Macroing

Decay is soemthign else that, the way it works currently, will not let you bot to the level you can get to by actually playing. Only because decay makes tiem work agaisnt you, and it take smroe time to skill up by botting than it does to do it actively.


Just ask Themo

 

In game CAPTCHA = 50% of the people that are currently playing - rage quitting.
In game CAPTCHA = 95% of potential players never playing or finding an alternative game.

Forum CAPTCHA before every post might help cut down on overabundance of soapbox commenting.

I do think account SECURITY is a utter train wreck when you have forum log in that is the same username and password log in. I don't have the answer that, since I am not a web site developer type person. When you create an account your account username is the default forum user name and it doesn't force you to create a separate unique forum name. For example I see: 5 individuals account names out of 53 members logged into the forum right now. Not hard to see how the unscrupulous could exploit that.

R/Brickbat

 

Hehe thats the thing we're arguing about bro... when you're botting, time dosen't really matter cause you can stay in game muuuch longer than @Baron Drocis Fondorlatos would, making it still unfair design.

 

People are so focused on macro-ing skill gain when ultimately you cannot gain in your skills without experience, and, as they balance use of experience (and we don't gain experience at 4x the normal rate!) eventually as you play your experience should be used as quickly as you gain it.

With no excess experience then there is nothing to be gained from setting up a macro vs a gustball.

Is the system perfect? No. No system really is, but the system is better than some use-based systems I've seen (like say the Morrowind use-based system - where travelling meant running, jumping and casting 1 mana spells as you travelled the world - or runescape to name an mmo).

Botting is absolutely an issue in my mind, one that I don't know how you would combat (every online game has bots, and it totally sucks when they aren't policed and there's no consequences for botting).

I would say that any use-based system is exploitable, but one that requires experience as a fuel for use-based gains I would say is less exploitable than most other games I've played that were use-based.

I think there are things that need to be fixed in this system, but calling it one of the easiest systems imaginable is pretty flimsy. Why not point out games with use-based systems that do something differently compared to SotA?

Yes, currently you can sit afk with pets killing stuff then apply those gains using macros, but if the amount of applied xp to a skill is scaled with the size of your pool - then you can sit afk with your pet killing stuff, and then go play the game and get those skill gains as fast as someone who macro'd the skill gains on a gust ball (once they finish tweaking the xp gain/xp spend system).

The real issue becomes not macroing skill gains but closing loop-holes that allow people to gain experience while not playing the game.

 

Baron Drocis Fondorlatos , you will know it was that just killed you in game when the avatar cries out before slaying you ...."Captcha this!"

 

Thats the real issue... back in 1999 lots of people programmed tools to allow complete afk bot spawn points, it might be illegal but as you said not often enforced... now in 2016 the tools are even more sophisticated and allow even stealthing through anti-cheat systems.

I think there is simply no plan to stop the bots... the game is instead being built so that nobody really cares about them.

Ima stop there before I start speculating ; this is the kind of subject that drives me insane.

 

I find it rich that someone who payed to win is worried about fairness.

 

I consider that a personal attack for a number of reasons. Mostly because I'm not "winning" anything, yet I'm certainly "paying" for this game to be developed, the same as anyone else.

When it comes to fairness, there are not many use cases where time or money is not a determining factor. However only money actually pays for the game. Grinding out virtual levels does not.

But yeah, I'd like a fair game for everyone. I suppose if I said I don't want a fair game for everyone that would be the "correct" answer?

 

Calling a post a personal attack to get it deleted. I find your unnecessary ad-hominum insinuations an attack. This is a simple discussion of macroing!

 

One is paying for the game if they donate and should get what they want for that.

Well perhaps there should be a macroing donation. If you donate some sum you can macro how about that?

Its pure absurdity to contend that immortal weapons, tools, houses and property, which are all obtained also through hard work in the game, is not getting ahead of others.

 

As much as I dislike pretty much everything Drocis ever says, I have to agree with him here. First, your opening statement was about as close to a personal attack as you can get without actually naming names.

Second, there is a huge difference between paying for virtual items as part of your pledge (the majority of which are purely cosmetic) and taking advantage of a game system by macroing, botting, or anything else that A) was not intended to be allowed and/or B) gives you an increase of stats and/or items over players who play within the ruleset.

 

You honestly don't see the logical dissonance of this statement vis a vis pledge items and property?

 

nope.

The reason? The sale of property and items (again, most if not all of which are cosmetic) is something that is by design, by the developers. It is intended. Macroing/botting is neither by design nor intended.

 

Unbreakable crafting items is directly related to advantage in skill gain and item gain, this cannot be refuted. Towns, houses and property spots, when placed in the right strategic place, undeniably gives someone who has that already an advantage over those who want to earn it in game. When server wipe is ended it will be a land grab wild west style. You can't possibly deny this is an advantage over other people who don't have that ability.

Fair enough though, I think I understand where you are coming from now. You are basically validating an inherently unlevel playing field because that is what SoA has provided. This still does not address the underlying unfairness and hypocrisy of the stance I am afraid, but it is nonetheless a legal line in the sand.


Really at the end of the day, if you have Forbes Magazine extolling the virtues of your approach, you can count on it as being one of some form of wealth privilege exercise.

 

Yes, you are correct.

Therefore, you should not take your ire out on the players who choose to play within that playing field. Instead, direct it at the field itself.

Note I never once said I was a fan of the system.

 

You are a wise man Bubonic, I respect that.

 

Something I liked in the R27 post-mortem is when King Gariott said : "I would be tempted if there was a way to limit each person to one account, so that all reputation would be shared" *thumbs up*

The same applies to bots however, if they could ban them they definately would, but often the people that orchestrate these will have so much accounts, that they'll never even put a dent in their forces. Most accounts might be opened with gift credit cards etc and there would be no way of tracing who owns them, even worse.

So the problem is design/engeneering of the server data ...

 

That's where the spinal jacks like in the Matrix come in.

 

Macros do a lot of harm to the game, whether you think you personally are doing harm with them or not.

 

If you Macro, I pray you get banned.

If Anyone here thinks for a second that its "hard" to macro xp right now, you are wrong.

I know of a few places already people are afk macroing mobs for hours and hours. Its disgusting