FBI, NCsoft Close Down Computer Game Operation

[CadetUmfer]

Link

Year long investigation results in raids in multiple search and seizure warrants; Individuals questioned in unauthorized game server scheme

AUSTIN, Texas, November 20, 2006— FBI Agents working in conjunction with officials from NCsoft’s® North American business successfully closed down a computer game operation alleged to be reaping profits by providing a fraudulent service to its players. The operation was closed down after multiple raids and interviews were conducted in various cities from California to Virginia.

Federal search warrants were served on owners of L2Extreme who were also questioned during the raid. L2Extreme was providing its users with unauthorized service and code for NCsoft’s online computer game, Lineage® II. The warrants enabled officials to halt L2Extreme’s operations while collecting further evidence in the course of the investigation.

The FBI estimates L2Extreme has up to 50,000 active users on its service. NCsoft estimates that monetary losses and damages from the operation are costing NCsoft millions of dollars per year.

L2Extreme advertised on its website, www.l2extreme.com, that more than half million registered users had subscribed to play.

“Operations like this essentially are defrauding customers by stealing from companies like NCsoft,” said Matt Esber, NCsoft North America general counsel. “In the end those losses impact our customer support, product development, operational areas and ultimately they impact our player communities, most of which are trying to play games legitimately. This group in particular was downloading our version of the Lineage II software from our servers, costing us close to a million dollars in realized bandwidth costs during the period it was operational.

“We’ve taken this action because we strongly believe in defending the intellectual property rights that we’ve worked so hard to create. We’re extremely pleased that the FBI has worked with us so diligently to bring this particular case to its current state and we want our customers to understand that we will continue to fight similar operations in the future in order to maintain the integrity of all NCsoft games.”

The investigation into the L2Extreme operation is ongoing.

[HaemishM]

What "service" were they providing? An emulation server, powerleveling? It doesn't say.

[CadetUmfer]

It was an Emulation site.  (Well, not exactly emulation, as they had the actual NCSoft source).  Several other sites, such as l2-paradise.com, have pre-emptively shut down for the time being.

[Yoru]

What "service" were they providing? An emulation server, powerleveling? It doesn't say.

Link

Year long investigation results in raids in multiple search and seizure warrants; Individuals questioned in unauthorized game server scheme

They were running unofficial Lineage 2 servers, apparently using stolen source.

[HaemishM]

Their language was unclear.

Good on them for shutting them down, not because they were running an Emu but because they stole source code.

[geldonyetich]

You don't need to find stolen source code to enforce your copyrights, but it helps.   

[damijin]

L2x did indeed use a leaked version of the official L2 server architecture. A few other servers which also used that architecture shut themselves down earlier this week to avoid meeting the same fate as Shmee and the other L2x guys.

As far as I know, L2j (a non-leaked open source java emulation project) servers are still up and running, and the private server community lives on. This is a pretty big deal though. L2x was no doubt the largest international emulator, with L2 paradise being it's closest competitor (and L2p shut itself down to dodge the FBI). So, good work NCsoft.

Oh, and for people arguing in favor of emulators, you should probably know that most of these servers are not free and open emulators of past generations, being run out of their implementors pockets for the sake of the game. Many of them have "donation" systems which allow players to buy weapons, weapon enhancements, all kinds of equipment, gold, or sometimes even EXP. Most of these servers are L2 with 10-30 times the EXP speed (because people hate L2's grind), and micro-transactions, and they appealed to a lot of people.

There's no doubt in my mind that they were actually taking business away from NCsoft. Part of me thinks NCsoft deserved to lose the business by ignoring what the players want... but still, it's not cool for someone to steal your game and implement a slightly varied rule set to make money on it.

Edit: Here's the thread that broke the news to the official server L2 community. http://www.l2guru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57354
as one might expect, the people who pay $15 a month have no sympathy for those who would rather not.. but uh, I can't really suggest that you read that thread unless you're really interested in this story and have a high tolerance for ignorant people.

[Cheddar]

Edit: Here's the thread that broke the news to the official server L2 community. http://www.l2guru.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57354
... I can't really suggest that you read that thread unless you're really ... high ...

One example:

Theres actually no law that states you have to pay taxes. It's just automatically assumed you have to. The government enforces something that doesn't exist. Just google it

edit.  Heh, this tard got WTFPWNED later in the thread.  Internet people are so cute.

[Merusk]

But, but but.. he read it in that e-mail he got!  What does this mean about the millions from his Nigerian friend?! Will he have to pay taxes on it when it shows up after all?

[sinij]

Even if in this case its a good thing overall effects will be detrimental to other emulator services. For example if lawsuit is a success EA will surely go after UO emulators, even that they don't charge anything, don't use stolen server code and are not in competition with EA's UO due to 'good old days' settings of all of them.

[Reg]

If EA wanted to go after the UO emulators they've have done it long ago.

[Righ]

For example if lawsuit is a success EA will surely go after UO emulators, even that they don't charge anything, don't use stolen server code and are not in competition with EA's UO due to 'good old days' settings of all of them.

Indeed. Right now, EA gestapo are conducting door to door searches looking for people with copies of WinUAE and Amiga disk image files of so-called 'abandonware' because its a threat to their sales of more recent versions of Populous and Theme Park.

[retnug37]

I find it interesting how they dropped so hard on the free sites when the reason many of us left them in the first place to go to the free sites is because they fail repeatedly to enforce thier own EULA. Especially where botting is concerned. My family had 4 accounts with them and they repeadtedly failed to do anything about the masses of Chinese(and some others) Botters. It became such an infuriating experience to be hunting in areas and have a line of farmers come along....pk you, then set up thier bots. If u came back to retaliate, the one person monitoring the multiple bots would turn them on u and then resume the botting. Of course some of these botters used legitimate accounts, but many were fake accounts. That was not the only things that they turned a blind eye too, but it was definatly a detracter from the game. It seems that, and I guess it is to be expected, all NCSoft cares about is the money. True concern over customers and customer rights are merely a facade. At least on the free server I could expect prompt actions for rule infractions. Thanks NCSoft for spoiling my last link to you. I actually might have returned someday and renewed some of my 4 lineage 1 accounts, our 4 lineage 2 accounts, our 2 City of heroes accounts, 1 City of villians account, my sons Auto Assault account, but I just wont line the coffers of blind, unthinking, uncaring, corporate stiffs.

                                                               Gunter II

[Cheddar]

I find it interesting how they dropped so hard on the free sites when the reason many of us left them in the first place to go to the free sites is because they fail repeatedly to enforce thier own EULA. Especially where botting is concerned. My family had 4 accounts with them and they repeadtedly failed to do anything about the masses of Chinese(and some others) Botters. It became such an infuriating experience to be hunting in areas and have a line of farmers come along....pk you, then set up thier bots. If u came back to retaliate, the one person monitoring the multiple bots would turn them on u and then resume the botting. Of course some of these botters used legitimate accounts, but many were fake accounts. That was not the only things that they turned a blind eye too, but it was definatly a detracter from the game. It seems that, and I guess it is to be expected, all NCSoft cares about is the money. True concern over customers and customer rights are merely a facade. At least on the free server I could expect prompt actions for rule infractions. Thanks NCSoft for spoiling my last link to you. I actually might have returned someday and renewed some of my 4 lineage 1 accounts, our 4 lineage 2 accounts, our 2 City of heroes accounts, 1 City of villians account, my sons Auto Assault account, but I just wont line the coffers of blind, unthinking, uncaring, corporate stiffs.

                                                               Gunter II

Whoa. 

[damijin]

The ranter does bring up a good point that I forgot to mention. Since the emulators aren't making money (in most cases), they are extremely harsh on botters and in some cases, even 2-boxing is against the rules. You need a healer? Go find an actively played one!

I've heard of cases on L2extrme where GMs would teleport players to the GM room and tell the characters to run in circles in opposite directions simultaneously. The idea being that it would be really hard for any one person to do that by himself. Failure to pass the test would result in a ban.

Extremely harsh and strict rules like that in comparison to NCsofts VERY lax attitude toward botting and RMT is one of the best features for the L2 emulation scene.

[Glazius]

It seems that, and I guess it is to be expected, all NCSoft cares about is the money. True concern over customers and customer rights are merely a facade.

Yeah, because "customer rights" includes the right to steal what you've been renting if you don't like the way it's being run. I'll have to try that out next time I get in a taxicab, see how it goes.

You have the right to stop paying when you don't want to put up with the status quo. You have the right to take legal action if you believe the company was fraudulent in taking your money in the first place. 

(continuing from mispressed save button)

What you don't have is the right to steal from the company, or knowingly benefit from people who have.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's back to City of Heroes. How I ever manage to dodge the farmers in that game is beyond me.

--GF

[retnug37]

Actually, since I was in alpha, then Beta and then bought 4 of the full retail version at full cost, then only updated with free updates, I did have the right to do with the software on my own computer. What I was paying NCSoft for each month was service and community.

[Strazos]

Actually, since I was in alpha, then Beta and then bought 4 of the full retail version at full cost, then only updated with free updates, I did have the right to do with the software on my own computer. What I was paying NCSoft for each month was service and community.

False Sense of Entitlement, or just retarded?

[hal]

The latter, but thats only my option.

[Ironwood]

Actually, since I was in alpha, then Beta and then bought 4 of the full retail version at full cost, then only updated with free updates, I did have the right to do with the software on my own computer. What I was paying NCSoft for each month was service and community.

Wow.  Yeah, you go Sparky.  Stick it to the man.

[eldaec]

My family had 4 accounts with them and they repeadtedly failed to do anything about the masses of Chinese(and some others) Botters. It became such an infuriating experience to be hunting in areas and have a line of farmers come along....pk you, then set up thier bots. If u came back to retaliate, the one person monitoring the multiple bots would turn them on u and then resume the botting. Of course some of these botters used legitimate accounts, but many were fake accounts.....  2 City of heroes accounts, 1 City of villians account, my sons Auto Assault account, but I just wont line the coffers of blind, unthinking, uncaring, corporate stiffs.

eh... what....?

You got pk'd by a bot that had a fake account in City of Heroes?

There is so much wrong with that I don't know where to start.

then bought 4 of the full retail version at full cost, then only updated with free updates, I did have the right to do with the software on my own computer.

What? You or your service provider purchased a fullly licensed version of the L2 server?

Oh, in that case go right ahead.

Or maybe you don't know what you are talking about?

Even if in this case its a good thing overall effects will be detrimental to other emulator services. For example if lawsuit is a success EA will surely go after UO emulators, even that they don't charge anything, don't use stolen server code and are not in competition with EA's UO due to 'good old days' settings of all of them.

'If' they are successful has nothing to do with it. There is no concievable way this could be legal given that it is based on unlicensed software.

If the UO emulators are not using stolen code, and not charging money then I guess they are in a happier place, but not by much. As others have said, it would be easy enough for EA to go after an emulator if they wanted - they probably just don't see it as being worth the legal expense. Yet.

[Murgos]

I thought the UO emulators had a more official standing than all that.  I seem to recall that there was some code provided way back in the day by OSI to help them out?

Regardless I think there are time issues involved.  A decade or so of knowingly allowing someone to operate isn't going to look good in front of the judge when you go to ask them to be shut down.

Anyway, the UO emulators have hardly hurt their business and probably done quite a bit to extend the games longevity.

[Azaroth]

If the UO emulators are not using stolen code, and not charging money then I guess they are in a happier place, but not by much. As others have said, it would be easy enough for EA to go after an emulator if they wanted - they probably just don't see it as being worth the legal expense. Yet.

I'd think that's about the change. With the whole Kingdom Reborn and spending what will probably amount to 1 (one) assload of money on it and whatnot. I'm not sure how willing they'll be in regard to letting a bunch of schmucks jank that shit the second it comes out. I wouldn't be all too inclined to let it go on. Especially with this, some precedent from past BNet stuff, etc.

I'll also let you in on a little secret: The guys on top of the UO emulation scene at the moment DO make themselves some cash. I can't tell you that I ever turned a dime of profit, nor did I actually try (mainly due to things like this, and that whole "hey-this-game-sucks-when-everyone-buys-their-shit-from-that-GM-over-there" feeling). But these guys do turn a healthy profit, and I've seen numbers with my own eyes on several occasions. Which is fine -- good for them, it's a personal choice. I just wonder if it'll get them into hot water one day.

I'd also go so far as to say that with the spending of that much money, their goal could be to round up all of the possible accounts they can. Big stretch, but it might be possible. Spending all that money, I don't think they want lower account numbers than they could have. Which is where not having the option for others to offer people free UO:KR in 31 flavours might come into play. Since pretty much everyone knows what free servers are now, especially if they participate in internet communities.

Oh and, uhm, regarding stolen L2 code and the perceived cleanliness of the UO emulation code out there... I'm not entirely sure everything is ENTIRELY as spotless as advertised. But what do I know. So yeah, that's another issue that only some people know for sure about, and I've only heard whispers in the wind about. I actually hope Raph peeks his head in here and can answer something for me.

[Azaroth]

Mind you, EA has shown a consistent and mildly baffling (yes, even to people involved) level of apathy toward free servers. I wouldn't bet large sums of money that this will change any time soon.

[Falconeer]

This is SO Electronic Arts! They are apathic and uninterested in people making money with their UO code, but won't let anyone in the world play Motor City Online ever again... a game that had about 900 player in its highest peak. They asked about 3 millions for the MCO code... crap!!

(Sorry, I get all emo when it comes to MCO)

[NiX]

Stuff...

Just re-open your god damn shard and get this thread over with. I WANT MY FUN BACK, BITCH!

[retnug37]

OMG I was going to back out of this entire discussion but after Eklaek flamed on me without reading or understanding the point and or converstaion subject I had to respond. First off, moronic boob, the discussion is about Lineage 2 and free servers....not City of Hero's. As Mencia would say...derr derrr derrr. Christ, try to follow the dialogue. You say there is so much wrong with that statement you don't know where to start. Try with your ability to read and comprehend.
 
As to me buying a full LS server....ok cute, but I was stating that I bought the Full versions of the SOFTWARE on CD from retailers, downloaded the free updates as they came. I am free to use that software as I see fit as long as I dont change it and redistribute it. If I use it for my own personal use, and am not aware of a free servers duplicitous nature, then I am not in violation.

Mostly my rages were at NCSoft for thier sudeen concern about free servers when many of us were only on the free servers, not because we were cheap ass bastards, but because they were totally indifferent to the customers needs and rights in the first place. It was always about money ONLY and still is. They just recently, FINALLY made a press to rid themselves of paying bot users and since they need to replace that revenue, they are going after the free servers to force us to take them back if we wish to play L2.

Oh, and Azaroth, that quote about UO was not by me even though the aforementioned boob failed to give credit to that quote. Not your fault Azeroth...you were following a less then sterling intellect.

GunterII

[Trippy]

As to me buying a full LS server....ok cute, but I was stating that I bought the Full versions of the SOFTWARE on CD from retailers, downloaded the free updates as they came. I am free to use that software as I see fit as long as I dont change it and redistribute it. If I use it for my own personal use, and am not aware of a free servers duplicitous nature, then I am not in violation.

According to the User Agreement you are in violation. Lineage II is sold as a service, not as a standalone piece of software. You can argue that "click through" licenses/agreements are bogus and that information wants to be freeeee! but the software as service model has been around for a long time and companies spend billions of dollars every year using software under that model so convincing a judge that you are right and NCsoft wrong is going to be very very difficult.

[eldaec]

I use it for my own personal use, and am not aware of a free servers duplicitous nature, then I am not in violation.

So either you are in violation or you are an idiot.

And the people running the servers (that is, the people who actually got sued) most certainly were aware.

Poor souls like yourself who were 'unaware' that this was illegal are exactly the people NCSoft's GC says he is protecting.

This might be disingenuous claptrap - but happily it's exactly as disingenuous as claiming that you didn't know the free servers were unlicensed.

[Chenghiz]

Mostly my rages were at NCSoft for thier sudeen concern about free servers when many of us were only on the free servers, not because we were cheap ass bastards, but because they were totally indifferent to the customers needs and rights in the first place. It was always about money ONLY and still is. They just recently, FINALLY made a press to rid themselves of paying bot users and since they need to replace that revenue, they are going after the free servers to force us to take them back if we wish to play L2.

Dude, it's always about money. No developer makes a game of that magnitude just because they think it would be really cool if people had fun and played their game. The fact that they waited so long has absolutely no bearing on whether it was an ass move or not - there's no way any intelligent player would think that these L2 servers were legitimate.

It would be interesting to know, though, whether people played on these servers more because they were free or more because they increased XP and money drops by a factor of 10 or more. I actually tried L2x for a week or two but even with the boosted XP it was still goddamn boring.

[Azaroth]

Dude, it's always about money. No developer makes a game of that magnitude just because they think it would be really cool if people had fun and played their game.

Yeah. People who do things for free are morons.

Oh right....

Hrm.

Well, it's still true.

It would be interesting to know, though, whether people played on these servers more because they were free or more because they increased XP and money drops by a factor of 10 or more. I actually tried L2x for a week or two but even with the boosted XP it was still goddamn boring.

It's all about free baby.

There are many different reasons why people play of course, but believe it that none of these people would ever need anything but an old PC and a DSL connection to host their free servers if they weren't FREE servers.

Which is an interesting comment I suppose (possibly being that I think everything I say is interesting?), since it directly contradicts what I said earlier about it probably being smart to shut these things down, especially for companies like EA right now.

Blizzard actively takes them down, because it'd probably cause them to lose a somewhat fair (not percentage wise, of course) chunk of their playerbase. Let's say, especially since they probably couldn't pull mass-bans like they did with WowGlider recently - a rather fair portion of those people would simply glide off to a free server and do whatever the hell they felt like instead of signing up for another Blizzard account.

Even if free servers ban for various offenses, the fact that accounts are, uhm, free, sorta makes it easy to just pick up another -- and even hide your gold, resources, etc., on another free account somewhere - even hidden from administrators by opening it up and using it solely on a proxy, different email, etc, thus making it harder to track down and associate.

But the fact is that the freebie-ers are the base of your soup. Once they're there, you can attract all kinds of other people. Father and Son team 34 and Guild of PvPers 185 aren't going to start playing your free server unless there's a good population already. That never really gets off the ground without the roaming gangs of people looking to play their favourite game for free. Which provides a fairly interesting situation, in that you could POSSIBLY get away with charging money and thus making it less of a "because it's free" and more of a ruleset thing... but the second you do that, the bottom falls out of your playerbase and the rest trickle out with them, precisely due to the way the playerbase is built originally.

So yeah, while it's a mixture of both, it's all about free.

That and, since it's free, people start feeling entitled to free. So since it's something that attracts them in the first place, whether it's why they're playing or not, the second it went away, if it were to, you can guarantee you'd piss most everyone off.

So yeah. All about free.