Anticheat FAQ

In an attempt to answer some of the questions regarding the use of anticheat on our CTF servers here are some of the questions/comments that have arisen.

Nobody is cheating!
I wish that were true but the server logs say otherwise. A couple of names everyone would recognize have been shown to use cheats that anticheat automatically kicks for and a number of lesser names have been kicked also. Sad, isn't it?

Why should players use anticheat?
Simple; because of the ones that do attempt to cheat. And it would help stop the accusations against you when you beat the living hell out of someone only to hear them constantly bitch about you cheating.

Are modified player skins considered cheating?
No, not on our servers. They could be on other servers.

Are modified models considered cheating?
It depends. To be validated in anticheat on our servers you need the original playermodels that came with Quake 2, male & female, or another validated model which has been submitted to us and found to be legitimate. We recently deleted the requirement that everyone have crakhor & cyborg but if you do have them they must be original models also. Missing either male or female may show as a bad file, but that doesn't mean it is considered cheating. Some have also copied the male files to the female directory. This will show as modified files as well and is not recommended, to be safe use the original models as intended. Other forms of modified models may very well be cheats. Or not. But any bad files can arouse suspicion.

Are modified sounds cheating?
Some are, most definitliy. Having footstep-sounds that sound like an elephant stomping around on a wooden floor would definitely fall into that category. Other modified sounds too, if they help locate other players or make louder than standard announcements of certain items. Pain sounds too, if they are louder than usual. And there's more. It's sad how much people will do to gain advantage.

It says my file xxx has been modified but I don't cheat
All that message means is that it differs from the default files that come with quake 2, or from the files that we have tested and found OK. There is no way for us to test everything out there... Maybe we can validate the file(s) that you use, contact us and we'll see if we can work something out.

The server admins won't budge!
Well... no, not in the sense that anticheat is the way to go, at least for some of our servers and/or some subnets due to cheater(s) on that particular subnet. But if you honestly don't cheat, yet are having problems with anticheats checks, contact us. Again, we'll try to find some way to deal with it.

Player xxx has 20 modified files!
This may mean absolutely nothing. Do not assume that a player with a non-zero number of modified files is cheating, it is far more likely that they have some kind of custom pak file that we have not validated (yet?). If they continue over time to show modified files and refuse to do anything about it then it could mean that yes, they are cheating.

You are enforcing way too much with the settings!
Possibly...or not. We are still working on getting the best checks so that everyone can play with decent settings, without getting unfair advantages from them. Some settings are needed so that the server does not get overly flooded, causing problems for everyone. Again, we're open to opinions about it, let us know if something is causing problems and we will try our best to work with you.

Someone sent me this file and I think it's a cheat!
Contact us, we may ask you to send it. No need to mention names, if it is considered a cheat we'll update our checks, or work with R1CH to update R1Q2's detection. It's a joint effort by everyone to keep the game level.

I really like using this pak file but one file is bad.
Use pak explorer or pakscape to delete or rename the bad file. You might have better results with pakscape.

If you insist on checking files why don't you make a pak with valid files in it?
Damn good idea, I plan to in the near future.

I'm banned but I only have original files!
"No cheating" is not the only rule on our servers, read up on them if you need a refresher. They are located in this section of the forum.. http://www.wormlair.com/forum/index.php?board=3.0 . We also honor bans from some other servers that we cooperate with.

I have been using anticheat and support your efforts!
Thank you so much, that means a lot. We greatly appreciate you working with us!

Did you take the time to write all of this yourself?
No, I stole most of it from Snake who had written it for Backshooters and changed a bit here and there to fit our situation.

I've seen that name on the forum, who is this Snake you speak of?
Some think is the most evil server admin you could ever imagine. Others consider him a Saint. The truth probably falls somewhere in between. grin

Either way, he admins Backshooters servers and has been around Q2 forever. We collaborate on all things Q2 and you can find him in our IRC channel where he can be most helpful.

How do I contact you?
1) Create a post in the forum or Comments sections of the forum
2) Join us in #acme on IRC.AccessIRC.net or use the webchat: http://www.acmectf.com/acmejavairc.html Be patient tho, it may take some time before someone responds.
3) Click on the email button in one of my posts or profile.
4) PM me on the forum.

What are some links that I might need?
male/female/cyborg files http://acmectf.com/downloads/Models,%20skins,%20sounds,%20etc/players.zip
crakhor files http://acmectf.com/downloads/Models,%20skins,%20sounds,%20etc/crakhor.zip
pakscape http://q2.backshooters.com/pub/mods/q2/pakscape.zip
pak explorer http://q2.backshooters.com/pub/mods/q2/pakexplr.zip
R1Q2 anticheat http://antiche.at
R1Q2 webinstaller http://antiche.at/files/r1q2-websetup.exe
R1CH's forums for support, pick R1Q2 or r1ch.net anticheat: http://www.r1ch.net/forum/