Details on Black Ops 2's Security Measures, Dedicated Servers, and No Mod Tools

[Shawn Zipay]

The latest news update posted by the Call of Duty team details a few pressing questions the community has had about some of Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 multiplayer functions. Covered here are a few details on what security measures will be taken and how multiplayer matchmaking will work.

What anti-cheat will be used?
Anti-cheat is a top priority for Call of Duty: Black Ops II. We have developed our own proprietary server-side anti-cheat technology which will work alongside VAC to deliver the most advanced detection and banning capabilities of any Call of Duty game to date. We have also improved our player reporting system to make it the most effective way that you can help us catch cheaters. And starting on launch day we will have a full-time dedicated pc anti-cheat team focused solely on detecting and banning cheaters. We have a zero tolerance policy on cheating. Cheaters bans are permanent.

Will Black Ops have Matchmaking or Dedicated Servers?
Both! Call of Duty: Black Ops II PC combines matchmaking with secure ranked dedicated servers. This means that you get into Public Matches or League Play via matchmaking lobbies. It is easy to party up and play with your friends. You can adjust your classes or scorestreaks between matches. It also means that every Public or League match is hosted on a dedicated server running in one of our high bandwidth datacenters around the globe.

Will you release the server files?
No. We are keeping the server files secure to protect the game from hacking and cheating and ensure the ranking and progression system integrity.

Can I rent a server?
No. We are providing a huge number of servers around the world at no extra charge – plenty for everyone to enjoy. And we will administer the servers.

Will there be mod tools?
No. As we continually improve and advance our in-house tools for our own content teams we are unable to provide consumer tools due to increased technical requirements, licensing restrictions, and technology dependencies.

It looks as though Treyarch may be taking the same route used in Infinity Ward's Modern Warfare 3 to handle dedicated servers and matchmaking.

(via Call of Duty)

[Anarchy1]

No community servers? I guess I will pass on this then. Really, what is the difference between P2P matchmaking and provided dedicated servers? Apart from the lag aspect, the two are identical.

[l=l-ONeill-l=l]

What a disappointment. I can see damn Activition got their dirty, greedy hand in there. I did pre-order my game but seems to me i might hold off a bit too.
Games get hacked all the time, so do they really think it would solve all the problems with cheaters and hacker. Now that they said that there will be dedicated team on it, i guaranty it there is going be a team of hackers that would do anything to piss them off. Consider as a challenge

[Anarchy1]

There has been a "dedicated PC anti-cheating team" for as long as I remember, and I don't remember them ever being effective. IW supposedly has one, but I go onto the free weekend this weekend and see more hackers in a couple of games than I have seen in BF3 since it was released.

BO1 was bearable in regards to hackers because most of the servers were run by clans with dedicated admins. Even then, there were times when admins weren't available and you were just stuck going to a different server. So what is going to happen now that there aren't any clan admins and just Treyarch administering the servers? That leaves a lot to question. I can't believe their (presumably rather small) dedicated anti-cheating team will be more effective than 5 admins per server would be.