After discovering that hackers were responsible for banning 150 innocent players from Battlefield 3, DICE has had all it can stand, and it can’t stands no more. The spinach the studio plans to use to fight back against rampant hackers and cheats in BF3? A new full-time employee dedicated to thwarting online ne’er-do-wells.

Eurogamer spotted a posting on EA’s jobs board that indicates DICE is looking to hire an Anti-Cheat Administrator to “secure the online experience.”

The job posting states:

The administrator will compose an absolutely vital function to secure the online experience our games represent by actively be a part of the community and keep up to date with the current cheat exposure. The administrator will also own the analytical work with our player behavior data to keep our leaderboards and game play filled with fair play.

Battlefield developer DICE is taking up arms against cheating in its games. The studio has created a new position dedicated entirely to implementing and managing anti-cheat measures for its present and future titles.

Cheaters, beware. DICE is hunting you.

The company is now seeking an anti-cheat administrator to join the company at its office in Stockholm, Sweden. According to the requisition description, the person chosen for the job will work to “secure the online experience” for DICE games.

Additionally, this person will be tasked with keeping track of player behavior data in DICE’s titles in an effort to keep its game’s leaderboards “filled with fair play.”

DICE has publicly expressed contempt for cheaters within its games before. Earlier this month the developer said it was ramping up its anti-cheat measures within Battlefield 3, encouraging players to report any instances of misconduct they encounter.

In the world of online multiplayer, especially of the most hardcore variety like that seen in Battlefield 3, cheating is a big deal. Not only can just one player cheating completely skew an entire experience for up to 64 players, but it can also make the developer look bad. Unfortunately in trying to achieve the goal of Battlefield 3 online equality, DICE and EA may just have passed some bans to players who didn’t deserve them.

Through the use of software called Punkbuster, Battlefield 3 has been able to detect players who are using unauthorized software for play, and has thusly banned them from using the servers. However this didn’t sit too well hackers, and they wanted to fight back.

In essence, hackers were using innocent players as scapegoats to show that the use of Punkbuster is flawed, and in turn getting those defenseless players banned. It’s a tactic that has been used before, yet it never seems to truly get the point across.

Now, though, EA is stepping in to do something about those players who were erroneously banned, and is beginning to lift the restrictions. In a statement on Battlelog, DICE and EA said that the bans were directly connected with 3rd party services used in connection with Punkbuster, but the were in no way related to Battlefield 3.

When you think about it, it’s really quite silly, this whole situation, but it’s good to see those unknowing gamers get their accounts restored. Hackers have long been of the mindset that when presented with an obstacle to cheating they would rather go the extra mile to prove a point rather than simply accept that a developer wants their game’s experience to be as pure as possible.

As Battlelog reports to any gamers who were erroneously banned, if you can access Battlelog all systems should be go. So get back out there and fly some jets.

Have you been affected by the use of Punkbuster or the hacker response to Punkbuster? Do you think that developers should use detection software as a deterrent for cheating?

Battlefield 3 is available now for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Source: Battlelog (via VG 24/7)

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Around the web:

Are you one of those guys in a helicopter hovering near spawn points in Battlefield 3 (say, an aircraft carrier), wantonly exploiting the game and infuriating players? You may not actually be cheating, but we still think you’re the worst.

That aside, Battlefield 3 developer DICE is apparently looking to address all cheaters, and not just that guy who ruins the game for everyone with his stupid, stupid helicopter, as the company has posted an ad for an “anti-cheat administrator.” The move follows a recent redoubling of DICE’s efforts to combat cheating in its latest game release.

Said administrator will be tasked with a variety of responsibilities, many of which you’d expect a community liaison to handle, though the list is oddly missing “put up with staggering levels of infantile behavior from legal adults.” Can you tell we don’t like cheaters?

January 31st, 2012, 10:52 GMT · By Andrei Dobra

Check out this awesome video of a Battlefield 3 tour de force made (to seem) real. Battlefield 3 fans may remember the original in-game stunt, in which a fighter pilot leaps from his cockpit and then shoots down an enemy jet with a rocket launcher before landing safely back in his jet.

(Rumor has it the original move was so badass that the A-Team theme just sort of kicked in spontaneously.)

If you like what you see, you can watch another “Battlefield made real” video of infantry combat created by the same crew.

January 30, 2012

By Amir Iliaifar

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Lock and load, this awesome PC case mod from Brian Carter features a mini-fridge and super-cool spinning chaingun.

It can generally be accepted that PC gamers are an ingeniously geeky and industrial bunch — and they revel in the distinction. And this awesome Battlefield 3 case mod is a prime example of that.

Brought to our attention by the folks over at Kotatku, the Battlefield rig was originally built by case modder Brian Carter for a Raptr competition — where readers for the gaming site went to great lengths to enter for a chance to win this marvelously modified PC, priced at around $5,000.

Making up this sweet rig is a sleek sniper fan grill surrounding by an explosive amount of LED lighting, military goggle switches, a set of external roll cages and a custom air-brushed Battlefield mural on one side. To top it off, the custom case features an imposing rotating mini-gun and an integrated mini-fridge disguised as a medi-kit compartment to keep your thirst at bay during long gaming sessions.

Great PC case mod, or greatest PC case mod, let us know what you think in the comments below.

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Electronics Arts has promised gamers that it is taking steps to correct a situation which has seen innocent Battlefield 3 players banned from the game.

EA and game developer DICE have been proactive about banning players that are found to have cheated their stats on the PC version of the game, asking for honest gamers to shop those they think are fiddling the numbers.

A group of hackers recently attacked the servers of Punk Buster, banning innocent players, who are then kicked out of games or unable to log in to their accounts.

“In 2011 we hit them with a mass ban wave and now were are banning real players from battlelog while ggc-stream is totally unaware. We have framed 150+ bf3 players alone,” the hackers said in a post on Artificial Aiming.

In response, EA has insisted it is “taking steps” to remedy the situation, which is to do with third party servers and not Battlefield 3 itself.

“Together with the third-party service providers we have taken steps to remove the faulty bans, and improve the protection against future fake bans,” it notes on Battlelog.

“We have determined that the root cause resulting in the server bans is not directly related to Battlefield 3, but rather related to select third-party services which server owners can use in conjunction with PunkBuster to protect their servers.”

The firm goes on to say that if gamers can log in to Battelog, there is no ban in place by either EA or DICE and therefore no need to contact customer support services.

This ban only affects PC players, and not those using services via a PlayStation 3 or Xbox.

EA also recommends that affected players “try joining other PunkBuster enabled servers”.