These Terms of Service ("Terms") are an agreement between you and the operator of Vice Nation ("Vice Nation", "we", "us"). They govern your use of the Vice Nation game, website and related services (together, the "Service"). By creating an account, playing as a guest or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, please don't use the Service.
1. It's a game
Vice Nation is a work of fiction. It depicts crime, violence, gambling and other mature themes in a stylized, fictional setting. Cities, characters, organizations and events in the game are invented, and any resemblance to real people, places or groups is coincidental. Nothing in the game is an endorsement of, or instruction for, any real-world activity.
2. Who can play
- You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. If you are under the age of majority where you live, you may only use the Service with the permission of a parent or guardian, who agrees to these Terms on your behalf.
- You may not use the Service if you are barred from doing so under applicable law, or if we have previously banned your account.
3. Accounts
- To create an account you provide an email address and a password. You agree to give accurate information and to keep your email address current, because we use it to verify your account, help you recover access and send important notices.
- You may turn on two-factor authentication. We strongly recommend it. Keep your recovery codes somewhere safe; if you lose both your authenticator and your recovery codes, we may not be able to restore access.
- You're responsible for everything that happens under your account and for keeping your password secret. Tell us right away at support@vicenation.io if you think your account has been compromised.
- One account per person. Accounts are personal: you may not sell, trade, transfer, share or rent your account, character or in-game items, and you may not buy them from anyone else.
4. Guest play
You can try the game without an account as a guest. A guest is tied to a cookie in your browser and is limited to a small number of moves and to fighting computer-controlled players. Guest progress is kept for about three days. If you create an account in the same browser within that time, your guest progress transfers to your new character; otherwise the guest and its in-game property are deleted. Clearing your cookies or switching browsers will lose guest progress. These Terms apply to guest play too.
5. Virtual currency and items
- The game contains virtual currency (in-game "cash" and "bank" balances), virtual property, items, stats and other virtual content ("Virtual Items").
- Virtual Items have no real-world monetary value. They are not money, are not your personal property and cannot be redeemed, exchanged, sold or "cashed out" for real money, goods or anything of value, by us or by anyone else.
- We grant you a limited, personal, revocable, non-transferable license to use Virtual Items within the game. We may change, rebalance, reset or remove Virtual Items (for example, adjusting prices, income or rewards, or resetting the game world) at any time, without liability to you.
- Virtual Items may be lost through normal gameplay, for example by being robbed, losing a fight or a bet, or when a guest expires.
- Any real-world trading of Virtual Items, accounts or services connected to the game is prohibited.
6. Casino and chance-based games
The game includes casino-style slot machines, a prize wheel and race betting. These are played with virtual currency only. You cannot wager real money, and you cannot win real money or anything of real-world value. Outcomes are determined by the Service's random number generation and game rules, which we may change. Casino features are for entertainment only and do not constitute gambling under any law. If you are concerned about your relationship with real-money gambling, please seek help from a local support service.
7. Conduct rules
Vice Nation is a game about fictional crime, but the community is real. In-game rivalry is fine; real-world harm is not. You agree not to:
- Harass, threaten, bully, stalk or intimidate other players, or encourage others to.
- Post hate speech or content that attacks people based on race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability or similar characteristics.
- Post sexually explicit content, content that sexualizes minors in any way, or graphic real-world violence.
- Share anyone's personal information (including your own) such as real names, addresses, phone numbers or social accounts without consent.
- Impersonate other people, including staff or moderators.
- Spam, advertise, or post links to scams, malware or phishing.
- Encourage self-harm or real-world illegal activity.
Names and crew content
Character names, crew names, tags, mottos and messages on crew walls ("User Content") must follow these rules. We may rename characters or crews, remove User Content, or restrict access to social features if they don't.
8. Fair play
You agree not to:
- Use bots, scripts, macros, automation or modified clients to play, except as we expressly allow.
- Exploit bugs, glitches or design errors. If you find one, report it to support@vicenation.io. Good-faith reports are appreciated.
- Create multiple accounts, including to farm rewards, transfer resources between your own accounts, boost leaderboards or abuse the referral program.
- Interfere with the Service: probe, scan or test its vulnerability without permission, overload it, bypass rate limits or security measures, or access other users' accounts or data.
- Reverse engineer, scrape or copy the Service except as permitted by law.
9. Moderation and enforcement
We may investigate suspected violations of these Terms. Depending on the severity, we may warn you, remove content, rename your character or crew, reverse or remove Virtual Items obtained improperly, reset progress, restrict features, or suspend or permanently ban your account and any related accounts, with or without notice. We aim to be fair and proportionate; if you think we made a mistake, contact support@vicenation.io and we'll take another look.
You can report players or content to the same address. Please include the player or crew name and what happened.
10. Referral program
- Each player has a personal invite link. Players who sign up through your link may receive a starting bonus, and you may earn one-time in-game rewards when they reach certain levels. All referral rewards are Virtual Items with no real-world value.
- Referrals must be real, distinct people who choose to play. Self-referrals, fake or duplicate accounts, paid or incentivized sign-ups and spam (including unsolicited messages) are prohibited.
- We may change, suspend or end the referral program, adjust rewards, and withhold or reverse rewards we believe were earned in violation of these Terms.
11. Our content and yours
The Service, including its software, art, text, music, game design and trademarks, belongs to us or our licensors and is protected by law. We grant you a limited, personal, non-commercial license to use the Service as intended.
You keep any rights you have in your User Content. By posting it, you give us a worldwide, royalty-free license to host, display, reproduce and use it to operate and promote the Service (for example, showing your character name on leaderboards or in the live feed). You're responsible for your User Content and confirm you have the right to post it.
12. Changes to the game and these Terms
Vice Nation is a live game that changes often. We may add, change or remove features, rebalance the economy, reset the world or stop offering the Service at any time. We may update these Terms; if the changes are significant, we'll let you know in the game or by email before they take effect. Continuing to use the Service after the effective date means you accept the updated Terms.
13. Ending your account
You can stop using the Service at any time and ask us to delete your account by contacting support@vicenation.io. We may suspend or end your access as described in section 9 or if we stop offering the Service. When an account ends, your license to Virtual Items ends too, and they are not refundable or redeemable. Sections that by their nature should survive (such as 5, 11 and 14 to 17) survive termination.
14. Disclaimers
The Service is provided "as is" and "as available". To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We don't promise that the Service will be uninterrupted, error-free or secure, or that progress or data will never be lost.
15. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, we will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any loss of data, Virtual Items, goodwill or profits, arising from or related to the Service. Our total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim (if any) or fifty US dollars. Some jurisdictions don't allow these limits, so they may not fully apply to you.
16. Indemnity
If you use the Service in violation of these Terms or the law and that causes a claim against us, you agree to cover the reasonable costs of that claim, to the extent permitted by law.
17. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of [JURISDICTION], without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Before filing any claim, you agree to contact us at support@vicenation.io and try to resolve it informally for at least 30 days. [DISPUTE RESOLUTION AND VENUE TO BE CONFIRMED BY COUNSEL.] Nothing in these Terms limits rights you have under consumer protection laws that can't be waived.
18. Everything else
These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and us about the Service. If any part is found unenforceable, the rest stays in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision isn't a waiver. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition or sale of the Service.
19. Contact
Questions about these Terms: support@vicenation.io.