The jig is up.
Star Citizen has had a massive problem with cheaters exploiting systems to get \more in-game currency for months now, but developer Cloud Imperium Games (CIG) has finally addressed the issue and suspended over 600 accounts.
Previously players could get more alpha United Earth Credits (aUEC) through several exploits, the most prevalent being simply duplicating ships to collect more items and aUEC which they could then sell for real money on eBay or elsewhere on the internet. To make matters worse some cheaters didn't actually need to do much on their end thanks to a bug which basically enables players to sell cargo more than once.
"What's particularly annoying is that it almost takes more work to not use the dupe," one player says in a Reddit thread. "It's super frustrating to have to keep storing the C2 at one place and then claim it from another just to try to clear out the "phantom" duped inventory so you can pick up the cargo for the next leg of your travels."
This issue isn't just frustrating for players who have dedicated their own time to getting aUEC the right way: An influx of dodgy money was starting to break the in-game economy. Plus all the duplicated ships were beginning to clutter up servers, which could tank other players' performance.
After a couple of weeks and numerous complaints players finally got an update about said exploits and account suspensions which was posted on a Star Citizen chat forum: "We've completed an investigation into multiple exploits within Star Citizen that compromised stability and negatively impacted the in-game economy," senior director of player relations, Will Leverett says. "Cheating and exploiting undermine the integrity of our game and the efforts of our dedicated backers who help us build Star Citizen. We take these actions seriously and assure you that we are continuously developing additional measures against cheating and exploitation."
Most players are just happy to see CIG do something to remedy the widespread issue, but a few have come up with their own twistedly funny punishments. "They're allowed to keep playing, but they're stuck in a special instanced prison you can't be broken out of and they're forced to keep playing the prison gameplay until they pay back every cent they duped with merits," one player says on Reddit.
Whether or not an account suspension is punishment enough can be left up to debate, but it's good to see CIG do something to try and prevent players from using the exploit further, and hopefully it'll act faster on issues like this in the future. "Identifying, testing, and reporting exploits is acceptable and encouraged," Leverett continues. "We've gained valuable insights through your issue council reports, and we thank you for that. However, once an exploit is identified and confirmed, continued abuse for personal gain will not be tolerated and will result in action on our part."
