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Ryan_Morford's avatar
3 years ago

Config Rules are Unclear, EA Staff Refuses Responses and Abuses Power When I Ask

EA support has refused to help me answer questions about the game for about a week straight. My question revolves around config file modification in your game. The rules of Apex clearly state that modifying game files are a bannable offense; this is not the case, however, as not only will you not get banned, but in the case of certain streamers, you will have express permission from Apex representatives to use config file modification to allow for impossible movements such as super gliding and neo strafing, additionally using config file modification to allow for audio fixes such as giving yourself surround sound 7.1 is also permitted by community managers. I would provide some evidence for my claims here. However, the last time I did that, I was nearly banned by a community manager due to "name and shame" because I mentioned the streamer who got staff permission to cheat, violating community guidelines. I used his public Twitter handle and mentioned his public tweet admitting to cheating. After my community manager warned me about this topic, he forced close the case so I could not ask my questions; I also ran into many live support staff members who closed the live support before I could even type my first message, clearly not wanting to do their jobs. I am still waiting for a response on Twitter from Twitter help, and finally, I asked for email support, where I moved between SEVEN representatives. I still need to address the issue I asked. I can no longer respond to them because they closed the email chain, claiming that my "ban" had been reviewed and they found me to be cheating... I am not banned, nor do I use game file modification of any kind; that was not the question asked, and clearly, their game of telephone lost my original question, though if they did their jobs, they could see that my question is not that hard to answer. That is why I asked them if it was allowed. I find it incredibly unprofessional to refuse essential support and ignore and disrespect players looking for such help blatantly. I have lost all respect for the EA support staff after my interactions with over a dozen individuals, who either immediately closed the support topic so they do not need to help or abused their positions, threatening me. If any community managers see this and decide not to abuse their power I would love to discuss the rules so that I can fully understand who is and is not permitted to modify game files and what constitutes an unfair advantage.

19 Replies

  • During a conversation with a community manager, I learned that using config files for 7.1 surround sound is allowed because it doesn't provide an unfair advantage to players. However, I'm still unsure about what modifications are permitted without breaking the rules. It's clear that removing gun models, smoke, neo or meme strafing are not allowed, but what about tweaking FPS and graphics through config files? I'm seeking clarification on what's acceptable and what's not, particularly when it comes to fair play. I have a list of items and would appreciate guidance not only for myself but for other players to ensure a level playing field. Some of these items may be common sense, but I want confirmation from a community manager to be sure.

    Increasing FPS - yes/no

    Lowering graphics further than game minimums - yes/no

    Unpairing sprint and toggle zoom - yes/no

    Increased FOV to more than default 110 - yes/no

    Easy superglides - yes/no

    Easy tap strafing - yes/no

    Easy superjumps - yes/no

    Easy superglides on a controller - yes/no

    Easy tap strafing on a controller - yes/no

    Easy superjumps on a controller - yes/no

    Removing muzzle flash - yes/no

    Better audio (removing clutter noise) - yes/no

    "Fullbright" (removing shadows) - yes/no

    Easy neo/meme strafing - yes/no

    Removing all smoke effects - yes/no

    Removing gun models - yes/no

    Removing weapon recoil - yes/no

  • EA_Mako's avatar
    EA_Mako
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    3 years ago

    Hey @Ryan_Morford,

    We are not going to be able to provide you a comprehensive list of actions you can and cannot take with your config files, sorry. The majority of the things you've mentioned cannot be done via the in-game settings and should be avoided.

    I would refer back to the post @XHelperZ linked earlier in the thread if you're considering modifying any game files.


    @EA_David wrote:
    Generally it's not a good idea to automate movement, the general guideline is that one player input should never equate to more than one game input, and in general it's best to protect your account by staying away from that stuff.

    For performance config, it's usually best to stick to the in-game options where available. General tweaks to improve performance should be fine, but if hypothetically there were a way to give an advantage (improving visibility by removing intentionally obscuring effects for example) this would not be allowed.

    Additionally, please keep in mind this activity would be bound by our User Agreement as well. 

  • Thank you for responding promptly. I just wanted to clarify that using movement aids is prohibited, while simple game enhancements are allowed as long as they don't give me an unfair advantage or affect the game's visibility? Moreover, I'm facing issues where the game doesn't register my scroll wheel inputs due to my scroll speed. As someone who uses the scroll wheel to jump, I'm wondering if editing the config file is an allowed option to prevent input skipping. I'm unsure if this would give me an advantage in the game.

  • EA_Mako's avatar
    EA_Mako
    Icon for Community Manager rankCommunity Manager
    3 years ago
    Hi @Ryan_Morford,

    I know you're wanting a clearer rubber stamp of approval for certain behaviors, but that's not something we'll be able to provide.

    As a general rule of thumb, if you're not able to achieve the same thing by changing settings in-game, I would avoid it.
  • How can we make the right choices if we do not know what will lead to getting banned?

  • @EA_Mako I just realized that quick reply would have been really helpful all along. Either way, I'm confused as to why it's been difficult to receive clear instructions from any of the staff regarding the game's rules.
  • well the didn't state that all configs were cheating they stated that visual configs were considered cheating. Thus making movement configs allowed like a neo or super glide config file. Correct me if I'm wrong but that is what i read in my digging.

  • Hakreesh's avatar
    Hakreesh
    3 years ago

    "As a general rule of thumb, if you're not able to achieve the same thing by changing settings in-game, I would avoid it."

    Any adjustment you could change in those config files could potentially give you an affect in game that could not be achieved in game settings...

    Maybe the EA agent's instructions on this manner here are not clear enough for you, but I can articulate into layman's terms after reading this official response they are clearly saying that you may adjust the config menu WITHIN THE PARAMETERS of the in game menu.... so you may use to "copy and paste" settings profiles, and quickly change your whole menu top to bottom with one file, but YOU MAY NOT adjust ANY value that is not found WITHIN the game's menu, and you ALSO MAY NOT adjust the values to anything outside the game menus parameters (which is SUPER confusing because most of us do not read computer code language and do not even know what most these adjustment values are in the game code, since it is not all just "1" for on and "0" for off, some of them go into the THOUSAND values and some of them have 6 digits after their decimal, so then, Micro adjusting your yaw speed from 250.000000 to 250.000001 would be BANNABLE since you cannot achieve that same affect in game.)

    I hope this helps for anyone genuinely struggling with comprehending the difficult words from the people in power here Bless Up Brothers @Ryan_Morford @everyone

    -KunaiMelee (15k kill caustic by season 5 or 6)

  • @EA_MakoYou can close the thread now brother Bless Up, I told them what you said but in words they can understand lmaoo it sounds to me, if I may,

    the original poster is clearly upset because he is being told he cannot do something, meanwhile there is no actual enforcement or firewalls on the matter.

    Enforcement is manual whenever devs "feel" like driving one of us away from the herd to destroy us (Probably justifiably so, and based on valid reports from real players)

    So that I believe, is what the original poster is failing to understand. The devs are not just picking on people and bullying them, they are enforcing against players who receive valid reports on their records.

    Judging by how much the original poster knows about configs and potential exploiting in configs, really shows that he knew what he was doing in order to get himself banned. Did bro seriously just give you a grocery list of exploits he wanted you to approve for him or somehow wave a wand to make disappear?

    I have tinkered around and toyed with Configs, but nothing I did felt like it gave me an unfair advantage because it was just personal expiramentation out of boredom. 

    After learning this today. I am resetting my configs to default and following the rules that I just learned exist.

    [CM - post edited to follow community guidelines]

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