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  • Subject: Banhammer Update
Subject: Banhammer Update
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  • Exalted Mythic Member

The latest Halo 2 auto update was released over Xbox Live yesterday and will automatically download to your console the next time you try to play a game over Live. This update contains tools to detect and ban anyone who uses hacked or modified content online. Despite our ongoing warnings, there are people who insist on using hacks and to date 2,550 of them have been permanently banned.

There has been some speculation that the update was a bluff or that it didn't work as a number of players were still encountering modders online after getting the update. This is to be expected. Modders will still exist for a short time but once detected, they will soon be permanently banned as the new self-aware automated Banhammer starts swinging. Banned players will also potentially persist on the leaderboards for a short time following a ban from Live but will be cleaned out shortly afterwards.

Also, please note, that the Bungie Team will still be banning and dealing with people who use network manipulation to their advantage as well as people boosting. Also, if you used modded content prior to the AU and used it to climb the leaderboards you will still get stripped off the leaderboards and potentially banned from Live. Please continue to use the in-game feedback system to deal with behavior / poor sportsmanship issues.

For more information about cheating in general, please refer to the Bungie.net Cheating FAQ.

Banhammer Mini FAQ
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I heard the Autoupate is ruining people's game discs!?
False. Despite the fun rumors about discs mysteriously being scratched once the update was downloaded, there is no correllation between said disc damage and the auto update itself.

Once I installed the update I'm no longer able to load maps and/or it takes an incredibly long time. What gives?
As with prior updates, once this is installed, it will clear the cache of your Xbox where the maps get loaded. This means that when you go to play, it will take longer than usual as it reloads the maps back into cache. The AU itself has not damaged your Xbox or your game.

Some people are experiencing issues with maps failing to load altogether. The first thing you should do is double check that your disc is clean and free of scratches. If the problem persists, please contact Xbox Support at 1-800-4MY-XBOX or visit the Xbox.com Support Page for additional information.

I can't download the AU at all. It tells me there's an update avaialble and when I go to download it I get an error message. What's up?

We have heard reports that people who have modified content on their Xbox may have intentionally or unintentionally altered or corrupted the program used to run the Xbox Live downloader. If you can't get the AU, you can't play Halo 2 on Live at all. If you're experiencing issues with the downloader itself, please follow the Xbox support recommendations listed above.


Thank you to everyone who has continued to assist us in tracking down and removing various cheaters from our community and thank you as well for your patience as we continue to work towards making the Halo 2 online experience the best it can be.

  • 07.21.2005 11:49 AM PDT
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finally i can play without getting modded

thanks bungie

  • 07.21.2005 11:54 AM PDT
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Hip hip hooray. I sent an email and got somebody banned!

  • 07.21.2005 11:59 AM PDT
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It's about time these modders are offline. Maybe they will get girlfriends. Thanks Bungie.

  • 07.21.2005 12:02 PM PDT
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Thanks bungie now we can play without modders

  • 07.21.2005 12:04 PM PDT

ლ(ಠ_ಠლ),ಠ_ಠ,ʘ_ʘ,ಥ_ಥ,ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ ,ᶘ ಠᴥಠᶅ,ᶘᵒᴥᵒ ʘ‿ʘᶅʕ·͡ᴥ·ʔ@[393703897340448:]

ya no cheaters to -blam!- with us any more ya!

  • 07.21.2005 12:05 PM PDT
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why have i already played against people cheating when the update just came out

  • 07.21.2005 12:10 PM PDT
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Posted by: genius1
why have i already played against people cheating when the update just came out



I did to

  • 07.21.2005 12:16 PM PDT
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Modding will soon be gone :) also 1st page i usually never get here in time!!!!

8th

[Edited on 7/21/2005]

  • 07.21.2005 12:16 PM PDT
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good im glad and to all you modders get a life and stop wasting yuor money on something that will get you a level 50 but banned the next day, I mean even if you do get a level above a 30 so what you cheated and you dont have the skill to get it without cheating. say adios to your 50 bucks

  • 07.21.2005 12:17 PM PDT
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Posted by: ThallsLilBro
Posted by: genius1
why have i already played against people cheating when the update just came out



I did to


Are you serious? Did you even read the update? Glad to see that many people are banned. What's the easiest way to tell if someone we know has been banned? Will their stat page have some indication or will their rank be removed? Nice job so far.

  • 07.21.2005 12:19 PM PDT

Nice.

  • 07.21.2005 12:28 PM PDT
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Bungie rules! It'll be fun to see how well some of these people really play!

  • 07.21.2005 12:30 PM PDT
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nice one

  • 07.21.2005 12:34 PM PDT

i keep my posts clean, please do the same =].

|member since 6/19/2005|

2,000+ and counting, good job Banhammer...and Bungie!

[First page :-D]

  • 07.21.2005 12:37 PM PDT
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Whoo! Finally all these modders get what they deserve

  • 07.21.2005 12:43 PM PDT

ლ(ಠ_ಠლ),ಠ_ಠ,ʘ_ʘ,ಥ_ಥ,ᶘ ᵒᴥᵒᶅ ,ᶘ ಠᴥಠᶅ,ᶘᵒᴥᵒ ʘ‿ʘᶅʕ·͡ᴥ·ʔ@[393703897340448:]

ALRIGHT EVERY ONE GO TO THE FIRST ARTICLE and tell those people asking (why am i still getting modded question) and tell them they can find the answer here because i think they would get lost without us well go tell them now so we dont get that same questioned answered in the next wwu alright!

  • 07.21.2005 12:48 PM PDT
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Do you guys send messages of some sort to people who get banned?
I mean, I have no reason too have been banned, but when I tryed signing on this afternoon (after playing several games this morning) I get the troubleshooting error...

The only thing I can think of is if there is an issue with my wireless network, but everything seems to be fine...I just can't connect to xboxlive...

  • 07.21.2005 12:50 PM PDT
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First time ever writing in a forum so i hope i've done it properly but yeah i'm having exactly the same problem! I rarely swear on xbox live on any games and i have never once cheated. The only bad thing i can think of is that i played a game with a few people and the host used an action replay to make the name of his game have pictures of swords in it! When i go to download the update nothing happens for about a minute and then it says it is not available! please try again later! someone please help me! i want to play again!

  • 07.21.2005 1:00 PM PDT
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To the people who constantly post that they still are getting stuck with modders, read the Update text, then go rant. The boards would be so much cleaner if people that posted, stopped to read up on what they were posting about.

Posted by: robohell2112
Do you guys send messages of some sort to people who get banned?
I mean, I have no reason too have been banned, but when I tryed signing on this afternoon (after playing several games this morning) I get the troubleshooting error..


Hi Robo, The AU doesn't ban you from XBL, it bans you from H2 matchmaking (feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). I would guess that your having some type of network issue.

cheers,

Zed



[Edited on 7/21/2005]

  • 07.21.2005 1:00 PM PDT
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All I can say is woooww.... Its great to see such a community that all agree... Will the be a page that shows the GT of the ppl who have been banned and why they were banned??? I think that that would be justice for all the ones that have been victims of the screaming school girls... I wish that you would have not banned them quite as fast, but yet keep them at the level that they reached. So they could have played others in there ranking without them getting modded, and get there A$$e$ handed to them. Thats awesome and also about time that Bungie has came up with the right action to take.. I never thought of the AutoUpdate. I know that myself and many others were wondering how u were going to go about it. I have been checking out your site everyday for a month to see what was going to happen... and all I can say is !!!!!!!!!!Great job!!!!!!!!!
[quote]Posted by: SketchFactor

  • 07.21.2005 1:15 PM PDT

Halo 2 is by far the best game I have ever played...But then there came bridgers and modders.

Thank you to everyone who has continued to assist us in tracking down and removing various cheaters from our community and thank you as well for your patience as we continue to work towards making the Halo 2 online experience the best it can be.
[/quote]

No..Thank you Bungie for listening to the Halo 2 community and trying to correct these online problems. Instead of being completely dedicated to Halo 3, Bungie still has a team of people looking out for us playing Halo 2. Thank you Bungie.

  • 07.21.2005 1:19 PM PDT
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yay

  • 07.21.2005 1:23 PM PDT
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Its about F***ING time. I've been more excited about this than the new maps. I know a few of these F***ERS. Time to get them back for threatening to fry my XBOX. Dirt WH0RES are going to pay now. THX Bungie... THX a bunch. Keep up the work.

Umm... where do I go to Report these A**-Monkeys?

"Nobody gets Left Behind!"

[Edited on 7/21/2005]

  • 07.21.2005 1:34 PM PDT

"Don't tell me how to live my life!"
~R.I.P. Chris Brown/D34THP1MP72


TWP
TTL Ally

R.I.P. ~B.B.

Posted by: SketchFactor

Thank you to everyone who has continued to assist us in tracking down and removing various cheaters from our community and thank you as well for your patience as we continue to work towards making the Halo 2 online experience the best it can be.


call me a fanboy if you want, i dont care what people say (i refer you to my member name), but i think it is more than obvious that bungie cares. they work hard to fix the problems, which is voluntary(no legal binding) and then they take the time to thank us.

thats like santa claus thanking me for the bike he gave me when i was 4.

  • 07.21.2005 1:40 PM PDT