Today we would like to let you know about the next step in continuing to restrict the use of bots.
We want to state clearly from the beginning that we DO NOT tolerate the use of any third party software!
As we already announced, we will not only take severe action against those operating third party accounts, but from now on, we will also be more actively blocking accounts where we can prove bots are being used.
Over the last few weeks, we have received tips from you that certain bots have become increasingly widespread.
For this reason, we have significantly improved our bot recognition software and are now in the position to also identify bots that until now, we only had a limited ability to detect. We will put this knowledge to good use and today begin more actively blocking players who are identified as bot players.
What exactly does that mean?
Firstly, we are already carrying out a broad screening of our players. We will use this as a basis to begin blocking bot players to a greater extent from today on. This is the start of an increase to our regular screenings, which we have been carrying out anyway for a long time.
Secondly, in the future we will put the top ranked players in selected events through an additional screening process; this check should serve as a clear signal that we want more fairness and equal opportunities.
However, that's not enough: We will also continue to embrace additional technical measures to help deprive bot software of its livelihood.
We of course will not disclose further details of the screening criteria and technical approach, not even upon request.
What are the consequences?
The penalties for using bots are common knowledge and remain valid - without exception - for all players:
First violation: 12 hour account block
Second violation: 24 hour account block
Third violation: 72 hour account block and a last warning that the account will be irrevocably blocked upon the next violation
Fourth violation: The account will be irrevocably blocked
As you know, we reserve the right to skip some steps or block accounts immediately and irrevocably in case of particularly serious violations.
We know from your feedback that these measures are appropriate. We are confident that this will help keep our game attractive to everyone.
At this point, we'd like to thank you for all your tips so far in the battle against the bots. These really help us to improve our analyses and curb the use of bots in the long term in order to improve fairness and equal opportunities.
If you want to support us further in this battle, feel free to send us any tips or suggestions to [email protected].
Thank you very much!
Your Empire Team
Dear Community,
As you already know, and as stated in our previous post, we started to take actions against the usage of third party software.
Today we want to provide you with a short follow-up on the current situation, since we received a lot of questions about it.
With yesterday’s ban wave we were able to suspend several thousand users worldwide. The suspension times (12h, 24h, etc.) were depending on earlier occurrences of bot using, so we are following our banning rules and considering previous bans.
Still (and unfortunately), we cannot share further information about the bot banning criteria and hereafter we will not answer any questions or rumors regarding this. Any details that we give out on detection criteria will only help the bot providers to make their software “invisible”, that’s the reason why we haven’t (and won't) give out any details on the criteria that led to the bot ban. We hope you will understand.
Furthermore, sending additional queries to our support team, stating that you did not use a bot (as recommended by some bot providers) will not influence or redeem the bot banning decision as our bot detection is accurate. Also, as announced above, we will continuously increase the efficiency of our criteria and right now even a restricted usage of bot functionalities can be discovered. The next steps will start as planned:
We will put the top ranked players in selected events through an additional screening process;
We will also continue to embrace additional technical measures to help deprive bot software of its livelihood.
We will further improve the detection criteria
We would like to thank you for the feedback and the positive reactions on all our channels and also via [email protected].
So, keep on fighting, the victory is already on the horizon!
Your Empire TeamHello everyone,
As you all know, we went to war against third-party-tools last Monday. Several battles have already been fought and we want to ride straight into the next one!
Today, Thursday 04.05.2017, we initiated the next wave of bans against bot programs and their users. Some players were facing their second violation and their ban period was extended to 24 hours.
After our first strike on the 24th of April a lot of players already stopped using third-party-tools but if you want to support us further, feel free to send any tips or suggestions to [email protected] Together we will prevail in this war against the bots!
Thank you very much!
Your Empire Team
Also pretty much everything ang already said :P
Greetings warriors,
Today we entered the battlefield with new weapons and shields. We have put in place new criteria to detect the bot programs that gave some unacceptable advantages to some players.
As you can see we are continuously improving our bot detection system and it shows good results as some players have already been banned today due to this new criteria.
Furthermore, we don’t want these players to affect the BATTLE OF NATIONS, therefore they will be excluded from its Rankings. This means you might see some changes in the next rankings of this event.
By improving our conditions for fair-play, we aim to enhance your gaming experience in Empire. This is why we won’t stop this war and we expect some permanent losses from the enemy side this time around!