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The NCSoft launcher is detecting the bots not the Aion client itself (so why aren’t you closing it after starting Aion?) this is a list of modules and what they are doing:

<ScanRemoteProcesses>

Check the memory area of the game using a CRC checksum to detect any writes to memory if a memory write is detected then the account is instantly flagged. The CRC checksum is stored in the NCSoft launcher so to successfully memory write Aion you would need to update the client “aion.bin” and the NCSoft launcher at the same time either way its to risky don’t use memory writing!

Check for loaded modules into the “aion.bin” this is checking for anything that has been injected into the client it CRC checks all known modules and flags for any unknown modules.

<ScanCurrentProcess>

Checks the names of every running process on the system it then recursively checks all parent and child window names for known strings most are Chinese there are also a few references to AionSz and to the damncheaters client. If this manages to spot anything it spawns a small window with the title “Bot Detected” and the message of the prompt is collected from the server.

My testing with a packet editor I was able to filter out the message to the server using a combination of wpepro and wireshark this is what i learnt from my testing:

<ScanRemoteProcesses> runs about every half hour I made a small application in vb.net to inject my location into the game it basically made the character walk around in circles using eight coordinates, I did this in an area with know one around and after a few minuets the game sent the packet that was stoped by my filter and then logged me out and displayed this message:

We are sorry but this account does not currenly have access to Aion. Your account has been suspended because you breached the Aion game service agreement or the company’s operation policy. For more information about the account suspension, contact us by visiting the cusomer center on the plaync website (Best MMORPGs and Online RPG Games by NCsoft) or by calling the customer center [1 (512) 498-4099].

I closed this and tried to login and was able to so at this point I’m happy I know how to stop the flag packet the next test was injecting a module I had no idea how to do this so I had a friend make one for me that just changed the Aion window name to the time injection was successful and the account flag packet was sent again spawning the same message above.

The third test was testing the window name detection I made a vb.net application with the same process name as AionSz bot and left it open … nothing happened so i tried some more playing around and after about an hour i discovered that the only way to spawn the process checker was to /AutoHuntReport myself after just one report the process started the flag packet was sent (and stopped) and a message box spawned from the client “Bot Detected” no message I had filtered that out.

I retried this test with a random process name and a window name it did not like and then again with a random process name and a child name it did not like and both times it was able to detect it, this means that the random naming system (where you choose what macro goblin is called at the start) is not a perfect way around the detection system.

I would suggest that any mod developers use randomly generated window names and put the title of there mod as a label below the window name as this is more secure for future updates!

Finally seen as my sister do sent play Aion any more I decided to see what the packet i had been blocking actually does to an account please note that I did none of my testing on this account its never had kinah or power levelling or botting and was a perfectly legit account. After sending the packet the account went from being logged in to logged out and this message is displayed.

My login screen: (Note name changed so you can see im not just downloading something from google images you can also see my Aion Goblin forum)

This was almost instant after sending the packet my friend helped me identify as the detection packet.

A side note to all the people who flamed the idea of NCSoft detecting paths, your arguments are the processing power needed the detect this and that the Aion bot leaves the path regularly. My counter argument is its really simple to detect your ignore mobs return routes and it would take very little processing to flag a user who hits 10 coordinates in succession plus the likelihood of this happening to a real player are so small its none existent. But then how do you gather these way points? simple you register an account on a forum like this and download them. Now I’m not saying don’t share your way points but i am saying use them for an idea of where to bot and then make your own way points and return paths!

We are looking at one last module that uses an algorithm to check folders for files it does not actually work because the trigger requires an un used variable to be set to true (its un-used this will never happen) but looking into it encase this is something they fix in the future.

Basically and don’t hold me to this yet as honestly the algorithm is huge and will take time to work out its looking in %WINDIR% and %ProgramFiles% (these are short paths windows replaces then with actual paths when used for example.

%WINDIR% = C:\Windows
%ProgramFiles% = C:\Program Files

For some files with Chinese names (reassuringly there are no English names in the list) then it starts a process that looks like it would flag the account and spawn a message box different to the “Bot Detected” one this is as far as I have got.

This is the english names checked by the <ScanCurrentProcess> module I haven’t bothered with the Chinese ones because I don’t believe they work with Aion EU/US:

autoCraft
AionKtz
AionSz
Aionmation
AionMono
MMOBro
Nyerkbot
AionGrind
Pete’s AION Radar
NoFap
AngelBot
AionGather
AionBot
justBOTTinG
AutoAion
FarmBot
DamnCheaters
MMOGuider
MMO Guider

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Just got news that Blizzard is removing skill trees from Diablo III. This will be a big shift from the previous games. I’m hoping they don’t try to pull of a World of Diablocraft…

Blizzard’s Jay Wilson said that skill trees will not be a part of Diablo III.

DiabloFans conducted an interview with Blizzard’s Jay Wilson and chatted about the upcoming action-RPG PC game, Diablo III. Recently Blizzard revealed that it had no plans to ship the game in 2010, instead revealing a possible 2011 or 2012 street date. This latest interview dives straight into the topic of skill trees, and how they’re listed as “unnamed skill tree 1-3.” Naturally, inquiring Diablo fans want to know more.

Wilson’s eventual explanation reflects back to two Tweets over the last week, with the first reporting that the Diablo III team is implementing and testing a new system that changes how skills are acquired. A tweet dated yesterday is more of a tease, asking followers what approach the team is taking in regards to the removed/changed skill trees.

But in the interview, Wilson admits that they’re removing the tree-type architecture and will instead install a “purely” skill-based system. “This new system is still in the development stages and if it does not work, we still have plenty of options to fall back on,” he said. “Right now, we’re just trying different things and getting a feel for the few ideas in regards to the skill system that we have going on right now. It differs from the World of Warcraft/Diablo II type hierarchical styles and is more of a skill pool/path than a tree per se.”

The interview also covers topics including class-specific quests, the difficulty settings (or current lack thereof), balancing the power of an item in comparison to its drop rate, what the merchants are selling within the game, an more. While Wilson refused to comment about the PvP system, he did say that they’re trying to implement features from the published novels.

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In a stunning announcement Community Manager “Tamat ~ Andrew Beegle” made a post on the Aion forums about a huge ban wave. This is no doubt a huge hit to the RMT and Botting community. However, I suspect that more sophisticated tools will come around shortly that will allow this kind of activity to resume.

Good morning Daevas!

As you probably noticed, we’ve completed a server wide reboot without much notice on a day that we typically don’t perform maintenance. It’s only fair that we keep you in the loop and make sure you know what’s going on. Over the last week we’ve been working on a list, we’ve been checking it twice, and today we found out who was naughty or nice. Ban Hammer Claus just came to town. When the servers come back online, nearly 16,000 accounts will have been removed from the game. If your account was banned, please read the following FAQ.

***

1. Why was I banned?

There could be many reasons your account was closed. If you did not receive notification of your violation via e-mail please create a support ticket and the violation will be explained to you.  Please note that if your account was closed for the use of 3rd party software (botting) or participating in RMT (gold buying/selling) the evidence for the account closure was gathered over several weeks. It may be completely unrelated to what your character was doing right when your account was closed.

2. … but I wasn’t botting, buying Kinah or spamming advertisements! I’m innocent!

Any action that modifies the client or automates the same way a bot does could potentially flag an account as a violator. We do not use one specific instance to “flag” an account for botting or RMT. We use many instances to strengthen our conclusions. Please understand that it is not what “you” have done on your account, but what the account has done. If your account is shared, purchased, borrowed, or power leveled, it could be the actions of anyone who’s ever used the account.

3. I’m aware of all of the above, but I have never done any of it. Who do I contact?

To request a review, please create a support ticket.

We are taking a very firm stance on this issue and do have sophisticated processes and procedures in place that help us keep unwarranted banning to a minimum. If you believe you’ve been wrongfully banned, you can email us at support@ncsoft.com, and we will review your account. Our goal is to ensure our legitimate players are having the best game experience possible. Please note that you don’t need to submit multiple tickets, as we will review a specific case only once. We obviously take these violations seriously, but also want to make sure that legitimate players aren’t banned unnecessarily.

***

We’d like to reiterate that we’ve been listening to your concerns. We’ve been constantly adding to our Customer Service and Game Surveillance Unit. As we continue to move forward, you’ll see more and more of these efforts. Thanks for your patience everyone, and have fun playing Aion!

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NYtimes has a great article about the RMT industry that is exploding.

Silicon Valley may have discovered the perfect business: charging real money for products that do not exist.

These so-called virtual goods, like a $1 illustration of a Champagne bottle on Facebook or the $2.50 Halloween costume in the online game Sorority Life, are no more than a collection of pixels on a Web page.

But it is quickly becoming commonplace for people to spend a few dollars on them to get ahead in an online game or to give a friend a gift on a social network.

Analysts estimate that virtual goods could bring in a billion dollars in the United States and around $5 billion worldwide this year — all for things that, aside from perhaps a few hours of work by an artist and a programmer, cost nothing to produce.

“It’s a fantastic business,” said Jeremy Liew of Lightspeed Venture Partners, a venture capital firm that has invested $10 million in several virtual goods companies. “Because it’s digital, the marginal cost for every one you sell is zero, so you have 100 percent margins.”

The companies that create and sell virtual goods, including Zynga, Playfish and Playdom, three online gaming start-ups in the San Francisco area, say they are recording significant revenue and profits, which have been elusive for many Web companies.

Virtual goods have been popular in Asia for years. In the United States though, only ardent video game fans spent money on them, mostly for swords and spells in virtual fantasy realms. That is rapidly changing, driven by the popularity of widely appealing games for social networks like Facebook and mobile phones like the iPhone.

“The people playing these games on social networks don’t define themselves as gamers — they are just killing time, having fun,” Mr. Liew said.

In Restaurant City, a game by Playfish on Facebook, 18 million active users manage their own cafe and stock it with virtual casseroles and cakes. In Zynga’s game FarmVille, 62 million agrarian dreamers cultivate a farm, plant squash seeds and harvest their crops with tractors.

These games and many others have casual gamers reaching for their wallets, along with a few rationalizations, as they make the peculiar purchase of pixels on a computer screen.

“It’s an experience, like going to the movies. That’s how I describe it,” said Sara Merrill of Parsonfield, Me., who plays Pet Society on Facebook with her two young sons five times a week.

Recently, the family used a credit card to buy $20 worth of the game’s currency, then bought items like a haunted mirror and a potion that helped their pet, Demon Baby, grow bat wings. “It’s still cheaper than taking the kids to Target where they will ask for a toy,” she said.

For outsiders, the selling of virtual goods — items with no actual value in the real world — might seem the very definition of a swindle.

But often, strong — and somewhat rational — motives are at work. Users of social networks can buy one another gifts, like images of flowers and birthday cakes, typically for a dollar each. Facebook recently expanded its gift store to allow other companies to list their virtual wares, like greeting cards.

“It’s not about the good itself, it’s about the underlying human emotion or desire,” said Moshe Koyfman, a principal at Spark Capital, which has invested in two virtual-goods start-ups. “The recipient knows the person took time, picked something meaningful and spent money on it.”

Most of the momentum in the virtual goods market comes not from gifts but from social games, where people buy items to improve their performance in the game or just to build up a collection that will impress friends.

Unlike traditional games, social games are generally free, and the vast majority of players never spend any money. In Zynga’s games, less than 3 percent of players pay for something, said Mark Pincus, the chief executive of the company.

Players can also earn virtual currency by signing up for subscription services or installing pop-up advertising software. But some social gaming companies have cut back on such offers after criticism that they were misleading and in some cases defrauding players.

Zynga says direct purchases of virtual currency and goods will account for most of its more than $100 million in revenue this year, and that the company is profitable.

Game creators talk openly about their strategies to make people pay for virtual goods: get them addicted, then steer them to purchases that speed up the pace of the game and help them succeed. In FarmVille, for example, the tractors’ gasoline tanks replenish themselves slowly over the course of a day. Instead of waiting, players can pay to buy gas — something that might be considered cheating in more traditional games.

“You put intentional friction in, and a small number of people who value their time and want to play at a faster pace can spend money,” Mr. Pincus said.

Players of the games have competitive reasons to buy, too. Wendy Pickering of Columbus, Ohio, plays Sorority Life, a game in which players create and dress groups of co-eds, and then, rather violently, pit them against one another until the most glamorous house wins. She discovered very quickly, she said, that she would be trounced in every showdown if she didn’t have enough fashionable items.

Ms. Pickering has paid more than $30 in the last few months to buy the game’s virtual currency, called Brownie Points, which she has used on items like the Miss America tiara and hair, and the Cinco de Mayo party outfit, which included a sombrero.

“That is about as much as I’d be willing to pay for a game off the shelf in a store,” she said.

Some game fans claim that in some cases, virtual goods can be better than the real thing. Jamie Kwong, a 13-year-old in Altadena, Calif., spends hours a week on a “paper doll” site called Stardoll, buying dresses and handbags. She created Juillet606, with brown eyes and hair to match her own. Unlike the actual paper dolls she used to play with, the tabs do not rip off.

“With Stardoll it all stays on there, my brother can’t get on it, and everything is good,” she said.

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