Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

[Mabek]

My bug report on October 9th.

(ME to 2K Support), Oct 9, 10:56 PM: I encountered a very strange bug where using VC to upgrade attributes in MyCareer did not actually spend my VC. I was essentially able to upgrade my player for free. I was not able to reproduce the bug after restarting the game, but the attributes were saved when I reloaded it. I deleted the player and filed this report immediately.

This is the only response I got. No instructions, no follow up questions.

Hello (Mabek), Thank you for contacting 2K Support! I am really grateful that you reported this issue with VC regarding the PC version of NBA 2K16. Because of the work of diligent players like you, we've been able to collect enough information about this abuse to notify the development team, and they are currently working toward a solution. Unfortunately, we do not have visibility on their progress here in customer support, and so we don't have a timeline for a fix to be implemented. That said, please follow us on Twitter (@NBA2K), as this is where new info as well as upcoming patches will be announced. We are truly grateful for your contribution in solving this abuse! If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to let us know! Kind regards, Francis L. 2K Support

On October 22nd I log in to find that I'm banned from online due to Terms of Service violation.

(Me to 2K Support), Oct 22, 8:53 PM:When I try to log in to NBA 2K16 I get a message about being banned for violating terms of service. I KNOW this is related to my bug report ticket (#1243934) regarding VC not properly spending. As I reported this bug to you and took action to delete my MyCareer player, I am asking that my account be unbanned immediately.

Karel C., Oct 23, 2:58 AM:Hello (Mabek), Thank you for contacting 2K Support! I'm sorry to hear that you were banned! It's a very unpleasant issue. Even more so knowing that you actually alerted us that you experienced the free VC spending glitch. I want to help get this resolved as soon as possible! Your ban is currently under review in the appropriate department, rest assured that we will keep you updated as soon as this issue is resolved. I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience. Thanks again for your diligence and honesty! Please contact us if you have any other concern, I will be glad to help you! Let's get you back on the court! Karel C. 2K Support

Understandable mistake, I'm sure we'll get this resolved quickly...

Hello (Mabek), Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately I cannot disclose many details about the banning. What I can tell you is that your account stating that you have upgraded your player without spending VC. The banning is an action taken by the developers to all the users who exploited such glitch. We are very sorry that we are currently not considering appeals for this issue. The banning of this account will be permanent. Sorry for bringing you the bad news. As to the other related questions you have or you may have, I recommend getting on social media. You can talk to NBA 2K and our public spokesman Ronnie 2K on Twitter here: [Twitter Link] On the official 2K NBA discussion pages here: [2k Forum Link] Should you want to know an alternative way to back online: you can try to create a new STEAM account then use family share to link the two accounts. After that, you can use the new account to run the game. If you have any other technical questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us again. Regards, Chao Z 2K Support

I am told the ban cannot be appealed even though I immediately reported this bug that I encountered to 2K support and that I should either evade the ban through steam sharing (wtf?) or whine to Ronnie on twitter (lol). I can't say I am thrilled with 2K support right now.

[Delboy]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

LoooL

That is the first time i hear about that "bug"

I think that you are lying and actually you used Cheat engine to upgrade your player without speniding VC...

Now use second chance with family share,and dont use CE again

[Mabek]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

You think that I used Cheat Engine to upgrade my player, deleted it, and then reported it as a bug to 2K support? I guess everyone is entitled to their opinions.

[derlaid]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

As a guy who plays with Mabek all the time I can say for certain he's not a cheater.

Plus, if you read his post, the 2K CR rep gave him a way to get around his ban. Why would someone who uses a cheat engine get upset about the ban when they can just follow the CR's instructions and then use a cheat engine to instantly have a 99 character again?

On the other hand getting your legit character banned after reporting a bug to 2K and then having to start over would be very frustrating.

[Nza]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

So wait, banned for using a bug in the game, without needing CE etc? That seems pretty harsh given a user could do it without knowing, based on the above description of the issue.

I suspect they banned those they thought were aware of getting upgrades for free, i.e. maxing out a player, or adding a lot of upgrades. I can understand banning that particular MC player, but the whole Steam user? That's pretty excessive.

Where do you get the ban notice? Loading the main menu? Loading MC? Loading MyPark?

[Mabek]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

A message right after the splash screen that tells you you're banned for violating TOS. You can no longer login into any of the online features on that steam account.

[TSGuy]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

Lol wtf? are they ****ing stupid. I'm guessing that you clearly only realized that bug AFTER you upgraded your player noticing no points reduction and then reported to them and they acknowledged that yet they ban you for that. If you're actually being honest that's just stupid as hell from them.

[flo182]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

wow ... what are they thinking?!

[derlaid]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

I think the insult to injury is that there are still tons of 99s playing in MyPark.

[drose23]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

wow ... what are they thinking?!

My experience is that 2k has pretty bad customer service, who usually have absolutely zero influence on the developers. I think they also promote reaching out to them on twitter because it's less of a forum for back and forth communication so they can pick and choose what they respond to and give limited answers.

[hedop]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

Even though I am a bad cheater (apparently) I have to say this is appaling. I have had several friends banned as well who I'm absolutely certan never touched CE. They participated, unknowingly, in the VC glitch at the beginning of the the release, reported it, got back a message stating that 2k is aware of it, thx for reporting it, will cause no problems and they can of course keep the VC. A couple of weeks later 2k actually set their VC account to zero, for whatever reason, now they are banned. They went the same route as you and were told the same: we are aware that you reported the bug, we are aware that this is what got you banned, the developers do not allow appeals at this moment, we are very sorry, all you can do is use family share on steam so basically circumvent the ban which is in itself a reason for a ban.

If this isn't ****ed up I don't know what is and I have no problem claiming that they have no clue who is actually using CE because your save is saved local on your harddrive. All they have are your logs of earnings and spendings of VC. If something doesn't add up there, they do not check whether you actually reported the bug or what they just ban you straight away and of course there is no appeal. So yeah... honestly? Wow...

[Iasounis]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

Even though I am a bad cheater (apparently) I have to say this is appaling. I have had several friends banned as well who I'm absolutely certan never touched CE. They participated, unknowingly, in the VC glitch at the beginning of the the release, reported it, got back a message stating that 2k is aware of it, thx for reporting it, will cause no problems and they can of course keep the VC. A couple of weeks later 2k actually set their VC account to zero, for whatever reason, now they are banned. They went the same route as you and were told the same: we are aware that you reported the bug, we are aware that this is what got you banned, the developers do not allow appeals at this moment, we are very sorry, all you can do is use family share on steam so basically circumvent the ban which is in itself a reason for a ban.

If this isn't ****ed up I don't know what is and I have no problem claiming that they have no clue who is actually using CE because your save is saved local on your harddrive. All they have are your logs of earnings and spendings of VC. If something doesn't add up there, they do not check whether you actually reported the bug or what they just ban you straight away and of course there is no appeal. So yeah... honestly? Wow...

Sounds like time to spread this around asking gamers/the community to not buy VC; perhaps for a period of time (November) or until these bands are lifted.

[blarosoork]

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[trandoanhung1991]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

Not surprised. I myself got banned after simming a few games and found out both about the VC sim bug and the fact that you don't get off days when you sim.

Guess what, also banned.

Unfortunately your account has been banned due to a glitch being exploited in it, allowing excess VC to be received without truly being earned.

Way to go, 2K. Pathetic.

Seriously. All I wanted to do was to sim the games to get off days for practice to increase my attribute and I get banned.

Looks like 2K is gonna give us the short end again this year. Already they're not giving any ****s about PC users cause it doesn't seem likely that a PC patch is coming before year end.

[pazmacats]

Re: Banned for 'exploiting' bug I reported on PC.

This is hilarious.

As you can see, nobody in this company actually reads their co-workers emails. Seems like customer support and the department responsible for issuing bans are absolutely unable to communicate. That's what happens in big companies with zero connection between departments.

I think you should try to start a ****storm on forums and twitter and youtube and everywhere else. Cause customer support is unable to deliver your message. They are probably just some 3rd party freelancers not even connected to 2K.