Sam-I-am

Now I have a proof. It was all done using a fake map. The cheater was the host, probably. Whoever is on spot 2 gets an instant map reveal, extra money, can build Soviet + Allied, and doesn't lose when all buildings are destroyed, even if short game is checked. See for yourself... The original map: [8] The Oil In The Center Of The World x2 (FINAL) The fake one: (8) The Oil In The Center Of The World x2 (FINAL) The cheater edited the title slightly, putting (8) instead of [8] and used a different pic, though he didn't have to. Usually there's no difference at all in the title/pic between original and fake. Remember to delete the fake one afterwards. To do that, open Skirmish mode, look in Standard maps, type the name or part of it (in the search bar below), right-click and delete. We need to get rid of cheat maps and those who make them. I suppose the server logs the ID and IP of the original uploader, so if it's confirmed to be a cheat map, it should be deleted from the database, and the uploader should be banned, and if possible, depending on the map's unique hash, it should be blacklisted and automatically deleted if someone else uploads it again, otherwise, if any other player has it and selects it (purposely or by mistake), it would be uploaded to the database again, and further spread to other players, giving an unfair advantage to one over the others. I mean, when you see that it's hosted on CnCNet official server, you get the impression that it's a valid one, but then you realize that the official database is full of cheat maps. Can you imagine how damaging that can be to the reputation of CnCNet? It's like CnCNet is facilitating the distribution of cheat maps. The least that can be done is to make it easier to delete maps (not just in Skirmish), and maybe dedicate a topic in the forum to report cheat maps and warn about cheaters (with proof). Things to be aware of/Recommendations to avoid falling victim to cheaters: 1- If any player has a cheating warning, don't play with them. 2- If the host selects a specific side/start/color on an unofficial map, that is suspicious. You better leave, because they might be cheating. Using a cheat map doesn't give a cheating warning. 3- If the host selects a map that you don't have, which is a version of a clean one that you already have, it's likely that it's a cheat map. Especially if you can't tell the difference. In that case, I'd recommend that you go to the custom maps folder (\Maps\Custom) and delete the one you just got from there (you can sort by date to easily find it). 4- If you suspect someone of cheating, play the map again alone (make sure it's the exact same version), pick exactly what the suspected cheater picked (side, start, color) to know if it's the map that's being used to cheat.

Thanks for reading. ☺️ Yeah, and we can check IDs anytime. 😉 His nicks are logged, so even if he creates new ones, he can be identified.

My turn... I'll tell you what happened. You can take my word for it, or you can ignore me. I have nothing to prove it, but I'm telling you the truth. We were playing OIL for 8 (FFA), some guy attempted a failed rush on me, so I attacked him back, destroyed his MCV and almost everything else he had, but then he started building stuff without MCV! Blatantly, while I was at his base to see it firsthand. He made several Sentry guns (Soviet) and Pillbox (Allied) without having either MCV. I had a Spysat, so I was able to verify that he had no MCV away from his base. That's not all; although I managed to destroy all his stuff; he remained alive/didn't lose! (Short game was on), until he got bored and decided to leave. Mid oil was taken by someone else and all spots were occupied by other players. The best thing is, I know for sure who he is. These are his nicknames: poop (the one he used when we were playing). memo m16 noorman z10m PTX peter amer ppm emaaa polzz If you see any of these nicks, avoid playing with the guy. You don't wanna waste your time with a cheater. GLHF

Hahaha. I guess some people enjoy cheating. ..or they love to play and hate to lose and can't win without cheating. People cheat in all kinds of games (not good people though ).

Or maybe it does verify and warn about different files, but most hosts would let "the suspect" play anyway. How about: if you have different files, you can't join?

Yeah. I noticed that he could see what's under the gaps, but that's not a map hack. It's a general hack, not related to the map itself. BTW, another important point is that there are many fake versions (copies of the same map with the same title and pic but with modifications for cheating). Why is that an issue? Because it's hard to tell real from fake. For example, If you favorite the real one, the fake ones would be added to your favorites as well! Because they have the same title. I mean, even if you're not trying to cheat, you may select the wrong one unknowingly and spread it. So, I suggest the removal of duplicates. If there are newer versions of the map with the exact same title, at least they should have a number or something added to their titles as a marking, to help identify and eliminate cheat maps. If you're not trying to fool others with a cheat map, why would you use the exact same title? Thanks. Seems like he's using a more powerful tool.

BTW, it may be useful to: 1- Ban players who have a cheating warning. 2- Disable side, color and start selection (by the host, not the client). Because some cheats depend on those to work.

I think he sold his stuff by mistake. Maybe he wanted to move the MCV away from the oil rig to save it from the storm, and to repair the reactor, but with the cheat-mode on, it seems that any sellable building you select gets sold, and out of nervousness, he got confused, because he was about to lose (which is a nightmare for a cheater). Thank you for providing evidence.

I'm sure it was Purple. If you watch your clip again, it's quite obvious. Whenever someone attacked him, he immediately used his cheats against the attacker. Green attacked him, destroyed his MCV and the moment he was about to destroy the other MCV, his whole base was gone. He was out, and clearly was forced out. Like @PrezSpammer said; He was arguably the strongest. There was no reason for him to quit like that. I mean, at least he would've used his ready nuke, but Purple used the quit cheat on him before he could use it. The sell cheat wasn't enough. It was more urgent. Then you attack him, he sells your stuff. Teal storms him, he sells his stuff too. Red was playing normally. He had almost nothing, but was still fighting to win, and he just took advantage of the situation. A coward cheater doesn't attack so bravely like Red did, and doesn't search for every crate to promote the few tanks that he had. He seemed like a genuine player, a real fighter, and he was lucky, because you and Teal were much stronger than him (obviously). BTW, Purple being the only one with two techs (especially Yuri) only adds to the suspicion. 😁 Cheaters like that deserve an absolute permanent ban, without parole. 😄

Wow. I've played so many, but not this one. Never heard of it. Looks unique, interesting. Thank you very much!

OK, guys. Thank you for all the good work. I can't blame you for wanting to progress. I guess it's time for me to re-enjoy the good old SNES. Any recommendations? Other than Pac-Man and Tetris. Goodbye CnCNet! ggs.

@Grant A top-tier gaming laptop is on my list to buy, if and when I make a good profit on the crypto market, but as of now, I have $3k realized losses, with no other job, haha. So, wish me luck and keep supporting us, we the XP-using, hard-earning crypto workers for a few more months. Please? Anything short of top-tier is not worth the upgrade. Long live Bitcoin! Hail to the great Bitcoin!

Yeah. I know, but I don't use Discord. Already tried that. Didn't work. I'm using XP. When I run the latest installer, I get this error: Also tried previous installers found on GitHub. Version 8.28 worked, but the installation stopped right before downloading the Microsoft XNA Framework Redistributable 4.0. The later installers didn't run at all (win32 error). I was able to update from 8.28 to 8.31 though (before 8.32 was released) as usual. Everything was fine. So, now that I can't use any of these installers, I used an old installer (v. 8.14.1) that doesn't require downloading the XNA redistributable (which I already have installed), provided earlier by the great @Devo1929. I thought: let's give it a try! Maybe I'd be able to update from an older version (no better option anyway), and now I'm stuck at that version. Can't update, can't play or observe (already crashed 2-3 different games testing), can't even go back to where I was (8.31).

A few days ago, I updated to version: 8.31.0 after skipping a few updates. Since then, I haven't been able to check for updates. Whenever I start the client, I see: "Checking for updates failed! Click to retry". Clicking doesn't make any difference. I tried to force update (using both the Live and Beta channels) and couldn't either. Now I can only join rooms that are compatible with the same version.

When in doubt, simply ask: host there? Based on my experience, if you don't get a reply in a minute, most players in the room (if not all) would take that as a no and leave. When that happens, I invite them to join my room for the same game. No host? I host. No problem!

Make sure you update the client.

Maybe your ally is Easy AI, so if you make him Hard AI, he may attack with you.

Here's my experience... Yesterday, I was hosting, random spots was checked, but one of the players was able to pick a spot. I thought it may be a sync/lag issue, so I waited a couple seconds and it didn't change, until I unchecked and rechecked the option. Not a big deal, but it may be related to what other players are reporting. BTW, although rare, that wasn't the first time something like that has happened, and I don't think it's a very recent issue. I've experienced things like that a few times before the most recent updates.

I think you want to play and not just watch bots fight each other, right? If your ally bot is gonna defend you and beat your enemies, then what would be left for you to do? How about a human ally? GLHF

Hi. If I'm not mistaken, it is a version of Rekoool. I remember playing a Rekoool with exactly what you described; Prism Towers (and anti air) splitting the two sides for a period of time before disappearing or getting deactivated. There are literally hundreds of versions of Rekoool. I don't know the title of that version, but if you can confirm that the one you're looking for is certainly Rekoool, then we can start searching

So glad it did! Pleasure to help.

Being the host, you have total control. If they select it, you can simply change it for them. Auto allying is meant to randomize teammates. If they're gonna pick spots, then what's the point of auto allying? That's just like setting teams/spots manually. It would no longer be random. I mean, If they get to pick spots, you'd already know who's gonna be on which team; that's the regular way of setting teams! No need for auto allying in that case.

Obviously. As the image shows clearly. I just tested it and it works perfectly. It's not gonna work if you have 8 players and only 7 available locations, of course.

I think you should check "Force Random Starts" to disallow players from selecting the blocked location (or any other). Anyway, it's supposed to (randomly), not selected by a player.

I've noticed that many users are having issues due to not updating the client. Apparently they don't think that it's necessary to update, but it is. So, why not make it mandatory? Woudn't that be better? Why ask them if they want to update or not when they're gonna face problems if they don't? I mean, to be able to use the client properly, see all available rooms, play normally without crashes and avoid getting kicked repeatedly for having different files (not updating) which creates a negative experience (especially for new users), the logical thing would be to just update the client automatically everytime a new update comes out (the next time you start the client), because nobody would want to have problems! It only takes a minute or so, and saves you a lot of time asking here and there, searching for answers, posting, reporting, trying to figure out what's wrong.