CHEATING is destroying our great community
Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2021 5:44 am
OK so firstly I ummed and ahh'd about posting this. In the end I decided I should because the problem is so pervasive and the feelings I feel towards Excelsior due to these events are twisting me up and making me not want to play.
Firstly I am not talking about the rampant AFKing that goes on. No offence +K, but your checks are pointless, most people script past them now and are AFK. You need to say "Stop you macro. Pause and tell me what colour the sword I am holding is?" or something like that to be effective. Make them stop for a second and engage with you. It will only take you a few seconds longer per player but you will catch the AFKers. AFKing is a minor issue compared to the cheating I am about to disclose.
Players are multiaccounting.
For reference the codex says that multiaccounting is strictly prohibited. The penalty for multiaccounting is as follows:
Account sharing and/or using multiple accounts is immediately treated as a heavy violation. Each account may be used only by the owner. There is no "I just hopped for a second on his/her account to check something" excuse. We have sophisticated methods of finding and proving this, so as long as each person only plays with his/her own account, there's nothing to worry about. When found:
1st time: All secondary accounts are immediately permanently banned without question. Doesn't help if it was you're relative's or friend's account, the fact that you used it makes it your secondary account. Your main account is temporarily banned for a few weeks or months, although it may also be a permanent ban. We may permanently impound any possessions that we believe were obtained using the benefit of two accounts.
2nd time: Permanent ban.
In the past +C has put temp bans on players for abusing a second account farming Mistvale Balrons or weapon experience. So he can catch them. I assume it is tricky if the cheaters are careful using VPNs etc.
I guess the riches of the halloween quest were too much for some... or maybe they have been constantly multi account farming multiple places at once, either way I have now seen it with my own eyes. I will not name names as per the rules of the server. But I have paged in game and provided the times in which I have seen them multi accounting with the hope it helps +C catch and ban them.
How do I know this?
Recently, a player who I do not normally interact with reached out to me as a veteran they thought they could share this to show me the evidence they have collected on the 2 players who we have seen multi accounting. I spent a few days checking in on the actions of those players and once it was pointed out to me it was extremely obvious what they were doing, they were actually very brazen about it. Greed often makes people do stupid things. In the interest of not giving the cheaters the heads up about how we identified them I will not disclose the evidences we have gathered on them. This is not the purpose of this post. That has all been passed on in game. I sincerely hope that +C will deal with it and promptly.
The purpose of the post is this; to appeal to the better side of our playerbase and ask people to stop their cheating.
This is an old and dedicated server, with a mature community. Many of us have been here a long time. John Warren has existed here for nearly 1/3 of my real life. 12 years. In that time I have slowly accrued the wealth I have. I have certainly coveted the wealth and items other players have, but I have not resported to cheat to get there. I have played the game to get there. I have never seen the inside of UOEX's jail. This is not a point i raise just to brag about (I have been warned for a few different things in my time). I raise it because 95%+ of us play the game fairly. Some powergame and grind super hard (I've done periods of this), others enjoy socialising, others just want to build a nice house.... But we all (mostly all) play fair. The players who would ruthlessly cheat, especially by multiaccounting (which, when combined with the pretty lax approach to enforcing AFK gathering of resources), which leads to literally double the rate of progression through the game to non-cheaters. I am at a point where my grinding has slowed, I am looking at trying to support the community and give back to the game that has given me so much. I recently applied to join the Mentor society and try my best to support our community. As the internet gets more and more saturated with similar experiences (games), that will make player growth and maintenance of our playerbase more difficult. If we know we are playing on an unfair playing field then it makes one not want to devote any more time to this server. I honestly, for the first time since my return (I took a short break in the middle of my career on uoex), have thought about quitting. The player who brought me these concerns initially said the same thing, they want to quit, irrespective of what +C does and whether those we know are cheating are punished. The thought didn't make me angry, initially it did, but rather, deeply sad. That some individuals would blatantly cheat in order for some rapid wealth gain in an old game like this, at the cost to trashing this community made me upset. I am not sure what I will do moving forward, right at this moment, I don't feel like doing anything in game. I feel like quitting and leaving the memory of Excelsior as a pleasant experience, not one that is tarnished and which I left on bitter terms.
As I said I hope that +C catches those we informed on and the evidence we provided (and if the cheats are reading its more than "I suspect so and so is multi accounting") allows him to just ban them, permanently. FYI to the other cheats out there, we have seen at least 2 other players that we strongly suspect are doing this, or similar things. We are watching and gathering evidence and will page when we have enough for +C to ban you. So, stop cheating. You know who you are, stop it.
Until the investigation is complete I would appeal to the rest of us. Please, if you continue to cheat, the server as we know it will disappear. What then, will you have accomplished? You'll be the richest players on a server with 6 players. Play fair. Stop cheating. Delete your secondary accounts. Stop the AFK macroing with in built scripts to pass +K's easy questions. Cheating in a small community like this ruins the experience for everyone, yourself included.
Please, for the good of UOEX, STOP. YOUR. CHEATING.
-John Warren, Veteran of nearly 12 years.
Firstly I am not talking about the rampant AFKing that goes on. No offence +K, but your checks are pointless, most people script past them now and are AFK. You need to say "Stop you macro. Pause and tell me what colour the sword I am holding is?" or something like that to be effective. Make them stop for a second and engage with you. It will only take you a few seconds longer per player but you will catch the AFKers. AFKing is a minor issue compared to the cheating I am about to disclose.
Players are multiaccounting.
For reference the codex says that multiaccounting is strictly prohibited. The penalty for multiaccounting is as follows:
Account sharing and/or using multiple accounts is immediately treated as a heavy violation. Each account may be used only by the owner. There is no "I just hopped for a second on his/her account to check something" excuse. We have sophisticated methods of finding and proving this, so as long as each person only plays with his/her own account, there's nothing to worry about. When found:
1st time: All secondary accounts are immediately permanently banned without question. Doesn't help if it was you're relative's or friend's account, the fact that you used it makes it your secondary account. Your main account is temporarily banned for a few weeks or months, although it may also be a permanent ban. We may permanently impound any possessions that we believe were obtained using the benefit of two accounts.
2nd time: Permanent ban.
In the past +C has put temp bans on players for abusing a second account farming Mistvale Balrons or weapon experience. So he can catch them. I assume it is tricky if the cheaters are careful using VPNs etc.
I guess the riches of the halloween quest were too much for some... or maybe they have been constantly multi account farming multiple places at once, either way I have now seen it with my own eyes. I will not name names as per the rules of the server. But I have paged in game and provided the times in which I have seen them multi accounting with the hope it helps +C catch and ban them.
How do I know this?
Recently, a player who I do not normally interact with reached out to me as a veteran they thought they could share this to show me the evidence they have collected on the 2 players who we have seen multi accounting. I spent a few days checking in on the actions of those players and once it was pointed out to me it was extremely obvious what they were doing, they were actually very brazen about it. Greed often makes people do stupid things. In the interest of not giving the cheaters the heads up about how we identified them I will not disclose the evidences we have gathered on them. This is not the purpose of this post. That has all been passed on in game. I sincerely hope that +C will deal with it and promptly.
The purpose of the post is this; to appeal to the better side of our playerbase and ask people to stop their cheating.
This is an old and dedicated server, with a mature community. Many of us have been here a long time. John Warren has existed here for nearly 1/3 of my real life. 12 years. In that time I have slowly accrued the wealth I have. I have certainly coveted the wealth and items other players have, but I have not resported to cheat to get there. I have played the game to get there. I have never seen the inside of UOEX's jail. This is not a point i raise just to brag about (I have been warned for a few different things in my time). I raise it because 95%+ of us play the game fairly. Some powergame and grind super hard (I've done periods of this), others enjoy socialising, others just want to build a nice house.... But we all (mostly all) play fair. The players who would ruthlessly cheat, especially by multiaccounting (which, when combined with the pretty lax approach to enforcing AFK gathering of resources), which leads to literally double the rate of progression through the game to non-cheaters. I am at a point where my grinding has slowed, I am looking at trying to support the community and give back to the game that has given me so much. I recently applied to join the Mentor society and try my best to support our community. As the internet gets more and more saturated with similar experiences (games), that will make player growth and maintenance of our playerbase more difficult. If we know we are playing on an unfair playing field then it makes one not want to devote any more time to this server. I honestly, for the first time since my return (I took a short break in the middle of my career on uoex), have thought about quitting. The player who brought me these concerns initially said the same thing, they want to quit, irrespective of what +C does and whether those we know are cheating are punished. The thought didn't make me angry, initially it did, but rather, deeply sad. That some individuals would blatantly cheat in order for some rapid wealth gain in an old game like this, at the cost to trashing this community made me upset. I am not sure what I will do moving forward, right at this moment, I don't feel like doing anything in game. I feel like quitting and leaving the memory of Excelsior as a pleasant experience, not one that is tarnished and which I left on bitter terms.
As I said I hope that +C catches those we informed on and the evidence we provided (and if the cheats are reading its more than "I suspect so and so is multi accounting") allows him to just ban them, permanently. FYI to the other cheats out there, we have seen at least 2 other players that we strongly suspect are doing this, or similar things. We are watching and gathering evidence and will page when we have enough for +C to ban you. So, stop cheating. You know who you are, stop it.
Until the investigation is complete I would appeal to the rest of us. Please, if you continue to cheat, the server as we know it will disappear. What then, will you have accomplished? You'll be the richest players on a server with 6 players. Play fair. Stop cheating. Delete your secondary accounts. Stop the AFK macroing with in built scripts to pass +K's easy questions. Cheating in a small community like this ruins the experience for everyone, yourself included.
Please, for the good of UOEX, STOP. YOUR. CHEATING.
-John Warren, Veteran of nearly 12 years.
