Dear SpashDamage CE
I am writing on behalf of the very active competitive Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory community in association with ClanBase, Crossfire.nu and the Electronic Sports League regarding the current anti-cheat support offered by EvenBalance and their anti-cheat software Punkbuster.
Unfortunately in the last few months a PBGuid (the primary means of identification & banning) spoof was released. A PBGuid spoofer is the gaming equivalent of identity theft.
As soon as the leagues became aware of this, ClanBase Anti-Cheat Supervisor Gary “Killerboy” alerted EvenBalance in advance of this and received the following email from Tony Ray.
[I]Hi Gary,
I understand from Glenn that you are a regular sender of hacks to our
research team. Thanks for that. We don’t leak anything to anyone so you
don’t have to worry on that front.
We are aware of weaknesses going back to the beginning in the ET
cdkey/GUID system.
However, we have a strict company policy against communication with a
known hack/cheat author. We’re not going to compromise on that issue.
If/when he releases, a decision will be made (with id’s input) about the
best way to address this, if at all.
thanks,
Tony[/I]
In the month following this exchange and EvenBalance’s inactivity there was a spade of PBGuid spoofing which resulted in the primary PunkBuster multi-stream and live banning pioneers (PBBans) to suspend banning for Enemy Territory, you can see their official statement here: http://www.pbbans.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=88256
Following this, Gary “Killerboy” once again e-mailed Glenn.C from the EB staff about what was going to happen and received this reply:
[I]Gary,
I’m sorry I’m just now getting back to you. I have no comment on the
situation at the time, although I have passed this up to the development
team. I do know that Tony has already addressed this with you, so I
would not expect further comment regarding this.
Again, sorry for the delay.[/I]
As you can see, the community Enemy Territory anti-cheat admins have attempted to resolve this issue with EvenBalance with little success.
This lack of means of identity destroys the continued ability for moderated league play as we have no way to verify a player from another since pbguids are now spoofable, and innocent people have been banned.
Whilst I understand Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is an old and free game, and that your developers no doubt have more pressing priorities, but thousands of gamers continue to play, be it in public or competitively, day after day, night after night. Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory is an institution loved by thousands.
You may ask yourself, why should this bother you? Simply because it’s in your best interest. The sequel to RTCW will likely be published later this year, a game which thousands of W:ET players are eager to buy and compete on. Unfortunately, if their online gaming experience is destroyed through inadequate anti-cheat cover, they could forever associate the RTCW series, SplashDamage itself or PunkBuster with inadequate cover & of games rampant with cheaters. It is worth noting that PB provides cover for many games, and inadequate cover on one reflects badly on the cover offered for all.
In the past two months the Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory scene has become increasingly depressed by the seeming inaction of the EvenBalance staff. We’ve yet to receive any official public statements on the issue and there’s seemingly no intent to resolve the problem.
The Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory scene has the skill and the will to help EvenBalance should they request it.
It would be most appreciated if, as the developer of this much loved game, you could please make representation to the EvenBalance staff with regards to this issue and seek an adequate outcome.
The reputation of EvenBalance, Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, RTCW and SplashDamange depends on it.
Many Thanks
Yours sincerely