cracker
Gil Favor's Sidekick
Many of you may know that each month we receive hundreds of submitted game files for each QSC and GOTM game and that every one of the save game files is carefully scored and/screened to determine if the submitted games should be considered valid for inclusion in the game results. The vast majority of the game submissions easily pass the initial screening review indicating little or no problem with 85 to 90% of the game submissions.
The remaining 10-15%, some 20 to 30 games each month, are screened to determine if the initial indicators of technical problems or potentially unusual play behaviors might be signs of greater problems such is player cheating or the use of external advantage tools and/or exploits. Again the vast majority of these games are cleared and accepted without difficulties.
Each month we have an average of 6 to 8 games out of more than 200 submissions that begin to represent conditions that we might say include some use of play factors that should be prohibited. The vast majority of these games are from newcomers or inexperienced players who do not know any better or who are still trying to develop the confidence to participate in the community on their own level. These players receive counseling and assistive contact that we are expanding to include helpful welcoming services and other introductory information.
Mixed in with these few new players who are naturally developing an understanding of the simple basic rules of the GOTM, we also will usually have one or two games by experienced players that may push close to the acceptable limits and require a detailed review to help assure that all rules are being followed. In many cases, these reviews can determine that things are definitely unusual even if 100% evidence of wrong doing cannot be determined from any one single set of events in any one single game. We cannot say that it would be impossible for a galley to survive for two successive turns in the ocean without sinking, but we do know that this event does not occur every time.
Over the past six months, we have been actively reviewing the game submissions of one particular player that have been being flagged each month by two or three of our screening methods as being somewhat unusual. These reviews have indicated with certainty that something is unusual about these individual games and many of the individual game events, even though no one event or game could be ruled out as impossible. It would be unfair and unreasonable to accuse a player of wrong doing just because of one lucky sequence or one unusual set of events in one game.
However, when we begin to combine all of the statistics that are available to us, across hundreds of different players in sequences of 4 or 5 different GOTM games and then compare these statistics against the reloading, play time duration, map movement decisions, and RNG outcomes for any one player we can begin to determine if the game results of that player are reasonably obtained or if those results are obtained by cheating in any one of a number of different methods. The signature of this unfair behavior becomes more and more pronounced as we have more games to compare and base our decision upon. With only one or two games, we can only be 60% to 75% certain that something is wrong. Even under these conditions we will usually contact the player to attempt to steer them away from the suspected rules violations.
When we get three games in a pattern, then we can often determine with 85-90% certainty that something unfair is being done in the games. Depending on the game play signature of all the other players who played the same game there may be enough information at this point to determine that a players is actively cheating and then to take definitive action. When a fourth game in a pattern is received and continues to demonstrate questionable reload and game durations statistics combined with unusually favorable results this provides us with enough specific information to say with 90-95% confidence that the player is deliberately using reloading or advanced map knowledge to unfairly manipulate the game results.
By the time we reach this point, the individual players responsible for these submissions have usually received multiple private warning and counseling contacts as well as consuming literally hundreds of extra volunteer staff hours plus usually delaying the publication of game results by one or two days each month.
This is the condition that we currently find ourselves in with reaching a decision that one of our regular players who has been disciplined the past for reloading and cheating but has continued to do this on an ongoing basis during the last four GOTM and QSC games.
While I personally want to respect the individual human dignity of this individual player, I also believe that we have an obligation to the greater community of all players who participate in the GOTM. This obligation includes recognizing that a fundamental respect for your friends and your peers will not include deliberate cheating to manipulate the game results to always obtain only the most favorable outcome from every game situation. All things should average out over time and in allowing these natural rhythms to occur we will find and conquer new challenges.
I have asked the primary staff members to initiate processes to locate the affected games from this player over the past 10 months and to make preparations to remove these results for all reported game announcements. We will also make sure that any other players in previous games who may have been denied awards or recognition due to these illegitimate games will have these recognitions rightfully restored to them.
The individual player in question will also be banned from further participation in any GOTM or QSC game event or discussion and will be removed from the Community Participation (Monk Rankings) Roster as well as the Global Ranking. It will take several days to a week to correctly update all these features.
All the members of the GOTM Staff urge you all to recognize that normal players who play and enjoy their games to the best of their own personal abilities do not fall into these same categories of detectable and deliberate long term distortion of the game results. We have very few of these events that occur within the GOTM games and the people who make up virtually all the members of the GOTM community are rarely subject to the intense scrutiny that has been required for this specific case.
Our purpose is providing you with this explanation of the actions that you will observe taking place in the background, is to help you see that these processes are fairly and evenly applied over a series of months and always with the intent of trying to help the individual players resolve the apparent play issues before they might effect their position in the community or their relationships with other players. It takes an active effort for someone to violate the expected rules of play and to exploit these advantages over a four to six month period and normal players who do not use artificial foreknowledge of the map or reload to alter the expected outcomes of events will not be effected by these screening and review processes.
I would like to ask all members of the community to read this information for what it represents and not to focus too much on the individual who elected to provide us with this specific set of examples. Records of past games will be properly updated and the challenges and excitement of current and future games will continue to hold our attention. The sooner we can address any questions that you may have and move forward with the more enjoyable focus of the games, the more we will all be able to continue to add to the great acheivements that we have already made during the first five months of this record setting year.
If you have any questions or concerns on these issues during the coming weeks please feel free to contact me privately by email at gotm@civfanatics.net and I will either answer your questions personally of ask one of the primary GOTM staff members to provide you with any specific information that you may need.
Sincerely,
Cracker
The remaining 10-15%, some 20 to 30 games each month, are screened to determine if the initial indicators of technical problems or potentially unusual play behaviors might be signs of greater problems such is player cheating or the use of external advantage tools and/or exploits. Again the vast majority of these games are cleared and accepted without difficulties.
Each month we have an average of 6 to 8 games out of more than 200 submissions that begin to represent conditions that we might say include some use of play factors that should be prohibited. The vast majority of these games are from newcomers or inexperienced players who do not know any better or who are still trying to develop the confidence to participate in the community on their own level. These players receive counseling and assistive contact that we are expanding to include helpful welcoming services and other introductory information.
Mixed in with these few new players who are naturally developing an understanding of the simple basic rules of the GOTM, we also will usually have one or two games by experienced players that may push close to the acceptable limits and require a detailed review to help assure that all rules are being followed. In many cases, these reviews can determine that things are definitely unusual even if 100% evidence of wrong doing cannot be determined from any one single set of events in any one single game. We cannot say that it would be impossible for a galley to survive for two successive turns in the ocean without sinking, but we do know that this event does not occur every time.
Over the past six months, we have been actively reviewing the game submissions of one particular player that have been being flagged each month by two or three of our screening methods as being somewhat unusual. These reviews have indicated with certainty that something is unusual about these individual games and many of the individual game events, even though no one event or game could be ruled out as impossible. It would be unfair and unreasonable to accuse a player of wrong doing just because of one lucky sequence or one unusual set of events in one game.
However, when we begin to combine all of the statistics that are available to us, across hundreds of different players in sequences of 4 or 5 different GOTM games and then compare these statistics against the reloading, play time duration, map movement decisions, and RNG outcomes for any one player we can begin to determine if the game results of that player are reasonably obtained or if those results are obtained by cheating in any one of a number of different methods. The signature of this unfair behavior becomes more and more pronounced as we have more games to compare and base our decision upon. With only one or two games, we can only be 60% to 75% certain that something is wrong. Even under these conditions we will usually contact the player to attempt to steer them away from the suspected rules violations.
When we get three games in a pattern, then we can often determine with 85-90% certainty that something unfair is being done in the games. Depending on the game play signature of all the other players who played the same game there may be enough information at this point to determine that a players is actively cheating and then to take definitive action. When a fourth game in a pattern is received and continues to demonstrate questionable reload and game durations statistics combined with unusually favorable results this provides us with enough specific information to say with 90-95% confidence that the player is deliberately using reloading or advanced map knowledge to unfairly manipulate the game results.
By the time we reach this point, the individual players responsible for these submissions have usually received multiple private warning and counseling contacts as well as consuming literally hundreds of extra volunteer staff hours plus usually delaying the publication of game results by one or two days each month.
This is the condition that we currently find ourselves in with reaching a decision that one of our regular players who has been disciplined the past for reloading and cheating but has continued to do this on an ongoing basis during the last four GOTM and QSC games.
While I personally want to respect the individual human dignity of this individual player, I also believe that we have an obligation to the greater community of all players who participate in the GOTM. This obligation includes recognizing that a fundamental respect for your friends and your peers will not include deliberate cheating to manipulate the game results to always obtain only the most favorable outcome from every game situation. All things should average out over time and in allowing these natural rhythms to occur we will find and conquer new challenges.
I have asked the primary staff members to initiate processes to locate the affected games from this player over the past 10 months and to make preparations to remove these results for all reported game announcements. We will also make sure that any other players in previous games who may have been denied awards or recognition due to these illegitimate games will have these recognitions rightfully restored to them.
The individual player in question will also be banned from further participation in any GOTM or QSC game event or discussion and will be removed from the Community Participation (Monk Rankings) Roster as well as the Global Ranking. It will take several days to a week to correctly update all these features.
All the members of the GOTM Staff urge you all to recognize that normal players who play and enjoy their games to the best of their own personal abilities do not fall into these same categories of detectable and deliberate long term distortion of the game results. We have very few of these events that occur within the GOTM games and the people who make up virtually all the members of the GOTM community are rarely subject to the intense scrutiny that has been required for this specific case.
Our purpose is providing you with this explanation of the actions that you will observe taking place in the background, is to help you see that these processes are fairly and evenly applied over a series of months and always with the intent of trying to help the individual players resolve the apparent play issues before they might effect their position in the community or their relationships with other players. It takes an active effort for someone to violate the expected rules of play and to exploit these advantages over a four to six month period and normal players who do not use artificial foreknowledge of the map or reload to alter the expected outcomes of events will not be effected by these screening and review processes.
I would like to ask all members of the community to read this information for what it represents and not to focus too much on the individual who elected to provide us with this specific set of examples. Records of past games will be properly updated and the challenges and excitement of current and future games will continue to hold our attention. The sooner we can address any questions that you may have and move forward with the more enjoyable focus of the games, the more we will all be able to continue to add to the great acheivements that we have already made during the first five months of this record setting year.
If you have any questions or concerns on these issues during the coming weeks please feel free to contact me privately by email at gotm@civfanatics.net and I will either answer your questions personally of ask one of the primary GOTM staff members to provide you with any specific information that you may need.
Sincerely,
Cracker
. Oh the joys of 1:00AM civ.
