Several freestyle players were temporarily banned in the auto-football game Rocket League for “unsporting behavior.” This sparked discussions in the community. Psyonix explained that the banned players were Smurfs.
What is Freestyling in Rocket League? In freestyling, players compete against each other in friendly matches and try to perform particularly creative and cool tricks with their cars.
But not only players celebrate freestyling. There have even been competitions in the freestyle category, hosted by Rocket League itself. For instance, a Ford event (via rocketleague.com).
Here you see a YouTube video with freestyle tricks in Rocket League:
Freestyling is very popular and established in the community, which is why the bans of some players initially caused discussions on social media.
However, the developer behind Rocket League already commented on the bans and reassured the players. It is not freestyling itself that is being banned, but only so-called Smurfs.
How does Psyonix respond to the bans? On reddit, there was a statement from Psyonix News. In this, the appreciation for the freestyle community in the game was emphasized. However, it also says:
“However, the display of this mechanical skill must not disrupt the Rocket League experience for new or casual players. The intentional de-ranking of an account or creating a “Smurf” account with a lower rank to compete against new or less experienced players in an online playlist violates the terms of use and the code of conduct.”
They looked at the banned accounts of freestylers with regard to their behavior in casual playlists and noticed that they usually played in higher ranks.
The measures have so far been taken against a small number of players. In the long term, they are currently working on better solutions that are supposed to apply to the broader player base.
It is also emphasized: “This is not the end of freestyling. We encourage the freestyling community to showcase their mechanics against similarly experienced opponents and to play in private matches with their friends and other freestylers.[…]” (via reddit.com)
How does the community react to the statement? On reddit, many players are glad about the ban on Smurfs. They are rather angry at the Smurfs who use freestyling as an excuse to play in lower ranks and gain an advantage. Some also write that they are glad about the clarification from Rocket League. Because some players initially thought that the ban was against freestylers in general.
What do you think of the bans in Rocket League? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments.
