Multiple Improved Storehouses

[BB_Ravel]

Dear Settlers,

There was a bug when completing the Summer Event calendar.

The main reward (Improved Storehouse) was obtainable multiple times.
Some players acquired 4 or more Improved Storehouses from the calendar, thus exploiting the bug to enrich their accounts.

Since we want players to demonstrate Fair Play and respect the “Terms Of Use”, we ask all players who redeemed 4 or more Improved Storehouses to put them back into the Star menu. They will be deleted from the Star menu during the next maintenance on the 22nd of July.

Questions & Answers

• Will I get banned if I acquired 4 or more Improved Storehouses?
  If you return all but one Improved Storehouses that were acquired on Saturday, the 12th of July, your account will not be banned.
• I no longer have them, what can I do?
  It doesn't matter how you obtain the missing ones. You can buy them in the shop or trade for them.
  Friends can also help you out.
• I'm still not able to get the required amount of Improved Storehouses back!
  Please contact Support immediately (Cheat & Hack category, subject: "Improved Storehouse Exploit").
• I was on vacation and noticed the announcement too late, will I get banned?
  You received an in-game mail message. Please read it carefully, as it should explain everything.
  You will receive another message during the next maintenance.
• Why are players allowed to keep 3 or less Improved Storehouses?
  We don't want to imply that every player who acquired 2 or 3 Improved Storehouses on that occasion used the bug on purpose.
  But we can be sure that every player who obtained 4 or more Improved Storehouses exploited the bug.
• I still have questions, who can I contact about it?
  Please contact the Support team. Choose the category "Cheat & Hack" and write "Improved Storehouse Exploit" in the subject field.
• What happens if I have multiple storehouses (obtained some other way - trade, shop), but I only acquired 1 from the calendar?
  If you did not exploit the bug, nothing happens. Thank you for not taking advantage of the issue!
  The players who exploited the bug will receive an in-game mail message informing them of the next steps to follow.

In the spirit of Fair Play we hope and expect that every affected player will return the Improved Storehouses to the Star menu. We will provide further information to affected players via an in-game mail message until the evening of Friday, 18th of July.

Your "The Settlers Online" Team

[BB_Ravel]

Dear Settlers,

There has been a lot of speculation on the Multiple Improved Storehouse Exploit with many questions being asked. The following aims to answer most of these questions.

Only Players who acquired more than three Improved Storehouses on Saturday, July 12th from the Calendar are affected. To abuse the exploit it was necessary to actively hit the button, log out of the game, wait for approx 20 min and repeat the procedure.

• How many Improved Storehouses will be deleted?
  It depends how many Improved Storehouses were acquired on Saturday, July 12th:
  - 1 Improved Storehouse: Ok, no deletion
  - 2 Improved Storehouses: Ok, no deletion
  - 3 Improved Storehouses: Ok, no deletion
  - 4 Improved Storehouses: 3 will be deleted
  - 5 Improved Storehouses: 4 will be deleted
  If you acquired four or more Improved Storehouses from the Calendar, you may only keep one of them.
  
  
• Why is it allowed for some players keep three Improved Storehouses, but I may only keep one?
  It makes a difference whether you used the bug or you intentionally abused it.
  It's not possible to verify abuse up to three Improved Storehouses, so we're giving those players the benefit of the doubt. The 2nd Improved Storehouse could have been a mistake and the 3rd a test etc.
  
  In short, even if someone acquired only two additional Improved Storehouses, he might not have done it with bad intentions nor with the intention to abuse. From the 3rd additional Improved Storehouse on, we have to assume dishonest motives. That’s why the limit was set to three.
  
  
• I get punished for a mistake by Blue Byte, that’s not Fair Play!
  Returning Improved Storehouses gained through abusing the exploit is not a punishment, just correcting a mistake. No player will be punished if they follow the instructions sent to them via in-game mail.
  
  
• There have been a lot of bugs in this game already, no one got punished. Why now?
  Earlier bugs and players who abused them are under no consideration here. This callback is only because of the bug from Saturday, July 12th at the end of the Calendar.
  
  The bug at the start of the event was way bigger (complete Calendar could be opened). A callback of all resources gathered, because of that bug, will not be done. A single structure can be called back easily and with a maximum of data security.
  
  
• I didn’t acquire as many Improved Storehouses from the Calendar as the in-game message suggests. Now what?
  Acquired Improved Storehouses have a time-stamp and a unique building-ID in the logs of the account. It is therefore impossible to have the wrong information in our database. Please contact the Support team. Choose the category “Cheat and Hack” and the subject “Improved Storehouse Exploit”.
  
  
• I only have four Improved Storehouses because I wanted to test the issue. Why do I get punished?
  We have to insist on the return of three Improved Storehouses. If you reported the bug to Support on July 12th, we can consider that you did not mean to use the exploit.
  
  In this case, please contact the Support team using “Cheat and Hack” as category and the subject “Improved Storehouse Exploit”. Send the original ticket number from your report as proof. Three Improved Storehouses will still be deleted, because it is done automatically, but the Support team will try to find a solution for you.
  
  
• Why don’t you gift us the Improved Storehouses, it was your fault!
  Every Improved Storehouse integrated into the game by accident due to the exploit affects the balancing. Not only will those Improved Storehouses be traded, but this will also diminish their value in future events. It is also unfair that some players may keep 10 Improved Storehouses while others, who decided against abusing the bug, only have one or two.
  
  
• Why didn’t you disconnect the game when you discovered the bug?
  Exploiting the bug required premeditation. The Improved Storehouses did not simply appear in the Star Menu. Disconnecting the game would've meant leaving a lot of players unable to play, perhaps during the whole day on Saturday. Apart from that, there would have been other consequences, like empty mines because the users could not attend to their island.
  The only instance in which the game gets disconnected is when game-data is in danger of being destroyed (zone errors, lost game progress, etc)
  
  
• Isn't there a better, more personalised solution?
  As previously stated, our goal was to find a way to not punish mistakes and misunderstanding, but to correct what is considered an abuse of the exploit, in a manner that is considered fair.
  
  
• Why is there no information on what happens if the Improved Storehouses are not returned?
  Please read your in-game mail messages sent after maintenance. An automatic message was sent informing you of further steps. In addition, the Support team is available for you. Choose “Cheat and Hack” as category and the subject “Improved Storehouse Exploit”. We will solve those problems 1:1 with each player.
  
  
• I am upset with … Blue Byte, exploiters, BB_Ravel, etc!
  Please calm down. Being offensive in the forum or chat doesn't help. Comments on Terms and Conditions, questions about legal effects and other bugs etc. will not be discussed in connection with the Improved Storehouse Exploit. We are all human and we are trying to help each and every player. Handling the high amount of tickets on this issue is difficult enough without having to deal with angry and abusive off-topic comments.
  
  
• I still have questions that could not be answered here. Who may I contact?
  Please contact the Support team using the “Cheat and Hack” category and the subject “Improved Storehouse Exploit”.
  
  
• I find it offensive that I have to put in a ticket in the "Cheat and Hack" category as I feel Blue Byte is calling me a cheater.
  Please understand this is done in order to have all tickets on this subject in the same place and it is not meant to offend you in any way. That category is simply the best fit for the issue at hand.
  
  
• Why were we required to put the Improved Storehouses in our Star Menu?
  We felt it would be sensible to let players choose which Improved Storehouses to return rather than choosing for them. This way players would be in control of the effects of storage/production times etc. instead of logging in to find your economy is out of sync.
  
  
• Why don't I get an additional storehouse for not abusing the exploit?
  As explained earlier, every Improved Storehouse integrated into the game had an effect on the overall balance. Our goal is to restore the balance and this would have the opposite effect.
  
  

The feedback thread for this topic has been created here. Due to the subject going off-topic more than once, we have to ask you to stay on the subject. Only comment if you have anything new to add. Reposting the same arguments is not going to help at this point.

Thank you!
BB_Ravel

[BB_Ravel]

Update after the maintenance

Dear Settlers,

As announced beforehand, a script ran during the maintenance this week in order to remove from the Star menu the Improved Storehouses received through a bug exploit.

• If the required number of Improved Storehouses were in the Star menu, we were able to remove them and a message was sent via in-game mail letting you know of this.
• If the amount of Improved Storehouses in the Star menu was insufficient, a message was sent via in-game mail letting you know how many storehouses could be removed.
• In case Improved Storehouses still need to be returned, they must be put into the star menu before next week's maintenance
• If we are unable to remove the required amount during the next maintenance, further steps will be taken.

If you have any questions:

Please contact the Support team using the “Cheat and Hack” category and the subject “Improved Storehouse Exploit”.

Your "The Settlers Online" Team