I’ve played a lot since release and have clocked in a few hundred hours at this point.
I am enjoying my time for the most part but do wish a couple of things would be changed (Region Lock and Player collision to be turned on). Needed to get out there cause there is a lot of negativity surrounding this game but I do really think it is quite good.
However, there is a problem that is plaguing this game, hackers. I experienced my first hacker on day 5 after release and it has progressively got worse, now about a month after release, I am experiencing it probably every second game. I can barely play ranked anymore as they operate in stacks of multiple people to boost accounts. I’ve found that the reporting is only through Xbox or waypoint.
I am hoping 343 are across this (I would suspect they would be) however, this is something that definitely needs addressing. I understand it is easier said than done to implement some of these things, but here are some of my suggestions:
An in-game report option seems like it would be one of the quicker ways to flag accounts, or even if that just hyperlinks to the report function on Xbox it would be good. It would incentivize people to actually report and not just move onto the next game because of how laborious it is right now.
A system of “Prime” match-making. Although it would be risky splitting the community early on I think it would do the game well by asking the player to add their phone or something so that it stops hackers just making new accounts non-stop. This way you could get games against other people that have signed up and the likeliness that someone who has linked there phone is hacking is lower as if they get banned they’ll be stuck in the unverified lobbies.
*This is a more pie in the sky idea but I think it could work with Theatre. Currently, CS has a system called “Overwatch” where once a player has received a large number of reports a system generates a ‘case’ which is a compilation of demos/theatre recordings where the player, now suspect, received the reports from. The system then sends out these ‘cases’ to higher MMR players and asks if they want to review the footage. Once a player reviews the footage they have the choice they answer between three options, They are either; confirmed hacking based off the footage, inconclusive based off the footage or they’re not hacking.
Anyway, those are some ideas, feel free to add more in the comments. I really hope 343 look into the hacking situation as it feels like its getting out of hand. As someone who used to play tf2, it is almost unplayable now with almost more bots and hackers than players (I don’t think 343 will let their new baby languish like this though.)
IP ban is easy to get around. Need to do a hardware ID ban which a lot of companies have started doing… Even still there are hardware ID spoofers to get around it.
The fix is to ad a reporting system in game… and then on top of that have a good anti-cheat software.
Currently 343 has an AI learning system in place that most likely analyzes and compounds patterns associated with cheating in many ways. They also have a support team that investigates user submitted evidence through their support site:
An in game report function will allow both the AI system and a support team to analyze specific examples of potential cheaters and narrow down subtle tells and patterns cheaters are getting away with using.
Prime matchmaking can be circumvented through available shady means as it is now in CSGO, but it’s a great step further towards putting up some floodgates. It could even tie into the Waypoint app in some way and give that some actual functionality.
I would also suggest (in order of ease/logical implementation):
Make violations and punishments clear. Not just for cheating, but for other violations of TOS/COC/etc. Quitting, cheating, misconduct, griefing, anything that disrupts other players’ fun and experiences.
An actual tried and true anti-cheat software. Anti-cheat is largely reactionary to updating threats, similar to how firewalls works. So while this doesn’t outright prevent cheating from happening, it does do a good job at cleaning up a lot of it that’s already widely known. This in addition to AI learning could be a fantastic way of limiting cheating and narrowing down the chance of encountering a true cheater.
Implement a community investigation program. For example: CSGO allows Gold+ ranked players to participate in a program that teaches players to identify signs of cheating and tell them apart from players who are relying on mechanics that may seem like cheaters. Players are then tasked at identifying whether a suspected player is innocent or guilty, the report is compounded through several other players, and the suspect is either exonerated or the report is passed up the line with player supplied evidence to the support team which then decides whether the player is cheating or not. Lot of topics suggesting some form of earnable currency, this could be a great way to implement that as well as spread some report moderation around and off of the shoulders of the support team.
To be perfectly honest, I truly believe most “cheaters” are simply players misunderstanding various mechanics. Cheaters absolutely exist, but not at the rates a lot of players suggest they do. I’ve personally come across only a single player that really had some suspicious behavior going on and I’ve got about 80 hours logged. If these players are suggesting encountering cheaters in 25% of their games at the least, I should be seeing more when I’m not seeing any.