over the recent years we have settled the rule to allow up to 3 accounts to play on HWS.
Things were changing meanwhile though - now CSW is a fundamental feature, HWS Connect is a game within a game and Empyrion features got added which all reflect sooner or later on multiple accounts.
So without more words I want to have a global poll / feedback if we should deactivate family share accounts on HWS or not. It is a setting we can set to true or false.
If true, only your main account can play on HWS.
How many real families are playing here or who is just looking for advantages with multiple gains?
Note: This poll is public
Turn off Family Share usage on HWS
Keep Family Share usage active on HWS
0voters
Disclaimer: because there might be accusations or worse flying around I reserve the right to remove every comment about it on instant. This topic is not meant to accuse others of exploiting by multiple accounts.
There are some technical things going on about family share accounts.
If I ban a family share account, all other accounts + main account is automatically banned too as well for example.
@Jascha, do we have some more API callbacks for it?
I think we can identify them already and could shut down features for them - if this is requested.
Most people should be able to afford the 20€ it costs to get another account, and it’ll make it harder to exploit alt accounts.
I’d say remove family share.
If we talking about bans, my opinion-> you can’t stop this people if they wanna come back. They just ask friend to buy the game and then use proxy or vpn, use VM or use another pc or laptop. Blocking family accounts its not option to stop baned ppl. Now website not working for my normal, from one browser I’m voting, from another buying support packages. Interesting what be later
Looks like a good idea that will help to fight with alts. If it gets implemented, I hope it will be possible to transfer progress to main account since all of my hours are on family share account. I had to switch due to getting taxed because someone from my old faction left a ship at ECC while also getting guilty in attempt to make money in red zone on golden globe to repay for it. It didn’t go well, since tax was 700 000 and I only had a hand drill so my character ended up being stranded in pvp without ship or money.
That is actually something I’m worried about. Because I know many play with a second account (and never even used their main account on HWS).
This will leave us with enormous manual work @RexXxuS .
We know if an account is a family account and could also block certain functions. But also here we have to find out if they are playing actually just with one account or if their family account is their main HWS account.
While true, the reality is: it is not our problem to begin with.
If the poll ends on 17th October, and if the majority don’t want family share accounts, we could turn it off for HWS 11 (around Christmas).
Everyone would have enough time to take care of their account management.
I want also highlight that 10-20€ for a game where many of the current family share users have over 1000 playhours are more than worth it
But yes marius, if a human has the full instinct to abuse any system, he will succeed.
I can only say that a human, who is doing illegale stuff, has a potential higher risk in making mistakes due stress than a human who is doing everything right.
Or simply put:
@RexXxuS I don’t see how I can manage to get OCD7 on both servers again on new account. It has 3000 hours of playtime, where half of it is on server. Transfer of upgrade levels would be enough, everything else can be managed by players.
Just to make it clear. Does this also ban if 2 persons from the same house play on HWS? My son is sometimes also joining on HWS but with his own copy of the game and his own steam Account. If I understand you correctly it doesn’t.
since main concern seems to be in family account and giving players too much when abusing that…
rather than ban family accounts and worry about the manual work that will entail…
how about just make hws connect always use main steamid… that way all family accounts share all the hws connect features no matter which account that use… thus only benefitting from bonuses once per real account?
we could probably detect that and give players an option to choose main account and have their stuff merged into that main one from then on…
hm I like that Idea.
Since OCD and other features are using the used account, we might still have to write a function to change all to the main account. But I guess we have to do that anyway. Then a family share account has only one OCD for all.
Only problem is if we ban family share accounts and have to merge lves etc: What if there are 2 family share accounts and both have certain OCD-Levels… Also this might add workload to the whole thing.
Of course all possible, but it always means work on Admin side.
yes definitely will be quite a bit of work, and I think we should try to minimize it if we take that option…
like warning players and giving them time to sort stuff out on their own… and automate a few rules… like taking highest level ocd and in case of conflict (same level) take the one that was last used maybe?
I say run with it. I like the single steam id thing. The only people who are going to have a major issue with this is people who are abusing it. The game is relatively cheap. Something else you could do maybe is check to see how many accounts/steam ids actually come from a single ip. Then ban or restrict the steam id to a single primary account. This would help with people using extra purchased accounts. And I believe there is a way to check if someone is using a proxy, im not sure what it is but too many websites can easily detect that via ip range
Man! Is HWS trying to kill off the long term player base? Change this, change that, stop this, stop that. I know there reasons I started playing on HWS AND stayed was because of the progression that you keep from season to season and the freedom that I had to play the GAME the way I wanted. Some times I play 18hrs a day. Other times I long in for a few mins a day. The point is I choose to play on HWS because its HWS. I mean, you guys have spent years setting your self apart from every other server out there; only to stomp all over the years of work that has been put into our characters on HWS, alts or not. On one alts I play one way, and on another I play differently. What if I can convince my family or close friends to come play with me again like they used to? Shouldn’t that option be available to me? The hours of effort that has been place into out characters does not matter to HWS? Well, It matters to me!
What does it cost HWS to have 3 family share accounts? Is it costing more money? Is it costing more time and effort? You’re giving away digital items in a GAME that you make money off of. I just think some perspective and thought should be put into this. You are alienating some of your biggest long term players by making these types of changes.
The abuse he is taking into account here is the players that need to have multiple accounts using family sharing, and exploiting them for their own net gain. And I think in all fairness he is correct that it is an exploit and there is certainly players within HWS that do this for an advantage. And furthermore if you enjoy the game so much that you feel you need multiple accounts then do the decent thing and purchase the game again for each of your alt accounts and stop being greedy and support the developers.
So, yes I am against family sharing accounts, multiple accounts that are purchased though should be allowed as they paid for that privilege. Spamming multiple accounts should come at a price.
Is that not something that can be tracked? Don’t the existing rules for the server cover this issue? Who are we to demand that people buy multiple copies of a game to allow you kids to play it or the casual player to find out they like the game and HWS? Empyrion is sold though Steam. Steam allows family share. Empyrion has this information and still agrees to the Steam platform. I don’t think its an issue Eleon has. Punish the players that misuse the system that HWS has created. Not the community as a whole. Today its family share accounts. Next its…“?”.
FYI I am not a family share account user. I have purchased multiple accounts over the last 3 to 4 years for friends that have played and not stuck around or that come back for awhile and leave.
My issue is with any change that dictates how I choose to play a video game. Also with a change that will not stop the players that break HWS rules at the expense of the whole group.
Definition : A Bug or Exploit, for the purposes of HWS Rules, is defined as “Any mechanic, whether executed in or out of game, which creates a condition that was not an intended functionality of the game OR HWS Server features.”
5. Multiple Accounts / Faction splitting
employ other abuses derived from having them.
5.1 We allow up to 1-3 accounts (family share or alternative accounts) on HWS. However, you are not allowed to use these multiple accounts to sabotage, infiltrate others, gain massive personal advantage (fa:supply, etc.) from them or employ other abuses derived from having them.
Question answered. Issue resolved.
The correct poll question is:
Should HWS hold account holders accountable to the rules they have agreed to play by on HWS?
