Changes to Anycast Proxies in Next Update

[SDGNelson]

We’re updating how we handle “anycast proxies” to better balance server hosts' need for DDoS protection (a primary use for anycast proxies) with player concerns about accurate connection quality.

* Currently—to avoid misleading players—servers found to be using an anycast proxy[support.smartlydressedgames.com] are flagged. This has two effects: (1) ping has a red warning label about "anycast", and (2) 50 ms is added when sorting by ping to prevent these servers from incorrectly showing amongst the lowest ping servers.

Server owners have expressed that this solution feels too punishing, as anycast is often used to mitigate denial of service attacks. Changing with the next update:

* The warning label clarifies anycast is typically for DDoS protection: “Warning: this server uses an "anycast" proxy for DDoS protection, so in-game ping may be higher than shown.”

* Server hosts can flag their own servers with a new “Is_Using_Anycast_Proxy” option in Config.json. To incentivize this, when the host opts-in the ping isn’t shown in red.

* When there is a significant difference (>50 ms) between server browser ping and in-game ping, a warning is displayed on the loading screen. This reads: "Warning: the in-game ping (X ms) is higher than the server browser ping (Y ms), likely due to a DDoS protection mechanism. High ping may cause laggier gameplay than expected.”

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[SSkeezzSS]

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[76561199826128430]

nnyoubb

[MoltonMontro]

These changes have gone through as part of the 3.25.1.0 Update, so I'm closing this topic. https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/304930/view/506195274633317955