Hello folks,
Our Xime Anti-Cheat (XAC) system was created to make hackers disappear from the network quickly, easily, and flawlessly. The automated system checks for a number of different hacks, using methods varying from simple checks to complicated tests. Those same complicated tests were made in a manner such that regular players would be highly unlikely, if not impossible, to achieve without the help of a hack. The testing for XAC proved to be very successful, both in concept and in practice. We were confident enough in the accuracy of the system that we allowed XAC to automatically permanently ban players once XAC had detected that they were hacking.
However, it has recently come to our attention that XAC has sometimes been too strict with a subset of its tests. After meeting rare sets of circumstances, XAC could erroneously believe that a non-hacking player is guilty of hacking due to its hack-detection tests being accidentally triggered. This has resulted in a small number of players who have been accidentally banned as a result of this bad luck.
In response to this, Chad and the Developers have augmented certain aspects of the XAC system to be more accurate, compensating for complicating factors such as lag and connectivity. This ensures that the system can continue to keep hackers out while enabling innocent players more much leeway before they accidentally get flagged as a hacker.
Furthermore, we have reviewed the extent of the XAC bans that may have been affected. The players who have been affected by this false-positive bug have been unbanned from our system.
Do note that not everyone has been unbanned: a vast majority of players detected by XAC were successfully tested for hacks and thus deserve to be banned. However, if you are an innocent player who was banned by the XAC system unfairly between XAC's update (late June) and this post (July 10th), you are free to post a Ban Dispute. The Sr. Staff will consider each dispute on a case by case basis to determine whether there is a reasonable-enough doubt in your playing history to unban you.
We would like to extend our apologies for that inconvenience, but we are glad to see the matter resolved. But we would also like to thank the community for their patience with us during this tumultuous time. This was an unfortunate occurrence, but thanks to successful reporting and information gathering on behalf of our players, we were able to quickly respond and address the matter.
And that's eXACly what we want to achieve.
(Did I just actually say that? I think I need a cold shower now...)
