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                            for Unreal Tournament
                           (c) 2009-2011 - AnthraX
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This is the v0.9c PRE-Release package. It is only intended for BETA testing and
is currently lacking some features. 

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Missing features in the v0.9b pre-release package:
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* Automatic whitelist updates (this is currently being worked on)
* A function that allows players to verify the authenticity of the whitelist
being used on the server. This is not yet being worked on because I'm still
thinking about how I should do this. It is not an important feature outside
of gaming competitions though.
* Support for thievery. ACE _IS_ compatible with thievery, provided that you
add all client-side thievery packages and dlls to the UPackages/NativePackages
lists. I still haven't come around to modifying the autoconfig mod to do this
automagically though.

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Support and feedback:
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* Unlike full releases, pre-release support doesn't go through the unrealadmin
forum. If you run into any major problem, please contact me directly:

IRC:
irc.quakenet.org
nickname: [anth]

MSN:
stidzjene@hotmail.com

I might appear to be offline. Just drop a message and I'll try to respond when
I get back.

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Some guidelines (this should be common sense but apparently isn't):
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* First and foremost: 
Of course my main goal with ACE is to keep these games as clean as possible but
there are boundaries. It is impossible to lock down cheating completely because
of several reasons:
    + Windows is the most open platform of all (from a programmer's point of
    view). There are numerous ways in which every piece of software can be 
    exploited or hacked. ACE is no exception. 
    + Computing resources are finite. There is a very fine balance between the
    level of protection I can offer and the impact ACE has on the playability
    of the game. Another major goal of ACE is to keep the impact to a minimum.
    Besides during the initial check, a gamer using an average pc should not be
    able to notice that ACE is running. This does of course limit the amount of
    checks I can run.
    + Unlike other anticheat solutions, I take privacy very seriously. Even 
    though it would be useful from a protection point of view, I do not want to
    have ACE submit any personal information (such as running programs) to the
    gameserver.
    + ...

As a result, I strongly advise you not to brag about having an unreleased 
version of ACE on your  servers. The more you advertise, the more you'll attract 
cheaters and the more likely it is that people will try to hack ACE or 
attack your servers.

* Cheating is mainly a social problem.
These are just some of the top reasons why people cheat:
    + They have mental issues and get pissed off because of the other players
    and/or admins on the servers.
    + They've grown completely paranoid because a lot of admins seem to think
    of cheatprotection as one big witch hunt.
    + They're cheat coders and are just testing their creations.
    + ...
    
In any case, be civil about dealing with cheaters: 
    + Don't get paranoid because you see players with above average skills.
    + Don't turn anticheating into a witch hunt. Just because someone gets 
    logged by ACE does not neccessarily mean that they're cheating. ACE will
    just remove players from the server if it cannot ensure (to a certain 
    extent) their game's integrity.
    + Don't feed the trolls.
    + 

* The main purpose of ACE pre-releases is to get the last bugs ironed out
before a full blown public release. Pre-releases are NOT custom versions. They
do NOT have special features that won't be present in the full release. You
should consider these packages as release candidates and as with any release 
candidate, the goal is to fix the remaining bugs and to get feedback. 

I'm mainly looking for gameplay related feedback. e.g.:
    + Does ACE have an adverse effect on the playability of the game?
    + Are there any consistent connectivity problems (timeouts)?
    + Are there any compatibility issues of any kind?
    + ...
    
* Although I technically cannot prevent you from leaking this package, I'm
counting on all betatesters to not spread it. The reason why I only send the
package to people I know is because I want to know exactly which servers it's 
running on. That way, if I find a critical bug, I can easily have ACE removed
from those servers. If you do leak it, we risk exposing people to unstable
versions of ACE, which can get really annoying for all parties involved.

Therefore:
    + Please do not leak the package.
    + Always roll it out gradually. Don't slap release candidates on all of
    your servers immediately. There is a chance that I will ask you to pull it
    if a bug is found.
    + If you do leak and the leak is discovered, you'll be excluded from future
    beta tests.
    + ...

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