20 replies to this topic

[Nept]

 

TPG League regulations require that every participant fully records every match that they play. We also require screenshot sets from each player, taken before and after each round of each match (specifics can be found here). All demos and screenshots must be maintained (saved) for at least one week after the match date.

 

You can use any video capture program that you want, provided we can properly view the video. If you're saving the output to your computer, select a common format (e.g., mp4). If you're streaming directly to twitch, ensure that you highlight the match.

 

Minimum Settings

Resolution: 640x360

FPS (Frames Per Second): 15

Audio: Audio is not required

 

If you require recording software, download Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) for free and follow Xacius's video tutorial:

Note: This tutorial covers appropriate recording settings for low-power PC's. If you're experiencing significant framerate loss even with these settings, lower your in-game graphics.

 

You may be asked to provide your screenshots and recordings in the case of a) disputes filed by or against your team, and b) random sweeps by TPG Anti-Cheat (AC) Admins. In either case, the procedure is the same: simply provide our AC Admin links to all relevant screenshots and all relevant recordings. You must have two screenshots per round (pre- and post-), and your recording(s) must cover the entire match (can have separate recordings for each round, or one large recording for the full match). You'll have 24 hours from the time of request to provide the materials.

 

 

TPG Anti-Cheat Sweeps

TPG will be conducting random AC sweeps this season. Each week, we will select two or more players for review. Selected players must provide their recordings and screenshots for that week's match, as per above. Please do not take selection personally: it's honest-to-god random.

 

Unbeknownst (apparently) to most TPG participants, we have been conducting these sweeps throughout the pre-season. In each case, the selected player's captain (or co-captain) was warned on the day of their match that their team must be recording/taking screenshots. Once the regular season starts, these sweeps will occur without warning.

 

 

Rationale

Taking two screenshots per round is a slight hassle, but shouldn't constitute an actual problem for anyone familiar with Steam's screenshot (default F12) function. Recording rounds, however, can disadvantage players with weaker computers.

 

Is our recording requirement necessary? Unfortunately, yes. These recordings are used in both our Anti-Cheat (AC) and dispute resolution efforts; and since Hawken doesn't have a functional demo system, user-made recordings are our only option.

 

 

Recording Q&A

 

Q: Do you really think that anyone within Hawken's competitive community is cheating? Aren't you going a bit overboard?

 

A: Personally, I haven't witnessed anything suspicious during TPG matches. That being said, I've not spent much (match) time searching – and to be perfectly honest, cheaters would have to be pretty blatant to attract my attention during Omni matches.

 

Unfortunately, there are (almost) always individuals who turn toward cheating, whether out of frustration and apathy, or for amusement and personal gain. The fact that I haven't seen anyone cheating against my team does not exclude the possibility of cheaters.

 

Additionally, TPG must uphold certain standards of competitive play. We strive to create a safe, cheat-free space for community-based competition. As such, we must enact AC safeguards – especially when they're unavailable through the game itself. We must also ensure that our dispute resolution process is both thorough and fair – an endeavour that's made much easier through demo/recording availability.

 

 

Q: Couldn't TPG host matches on 13- or 14-man servers and require the presence of a recording spectator? Would that not suffice?

 

A: No, dedicated, recording spectators would not suffice. Their recordings would be limited to brief snippets of single players, or to bird's eye views of the battle. They could easily miss dispute-prompting events, and their (exclusive) use would dramatically decrease our AC capabilities. When disputes are filed, our Admin team pulls demos and screenshots from every relevant player. And when we're conducting AC activities, our Admin team watches the player(s) in question throughout the entire match.

 

Furthermore, requiring spectators would present logistical issues surrounding the vetting and availability of said spectators.

 

 

Q: What about . . .

 

A: No, sorry (eh). We require full recordings from each player, for each round, for each match.

 

 

Q: Can opposing captains agree to forego recording requirements before a match?

 

A: No, unfortunately not. Although I attempted to implement something similar during Season 1, we ultimately decided against it. Without recordings, arbitrating disputes between teams would become extremely difficult. As such, any non-recording rule would also preclude (most) dispute filing; and a league without a means of filing and resolving disputes could quickly descend into anarchy. While this risk was relatively low during the league's (Hawken) inception, its likelihood increases alongside our rising team and participant counts. There's also the risk that teams could be coerced into agreements – something which seems somewhat likely given the infrequency of ringer refusals. Finally, any non-recording arrangements would circumvent our random AC sweeps, rendering cheating much easier.

 

 

Q: How are you so Handsome?

 

A:

Edited by God-King Nept, 02 July 2015 - 01:08 PM.

[Massive_Assailant_Stingray]

It is exceptionally unfortunate that a game on UE3 doesn't have functional demo and spectating features.

[LoC_TR]

[GGGanjaMan]

What's better, Fraps or OBS? I'm using Fraps simply because it's so simple to use - OBS seems unnecessarily complicated, going by all those settings being mentioned in that video.

[crockrocket]

This isn't hard, it makes sense, just do it. Don't fuzzy bunny up like me and forget to take an ending screenshot. The screenshots if I'm not mistaken are mainly for any score disputes.

[CraftyDus]

What's better, Fraps or OBS? I'm using Fraps simply because it's so simple to use - OBS seems unnecessarily complicated, going by all those settings being mentioned in that video.

 

OBS can be set to use less resources than fraps.

But if it's not hurting your performance  and functions easily enough, you're in good shape.

[TheButtSatisfier]

Nvidia's ShadowPlay worked surprisingly well out of the box for KirkGoneWild and I.

[peacecraftSLD]

This happened to me while in a TPG match, I got BSoD in the middle of the match and  I wasn't able to record the whole match.

 

In this scenario, will I need to submit another teammates video, another teammate to submit the footage, or the footage I have even though it is not the full match?

[CraftyDus]

This happened to me while in a TPG match, I got BSoD in the middle of the match and  I wasn't able to record the whole match.

 

In this scenario, will I need to submit another teammates video, another teammate to submit the footage, or the footage I have even though it is not the full match?

 

Reconnect, resume recording.

The footage that you have would be all that they were interested in during a random pull or player dispute.

Another teamates demo is no substitution, even if it's a dead ringer.

[peacecraftSLD]

Reconnect, resume recording.

The footage that you have would be all that they were interested in during a random pull or player dispute.

Another teamates demo is no substitution, even if it's a dead ringer.

 

This piece of information might have been helpful in my last post, so I am sorry for mot mentioning it earlier. In the TPG match that I got BSoD, my team made a substitution mid-match. The TPG rules does allow this and it requires the substitution to immediately take their screen shot and begin recording.

 

In this case, I was not able to reconnect to the game to finish the recording.

 

Does this change anything or same answer? (I am assuming same answer)

 

I just want to make sure I understand.

[cavefishes]

Nvidia's ShadowPlay worked surprisingly well out of the box for KirkGoneWild and I.

Same here. I'm able to record 60fps 720p with little to no performance hit. Only thing that's a little funky is the push-to-talk mic capture. 

[TheButtSatisfier]

Only thing that's a little funky is the push-to-talk mic capture. 

 

Yes! Have you found a way to get PTT to work with ShadowPlay?

[Nept]

This piece of information might have been helpful in my last post, so I am sorry for mot mentioning it earlier. In the TPG match that I got BSoD, my team made a substitution mid-match. The TPG rules does allow this and it requires the substitution to immediately take their screen shot and begin recording.

 

In this case, I was not able to reconnect to the game to finish the recording.

 

Does this change anything or same answer? (I am assuming same answer)

 

I just want to make sure I understand.

 

Same answer.  As long as you recorded all of your play time, and as long as the substitution recorded all of their play time, you both would've been fine.

[peacecraftSLD]

Same answer.  As long as you recorded all of your play time, and as long as the substitution recorded all of their play time, you both would've been fine.

Cool, thanks for clearing that up

[LEmental]

"If you're streaming directly to Twitch, ensure that you highly the match."

 

If you're streaming directly to Twitch, ensure that you highlight the match.

 

FTFY

Edited by LEmental, 29 June 2015 - 01:13 PM.

[CraftyDus]

"If you're streaming directly to Twitch, ensure that you highly the match."

 

If you're streaming directly to Twitch, ensure that you highlight the match.

 

FTFY

 

It says we should highly, there may be penalties for soberly

[_incitatus]

It says we should highly, there may be penalties for soberly

Duly noted.

[ThirdEyE]

TPG Anti-Cheat Sweeps

TPG will be conducting random AC sweeps this season. Each week, we will select two or more players for review. Selected players must provide their recordings and screenshots for that week's match, as per above. Please do not take selection personally: it's honest-to-god random.

 

Unbeknownst (apparently) to most TPG participants, we have been conducting these sweeps throughout the pre-season. In each case, the selected player's captain (or co-captain) was warned on the day of their match that their team must be recording/taking screenshots. Once the regular season starts, these sweeps will occur without warning.

 

Can you provide some rationale for these?  Just seems like unnecessary hassle both for players and AC people.

[Nept]

Can you provide some rationale for these?  Just seems like unnecessary hassle both for players and AC people.

 

Rationale

Taking two screenshots per round is a slight hassle, but shouldn't constitute an actual problem for anyone familiar with Steam's screenshot (default F12) function. Recording rounds, however, can disadvantage players with weaker computers.

 

Is our recording requirement necessary? Unfortunately, yes. These recordings are used in both our Anti-Cheat (AC) and dispute resolution efforts; and since Hawken doesn't have a functional demo system, user-made recordings are our only option.

 

 

Recording Q&A

 

Q: Do you really think that anyone within Hawken's competitive community is cheating? Aren't you going a bit overboard?

 

A: Personally, I haven't witnessed anything suspicious during TPG matches. That being said, I've not spent much (match) time searching – and to be perfectly honest, cheaters would have to be pretty blatant to attract my attention during Omni matches.

 

Unfortunately, there are (almost) always individuals who turn toward cheating, whether out of frustration and apathy, or for amusement and personal gain. The fact that I haven't seen anyone cheating against my team does not exclude the possibility of cheaters.

 

Additionally, TPG must uphold certain standards of competitive play. We strive to create a safe, cheat-free space for community-based competition. As such, we must enact AC safeguards – especially when they're unavailable through the game itself. We must also ensure that our dispute resolution process is both thorough and fair – an endeavour that's made much easier through demo/recording availability.

 

 

Q: Couldn't TPG host matches on 13- or 14-man servers and require the presence of a recording spectator? Would that not suffice?

 

A: No, dedicated, recording spectators would not suffice. Their recordings would be limited to brief snippets of single players, or to bird's eye views of the battle. They could easily miss dispute-prompting events, and their (exclusive) use would dramatically decrease our AC capabilities. When disputes are filed, our Admin team pulls demos and screenshots from every relevant player. And when we're conducting AC activities, our Admin team watches the player(s) in question throughout the entire match.

 

Furthermore, requiring spectators would present logistical issues surrounding the vetting and availability of said spectators.

 

 

Q: What about . . .

 

A: No, sorry (eh). We require full recordings from each player, for each round, for each match.

 

 

Q: Can opposing captains agree to forego recording requirements before a match?

 

A: No, unfortunately not. Although I attempted to implement something similar during Season 1, we ultimately decided against it. Without recordings, arbitrating disputes between teams would become extremely difficult. As such, any non-recording rule would also preclude (most) dispute filing; and a league without a means of filing and resolving disputes could quickly descend into anarchy. While this risk was relatively low during the league's (Hawken) inception, its likelihood increases alongside our rising team and participant counts. There's also the risk that teams could be coerced into agreements – something which seems somewhat likely given the infrequency of ringer refusals. Finally, any non-recording arrangements would circumvent our random AC sweeps, rendering cheating much easier.

 

And some points from our AC Head, Crafty:

 

Random demo pulls constitute a basic component of any competitive FPS league's Anti-Cheat (AC) procedures.  Their purpose and necessity are as follows:

1. Random pulls convey the importance of recording entire matches without requiring that we pull every demo from every team.
2. Random pulls provide an opportunity to catch cheating or exploiting without unfairly targeting any particular team or player.
3. During previous seasons, TPG Hawken was lax with its AC procedures.  The recording requirement is fundamental to promoting a clean, competitive environment - one which contrasts sharply with the public servers where the population is large and anti-cheat efforts are difficult to implement.  Random pulls are amongst our best practices for adjusting player attitudes toward our recording requirements.
4. Requiring that every participant records every TPG match represents an essential ethical foundation for healthy, competitive environments.  TPG participants (should) expect our Admins to 1) actively monitor our playerbase for cheats, exploits, and scripts, and 2) ensure that everyone is personally responsible for collecting evidence pertinent to disputes and contended match outcomes.

[ThirdEyE]

 

And some points from our AC Head, Crafty:

 

Random demo pulls constitute a basic component of any competitive FPS league's Anti-Cheat (AC) procedures.  Their purpose and necessity are as follows:

1. Random pulls convey the importance of recording entire matches without requiring that we pull every demo from every team.
2. Random pulls provide an opportunity to catch cheating or exploiting without unfairly targeting any particular team or player.
3. During previous seasons, TPG Hawken was lax with its AC procedures.  The recording requirement is fundamental to promoting a clean, competitive environment - one which contrasts sharply with the public servers where the population is large and anti-cheat efforts are difficult to implement.  Random pulls are amongst our best practices for adjusting player attitudes toward our recording requirements.
4. Requiring that every participant records every TPG match represents an essential ethical foundation for healthy, competitive environments.  TPG participants (should) expect our Admins to 1) actively monitor our playerbase for cheats, exploits, and scripts, and 2) ensure that everyone is personally responsible for collecting evidence pertinent to disputes and contended match outcomes.

 

The quote from the OP only provides support for a regular recording requirement in general, not for the random checking of adhering to this requirement.

 

Regarding the additional points:

1. Why doubly enforce the requirement of recording each match?  Without random checks, the only time someone would be in violation of this would be during a dispute, in which the player guilty of not recording is already punished for not having a recording to produce for the dispute.
2. How would unfair targeting occur without random checks?  If many players/teams are challenging a certain player's legitimacy, it should just serve as a compliment to them if they are legit :)
3. This seems to simply be a reiteration of point 1, by reinforcing the importance of another rule.  Once again, this is simply about the requirement to record every match, and doesn't justify randomly checking whether people are adhering to this rule or not.
4. This is pretty much all you needed to say, as it's a decent justification for the random reviews and a good clarification on the role of TPG admins in maintaining the quality of the league.  A rule like this can convince the league participants that cheating is being taken seriously, which is obviously a good thing.

[Nept]

 

The quote from the OP only provides support for a regular recording requirement in general, not for the random checking of adhering to this requirement.

 

Regarding the additional points:

1. Why doubly enforce the requirement of recording each match?  Without random checks, the only time someone would be in violation of this would be during a dispute, in which the player guilty of not recording is already punished for not having a recording to produce for the dispute.
2. How would unfair targeting occur without random checks?  If many players/teams are challenging a certain player's legitimacy, it should just serve as a compliment to them if they are legit :)
3. This seems to simply be a reiteration of point 1, by reinforcing the importance of another rule.  Once again, this is simply about the requirement to record every match, and doesn't justify randomly checking whether people are adhering to this rule or not.
4. This is pretty much all you needed to say, as it's a decent justification for the random reviews and a good clarification on the role of TPG admins in maintaining the quality of the league.  A rule like this can convince the league participants that cheating is being taken seriously, which is obviously a good thing.

 

 

I quoted the OP alongside Crafty's addition because the sections are closely related.  TBH, I felt as though readers would be able to derive the reasons for random pulls from the OP alone.  However, it doesn't hurt to list the reasons explicitly.

 

As for your arguments:

 

1) We "doubly enforce" the recording requirement for the listed reason: random pulls convey the importance of recording entire matches.  If we didn't pull randomly, many players would ignore the requirement.  And although you might be fine with that fact, we are not: players that fail to supply dispute demos are subject to more severe penalties than team warnings and 2-3 game suspensions. 

 

 

Failure to record valid demos

• TPG may enact stricter penalties should special circumstances arise (e.g., a disputed player fails to submit demos)

 

But why would someone's submission failure elicit harsher penalties? Because otherwise, cheaters could avoid significant punishment by pretending that they had forgotten to record.

 

2) You're assuming that leagues pull demos only randomly or during disputes.  There are other options, though.  For example, we could sweep entire teams.  Or we could pull from captains.  Or we could pull from prominent players, regardless of disputes - in which case I doubt "You should take this as a compliment :)" would be well-received.

 

Pulling demos isn't just about resolving disputes.  The action (random or not) also dissuades people from cheating.

 

3) Yes, Crafty's third point partially reiterates his first.  However, it also provides context: TPG has run without in-depth AC for a couple seasons, and we want to ensure that nothing has slipped through the sieve. 

 

4) Well, I'm happy that you found an explanation that satisfies.

Edited by God-King Nept, 03 July 2015 - 12:50 AM.