Bazooka_Joe
04-11-2005, 07:05 PM
A Moderator over at www.steampowered.com (http://www.steampowered.com/) answered some frequently asked questions from fans of the new Valve Anti-Cheat system. Some of these questions remain unanswered, as the developers have not yet submitted answers to players inquiries. You can find the post HERE. (http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=268016)
Since there are so many of the same questions being asked in the forum, lets just have one thread to contain all the questions.
If/when I get answers, I'll post them.
Please stay on topic, if you think you know the answer, dont guess.
All questions were updated 4/3/05 9:45 PST.
-----------------
1) Will VAC 2 support all Steam games or just Source games?
To be determined
2) Will VAC 2 ban for custom models/sounds?
no but servers may enforce consistancy
3) How often will VAC 2 be updated?
<this information is never disclosed>
4) How will servers enable VAC 2?
the same way that servers enable VAC now
5) What recourse will I have if I feel the ban is un-justified?
There is no recourse if a player gets vac banned. If you contact support you will just be told that you will not be unbanned.
6) Will VAC 2 scan my hard drive or just memory?
memory
7) Will VAC 2 support third party mods?
To be determined
8) I use cheats to watch demos / when watching matches from HLTV. Will VAC 2 ban me?
All wallhacks and cheats of any kind will be banned if used on a secure server.
9) Will VAC 2 ban for scripts?
no
10) Will VAC 2 ban by Steam ID or IP?
Steam ID.
11) Will VAC 2 consider x-spectate a cheat?
All wallhacks and cheats of any kind will be banned if used on a secure server.
12) Will r_3dsky be considered a cheat?
yes - note that the detect is a hack not the CVAR itself. Servers with sv_cheats 0 set will not allow legit clients to set r_3dsky 0.
15) Will VAC detect/ban for having Ventrilo, Teamspeak, or instant message programs running in the background?
no
16) Im hoping to switch to linux (and get rid of windows partition totally), and run most games native or cedega. Will cedega be flagged as a cheat?
no, but NOTE: the Steam client is not supported under these operating systems.
17) Does VAC2 only scan for known cheats, or does it have heuristics?
<this information is never disclosed>
18) Will it be possible to run VAC 2 and Cheating-Death together on a Server?
To be determined
19) Will VAC2 have server admin functions "similiar to x-spectate" that allows server admins to detect/observe possible new "hacks/cheats/exploits" and then provide a channel for a "bug/detection report" to the VAC2 Team for review?
VAC Bans will NEVER be subjective to human judgement, nothing like this would ever be implemented/allowed.
20) Will HLAMP or HLAMP2 be considered a cheat?
if they are part of some cheat, then yes (some cheats include a form of HLAMP)
21) Will the bans be delayed or instant?
VAC Bans are always delayed (no change from VAC1)
22) Will VAC be available on all servers or just those in the USA?
all Source Servers (HLDM servers TBD)
23) Will using voice programs (like those that I can send music over my mic) get me banned?
if done using a cheat then yes, otherwise no. ... Sending music over your mic is often offensive and distracting and you may get admin banned from a server for doing so.
24) Will VAC2 have a built in admin function that can take auto-screen shots that can be stored on the server for admins to look at?
no
25) Will this scanner be detected as a cheat www.cheat-scanner.co.uk (http://www.cheat-scanner.co.uk/)?
This is not a useful scanner, it is IRC based and a security risk. Bans from this tool are based on the opinion of an individual and are based on name detects for files on your disk. VAC/VAC2 would not detect this tool as a cheat since it isn't.
26) When connecting to Source games will there be a bar that indicates VAC is downloading and the time remaining? (sort of like with HL based games)
To be determined
27) Will VAC2 be aggressive in keeping itself up-to-date against new hacks and/or cheats?.
28) Will accounts banned for one-year under VAC be unbanned when their time is up, or will those bans be switched to permanent once VAC2 is released?
29) Will VAC2 Share VAC1's ban list (in addition to its own)? Visa Versa?
30) Does VAC ban by game or the entire account?
31) Will VAC2 detect the RetarT pointer?
32) Will VAC2 detect "hybrid cheats"? (a hybrid is an opengl wrapper with enginefuncs)
33) Is using a custom crosshair considered a cheat (you change gamefiles)?
34) Is using Powerstrip or a similar prog to change the gamma considered a cheat (these programs would run in the background)?
35) Will VAC2 scan for cheats when on insecure servers and carry over that ban to secure servers?
36) Will non-cheat league approved hooks for TFC (such as aniGL) be detected and be considered a canidate for a ban?
37) Will Valve make it abundantly clear BEFORE they release VAC2 as to what line entries are considered by them as banable items?
38) Will VAC2 ban you for using FRAPS? (Becouse it adds displays in game, like framerate, ect.)
39) Will Xfire (the popular in game and out of game IM and friend finding program) cause any problems with VAC2?
40) Will "sv_cheats 1" be considered a bannable cheat? Can VAC2 Run wile "sv_cheats 1" is enabled?
41) Will cl_weather be considered a cheat?
42) Will VAC decrease performance in any way?
43) If VAC2 bans users for using something like HLIRC, HLAMP or similar, that does NOT have cheat functionality (ignoring the state of the current hlamp2), will these be reversed?
44) What about mat_proxy When it's set to 1 - Are you gonna be banned?
Since there are so many of the same questions being asked in the forum, lets just have one thread to contain all the questions.
If/when I get answers, I'll post them.
Please stay on topic, if you think you know the answer, dont guess.
All questions were updated 4/3/05 9:45 PST.
-----------------
1) Will VAC 2 support all Steam games or just Source games?
To be determined
2) Will VAC 2 ban for custom models/sounds?
no but servers may enforce consistancy
3) How often will VAC 2 be updated?
<this information is never disclosed>
4) How will servers enable VAC 2?
the same way that servers enable VAC now
5) What recourse will I have if I feel the ban is un-justified?
There is no recourse if a player gets vac banned. If you contact support you will just be told that you will not be unbanned.
6) Will VAC 2 scan my hard drive or just memory?
memory
7) Will VAC 2 support third party mods?
To be determined
8) I use cheats to watch demos / when watching matches from HLTV. Will VAC 2 ban me?
All wallhacks and cheats of any kind will be banned if used on a secure server.
9) Will VAC 2 ban for scripts?
no
10) Will VAC 2 ban by Steam ID or IP?
Steam ID.
11) Will VAC 2 consider x-spectate a cheat?
All wallhacks and cheats of any kind will be banned if used on a secure server.
12) Will r_3dsky be considered a cheat?
yes - note that the detect is a hack not the CVAR itself. Servers with sv_cheats 0 set will not allow legit clients to set r_3dsky 0.
15) Will VAC detect/ban for having Ventrilo, Teamspeak, or instant message programs running in the background?
no
16) Im hoping to switch to linux (and get rid of windows partition totally), and run most games native or cedega. Will cedega be flagged as a cheat?
no, but NOTE: the Steam client is not supported under these operating systems.
17) Does VAC2 only scan for known cheats, or does it have heuristics?
<this information is never disclosed>
18) Will it be possible to run VAC 2 and Cheating-Death together on a Server?
To be determined
19) Will VAC2 have server admin functions "similiar to x-spectate" that allows server admins to detect/observe possible new "hacks/cheats/exploits" and then provide a channel for a "bug/detection report" to the VAC2 Team for review?
VAC Bans will NEVER be subjective to human judgement, nothing like this would ever be implemented/allowed.
20) Will HLAMP or HLAMP2 be considered a cheat?
if they are part of some cheat, then yes (some cheats include a form of HLAMP)
21) Will the bans be delayed or instant?
VAC Bans are always delayed (no change from VAC1)
22) Will VAC be available on all servers or just those in the USA?
all Source Servers (HLDM servers TBD)
23) Will using voice programs (like those that I can send music over my mic) get me banned?
if done using a cheat then yes, otherwise no. ... Sending music over your mic is often offensive and distracting and you may get admin banned from a server for doing so.
24) Will VAC2 have a built in admin function that can take auto-screen shots that can be stored on the server for admins to look at?
no
25) Will this scanner be detected as a cheat www.cheat-scanner.co.uk (http://www.cheat-scanner.co.uk/)?
This is not a useful scanner, it is IRC based and a security risk. Bans from this tool are based on the opinion of an individual and are based on name detects for files on your disk. VAC/VAC2 would not detect this tool as a cheat since it isn't.
26) When connecting to Source games will there be a bar that indicates VAC is downloading and the time remaining? (sort of like with HL based games)
To be determined
27) Will VAC2 be aggressive in keeping itself up-to-date against new hacks and/or cheats?.
28) Will accounts banned for one-year under VAC be unbanned when their time is up, or will those bans be switched to permanent once VAC2 is released?
29) Will VAC2 Share VAC1's ban list (in addition to its own)? Visa Versa?
30) Does VAC ban by game or the entire account?
31) Will VAC2 detect the RetarT pointer?
32) Will VAC2 detect "hybrid cheats"? (a hybrid is an opengl wrapper with enginefuncs)
33) Is using a custom crosshair considered a cheat (you change gamefiles)?
34) Is using Powerstrip or a similar prog to change the gamma considered a cheat (these programs would run in the background)?
35) Will VAC2 scan for cheats when on insecure servers and carry over that ban to secure servers?
36) Will non-cheat league approved hooks for TFC (such as aniGL) be detected and be considered a canidate for a ban?
37) Will Valve make it abundantly clear BEFORE they release VAC2 as to what line entries are considered by them as banable items?
38) Will VAC2 ban you for using FRAPS? (Becouse it adds displays in game, like framerate, ect.)
39) Will Xfire (the popular in game and out of game IM and friend finding program) cause any problems with VAC2?
40) Will "sv_cheats 1" be considered a bannable cheat? Can VAC2 Run wile "sv_cheats 1" is enabled?
41) Will cl_weather be considered a cheat?
42) Will VAC decrease performance in any way?
43) If VAC2 bans users for using something like HLIRC, HLAMP or similar, that does NOT have cheat functionality (ignoring the state of the current hlamp2), will these be reversed?
44) What about mat_proxy When it's set to 1 - Are you gonna be banned?