[bf1942] Issues regarding "ranked servers"

[Dave Snodgrass]

They've said forever that our servers will not be allowed to
participate in the ranking system - You're reading the tone correctly.
I gave up on bf2 a lonnnnng time ago.

./d


On 6/4/05, Luke <luke at techfreak.org> wrote:
> I have to say that IF unranked servers = non-EA servers then the tone of
> this 'update' is unbelieveably arrogant. Unranked (non-EA) servers are
> just good places to learn how not to be a n00b??!?!?!?!? Please......
> 
> If this is the case, I will likely boycott hosting the game. This is a
> level of arrogance not seen before. If, however, all admins are allowed to
> choose whether their servers are ranked or not is another story. If we
> have th choice I don't see a huge problem with this structure.
> 
> Luke
> 
> Joe said:
> > Hey guys, check out this load of horse dung!
> > http://www.eagames.com/official/battlefield/battlefield2/us/editorial.jsp?sr
> > c=communityupdate_060305
> >
> > Let me highlight my two favorite parts.
> >
> > "Unranked servers will be the best environment for new players to learn
> > Battlefield 2"
> >
> > "The one thing these will all have in common, however, is the lack of
> > pressure to meet the high standard of play we will expect on Ranked
> > servers
> > (i.e. don't be a nuisance, don't break EA's Terms and Conditions and
> > strive
> > to be a team player). "
> >
> > They expect to shovel the crap onto the unranked servers? Haha? Not sure
> > if
> > I should laugh or sob at this point...
> >
> > And for as much as this hurts and displeases me & my clan, I can only
> > imagine the pain on the GSP end..
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Frode H [mailto:panic at battlefield.no]
> > Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2005 7:21 AM
> > To: bf1942 at icculus.org
> > Subject: [bf1942] Issues regarding "ranked servers"
> >
> >
> >
> > Hi everyone. And a special hi to you, Andreas. I hope you read this!
> >
> > Before I get started, I want to outline the content of this email,
> > since I recognise that it's quite long. As the subject says, this email
> > is about the BF2 ranking system, and more specificially it's about the
> > impact I fear it might have on the BF2 community. I start off with by
> > laying out my concerns, then backing them up, and finally I offer a
> > suggestion as to how the ranking issue could be resolved.
> >
> >
> > As I write this, there is a lot of discussion amongst server operators
> > and community leaders about the impact of the ranking system and the
> > ranked servers. The main concern is that people would prefer ranked
> > servers, and that most players would just leave the "show only ranked
> > servers" server filter in the game browser on. Result? Lots and lots of
> > players will never even see the community servers out there. And in my
> > belief, it's the communities that keep games alive!
> >
> >>From a fellow operator, I've been given word that Dice/EA works under the
> > assumption that many players will prefer unranked servers. Personaly I do
> > not believe this. Give people rank and stats, and they go crazy. And when
> > you add the fact that rank will unlock weapons for you, well, go figure.
> >
> > First I was reading on the various game sites statements about the
> > unlocked
> > weapons not being more powerful, only different. Then I read this preview
> > of a clan trying out the game at Dice's in Sweden:
> >
> >> I had serious problems adapting to the M16, it lacked the ability to
> >> shoot in full-automode and I hated it. I almost felt like hanging myself
> >> when a Chinese soldier killed me for the twentieth time with hill fully
> >> automatic AK. A big fat curse rolled over my lips. Ironically the
> > programmer
> >> who was responsible for weapons balancing was right behind me. When I
> > realised
> >> my reaction he calmly told me that you would be albe to select another
> >> gun
> >> when I got a certain score. Phew, what a relief. I guess when I'm US
> >> I'll
> > go
> >> defend some flags until I'm awarded enough points to switch guns in the
> > assault class.
> >
> > Now, I guess it's time to insert a disclaimer here. From here on and out
> > I will assume that "certain score" refers to the official rank score, and
> > not
> > the player's score during that round on the current map. I will also
> > assume
> > that
> > server operators can't turn unlocking of weapons - and other features that
> > are
> > used as rewards in the ranking system - off. I'll be one happy server
> > operator
> > if I'm wrong, but right now, I'm assuming I'm not. With that said:
> >
> > This is a community server killer! Which again is a community killer!
> > Because
> > this will *surely* guarantee that *everyone* will prefer ranked servers,
> > and
> > the non-ranked community servers will be left out...
> >
> > This is bad for the community, and I am also pretty sure it is bad for
> > Dice
> > and EA in the long run. And "the long run" might easily be as soon as this
> > fall,
> > when BF2 is out of the news, and left to the communities to be kept alive.
> >
> > So first of all, Andreas, could you please release the "specs" of the
> > ranking
> > system, so we could comment on the choises you guys have made. Since this
> > is
> > something that have the potential to greatly affect the communities, I
> > think
> > it's only fair to give us some facts, and hear us out on our comments.
> >
> > But since we allready know about locking of weapons, and since I now
> > assume
> > that the M16 rifle is locked to single-shot until you reach a certain rank
> > point threshold, I will say this: I thinks this is madness! This is
> > creating
> > an
> > uneven battlefield that is newbie hostile. And furthermore it will, as I
> > said
> > earlier, allmost certainly guarantee that anyone serious about their BF2
> > gaming
> > will restrict their playing to ranked servers. Everybody wants the
> > juiciest
> > weapons! Top that with the competitivness of gamers matched with the
> > ranking
> > system, and I'm sure my claim holds.
> >
> > So what I'm getting at, as a server operator and one of the four "board
> > members"
> > of the biggest battlefield community in Norway, Battlefield.no, is that I
> > have
> > grave concerns about how the ranking system in BF2 will affect our
> > community.
> >
> > I was hoping BF2 would be a great boost for us, and we're working hard
> > (even
> > with
> > EA Norway) to get people exited about BF2. We're planning expensive server
> > purchase for kick-ass servers to be put on kick-ass
> > one-hop-from-the-backbone pipes.
> > We're so exited about BF2 that we're close to pissing our pants, and we're
> > hoping
> > we can build a big, vital and friendly BF2 community, where we can all
> > have
> > fun!!
> >
> > But if BF2, out of the box, is designed and set up in such a way as to
> > marginalise
> > community servers, and hence communities, I'm afraid my dreams will come
> > crashing
> > down on me. So I'm literaly begging you: Help us find a solution here!
> >
> > All this might seem a bit dramatic. But I feel it is! Maybe not for my
> > beloved
> > Battlefield.no, since we might actually get to run ranked servers. But the
> > global
> > BF community is mostly put together of small communities of clans running
> > public
> > servers, and they will not be able to run ranked servers. At least not
> > until
> > Dice
> > find a way to allow ranking on all servers. And I suppose BFV showed with
> > all clarity
> > what may happen to a game that has serious issues that aren't addressed
> > VERY
> > QUICKLY.
> >
> > I know you are trying to figure out a way to do it, Andreas. And I know
> > Dice
> > has
> > lots of competent programmers. But just so that I'm not just pissing and
> > moaning
> > here, I'll include some thoughts I've had on how you might go about
> > solving
> > the
> > ranked server issue. Use them for inspiration if you like, or trash them
> > as
> > garbage.
> > Just - please - solve this issue as quickly as you can :-)
> >
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Intro:
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Problem: Secure collection of ranking data from BF2-servers
> > Proposal: Attacking the problem using public key cryptography
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > NB: This is just my first thoughts, and they have not been structured or
> > refined!
> >
> > General assumption: EA wants to make it a server operator's choice to
> > enable ranking on a game server or not. They also prefer to distribute
> > only ONE set of server files, not two. They are also willing to build
> > a system where server operators can register their servers, in order
> > to collect and communicate ranking data from the game servers to the
> > EA ranking servers.
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Collection and transmission of rank data:
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > 1. Collection of rank data:
> > a. Collect ranking data into some data structure during a game round.
> > b. Serialize, compress and encrypt the data (using an "EA pub key") upon
> > round completion.
> >
> > NB: This can also be done at low priority, while the next round starts.
> >
> > Assumption: The threat model does not include server operators hacking
> > into the server memory, and altering the rank data structure. (And this
> > is a sound assumption I would argue.)
> >
> >
> > 2. Transmission of data:
> > a. Sign the encrypted ranking data using the server's private key.
> > b. Trickle the encrypted data to an EA server during the following round.
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Actions by server owner:
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > 1. Preparations:
> > Generate a public key pair, and store them in some files somewhere.
> > Keep the private key secret!
> >
> > Comment: This would not pose a problem for most server operators,
> > and actually it wouldn't compromise the ranking system if a server
> > operator publically announced his private key. It would only mean
> > that that server could not be uniquely identifiable any more, if the
> > operator also announced his account id. This would still not compromise
> > the ranking as such. The point of the server operator's private key
> > is only to identify him.
> >
> > 2. Register servers:
> > a. Register an account with EA.
> > b. Get an account id.
> > c. Register the game server(s).
> > d. Exchange public keys.
> >
> > 3. Setting up the server:
> > a. Insert account id into config file.
> > b. Put the "EA public key" you got from the EA site in a file somewhere.
> >
> > Comment: The point of this is to let EA have some track on who is
> > contributing
> > to the ranking system. This is great in many ways. It let's EA identify
> > the
> > biggest (and most valuable) communities, and it also gives EA the
> > opportunity
> > to implement the rank-logging in such a way that ranking points from
> > spesific
> > servers (and communities) might be revoced completely, if EA suspects foul
> > play.
> > The encryption with the "EA public key" while the ranking stats are still
> > in
> > memory, assures that the server operator can't tamper with the ranking
> > points
> > unless he writes a tool that alters that data structure in the servers
> > memory.
> > And this is hardly a probable attack, in my oppinion.
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Simple protocol proposal:
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Assume you have a blob of compressed ranking data that you need to
> > transmit it to an EA ranking server:
> >
> > 1. Encryption of the ranking data on the game server:
> > a. Query EA for an encrypted, timestamped id.
> > b. Wrap the packet from EA with the compressed ranking data.
> > c. Encrypt the whole thing using the "EA ranking public key".
> >
> > 2. Signing of the ranking data on the game server:
> > a. Wrap the server's account id together with the "EA packet" from 1.a and
> > a hash of the encrypted ranking data.
> > b. Encrypt (sign) this "header" with the server's private key.
> > c. Wrap the signed header and the encrypted ranking data into some
> > structure,
> > and transmit to en EA ranking server.
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> >
> >
> > Ok, very unpollished. I haven't had time for that. I hope you guys can
> > make something out of this, and pitch in with ideas. If it is requested,
> > I'll gladly create a more structured and detaild documentation of my
> > suggestion, if it is wanted.
> >
> >
> > Well, I've written enough to publish a novel by now, so I guess it's time
> > to sign off. I'll keep my fingers crossed that a solution will surface...
> >
> > -Frode
> >
> >
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >  Name: Frode Hommedal
> >  Location: Norway
> >  Day job: VLSI designer and programmer
> >  Site: Battlefield.no [ http://www.battlefield.no ]
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >  International Game Server Operators Association [ http://igsoa.com ]
> > ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> >
> 
> 
> --
> Blessed are the geeks: for they shall inherit the earth.
>