This is my 4th blog post and you would think
these would get easier as time goes by, but they don’t as it turns
out! =) We have a few
things to talk about since our last blog post, and if you’re not one to visit
the forums, you may have missed out on some information. I will
provide a brief recap for the less forum inclined below.
Punk Buster melt down
I don’t go out of town often for business, but rest assured
that when I do, something will break. On October 1st, PunkBuster
had a major melt down and started banning all players upon login. Once
the team realized what was happening, PunkBuster was disabled and all
bans relating to the incident were reversed. We currently have PunkBuster
disabled and have not made a decision regarding if PunkBuster will stay or
if it will go away permanently. We have seen feedback from players
that their in-game performance has been much better with PunkBuster
turned off. We’ll keep that in mind when deciding its fate.
FairFight on steroids
While PunkBuster is recovering, we have been working
with GameBlocks to automate more of what FairFight does and do
some fine tuning. FairFight will also do player kicks now if it
suspects someone is cheating. This kick is a warning to clean up their act.
If the person doesn’t change their ways, then FairFight will act
accordingly with a ban. We will not say what triggers the
kick, just like we won’t define anything FairFight does. Needless to say, it
has been on a banning spree. FairFight is almost completely
automated, with little intervention from GMs. This has made a huge
impact on cheaters, and players and GMs alike are noticing less cheaters ingame
as well. Keep in mind not everyone is a cheater and just because
you think they cheat, it doesn’t mean they do. There are some really
good players in our game, and while you may think they cheat, they’re not…
unless you see their name being banned by FairFight of course!
2nd Chance for Punk Buster bans in last 30
days
On October 7th, we removed the bans from
over 450 accounts that were banned by PunkBuster in the last 30 days
(From September 1). This is a chance for those players to prove that they
deserve a 2nd chance at playing the game
without cheating. So far a little over ¾ of the unbanned accounts have
logged in and only 10 accounts couldn’t play by the rules. Since the 2nd
chance is going so well, we’ll be going back one year and releasing those PunkBuster
bans over the next few days. Keep watch of our forums
for more information on when this will occur.
A few things to note on these reversals:
Note:
- · If your account was multiple banned which means by PunkBuster and FairFight, or for another Terms of Service violation and PunkBuster, your account will not be unbanned.
- · Do not contact support to be unbanned. Once the unban process is completed, you’ll receive an email letting you know your account was unbanned.
- · PLEASE, DO NOT CONTACT SUPPORT TO BE UNBANNED. If you contact support regarding this, we’ll not give you a 2nd chance, so be patient.
Xbox One
We’ve submitted a build for certification, and once
it is approved, we’ll get this out to our players. You’ll then be able
to participate in the Halloween Event! More information will be posted about
how the event will work for you once we’re ready to patch. Also,
we’ll be addressing some crash issues that players have been experiencing.
PlayStation 4
I’m sure you’ve noticed that the PS4 release has been pushed
out. We were hoping we wouldn’t have to push the release beyond September,
since we’re now going to be hitting Sony’s very busy months. We’re hoping
that we can get in line for a release in the next few weeks, and hopefully out
to everyone by Christmas. That’s our hopes, but reality is once we have a
build in, we’ll wait on Sony to tell us if it passes, and when it’ll be slated
for release. Once we’ve submitted our final build for review, I’ll
post and keep you updated.
HALLOWEEN 2016!!!
Happy Early Halloween! We’re aiming at releasing a
patch tomorrow which will enable Halloween for the PC community.
Maintenance will be at 3 PM UTC, unless we have any issues reported
overnight that may postpone the event by a day or two.
Halloween 2016 Horseman Event
The rules for the event are simple:- Collect X amount of pumpkins to become the HORSEMAN and start the event (Timer Starts).
- The HORSEMAN must kill other players to convert them HORSEMAN’S army (SOLDIERS).
- SOLDIERS must kill other players to recruit them into the HORSEMAN’S army.
- SURVIVORS must avoid being killed, till time runs out (Timer Ends).
NOTE: SURVIVORS blip on the HORSEMAN’S army's radar when the bell tolls, signifying that the HORSEMAN Event is coming to an end...keep fighting, running or hiding to survive.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
HORSEMAN
- BUFFED UP HEALTH, FLARE GUN and a custom steed ENVEGAS
- EARN POINTS BY KILLING SURVIVORS
SOLDIERS
- ABLE TO RE-SPAWN MULTIPLE TIMES WITHOUT PENALTY
- EARN POINTS FOR KILLING SURVIVORS
SURVIVORS
- EARN POINTS FOR SURVIVING
- EARN EXTRA POINTS FOR KILLING AND BECOMING THE HORSEMAN
PRIZES AND REWARDS
Achievements, titles and a new backpack can all be won and earned in this year’s event.
The titles are:
- SURVIVORS - STILL ALIVE
- HEADLESS HORSEMAN - LEVEL HEADED
- PUMPKIN SOLDIER - THE PUMPKIN MENACE
Participate 10 times in the Headless Horseman Event 2016 :
- PARTICIPATOR EXTRAORDINAIRE
That about sums up everything, enjoy the event and have a Happy Halloween!
Tiggs
