[SC] Bots and Cheats ... archive

Bots and Cheats -

As we are aware that there are many players in the game that would like to voice there thoughts on this matter.

We have created a thread for you to do just that. The information in this thread will be passed on to the development team to assist in future investigations of this matter.

As we have placed this thread here for you, the community. It does come with some rules that are very specific.

1. All Forums rules Apply
2. Do Not post accusations against another player in the game.
3. Do Not post perceived game cheat Names.
4. Do Not Post links or information on how to obtain said cheats.
4. Do Not use this thread to boost your point count. Example: spam, one word posts and banter will be deleted.

We appreciate your input on this matter, please remember to keep your posts clean and
Have a nice day!

Astraea

 

Sticky Please***

 

Should be interesting to have one of these again, the one on the last forum turned into a pat on the back circle for a group of players but kept all the spam in one nice thread.

Thought I might as well use the first reply to educate people about a few things, since most people who think they see a cheat don't understand what is happening - thought no immediate fault of their own. This reply will just exist to try and limit the potential spam.
Inb4 "You're just defending them" bla bla bla, heard it all before, couldn't care less if I hear it all again.

You can chose to read what I write and try and understand the situation better or you can ignore it, I can't make the decision for you, I can only write an explanation since I have a very good understanding of it all and I am good friends with the development team who made one of the most successful bots and the most complicated one before DO shut it all down.


Packet Programs
Do you remember the bots and autolocks of pre-2013 DarkOrbit? The times when as soon as a red dot appear on your minimap it started shooting lasers? The 30+ ships shooting strueners in x-2 maps? Those programs are dead. Well and truly.
DarkOrbit detects the altered packets coming from a user and bans them, not instantly but waits until a ban wave to do it. There are none of these packet programs being sold or made anymore, the cost is not worth it and the encryption changes regularly.


Pixel Bots / Macros
Pixel bots cannot die, however aren't too effective. They are external, they do not "take apart and mess with the game codes" like packet programs would. They run on your computer and can scan your screen for things such as bonus boxes. There is a anti-pixel bot measures exist and they work fairly well, however it would be impossible to stop them entirely since in theory someone could make themselves a pixel bot that picked up 10 bonus boxes an hour then logged off for 3 hours and would never be caught because it would be so useless and tiny effect on the users account.

Macros are similar but not the same. If you think of a pixel bots and macros as being brothers then the pixel bot is the one everyone likes to talk about and the macro is on the one most people pretend doesn't exist. Many of you will see macro users in the battlemaps. They fly around and around letting their pet pick up bonus boxes, kill them and that's it. They won't come back unless the user has made one that can recognise the death screen and react to it or until the user is back in their chair to repair their ship.

Can an autolock be pixel based? Maybe, however you would have to be a mad man to even attempt to code that up, very good programmers have tried and failed miserably.

Custom Flash Player / browser / "not too sure how it works yet" tools
About a year ago work began on a bot that used a custom flash player and would be able to do everything packet tools did but go unnoticed by DO. It was hard to update and development was stopped. At the start of 2015 someone else began work on their own tool, which is in beta right now and is having success.

I'm not actually too sure how it works right now, however the person behind it is very talented and was able to update within a hour or so of the DO client version changing, it can do everything the old bots / autoclocks could do however no ban wave has happened since it being released so we are none the wiser to knowing if it can be detected by current scripts or if it is a potential to cause a new swarm of bots.

Users being able to lag out other users through the game?
Nah.
This happens in peer-to-peer scenarios. Where every user playing the game is being hosted by another user who is also playing the game, this is what games like Call of Duty use. DarkOrbit has a dedicated host server. User A's data between the dedicated server themselves never comes into contact with User B's data.

How can a user lag me out then? Through DDoS, however don't assume everyone time you lag out now in DO that you are being DDoS'd, you're not ... DarkOrbit itself is also being attacked on occasion. Still though, don't assume all lag is an attack, it could also be your internet; your latency is something that fluctuates - if it goes high then the response time between you doing an action such as pressing ctrl and then the game actually making your ship shoot will be a few seconds, which is very noticeable.
Another issue with internet, that only applies to NA users as far as I know, is that some North American ISPs will slow down your internet speeds to DarkOrbit to save themselves money.


Known bugs in the game that can look like a user is cheating
There is a issue with DO / browsers loading in assets for the game - most common place I have seen it is with missing modules on CBS and if you refresh or jump port a couple of times, 9/10 times the module shows up.
One of these assets can be a ship model, so out of nowhere this invisible ship shooting lasers can kill you and you are sat there thinking "what the hell were they using", which is a fair response if you didn't know why you couldn't see their ship on your screen. The same issue of assets not loading in has happened with ship abilities too, such as the venom.


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Just to summarize again, this post simply exists to give some background info on things that you might not be aware of when playing. I know not everyone will agree and some people might just throw it out because they want to feel like a victim and a loud mouth in chat they don't like just has to be seen as committing the crime for them to feel happy.
When something odd happens to you just think about it first and there will be other things that can explain it that aren't the guy must be some elite hacker. If you post a video and blur out the names it also does wonders for solving the issue.

Another thing to keep in mind is, if you are not UFE you don't actually have any real idea of what a UFE ship can do. It's laughable how many times people get accusing of damage hacks and shield hacks by sub-UFE players who have no idea about it themselves. Sometimes a player is just a better fighter than you too - the idea that there is no skill in this game is a myth, its no coincidence that the same few players win 10k each month and the vast majority of UFE don't even come close.

 

Ok, explain to me the speed cheat a lot of us run into. Fighting a player in the same ship class, you have full speed side on and other player assuming does too. You have not been slo-downed or DCRed. Not a drone design that reduces speed. Two of you are chasing this player who is pulling away much faster than you. Both of you see the same effect. No not lag. Don't go all DO Support on me with that lie.
I've been on and had multiple players in different maps comment a specific enemy ship has magical speed.
Always the same players too.

As to your comment on macro users. Some players use scripts to map hotkeys to sequences of game functions. Their 'skill' is just automated attack or defense sequence of keystrokes. Had someone in the game admit this to me. Their 'skill' is a macro that is passed among a certain community of players. The combination of actions while moving their ship was highly unlikely which made me suspect something in the first place. Yes some players are good but others are just trying to get any advantage they can legal or otherwise and I doubt DO can pick up on it.

 

A video of it would work wonders for finding an explanation. Some players claim to see it all the time yet other players never see it, however things like bots and autolocks, absolutely everyone saw them.
After all if its always the same players doing it then it should be easy for you to record a video if it.

If you give a video if it then the rest of us who have yet to see it happen would know exactly what to look out for, would be a great help.

 

No good asking okapi he will not give you the answer you want he probably say something like lag or that cheat don't exsist or ask for vid evidence , you know hes one of them type of players that got a lot of great skills so he would even defend them players that do use things.

That super speed has been out for a few years cant say what they are using or abusing.

"You can chose to read what I write and try and understand the situation better or you can ignore it, I can't make the decision for you, I can only write an explanation since I have a very good understanding of it all and I am good friends with the development team who made one of the most successful bots and the most complicated one before DO shut it all down."

I rest my case okapi about you just shame BP has let you carry on in this game like you and others have ruined.

The situation is a cheater is a cheater doesn't matter what he does be it share accounts,bots etc, etc,etc.

 

I know right, how insane of me to ask for something as crazy as evidence so I and others can see it for themselves xD

 

TBH this second thread is just a waste of time.

What the point in voicing your thoughts where does that get you (nowhere).

In reality BP wont get rid of all the cheats they would lose to much money and then you will see an even worse ghost town in servers.

Everyone knows who cheats or abusing bugs or bought accounts on gb1 , but they still there after all these years laughing and knowing they can and have got away with murder.

 

Bit late to be talking about bots.....should have listened in second part of 2010...but if you wish to discuss it ...here it goes ,one little secret..

same people who have been using them since 2008 ...are still using them

bug abusers are also same now as they have been back then

in short once scum...always scum

 

Because that is true. You cannot know for sure.

 

For the record I am the victim and a loud mouth in chat (True!) and everyone that pops me cheats and yada yada.

Obvious insanity, trying to ask for evidence, who are you kidding, everyone that accuses someone else is automatically correct.

If I didn't encounter a speed hack in-game then they obviously don't exist. But seriously, possible lag, possibly doesn't exist, your slightly delusional. Just a thought. Video certainly would be wonderful.

Hmm, about this thread being brought back, why? It's a bit late :/. I did see a past botter that I presumed was permanently banned make a come-back in the ranks though, I shook my head in disgust then proceeded to troll in chat until boredom or a ban ensued. I have not encountered autolocks but see plenty of accusations about them lol. Oh well.

 

'f I didn't encounter a speed hack in-game then they obviously don't exist. But seriously, possible lag, possibly doesn't exist, your slightly delusional. Just a thought. Video certainly would be wonderful. '

As to speed hacks... I cant run a video capture program every time I'm in the game and I can't predict when the speed hack rears its head through a familiar player popping up at random. When two of us chase the same target and see exactly the same effect, then others in chat confirm they've seen the same player with magical speed, I don't think lag is the issue. How could lag only give advantage to a sole player? It's always the same guys.

Lag is a game issue but when certain players seem to benefit from it systematically....something smells. If you're manipulating lag, it's bug using and still should be enforced.

The thread is back because the cheating never stopped and players are certainly talking about it in the game chat as well.
Okapi is knowledgeable but I also sense a possible BS level in some of what he says. There is a subtle disinformation there, plus I watch threads on a certain website he posts on. An agenda?

Glad I spend no money on this game. Just not worth it. Like shopping at a store where shoplifters are the primary customers.

 

:L everyone always accuses everyone else, such a sickness. With no evidence condemning others, it takes great faith to do that with no evidence.

 

''Users being able to lag out other users through the game?
Nah.
This happens in peer-to-peer scenarios. Where every user playing the game is being hosted by another user who is also playing the game, this is what games like Call of Duty use. DarkOrbit has a dedicated host server. User A's data between the dedicated server themselves never comes into contact with User B's data.

How can a user lag me out then? Through DDoS, however don't assume everyone time you lag out now in DO that you are being DDoS'd, you're not ... DarkOrbit itself is also being attacked on occasion. Still though, don't assume all lag is an attack, it could also be your internet; your latency is something that fluctuates - if it goes high then the response time between you doing an action such as pressing ctrl and then the game actually making your ship shoot will be a few seconds, which is very noticeable.
Another issue with internet, that only applies to NA users as far as I know, is that some North American ISPs will slow down your internet speeds to DarkOrbit to save themselves money.''

Conspiracy theories, fun fun . Just because cheats are talked about in chat doesn't mean there back in droves, there's likely some but most of whats in chat is accusations with no evidence once soever.

 

You are wrong not everyone accuses everyone they just accuse the same players since others have seen the same players do the things.

Evidence you say over the years BP has gotten over 300 vids plus they have been told what every bug ingame, every cheat out there plus every site where you can get them even all the stuff from the underground, but you be the judge for what BP has done and is doing about the ongoning situation.

People say lag etc yes that does occur a lot ingame, but lag and abuse of cheats from the same multi players is a different story.

If this was in court quarter of GB1 players would be perm banned with all the evidence I got I can live with less players ingame rather than see abusers get away with it.

 

I'm sure there are some cheats still being used, but most of the accusations in chat are just players that cannot accept being popped, the only way they could be popped is by the use of a cheat. Which makes you wonder if this player believes he cannot be popped by a legit player, is it because he himself is using a cheat. But most accusations have no merit, just a butt hurt player that cannot accept the fact they are not perfect.

 

The sad truth of this whole cheat situation, is that people can't believe that they are no longer used in the game. Anyone that is dumb enough to use em gets banned. The ones always yelling in chat "you damn cheat" cant accept the fact that they arent good or that theres people just better legitly better than them. They also prolly cant stand the people that used to cheat killing them now legitly lol.

 

hmmm ive been playing awhile now when someone lockes on to you cloaked 5 times by just running up on you and they shooting you not even in your screen yet, somethings fishy. i got my video program ready and waiting. i can see a lucky lock or 2 but some things go beyond skill i know how to shake a lock cloaked so as for no auto lock cheat out there now i say bull

 

I never accuse anyone of cheating when I'm being killed... I may comment in game if I see something weird but getting killed is no big. I expect it and am not afraid of it. The speed cheat is almost always when someone is running on me and I am full-speed chase and this goof is halfway across the screen in no time. It's not random...it's almost ALWAYS the same guys using it or from other players I know have been accused of funky stuff in-game. The guys who use cheats and bugs are usually the ones mouthing that there are no cheats in the game, it's lag, you're crazy, you're mad about being killed.... propaganda to cover their nonsense. If I told you the names of some of the players I saw using the cheat and asked around the experienced players in game chat....a bunch of them would recount the same experiences with that player. They are known for it....I expect it from them and know from my own research the speed cheat exists. All the denial is just nonsense.

 

You're naive or in denial. People are still abusing bugs and some cheats in the game. People share accounts. That's also cheating. People use macros which are outside programs to map keys as shortcuts. It hasn't stopped, it is just not as widespread. I always love though when the clowns who used to bot and are now top-ranked get on the game or forums and pooh-pooh the notion of cheating....when I used to watch them do it! lol