Proving my point

Although hard to accept, many of the complaints listed in this thread are true. I myself will be playing less and will be looking for something else to do because of the posted issues in this thread. This game was fun at one time, I will certainly miss many of you.

Thank you for your support and best wishes to all, friends and foes alike after all it is a battle game.

 

Larry you were not in that chat and yes it was reported. As what Blood Eagle wrote I concur and could not have expressed any better. That is what is going on out here. The use of the Nazi Death Camp Sign was revolting and it remained viewable in Arena Results until this last arena. How can that be?

 

The death camp thing has a player attached to it and they did not do the reveal. Did Kano? We will never know. Do they find it acceptible? We will may never know. I can guess who it was but that would not be a fair extraction.

 

I think one may wish for an "on ice" referee at times to these games. I have told them for example in the past, to take my character over and look down on some folks with it for example, at how they heal/battle/hunt at the same time. Have they done that or with yours - dunno.

Frankly I am tired of the "reactive" nature i.e. there has to be a complaint first to anything going on but that too is a perception issue. The technology exists to do some of the disqualifications and Kano is taking that route: their evidence being important. Whether its from complaints (unknown) or their own investigations (unknown), this is the thing that is disturbing many. Powerlessness in the face of what is perceived as cheating.

But riddle me this: say a guild gives a heads up on a bounty to its members and the chances go up tremendously for the success of the bounty kill to be within the guild. is the guild then "cheating" or its playing very well. My guild on this factor plays extremely well. For our success, however, we are perceived as cheats That has to be delineated from any intelligent discussion.

Kill ya later (have to keep with the game spirits!)

 

Despite the rather rocky start to this conversation, I wanted to say that I appreciate the civil and respectful nature of the discussion in this thread. I do realize that it's almost 100% negative feedback, but as I've said before, we do appreciate constructive criticism, as long as it's phrased in a way that we can actually understand and interact with. This thread is a great example of this.

While I unfortunately can't respond to each stated issue individually, I can say that more than a few of them come from issues with perception, which I am always working on improving. Kel actually spoke to this, but it's always worth mentioning that many legitimate game behaviours look suspicious in certain circumstances, especially with organized play.

With respect to player reports, the reason you receive a form response for player reports is that there isn't anything we can tell you about another player's account because we respect player privacy. Players are reported all the time for everything under the sun, and while we do look into almost every report (within reason), there simply isn't anything we can tell you other than what we already do. We have recently made a change that enables players to more easily identify permanently frozen accounts because their profile pages are no longer accessible, but other than that there's little we can say while respecting player privacy.

This was supposed to be a short reply, but these things never are Seriously though, keep harassing us (respectfully), and most importantly, keep having fun. We like making the game for you, and we want it to be an awesome experience, and we appreciate you letting us know what you feel is preventing it from being one.

 

Heads up on Bounty

Its very good game play to give heads up on bounties. I would never accuse any of cheating based on that. We do quite well with it too. I understand the right to privacy. But I pose this question. Do they not lose that right when caught cheating? Why are they protected when they have violated the terms of service? Perhaps a little more info on what is done may stem some of the perception that nothing is done. I note that most of those posting on here are long term players. We know the game and we can recognize when something just is not right. In fact, I found bounty hunting easier last night after bounty bots were mentioned. Could be a coincidence but you have to wonder. As to Larry's point on taking over characters I am not sure I want to give control over to anyone. However, it may serve Kano well to listen to us. We know the game.

 

I agree, its not as if Kano cant simply make it a part of their TOU, if a player/account has been "permanently" banned they can/will be subjected to being exposed to the entire community. Perhaps will go further as to curbing this behavior. I feel differently as to temp bans though, obviously Kano doesnt feel theyve enough evidence to ban permanently so I would understand the hesitancy to make those accounts public.

I agree with wonderbread that a lot of game play gets reported that looks iffy but simply is not, but there is also much to be said for the players that have played the longest and what they observe while actually playing the game. In the end......until Kano addresses 2 issues things simply arent going to get any better, 1. Weekend support staff, without it everything is pretty much a joke because thats when most people play and when most of the BS happens. 2. They need to address the issue that I brought to their attention long ago, its waaaaay more prevalent than bots/script ( often times players will think its bot/script use)and more damaging then alt use. It affects almost every aspect of the games. Obviously I dont want to say what it is as I dont want even more players doing iit. Kano has obviously done nothing about this other to say "its not supposed to be able to happen"....welll it does and it happens all day every day. Perhaps if I publicly said what it was than their would be a large enough back lash from the players that Kano would do something about it, lol......suuuuuuure. all I know is Im getting fed up with it to the point I almost want to tell everyone what it is and then just quit. Its obvious they cant or wont do anything so why not let everyone know so at least they can compete with those already doing it.

 

I remember some time ago, Kano promising to stamp on cheating ..... It just never happened, since then its gone mad .... How can any one possibly believe that some one has pressed the attack button 3.5 million times !!!! How hard is it to fathom out, that nefarious activities are in progress !

All I can say is Morale is low and I fear this game collapsing, as a real test of Skill and commitment :/ ...... as if being able to buy yourself to the very top of the game wasn't enough to withstand. we have to deal with unrestricted ( it seems) cheating. I think Kano need to make it their number one priority before its too late.

As fierce a game enemies as they have been, I agree with all thats been said and Well done Scott, for highlighting it in such a well thought out, heartfelt post (the deleted one)

 

It has to have gotten pretty bad, for it to have to come to this. Open your eyes, KANO! You got long time enemies here agreeing with one another. The uproar is getting worse and worse. Nothing is being done except, accepting your payments from your top client(s). KANO has lost who they once were and all they stood for. A Company who claimed they "were" the best because of their communication with the players, "we" listen, they said as well. Really? With all the crap going on, the reports, continued reports that were and are so obvious. Nothing is being done other than a blind eye, a run around response while collecting the almighty $.

 

I wish Polish that u did make public this exploit that you see happening every day. The truth will set it free and also force the hand of Kano to deal with it openly. i.e. if you are caught doing x, with y, you are gone. If they have no "counter" defence to it, then the exploit must be a threat to all online games of this type and not just this one, and no one company has a defence against it.

POKE POKE POKE ...

To Craig, it may be a defamation to publicly expose someone as a cheat. The TOS may not be protective. Simple. The "proof" standard of Kano may not be the same "proof" standard elsewhere. If it was too too low, even you might be gone for "somehow this guy levels so fast" reports, or as Ddraig points to a player with so many hits on someone else. While in that case, while they may not understand it, those hits were and are legitimate as my experience would state. Its not their experience to state that; its just a mighty high number (like how did I get over 1.5 m hits in or others ... ).

Back to POK'n POLISH ... POKE PROD POKE ... unless they have told you to keep it quiet, set it free, and force them to provide a fix or use it to catch the TOS breakers ... And end it.

 

You guys just don't get it. From what I've spoken to different players of different levels in different guilds, we are now at the point that we're starting to think that you just don't want to take action and would prefer we keep funneling cash to you without expecting you to honor the terms of use that you, yourselves, wrote. Period. You don't have to believe me if you don't want to but take a look at the number of players in this game today versus the number of players two years ago. My guess is that a good percentage of those new accounts that you're seeing are alt accounts while the long time players (the ones that built this game) are slowly phasing out. I know at one time, it was unheard of for *me* to go a week or two without playing. Now it happens fairly often. How you've handled the cheats doesn't work for us, anymore. The honest players asked for a hard-line stand a long time ago and you never wanted to do it. Now the game's dying because of it.

I was referring to the instances where actual screen shots have been sent of people literally admitting to being on someone else's account that nothing ever came of it.

I'm referring to the instances where Kano has frozen someone for a week for having a mini yet did nothing to address the primary account.

Those accounts are still active. They've gained thousands of levels of advantages with no repercussions because everyone's figured out that Kano's policy in regards to catching and punishing the cheats is a sad joke and that being frozen for a week is well worth it in order to be able to bank six months or a years worth of coin and levels from it.

I was referring to the people that have made accounts for their families that remain inactive for months at a time except for when that person wants to bounty or slap you with it.

Long time players can tell the difference between organized play and when something just isn't right. I have no problems when I'm caught by a guild after being placed on the bounty list by one of their members. I just assume that they're an organized tactical unit executing a completely valid and effective plan. No big deal. But when they bounty me and a level 3k with 6k bounty kills locks on to me and none of that guild gets a hit in, I'm very suspicious. Or when someone in my guild bounties that person and he's healing so fast that a guild of people that includes a level 11k, 13k, and a couple of 6k's can't knock him down in under a minute only to lose the bounty to some level 1200 with 5k bounty kills.

 

Gone with me

LOL and you would be gone with me Larry. I understand your point though. But I believe alot of people can level fast in the game within the parameters of the rules. It all depends on dedication and wise investment. You, yourself, went on quite a run for abit. But I dont think 15 to 20 levels a day is excessive if you know what you are doing. However, I have noticed a few players that skew this with the large amount of money that have put in the game. Sad fact is they are operating within the rules for the most part.

I still think that once you are caught out as a cheat you lose any right to privacy protection. As to the point of the 7 day suspensions I have come to believe that they have beenn caught engaging in questionable behavior but they are warned. Fair enough. Dont like it but will live with it. I would rather Polish nor put it out there. The dishonesty of some people would have them seize upon it.

Kano, you have every right to administer the game as you see fit. However, once again, I point out that we are all high level players and lets face it, a large part of your revenue stream.

You wanted good stuff. I like Guild wars. Its kinda fun and lets people take hits on people that they normally could not. Think the Arena is pretty cool too. Needs some tweaking but its enjoyable. Missed the last one but I am not staying up to 1 AM. But endorse your policy of rotating start times

 

LOL. They havent told me not to say anything but Im sure they would delete it immediately. More importantly.....I dont want more players to do it.




When I first mentioned it to Kano they said it was not possible, shortly afterwards they said it wasnt supposed to be possible, then they said they would do something about it. This was a very long time ago and nothing has been done. What I can say here though is that it most likely accounts for what most payers think r both attack, healing bots and extreme leveling. I will send u an in game message.

 

Okie ... No more POKE'n to Polish.

I think though the important thing to take from some of this conversation is that some people will do anything to achieve an end. The means is questionable.

The important thing to remember however is that your attitude is the most important thing in playing a game and not to get too sour over what others are doing. Yes, I appreciate very much that a battlefield rival is with you one day, with you able to beat them, then ZAP the next day, they are 200 levels past you and your in their dust. It happens. And the sour feeling sticks. That I don't think the "referee's" of the game understand. They allow the means to be present to exploit by all rapid leveling. A spoiled rich kid or an impoverished shut in can play this game, in however the fashion they like. The fashion tho is under the control of the game developers and owners. They could have chosen economically to limit the opportunity set but they expanded it to suit the "CC" player, v. the overall game economics. They are in business and made a choice. To the developers, you have enabled without cheating the ability to jump amazing levels for the rich kids to beat in some ways the normal game player and the impoverished. Wonderful. To that conversation, this is not meant.

This conversation is about those that will use technical means to get ahead that are breaking the rules.
Mike there does not understand how a high health player can heal. We could never take down Ketil when he was around and guess what his health is? Its enormous! With many methods of healing around, you and your army are not taking me down if I don't want to be taken down. I can prove that anytime I want to just as a level 2000 could stick around for 20 or 30 seconds. If you understand the battle calculation and what you can take off a person with x health, and your attributes, you might be able to understand why that an uberhealth person can heal or the person with little health.

Case in point: I just got listed in FB writing this (TY H the Viking to help make this point). It took 34 attacks to bring me down. I had at least 10 seconds to hit the heal button to regrow my health (one fellow had 9 attacks in 10 seconds). You think I could not find a heal button in 10 seconds? Okay, there were not a lot of high levels in that rivals list but ... say 5 seconds?

But how about "instant" from full health if someone puts an auto click program on or bounty harvester (shrug) and attacks me 65 times per second? I have been blasted out of the list instantly by two players. I know who they are and I know obviously they are using an exploit. But not all the time. Hence I am with the weekend point but to counter that, a server log tells the truth. That is all I will say to this. Kano has the technological means to examine that log in its entirety, back ups, and its a pain in the butt to do (why they say its "work"). There are programs to assist them in this too. I hope they get at the technological cheats so some level 1000 does not take me off the list one day in less than a second either.

Both players BTW were reported to Kano for investigation. If they disappear, too bad. No loss to the spirit of playing a fun game, competitively, with some restraint to keep it fun for all. If they do not disappear and this happens again and again, well, I will know a) they are cheats, and b) they are unable to be detected by the games' owners. To b) I want to know without qualification that it will not be due to money played (a complaint above in theme), it will be technological evidence only lacking due to a cost to detection exceeding the benefits to detection i.e. in that sense, we will know the game is really intended for children to play v. a solid strategy skill challenging social networking game worthy of one's time and theatre money at most (and we are not talking popcorn and a drink too often!).

 

I would think that the forum is a place where players can communicate with Kano in a way that other's in the game can see and add their two cents worth. It seems the opinion or communication was not appreciated and therefore deleted.

I have to agree with all above (and this is not something that makes me happy) but my desire to give my money and time to viking clan is rapidly fading...

 

I have to agree with almost everything that has been said in this thread. It's very heartbreaking to watch long time players leave this game for the exact reasons listed here. I too have come to a point where my desire to give my money and time to viking clan, aka KANO, is fading fast. I see this in all the KANO games but mostly in viking clan. I've made a lot of friends in this game and I'm sure I've made enemies too but seeing the alt accounts and bots work their way up is absolutely sickening. Everyone who has posted here has made very good points that I feel KANO should look into and try to resolve. Otherwise, as several have said, this game is collapsing and losing a lot of valuable players.

 

Once again the discussion turns south as someone takes the opportunity to try to poke and prod a rival. Feel free to point out where I wrote "high level" anywhere.

*IF* you'd have actually read what I wrote instead of jumping half-wittedly into the conversation, you'd have noticed that I used a lower level player getting hit by a GROUP of higher level players and healing faster than their health and defense should allow as an example. Not the inverse. So I guess I'm not the one who doesn't understand what the problem is.

*IF* you have a guilty conscience, feel free to confess but don't try to single me out as your own personal persecutor. This is why I don't respond to you anymore. It never ends well and only gets uglier. I'm trying desperately hard to be a better person. PLEASE don't make me go back. It wouldn't be pretty for anyone involved. Think about it. Thanks.

 

This has been going far too long now in Viking Clan a game that i have been playing now for over three years, in that space of time i have reported like others have different aspects of cheating that i have witnessed in the game, all have fallen on deaf ears, i remember when this game was simple but yet so much more fun. Like other long standing players i have put a lot of time and effort battling my way up in what was back in the day a BATTLE game, i have seen a decline in this game for the last year and a half and it saddens me now that this game has turned into a game of money and BOTS ie those with the money can pay their way to the top without much battling at all, only then to gain power and strength and wreak havoc on everyone else. I know Kano is a business but in my opinion there has been too much added to this game now with just one intenson and that is to make Kano coin, inevitably taking away the ethics of this game.

Finally my time on viking clan is rapidly also coming to an end if this is not rectified and made good, honestly i have had enough, they say cheats. never win, well unless they play a Kano game they do............................... Scoob Warrior Of Odin

 

Battles

Ya Scoob and I had some good ones back in the day. It was a heck of alot more fun. But, the game has changed and we have adapted. Also, even though the so called spoiled rich kids and impoverished shut in's may have skewed the game they have done it with the TOS and griping about it could be construed as sour grapes. For the record I am not impoverished or a shut in. Some people just have to get their shots in even in a civil discourse. The facts, as I see them, is that there are bounty bots and alt accounts. Its none of my business how people spend their money. In fact, the people i see screaming most about it are either the ones who started the trend or are very quietly behind the scenes doing the same thing. But, again, that is within the TOS and rules of the game. Bounty bots, healing bots and alt accounts are not. Therefore, thats where the focus should be. Both Larry and I have pointed out the times that we see those bots come into play and I think it would not be that difficult to watch it. Perhaps giving up that Friday afternoon beer and watching the product. Sorry, kinda of a cheap shot. But, you are marketing a product and we are your customers. Most business models indicate you should listen to your customers. It is very discouraging to see an alt account frozen but the owner of the main account is not frozen too. Just saw an example of that the other day. Went to slap a rival guild and got an account not available message. A few days later the main account appears in the same Guild. What is the rationale for allowing that person to be allowed to continue to play? Makes no sense to me. Well time to go out

Have a good day.

 

I hear ya Craig and i agree totally with everything everyone has said here, we are all together for once on this to rid the game of bots and alt accounts, my grumblings about the money buying strength was more about taking skill away from the game and allow people to buy their power instead of earning it, the lottery seems to be the worst of these scenarios, even a cap on how much one can buy would maybe help.

First things first though the alt accounts and the bot users have to go.