Forums » General
Introducing "Restricted Mode" account status.
For various reasons which will be explained here, we're adding a new Restricted Mode account setting, which could be automatically applied to certain types of accounts, or manually applied in certain scenarios.
Restricted Mode is basically a system that will allow a user to engage with the game, but is largely "read only" from a chat standpoint, and allows only minimal customization of things like character names and other features that can be read or seen by other players.
Being in Restricted Mode is something that will be overtly and clearly stated to the player; this is not a hidden or behind-the-scenes type of system.
There are a number of cases that could potentially result in Restricted Mode, and more cases will probably evolve over time, but these currently include:
- Players who appear to be operating a client under suspicious circumstances, like a large influx of an automated swarm of fake accounts. This relates to the earlier warnings that game clients arriving via VPN may eventually be degraded to some extent, with similar warnings around suspicious VMs. This does NOT mean we're automatically handling all VM or VPN usage this way, I'm just saying we may compute a "threat level" based on what we find, and make a decision around limiting a given account's access.
- Players who have been administratively Restricted, due to persistent bad behaviour. This could be toxic chat events or other problematic behaviour.
- Players who are under a specific age in certain parts of the world. This is an an emerging legal issue for products like ours, a variety of countries (US states, Brazil, Australia, and others) have passed or are passing laws restricting the ability for under-age players to be able to engage in chat in an online environment.
Restricted Mode is a best-case limitation for allow certain people to continue playing, and an alternative to banning for other people. It gives a way for people to remove the limit:
- Younger users can eventually have the limitation removed as they grow older, which should happen automatically in most cases.
- Toxic players may be able to continue playing, but with the knowledge that they will remain permanently in Restricted Mode unless they're able to justify a permanent change in behaviour to an administrator.
- People using particularly-sketchy VPNs and VMs can be informed and choose to alter how they're playing and potentially have the limitation automatically removed. (This will not be a trivial A/B test that can be used to measure our detection methods).
Restricted Mode has a number of limitations, as one might assume from the name. Please appreciate that many of these restrictions are not "designed" by us, but are becoming explicitly legally mandated. The restrictions include, but are not limited to:
- No ability to send or receive private messages.
- No ability to send chat custom messages of any kind.
- No ability to custom-name characters.
- No ability to custom-name ships.
- No ability to post on the game Forums.
- No ability to use the integrated Voice Chat (either sending or receiving).
- No Buddies may be added. If they already have Buddies, they are retained, but new ones may not be added. Buddy Notes cannot be sent or received.
- No ability to disable the chat bad-language filter.
- If an existing user is changed to Restricted, and is in a guild, they may continue in that guild.
- No ability to join or create guilds.
- No ability to post on the game forums.
- No ability to serve on guild leadership.
Basically, a Restricted user can see see chat on 1/100, system, sector, group and guild (if applicable). They can use "/report" and open Support Tickets. They can still join or create a group.
A remote player will not be able to definitively tell that another user is in Restricted Mode. There will be "tells" that could imply that, but they will be uncertain. Exactly why they're in Restricted Mode will also not be apparent, so people should avoid jumping to conclusions.
We are also potentially adding a new "Quick Chat" system that will likely be permitted for Restricted Mode players, allowing someone to select a pre-canned message to send out on a particular chat-method (like group chat, or sector chat). These predetermined messages will be hardcoded by the game, although there may be a variety that can be chosen-from and added to a small list that's easy to access. The messages will also be localized and translated everywhere, which may be of use to international players as well. Quick Chat messages will have inherent rate limits to prevent spamming, etc.
I don't know if Quick Chat will debut with the initial Restricted Mode implementation, it may be delayed until later.
To be clear, adding this system is a necessity for us, not really an option. There are legal mandates we need to comply with. Operating an MMORPG has become a lot more complicated, of late.
Not every other game studio is pursuing the same kind of strategy, because we all have different games on different platforms with different legal mandates.
Restricted Mode is basically a system that will allow a user to engage with the game, but is largely "read only" from a chat standpoint, and allows only minimal customization of things like character names and other features that can be read or seen by other players.
Being in Restricted Mode is something that will be overtly and clearly stated to the player; this is not a hidden or behind-the-scenes type of system.
There are a number of cases that could potentially result in Restricted Mode, and more cases will probably evolve over time, but these currently include:
- Players who appear to be operating a client under suspicious circumstances, like a large influx of an automated swarm of fake accounts. This relates to the earlier warnings that game clients arriving via VPN may eventually be degraded to some extent, with similar warnings around suspicious VMs. This does NOT mean we're automatically handling all VM or VPN usage this way, I'm just saying we may compute a "threat level" based on what we find, and make a decision around limiting a given account's access.
- Players who have been administratively Restricted, due to persistent bad behaviour. This could be toxic chat events or other problematic behaviour.
- Players who are under a specific age in certain parts of the world. This is an an emerging legal issue for products like ours, a variety of countries (US states, Brazil, Australia, and others) have passed or are passing laws restricting the ability for under-age players to be able to engage in chat in an online environment.
Restricted Mode is a best-case limitation for allow certain people to continue playing, and an alternative to banning for other people. It gives a way for people to remove the limit:
- Younger users can eventually have the limitation removed as they grow older, which should happen automatically in most cases.
- Toxic players may be able to continue playing, but with the knowledge that they will remain permanently in Restricted Mode unless they're able to justify a permanent change in behaviour to an administrator.
- People using particularly-sketchy VPNs and VMs can be informed and choose to alter how they're playing and potentially have the limitation automatically removed. (This will not be a trivial A/B test that can be used to measure our detection methods).
Restricted Mode has a number of limitations, as one might assume from the name. Please appreciate that many of these restrictions are not "designed" by us, but are becoming explicitly legally mandated. The restrictions include, but are not limited to:
- No ability to send or receive private messages.
- No ability to send chat custom messages of any kind.
- No ability to custom-name characters.
- No ability to custom-name ships.
- No ability to post on the game Forums.
- No ability to use the integrated Voice Chat (either sending or receiving).
- No Buddies may be added. If they already have Buddies, they are retained, but new ones may not be added. Buddy Notes cannot be sent or received.
- No ability to disable the chat bad-language filter.
- If an existing user is changed to Restricted, and is in a guild, they may continue in that guild.
- No ability to join or create guilds.
- No ability to post on the game forums.
- No ability to serve on guild leadership.
Basically, a Restricted user can see see chat on 1/100, system, sector, group and guild (if applicable). They can use "/report" and open Support Tickets. They can still join or create a group.
A remote player will not be able to definitively tell that another user is in Restricted Mode. There will be "tells" that could imply that, but they will be uncertain. Exactly why they're in Restricted Mode will also not be apparent, so people should avoid jumping to conclusions.
We are also potentially adding a new "Quick Chat" system that will likely be permitted for Restricted Mode players, allowing someone to select a pre-canned message to send out on a particular chat-method (like group chat, or sector chat). These predetermined messages will be hardcoded by the game, although there may be a variety that can be chosen-from and added to a small list that's easy to access. The messages will also be localized and translated everywhere, which may be of use to international players as well. Quick Chat messages will have inherent rate limits to prevent spamming, etc.
I don't know if Quick Chat will debut with the initial Restricted Mode implementation, it may be delayed until later.
To be clear, adding this system is a necessity for us, not really an option. There are legal mandates we need to comply with. Operating an MMORPG has become a lot more complicated, of late.
Not every other game studio is pursuing the same kind of strategy, because we all have different games on different platforms with different legal mandates.
Sounds like a pretty ****in' level headed/pragmatic solution to an otherwise difficult problem.
The canned/translated messaging is a fuckin' brilliant/elegant solution can't wait to see what comes of it.
The canned/translated messaging is a fuckin' brilliant/elegant solution can't wait to see what comes of it.
Thank you for the ironically foul-mouthed endorsement of a system that stems, in part, from a need to filter our public-facing language :).
We'll see how it goes. It'll be a work-in-progress, as all the legal parameters are moving pretty fast. But, hopefully it'll be a reasonable solution that's still feasible for a smaller studio like us.
We'll see how it goes. It'll be a work-in-progress, as all the legal parameters are moving pretty fast. But, hopefully it'll be a reasonable solution that's still feasible for a smaller studio like us.
I spent a few cumulative years in the oilfield and doing construction in the midwestern provinces; I'm too far gone man!
To say you gotta do what you gotta do is a understatement right now. Particularly with the legal stuff since some governments want to say that they want to "protect the kids and all" but ahhh as the guy who well we all know what I did cough cough, near year long mute ..... I hate to say it I'm with spidey. But I'll just say it governments should royally stay out of people's lives But inc you got to do what you got to do in these particularly difficult issues.
I support whatever you think is needed Inc.
Long term it will be interesting to see the extent to which globally politicians manage to control internet public access for their own benefit with the excuse of "protecting" people.
Mind you, I'm old, I might not see the end of it all.
Long term it will be interesting to see the extent to which globally politicians manage to control internet public access for their own benefit with the excuse of "protecting" people.
Mind you, I'm old, I might not see the end of it all.