In the ever-evolving landscape of online gaming, maintaining a fair and cheat-free environment is paramount for developers and players alike. Two players in the realm of anti-cheat solutions are Easy Anti Cheat (EAC), a widely-adopted client-side system, and Getgud.io, an innovative server-side solution utilizing AI for game observability and player insights. In this article, we’ll explore the comparison between the two solutions.
Easy Anti Cheat (EAC):
Origins and Adoption:
Born in 2006, Easy Anti Cheat (EAC) emerged from the labs of Kamu, a Finnish company dedicated to creating tools to enhance online gaming security. Acquired by Epic Games in 2018, EAC became an integral part of the Unreal Engine ecosystem, solidifying its presence in major titles. Renowned for its ease of integration and real-time monitoring, EAC has become a standard choice for many developers striving to maintain fair play within their games.
How It Works:
EAC operates on the client side, employing vigilant memory scanning during gameplay. This real-time monitoring allows EAC to actively scrutinize the client’s memory, identifying and responding swiftly to any suspicious activities. This approach aims to create a secure gaming environment by directly addressing potential cheats attempting to manipulate the game’s memory.
Strengths:
A. Real-Time Monitoring: EAC excels in real-time monitoring, actively scanning the client’s memory during gameplay. This vigilance aims to swiftly identify and address any suspicious activities, contributing to a more secure gaming environment.
B. Widespread Adoption: The widespread integration of EAC by prominent game developers and publishers speaks to its prevalence rather than universal acclaim. Many consider EAC as a foundational tool in maintaining fair play within their games.
C. Free Solution: EAC’s availability as a free solution contributes to its popularity among game development communities, especially for developers working within budget constraints.
D. Easy Integration: The straightforward integration process of EAC facilitates quick adoption by game developers and publishers. This simplicity ensures that developers can focus on creating engaging gameplay experiences without facing significant hurdles in implementing anti-cheat measures.
Weaknesses:
A. Client-Side Vulnerability: Despite its widespread use, EAC is not impervious to exploitation. Skilled hackers can find ways to bypass or disable EAC, compromising the integrity of the game.
B. Performance Impact: Reading the client’s memory can sometimes impact game performance, leading to potential frustration for players with lower-end systems. Balancing the need for effective anti-cheat measures with the optimal gaming experience poses a continual challenge for developers employing client-side solutions.
C. No Griefer Detection: EAC lacks the capability to detect griefers—players engaging in disruptive actions like AFK, team killing, or working against the team’s interests. These actions do not involve manipulation of the game’s memory, thus presenting an insurmountable challenge for EAC.
D. Limited Cheater Detection: EAC may not catch the majority of cheaters, leaving gaps that skilled hackers can exploit. The perpetual cat-and-mouse game between client side anti-cheat systems and sophisticated cheat developers highlights the ongoing arms race in the gaming industry.
Getgud.io:
Getgud.io stands out as a SaaS platform, utilizing AI to cleanse games from cheaters and griefers while providing groundbreaking observability for multiplayer FPS and MOBA games. Getgud is a server side, SaaS solution with no client side anything. It relies on a stream of data the game server already has, sent via SDK or game file parser. Getgud’s approach does not degrade game performance, supports all first person shooter games and works on all platforms.
Pros:
A. Server-Side Solution: Getgud.io operates on the server side, providing a robust solution that is not susceptible to exploits compared to client-side alternatives.
B. Effectively Detects Cheaters and Griefers: The platform autonomously analyzes in-match player behavior, effectively detecting and addressing both cheaters and griefers. This includes actions such as camping, spawn killing, aim-botting, and other malicious activities. And due to robust AI capabilities, Getgud has very high detection rates with very low false positives.
C. Observability Platform: Beyond its anti-cheat capabilities, Getgud.io serves as a comprehensive observability platform, offering insights into player behavior, game dynamics, and overall match performance. Developers can leverage this data to make informed decisions for game enhancement.
Cons:
A. Near Real-Time Detection: While Getgud.io provides detections in near real-time (NRT), it is not instantaneous like real-time due to the nature of being a server-side solution. Developers should be aware of this slight delay in detection.
B. Integration Complexity: Integrating Getgud.io may not be as straightforward as with some client-side solutions like EAC. Despite providing SDKs and UE Blueprint plugins, the process may take a day or two and requires more effort compared to the straightforward integration of client-side solutions.
C. Not Free: Unlike EAC, Gegud.io is a subscription based service. However, it does offer flexible and affordable packages for SMB studios.
D. Game Support: Getgud.io only supports 2D/3D games, where players move in. This includes any genre, any engine and any platform, including web and mobile.
Feature Comparison Table
| Feature | Easy Anti Cheat (EAC) | Getgud.io |
| Monitoring Approach | Client-Side Memory Scanning | Server-Side AI Analysis, per player, continuously, over time. |
| Game Support | ✅ Any game on PC | ❌ 2D/3D games, where players move in. Supports all game genres and platforms (including web and mobile). |
| Updates | ❌ Requires regular updates on the client side (user’s) machine | ✅ No updates needed, Getgud.io is a server- side, SaaS solution. The only needed updates are for the Getgud.io SDK |
| Detection Capability | ❌ Detects novice cheaters, typically using known public cheats that EAC was able to patch – not very effective but keeps the hordes away | ✅ Detects both cheaters and griefers, with very high precision rates and low false positives. |
| Observability | ❌ Very limited game metrics | ✅ Comprehensive Player and Game observability and analytics |
| Griefer Detection | ❌ Limited or None. | ✅ Because Getgud.io observes player behavior, it can observe griefers as well, which are not considered cheaters; a simple example is AFK, deliberate team kill and camping. |
| Integration | ✅ Easy and quick | ❌ Requires SDKs or UE Blueprint Plugins, Longer Integration Times. |
| Performance Impact | ❌ Very Possible, Especially on Lower-End Systems | ✅ Minimal to none. |
| Real-Time Detections | ✅ Yes | ❌ Near Real-Time (NRT) – Will detect the cheater or griefer after the act, not while the offense is taking place. |
| Cost | ✅ Free | ❌ Subscription-Based Model |
Verdict
Considering the strengths and weaknesses of both Easy Anti Cheat and Getgud.io, a balanced approach emerges. While Easy Anti Cheat provides real-time monitoring, widespread adoption, and ease of use, it has limitations in detecting griefers and may overlook a significant portion of cheaters but at least will keep the hordes of Amateur hackers away. In contrast, Getgud.io offers a robust server-side solution with advanced features for game observability and player insights. Developers may find the most effective strategy is to integrate both solutions—leveraging Easy Anti Cheat for basic client-side protection and Getgud.io for server-side insights—ensuring a comprehensive defense against both cheating and disruptive player behavior.
