this post was submitted on 24 Sep 2024
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Rockstar Games' servers have been under heavy fire from massive DDoS attacks in recent days, causing widespread login and connectivity issues for players of GTA Online. These attacks come in the wake of Rockstar’s recent implementation of BattlEye, a new anti-cheat system designed to crack down on in-game cheating, sparking backlash from a segment of the player base. Protesters, unhappy with the new system, have resorted to using distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to disrupt the servers, escalating tensions between the gaming giant and its community.

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[–] [email protected] 304 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (4 children)

According to Mutahar:

  1. The Anti Cheat has already been bypassed by a free cheat menu on Windows.

  2. He's fairly sure he has figured out some kind of way to temporarily bypass (as in, it'll probably get caught in a few weeks) the linux block by some kind of custom virtualization method (requiring only one GPU) that he says he may explain in detail at some point.

In general, he's done with playing GTO.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eMSagozpKPs&pp=ygUSbXV0YWhhciBndGEgb25saW5l

But yeah, obligatory reminder for BattleEye and EasyAntiCheat games that refuse to allow linux play:

All these game devs have to do is flip a switch, click a few options in their developer portals, to allow BattleEye or EAC to work on linux, through Proton.

And its been that way for 3 years, since 2021.

There is literally no reason for games that use these services to not work on linux, the devs just don't fucking care.

[–] [email protected] 148 points 2 months ago (18 children)

Some devs sure do fear linux users.

[–] [email protected] 74 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (3 children)

It feels like it's part and parcel with an overall, growing trend in software to be openly hostile to any system wherein the user has proper admin rights.

Because the potential for someone to use those rights to fuck with the software merits refusing to support systems where they can.

Further entrenching the notion that, to participate in a "modern" consumer software environment, the user must agree to be handcuffed on their own hardware.

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[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Dont blame developers. It's never developers that make decisions. It's the management, the shareholders, the project manager, the product owner, the whatever-mba-dipshit on top. But never the developers. They just execute and comply and if they refuse, they're let go. A developer is a fleshy code printer. A resource. They don't have real power. They're a factory worker. Remember that. Don't blame the worker, blame the boss.

Source: i'm a professional software developer.

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[–] [email protected] 148 points 2 months ago (7 children)

If I played any Rockstar games, I'd be unhappy with their new anti-cheat too, since it needlessly blocks linux, but this isn't the way this should be protested. If anything, this probably validates their decision.

The way this should be protested is to just stop playing. Stop giving them money. Stop boosting their month active user numbers that they can flaunt to investors. Hit them financially, since it's the only hit they really care about. There's a sea of other high-quality games you can play instead.

[–] [email protected] 83 points 2 months ago (2 children)

I did this with Blizzard/Activision years ago.

Zero impact.

[–] [email protected] 59 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Keep it up. There's dozen(s) of us?

[–] [email protected] 21 points 2 months ago (1 children)

There's dozen(s) of us?

Dozen(s?) Denial Of Service attack

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[–] [email protected] 50 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (6 children)

Gamers and still buying the same old tired shit while bitching about it, name a more…

You’re absolutely right. The number of great games to play is absurd and the access to them has never been better but for some reason most people just play mediocre games that should have been put out to pasture years ago.

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[–] [email protected] 32 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I've read that Steam is accepting refunds for GTAV - I'd recommend anyone who bought it there refund it.

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (6 children)

Have you tried not buying something in protest? If so have you noticed they keep selling it anyway and you have no alternative? Not giving them money isn't enough.

I'm not a fan of DoSA as it's rather strongarm but at least this actually sends a message to them AND other users.

I'm not interested in having to fight anti-features to play what I paid for, but at least circumventing it sends a message.

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[–] [email protected] 107 points 2 months ago (1 children)

The fact that it’s a top 10 seller on steam deck for years and they just fucked over everyone on Linux, they deserve it. We all paid them and they completely screwed all of us. I feel so cheated. I only run Linux and I have a steam deck. I left a bad review on steam and I contacted their support from all my rockstar accounts, but it’s not enough. Battleye is compatible with Linux, they just had to send an email, but rockstar keeps lying that it’s not compatible.

[–] [email protected] 31 points 2 months ago (6 children)

Even if it's not compatible, "ok then where's my damn refund?"

Basically theft, really.

[–] [email protected] 19 points 2 months ago (5 children)

You can request a refund. An earlier post last week said they are offering refunds for rug-pulled players.

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[–] [email protected] 83 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (11 children)

Stop making every fucking game and open world mmo wanna be. Bring back single player with couch co op or make private lobby setups so we don’t have to fuck with every douche who wants to make everyone else’s life as sad as their own. I’m a big GYA fan but have refused to buy for this specific reason. Have almost given in repeatedly but just go watch some YouTube’s on it and it reminds me not to contribute to this shit every time.

[–] [email protected] 44 points 2 months ago (1 children)

If a game offers multiplayer, they should also offer a dedicated server that people can setup for themselves.

For MMOs, they can make the servers optionally federated.

[–] [email protected] 38 points 2 months ago

This relates closely to the EU Initiative from https://www.stopkillinggames.com/

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[–] [email protected] 83 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Can't release a sequel or single player update in a decade - can impose cheat engines. Something about a surprised pikachu when they get flak

[–] [email protected] 81 points 2 months ago (9 children)

Articles a joke since it doesn't mention that the people pissed off are the linux players. Not the cheaters but the linux users.

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[–] [email protected] 79 points 2 months ago (9 children)

Couldn't we avoid all this by giving players the option to host and moderate their own servers?

[–] [email protected] 35 points 2 months ago

That would lose a ton of profits!

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[–] [email protected] 67 points 2 months ago (13 children)

Don't buy games with invasive user-side anti-cheats that hamper performance, and demand refunds on any game that adds it after purchase.

I don't understand why this is so hard for people. If everyone gave a shit, we could end this. But instead, people would rather just complain while still forking over the money to these companies.

There are so many good indie games without this kind of bullshit. We have better choices.

[–] [email protected] 98 points 2 months ago (4 children)

They implemented this 10 years after the game's release. It's harder to vote with your wallet at that point.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 2 months ago (9 children)

and demand refunds on any game that adds it after purchase.

The way I see it, adding it, even this late, is changing the terms of the agreement and thus justification for a refund. Steam will often see it that way too if you word it as such. And if not, hell, you can still badger the publisher for a refund incessantly so at least it still costs them the equivalent in man hours even if you don't get the refund. The point is not to be passive, even if we don't get to win every single battle.

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[–] [email protected] 60 points 2 months ago (11 children)

I bought Red Dead Redemption for myself and three friends, super excited about the game, the lore. I had never spent that much money on a game.

We all played through the single player tutorial, and finally into the open world. We meet up and begin exploring and trying to complete quests when suddenly one of us just ... drops dead.

Then another is hit by a meteor and caught on fire?

I am thrown up into the sky.

An alien ship?! Appears and messes with us for a while. I try begging in pub chat for the hacker to please leave us so we can play, which seems to goad them further. This continued for an hour.

A quick look around the internet told us that this was par for the course for RDR and GTA and Rockstar couldn't/wouldn't do anything about it.

We ended up refunding all the games through steam. Sad times.

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[–] [email protected] 59 points 2 months ago

This is actually really effective as a form of protest. From a business perspective, Rockstar probably won't roll anticheat back, but future companies will assess it as part of the risk when looking to add AC

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