Suspicious Scores and Inappropriate Names

[iamltr27]

Suspicious scores:
S200_25 : Madnis

Zen              0:30.7
Ed C**ter    0:47.9
aaaa             0:58.5

[iamltr27]

Suspicious score:
S100_13 : Boazen

Ed Hunter     0:32.2

[iamltr27]

Suspicious score:
S100_80 : Strathdise

nvx     1:26.4

[iamltr27]

Suspicious scores:
S200_110 : Auchiveian

Bricou          1:38.8

[iamltr27]

Suspicious scores:
S200_24 : Ultacon

Zen                     0:31.0
Neho                   0:31.5
Amazing Asian    0:33.4

[Tex]

Thank you for taking time to delete scores that are clearly cheats.  It does take away a significant amount of fun to have scores listed that are obviously cheats, and it's even worse when you're unsure if a score is a cheat or an indication of a great result that you want to spend some time to try and figure out how to beat.  So I truly appreciate you taking them down.

The following are cheats:

Luna:  Tormented Space s200_102:  Razruck: 0:28.3
Zen :  Tormented Space:S2300_33:  Tillyloneorm: 0:32.5
Ed C**ter  :  Tormented Space:S2300_33:Tillyloneorm:  3:28.5. 
Creepa' :  Tormented Space:S2300_175:Stancororm: 0:31.5

However, I notice that Luna, Zen, Ed C**ter, Creepa' and others are frequently reported.  And I notice in playing that they each have posted dozens (if not hundreds of high scores) that are obviously fraudulent.  Some cheaters even compete with each other to post lower-timed fraudulent high scores. (e.g. Tormented Space:S2300_175:Stancororm).  Would it be possible to systematically delete all Zen high scores?  Presuming that Zen is done with his 30 second graffiti spree on the high score lists, it would be easiest to remove all of them (the cheats, the suspicious, and any legitimate ones if he ever did post one) all in one fell swoop.

[iamltr27]

@Tex ...
Nice to see somebody else posting on this thread.
I was starting to feel like a lonely rat  8).

I like your suggestion of sweeping all scores for repeat offenders like Zen & Ed C**ter.  Not sure if it's practical, but I like the thought. 

[ctuna]

Even the early planets have seemingly impossible scores; i.e., Arc Eternal (Abitus - Far York) has 9 scores under 2 minutes. If it's possible to generate enough energy to power 3 nullifiers and keep the creeper low enough to place them, I don't see how. Some of the same players show up in Abitus - Starsync with 9 scores under 2 minutes; again, I don't see how it's possible. Seems like there was a previous situation where we asked players with extremely low times to post videos of their processes, but maybe that was in a tournament situation.

Anyway, I agree it's a good thing to try to eliminate these apparent cheats, and if there are some ways I don't see to create really short times, I'd like to see some of them.

[willbir]

If I understand right it's not possible to beat DMD maps in less then ~45s, if you list the maps by 'most played ever' you'll see dozens of scores well below this.

[abyssoft]

Wow still so much highscore hacking 8(

[iamltr27]

Suspicious scores:
S200_136 : Khanborlet

Mega                     0:33.9

[warren]

How are these scores possible? Are there in game cheats that do not disable the scoring? Or is this done through fake database connections?

PS: Every score better than the one set by Alter Old.

[iamltr27]

PS: Every score better than the one set by Alter Old.

;)

[Tex]

The cheating scores are probably set by using a packet-sniffer to record the posting transaction, and then to replay it after modifying the time.  Nowadays there are free tools and tutorials that do this, making it nearly trivial to post fake scores.  (there are other threads that discuss this, and you can read an example here:  https://blog.netspi.com/hacking-high-scores-in-ios-gamecenter/ or here https://mitmproxy.org/doc/tutorials/gamecenter.html).

But this thread it to report cheaters (of which there are plenty).  Unfortunately, it's difficult to be 100% sure that someone is cheating without a lot of effort.

I'm convinced that "Ed Hunter" and "Ed C**ter" post almost nothing but cheat times, and are probably the same person.  Times like: 

• Ed Hunter:  Prospector Zone:  S100_42: Braymuol: 0:38.5
  Ed Hunter:  Prospector Zone:  S100_13: Boazen: 0:32.2
  Ed C**ter:  Prospector Zone:  S100_0:  Aigues-Mortes:  0:26.0

Are clearly cheats (since you can't even build and charge an emitter in under 45 seconds).

But other ones, like (rwx:  Prospector Zone: S100_124: Auchcorpka: 1:15.1) are harder to makes sense of.  When I first tried that map, it took me over 2 minutes to finish and I thought rwx must be a cheater.  But it's hard to tell because it's not 45.7 seconds.  So I came back to it after getting better at the game and played it again and got 1:15.6.  So I figured out rwx is just really good, and I can use his times to gauge how fast a map can be done. 

[iamltr27]

Suspicious scores:

S200_157 : Coalve
trolol                     0:40.5

S200_9 : Jupnairport
trolol                     4:54.0

S200_7 : Kilnaleport
trolol                     2:57.3