Ultima Online Gets PunkBuster
Tuesday July 4, 2006
PunkBuster anti-cheat software is frequently integrated into online shooters, but the technology can be made to work with MMOGs as well. Ultima Online will join a few Korean MMOGs which are already using the system. "The number one complaint to customer service is about players using cheat programs. These programs can give unfair advantages in combat, automate various mining and crafting processes, and overall puts honest players at a serious disadvantage. By eliminating cheat programs, honest players will find Ultima Online to be much more fair and much more rewarding of hard work." They plan to continue providing at least one shard that doesn't require PunkBuster for those don't want to install the program.
Update: UOForums has an interview with Tony Ray, the founder and CEO of Punkbuster, about how the anti-cheat software will affect UO players.
More: Cheating in Online Games - It may never be completely eliminated, but significant progress toward fair play has been made over the years.
Update: UOForums has an interview with Tony Ray, the founder and CEO of Punkbuster, about how the anti-cheat software will affect UO players.
More: Cheating in Online Games - It may never be completely eliminated, but significant progress toward fair play has been made over the years.
Comments
Are there some Artifical Intelligence methodologies to detect or prevent cheating in online games?
Not that I know of. Most cheaters try to alter game client files in some way, I’m not sure how AI could help with that. Anti-cheat software automates some of the process, but a live administrator still seems to be the best solution.
Thanks for the link to UOForums, Dave.
We encourage any player of UO or concerned party to post on our specific Punkbuster forum, as we have 3 staff members from Punkbuster there to answer questions.
Feedback forum is here – http://www.uoforums.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1043
This software is over the line in my opinion and I won’t use any service implementing it. Why doesn’t anyone seem to care about privacy law anymore? I’m sure the Bush administration will be demaning data from PunkBuster soon so they can fight “terror and anti-Christi.. I mean pornography”
At any rate, this software is easy to work around and the real hackers will, while ever one else just has to eat the performance and privacy hits. Processes can be renamed, Virtual PC’s can be used, and so forth. The best solution is still server side heuristics and good GM’s who don’t have an oversized ego.