Glorious Factions — Game Rules and Code of Conduct

Draft — for legal review

Last updated: [DATE]

In short: Play one account per world, play it yourself (or through the in-game substitution feature), and play it fairly. Don't cheat, don't automate, don't buy or sell accounts or game goods for real money, and don't use one account to feed another. Treat other people with respect in chat, mail and forums. If something breaks, report it instead of using it. If you see someone breaking these rules, tell us through Support → Report a player. When we take action we tell you why, and you can appeal.

These Game Rules are part of the Terms of Service. Purchases are covered by the Purchase Terms, and how we handle your data is explained in the Privacy Policy. If these Rules and the Terms of Service conflict, the Terms of Service apply.

Contents

• Preface
• 1. One account per player per world
• 2. Shared devices and shared connections
• 3. Account sitting (substitution)
• 4. No selling, trading or real-money trading
• 5. No pushing or feeding
• 6. Referrals and daily rewards
• 7. No bots, scripts or modified clients
• 8. Bugs: report them, don't use them
• 9. Names and content standards
• 10. Chat, mail and forum conduct
• 11. Computer-controlled players
• 12. Inactivity and abandoned empires
• 13. Reporting a player or content
• 14. Sanctions
• 15. Appeals
• 16. Staff decisions and fair-play discretion
• 17. Changes to these Rules
• Contact

Preface

Who these Rules come from. Glorious Factions is operated by Ananta Studios, a subsidiary of RLM Global ("we", "us"). Our staff — support agents, chat moderators and game managers — apply these Rules on our behalf. Anyone who claims to be staff but cannot be verified through the in-game Support panel is not staff.

Who they apply to. Every player, in every world, in every part of the game: the map, the market, chat, mail, alliance boards and anything else we provide. They apply equally to everyone — new players and veterans, paying and non-paying players, alliance leaders and members. Spending money never buys an exception.

What they are for. Glorious Factions is a competitive game. Winning by out-planning, out-building and out-fighting other players is the point. These Rules exist so that every victory is earned inside the game, and so that the community stays a place people want to be.

Spirit over loopholes. We cannot list every possible trick. If something is clearly meant to get around a rule or gain an unfair edge, we treat it as a breach of that rule even if the exact method is not described here. If you are unsure whether something is allowed, ask Support first.

1. One account per player per world

1.1 You may control one account in each world. You may play in several worlds, but only with one empire in each.

1.2 One person per account. An account belongs to the person who registered it. Other people may not play it, except through the substitution feature described in Rule 3.

1.3 No second accounts to help yourself. Creating or controlling extra accounts ("multis") — for example to scout, to farm, to hold resources, to vote in your own favour or to send support to your main empire — is not allowed.

1.4 Keep your login to yourself. Do not give your password to anyone, including friends, alliance mates or people claiming to be staff. Staff will never ask for your password.

Example: Mira plays in World 3 and World 5 with one empire in each. That is fine. Mira's second email address, used to start a "farm" empire in World 3 next to her main cities, is not.

2. Shared devices and shared connections

2.1 Sharing a computer or connection is not, by itself, a breach. Families, flatmates, students in a dormitory and players at internet cafés may share a device or network. Our anti-abuse systems notice shared connections and devices (they compare keyed hashes, never the addresses themselves — see the Privacy Policy), so it helps to tell us. If someone you share a computer with is banned, tell Support straight away, so staff can clear your account before the ban-evasion block reaches it (Rule 14.7).

2.2 Declare it. If you know you share a device or connection with another player in the same world, open a ticket in Support and tell us which accounts are involved. Declaring it does not give you special permissions, but it helps staff understand what they see.

2.3 Keep your distance in the game. Accounts that share a device or connection in the same world may play in the same world and even the same alliance, but they must not:

• send resources, troops or support to each other;
• trade with each other on the market or directly;
• coordinate attacks on the same target, or attack each other to pass gains back and forth;
• log in to or act for each other's accounts (substitution between such accounts is not allowed).

2.4 Reasonable exceptions. We apply this rule with common sense. Occasional, incidental contact — for example both accounts happening to be in the same large alliance operation organised by other people — is not automatically a breach. If you are unsure, ask Support before acting.

Example: Two brothers play from the same home network in World 2 and have told Support. They are in the same alliance, which is fine. One brother sending the other 200,000 stone to finish a building is not.

3. Account sitting (substitution)

3.1 Only through the in-game feature. If you need someone to look after your empire while you are away, use the game's substitution feature. It lets an alliance mate manage your empire with limited rights. Any other form of account sharing — including sharing your password — is not allowed.

3.2 Limits. Substitution is subject to the limits shown in the game, which may include [the maximum length of a substitution period], [how many empires one player may sit at once], [a cool-down between substitutions] and [actions the sitter cannot take]. Trying to get around these limits is a breach of this rule.

3.3 The owner stays responsible. Anything a sitter does with your empire counts as if you had done it. If your sitter breaks these Rules, both the sitter and your account may be sanctioned. Choose someone you trust.

3.4 What a sitter may do. Within the permissions the owner sets in the game, a sitter may keep construction, research and recruitment going; move troops between the owner's own cities and recall them; send defensive reinforcements to the owner's cities or to the owner's alliance mates; and move or trade resources between the owner's own cities.

3.5 What a sitter may never do — the game enforces these, whatever permissions are set:

• launch any offensive troop movement against another player (attack, plunder, assault, siege, scouting);
• send resources, troops or goods outside the owner's account — no shipments to other players and no market trades;
• buy anything with real money for the owner.

3.6 Premium currency. A sitter may spend the owner's Sidereals only if the owner has expressly allowed it in the substitution settings. The owner may also set a spending limit there; if one is set, the sitter can't spend beyond it. Every such spend is logged and shown to the owner.

3.7 Sit for the owner, not for yourself. A sitter must act in the owner's interest and must not use the access to benefit their own empire or accounts they favour, or to read or share the owner's private messages for any purpose other than looking after the empire.

3.8 Substitution and inactivity. Activity by an authorised sitter counts as activity on the empire, so it can keep the empire from being abandoned (see Rule 12).

Example: Jonas sits for an alliance mate during a two-week holiday. He keeps the queues full, moves troops between her cities and reinforces an alliance mate under siege. That is fine. Sending her resources to his own city, or attacking anyone from her empire, is not — and the game won't let him.

4. No selling, trading or real-money trading

4.1 Accounts are not for sale. You may not sell, buy, rent, trade, give away or transfer an account, an empire or a city — for money, for goods, or for accounts or items in other games.

4.2 No real-money trading (RMT) of game goods. You may not offer, buy or sell resources, troops, cities, items, Sidereals, subscriptions or any other game content for real money or anything of value outside the game.

4.3 No paid services. You may not offer or buy services such as "leveling", "piloting", "account boosting", paid sitting, or paid attacks or defence.

4.4 Advertising counts too. Posting offers to buy or sell any of the above, in the game or on outside sites aimed at our players, is a breach even if no sale happens.

4.5 Sidereals and items are a limited licence, not your property — see the Purchase Terms. Free in-game currencies and resources have no real-world value either.

Example: A forum post offering "Top-10 empire on World 4, $50 via PayPal" breaks this rule, and so does replying to buy it.

5. No pushing or feeding

5.1 What "pushing" means. Pushing (also called feeding) is when one account transfers value to another account unfairly, so that the receiving account grows faster than it could through its own play. It is not allowed, whoever controls the accounts.

5.2 Examples of pushing:

• one-sided market trades, such as selling 100,000 iron for 1 wood, or buying at prices far outside the normal market to move resources to a particular player;
• repeatedly sending resources, troops or support to another account without anything comparable coming back, especially to an account owned by the same person, a household member, or someone paying for it;
• deliberately losing troops or cities to another account (for example leaving a city undefended by arrangement) so the other account gains points, kills, refined resources or territory;
• feeding a new or second account from an established empire to give it a head start;
• passing value from an account that is about to be abandoned or deleted to another account.

5.3 What is fine. Alliances are a big part of the game, and genuine teamwork is allowed. Sending reasonable amounts of resources or support to a genuine alliance mate — for example to help them recover from a siege or defend a shared front — is normal play. "Within reason" means the help is occasional, proportionate and part of the alliance's play, not a steady one-way flow that builds one empire out of another.

5.4 Trades between connected accounts. Accounts that share a device or connection may not trade with or support each other at all (see Rule 2).

5.5 We review economic flows. The game server records resource and trade flows between accounts and flags unusual patterns. Staff review these flags and may act on them. A flag on its own is not a sanction — a staff member looks at the full picture before deciding. See the Privacy Policy for how long these records are kept.

Example: An alliance sends a member a few shipments of food after a siege wiped out her farms. That is fine. A player sending a friend's brand-new account half his production every day for weeks is pushing.

6. Referrals and daily rewards

6.1 Referrals are for real new players. You may invite friends with your referral link. Referral rewards are meant for bringing genuine new players to the game.

6.2 No self-referral or fake sign-ups. You may not refer yourself, create accounts to collect referral rewards, ask others to create throwaway accounts for you, or buy, sell or trade referrals.

6.3 Daily rewards are one per player. Daily login rewards are meant for each player's own account. Using extra accounts, automation or technical tricks to collect more rewards than intended is not allowed.

6.4 Consequences. Rewards obtained by abuse may be removed, along with anything gained from them, and the accounts involved may be sanctioned under Rule 14.

Example: Inviting your cousin, who then plays regularly, is fine. Signing up five email addresses through your own link to collect referral rewards is not.

7. No bots, scripts or modified clients

7.1 Play the game yourself. Every action in the game must be taken by a person, through the official game client in a standard web browser.

7.2 Not allowed:

• bots, scripts, macros, auto-clickers or any software that performs game actions for you or repeats them automatically;
• browser extensions, userscripts or tools that change how the game client works, add automated features, or read or send game data in ways the client does not;
• calling the game's servers or interfaces directly outside the official client, or sending altered requests;
• tools that gather information you could not see in the normal game (for example scraping hidden data);
• anything that overloads, disrupts or tries to break into our systems or other players' accounts.

7.3 Allowed:

• the game's own features, including the built-in advisor features and anything else the game offers to automate or plan your play;
• standard browser features such as zoom, bookmarks, accessibility tools and screen readers;
• third-party planning tools that do not play the game for you and do not connect to the game automatically — for example city layout planners, spreadsheets or calculators where you enter the information yourself;
• importing a layout through a feature the game itself provides.

7.4 If in doubt, ask. If you want to use a tool and are not sure it is allowed, ask Support first. "I didn't know" is not an excuse for using an automated tool.

7.5 Action limits and activity checks. The server limits how many actions an account can send per minute and per hour. A person playing fast stays well below the limit; if it is reached, further actions are refused until the minute or hour is over. The server also notices play that no person keeps up, such as acting around the clock or every minute for hours. These are prompts for staff to look, not sanctions in themselves (see Rule 16).

Example: Planning your city on a layout website and then building it by hand is fine. A browser extension that refills your recruitment queues every few minutes while you sleep is not.

8. Bugs: report them, don't use them

8.1 Report bugs. If you find a bug, a balance error or a security problem, report it through Support as soon as you can, with enough detail for us to reproduce it.

8.2 Don't exploit them. Deliberately using a bug or an unintended game behaviour to gain an advantage — for you, your alliance or anyone else — is not allowed. This includes repeating an action to see whether it keeps working.

8.3 Don't spread them. Do not share how to exploit a bug with other players, publicly or privately, before we have fixed it.

8.4 Security issues. Do not test security problems on other players' accounts or on our systems beyond what you need to notice the issue. Report it and stop.

8.5 Corrections. When we fix a bug, we may remove or reverse what was gained through it, even from players who used it unknowingly. We aim to do this fairly and in proportion.

Example: You notice that cancelling a construction at a precise moment refunds more resources than you paid. Report it and stop. Doing it again to "check" is exploiting.

9. Names and content standards

9.1 Names are public. Usernames, ruler names, city names, alliance names, alliance tags and descriptions, and profile text can be seen by other players. They must follow the same standards as chat.

9.2 Not allowed in names or public text:

• insults, slurs, or hate towards any group or person;
• sexual, obscene or graphically violent terms;
• references to drugs, crime or extremist movements, symbols or figures, presented approvingly;
• real people's names used to mock, impersonate or target them;
• names that impersonate staff (for example containing "Admin", "Mod", "Support", "GM" or "Ananta") or imitate another player's name to deceive;
• advertising, website addresses or contact details;
• personal information about anyone, including yourself (such as a phone number or home address);
• deliberate misspellings, spacing, symbols or other languages used to get around these standards.

9.3 Changes by staff. Staff may change or reset a name that breaks these standards, remove offending text, and ask you to choose a new name. Repeated or serious cases may also be sanctioned.

Example: An alliance named "The Iron Wolves" is fine. An alliance tag spelling a slur with numbers in place of letters will be reset.

10. Chat, mail and forum conduct

These rules apply to world chat, alliance chat, private chat, in-game mail, alliance boards and forums, and anything else you write in the game.

10.1 Trash talk is part of war; abuse is not. In-character rivalry, boasting and pointed diplomacy are part of a strategy game. Attacking a person rather than their empire is not.

10.2 Not allowed:

• Harassment and bullying: repeatedly targeting a player with insults, following them across chats to provoke them, encouraging others to pile on, or continuing to message someone who has asked you to stop.
• Hate: content that attacks or demeans people because of race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, age or similar characteristics.
• Threats: any threat of real-world harm, including "jokes". Threats against a player's empire in game terms ("I will burn your cities") are fine; threats against the person are not.
• Sexual content: sexually explicit material, sexual harassment, and any sexual content involving minors (which we report to the authorities).
• Doxxing and privacy violations: sharing or threatening to share someone's personal information — real name, address, phone number, workplace, photos, social media accounts — or private messages, without their consent.
• Spam and advertising: flooding chat, repeated identical messages, chain messages, and advertising other games, websites, services or products.
• Impersonation: pretending to be staff, or pretending to be another player in a way meant to deceive.
• Illegal content: anything that is illegal where you live or that promotes or facilitates illegal activity, including fraud, sale of illegal goods, and infringement of other people's copyright or trademarks.
• Extremism and terrorism: promoting, praising or recruiting for violent extremist or terrorist groups, ideologies or acts.
• Self-harm promotion: encouraging suicide, self-harm or eating disorders. If someone seems to be at risk, please tell Support.
• Phishing and scams: links or messages designed to steal passwords or personal information, or to trick players into giving away game assets.

10.3 Language. Use the game language of the world you are in ([English] unless the world says otherwise) in world chat and public channels, so that moderators and other players can follow the conversation. Alliances may use any language in their own alliance chat and boards, as long as the content follows these Rules.

10.4 Moderation. Chat moderators may delete messages, issue warnings and mute players. Do not argue with moderation decisions in public chat — use the appeal process in Rule 15.

10.5 Use the tools. You can ignore or block players where the game offers it, and you can always report them (see Rule 13).

Example: "Your alliance folds like paper — see you on the walls tonight" is fair rivalry. Posting someone's real name and town in world chat is doxxing and may lead to a permanent ban.

11. Computer-controlled players

11.1 Some opponents may be computer-controlled. Worlds may include computer-controlled rivals that play by the same game rules as everyone else. They are not individually marked. They may join or lead alliances, trade, and attack. More about how they work is in the Terms of Service.

11.2 The same conduct rules apply to everyone. These Rules protect every player you meet. Harassing anyone — whether you think they are a person or a computer — breaks Rule 10. You will not always know which is which, so treat everyone with the same respect.

11.3 No tricking anyone into revealing personal data. It is against these Rules to try to trick any player into revealing personal information — for example by asking for real names, contact details or photos to "prove you're human". Staff will never ask you to do this, and you never need to share personal information to play.

12. Inactivity and abandoned empires

12.1 When an empire is abandoned. An empire with no activity in a world for 30 days (20 days for empires below the Thane title) is abandoned in that world. Its cities pass to the world as abandoned cities, which decay over time and can be taken by other players. Your account is not deleted, and you can return and restart in that world with one city.

12.2 Staying active. Activity by you, or by an authorised sitter using the substitution feature, keeps your empire active.

12.3 No gaming the system. Using abandonment to move value to another account — for example arranging for a friend to take your cities as you leave — may count as pushing under Rule 5. Normal conquest of abandoned cities is fine.

13. Reporting a player or content

13.1 How to report. Open Support → Report a player in the game. Tell us who is involved, what happened, where (which world and channel) and when. Screenshots or message references help.

13.2 Illegal content. Use the same route to report content you believe is illegal, and say so in your report, with the reason you believe it is illegal. You do not need an account in the same world to report illegal content; if you cannot use the in-game panel, write to support@gloriousfactions.com.

13.3 What happens next. Staff review reports in good faith and in a reasonable time, with priority for threats, illegal content and anything involving harm to people. We will confirm we received your report, and where appropriate tell you the outcome. For privacy reasons we may not share the details of any sanction against another player.

13.4 Don't take matters into your own hands. Do not publicly name and shame players you suspect of breaking the rules. Report them and let staff decide.

13.5 False reports. Knowingly false or malicious reports, or flooding Support with repeat reports to harass someone, are themselves a breach of these Rules.

13.6 Emergencies. If someone is in immediate danger in real life, contact your local emergency services first, then tell us.

14. Sanctions

14.1 What we may do. When a player breaks these Rules, staff may take one or more of the following measures:

14.2 How we choose. We decide in proportion to the breach. We consider how serious it is, whether it was deliberate, how much it affected other players, whether it is repeated, and whether the player co-operated. We usually start with lighter measures for minor first offences and increase them for repeat offences. Serious breaches — such as real-world threats, doxxing, sexual content involving minors, real-money trading, large-scale pushing, botting, or exploiting serious bugs — can lead straight to a permanent ban.

14.3 Linked accounts. If several accounts take part in a breach (for example multis, pushing or abused sitting), each of them may be sanctioned.

14.4 Statement of reasons. When we restrict your account or remove your content, we will tell you, in the game or by email, unless the law prevents it or the notice would defeat its purpose (for example in some cases of fraud or spam). The notice will say what we did, which rule or law it is based on, the facts we relied on in general terms, whether automated tools were involved in detecting it, and how you can appeal.

14.5 Purchases and sanctions. Sidereals, items and subscriptions on an account that is suspended or banned for a breach of these Rules are handled as described in the Purchase Terms and the Terms of Service.

14.6 Reporting to authorities. Where the law requires it, or where someone's life or safety is at risk, we may report content or conduct to law enforcement.

14.7 No ban evasion. A banned player may not play again with another account while the ban lasts. That includes a new account, someone else's account, or an account bought or borrowed.

• What we block. When we ban an account, we block what it used:
• the game's device identifier in your browser;
• your browser's traits together with the internet connection;
• the email address, in any of its forms (for example with dots or a "+" tag).
• What happens to new accounts. A new account that uses any of these is banned automatically, for as long as the original ban, and is listed in the pillory as "Ban evasion".
• Sign-up. You can't sign up with a blocked email address, or with a throwaway email service.
• Shared connections. A shared internet connection on its own never leads to an automatic ban; staff look at it first.
• A mistake? If you are caught by mistake (for example you share a computer with a family member who was banned), appeal through Support. Staff can clear your account.

14.8 The pillory.

• What it is. A public list in the game, under Rankings → Pillory, of accounts that are suspended or banned for breaking these Rules.
• What it shows. The account name, whether it is suspended or banned, the reason category (for example "Bots or scripts" or "Multi-accounting"), the dates, and whether a game manager, an administrator or the automatic fair-play system decided it. It never shows the details of the case or the name of the staff member.
• How long. An account stays listed while the sanction lasts and for 30 days after it ends. A permanent ban stays listed for 180 days.
• Lifted sanctions. If a sanction is lifted, for example after a successful appeal, the listing disappears straight away.

15. Appeals

15.1 How to appeal. If you disagree with a sanction or a moderation decision, reply to the support ticket that told you about it within [14] days and explain why you think it is wrong. If you did not receive a ticket, or cannot access your account, write to support@gloriousfactions.com with your username and the world concerned.

15.2 Who reviews it. Where possible, your appeal will be reviewed by a staff member who was not involved in the original decision. The reviewer will look at the case again, including anything new you provide.

15.3 Outcome. We will tell you the result in the ticket. We may confirm, change or reverse the decision. If the decision was wrong, we will undo it as far as we reasonably can.

15.4 Keep it in the ticket. Please do not appeal in public chat or forums, and do not open several tickets for the same case. Abusive messages to staff may be sanctioned separately.

15.5 Reporters can appeal too. If you reported content and disagree with our decision not to act, you can ask for a review in the same way.

15.6 Other options. Appealing to us does not affect any other rights you have, such as using an out-of-court dispute settlement body or going to court where the law allows it. See the Terms of Service for how disputes are handled.

16. Staff decisions and fair-play discretion

16.1 Staff judgement. These Rules cannot predict every situation. Staff may act against conduct that clearly undermines fair play or harms other players even if it is not specifically listed, as long as the action is consistent with the purpose of these Rules and in proportion.

16.2 Evidence. Staff decide based on the information available to them, which can include game records, server logs, trade-flow records and reports from players. Automated systems may flag suspicious activity, but a person reviews it before any account sanction is applied.

16.3 Consistency. We aim to treat similar cases the same way. Decisions in one case do not bind us in a different case with different facts.

16.4 Respect for staff. Staff are people. Follow their instructions on moderation matters, and use the appeal process if you disagree. Do not harass, threaten or impersonate staff.

16.5 No staff favours. Staff may not use their position to help their own empire or alliance, and may not give anyone special treatment. If you believe a staff member has acted unfairly, report it through Support.

17. Changes to these Rules

17.1 We may update these Rules to address new situations, new game features or changes in the law.

17.2 Notice. For material changes we will give advance notice in the game or by email, as described in the Terms of Service. Changes needed for legal or security reasons, or to stop a new form of cheating or abuse, may take effect immediately.

17.3 The current version is always available in the game and on our website, with the date it was last updated at the top. Conduct is judged under the Rules in force when it happened.

Contact

• In the game: Support panel (tickets, Report a player)
• Support: support@gloriousfactions.com
• Legal: legal@gloriousfactions.com
• Operator: Ananta Studios, a subsidiary of RLM Global, [ADDRESS]

Related documents: Terms of Service · Purchase Terms · Privacy Policy