Console Messages

BIATCH displays a brief message in the console and writes out a detailed log entry when it catches a cheater. Those brief console messages are described here. The same messages also show up in the 'log/biatch/main.txt' log file. Note that the messages as displayed in the console are prefixed with [BIATCH].

<player> seems to use bighead!

This is shown by the bighead detection code. It is probably 100% sure, but because we did not find enough confirmed bigheaders and are not entirely sure that everyone who got this message was using bighead. However technically we can not see how this could show false positives. Note that the damage is also blocked though, so it is not that important to act to these messages. It would be appreciated however if we could get any feedback on whether this seems to work, and if you ever get even a single false positive from this, please directly contact us!

<player> tried to perform a netcode hack (<type of netcode hack>)!

This message is shown when someone attempted to do a netcode hack on your server. It is too much to explain how to interpret these correctly, but as you will probably not get many of these (there are only a few coders out there who know how to do it, but we have heard that someone is working on stuff like this). You best contact a BIATCH coder if you get these!

<player> tried to send an invalid radio message!

This is shown when someone sent a nonstandard radio message. This indicates that someone has modified files and thus is meant as a warning. The radio message is blocked.

<player> has set their bandwidth too low!

This is shown when someone used sbbo with a value smaller than 56000, which causes the server to drop players. The value was meant to be configurable but somehow we forgot about that and now it is too late to implement this in BIATCH 1.1 RC1. This will be fixed in 1.1 final though.

<player> tried to purchase something from <num> meter away from the nearest PT!

Also what it says. However, take a look at the distance this message is given and if it triggers more than once for a given player; if that player trips this alarm more than once with distances greater than around 50 meter, he or she is definitely using Purchase Terminal Anywhere cheats.

<player> tried to purchase something from within a vehicle from <num> meter away from the nearest PT!

If this is over a large distance (like >50) then there is a good change the player is cheating. However it is recommended to only take action if you have seen multiple PT related BIATCH messages for the same player. Note that the player was also in a vehicle at the time be purchased something. That might be caused either because the player is cheating or because the player was near a vehicle at the time he accessed a PT. Due to a Renegade bug he will then enter the vehicle and access the PT at the same time. If the vehicle then moves out of PT range (as set in the config) then it could cause this message to appear.

<player> tried to purchase something on a map without PTs!

Some third party maps do not have purchase terminals, others might have different purchase terminals which BIATCH can not detect. If this happens on a map with no PT terminals then the player is obviously cheating, however if this happens on a map with a different type of purchase terminals you might want to disable PT distance checking in BIATCH to make the PTs work again.

<player> tried to purchase something from within a vehicle on a map without PTs!

Basically the same thing as the previously described message, however the player was also in a vehicle. For more information read the previous two messages.

<player> tried to purchase a secret unit.

Another self-explanatory message; however, as mentioned earlier, secret and extra units are the same units, just with a different name. The Chameleon is an example of a secret unit.

<player> was auto cheater banned (Damage: <num>; Warhead: <num>).

The named player tried to fire shots associated with a weapon he/she does not even have, or the weapon does not exist at all. Obviously, that is due to a damage cheat, such as the infamous Final Renegade. The Damage and Warhead numbers depend on which weapon was hacked and who made the cheat. This message is displayed only when the auto ban feature is enabled.

<player> used an unavailable weapon (Damage: <num>; Warhead: <num>).

This basically means the same as the previous message, but the player was not automatically banned because this was disabled from the configuration file.

<player> is a suspected cheater, weapon not selected (Damage: <num>; Warhead: <num>; Distance: <num>).

The named player tried to fire shots from a weapon that he/she did not have selected at that time. This also can be a sign of a damage cheat, so watch that player closely. The Damage and Warhead numbers depend on which weapon was hacked and who made the cheat (if the player is cheating). The Distance simply shows the distance from the player to their target. It is definitely possible that some false positives show up, so only take action if you see multiple messages over a longer period.

This message will no longer show in the console but only in the BIATCH log files. We have done this because they hardly ever indicate a cheater which will not be caught by the other features, and because several users have had questions about when to act on these. Only pay attention to these if you really know what they mean!