New this week in Mars Frontier:
Attention Martians!
In the beginning of September, we have rolled out an update to our Terms of Service and have mentioned it in the Patch Notes for that day.
Part of the update that was of most interest to a lot of players were the policies regarding alt accounts and account sharing. This update, and the warning of “DO NOT SHARE ACCOUNTS” has been foreshadowed as early as at least December of 2021, as per this post on Discord.
Our aim is to be simultaneously stricter on these policies, while also being more lenient. Stricter in a sense that we’re doing more aggressive account sharing detection and active-but-hidden alt detection; and more lenient, in a sense that low-count offenders are not necessarily moved to the Prison map right away. Hence, the introduction of “Sanctuary“.
Here are a few FAQs that we have gotten, and possible explanations.
What is Sanctuary?
Sanctuary is where a player base goes when it is involved in a violation of, typically, but not limited to, the alt-account policy.
What is the Difference Between Sanctuary and Prison?
Previously, offenders are sent to a different map or to Prison. If a player is in Prison, they will be unable to get out unless the imprisonment was a mistake, and an admin releases the player.
With Sanctuary, the player is free to move out on after a set number of days, depending on the violation. However, a player that makes frequent trips to Sanctuary will ultimately find themselves in Prison, and will no longer be able to get out.
Why am I in Sanctuary?
The player is sent an in-game message of why they were sent to Sanctuary, as well as for how long they will need to wait before they can go back to the map type they’ve been banished from. The length of the sentence depends on the violation incurred.
Effective today, if you are in Sanctuary, you will be able to jump to a map that you specifically have not been banished from.
For example, if you were moved to Sanctuary for an alt-violation, you will be banished from anti-alt maps for X days, but you are free to move to an alt-allowed map until your sentence is over.
As always, if you feel that you have been mis-identified as an alt, please contact support.
I received no message on why I am in Sanctuary/Prison
Some players have found themselves in Sanctuary or Prison without an in-game message like above. In most cases, there are likely other reasons why they have been relocated.
Please contact our support team to check what your account status is. Or alternatively, send a direct message to bh-wulfstan on Discord.
I am in Sanctuary, but cannot move anywhere
Please refer to “I received no message…” section above.
The Future of Sanctuary
We will continue to refine our Sanctuary and Prison systems and sentences, so this may change in the near future – with the name change from “Sanctuary” to something else maaaybe being in the nearer future. We will be making an announcement of any such change when it happens.
Have feedback to share about this week’s releases? Let us know over in the “mars-frontier” channel within our Official Discord Server.
Good hunting, Martians!
