Major Halo 2 Hacking Forums Close

Since I just started, I would like to report on things that has happend recently...

Original post From Xbox-Scene
>> It’s been an interesting 24 hrs in the scene.

With the recent rumblings from Bungie regarding Cheaters/Hacks, there has been a shift in the hack HALO 2 scene. Bungie’s most recent post goes into a fair amount of detail what they are doing about cheats and people who use mods on their service.

From Bungie:

"Our team is aware of the types of activity taking place as well as the websites and individuals who are propagating these files through the community. Anyone who is found to be using hacked tags or modified game content will be PERMANENTLY banned from Halo 2 matchmaking. This is a serious issue and we will not be issuing any warnings. In addition, the Microsoft Legal Team is pursuing any websites or individuals found to be distributing Halo 2 game files or content.

Please note that contrary to some rumors floating around the internet, this does not solely apply to ranked games. Anyone using modified content or hacks in any game of Halo 2 over Xbox Live is subject to the full wrath of the Bungie Banhammer. You have been warned.
endquote"

When you read their release, it reads like so many they’ve published in the past. All the same words are there. “we’re doing our best” and “we’re gota lot of members.. blah blah blah”. But, despite all their well meaning words, all you have to do to tell how effective Bungie is at stopping and dealing with the cheaters is to look at their own numbers.

They reported...

"The Bungie Banhammer has been dropped on nearly 3,200 people to date. Currently, approximately 2,600 players have active bans in place. We realize that this is probably a drop in the bucket but we are continuing to make progress. "

Take that number, divide that by the number of days HALO 2 has been on the market, and you’ll see that very few people have been banned for cheating or hacking with Halo 2.

Then the other shoe dropped…

From HaloMods:
"
As some of you may have read on Bungie's website lately, the cheating problem on Xbox Live has grown out of control. While our moderating team has been vigilant in eliminating any information about these cheats on HaloMods over the past month, I feel the time has come for me to take more drastic measures. Starting today, I have decided to temporarily close both the files forum and the main forum until Bungie releases their next auto-update. From what I hear, this will likely be in the next few weeks. I know this will disappoint many of you, but I think it is better for the long-term health of our community. You may remember a similar situation on the HBO forums when Halo 2 was leaked.

I believe the majority of our community despises what these XBL cheaters have done to ruin the Halo modder's reputation. Modding is supposed to be about being creative and adding new content to our favorite game. We will not tolerate their intrusion into our community.

During this time, the main HaloMods webpage will remain up, so please do your part to help Bungie out. If you see ANYONE using mods on live, please click the "report cheaters" button on the right side of this page. You need to have an account with the main site. In addition, if you find any links with step-by-step tutorials on how to mod and get on XBL, links for warezing the new maps, or cheat ppfs, send the link to cheaters-list@halomods.com. We will forward the information to Bungie so they can take appropriate action.

Even though the forums will be closed, you may still contribute stories to our main page. Our IRC channel will remain open. Again, sorry for the inconvenience this may cause many of you. "

Even before those News Posts.. Xbox Scene had been reviewing our own forums, and making sure our house was in order. However, we’ve also seen the changes in our Halo 2 hack forums. A shift in focus from simple mods that people can enjoy and maybe share with a few trusted others.. to a more seedy, underground, less scrupulous user who asks for and researches the myriad methods of possible cheating.

Worse still, these same people have turned the Halo 2 Hacking forum upside down in a short period of time requesting Cheat files, offering Cheat files, while others are offering or can tel you where or how to download Maps. So, with our own XS membership not respecting XS site policy about NO PIRACY (by frequently asking for or attempting to link to files) and with the cheaters making life hell on LIVE and bringing down heat on sites like ours, we’ve decided to follow in the Steps of Halomods and close the Halo 2 Hacking Forums temporarily, and possibly permanently.

It’s with a heavy heart, that things have come down to this. However, we’ve devoted more than enough time and resources working hard to keep XS legal, and above board. We’ll wait and see what and how Bungie deals with the cheaters/hack users. I hope they get their ship in shape and actually do something about the cheating on LIVE. Cause, to date.. their record is piss poor. As a paying member of LIVE, and an owner of many copies of HALO 2 I'm upset and dismayed at how often Bungie continues to drop the ball on the issues of hacks and cheaters.

Bungie may well wish sites like HaloMods and Xbox-Scene didn’t exist, and they may blame us and other sites for their headaches, but until Bungie takes REAL responsibility and starts banning people for cheating and using mods/hacks the problems on Halo 2, and LIVE for that matter will only get worse. Closing our forums, will NOT fix the cheating problem on Halo 2.

Bungie.. Step up, and fix your game. Fix your service!