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Combatting Hacking in Dead by Daylight: Let's Discuss Solutions Together

quikz
quikz Member Posts: 5
edited March 8 in General Discussions

Hey everyone,

I've been a dedicated Dead by Daylight player for quite some time now since i came back to the game in 2022, clocking in a total of 1,177.8 hours till date. While I know that might not seem like much compared to some veterans, it's still a significant investment of time into a game I love.

However, lately, I've been feeling incredibly frustrated, especially when playing as a Killer. It seems like every time I enter a match, I encounter hackers who exploit the game with no regard for fair play. Despite my hours put into the game, I find myself struggling against these cheaters, and it's seriously impacting my enjoyment of Dead by Daylight.

What's even more infuriating is that these hackers often keep their profiles hidden, both in-game and on Steam, making it incredibly difficult to track them down and hold them accountable. It feels like they're able to run rampant without any consequences.

I'm reaching out to the community to see if others are experiencing the same frustrations and if anyone knows if the developers are actively addressing this issue. Are they aware of the rampant hacking problem? What steps are they taking to combat it?

I understand that my plea might seem like just another voice in the crowd, but I genuinely hope that by raising awareness and pressing the developers on this matter, we can push for real change. Dead by Daylight is an amazing game, but it's disheartening to see it marred by hackers.

Let's come together as a community and demand action so that we can all enjoy the game we love without the constant threat of cheaters ruining the experience.

Thanks for listening.

Post edited by JocelynAwakens on

Comments

  • xltechno
    xltechno Member Posts: 1,026

    Yes, even in my area, the number of cheaters from certain countries has increased to the point where everyone is warning each other not to match with anonymous. The anonymous feature was a bad mechanism that allowed cheats to be used effectively. Everyone hates it.

  • ArkInk
    ArkInk Member Posts: 736

    It would be great if BHVR'S notoriously awful anti-hack was tuned up. How much money is being poured into the cosmetic and licencing departments while such basic technical insecurities remain unfixed?

    Also, you might want to consider changing the title of the post if you want to reach more people. Urging a developer response in titles, especially while being brand new, generally leads to people writing you off.

  • quikz
    quikz Member Posts: 5

    It's unfortunate that the anonymous feature has been exploited by cheaters. While anonymity can shield players from toxicity, it shouldn't come at the cost of fair play. Hopefully, developers can find a better solution to address both concerns.

  • quikz
    quikz Member Posts: 5
    edited March 8

    Improving the anti-hack system should indeed be a priority for a fair gaming experience. Allocating resources to address technical issues is crucial.

    Thank you for the advice. I'll make some adjustments for the title to be more constructive and engaging.

  • quikz
    quikz Member Posts: 5

    I completely understand your frustration. Hacking not only disrupts gameplay but also undermines the integrity of the entire experience. It's essential for the developers to address this issue promptly to ensure a fair and enjoyable gaming environment for everyone. Your analogy with the restaurant is spot on – players deserve to know what measures are being taken to combat cheating in the game.

  • Nick
    Nick Member Posts: 1,241

    I've had a quite obvious speedhacker two days ago. Reported the person in-game, clipped the game, added an ingame screenshot, filed a report at the dbd customer service including clip+screenshot. Received an email back + report feedback that action has been undertaken.

    The thing is, this player was extremely bad and the cheating was quite obvious. I've spectated a game once playing survivor after I had died and saw a fellow survivor fly towards generators when far away from the killer. Now how would you prove that as killer player? Only reason I could see that is because I was spectating and the cheater either forgot or simply didnt care.

    A very obvious helping tool would be a replay function where you can rewind the whole match and view the game from all perspectives, maybe even a freecam function. But this is probably not possible with this engine/code they have. Would elevate the game an insane amount though

  • 09SHARKBOSS
    09SHARKBOSS Member Posts: 1,368
    edited March 8

    i once played a game with an obvious cheater who started opening the gates at 5 gens and no clipped as well as insta healed me and my teammates

    i started working with the killer to get him killed but i was the only one that died

  • Bafugaboo
    Bafugaboo Member Posts: 406

    Kernel level anti-cheat. Easy fix

  • Shroompy
    Shroompy Member Posts: 6,715

    Its not necessarily that simple, its essentially them building a wall but the cheaters find a way to jump over it. BHVR can and do continue to make that wall higher and higher, but the cheaters still find ways to hop over it.

    Its a constant battle of attrition that isnt exclusive to DbD. Devs fix an insecurity, and then cheaters find another way.

  • CountOfTheFog
    CountOfTheFog Member Posts: 2,411

    They have numerous accounts. They're not bad at cheating, they want it to be obvious. One account gets banned, they have 20 more ready to go.

  • mugi
    mugi Member Posts: 54

    Even though I was using the anonymous feature, someone knew my name. I thought the game was bugged, but it turned out he was cheating. That experience was eerie.

  • edgarpoop
    edgarpoop Member Posts: 8,391
    edited March 8

    I can't go super deep into the technical side without breaking every forum rule, but there are multiple components in play. EAC is just one piece, and it mostly does its job. Where DbD is extremely lacking is in sanity-checking game files, engine.ini in particular, and the actual packets sent between the client and server.

    Post edited by edgarpoop on
  • TerraEsram
    TerraEsram Member Posts: 671

    No.

    And Valorant is an exemple for that

    Since somes hackers have the source code from DBD (thank's for the fail of the 3.0.0 or 4.0.0) if, behavior make an kernel anti cheat, cheater can use that for attacking at the core kernel computer from other people

  • CountOfTheFog
    CountOfTheFog Member Posts: 2,411

    The menu screen they have is creepy. The fact they know your platform is crazy.

  • CountOfTheFog
    CountOfTheFog Member Posts: 2,411

    I wish they would allow console to console crossplay without PC. At least until this is under control.

  • Spirit_IsTheBest
    Spirit_IsTheBest Member Posts: 1,043

    They should add hardware bans, that would solve a lot of problems.

  • TerraEsram
    TerraEsram Member Posts: 671

    Yep, seriously

    If a hacker got ban, he just take another account

  • drsoontm
    drsoontm Member Posts: 4,903
    edited March 8

    The solution is simple: server-side validation.

    Of course servers must not be made of cardboard.


    There is no other way.


    And what I mean is that cheaters should be kicked from the match as soon as they do something wrong. They can have a million account for all that matters. One impossible move : out.

  • drsoontm
    drsoontm Member Posts: 4,903
    edited March 8

    Oh sweet summer child ...

    I'll spare you the details (because it's probably not a good idea to do so) but no.

    Same : doesn't work.


    There is one rule in security: the server is always right. They can cheat all they want, if their action is invalid and flagged they are out.

  • TerraEsram
    TerraEsram Member Posts: 671

    This solution can be a problem, no? If the cheater modify the other survivor or the killer, the server can think that they cheat, and not the actual cheater, or I'm wrong?

  • drsoontm
    drsoontm Member Posts: 4,903
    edited March 8

    I've stopped doing that since that match where two obvious teleporters I reported with a video weren't banned after the ticket was closed. (I've kept their steam IDs, I could check.)

    I think that's also when my interest for the game dropped significantly.

    I was contemplating playing a match or two today (it has been almost a month and I've been playing a couple of hours every hours for a while now) but just watching this thread has dissuaded me from doing so.

  • drsoontm
    drsoontm Member Posts: 4,903

    No because the server knows what packet/message comes from what client. So if an order has been given to do "bad" to the server, that person can immediately be flagged.

    (This assumes the IP of a client is never given to another. That should never occur in a sane world.)

    Also, in case of doubt, they can keep statistics per account to aggregate this kind of shenanigans.

  • TerraEsram
    TerraEsram Member Posts: 671
    edited March 8
  • drsoontm
    drsoontm Member Posts: 4,903

    Especially since that kind of AC is basically worthless against organised cheaters.

  • TerraEsram
    TerraEsram Member Posts: 671

    I know that "kernel anti cheat" is just one of the worst idea possible for a multiplayer game, and we get lot of example of that where it just go wrong


    But, know that you say that, did Behavior talk about the same idea than your's one times on a live?

  • drsoontm
    drsoontm Member Posts: 4,903
    edited March 8

    I wouldn't know. I'm usually taking updates as text on this site.

    If they did, that would be good news.

    edit:

    And they probably know it's the best solution. It's pretty basic knowledge, at least for people working in this field. It's just more costly than "dumb" servers. (More computations, more power/servers needed.)

  • BlackRabies
    BlackRabies Member Posts: 943

    Discussing about how to improve security and combat hacking on a public forum isn't really a smart thing. It's just giving the hackers. "Hey they're gonna be doing this and improve that. Thanks for the heads up on what we need to break now." It's better just to leave it to the devs themselves behind closed doors and doing the mass ban wave every month or so.

    Banning the cheaters too quickly just tells them or give them a good idea what triggered the ban and they can work around it. A monthly or so mass ban wave makes it far more difficult for them to figure out why and screws them over which we all would want.

  • drsoontm
    drsoontm Member Posts: 4,903

    It doesn't matter one bit. Security by secrecy has always been considered pretty weak.

    And if the devs go with a server-side solution, no amount of preparation will help them.

  • ArkInk
    ArkInk Member Posts: 736

    This is definitely true, but I still feel like DBD has been extremely poor in regards to it's security between instances of hackers giving themselves unfair advantages and ddos attacks. It's like how if you lock your door, people can still break in, but people who leave their doors wide open are still more likely to be broken into. BHVR is making itself an easier target by leaving these issues unaddressed.

  • JocelynAwakens
    JocelynAwakens Member, Administrator, Mod, Co-ordinator Posts: 1,672

    Closing this topic; this thread has a lot of potential to go too deep.

This discussion has been closed.