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The Altador Cup or: How I Learned to Stop Caring and Love Cheating
Posted by Clutch,
08 June 2015
·
1248 views
Back in 2010, I joined Lost Desert for the first time, and it was my first Altador Cup. Of course, that was the year they won, thanks to SOTAC (I think?). I didn't know about the outside groups that really controlled the AC back then, so I thought my Rank 2 trophy was elite as hell and that I had brought us to the pinnacle of Neopian achievement. That, as I found out some years later, was not quite the case.
No, it was a group of selfish no-lives, devoting their entire summer to playing countless hours of Yooyuball and it's far less exciting side game companions, that really controlled the podium. Or at least part of the podium. You can imagine my surprise when I discovered that SOTAC and STEALTH were behind these huge victories by Kreludor, LD, and Virtupets. I felt betrayed by TNT, who had always told me to play my damn heart out for my team, when the only way to really win is to have some group like them helping you out.
I suppose it's a pretty ingenious idea, really. Get a couple hundred players to waste their summer maxing out on the games, and play for a really small team so that your group gains a majority over regular ACers. It almost ensures a victory for that team, but at what cost? Teams who don't have an ASG, as SOTAC and STEALTH have become known, have almost no chance of getting to the podium, much less beating these groups. Also, why should these ASGs determine what teams get on the podium each year?
The face of the Altador Cup changed when Team Codex joined Tyrannia in the 8th AC, and propelled them to astonishing heights. It was this Cup that I learned the extent of ASGs, and the sheer power of them. I soon learned, however, that Codex was not a traditionally "legit" group. You're all members of the site, and you all know what we do. Each and every one of us can be labeled as cheaters in the Neopian community, including myself.
Pretty soon, the ASGs couldn't even compete with the might of Codex, and they dominated everyone. In fact, the only groups that the ASGs could win against were other ASGs and clraik, a worthless cheating forum whose members aren't even very good at cheating.
Then came controversy. The Neoboards were outraged at all the "rampant cheating" that was taking place. I chimed in a few times as well, even though I was already focusing on becoming a member of their ranks. I remember that TNT promised change, promised an end to Codex's reign of superiority. It was a promise that was left unfulfilled.
In the 9th AC, Codex was even more dominant than their previous year, and they were using a much bigger team. I watched with fascination as the Neopets fanbase imploded, and witch-hunt after witch-hunt occured on the Neoboards (You're a member of Codex! etc...). Again, TNT had promised change, and had failed. I think it was then that I realized that if you can't beat them, join them. It wasn't a hard decision to make, really. It was simply the difference between a gold trophy and thousands upon thousands of prize points, or the chittlins I was earning playing legitimately.
This year, for the first time, I've tried to be as active as possible on Codex, and plan to continue to do so. It's funny, because I had always been against cheating, even though I was using multiple accounts to spin wheels and make neopoints that way. Now I don't even do that. I'm what the purest of Neopia's citizens would consider much worse. I autobuy, send scores, and generally try to cheat my way to success. But I just don't care anymore.
I'm sick of losing in the AC. I'm sick of not having enough prize points to get a stupid ass Yooyu, or that shitty little wig. I'm sick of playing hours and hours of Yooyuball, and not getting anywhere. I'm sick of not having money to buy that paintbrush. I'm sick of not having money to buy the things to restock so I can make money. I'm sick of having money but being to damn slow to restock so I can make more money. I'm sick of all that legitimate crap that they want you to do. I'm sick of thinking that winning the Tombola is the highlight of my Neopian day. I just want to win.
That, to me, is where Codex comes in. I can get those prize points, those Neopoints, and I can help a team win. I can do what I can to help get Kiko Lake, or whatever team Codex joins, to the top. Also, the community is a spot-on group of people, who are friendly, unique, and generally interesting to talk to. Comparing this forum to the Neoboards is like comparing Lebron James to a scrub on a Division II College.
I hope that Codex can crush the ASGs enough times, and by enough points, so that they may finally decide to give up on the Altador Cup entirely. Here's to hoping that SOTAC and STEALTH decide to disband after their past years of failure. Maybe after they're gone, getting to the podium will be an actual achievement, something to be proud of, because your team truly did compete.
The Altador Cup needs Codex. If not to give Neopians something to talk about, it will hopefully discourage other ASGs from competing. That in itself, would be an achievement. If my team got second on it's own merits, I would be ecstatic, to say the least. Maybe sometime down the road, the two teams placing after Codex will have gotten their because their fan base tried, not because a group of people took them there.
- Clutch
No, it was a group of selfish no-lives, devoting their entire summer to playing countless hours of Yooyuball and it's far less exciting side game companions, that really controlled the podium. Or at least part of the podium. You can imagine my surprise when I discovered that SOTAC and STEALTH were behind these huge victories by Kreludor, LD, and Virtupets. I felt betrayed by TNT, who had always told me to play my damn heart out for my team, when the only way to really win is to have some group like them helping you out.
I suppose it's a pretty ingenious idea, really. Get a couple hundred players to waste their summer maxing out on the games, and play for a really small team so that your group gains a majority over regular ACers. It almost ensures a victory for that team, but at what cost? Teams who don't have an ASG, as SOTAC and STEALTH have become known, have almost no chance of getting to the podium, much less beating these groups. Also, why should these ASGs determine what teams get on the podium each year?
The face of the Altador Cup changed when Team Codex joined Tyrannia in the 8th AC, and propelled them to astonishing heights. It was this Cup that I learned the extent of ASGs, and the sheer power of them. I soon learned, however, that Codex was not a traditionally "legit" group. You're all members of the site, and you all know what we do. Each and every one of us can be labeled as cheaters in the Neopian community, including myself.
Pretty soon, the ASGs couldn't even compete with the might of Codex, and they dominated everyone. In fact, the only groups that the ASGs could win against were other ASGs and clraik, a worthless cheating forum whose members aren't even very good at cheating.
Then came controversy. The Neoboards were outraged at all the "rampant cheating" that was taking place. I chimed in a few times as well, even though I was already focusing on becoming a member of their ranks. I remember that TNT promised change, promised an end to Codex's reign of superiority. It was a promise that was left unfulfilled.
In the 9th AC, Codex was even more dominant than their previous year, and they were using a much bigger team. I watched with fascination as the Neopets fanbase imploded, and witch-hunt after witch-hunt occured on the Neoboards (You're a member of Codex! etc...). Again, TNT had promised change, and had failed. I think it was then that I realized that if you can't beat them, join them. It wasn't a hard decision to make, really. It was simply the difference between a gold trophy and thousands upon thousands of prize points, or the chittlins I was earning playing legitimately.
This year, for the first time, I've tried to be as active as possible on Codex, and plan to continue to do so. It's funny, because I had always been against cheating, even though I was using multiple accounts to spin wheels and make neopoints that way. Now I don't even do that. I'm what the purest of Neopia's citizens would consider much worse. I autobuy, send scores, and generally try to cheat my way to success. But I just don't care anymore.
I'm sick of losing in the AC. I'm sick of not having enough prize points to get a stupid ass Yooyu, or that shitty little wig. I'm sick of playing hours and hours of Yooyuball, and not getting anywhere. I'm sick of not having money to buy that paintbrush. I'm sick of not having money to buy the things to restock so I can make money. I'm sick of having money but being to damn slow to restock so I can make more money. I'm sick of all that legitimate crap that they want you to do. I'm sick of thinking that winning the Tombola is the highlight of my Neopian day. I just want to win.
That, to me, is where Codex comes in. I can get those prize points, those Neopoints, and I can help a team win. I can do what I can to help get Kiko Lake, or whatever team Codex joins, to the top. Also, the community is a spot-on group of people, who are friendly, unique, and generally interesting to talk to. Comparing this forum to the Neoboards is like comparing Lebron James to a scrub on a Division II College.
I hope that Codex can crush the ASGs enough times, and by enough points, so that they may finally decide to give up on the Altador Cup entirely. Here's to hoping that SOTAC and STEALTH decide to disband after their past years of failure. Maybe after they're gone, getting to the podium will be an actual achievement, something to be proud of, because your team truly did compete.
The Altador Cup needs Codex. If not to give Neopians something to talk about, it will hopefully discourage other ASGs from competing. That in itself, would be an achievement. If my team got second on it's own merits, I would be ecstatic, to say the least. Maybe sometime down the road, the two teams placing after Codex will have gotten their because their fan base tried, not because a group of people took them there.
- Clutch
