exposed by the UI would be inaccessible. Clearly MS need to start ban hammering people again who use XBL with modded consoles and the devs of this game need to nail the bug or use it as a clue that the person is a cheat and to permaban them from the multiplayer functionality.

      1. asdf
        FAIL

        Re: Why?

        >use it as a clue that the person is a cheat and to permaban them from the multiplayer functionality.

        Nope champ as the bug can be triggered without ever using a modded console which makes it pathetic this bug ever shipped and why it needs to be fixed asap.

        >Clearly MS need to start ban hammering people again who use XBL with modded consoles

        While I agree from a legal/ethic standpoint it seems to be sales this generation were directly related to how easy the console was to hack (WII trivial, Xbox harder, PS3 damn hard).

        1. Michael Hutchinson
          FAIL

          Correllation != Causation

          "While I agree from a legal/ethic standpoint it seems to be sales this generation were directly related to how easy the console was to hack (WII trivial, Xbox harder, PS3 damn hard)."

          Wii launched in 2006 @ £179

          360 launched in 2005 @ £280

          PS3 launched in 2007 @ £425

          I think that is directly related to sales in this generation.

          1. asdf

            Re: Correllation != Causation

            Those were sure as hell not the prices in the US where the WII and XBox were nearly the same price at launch and the PS3 was way more. Don't think the price you pay in the UK has much to do with the market. Seems to have a lot more to do with the whole euro VAT scam and corrupt politicians.

  3. Haku

    "Don't you have better things to do than going online killing people?"

    -- Cartman in "Make Love, Not Warcraft" (full episode)

  4. Raccoon

    Some facts and corrections...

    This doesn't rely on modded consoles. A save game modifier program was made available on forums, to anybody able to get their save onto a USB stick and onto a PC. A flag could be switched on, enabling the uncompleted 'Badass mode', and then the save put back onto USB and onto any console. So basically anyone could do it.

    If you're infected you'll be booted back to the menu screen, and if you don't go to continue, and then save and quit, your save gets renamed Graveyard.sav and your character is gone.

    Also it spreads from any player with the infection, no need for a modded console, and only triggers when you die - so if you play with 3 others in a session, they get it, pass it on etc etc.

    There's a fix with Microsoft now, so should be patched soon. Anyone with Graveyard.sav is done for, but an infected save which hasn't gone that far can be fixed - unfortunately this uses the same modding tool that caused the problem in the first place...

    1. Daniel B.

      Re: Some facts and corrections...

      Wait ... isn't it obvious? Just rename Graveyard.sav and it's fixed?

  5. mark 63 Silver badge

    permanently killing off characters

    Finally , realism at last.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Of course a quicik patch to recover graveyard.sav to a playable character is a nono ?????

  7. AbortRetryFail
    Unhappy

    Suffering from lag?

    No offence, but BBC News got here 4+ hours before The Register and in more detail too.

    I kind of expect El Reg to be first with Technology stories and in more technical detail. It's a pretty unfortunate state of affairs when they're several hours later and with less detail.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Suffering from lag?

      BBC News has a budget of £350 million and 3,500 staff members, 2,000 of whom are journalists. I dont think you can compare a huge corporate pedo-supportive firm like the Beeb with reghardware, which I believe has just three team members. Meh, what am I saying? The delay is a total disgrace... fire them all.

  8. Tom Maddox Silver badge
    Mushroom

    The bugbear hits! The bugbear hits! The bugbear hits! You die . . .

    Back in my day, permanent character death was the *only* kind of death. Kids today . . .

    1. W.O.Frobozz

      Re: The bugbear hits! The bugbear hits! The bugbear hits! You die . . .

      "Wizard needs food, badly."

      1. P. Lee
        Happy

        Re: The bugbear hits! The bugbear hits! The bugbear hits! You die . . .

        Check "Moria".

        Only a batch file can save you now.

        Any news of how this affects that eminently hackable, non-DRM'ed entity known as a "PC"?

      2. Frumious Bandersnatch

        Re: The bugbear hits! The bugbear hits! The bugbear hits! You die . . .

        "Wizard needs food, badly."

        You bastard!

        sudo cp /var/games/nethack/save//$UID-`whoami`.gz $HOME/scum.sav

        "My, that was a yummy Slime Mold!"

  9. The Alpha Klutz
    Meh

    i dont know what to hate more

    the people who made the game

    xbox 360

    or the modders

    hmmm

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