www.youtube.com I've created a short video explaining the issue.
I'm posting this here as I've opened a few tickets but I'm never getting a human response. I'm hoping the balance council or someone of relevance will see this post.
Last year in November I started experiencing an error message " A player you were matched with has left the game or disconnected from the service. "
Fast forward to now (about a year later) I've discovered that players are using a program called " SC2 Server Blocker " as a tool to prevent games from being started. You can refer to this thread on TL for further information https://tl.net/forum/starcraft-2/567332-server-blocker
Due to a UI failure on Blizzards side, when you set your server preference the function ceases to work once you get promoted to master league. Naturally this is going to create a lot of frustration for players when they sit down to play SC2 if they're < quite actually > being forced to play in 200 ~ 400 ping.
This all started with the Australia server being merged onto the NA server, were players (including myself) would start to experience super high ping and would go on for many hours during your sessions.
This problem was further exacerbated when Blizzard decided (for whatever reason) to add the Singapore server to the NA server. So now you have Brazil, Singapore, and Australia mucking up the NA ladders with super high ping.
This of course naturally lead to someone in the community to create a program that would allow not only the NA server players, but everyone in master+ to actually utilize the function that Blizzard already has in the game.
On the surface, this sounds like a really good tool. Unfortunately, like most things in life, good things eventually come to an end. While the tool is definitely being used by in large to improve the experience of players, it's also being used to troll streamers and players.
To get an idea of what is happening you first must understand how the program works. When you use the program there are outbound rules created in your firewall. Once you have blocked all servers you will be able to toggle which servers you want to block and unblock at will. What can happen sometimes for high level players is that you will very frequently run into other players who are also using the program and so when you get matched (because you're both blocking each others preferred server) the game simply cannot start.
However the tool is now being utilized maliciously especially for those who play high level team games. The reason for this is, is because at a high level of team games there are very few players who are playing at a high MMR. Because of this you will sit in queue for 6 minutes and 30 seconds every queue. This essentially makes it impossible to avoid someone who is queueing at or around the same MMR you're queuing at. So as a streamer when you have someone who doesn't like you, they're going to simply block all the games from starting and I experience this for at least 5 hours per stream out of a 10 hour stream. The only way I'm able to avoid this is by playing on an MMR that doesn't match with the player who's blocking my games. Obviously this isn't a good fix as smurfing in a much lower rank isn't fun or interesting, not to mention completely unfun for the lower ranked players.
Now you're asking how are they able to actually do this? Simply by utilizing the program I mentioned above and going into the outbound rules and blocking each of the servers that are available on the NA server. I've tested it multiple times and can confirm that if you block all the servers the program will essentially make the game 100% unplayable.
I've been experiencing this issue for over a year now, and after many failed attempts to get Blizzard to acknowledge the problem I've decided to post it here, in hopes that someone of relevance will see it, and hopefully address. Because the truth is, if this particular problem becomes wide spread, it's going to have some serious ramifications on the game as a whole.
Thanks for reading.
EDIT: I should also mention that this method is being used on both NA and KR. On EU (to my knowledge) there is no code to block EU servers as there is only one server. The creator clearly outlines this in his thread.
EDIT #2: There is a very big misunderstanding that a lof of posters have so let me clarify: You dont NOT need to be blocking servers in order for this program to work maliciously. I play primarily on KR/TW so there is no reason to be blocking servers, and in fact because the playerbase is so low on TW/KR for high level 2v2 I experience queue blocking the most on KR/TW
On October 29 2024 10:18 Balnazza wrote: Did you lose your login data? Pretty sure the TL-Admins are not automated and can help you with that...
Though in seriousness: Glad you see that this isn't a dropcheat. Still wondering what exactly Blizzard is supposed to do?
No I just decided to log in with twitch rather than my original.
As far as what they could do to fix the issue, many other games like CSGO and LoL have already implemented fixes to queue blocking so I guess it would just be a matter of them figuring out what they did, and doing the same. I'm not exactly sure but I think it has something to do with " low priority queues "
I totally agree that queue blocking with automated bots has become a serious issue in the game. When bots flood the matchmaking system, it not only makes the wait times longer for real players, but it also damages the overall gameplay experience when they enter matches.
On October 29 2024 10:52 Masrul Amri wrote: I totally agree that queue blocking with automated bots has become a serious issue in the game. When bots flood the matchmaking system, it not only makes the wait times longer for real players, but it also damages the overall gameplay experience when they enter matches.
I speculate with how much I experience the blocking on and off stream, it is in fact bots. Unfortunately there is no way to actually prove that because the game never starts, and so you are not able to see the profiles of the users who are using the method to prevent games from starting.
On October 29 2024 12:18 Hefty-Leopard-5240 wrote: Your problem is self inflicted. Nothing Blizzard or the balance council can do about that type of problem.
They can, just need to use the same technology that LoL and CSGO uses.
Self-inflicted is completely irrelevant, players should not be able to utilize these types of programs to block games.
On October 29 2024 12:18 Hefty-Leopard-5240 wrote: Your problem is self inflicted. Nothing Blizzard or the balance council can do about that type of problem.
They can, just need to use the same technology that LoL and CSGO uses.
Self-inflicted is completely irrelevant, players should not be able to utilize these types of programs to block games.
So you are not using this type or program in any shape or form?
On October 29 2024 12:18 Hefty-Leopard-5240 wrote: Your problem is self inflicted. Nothing Blizzard or the balance council can do about that type of problem.
They can, just need to use the same technology that LoL and CSGO uses.
Self-inflicted is completely irrelevant, players should not be able to utilize these types of programs to block games.
So you are not using this type or program in any shape or form?
I use this program to block Brazil, Central, and East servers. I live in Thailand so the games are too laggy. Between 5-900 MS. This leaves Singapore, Australia, and West as available server options. The people blocking games from starting are simply blocking all servers when they queue, resulting in the game being cancelled.
The creator of the program could patch it, to prevent players from being able to block every single server. That would also handle the blocking problem.
The main issue, is that when you are promoted to master league the " server preference " no longer works as an option. People on the balance council, or someone at blizzard could tweak things to ensure that the server preference actually works, and these tools would not be needed.
On October 29 2024 12:18 Hefty-Leopard-5240 wrote: Your problem is self inflicted. Nothing Blizzard or the balance council can do about that type of problem.
They can, just need to use the same technology that LoL and CSGO uses.
Self-inflicted is completely irrelevant, players should not be able to utilize these types of programs to block games.
So you are not using this type or program in any shape or form?
I use this program to block Brazil, Central, and East servers. I live in Thailand so the games are too laggy. Between 5-900 MS.
The creator of the program could patch it, to prevent players from being able to block every single server. That would also handle the blocking problem.
The main issue, is that when you are promoted to master league the " server preference " no longer works as an option. People on the balance council, or someone at blizzard could tweak things to ensure that the server preference actually works, and these tools would not be needed.
You are blocking yourself from playing games and think someone else should fix it. Smh
So supermarket A is close to me but sells only Pepsi Cola. I really really really want Coca Cola though. Means I have to go to supermarket B which is far away! Now I told supermarket B to open a new branch near me but they won't do it. What a useless bunch
On October 29 2024 20:31 Harris1st wrote: So supermarket A is close to me but sells only Pepsi Cola. I really really really want Coca Cola though. Means I have to go to supermarket B which is far away! Now I told supermarket B to open a new branch near me but they won't do it. What a useless bunch
It's a nice attempt, but I don't think even simple analogies will help him. He's too far gone to even realize what he sounds like much less what he is doing to himself.
On October 29 2024 12:18 Hefty-Leopard-5240 wrote: Your problem is self inflicted. Nothing Blizzard or the balance council can do about that type of problem.
They can, just need to use the same technology that LoL and CSGO uses.
Self-inflicted is completely irrelevant, players should not be able to utilize these types of programs to block games.
So you are not using this type or program in any shape or form?
I use this program to block Brazil, Central, and East servers. I live in Thailand so the games are too laggy. Between 5-900 MS.
The creator of the program could patch it, to prevent players from being able to block every single server. That would also handle the blocking problem.
The main issue, is that when you are promoted to master league the " server preference " no longer works as an option. People on the balance council, or someone at blizzard could tweak things to ensure that the server preference actually works, and these tools would not be needed.
You are blocking yourself from playing games and think someone else should fix it. Smh
I would highly suggest re-reading the original post. It sounds to me like you either didn't understand anything you read, or you're simply de-railing the thread.
This is the last, and final repsonse you will recieve from me in this thread.
On October 29 2024 20:31 Harris1st wrote: So supermarket A is close to me but sells only Pepsi Cola. I really really really want Coca Cola though. Means I have to go to supermarket B which is far away! Now I told supermarket B to open a new branch near me but they won't do it. What a useless bunch
Your analogy has nothing to do with players being able to utilize a program to block all the servers on NA or KR, resulting in games not being able to start. If you would like, I can make a short video explaining how this works and show you how they're doing it.
Please re-read the original post, and if you have any questions feel free to ask.
On October 29 2024 19:34 Hefty-Leopard-5240 wrote:
On October 29 2024 15:09 ProTech1 wrote:
On October 29 2024 14:28 Balnazza wrote:
On October 29 2024 13:58 ProTech1 wrote:
On October 29 2024 12:18 Hefty-Leopard-5240 wrote: Your problem is self inflicted. Nothing Blizzard or the balance council can do about that type of problem.
They can, just need to use the same technology that LoL and CSGO uses.
Self-inflicted is completely irrelevant, players should not be able to utilize these types of programs to block games.
So you are not using this type or program in any shape or form?
I use this program to block Brazil, Central, and East servers. I live in Thailand so the games are too laggy. Between 5-900 MS.
The creator of the program could patch it, to prevent players from being able to block every single server. That would also handle the blocking problem.
The main issue, is that when you are promoted to master league the " server preference " no longer works as an option. People on the balance council, or someone at blizzard could tweak things to ensure that the server preference actually works, and these tools would not be needed.
You are blocking yourself from playing games and think someone else should fix it. Smh
I would highly suggest re-reading the original post. It sounds to me like you either didn't understand anything you read, or you're simply de-railing the thread.
This is the last, and final repsonse you will recieve from me in this thread.
I worked at Blizzard. Now I'm a dev for another company. I completely understand the situation. Your problem is you THINK you understand what's going on. You don't. People have told you what the problem is, but you don't listen. Good luck.
When people don't like me I sometimes let them win the game at the end. Usually, they end up liking me. If a few ladder points makes them happy... they can have them. I don't care about ladder points.. i just want some fun times. Also, It makes it far less likely that they will dodge me next time.
If I face the same opponent 4 games in a row and I won the first 3 I always give my opponent the 4th game at the end. I find I make a lot less ladder enemies that way.
On October 29 2024 10:18 Balnazza wrote: Did you lose your login data? Pretty sure the TL-Admins are not automated and can help you with that... Though in seriousness: Glad you see that this isn't a dropcheat. Still wondering what exactly Blizzard is supposed to do?
Correct. I am a meat Popsicle.
I've seen you before! you're pretty short. Meat Popsicle
1)Neither the Balance Council nor Blizzard will do anything about this. The Balance Council can't, Blizzard won't. They wouldn't even do it if they still were invested, because Blizzard has never "fixed" external programs. They either ban them or let them be. 2)I'm still not convinced that this is targeted. Could really just be that you run into the bigger playerbase of e.g. Brazil a lot, who has banned all the servers you want to play on. 3)You could probably save yourself the time to complain about this and just unblock all servers. Would immediately help you with the range of players you can get. 4)This is just me being a former forum administrator myself, but your Thread-name is horrible and has nothing to do with your actual problem.
On October 29 2024 22:30 Balnazza wrote: I mean I can save you the trouble if that helps:
1)Neither the Balance Council nor Blizzard will do anything about this. The Balance Council can't, Blizzard won't. They wouldn't even do it if they still were invested, because Blizzard has never "fixed" external programs. They either ban them or let them be. 2)I'm still not convinced that this is targeted. Could really just be that you run into the bigger playerbase of e.g. Brazil a lot, who has banned all the servers you want to play on. 3)You could probably save yourself the time to complain about this and just unblock all servers. Would immediately help you with the range of players you can get. 4)This is just me being a former forum administrator myself, but your Thread-name is horrible and has nothing to do with your actual problem.
I've included a short video in the OP explaining how this works. It should be pretty clear cut on how it can be used to target people.
Unblocking all the servers doesn't fix the problem, which is the main reason why this is a huge problem. The issue is MMR, if someone is queueing at or around the same MMR, it doesn't matter if you're playing 1v1 2v2 3v3 or 4v4, the method can be used to target anyone. However, in 1v1 it's much less of an issue due to the volume of players. Unfortunately, once you get to about top 100 gm MMR, the method can be used and I run into it very frequently. In fact in a very recent vod, I queued into the same player 18 times in a row in 1v1, before i gave up and started smurfing.
On October 29 2024 21:54 JimmyJRaynor wrote: When people don't like me I sometimes let them win the game at the end. Usually, they end up liking me. If a few ladder points makes them happy... they can have them. I don't care about ladder points.. i just want some fun times. Also, It makes it far less likely that they will dodge me next time.
If I face the same opponent 4 games in a row and I won the first 3 I always give my opponent the 4th game at the end. I find I make a lot less ladder enemies that way.
On October 29 2024 22:30 Balnazza wrote: I mean I can save you the trouble if that helps:
1)Neither the Balance Council nor Blizzard will do anything about this. The Balance Council can't, Blizzard won't. They wouldn't even do it if they still were invested, because Blizzard has never "fixed" external programs. They either ban them or let them be. 2)I'm still not convinced that this is targeted. Could really just be that you run into the bigger playerbase of e.g. Brazil a lot, who has banned all the servers you want to play on. 3)You could probably save yourself the time to complain about this and just unblock all servers. Would immediately help you with the range of players you can get. 4)This is just me being a former forum administrator myself, but your Thread-name is horrible and has nothing to do with your actual problem.
I've included a short video in the OP explaining how this works. It should be pretty clear cut on how it can be used to target people.
Unblocking all the servers doesn't fix the problem, which is the main reason why this is a huge problem. The issue is MMR, if someone is queueing at or around the same MMR, it doesn't matter if you're playing 1v1 2v2 3v3 or 4v4, the method can be used to target anyone. However, in 1v1 it's much less of an issue due to the volume of players. Unfortunately, once you get to about top 100 gm MMR, the method can be used and I run into it very frequently. In fact in a very recent vod, I queued into the same player 18 times in a row in 1v1, before i gave up and started smurfing.
No offense, but the problem is so "huge" that literally no one except you is complaining. Just because you complain for it in three threads over 2-3 months doesn't increase the size of the problem. But again, that's irrelevant. No one will "fix" this problem for you.
On October 29 2024 22:30 tofucake wrote: The reference is older than that
On October 29 2024 22:30 Balnazza wrote: I mean I can save you the trouble if that helps:
1)Neither the Balance Council nor Blizzard will do anything about this. The Balance Council can't, Blizzard won't. They wouldn't even do it if they still were invested, because Blizzard has never "fixed" external programs. They either ban them or let them be. 2)I'm still not convinced that this is targeted. Could really just be that you run into the bigger playerbase of e.g. Brazil a lot, who has banned all the servers you want to play on. 3)You could probably save yourself the time to complain about this and just unblock all servers. Would immediately help you with the range of players you can get. 4)This is just me being a former forum administrator myself, but your Thread-name is horrible and has nothing to do with your actual problem.
I've included a short video in the OP explaining how this works. It should be pretty clear cut on how it can be used to target people.
Unblocking all the servers doesn't fix the problem, which is the main reason why this is a huge problem. The issue is MMR, if someone is queueing at or around the same MMR, it doesn't matter if you're playing 1v1 2v2 3v3 or 4v4, the method can be used to target anyone. However, in 1v1 it's much less of an issue due to the volume of players. Unfortunately, once you get to about top 100 gm MMR, the method can be used and I run into it very frequently. In fact in a very recent vod, I queued into the same player 18 times in a row in 1v1, before i gave up and started smurfing.
No offense, but the problem is so "huge" that literally no one except you is complaining. Just because you complain for it in three threads over 2-3 months doesn't increase the size of the problem. But again, that's irrelevant. No one will "fix" this problem for you.
I'm tremendously dissappointed in myself that I didn't recognize the reference. I seriously need to rewatch the Fifth Element asap
Oh i'm very well aware that no one will fix this issue, however because there is a lot of waves being made in the starcraft realm this is a very good time to make a post about. In the off-chance that someone is in fact reading these forums it can potentially reach someone who can understand the issue and get it fixed.
I'm not really sure what you're arguing. If they game company doesn't patch or fix something like this it's eventually going to turn into a huge issue.
On October 30 2024 01:01 WombaT wrote: Why would it turn into a huge issue?
What is even the solution?
You want to be able to block servers, for legitimate QoL reasons, ok fair enough. But you’re having issues from other people blocking servers?
You should watch the video I edited into the OP.
Let's say for example you're at 4000 MMR, and start playing the game. All I need to do is send you a message to see your search box, and queue up at the same time you are, and unless you find a different player your game will never start.
Other games such as league of legends and CSGO have already had this type of trolling, the issue would be for the game company to follow suite and implement the same preventive measures.
As I said before: Nothing will happen, but if something by chance would happen, it would be Blizzard just banning server-blocking. And it won't turn into a "huge issue", because if it could, it already would have happened. It is a niché-problem at best, if even at all tbh
On October 30 2024 01:09 Balnazza wrote: As I said before: Nothing will happen, but if something by chance would happen, it would be Blizzard just banning server-blocking. And it won't turn into a "huge issue", because if it could, it already would have happened. It is a niché-problem at best, if even at all tbh
Then perhaps you don't know how easy the process is. I would suggest watching the video in the OP to get a better understanding of how easy it is to do.
On October 30 2024 01:01 WombaT wrote: Why would it turn into a huge issue?
What is even the solution?
You want to be able to block servers, for legitimate QoL reasons, ok fair enough. But you’re having issues from other people blocking servers?
You should watch the video I edited into the OP.
Let's say for example you're at 4000 MMR, and start playing the game. All I need to do is send you a message to see your search box, and queue up at the same time you are, and unless you find a different player your game will never start.
Other games such as league of legends and CSGO have already had this type of trolling, the issue would be for the game company to follow suite and implement the same preventive measures.
Ok that seems reasonable, although I will still say I think it’s a very niche issue
On October 30 2024 01:01 WombaT wrote: Why would it turn into a huge issue?
What is even the solution?
You want to be able to block servers, for legitimate QoL reasons, ok fair enough. But you’re having issues from other people blocking servers?
You should watch the video I edited into the OP.
Let's say for example you're at 4000 MMR, and start playing the game. All I need to do is send you a message to see your search box, and queue up at the same time you are, and unless you find a different player your game will never start.
Other games such as league of legends and CSGO have already had this type of trolling, the issue would be for the game company to follow suite and implement the same preventive measures.
Ok that seems reasonable, although I will still say I think it’s a very niche issue
It's niche for now, but as I mentioned previously in the thread there are in fact other streamers who deal with the same thing. They're just not big streamers, so it isn't real.
The point being (if you watched the video) it's a clear problem that shouldn't exist in the game, niche or not.
I'd also like to point this out, when you get dirt bags using hacks, or functions like this if you give them an inch they are going to take a mile. It's better for the longevity of the game if they address it sooner rather than later.
On October 30 2024 01:01 WombaT wrote: Why would it turn into a huge issue?
What is even the solution?
You want to be able to block servers, for legitimate QoL reasons, ok fair enough. But you’re having issues from other people blocking servers?
You should watch the video I edited into the OP.
Let's say for example you're at 4000 MMR, and start playing the game. All I need to do is send you a message to see your search box, and queue up at the same time you are, and unless you find a different player your game will never start.
Other games such as league of legends and CSGO have already had this type of trolling, the issue would be for the game company to follow suite and implement the same preventive measures.
Ok that seems reasonable, although I will still say I think it’s a very niche issue
It's niche for now, but as I mentioned previously in the thread there are in fact other streamers who deal with the same thing. They're just not big streamers, so it isn't real.
The point being (if you watched the video) it's a clear problem that shouldn't exist in the game, niche or not.
I'd also like to point this out, when you get dirt bags using hacks, or functions like this if you give them an inch they are going to take a mile. It's better for the longevity of the game if they address it sooner rather than later.
So what is your proposed solution?
It’s literally a niche problem because people are using this 3rd party program, yourself included and you don’t like the negative externalities of it.
So, perhaps yes Blizzard implements something better to mitigate unplayable lag, what’s that look like?
On October 30 2024 01:01 WombaT wrote: Why would it turn into a huge issue?
What is even the solution?
You want to be able to block servers, for legitimate QoL reasons, ok fair enough. But you’re having issues from other people blocking servers?
You should watch the video I edited into the OP.
Let's say for example you're at 4000 MMR, and start playing the game. All I need to do is send you a message to see your search box, and queue up at the same time you are, and unless you find a different player your game will never start.
Other games such as league of legends and CSGO have already had this type of trolling, the issue would be for the game company to follow suite and implement the same preventive measures.
Ok that seems reasonable, although I will still say I think it’s a very niche issue
It's niche for now, but as I mentioned previously in the thread there are in fact other streamers who deal with the same thing. They're just not big streamers, so it isn't real.
The point being (if you watched the video) it's a clear problem that shouldn't exist in the game, niche or not.
I'd also like to point this out, when you get dirt bags using hacks, or functions like this if you give them an inch they are going to take a mile. It's better for the longevity of the game if they address it sooner rather than later.
So what is your proposed solution?
It’s literally a niche problem because people are using this 3rd party program, yourself included and you don’t like the negative externalities of it.
So, perhaps yes Blizzard implements something better to mitigate unplayable lag, what’s that look like?
Well I'm not a programmer so I'm not exactly sure what could be done. What I do know is that if I'm playing League of Legends, and I decline a queue, get disconnected, or simply exit the program during pick/ban I'm put into a " low priority " queue.
The reason they introduced this is to combat the exact issue that I'm currently experiencing in SC2.
I use this program to block Brazil, Central, and East servers.
Most players are on those servers; you're blocking your own matches. Unblock them and the problem will go away.
You could also choose to play on a different region.
What I do know is that if I'm playing League of Legends, and I decline a queue, get disconnected, or simply exit the program during pick/ban I'm put into a " low priority " queue.
You want blizzard to put you into a low priority queue because you're disconnecting repeatedly from your games due to blocking IP's in your firewall?
On October 30 2024 01:01 WombaT wrote: Why would it turn into a huge issue?
What is even the solution?
You want to be able to block servers, for legitimate QoL reasons, ok fair enough. But you’re having issues from other people blocking servers?
You should watch the video I edited into the OP.
Let's say for example you're at 4000 MMR, and start playing the game. All I need to do is send you a message to see your search box, and queue up at the same time you are, and unless you find a different player your game will never start.
Other games such as league of legends and CSGO have already had this type of trolling, the issue would be for the game company to follow suite and implement the same preventive measures.
Ok that seems reasonable, although I will still say I think it’s a very niche issue
It's niche for now, but as I mentioned previously in the thread there are in fact other streamers who deal with the same thing. They're just not big streamers, so it isn't real.
The point being (if you watched the video) it's a clear problem that shouldn't exist in the game, niche or not.
I'd also like to point this out, when you get dirt bags using hacks, or functions like this if you give them an inch they are going to take a mile. It's better for the longevity of the game if they address it sooner rather than later.
So what is your proposed solution?
It’s literally a niche problem because people are using this 3rd party program, yourself included and you don’t like the negative externalities of it.
So, perhaps yes Blizzard implements something better to mitigate unplayable lag, what’s that look like?
Well I'm not a programmer so I'm not exactly sure what could be done. What I do know is that if I'm playing League of Legends, and I decline a queue, get disconnected, or simply exit the program during pick/ban I'm put into a " low priority " queue.
The reason they introduced this is to combat the exact issue that I'm currently experiencing in SC2.
The reason they introduced this has nothing to do with "attacking" people. It was just an evolution from the former structure, in which you got timedout for 20 minutes or something like that. Has nothing to do with dodging servers or streamsniping anyone, it is just about forcing people to not insta-leave when they don't get their prefered champ, role or opponent.
Not sure how a "low priority queue" would even work in your case. I have no idea about 2v2, but if the ladder is really that small, even low priority will just eventually put you against the same players anyway, because there literally are none other to queue you against. Especially not if you yourself are in a low-prio because of server-blocking
The match making system seem to at least partially consider client ping, or accessibility (say, ping < limit -> connected/useable) when finding matches. By blocking bad servers, when there are enough players, the system will find a good match on a favorable server without game start fails.
The system might be similar to map vetos, they do not guarantee that you never play on vetoed maps, but will try to avoid those. so high ping / unaccessible server might just mean a very low weight while trying to finding good matches with highest weights.
The trick is, if a server is really unaccessible because of a firewall rule, the game won't start. So a malicious user with high mmr could block all server IPs and still get matched, and fuck with another high mmr dude, no matter what pings/blocks the other has.
If the above assumptions are correct, the solution is not ProTech unblocking all servers. This can be demonstrated by actually starting the stream, having a few disconnects then unblocking all servers (off stream). If there really is an idiot playing with ProTech's nerves, the games will continue to fail to start. (On the other hand, if suddenly there would be a high mmr match, that could mean the other guy is not malicious, but also has some server blocks, which weren't compatible with each other).
If the above assumptions are correct, the solution would be to actually fix the match making system to not match users who does not have compatible server preferences/accessibility. And add server block to the game UI while we're at it. I know, I know, won't happen.
So a malicious user with high mmr could block all server IPs and still get matched
It seems a stretch, because every person complaining has servers blocked. Nobody has ever demonstrated this issue or AFAIK even experienced it without blocking servers on their end.
So a malicious user with high mmr could block all server IPs and still get matched
It seems a stretch, because every person complaining has servers blocked. Nobody has ever demonstrated this issue or AFAIK even experienced it without blocking servers on their end.
I have no idea, haven't heard of this issue before, never used this tool, never needed. Can be explained by a high mmr dude sitting in a badly connected region. Not hard to test tho (for Protech to enable all servers and see what happens).
On October 30 2024 01:01 WombaT wrote: Why would it turn into a huge issue?
What is even the solution?
You want to be able to block servers, for legitimate QoL reasons, ok fair enough. But you’re having issues from other people blocking servers?
You should watch the video I edited into the OP.
Let's say for example you're at 4000 MMR, and start playing the game. All I need to do is send you a message to see your search box, and queue up at the same time you are, and unless you find a different player your game will never start.
Other games such as league of legends and CSGO have already had this type of trolling, the issue would be for the game company to follow suite and implement the same preventive measures.
Ok that seems reasonable, although I will still say I think it’s a very niche issue
It's niche for now, but as I mentioned previously in the thread there are in fact other streamers who deal with the same thing. They're just not big streamers, so it isn't real.
The point being (if you watched the video) it's a clear problem that shouldn't exist in the game, niche or not.
I'd also like to point this out, when you get dirt bags using hacks, or functions like this if you give them an inch they are going to take a mile. It's better for the longevity of the game if they address it sooner rather than later.
So what is your proposed solution?
It’s literally a niche problem because people are using this 3rd party program, yourself included and you don’t like the negative externalities of it.
So, perhaps yes Blizzard implements something better to mitigate unplayable lag, what’s that look like?
Well I'm not a programmer so I'm not exactly sure what could be done. What I do know is that if I'm playing League of Legends, and I decline a queue, get disconnected, or simply exit the program during pick/ban I'm put into a " low priority " queue.
The reason they introduced this is to combat the exact issue that I'm currently experiencing in SC2.
The reason they introduced this has nothing to do with "attacking" people. It was just an evolution from the former structure, in which you got timedout for 20 minutes or something like that. Has nothing to do with dodging servers or streamsniping anyone, it is just about forcing people to not insta-leave when they don't get their prefered champ, role or opponent.
Not sure how a "low priority queue" would even work in your case. I have no idea about 2v2, but if the ladder is really that small, even low priority will just eventually put you against the same players anyway, because there literally are none other to queue you against. Especially not if you yourself are in a low-prio because of server-blocking
Correct. This is a MMR issue and people are using this program maliciously to target specific players, and while I understand the main argument int his thread is that it's not a big issue now, it will eventually turn into a big issue unless the game company corrects the problem and prevents players from being able to block every server available as they are queueing.
It would seem to me that you still haven't watched the video in the OP, please watch the video so that you can see how this works and why what you're saying isn't relevant to this conversation.
So a malicious user with high mmr could block all server IPs and still get matched
It seems a stretch, because every person complaining has servers blocked. Nobody has ever demonstrated this issue or AFAIK even experienced it without blocking servers on their end.
It sounds to me like you haven't watched the video in the OP, I would highly suggest watching it because it will give you a much better picture of how and why this is being used maliciously.
So a malicious user with high mmr could block all server IPs and still get matched
It seems a stretch, because every person complaining has servers blocked. Nobody has ever demonstrated this issue or AFAIK even experienced it without blocking servers on their end.
I have no idea, haven't heard of this issue before, never used this tool, never needed. Can be explained by a high mmr dude sitting in a badly connected region. Not hard to test tho (for Protech to enable all servers and see what happens).
Well the good news, is now you're hearing about it now and be part of the solution before it becomes a huge problem. As the player base dwindles and we're all still playing, you will see a malicious take over. Dismissing this and writing it off as niche is a huge mistake.
On October 30 2024 07:00 Mizenhauer wrote: The best part of this is that someone(s) think that Blizzard pays anyone to do anything related to this legacy game.
No one is suggesting that Blizzard cares or will even do anything about it. I've been a target of this for a year now, and the only reason I'm making a post about this on TL now, is because there are a lot of waves being made with the patch, microsoft take over, etc. Logic would suggest that now is a good time to put some attention on this problem.
So a malicious user with high mmr could block all server IPs and still get matched
It seems a stretch, because every person complaining has servers blocked. Nobody has ever demonstrated this issue or AFAIK even experienced it without blocking servers on their end.
It sounds to me like you haven't watched the video in the OP, I would highly suggest watching it because it will give you a much better picture of how and why this is being used maliciously.
I did. You showed games getting cancelled when you had blocked every server. That's not the same thing as somebody else being able to cancel your games when you're not blocking any; for all we know it could only happen when both players block for example.
So a malicious user with high mmr could block all server IPs and still get matched
It seems a stretch, because every person complaining has servers blocked. Nobody has ever demonstrated this issue or AFAIK even experienced it without blocking servers on their end.
It sounds to me like you haven't watched the video in the OP, I would highly suggest watching it because it will give you a much better picture of how and why this is being used maliciously.
I did. You showed games getting cancelled when you had blocked every server. That's not the same thing as somebody else being able to cancel your games when you're not blocking any; for all we know it could only happen when both players block for example.
I find it extremely unlikely that when I'm streaming, I'm spending more than 5 hours per stream simply running into other players who have blocked Brazil, Singapore, and West. Perhaps the part you're not understanding is that I've left West open so that I can run into any US/CA player.
I highly doubt anyone who lives in the united states would block the west server, because the ping isn't high.
You should tune into some of my streams and watch my games get blocked on KR/TW. I live in asia so I have no reason to block those servers.
Furthermore, the point of the video was to showcase what can be accomplished with this tool. If you'd like, PM me and I will show you how I can prevent you from playing while you're trying to Queue.
I should also mention that there is a fix to this problem, and that's simply using an MMR that doesn't match up with X player who's using this tool to block games. The problem for me, is that i'm a high level player, and smurfing isn't exactly enjoyable or fun for the low ranked player.
You are blocking servers. If you don't, doesn't the problem go away? If not, post proof of that. Without any evidence of normal players experiencing the issue it just looks self-inflicted among those who block servers on their own end.
On October 30 2024 16:47 Cyro wrote: You are blocking servers. If you don't, doesn't the problem go away? If not, post proof of that. Without any evidence of normal players experiencing the issue it just looks self-inflicted among those who block servers on their own end.
There's a years worth of evidence in my vods, simply pick any of them and watch the queue blocks happen. Unblocking all servers does not fix the problem, because if you queue into someone who has similar MMR and they are using this method to prevent games from starting, it doesn't matter if you're blocking servers, it only matters if one player is blocking all the servers that are available on the server.
The part you seem to not understand is that it does not matter if you are blocking servers, or not. If you are at a high level, or even a low level, if you are queuing into the same person over, and over and over and that person is blocking all of the servers that are available on the server, the game cannot start.
As I mentioned before, if you would like to see this in-game you can simply ask me to show you to dispel any confusion you may be having.
Furthermore, there is no point in playing SC2 in 5-900 MS. So then it would fall on the game company to ensure that this doesn't happen, namely patching the way the server selection works, and forcing it to work 100% of the time, because the way it works now is that when you get promoted to master league the function ceases to work.
As mentioned before, I do not use server blocking on KR/TW as I live in Asia. I have not been able to get a game started on KR/TW in about 2 weeks, because every time I log into my main, I'm unable to get games started as I'm met with " A player you have matched with has left the game or disconnected from the service " This leads me to believe that bots are running 24/7 using the method showcased in the video. Hopefully that clears up any confusion you might be having.
How many trolls are there? It sounds entirely unfun to be a "troll", because you never actually get to play at all if you block all servers. At least join the game, flame the opponent and quit, if you just want to grief without playing. The latter would be a big deal. Them "griefing" by giving you an server error is really small fry compared to that.
So it seems to me the main issue is that you're running into legit players from the regions you blocked, who have your preferred regions blocked. The matchmaking is unable to deal with that and gives an error. This is why people say it's self inflicted.
On October 30 2024 18:06 Acrofales wrote: How many trolls are there? It sounds entirely unfun to be a "troll", because you never actually get to play at all if you block all servers. At least join the game, flame the opponent and quit, if you just want to grief without playing. The latter would be a big deal. Them "griefing" by giving you an server error is really small fry compared to that.
So it seems to me the main issue is that you're running into legit players from the regions you blocked, who have your preferred regions blocked. The matchmaking is unable to deal with that and gives an error. This is why people say it's self inflicted.
Im very well aware of why people think it's self-inflicted. It's not, I experience queue blocking on KR/TW (i live in asia so no reason to block servers)
That seems to be the biggest misunderstanding in this thread, you do not have to be blocking servers in order for this to work.
I don't suspect there's many people doing this but it only takes one player who has a similar MMR to mine to prevent me from playing game, or anyone else for that matter. That's why its a huge concern and does need to be patched in some way.
On October 30 2024 20:01 Sophie_jonas wrote: Totally agree; it’s frustrating when automated responses don’t address specific issues. Hopefully, Blizzard reconsiders its approach to customer support to bring back that personal touch!
It's been an on-going thing for quite a long time now. It's unfortunate, but it does look like Microsoft acquiring the blizzard franchise has been a good thing overall. Hopefully it will continue.
On October 30 2024 20:01 Sophie_jonas wrote: Totally agree; it’s frustrating when automated responses don’t address specific issues. Hopefully, Blizzard reconsiders its approach to customer support to bring back that personal touch!
It's been an on-going thing for quite a long time now. It's unfortunate, but it does look like Microsoft acquiring the blizzard franchise has been a good thing overall. Hopefully it will continue.
What benefit for the consumers has MS acquiring Blizzard provided so far? At least for SC I'm not sure I've seen anything different than before. You must have more knowledge, so I'm happy to listen
On October 30 2024 20:01 Sophie_jonas wrote: Totally agree; it’s frustrating when automated responses don’t address specific issues. Hopefully, Blizzard reconsiders its approach to customer support to bring back that personal touch!
It's been an on-going thing for quite a long time now. It's unfortunate, but it does look like Microsoft acquiring the blizzard franchise has been a good thing overall. Hopefully it will continue.
What benefit for the consumers has MS acquiring Blizzard provided so far? At least for SC I'm not sure I've seen anything different than before. You must have more knowledge, so I'm happy to listen
SC2 campaign content added on Gamepass the same month they are re-introduced the loopholes to getting GamePass for $5/month.
On October 30 2024 20:01 Sophie_jonas wrote: Totally agree; it’s frustrating when automated responses don’t address specific issues. Hopefully, Blizzard reconsiders its approach to customer support to bring back that personal touch!
It's been an on-going thing for quite a long time now. It's unfortunate, but it does look like Microsoft acquiring the blizzard franchise has been a good thing overall. Hopefully it will continue.
What benefit for the consumers has MS acquiring Blizzard provided so far? At least for SC I'm not sure I've seen anything different than before. You must have more knowledge, so I'm happy to listen
Being on Game Pass doesn’t really benefit anyone who’s already bought the game, but it does show some intent, and could introduce new players into the ecosystem which is positive
There’s pretty credible sounding rumours of a new WC3 patch too which may have been in the pipeline regardless, but does seem to indicate MS may be slightly stepping up their care for that game too
On October 30 2024 23:06 WombaT wrote: Does this still occur if you have no block on whatsoever? I’m still somewhat unclear on this
Correct. As I live in Asia, there is no reason to block any servers. As I mentioned previously in the thread I haven’t been able to get a high level game for about 2 weeks.
As mentioned before there seems to be a misunderstanding in this thread. Even if I leave all the servers open without blocking any, I still can’t get games started
On October 30 2024 20:01 Sophie_jonas wrote: Totally agree; it’s frustrating when automated responses don’t address specific issues. Hopefully, Blizzard reconsiders its approach to customer support to bring back that personal touch!
It's been an on-going thing for quite a long time now. It's unfortunate, but it does look like Microsoft acquiring the blizzard franchise has been a good thing overall. Hopefully it will continue.
What benefit for the consumers has MS acquiring Blizzard provided so far? At least for SC I'm not sure I've seen anything different than before. You must have more knowledge, so I'm happy to listen
There’s no illusion, as far as I can tell there’s no benefit outside of the million dollar tournament held in saudia arabia. That being said who knows what’s to come in the future.
I unblocked every server a few years ago because this could happen a lot (as well as it giving me a smaller range of opponents which sucked). If you really don't want to unblock I'd recommend not queuing for a few minutes so the other person can find a game and you desync from both queuing at the same time
EDIT: just saw your most recent post my bad, no advice from here then.
On October 31 2024 19:09 PiGStarcraft wrote: I unblocked every server a few years ago because this could happen a lot (as well as it giving me a smaller range of opponents which sucked). If you really don't want to unblock I'd recommend not queuing for a few minutes so the other person can find a game and you desync from both queuing at the same time
EDIT: just saw your most recent post my bad, no advice from here then.
That's the problem, when you're being targeted with this you have to somehow get to an MMR that he can't reach. The problem with teams is that no one is playing at an over capped MMR so, the system will always pair you with the closest possible MMR. Blocking usually starts at 4K mmr in solo queue, and roughly top 100 gm mmr (for me)
Pretty much the way it works, is if the queue goes to 6m 30s I will always run into the people using this method, if the queue is quick (sometimes not all) that's pretty much the only time the game will start, regardless of whether I have left every server open or not.
On November 01 2024 03:00 Garnet wrote: Why people even bother hacking or trolling in this game is beyond me.
That’s what happens when the game company announces maintenance mode. The only thing that remains are hackers and trolls.
But yet the vast majority of the playerbase doesn’t consider these as massive issues. Smurfs perhaps are a consistent complaint
I just find it funny that I’ve been streaming this garbage at the top of the viewer directory for over a year and yet it seems like no one knows wtf is going on.
You wouldn’t believe the hoops I have to jump through just to get a game started
Might be too early to celebrate, but I haven't experienced a queue block in 2 days. This has not happened in over a year of two consecutive days of block-less ladder.
EPT
