anticheat clients and server info

[R1CH]

Hello.
It seems quite a few people here haven't heard about my latest Q2 project, a half-decent anticheat. Unlike other previous anticheat clients, this one is a bit more flexible in that it supports multiple Q2 clients - currently R1Q2, AprQ2 and EGL, although only on 32 bit Windows 2000/XP/2003 at present. No plans for a Linux or Win9x version exist.

AprQ2 seems to be the client of choice for most AQ2ers, so you'll be pleased to know that AprQ2 v1.20 has support for anticheat - just download the .DLL from http://antiche.at/ and your client will be anticheat enabled on servers that also use the anticheat.

Right now the anticheat is in use on over 100 servers, including several AQ2 servers (mostly in Chile). Server admins might want to check out the forum right here on AQ2World for anticheat, http://forums.aq2world.com/viewforum.php?f=50 and if interested in helping to test the anticheat, register on my forums at http://www.r1ch.net/forum/index.php?board=9.0 and PM me your server details.

[emperphis]

"Half-decent"... playing modest here R1CH
As admin for NFSi and Wireplay AQ2 servers (european) AC is already available on all NFSi (optional for 27910 & 27930, mandatory for 27920) and Wireplay.
Feedback:
95% of the ppl using it have no complaints;
problems were solved asap;
server stability is 100%;
AC server stability is 98%;
Efficiency 100%
Overall result: 9/10

If I may be of any help to other admins feel free to ask. As far as I know stric and haud have implemented it as well..

Keep up the good work

[L0ki]

Aye, g'morning.

I've just installed anticheat and "with a little help of my friends" I got it running properly, managing to take some little wattles.
Here's a little how-to on how to setup and in case you're running in troubles:

1) Head to the anticheat page linked above by r1ch and read the short info & FAQ. Make sure you got the correct client version (personally I had to upgrade apr from 1.19 to 1.20). Download the appropiate dll-file and place it in your quake2-folder - to make this 100%-dummy-safe: the quake2 folder is the folder with the action-quake-client-exe (aq2.exe). It's neither your baseq2- nor your action-folder. Also: read the small disclaimer that comes along in the anticheat.zip.


2) Here's a small list of servers running anticheat at the moment:

82.102.10.1:27910
82.102.10.1:27920
82.102.10.1:27930
88.198.14.107:27910
80.190.228.14:27911
195.224.41.30:27920

Head there now and give it a quick trial and error. Don't panic if you get any anticheat-modified-model-message (or anything else). Read the message carefully, maybe make a quick note.

In case you don't get any warnings or haven't been kicked: congratulations - you've just setup anticheat. Try the console command "aclist" - it says 'acvalid: yes' and 'files 0'? Everything is fine and you're ready to go.
In case you've gotten a warning or anything unusual occured: read along (and don't panic!).

3) If you get a modified file warning, do r1ch and the server-admins a favour, save some of their (and your own) time and check this page out before asking:
http://www.golar.net/~truga/aq/info/
This page by stric gives you the possibility to download and install the unmodified files in a pak-file. You can even see a list (hashlist) of the unmodified models, skins and sounds inside the pakfile and check if your modified object is included (which is likely).
The .gz-filetype is another kind of archive (like zip or rar), but you can easily open it with winrar, so don't worry. Go ahead and place that pak file into your action-folder.
Important: do not rename it. If you already have a pak99.pak file (or a pak-file that's name starts with zzz_) rename that file instead (rename it to pak98.pak (for apr/EGL-clients) or yyy_ (for r1ch-clients) for example). Why is this? Simple: this way you make sure that the downloaded pak-file is read last by your action quake and will override the modified objects in any other pak-files.

After that - retest again on the servers named above.


4) If you're still having troubles with either modified files or some general anticheat-problems here are the places to go:

If you're having further messages/warnings by anticheat:
Contact the serveradmin. Usually a possibility to contact them is written in your action quake console while connecting to a certain server. Otherwise connect to IRC (Quakenet-server) and head for the channel: #aq2admins. You'll find help there but make sure to give the following informations: the exact message/warning, the name of your aq2 client & it's version, the name and IP/port of the server you have connected to.

If you're having other, more general, issues (like having no sound after a vid_restart or other stuff):
Head to the #aq2admin-channel at quakenet and find help there or even go directly to the #anticheat irc channel at irc.edgeirc.net where you'll find r1ch himself.

At last but not least you might try the appropiate topic here on this message board and find out if already someone had your specific problem and found a solution. Check it out at:
http://forums.aq2world.com/viewtopic.php?t=2663

I'll hope this might spare some time for you future anticheat-users and the admins.

Cheers,
-L0ki

[emperphis]

Thanks l0ki for your very usefull contribution
I'll give a more detailed list of those Anticheat enabled servers:

Europe
Death Angels-Main 217.160.108.163:27910
Last Resort (.de) 1 - cw 88.198.14.107:27910
Last Resort (.de) 4 - #pickup.aq2 80.190.228.14:27911
-=NFSi.pt=- PORTUGAL Action Quake II [TP] 82.102.10.1:27910
-=NFSi.pt=- PORTUGAL Action Quake II [Match] 82.102.10.1:27920
-=NFSi.pt=- PORTUGAL Action Quake II [CTF] 82.102.10.1:27930
Wireplay 195.224.41.30:27920

Others
[DWL|TheDogsBollocks] 69.28.220.75:27910
[Zoomby.Net]: Action - Metis 200.74.164.45:26000
[Zoomby.Net]: Action - Elara 200.74.164.45:26100
[Zoomby.Net]: Action Privado 1 200.74.164.45:26200
[Zoomby.Net]: Action Privado 2 200.74.164.45:26300
[Zoomby.Net]: AQ2CTF Liga 1 200.74.164.45:26400
[Zoomby.Net]: AQ2CTF Liga 2 200.74.164.45:26500

[NRGizeR]

No plans for a Linux or Win9x version exist.

AC is already available on all NFSi (optional for 27910 & 27930, mandatory for 27920) and Wireplay.

I just hope that people either set it as completely optional, or (the better option) that it would be availible for ALL platforms. The second this becomes mandatory on a server where I play, I have no way of joining it

Good effort, but as aq2 is one of those games that has almost as many platforms as it does players, I really hope to see more crossplatform development on this as well before it becomes the standard

[Stric]

Code: Select all

addacexception ip/mask
Allow specified ip/mask to bypass anticheat requirements.

For you NRGizeR and any other Linux user


GJ L0ki

[Evilcina]

Servers that run this ac atm are shit...upload it on .fi and there will be a real effect and a right step forward to prevent those cunts to use cheats!

[emperphis]

that's ur pov and instead of whining offtopic messages here goto .fi servers admins and inform them of this thread (and other usefull ones)

[iler]

As I'm a semi-half-admin of some finnish servers I can say that because this is only for Windows and not for Linux/other os's it would be pain in the ass to allow players one at a time. Especially when most of them have dynamic NOT static ip addresses. And I'm not saying this because I'm admining some finnish servers. I'm saying this because this is a serious flaw in this anticheat module. Yes this is a very good idea and might also have been very well carried out (don't know, haven't tested this module) but still lack in the os support is a bad thing. So that's why I don't think it will become anykind of standard thingy.

[NRGizeR]

Code: Select all

addacexception ip/mask
Allow specified ip/mask to bypass anticheat requirements.

For you NRGizeR and any other Linux user


GJ L0ki

Nice gesture, but this will lead to these problems:
* IF (!!) the ac module becomes some kind of standard, it won't take long before linux == cheat in most peoples eyes.
* By allowing subnets you would have to allow a whole ISP range because of one user, which would effectively disable what protection AC would provide for a large number of users.
* If you would NOT allow by subnets, there would be a pain in the ass for both admins and the poor user that has a dynamic ip and a non-supported OS.
* There would even be a risk of cheaters actually changing to another OS just to cheat. :/ (not likely, but still a possibility)

My view is still that if you still want to pursue anticheat, that's great, but don't start out by first not making it availible for everyone, then forcing it, and then making exceptions. This way you make sure that the ones that want to cheat still can, and you only add problems for the 'clean' players... :/

[R1CH]

Think more of it as a way to prove you aren't cheating. The recommended "optional" mode never locks anyone out of the game, if the client has the anticheat installed and is using a supported OS, then they will be marked as "ac valid" on the aclist console command. Then any accusations of cheating against them should have much less weight .

The exception system will likely move to a token (user/password) based system in the next release, the forced ac ip ranges and exception ip ranges features were added rather hastily.

The only time I recommend anticheat being forced is in league / cup / tournament games where there is a strict rule set anyway, or for small community / clan servers where the players are known not to use an unsupported OS.

[NRGizeR]

Think more of it as a way to prove you aren't cheating.

Yeah, I remember this from the no-cheat days. "You're not using nocheat? You have something to hide eeh?". If I can't prove that I'm not cheating, I must, in fact, be cheating. (popular opinion is often "guilty until proven innocent")

The exception system will likely move to a token (user/password) based system in the next release

A nick registering system should have been added years ago, why not use this for that instead..? (Is there a nick reg system out in europe? I have never come across one...)

I apologize if I sound rude or negative, it's not my intention, but I'm a bit fired up about automatically being grouped with cheaters, just because there will be development of this only on the windows side :/

[emperphis]

A nick registering system should have been added years ago, why not use this for that instead..? (Is there a nick reg system out in europe? I have never come across one...)

Q2Admin does allow a "nick registration" scheme. As far as I've seen almoust every server is running q2admin and by this an implementation would be possible. This is running (again) on my servers (nfsi and wireplay).
I'd call people, like NRGizeR, attention to http://forums.aq2world.com/viewtopic.php?t=2859

[Flunx]

A nick registering system should have been added years ago, why not use this for that instead..? (Is there a nick reg system out in europe? I have never come across one...)

There have been a couple as far as I remember. A swedish server (matshus?) required people to registrer at it's homepage and put the login info in your autoexec in order to connect.

[NRGizeR]

Q2Admin does allow a "nick registration" scheme.

mmkay

I'd call people, like NRGizeR, attention to http://forums.aq2world.com/viewtopic.php?t=2859

Yes, I know, I read it and I've responded to that above as well. (If you were talking solely about the nick/pw part now I apologize)
To repeat myself: I think making exceptions for certain players is still a somewhat shaky bubblegum solution to the problem.