Recent Server Instabilities - Bug Abuses, Make Up events and New Policy
Attention Soldiers!
We would like to give some details here about some of the issues we had this week and let you know about some of our learning process and how we're going to handle things moving forward!
Read the bottom for the short answers.
This past week we experienced a new kind of bug, one that we had never seen before which had the possibility of Ghosts picking up ranged weapons in Ghost Mode. Unfortunately for us however it took multiple days for us to get the proper reproductions and information on this bug to get it fixed.
When we did get it fixed, we thought everything was going to be fine. However it turned out that during our server restarts yesterday there was a problem with the patching process and we had to roll back the potential fix and figure out what went wrong. Today we figured out what went wrong and was able to patch the game, but before we did our Login Server decided to run out of gas and crash on us. The game was down for multiple hours today and this was unacceptable.
Once we figured out the Login problems, we were able to patch the ghost mode bug. However, Murphy's Law stepped in and created yet another problem with the update process. Some of the servers we had were still running older versions of the game, and specifically the files that were patched for the bug.
We then had to take those specific servers down and manually patch them again to make sure that the bug was fixed finally.
During that time our moderators and other players took it upon themselves to seek out and find people who might have been abusing the bug in game in order to specifically report these people and get them banned.
In many cases, that we have seen on the forums, and through our support these games were private games or were filled with people who "didn't like someone else". IE their sole purpose for collecting the data was that they finally thought they had something they could get such and such a person banned with.
This is the kind of exact situation we want to avoid. We want people to enjoy the game, and we want to punish people that abuse these situations, but we don't want people specifically seeking out others in order to get them banned. Especially for something that we knew was going to be fixed this week.
Because of the extra time it took to get this bug reported and fixed, and because of the general server problems we've experienced, we are only flagging accounts reported for this behavior. What does that mean? It means you're "on notice" so if we see repeat behavior we won't hesitate to issue a suspension.
So consider that a lucky break. We here take full responsibility for the way that we handled this bug, and the server problems that we experienced this week. However, we would like to make it known that until a specific course of action is decided by us, simply assuming people will get banned for this this or this is not appropriate. Leave those decisions to us and then you can yell at us for how bad or good they are, and we can learn.
It's this learning that we did this week with this bug. From now on we will be treating every abusable glitch with a certain set of rules. Those rules look something like the following:
The reason why this is a bit different than our standard bug tracking is because we need to determine the course of action to punish players who abuse it. These kinds of bugs are a problem, and the players that abuse them are a problem. So while they might just get a warning this time, next time there will be suspensions and bans issued.
So moving forward, we will have more clear direction and policy when dealing with specific repetitive bugs like this one. We want to punish those who are abusing those bugs for their own gains which in turn will reward those players who stay away from this kind of behavior. HOWEVER, it will be us who makes the call on a glitch-by-glitch basis depending on severity, cause, type, cases etc. We'll then weigh out the best course of action and start issuing bans and suspensions accordingly.
So to sum all that up:
1. We apologize for the problems this week with the game, both in server stability and with the Ghost Mode bug. Things should be fixed and stable now.
2. We are developing new policies which will properly punish those who abuse these kinds of bugs in the future and ruin the experiences of other players.
3. We will be holding some events in the very near future to reward players for their lost time and for sticking through with us during this rough week!
In the mean time, don't forget the National Finals for WCG are being held tomorrow, and there will be some great competition happening and being broadcasted live from the NYC Comicon Convention floor.
Click here for the WCG USA National Final Details.
Thanks everyone for the patience and understanding and we look forward to seeing you in Cross Fire!
We would like to give some details here about some of the issues we had this week and let you know about some of our learning process and how we're going to handle things moving forward!
Read the bottom for the short answers.
This past week we experienced a new kind of bug, one that we had never seen before which had the possibility of Ghosts picking up ranged weapons in Ghost Mode. Unfortunately for us however it took multiple days for us to get the proper reproductions and information on this bug to get it fixed.
When we did get it fixed, we thought everything was going to be fine. However it turned out that during our server restarts yesterday there was a problem with the patching process and we had to roll back the potential fix and figure out what went wrong. Today we figured out what went wrong and was able to patch the game, but before we did our Login Server decided to run out of gas and crash on us. The game was down for multiple hours today and this was unacceptable.
Once we figured out the Login problems, we were able to patch the ghost mode bug. However, Murphy's Law stepped in and created yet another problem with the update process. Some of the servers we had were still running older versions of the game, and specifically the files that were patched for the bug.
We then had to take those specific servers down and manually patch them again to make sure that the bug was fixed finally.
During that time our moderators and other players took it upon themselves to seek out and find people who might have been abusing the bug in game in order to specifically report these people and get them banned.
In many cases, that we have seen on the forums, and through our support these games were private games or were filled with people who "didn't like someone else". IE their sole purpose for collecting the data was that they finally thought they had something they could get such and such a person banned with.
This is the kind of exact situation we want to avoid. We want people to enjoy the game, and we want to punish people that abuse these situations, but we don't want people specifically seeking out others in order to get them banned. Especially for something that we knew was going to be fixed this week.
Because of the extra time it took to get this bug reported and fixed, and because of the general server problems we've experienced, we are only flagging accounts reported for this behavior. What does that mean? It means you're "on notice" so if we see repeat behavior we won't hesitate to issue a suspension.
So consider that a lucky break. We here take full responsibility for the way that we handled this bug, and the server problems that we experienced this week. However, we would like to make it known that until a specific course of action is decided by us, simply assuming people will get banned for this this or this is not appropriate. Leave those decisions to us and then you can yell at us for how bad or good they are, and we can learn.
It's this learning that we did this week with this bug. From now on we will be treating every abusable glitch with a certain set of rules. Those rules look something like the following:
- Collect and reproduce any abusable bug information
- Report and work with developers for a fast and efficient solution
- Look at game data and user reports of bug abusers and take necessary action against the people abusing the bug.
The reason why this is a bit different than our standard bug tracking is because we need to determine the course of action to punish players who abuse it. These kinds of bugs are a problem, and the players that abuse them are a problem. So while they might just get a warning this time, next time there will be suspensions and bans issued.
So moving forward, we will have more clear direction and policy when dealing with specific repetitive bugs like this one. We want to punish those who are abusing those bugs for their own gains which in turn will reward those players who stay away from this kind of behavior. HOWEVER, it will be us who makes the call on a glitch-by-glitch basis depending on severity, cause, type, cases etc. We'll then weigh out the best course of action and start issuing bans and suspensions accordingly.
So to sum all that up:
1. We apologize for the problems this week with the game, both in server stability and with the Ghost Mode bug. Things should be fixed and stable now.
2. We are developing new policies which will properly punish those who abuse these kinds of bugs in the future and ruin the experiences of other players.
3. We will be holding some events in the very near future to reward players for their lost time and for sticking through with us during this rough week!
In the mean time, don't forget the National Finals for WCG are being held tomorrow, and there will be some great competition happening and being broadcasted live from the NYC Comicon Convention floor.
Click here for the WCG USA National Final Details.
Thanks everyone for the patience and understanding and we look forward to seeing you in Cross Fire!
Comments
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Nothing that hadn't already been said.[GM]Saidin wrote: »In the mean time, don't forget the National Finals for WCG are being held tomorrow, and there will be some great competition happening and being broadcasted live from the NYC Comicon Convention floor.
Click here for the WCG USA National Final Details.
I hope someone from G4Box or one of the moderators is going to record this (in not terrible quality) since it's in the middle of the day in NA and most people are busy, I'd really enjoy watching it on Youtube later. -
Yes but now it's in one spot, and I don't have to say it again!GodsGunman wrote: »Nothing that hadn't already been said.
I hope someone from G4Box or one of the moderators is going to record this (in not terrible quality) since it's in the middle of the day in NA and most people are busy, I'd really enjoy watching it on Youtube later.
I'm not entirely sure what the plan is, I think the video will be up on twitch after the fact.
I do know that we intend on making a highlight video with some of the awesome kills from the replays and such, but no ETA or details on that yet. -
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Yes, lets ban people for having a curiosity, right?It's arrogant people like you whom decide to make these stupid decisions. Considering the said abuser had to 1. Look up how-to actually do the glitch. 2. Abuse it, and all you do is flag the account. That's one dumbass move.
Z8/G4 - 0
Community - 1 -
My goodness. One thing I do know is that there are a lot of suck-ups in these forums. Some saying we did not deserve events and others saying because of insults thrown at GMs and MODs we should feel bad because they fixed it.
Seriously!! How old are these forumers? I am glad the stupid bug is fixed. I am saddened that the perpetrators have not been punished, if even suspended for a week. It is not curiosity that should be punished but abuse of a glitch that affects other legitimate gamers who don't even care to use a bug or glitch that would make the game unfair. Free game or not, the standard has been set. Wrong doing is not punished. Where there is no law there is anarchy and there was anarchy this week. -
Good to know that you gave us heads up about this confusing week in CF. Although, you will be giving compensation for the wasted time, right?
The problems kind of interconnected, thus, it took some time to fix.
I hope that this would be a lesson to everyone, as well, and it won't happen again in the near future.
Although, the decision to flag those abusers, was kind of a dud. -
I noticed Saidin posted a new thread about a temporary suspension for the abusers of the bug. I take back my comment about the lack of punishment as long as it not a timid punishment like a few hours, a day or such.
However, I am not sure why those gamers are allowed to keep their Honorable Soldier Ribbon especially seeing that they are obviously NOT Honorable. LOL Anyway, the "temporary suspension" (in quotes because I am not sure what temporary means there in terms of length of suspension) has softened me a bit and I am more in agreement with Z8Games once again.
Thank you Saidin -
TheDarkRider wrote: »I noticed Saidin posted a new thread about a temporary suspension for the abusers of the bug. I take back my comment about the lack of punishment as long as it not a timid punishment like a few hours, a day or such.
However, I am not sure why those gamers are allowed to keep their Honorable Soldier Ribbon especially seeing that they are obviously NOT Honorable. LOL Anyway, the "temporary suspension" (in quotes because I am not sure what temporary means there in terms of length of suspension) has softened me a bit and I am more in agreement with Z8Games once again.
Thank you Saidin
I'm guessing 3 days.
Taking away the honourable ribbon would be overkill, people were most likely just curious and thought it would be fun to do the glitch. This is a game after all, and some people just play it for fun. -
TheDarkRider wrote: »I noticed Saidin posted a new thread about a temporary suspension for the abusers of the bug. I take back my comment about the lack of punishment as long as it not a timid punishment like a few hours, a day or such.
However, I am not sure why those gamers are allowed to keep their Honorable Soldier Ribbon especially seeing that they are obviously NOT Honorable. LOL Anyway, the "temporary suspension" (in quotes because I am not sure what temporary means there in terms of length of suspension) has softened me a bit and I am more in agreement with Z8Games once again.
Thank you Saidin
Mostly because it's not fair for people who were in games experimenting, playing with friends (who might have been reported as a joke), for the length at which the bug was in the game, for the way that we handled the fallout, for the server problems that we had during the patch etc.
We intend on making a larger announcement about new glitch abuse policy, that will result in removing Honorable Soldier ribbons etc. It is not fair to remove it at this point for something like this. -
Understood.
Also respect the fact that you listened to the general community. As I played a private game as well (in which I was taught how to perform the bug) to understand how the ghosts were doing the glitch so I could combat it.
I fully understand and agree in that instance. For all I know the guy who taught it to me may have reported me as well so I get what you mean. -
The bugs, the hackers, the server issues, are all coming at you at once. But doesn't seem like you or X-trap have handled them too well.
I can appreciate that you're working hard, but lets face the fact that this is unacceptable. Is G4BOX/Z8/CF going to update it's servers, engine, or change it's staff operations and procedures soon?
The makeup event better be huge. Like 5 free Halloween crates. -
ty saidin one more time for keep the good working and pls ban all hackers of game if this posible this week is 1 of the worst weecks ever in my 3 years of game in all rooms is 2 3 or more can u try put direct ban in game like in other games ? cumpz GT17
No more QQing threads. Now hopefully sooner or later the hackers will slowly die down. ![]5[ean](https://w3.vanillicon.com/v2/3232ac701e5abda13c6c25c4b1f3fa19.svg)
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