From the "State of the Galaxy Address", @CG_TopHat wrote "We’ve been working with our engineering team and SWGOH.GG". I have a few questions, and I hope they will be answered instead of censored.Who is SWGOH.GG? I don't care so much about their "real identity", so more specifically.. do they play the game? If so, what guild(s) are they affiliated with?What is EA's relationship with SWGOH.GG?There are a lot of concerns about possible conflict of interest, especially since it's long been a "dirty secret" of the game that certain player circles/guilds have advanced knowledge of new content as well as the type of "theory crafting strategies" that point at computer simulation help, not to mention other possible competitive advantages that aren't afforded to other paying customers. I also can't help but think that third party engineers who have access that others don't to your systems are also the most well-equipped to cheat or facilitate cheating by selling tech.I believe EA and/or SWGOH.gg has a responsibility at this point to be transparent about conflicts of interest and to reassure the player base that there is in fact a level playing field.

Advanced knowledge is either by data mining or beta testing. Anyone can apply to beta test but I am sure there is a NDA to not leak any information. You can be a beta tester tooDatamined content is published in discord servers and redditswgoh works with CG to expose game data to make it easier for players such as what stats a character will have at certain gear and relic levels so that we can make informed decisionsIt’s just big data exposure so far (how many players have X toons / at what relic levels)I think it’s fine and beneficial to everyone and don’t see the conflict of interest

They can’t run simulated runs for obvious reasonsThey have the same TW/GAC information that we do when we run botsLet’s say you are battling against a user in GAC who did beta testing for LS TB and you know this, what difference does it make? You still have to face him like any other opponent or non-tester

You can ask the people in charge of swgoh but I doubt you will believe them since you’ve made up your mindI know some people in my guild who don’t have beta access to be in top of GACWHAT DOES IT MEAN?!I’ve looked at rosters of top GAC players and it’s no different than anyone else — meta faction teams that everyone is aware of or working towards at g12/13If I had advance knowledge that kit fisto is about to get an amazing rework that wouldn’t make my current kit fisto any better — he will still suck in GAC until everyone’s Kit Fisto is amazing

"js4" wrote:Who is SWGOH.GG? What is EA's relationship with them?Whales and money.

"EventineElessedil;c-1972010" wrote:"js4" wrote:Who is SWGOH.GG? What is EA's relationship with them?Whales and money. What an edgy take

Who is SWGOH.GG? What is EA's relationship with them?

21 Replies

NotRealUltra
Legend
6 years ago
Advanced knowledge is either by data mining or beta testing. Anyone can apply to beta test but I am sure there is a NDA to not leak any information. You can be a beta tester too

Datamined content is published in discord servers and reddit

swgoh works with CG to expose game data to make it easier for players such as what stats a character will have at certain gear and relic levels so that we can make informed decisions

It’s just big data exposure so far (how many players have X toons / at what relic levels)

I think it’s fine and beneficial to everyone and don’t see the conflict of interest
kgjs420
6 years ago
"Ultra;c-1971969" wrote:
swgoh works with CG to expose game data to make it easier for players such as what stats a character will have at certain gear and relic levels so that we can make informed decisions

It’s just big data exposure so far (how many players have X toons / at what relic levels)

I think it’s fine and beneficial to everyone and don’t see the conflict of interest

^Obviously we know what we can currently see on SWGOH.GG, I'm pretty certain they have greater access to data than what is presented in their API and user interfaces though, and the very nature of these kinds of data systems suggest that they may have been given access to significant tools that are otherwise unavailable to the public, possibly including software that would allow them to easily run battle simulations on current, new, and upcoming data sets. I don't care so much about what they're doing, but I want to know who is doing it so I know how hopeless the efforts are when we get paired against them in TW, GAC, etc, so I don't waste my time.

I think there's no question they have a competitive advantage, I think it is EA's responsibility to disclose the full extent of their special relationship with SWGOH.GG if they want to retain integrity, especially at the highest levels of play.
kgjs420
6 years ago
"Ultra;c-1971969" wrote:
Advanced knowledge is either by data mining or beta testing. Anyone can apply to beta test but I am sure there is a NDA to not leak any information. You can be a beta tester too

Datamined content is published in discord servers and reddit

^There is quite probably a lot of data still-in-test that is not published, and these folks likely have access to test servers that others don't, not to mention additional data processing tools that the public does not have. Regarding beta testing: I feel like a public list of all beta testers' main game accounts should be published as well. Again, it's more about awareness than foul play. I want to know what I'm stacked up against, and I'm sure others do as well, especially if they spend money in game.
NotRealUltra
Legend
6 years ago
They can’t run simulated runs for obvious reasons

They have the same TW/GAC information that we do when we run bots

Let’s say you are battling against a user in GAC who did beta testing for LS TB and you know this, what difference does it make? You still have to face him like any other opponent or non-tester
VeeKnea
6 years ago
"Ultra;c-1971982" wrote:
They can’t run simulated runs for obvious reasons

They have the same TW/GAC information that we do when we run bots

Let’s say you are battling against a user in GAC who did beta testing for LS TB and you know this, what difference does it make? You still have to face him like any other opponent or non-tester

To this - I’m in division 1 and have never seen any opponent place a future team. Or even a team that would be meta before hand. I see the same ole teams as mostly everyone else. Some slight variations but that’s more roster dependent.
Persimius
Seasoned Ace
6 years ago
"js4;d-214958" wrote:
I believe EA and/or SWGOH.gg has a responsibility at this point to be transparent about conflicts of interest and to reassure the player base that there is in fact a level playing field.

This isn't really necessary, honestly. .gg has been around for a couple years. The only thing you need to know is that CG's decision to use their site is terrible because the site is almost unusable because of all the ads.
kgjs420
6 years ago
"Ultra;c-1971982" wrote:
They can’t run simulated runs for obvious reasonsr

So you know their capabilities? I realize that the data they are exposing doesn't point to this, but it doesn't mean they haven't been given access to test clients. The fact of the matter is, we don't know their relationship with EA, only that they have one despite the fact that their website says they are not affiliated.

"Ultra;c-1971982" wrote:
They have the same TW/GAC information that we do when we run bots
- this is not entirely true. they have access to AT LEAST that much information. Again, we don't know what they've been given access to, only that EA does work directly with them.

"Ultra;c-1971982" wrote:
Let’s say you are battling against a user in GAC who did beta testing for LS TB and you know this, what difference does it make? You still have to face him like any other opponent or non-tester
- They were given advance clues about what content to work on/when to hoard, they've been given additional reps in advance to test lineups with new content, they know what new content is going to be game-changing and what they can pass up on well in advance of everyone else. I know some beta testers who topped the GAC charts, I'm sure it had nothing to do with their enhanced access right?
kgjs420
6 years ago
"StarSon;c-1971991" wrote:
This isn't really necessary, honestly. .gg has been around for a couple years. The only thing you need to know is that CG's decision to use their site is terrible because the site is almost unusable because of all the ads.
- The fact that they've been around for years has nothing to do with the possible competitive advantages being afford to them, especially considering by EA's own admission that they are actively working with them on making new data available.

I think a lot of people really underestimate what having clean data and technical support that is not available to others actually does to give someone a competitive advantage. why do you think politicians and big business put so much emphasis on 'big data'?
kgjs420
6 years ago
"Vinny_Vader_Vedi;c-1971990" wrote:
To this - I’m in division 1 and have never seen any opponent place a future team. Or even a team that would be meta before hand. I see the same ole teams as mostly everyone else. Some slight variations but that’s more roster dependent.
I've seen some incredibly suspicious use of squads in TW over the years, and for about a year I was in a guild that had vast insider knowledge. They're one of the top TW guilds still today, and as far as I know the insider is still with them
VeeKnea
6 years ago
"js4;c-1972000" wrote:
"Vinny_Vader_Vedi;c-1971990" wrote:
To this - I’m in division 1 and have never seen any opponent place a future team. Or even a team that would be meta before hand. I see the same ole teams as mostly everyone else. Some slight variations but that’s more roster dependent.
I've seen some incredibly suspicious use of squads in TW over the years, and for about a year I was in a guild that had vast insider knowledge. They're one of the top TW guilds still today, and as far as I know the insider is still with them

Sounds like inception.

I actually like that cg is reaching out to swgoh.gg maybe discord will be the next step.