Avalanche Studios is playing cat and mice with consumers.
Since my first review 2019 they have integrated an opt-out function into their product and changed their tracking behaviour. At least something.
They also changed their publisher
identity few times. These days on Steam they known for "Expansive Worlds" and "Systemic Reaction".
Avalanche is absolutely non-transparent in this respect and they change their names as often as underpants.
They may be known also for another name - "Fatalist Development". The company *choose your desired company name* was acquired by "Nordisk Film" which belongs to the "Egmont Group", a swedish media corporation.
Product's behind a paywall
Since the initial release, the product has been hidden behind a paywall. Consumers have to pay
1. the actual purchase price of the product itself (including geo restrictions)
2. with data (Login)
3. with more data (telemetry)
If you want to play the "full" Generation Zero these days, you have to create a so-called "Apex Connect Account" or you can go to hell. Users are also lured with useless digital goodies.
Singleplayer games with online binding have unfortunately become a bad habit in gaming business. Well, the profit of the analytics/data industry skyrockets in return.
Users without Apex Accounts get an assigned identifier
"display_name" : "Playerxxxx#xxxx", "email" : "cataclysm-default-xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx@avasocial-temp-account"
Login with
{
"email" : "test@test.com",
"password" : "cleartext"
}
{
"error":"Unauthorized"
}
had unfortunately not worked
Crashlytics - Updated 04.09.2022
Delete the folder crashrpt_lang and files CrashRpt1403.dll, CrashRptProbe1403.dll, CrashSender 1403.exe from your HD
execute an application:
C:\Windows\System32\dxdiag.exe
Parameters: /dontskip /whql:off /64bit /xC:\Users\xxxxxx\AppData\Local\CrashRpt\UnsentCrashReports\GenerationZero_F_1.0.0\*ID*\dxdiag.xml
Journey goes to
[noparse]https://crashreporter.avalanchestudios.com/crashreporter.uploadCrash?project=cataclysm&platform=Win64&application=GenerationZero_F&user=xxxxxx[/noparse]
xxxxx is your Windows account-name
The same "service" can be found in "theHunter: Call of the Wild™" by Avalanche and Rage 2 by Bethesda Softworks and Avalanche
Avalanche also has own "hidden" tracking services in several products. More information can be found on my
website
Edit: 04.09.2022 and latest review changes:
- Hidden PE infos
- Tracking addresses have changed
- Ipv6 traffic added
- added telemetry domains
- Paywall infos, revised crashlytics, typo, content overhaul, pictures *new*
Old, but current stuff
Thanks to my original review at the time, users got ingame privacy settings. For the fact that many do not like what I do, this was quite effective and everyone has benefited from this.
Allow "anonymous" Tracking
"Yes/No" - Privacy Policy
Are you really sure about this?
You won't allow us to take data from your private device?
Again: Yes/No
So fine, so good. What is missing, however, is the possibility to disable the same stuff again afterwards.
Avalanches tracking user experience service
Has not changed since v1.52
[noparse]https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/kpi/v2/GameStart
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/PlayerTime
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/EventGameShutdown
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/DifficultySessionCompleted
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/DLCConfig
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/DLCChanged
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/EventGameInit
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/UITime
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/ChangeMPGameSettings
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/MissionStart
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/EventHostServer
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/WeaponUneqip
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/EventFrontendContinue
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/CameraTime
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/EventHeartbeat
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/PlayerTime
https://tracking2.avalanchestudios.com/api/cataclysm/v2/EventQuitServer[/noparse]
The crux here. Both, tracking and online functions are share the same IPv4: 104.16.2.61
[noparse]Online binding
https://genzero-social.avalanchestudios.com/api/v1/account
https://genzero-social.avalanchestudios.com/api/v1/cataclysm/steam/list_user_events/current
https://genzero-social.avalanchestudios.com/api/v1/message/cataclysm/steam/mission_completed[/noparse]
"Social/Online" service monitoring playeractions. During the start of the game, i looted the box in the initial shed. Every action taken by the player is sent to Avalanche
[noparse]https://genzero-social.avalanchestudios.com/api/v1/message/cataclysm/steam/inventory_item_added
https://genzero-social.avalanchestudios.com/api/v1/message/cataclysm/steam/crate_looted[/noparse]
including amount, location, name, quality level, region, coordinates
Few steps ahead the second ingame location "Yttervik", looted a bag, again new data for Avalanche. This behaviour accompanies the players throughout their whole game session
Trivia
After a few days after my
original review (16.09.2019), "Avalanche_Graham" made a statement in the Steamhub of Generation Zero about gamesight. It was more a funny one and again... a lie. Because they got caught and deleted their traces now before it comes to law. Legal risk in this business.
Strange how fast changes can be made. Care about financial loss and a well placed text can be a miracle sometimes.
All such data is only used by us at Avalanche Studios, anonymized where appropriate, and NEVER provided to third-parties.
Especially this one. With used "gamesight-service", data wasn't anonymized and it was also a third-party company.
Aince then there have also been a few internal job changes.
