I would like to know that if I’m using a virtual android machine (under Genymotion) what kind of controller can I use and not get banned for it.
I understand that those kind of controllers that map an action to a mouse click (touch) are not allowed.
What about mapping a keyboard to a controller, like when you press “1” on your keyboard, the computer simulates a press on a controller button. Would that be allowed?
I’m afraid that if I buy and connect a controller it will do that by default, since it is a virtual machine, or it might not even work at all, but it would be nice to know before I actually buy one.
What platform are you using an emulator on?
I’m not a dev, but as far I know, only Consoles are allowed to have actions assigned to buttons.
On PC it’s all point and click.
On mobile you use your fingers.
So basically anything besides using a mouse, a stylus or your fingers shouldn’t be allowed to be used on PC/mobile. But again I’m not a dev… So I just hope they tell you the same thing.
It shouldn’t be. But maybe it is.
To be fair… Too many folks are happy to give advice with very little care about the ramifications based on that advice.
That server is a fan server that has devs from the game on it, but not actually endorsed or supported by the devs.
The devs will definitely answer your question at some point. Just hard to say when.
Hello @Chongee. I have used a controller for about 2 years now. The devs said that it was perfectly fine back then and if the policy has since changed; then I haven’t heard anything about it. It was getting to the point that I couldn’t play for long periods at a time (carpal tunnel), so using a controller has greatly helped to alleviate the pain.
As @Macawi has mentioned, and is noted on the Steam page as well, we have controller support throughout the PC version of the game. The game officially supports Xbox 360 and Xbox One Controllers out of the box, and PlayStation 4 controllers can be set up via Steam (How to use a PS4 controller on Steam | Tom's Guide).
Other controllers are not officially supported, but may still work with varying degrees of success.
Controllers are fine - mapping custom keys is not.
We don’t specifically ban for emulator use, but if your emulator does something that flags it as a hack and you get banned for it we can’t help you any more than an account banned for cheating any other way.
For example, some emulators have features which makes playing games faster or easier in some way - those features would earn you a ban.
So I’ve got the answer. Let me know if I understand it correctly
Using controller is fine, but mapping is not (thank you Kafka ). This means any kind of mapping, key to simulated mouse click (touch) ((I know for sure this is not allowed)) and even mapping a single key to another single key (which may or may not be done by the emulator itself since emulators use software to mimic the driver of the controller if it’s not available in their system - or just by default).
When I’m playing with the emulator (which does not speed up the game, used it for more than 3 months now) I am using the mouse to play, but sometimes I do press some buttons by mistake on the keyboard, and then gems get highlighted for example, I can move the gems using keyboard and I didn’t get banned for it yet, even if I did it just very occasionally, the mapping of the keyboard to the emulated android system was fine then. This is probably because android supports usb or wireless keyboards. They also support controllers.
So my last question would be, does the android version of the game support controllers? If I take my phone and connect a controller (that is supported by android) will I be able to play and not get banned, or the controller is only supported by PC - Steam?
(I know GoldPHoenix0 said “we have controller support throughout the PC version of the game” but this does not state whether android has this support or not)
So if android devices can use controllers, I will buy one for my phone (not the emulator) and use it like that, and I will make a test account and try it with the emulator (I need to update the guide for kingdoms anyway since the 4.5 update ) and if I don’t get banned in a couple weeks, I’ll use it on my main account as well
I’ve started it wrong (telling that I’ve got the answer, and then ask a question later), but it would be really helpful to know whether android phones are allowed to use controllers or not
Technically, controllers will work on mobile, but they are not officially supported. We cannot guarantee that the game will function as intended (or at all) with third-party controllers or that they have the same button mapping compared to Steam or any of the consoles.
I’ll refer the rest of this answer back to Kafka’s response above -
So if I understand it correctly, controllers are allowed on phones (at least android) and I won’t get banned for using one, if I don’t mess with it, so if I buy a controller for my phone that is supported by android, that does not do any mapping and it works without any additional software, just like that out of the box then I will be fine (legally).
Now I don’t expect you to know which ones will work with my phone and which ones will have the same button placement and other stuff, that’s for me to find out. All I wanted to know is whether it is allowed or not. I assume it is.
(I am talking about real phone now, not the emulated android - that one will have to be a test for me to see if the emulator does some mapping within itself or not, again I don’t expect you to know that - I might be the only player here who emulates android under linux using Genymotion, so I will give you some feedback on it in case someone else comes up in the future).
No need to answer, just if I’m wrong
And thank you
Let’s define words before I keep going. I think the two important ones are too close in meaning and most people get confused if they’re used haphazardly.
“Support”, in this post, will mean whether or not the devs will listen to bug reports and potentially fix the game if something is not working.
"Allow*, in this post, will mean whether or not the devs believe it is within the “rules” to do something.
If you are caught doing something unsupported, nothing happens. If you are caught doing something not allowed, you could be banned or otherwise disciplined. BIG difference.
Something HAS to be allowed to be supported. But unsupported things can be allowed.
They support controllers on console and Steam because there are standard controllers and APIs for interacting with them.
They do not support controllers on mobile, because there’s not a consistent standard and it’s not well-supported across all devices.
Even though some controllers in some scenarios are supported, not all controllers are allowed.
They’re being a little vague here but I sort of get the heuristic. If they had to write a policy, I think it would go like this:
GoW devs allow controllers that behave like a stock console controller. That means one button does one thing. The definition of “thing” is dictated by what the game maps to buttons. If your controller has capabilities not on the stock controllers or your controller maps more than one thing to each button, it is not allowed.
It’s about making sure players with controllers do not have an advantage over players without (except maybe comfort.)
Macro-programmable controllers? Not allowed. Turbo controllers? Not allowed (though I don’t really see how you’d gain a huge advantage.) Controller with a weird button layout? OK. If you have to use a program and tell it how to map the buttons so GoW will recognize it, that’s not allowed because it’s much closer to “making hotkeys” than “using a controller”. If you connect it to the phone and GoW says, “Hey cool, a controller, I know what those are” it’s probably OK.
As a player, I think they’re being a little harsh but I get it. If my controller had forbidden features I’d be careful not to use them. It is less likely they can see exactly what controller you are using and more likely, if they try to detect cheaters, they are looking for things like “movement consistently faster than humans tend to move”. Hotkeys stick out when you’re looking at input information. There’s no practical way to figure things out like, “This person remapped their buttons so the A button does what the X button would normally do”.
So if you’re going to reconfigure things (which is not allowed, I do have to admit), stick to very safe reconfigurations that are more “I wish this button did what that button did” than "I wish I had a button that does a thing GoW doesn’t assign to a button. But absolutely do not try mapping a button to 4 or 5 actions.
Using your definitions the only thing I wanted to know in my last question whether it is allowed to use controllers on phones or not, and I’m not asking for support. I think I’ve got the answer of: Yes it is allowed, no it is not supported - also don’t mess with it or do it on your own risk as it might get you banned.
Mapping one button to another 1 button I don’t see how that would be bad, as you said mapping button A to do something that X would do and vice versa, is probably not detectable, but it might be possible to pick up and trigger a flag in the anti cheating system nevertheless. I am perfectly fine with a controller that works the way it was intended to. A perfectly normal basic controller where A does what A should do and same for X, Y, B and the rest. If that is allowed (and I think it is - on android) I will be fine and I will invest some money in a cheaper version to make those grinding games faster. It is faster because it has an assigned button and I don’t need to move my fingers on the touchscreen to the troop I want to cast and then in the middle of the screen to touch it again, and my touch might not be registered, and stuff - instead I push the button and done - also it is a better coordination if you do things with both hands resulting in faster game experience. Game speed won’t get faster than someone doing the same on Steam.
I do not want to speed up my game by assigning buttons to do multiple things on one press, that is definitely detectable by the anti cheating software and I see why that is considered to be cheating. (you could set up Bronzelock pistol for example to get selected - cast - target 1 - 2 - 3 - 4th position on a single press for example - in case someone is wondering). Now this could be done by the controller itself - you can make an extra button that will press A wait 10 miliseconds or so and then press X. I didn’t see any controllers like this yet, but I will avoid them, because it is the same cheat but not from software but from hardware. - this might be a reason why controllers are not supported, it would get flagged by the anti cheating software right away.
Sorry I like to talk/write a lot, but also like to be precise. It might be helpful for someone who reads this in the future.
Conclusions:
You can use a controller, it is allowed.
Use it as is, outside the box, don’t do any changes either by software or by hardware, because that might get you banned.
If you buy a controller and it doesn’t work as you expected or as intended, that was your luck, GoW devs don’t care (can not) for your loss, do it on your own risk.
If that happened, do not try to “fix” the issue with software, it can get you banned (most likely).
) and if I don’t get banned in a couple weeks, I’ll use it on my main account as well