Valve Uses over 1,700 CPUs to Catch CS:GO Cheaters

[btarunr]

Valve was one of the first to run a centralized game distribution + multiplayer service, through Steam, and its in-house alternative to the Punkbuster anti-cheating software, in the form of VAC (Valve Anti-Cheating). Over the years, VAC has evolved to leverage newer technologies. Its latest avatar is VACnet, an AI deep-learning system built up of over 1,700 CPUs, to more intelligently sniff out cheaters. VACnet leverages CS:GO's player-operated replay system. It studies replays of players who have been reported for cheating, and studies their replays for patterns of cheating, such as wallhacks, aimbots, and more.

What makes this different from previous approaches to the problem is that the AI evaluates the behavior of the gamer through their inputs in a way only a human could, before this. It also makes up its own criteria for spotting cheaters, as it learns more about cheating, so creative and new cheaters are quicker to spot. The decision to suspend or ban players ultimate falls in the hands of humans. VACnet sniffs out the most probable cheaters, and reports its findings to human moderators that determine guilt, and hand out suspensions or bans. VACnet has the potential to increase "convictions" of cheaters by close to four fold.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[megamanxtreme]

No problems there if they have the spare cash.
Either way, good on them.

 

[ZoneDymo]

HL3 confirmed?

 

[RejZoR]

1700 CPU's to detect cheaters, yet they still can't make absolutely garbage hit registration any better.

 

[ShurikN]

They are either using 486 processors or their software is garbage, as the amount of blatant cheaters I get in Overwatch cases is shamefully high.

 

[Vayra86]

They are either using 486 processors or their software is garbage, as the amount of blatant cheaters I get in Overwatch cases is shamefully high.

Since when is Overwatch run by Valve? And if anything, Blizzard games are probably the most adequately secured and curated with regards to cheating...

 

[ShurikN]

wow...
http://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/overwatch/

 

[INSTG8R]

wow...
http://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/overwatch/

I take back my down vote but he was right in his assumption without that link I and anyone else not familiar with the goings on of the CS community would make the exact same post...

 

[Vayra86]

wow...
http://blog.counter-strike.net/index.php/overwatch/

Wow. Context. Thanks!

HOWEVER Overwatch as I read it is in no way related to VAC. Its a separate system and the reports you get served as a member are not at all generated by those 1700 CPUs.

So, please don't act smart

 

[ShurikN]

Wow. Context. Thanks!

HOWEVER Overwatch as I read it is in no way related to VAC. Its a separate system and the reports you get served as a member are not at all generated by those 1700 CPUs.

So, please don't act smart

I does. Because if VAC was working as intended you wouldn't have to report people or encounter blatant wallhacking, aimbots, spinbots, triggerbots and bunny-hopping scripts in overwatch.
I play CSGO a bit less than it's release. I know what I see every day in Overwatch, I know what I encounter every other day in Competitive, and every day in Casual.
Clearly you don't, if you did, you would know what overwatch is. So why do you think you are competent to discuss CSGO and it's cheating/anti-cheating?

Edit

i still see this type of stuff every other day on average. Those 1700 cpus working their magic.

 

[Vayra86]

I does. Because if VAC was working as intended you wouldn't have to report people or encounter blatant wallhacking, aimbots, spinbots, triggerbots and bunny-hopping scripts in overwatch.
I play CSGO a bit less than it's release. I know what I see every day in Overwatch, I know what I encounter every other day in Competitive, and every day in Casual.
Clearly you don't, if you did, you would know what overwatch is. So why do you think you are competent to discuss CSGO and it's cheating/anti-cheating?

Of course you would still encounter them. If any company had a perfect anti-cheat there would never have been an issue in the first place. This is not isolated in any way to CS:GO you see it everywhere.

Not once did I say I feel competent with CS:GO's anti cheat... I think that is clear and the only reason is because CS:GO is a game with lots of people with stinky attitudes, that I try to stay far away from.. (read between the lines here...). But I cán read, and I do know quite a few things about online gaming and cheating in general, and Overwatch is just a 'Valve way of doing a service' (read: saving money on their own mods), it has no relevance with regards to how well VAC works or doesn't work. In fact, this is what a learning process and AI is all about: constant training. Nowhere, in any situation is any number of CPUs a guarantee for accuracy in abstract matters.

For example, for Dota 2 it (VAC) is incredibly effective on its own.

 

[ShurikN]

Like I said, you need to play CSGO for a long time and experience everything chronologically to fully understand the crap that is VAC in CSGO and all the "promises" Valve makes/made about it.

 

[Vayra86]

Like I said, you need to play CSGO for a long time and experience everything chronologically to fully understand the crap that is VAC in CSGO and all the "promises" Valve makes/made about it.

No, its the same everywhere honestly. Cheaters versus anti-cheat is a constant battle just like the one between scene groups and publishers of games.

Referring to Blizzard, but also to for example games like The Division: only with dedicated in-house moderation and banwaves to put the scare in people, can you get real success. Or your game's code is designed in such a way that you simply do everything server side. Both options are costly, and eat into a game's profit margin. That is all this is... Overwatch and these CPUs may show merit but they will only do so after having been in place for a loooong time. Perhaps even too long for CS:GO itself.

 

[ShurikN]

There is no battle in CSGO, 90% of the time VAC doesn't work, and most is left to Overwatch.

 

[Vayra86]

There is no battle in CSGO, 90% of the time VAC doesn't work, and most is left to Overwatch.

Alright. Let's follow this line of reasoning keeping in mind the Valve slides in the OP.

This whole thing is built as a constant process, so if 'Overwatch' is supposed to do the 'feeding', how come people can still cheat and it is still rampant in CS:GO? That only happens because that circle you see, really doesn't exist, the constant feedback loop is simply not there. Valve is just outsourcing work and AI is a great excuse to hide that, because nobody really knows when it should actually pay off.

The problem isn't VAC, its CS:GO and the way it is coded, plus a total lack of in-house moderating. To leave it to players and feed those players with edge cases from VAC says nothing about VAC and everything about Valve's approach. You may very well be right that VAC doesn't work for CS:GO, but saying VAC is shit because of that is jumping to conclusions when it does prove effective in other titles.

 

[ShurikN]

Well i did clearly say Vac in CSGO, and this is a CSGO related article, of course I'm limiting myself to CS when bashing Vac.

 

[Jism]

AI will make false hits. Guarantee you this.

 

[cadaveca]

AI will make false hits. Guarantee you this.

Which is why the actual moderation is done by actual people, and not the AI.