Auto-Pop and Fair Play
When you connect multiple gaming platforms, some achievements unlock automatically — say, you earned them on Steam and they instantly appear on PSN when you link both accounts. This is called an auto-pop, and it's not unique to RivalRyze; it's how cross-platform achievement systems work.
The problem is that auto-pops can inflate scores in Contests. If you grind 100 achievements on Steam over a year, then connect PSN one day before a "Most achievements this week" Battle, all 100 auto-pop onto PSN within minutes — making it look like you earned them in a week.
RivalRyze's Fair Play system detects these patterns and adjusts how they're counted.
How detection works
RivalRyze analyzes your achievement data for signals that distinguish organic play from auto-pop or suspicious unlocks:
Timestamps and timing patterns. Real achievements unlock at the pace of play. Cross-platform auto-pops typically share the exact same timestamp on first launch (Steam) or appear in 2–5 second intervals as the list syncs (PSN).
Cross-platform signals. When the same game is on multiple connected platforms and unlocks appear in both, the system can identify which side was the original and which is the auto-pop.
Unlock distribution. Real players unlock achievements in patterns roughly matching the overall player population. Sequences that ignore typical progression order (e.g., end-game achievements before tutorial achievements) get flagged.
Unlock volume. A volume of unlocks far exceeding plausible playtime is suspicious.
Detection produces an Auto-Pop Group (APG) — a labeled cluster of suspect achievements with a confidence score (0–100) and a source tag.
The three Fair Play categories
Known Cross-Platform Auto-Pop
You earned the achievement on one platform, and it auto-popped on another linked platform.
85–100
from:STEAM, from:PSN, from:UBISOFT
Unknown-Source Auto-Pop
Batch unlocks detected without an obvious source platform link.
70–90
from:UNKNOWN
Suspicious Pattern
Timing, ordering, or volume patterns that don't match normal play.
30–60 (higher when signals stack)
from:CHEAT
The three categories have different treatment in Contests and on your profile.
How each category is treated
Known cross-platform auto-pop
Excluded by default. Doesn't count toward your Contest score.
Annotated on your profile; community-configurable.
Unknown-source auto-pop
Host decides. Counts by default; flagged for the host to review.
Counts toward leaderboards but flagged.
Suspicious pattern
Host decides (exclusion recommended).
Flagged; auto-exclusion available for hosts.
New, organically earned unlocks always count, even if your historical achievements are flagged. Fair Play looks backward — it doesn't penalize you for ongoing real play.
What you see as a player
On your profile, achievements may be annotated with a small Fair Play badge if they're part of an APG. Hover or click for details: which APG, what confidence, what source.
You'll see the same annotation on Contest leaderboards where it's relevant.
If you join a Contest that excludes auto-pops by default, your score reflects only your organic unlocks. You can preview this on the Contest page before joining.
What hosts see and decide
Hosts of Contests involving achievements get notified when a participant has flagged Auto-Pop Groups affecting the Contest:
Known cross-platform auto-pops are excluded automatically — no host action needed.
Unknown-source APGs appear in the host's review panel. Each APG card shows: number of achievements, confidence score, source tag, timestamps, and population context.
Suspicious APGs are highlighted. The host can include, exclude, or pass.
Hosts can also set Contest-wide rules upfront, like:
"Auto-exclude all APGs above confidence 80."
"Apply Fair Play rules only to in-Contest unlocks, not historical."
"Apply rules to all-time totals (for Collector-style Battles)."
What players can do
If you have flagged APGs and want to clean up your classification:
Connect every platform you play on. The more cross-platform signal RivalRyze has, the better it can correctly attribute auto-pops. An unknown-source APG often becomes a known cross-platform APG once you connect the missing platform.
Dispute an APG. If you're confident an APG is wrong (e.g., the system flagged organic play as suspicious), contact support with details. We can review and reclassify.
Play organically going forward. New unlocks always count. Your future Contest scores improve as your organic unlock history grows.
What this means for Contests
The practical impact:
Joining a Battle that scores on achievement points: only achievements unlocked during the Battle window count, and Fair Play classifications apply. You start fresh — historical APGs don't disqualify you.
Joining a Bounty that's a Hunter race: the specific achievement / platinum / completion must be earned organically during the Bounty window. A historical auto-pop of that exact achievement does not mark you as a winner.
Hosting a Contest: you may get a few notifications about APGs to review. You can leave defaults alone for casual Contests, or tune them tightly for competitive ones.
Glossary
Auto-Pop Group (APG) — A cluster of suspect achievements with a confidence score and a source tag.
Confidence — A 0–100 score representing how likely an APG is to be a real auto-pop or unfair pattern.
Source tag — The likely origin of an auto-pop:
from:STEAM,from:PSN,from:UBISOFT,from:UNKNOWN, orfrom:CHEAT.
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