Hack Cam...

[Cobblers]

Goto HERE and download the video. The best download rate was from "The Space".

What in the HELL is HC?

HackCam is an anti-cheating utility designed for the first person shooter game Counter Strike designed by Valve, creators of Half Life and its many mods. Unlike normal cheat detection utilities, the checking is not based on what files are installed on the players machine, what scripts are running, what processes are functioning in the background, etc. It is based solely on what the player sees in game and how they react to their environment. Thousands of hacks exist, but in the end, they all do the same thing, so why search for the thousand of varieties, when you can simply search for the results of them?

Does it only work for Counter Strike?

Currently HC has been designed completely around the Counter Strike mod of Half Life but is in the final development stages of being ported over to Counter Strike Source, the Half Life 2 version of the game. In reality, the functions and systems could be ported to any of the Half Life modification games, or any other First Person Shooter game.

How long has this thing been in development?

Some of the more in-depth checking routines are over 7 years in the making. They were not initially designed for this purpose but fill the void they are needed in nicely.

How many revisions have there been?

There are currently 4 versions of HackCam in existence.

HC v1: Scans and scores Steam 1.6 DEMo files

HC v2: Scans and scores Steam 1.6 games in real-time while they are being played.

HC v3: Counter Strike Source scanner and score system for real-time gaming

HC v4: Server side modification for Counter Strike Source that performs scoring and scanning autonomously.

This will be out in April! Can't wait.

[Rocky]

This sounds very interesting, tx.

[Rocky]

This looks very interesting. I am going to do some further reading on this shortly, but after watching the video my concerns would be mainly that the video showed the software catching cheats, I'd really like to see it running where there are NO cheats, and see what it throws up.

The reason I say that is, judging on the basis of that video alone, it looks like it will class you as a "pre-aimer" (I think thats it) if you slice the pie rounding a corner, or basically keep your weapon levelled, aimed ready to shoot as you go through doors or around corners. What if a player spots a shadow, or even HEARS someone coming, so rounds the corner firing before they actually SEE the opponant - that's valid tactics, but I dunno how HC would class it....

[Rocky]

Research....

Developer

http://www.az-prod.com/

Forums (requires registration)

http://www.az-prod.com/phpBB2/viewforum.ph...40ca704fec4f97a

How it works summary by the author

Summary of Hack Cam

http://www.the-space.net/index.php?name=PN...iewtopic&t=4512

That link covers the questions I raised above.

They are in discussion with a games developer, so you might see this in numerous games in the future.

[Zantar45]

Very very interesting.

Hopefully legitiment players aren't banned solely on the videos.

Can't name all the times I've seen players take the same route, do the same thing and get killed by the same person the same way.

The map CS office is a good example. Everyone knows there is going to be a sniper in the hall, past the soda machines, behind that little part of the wall, barely exposed.

[Cobblers]

@ Rocky (I thought the same as you, but this is what I found made me think it's still going to be a VERY good piece of software)

By the way, about the players who were suspected of being cheaters on the video, at the start of the video states those players may not be cheating, as we all have good/bad moments.

With Hack Cam, there is thousands of things that it takes into account be it view, sound whatever...I'm not informed enough to tell you exactly what... but the player you are looking at will be giving a score of 1-100.

So watch the video again and check out the hack cam box, in that box is what score that player is getting.

Here is an example as to how it works from the makers themselves:

Question (1):

"Flash Shot" <- I lolled Smile ...it's called: "Shooting like crazy when you're flashed, hoping you'll hit something"

"Fire through wall" - In other words, if this started getting used on public servers I'd have to start acting stupid like I don't know where others are when I do know. Also, spamming walls should be forbidden, right? Only shoot when you see someone and that one has been in sight long enough for it to not be "Above average reflex"?

"Pre aim" - Were you joking? Any player who gets a half decent score does this. What, we need to look away from where we expect the enemy to be now? Genoius.

Answer (1):

For all of those that have been critiquing the video without taking a few minutes to read and understand why those messages are appearing, and what HC is reacting to, I have one quick suggestion. View the video again, and watch the person's score. If you'll notice, not a single player that wasn't cheating, scored over the 85 marker line. Yes things will increase your score, and many of them can be written off as luck. That's a given. And, thats why their score isn't making it over the line. They are doing 'odd' things, but none of them is odd enough to say "Hey, wait a minute, somethings not right here...". Most of those feedback lines are so I can see which routine was triggered, and gives hints for things to look for in the future with that player. Only a person scoring above or at the 85 line will be considered a confirmed cheater. Everyone else is simply receiving 'background noise' scores, which mean nothing to the database or to HC itself. Consider them average scores (and the average score for 95% of all players scanned thus far was under 50).

as well as this:

Question (2):

If you were to use this program for any CAL (Cobs edit: a CSS ladder I presume) playoff match im sure half the players would turn up as 'definite hackers')

answer:

I've done CAL match demos, average scoring range for those was 25-65.

If that last answer is true then I don't think you could beat this piece of software. And this isn't a piece of software, from what I gather, which could be hacked. This is using peoples natural instincts (for one example) to calculate what might happen, as wlel as what your surroundings are telling you at the same time.

I got all this info from this link HERE

What ya think now then?

Personally I wouldn't just ban someone because they had a good round. When playing CSS I can have an absolute blinder!! (doesn't happen as much as I'd like, but there you go),I can go 30-40 kills to 5-8 deaths, which I think is a VERY good score. But the next round comes along and I'm struggling to get 50-50. Although there are some players who always seem to be good, no matter what map they play on, or how much money they might have got. (ie to buy the best weapons etc)

Remember, this is only the first version out. This software can only get better and I can see it being something we will all use, like PB, just much more effective.

To all you cheaters out there, all I can say is bye-bye!

[Cobblers]

@ Rocky - Regards shadows, etc this would all be taken into account. The system will see that you have got a shadow on your screen so taking away points from your score. And like I said, as well as many other factors too.

This would also lower cheaters scores too. So if you get someone who is let's say has an 80% score, they are definately cheating.

Again, we will know more once this is released and can test it ourselves. But I for one am getting very, very excited about Hack Cam.

[Rocky]

Yeh I read that it considers shadows and sounds, what I have not seen answered properly is how it deals with people who know a map inside out and where people are likely to be sitting. When you know a map that well you could quite often appear to have reflexes of a cobra and be penalised by HC, when really all you were doing is finding what you expected to find, someone camping out at a known camp spot.

If they can answer that satisfactorily, then I'll be convinced.

[Cobblers]

Here is the answer to the "popular camping spots":

yes, thats a good point. But that's not really the whole picture - yes a lot of people do that, so if the player watching u is any good, they will realise that your not a cheater - most people do that. That is also a slight concern with HC (just thinking about it)... what you just described would come up as not only preaim but also prefire, maybe scoring u quite highly. Do that quite a few times in a game and u cud be in some trouble Confused But, i would suggest that when u preaim and are legit, ur probably not aiming perfectly at them... u'll probably readjust slightly as you come round the corner and see them.

but going back to having a wallhack in spec mode, there are many other things then preaiming (something that legit players do). For example, seeing a horde of the opposition through a wall and then running away becuase u know u wont be able to take them all one. This is usually very obvious. There is also quite a lot of 'accidental' aiming through crates etc. A player trying to discretely hack may think the player is visible but is in fact not and shoot rhough the wall. This cud all be picked up with a wallhack in spec mode.

Lets face it, only a noob wud accuse u of cheating for preaiming at a well known camping spot. Once they see u charging into the middle of a crowded room of opposition that u wern't expecting, i think they would realise that ur legit Wink

This lessens my respect for this software a little, as this is going to leave a lot of speculation as to whether someone was cheating or not, even if it was a well known camping spot or not.

Only time will tell though I suppose once it is released.

[Chems]

If it works with the unreal engine then maybe AA will have it.

[Cobblers]

Well I'm on the BETA list for HACK Cam for def, so once it is released I'll let you know how it goes.

I've also got FRAPS, which I won on GR.net actually, so I expect that I could use this to record my own demo for you guys to watch then eh?

[wpcvenom]

hey, im new here.can anyone tell me or gove me a link where i can get hack cam. that is, if you can?

[Colin]

Most of the links are dead, looks like HC didnt make it.

[Rocky]

Most of the links are dead, looks like HC didnt make it.

←

I think the technology is still being developed, but they are moving web server at the moment.

[Cobblers]

Well the forum is back up, but nothing happening at all on the board.

Thing is, this software was taken over by a big development team, so some time in the future, should it be UBI or VALVE, you will see something like hack cam being released with a game of some kind.

This would be a superb feature for GR:AW, especially with it being so built up. And what with a working anti cheat you'd find this would eliminate much of the cheating with this game.

Oh and I reckon my chance of being a beta tester would have gone down the tube now. Pity, as I'd have loved to of gotten my hands on a pre released copy.

[Cobblers]

Been whispered about this project recently, so a quick update on HACK CAM.

The original developer of this idea has not been heard of for a couple of years. Have had a look around the web and I can not find any mention of it apart from Rocky's interview with the guy.

Sad, but seems like this system for all it's promise eventually fell by the way side.

On reflection, I do remember this original developer stating how frustrated he was after selling the rights to this idea to the unknown/undisclosed software dev - there were rumours at the time that this was either Valve or UBI. Either way, the project appeared to go completely away from what the o.developer had wished for....

Sad, but there you go. Update please if anyone else knows more.

[Tinker]

For general interest:

Hack Cam Interview

[Rocky]

Thanks for the update Cobblers, like you, I received a query on this recently.

[Cobblers]

Np, m8.

Hey, at least the proof of Hack Cams existence, as well as the name of the original developer will live on right here at GR.net.