Posted 07 February 2012 - 04:48 PM
Even Knit cannot prove a cheat report, he can only analyze it. And recommend it for being proven. It's this double checking that has made the cheat reports work in the past.
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I think we've all noticed that cheat reports are on a down turn. Not to say that cheating is on a down turn, just the reports. This stems from:
1. The best players have given up on caring if someone is cheating, because in most cases they don't have a problem still winning the game.
2. The fog hack being impossible to prove, which is why all cheaters have switched to it.
a. When is the last time an all unit hack was proven?
b. When was the last time a player who can get over 500 points used a full map reveal, and targetted an oil derrick with his first engineer?
3. Lack of activity, meaning many players don't want to ban more players, because of the already low amount that are currently playing.
These reasons have caused many players to not even worry about proving someone is cheating, or running the programs that assist in proving cheaters.
The auto ss uploader has brought fairness to players who opt to use it. Making it mandatory would be an ideal situation, however there are many problems that players have uploading it, and the fact that it still doesn't work with the CD version of the game, thus requiring further downloads.
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Hiring a new recruit to do this would be nice, but I still like the idea of ANY player coming in, looking at the cheat report (Analyzing it) and letting the admin know where and how someone has cheated, or in fact if there is insufficient evidence. This way the admin doesn't have to worry about a certain individual having to do the work by himself. Not to mention, if someone has to page someone, this is another step that wastes time. The accused player would need to respond to it, How long is too long? 2 days, 1 week, 2 weeks?
The ladder has balanced itself, the best players are using the auto ss uploader, and are still at the top of the ladder. Cheat reports were originally set up to protect the top of the ladder, so one player would not be able to take away a 50 point game and ruin someone's attempt at a hall of fame. The desparity in top ranked players to the rest of the field have virtually eliminated the possibility of matching up against a rampant cheater. What I mean is this: If you look at the ladder as of right now. Tim, rank 1, is 200 points above the 10th ranked player. With the 250 point window of play in QM, he most likely will not match up against a cheater. This is ONLY BECAUSE OF THE AUTO SS UPLOADER, mind you. Otherwise, top players were using the fog hack, only to not give up the advantage to other top players who were using the fog hack. This is a fact. Another fact is that middle to low end players are using cheats, and many have been proven, and this was a way to curb the use of them. This is where the majority of players sit, and they are the one's who are actively providing cheat reports or just accusing players of cheating.
The only real reason I would like a new person, would be to have that person make ADMIN SCREEN SHOT REQUEST active. Having a person or two requesting admin screen shot requests or issuing them, would be a way to target HIGHLY SUSPECTED cheaters. These are the players that we are worried about, those who will not adapt the auto ss uploader without it being mandatory, and will probably give up when it does become mandatory.
The admin screen shot request truely needs to be an active part of this game. It also helps out this website by forcing players to come to this site and post, and while they are here they may look around. Thus promoting activity here on striketeam as well.