User:Polavux/Hacker flag

The hacker flag is a data flag (or, in some games, a set of flags) in the player's save file in certain Ninja Kiwi games that is set if Ninja Kiwi considers the player to be a cheater. When a player's save file is "flagged", certain features in the game behave differently. Usually, games with online play will prevent flagged players from interacting with non-flagged players by placing flagged players in a "hacker pool" that only allows matchmaking with other flagged players. The only way to remove the flag through legitimate means is to request Ninja Kiwi's Support Team to remove it.

The way the hacker flag is set depends on the game. Usually, it triggers if the game detects that the player altered the game's files, altered the game's memory at runtime, or obtained currency or items illegitimately. [explain situations where a player can get the flag through legitimate play because nk sux]

Ninja Kiwi's support website refers to an account in this state as a "flagged account", though this is misleading because the flag is set per game save, not per account; this means getting flagged in one Ninja Kiwi game does not affect any other games on the same account.

Flag indicators in Bloons games

Game	Indicator
Bloons TD Battles	The version number on the main menu and settings displays a space between the "v" and the number, and has a period at the end.
Bloons Monkey City	Forced ads appear even after purchasing items to remove them.
Bloons Supermonkey 2
Bloons TD 6	There are two leaves in the top-left of the settings button on the main menu.
Bloons Adventure Time TD	In the Martian Games menu, an animated sword icon appears next to the player's name at all times. Normally, this icon only appears next to other players who are actively playing the map and never appears next to the name of the same player from their view.
Bloons Pop!
Bloons TD Battles 2	The version number on the main menu and settings displays a space between the "v" and the number.

Effects of hacker flags in Bloons games

Bloons TD Battles

• Online matchmaking only matches flagged players against other flagged players.
• The Weekly Competition menu displays "No data found." on all leaderboards.

Bloons Monkey City

• When playing on a platform that has in-game advertisements, the game will display ads even if the player made a purchase to disable forced ads.
• Contested Territory only groups flagged players with other flagged players.

Bloons Adventure Time TD

• Martian Games only groups flagged players with other flagged players.