Advanced Anti-Cheat Approach

VAC complementing approach to hamper cheating by uncertainty and vicious punishment.

1. Secrecy

The best anti-cheat approach has at its forefront secrecy regarding any implemented Anti-Cheat measures to keep players – and especially cheaters – in a state of uncertainty at all times.

2. Identification

To identify multi-account cheaters:

  • On banning, a hardware fingerprint gets recorded.
  • Payment sources for steam purchases need to be recorded.
  • IP’s on the time of banning and from Account logins need to be recorded.

3. Scoring

Internal calculation that denies further purchases and multiplayer gaming to suspicious accounts that reach a certain Score based on: (i) Steam Logins with matches of banned hardware, (ii) usage and attempted usage of banned payment sources, (iii) usage of banned IP’s.

"We know you received a ban in the past with another account. 
We do not notify you about this. The system will simply reject your attempts
to purchase or play online. Figure yourself why this is happening to you."

4. Detection

Cheat creators and users need to be kept in the dark if they have been detected:

  • A share needs to be banned immediatly.
  • A share needs to get banned within a given timespan.
  • A share needs to receive a disablement & then get banned within a given timespan.

5. Disablement

If an account is marked with disablement, the following randomly triggers in multiplayer:

  • Increased time required for matchmaking.
  • Increased packet loss, ping and jitter.
  • Game terminates completely.
  • Kicked from server.

Disablement must be a severe disturbance to the gaming experience. Disablement is a form of punishment, puts psychological pressure on cheaters and induces Self-Reporting as an option.

6. Self-Report

A cheater may report himself and hope for mercy.

  • Cheater needs to fill out a form when and how he cheated.
  • Attach files and tools used.
  • He is then temporary excluded from multiplayer gaming but not banned.
  • Final decision after review if banned or given mercy.

This gives VALVE the opportunity to get their hands on private & undetected cheats.

7. Ban Levels

Cheating in matchmaking is a way severe annoyance to players than cheaters in other multiplayer modes- cause the other 9 players can’t just leave. Cheaters in competetive matchmaking should face the maximum punishment possible and treated different by receiving another ban level:

  1. The denial to multiplayer and the denial to purchase should affect convicted cheaters that use new accounts and self-reported accounts temporary under review.
  2. Cheating in regular multiplayer should result in a VAC ban, being treated as it’s now.
  3. Cheating in competetive multiplayer needs addtional punishment by public humiliation.

8. Public Humiliation

A competetive matchmaking ban needs to lead to public humiliation:

  • The profile loses the option to make it private and is forced public.
  • The profile avatar is replaced with an unchangeable warning avatar.
  • The profile summary text is replaced with an unchangeable warning text.
  • The account is demoted indefinitely towards a ‘limited user account’.
  • Denial of any further purchases via Steam.

Public humilation and embarassment is an ancient but proven technique to instil order. If it’s known to be enforced reliable, it’s deterrent effect is unmatched.

New mandatory checkout confirmation that the gamer understands that cheating will severly harm him.
Self-Reporting as an easily accessible Option
Sample Self-Reporting Form
Public Humiliation by loss of account privacy and openly visible warnings.
Banned Accounts are not able to purchase anything on Steam.
Multiplayer Gaming is denied to multi-account cheaters.
Sample Scoring Calculation

Cheating has become a rampant, epedemic and crippeling desease in online multiplayer. Currently it is possible to buy cheats for 5,- USD a month and to be completely undetected, even guaranteed by the cheat creators themselves. VAC has been rendered completely useless over the years and Overwatch is dysfunctional. Professionally sold Cheats are refined to a level that they are indistinguishable from real skill.

To combat this epidemic, there need to be absolutly cruel, vicious and crippeling penalties that are unappealably enforced. Punishment must be so extreme, far reaching and severe that even attempts to cheating become completely unattractive. The day VALVE introduces overly harsh sentences against Cheaters -that ruin them, all connected accounts, hardware and users, entirely for all eternity– cheating will stop.