Who uses cheats?

[Prospero101]

Using cheats is also relevant for modding purposes. In games like Skyrim and Fallout you need access to the console in order to, say, dig yourself out of scripting errors and whatnot.

But is it cheating, at that point? Or has the game evolved into a creativity tool?

[AdmiralMemo]

Yeah. While you are using "cheats" in a technical sense, it is more of a creativity tool at that point.

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

I used cheats in Warcraft 3 to skip missions.
I was playing World of Warcraft and my internet connection was funny (shit). So I bought WC3 to get an Azeroth fix despite having offlineness.

I cheated to get resources because back then, I hated how the game punished me for my play style: being not great at gathering resources and wanting to research all the things.

I eventually skipped missions because I found the story (cutscenes) a lot more engaging.

I have never completed any WC3 campaign legitimately.
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Now, if I'm playing a RTS game against the AI and the AI is being a dick, I'll use cheats to unleash my revenge.
Say if I am building a nice little base, and then the AI comes sweeping it rushing me with such cheapery; if I cannot defend myself, I unleash the cheats.

I never use the KILL X command. I summon cheat Units (or on Age of Mythology, cheat God Powers).

[Lord Chrusher]

In the past I cheated a decent amount. I never made through Starcraft I without cheating. One of the last games I remember proper cheating in was the original Half Life. I played the original Half Life after I had played Half Life 2 and greatly enjoyed it ... until I got to Xen. After getting frustrated one too many times I cheated through the rest of the game.

I do semi cheats in some games. I do abuse the quicksave in strategy games, especially in the Civilization series to get better outcomes from huts/villages/ruins (In the later versions of the game I play with new random seed on reload on).

I have recently been playing Ironman mode in Crusader Kings and I am almost enjoying it more than being able to fix my misplays.

[Amake]

Using cheats is also relevant for modding purposes. In games like Skyrim and Fallout you need access to the console in order to, say, dig yourself out of scripting errors and whatnot.

But is it cheating, at that point? Or has the game evolved into a creativity tool?

What is a game if not a tool for your creativity? I mean unless we're talking about like games of the type where you turn it on and watch the rocket go around and around, which I think most people agree is not strictly speaking a game, every game from tic-tac-toe to hide and seek was made to reward creativity. (Tic-tac-toe has unfortunately been solved, but it sure was still made for it.)

I'd be more worried if I was playing something coughWorldofSpreadsheetcraftcough that didn't allow creative input or cheating. Those two things may be the only things separating games from toys.

[Merrymaker_Mortalis]

I'd be more worried if I was playing something coughWorldofSpreadsheetcraftcough that didn't allow creative input or cheating. Those two things may be the only things separating games from toys.

I did a spreadsheet project to solve the question:

Can Dual Wield Death Knights viabley Tank? If so, what is the ideal weapon speed?

It was fun as it was problem solving.

Yes, Death Knight can (were able to) Dual Wield tank.

And that it was best to have a slow off-hand weapon.

And that the best Weapon speed in the main hand was about 2.4
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I did this project to get answers. No one had bothered to research this part of the game. Any guides on DW DK Tanking either said:

Nope

or were not truel guides but uneducated opinion.

I was infuriated by players who said that their threat was enough when they themselves didn't know if they were efficient or not.

So I produced as accurate-as-I-could Spreadsheet simulation where I could tweak Weapon Speeds.

Unfortunately, as a result of my work, I wasn't able to present data to prove my conclusions. So no one outside of my ex-friend wow circle learnt of my results.
And then Blizzard did a change that murdered Dual Wield Tanking.

Spreadsheet craft is fun if you have a problem to solve and you have to tools to approach it.
It is less fun if you're just copying what people tell you to do, since your choices have been made for you.
I would say Theorycraft in WoW is the same as those management Sim games. It's just you're literally constructing a spreadsheet, as oppose to a spreadsheet with a pretty UI.

[Darkobra]

Yeah, I say the only real way to play is to experiment and find your own build. People that get told how to play DON'T KNOW how to play. So any changes and they're clueless.

[Amake]

Yes, I'd say the fun part of WoW is the process of solving the various problems it presents you with. Kind of like solving puzzles or riddles. Any journey of discovery is a game in itself. The downside is just that you eventually solve it or, as the case may be, it'll seem pointless if someone else already did it