SweetFX and Co

#1 - Nov. 4, 2012, 10:41 p.m.

Hello,
as many of you may have noticed, there is something called SweetFX that makes the game look even more fantastic.
But there are so many rumors about that you’ll get banned etc.
On the german board, the thread even got deleted and we got an answer from a gm that caused ‘panic’ for those, who use(d) it.

We already have a thread here and there are some statements in which are more vague but point out that it does nothing against the rules as stated in the 3 points for third-party programs.
The Problem here is, that there are still many players who are worried about getting banned for using ist and even some (or more in the german board) players who keep posting that it’s illegal (with no good reasons mentioned)

What we want
SweetFX and other SMAA-Injectors are pretty popular and i think we deserve an official statement on what’s ok and what’s not.
Also, it would be nice to know a bit about your bot detection. (in context with the below, just to know if SweetFX would be recognized as one, because it does not interact with the game)
Does it scream alarm if a textfile is in the GW2 folder? or a dll?
Because, SweetFX only hooks as a DirectX-Function so it only gets the data, that the directx function would usually get and is not able to manipulate things like only enemies or walls etc.
I’m pretty sure that it’s not bannable and probably never will be, but please give us a bit more exact statements for such things and clarify what falls into modifying the game and what not, because SweetFX modifies the graphic, but does not touch the game in any way.

Thanks

Mark Katzbach

#20 - Nov. 6, 2012, 4:03 p.m.

Hey all, allow me to quote Gaile Gray relating to this and all third-party programs:

Gaile Gray.6028:
ArenaNet cannot approve or review or “vet” any third-party programs. Our general policy is that anything that gives advantage is forbidden; anything that imbalances the game in favor of one player over another is strictly disallowed. With that said, we are aware that some utilities help players without impacting others, that is, they do not give anyone an advantage over someone else.

Our development team is not able to review third-party programs to assess their components or give them any sort of approval. We make our policies clear in our User Agreement, Rules of Conduct, and the Conduct Breaches and Outcomes document, which you can find in the Legal Documentation section of our website: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/legal/ You should know the following:
1. If you chose to use any third-party program, you do so at your own risk.
2. We cannot offer support if the third-party program impacts Guild Wars or Guild Wars 2 and, for instance, makes the game unplayable.
3. If you choose to use what you believe to be a “benign,” or non-advantage-giving program, be sure to get it from a legitimate source to protect yourself from the possible addition of cheats or key-loggers.

The best way for a player to assess whether a specific third-party program could have any impact on another player or a PvP opponent is to ask:
• “Does this program allow someone to play faster, better, longer, or more accurately than someone who doesn’t use it?”
• “Does this program allow someone to ‘play’ when he/she is not at the computer?”
• “Does this program allow the user to gain undeserved rewards?”

If the answer to any of these questions is “yes”—or even “maybe”—then we strongly recommend that you do not use the program because to do so may place your Guild Wars or Guild Wars 2 account in jeopardy.

In the future, we will be working directly with the community to develop app support for Guild Wars 2, so stay tuned for more info!

This is our only stance on this matter. I’m sorry but we cannot and will not investigate third-party software to declare it safe or unsafe, as this takes away resources from our primary responsibilities. If you choose to use third-party software, you do so at your own risk.