Dancer Archive
Thread: Curious about opinion on other AFKMers
~I wish people would stop complaining about it so much so we could move onto better subjects. This horse has already been ground into glue andfast-food burgers, there is no reason to keep flogging it. Most people don't care. Some people can't stand it. Some people love it.~
Amen.
Player resentment builds because it appears that we are getting our titles easily while they are risking death for theirs.
I'm a little confused about one thing - how many dancers risk death to get dancing levels? I haven't made novice yet, so maybe I'm missing something...
Please re-read what I said - other players resent dancers who AFK macro because the other players risk more to gain their skills.
There is really only one issue that matters in this discussion. That issue is how our actions impact those around us. This being a Massive Multiplayer game, there isn't a single player in the game whose actions don't in some way affect another player.
In that respect, if your (general you, no one in particular) AFK Macroing gives my profession a bad image and makes us a joke, it hurts MY game play by reducing the respect (and tips) I receive. If your macro-spam begging for tips makes players leave the cantina without tipping, you've directly done injury to your fellow dancers.
Extending this, if you gained your Master status by standing in your own house solo-macroing, maybe you think that doesn't affect anyone else. But what happens when we are hired to be in the same dancer group at a wedding or PA opening, and you don't know the first thing about coordinating your dances with the others? You're going to make all of us look like idiots because WE practiced together and you weren't even at the keyboard when you skilled up. How many flourishes does Exotic really have, when should you /changedance or use lighting effects, and how would you know unless you interacted with other dancers in a group before you got into a dance-for-hire situation?
Bottom line: The entertainment professions are ALL about image. We are only as good as our image, and we only gain as much from our profession as our image permits. Dancing in our underwear, spamming for tips, and being AFK instead of actively interacting with customers are guaranteed ways to hurt us all. That's why those who engage in these activities are /kicked from my groups, whether it makes them mad or not. The sooner they leave the profession, the better for those of us who take it seriously.
AFK Samplers will not exist, or at least not in the same form they do today, for very much longer. There are changes on Test Center now that make it much, MUCH more difficult to AFK macro. I suspect we'll see the same thing happening in other areas soon.
Kinda makes you wonder if it truly was intended for so many people to AFK themselves to master, huh?
The most evil thing for AFK dancing is, it ruined the reputation of all the dancers!
What do you think, why there are so much people out there, who say entertaining is the most easiest way to gain in a profession?
If you has reached your mastertitle there are no much people who say, "wow a Masterdancer, great accomplishment."
The most think: "a Masterdancer, hmm also one of the AFK folk, who searched for an easy way to run around with a Mastertitle".
People laughs at me, when I say I go out in the wilerness to fight a bit, to relax after exhausting dancing, cause they think I make a joke, but for me it is a fact, cause I have a lot to concentrate on my audience while doing a serious job in the cantina following all the chats, trying to understand them (cause its not my main language), finding the best reaction for different situations....
For the technical aspect:
Every long time AFKler inceases the lag on the servers.
They see to it, that on full servers perhaps an other player can not log in, who is willing to play his/her character.
They overflow the server with ressources, and empty resources faster then intended, what hurts all serious players and the hole economy.
It was never intended, that sampling is more productive then harvesting with machines, so it hurts the player, who wanted to sell the harvesters for their income and the energie to let them run.
My opinion on long time AFKs only
--------------------------
Aniella (Gorath) Dancer
AdaraX wrote:
AFK Samplers will not exist, or at least not in the same form they do today, for very much longer. There are changes on Test Center now that make it much, MUCH more difficult to AFK macro. I suspect we'll see the same thing happening in other areas soon.
Kinda makes you wonder if it truly was intended for so many people to AFK themselves to master, huh?
Adara, I don't play on Test so I'm not versed in the coming changes for AFK sampling. What are they going to do to macroing that will diminish Dancer macros?
I hope it's balanced, because like many here I still use macros to chain flourishes & effects together or change my wardrobe behind smokebombs. I do them all while at the keyboard, though, and have never macro'd while AFK - not once in my SWG career.
Macros are a useful tool that can be abused. I just hope they check the abuse while leaving us free to use them as intended.
I would like to add to LoraJ's observation about macro sampling. Not only is it incredibly boring and something that you do out in the wilds with no one to talk to, after Survey IV, you get no useful xp for it. And I would venture to guess that most novice artisans reach Survey IV very quickly, because before you get a harvester, it is the only way to get the resources you need. The point is, people sample to get the resources that will allow them to get crafting xp, it isn't an end in itself.
Additionally, unlike dancing AFK in the cantina, if you sample while AFK there is a very good risk that some dangerous wildlife or NPC will come and kill you while you are sitting there.
Sinda, to my knowledge, the change hasn't been made for dance yet. I was responding more to the original poster's question regarding other types of AFK macroing. For sampling, the TestCenter has implemented a system whereby you get occasional, random popups that stop action until something is clicked. Because they're random, sampling becomes more difficult
Based on that, I was saying that it seems SOE is making the point that AFKing is not, in fact, what macros were implemented for, and we'll hopefully see changes to prevent it in entertaining.
I am 100% with you that macros, in and of themselves are not the problem. Macros are an excellent way to set up choreographed performances and such like we do at the Academy, as well as to play set patterns in music and still interact actively with customers while AT the keyboard. My issue is and always has been AFKing with them for long periods of time (especially in public places, with talk inclusive and the like)
My feeling on this.. the Harvestors.. cheap, but smart I suppose. I doubt they really need the experience but its really cheap way to get some resources which is probably the goal really. I think its abuse of the games current system but I can't say I totally blame them.
As far as afk entertainers.. stay off the dance floor, preferably hidden to the side... and be prepared to be booted if I'm leader and the group is full and someone wants a spot. Really, I think doing the afk macro thing shouldn't be done at all in groups. If you want to, fine, but find a quiet spot and do it so people won't notice you.
There is really only one issue that matters in this discussion. That issue is how our actions impact those around us. This being a Massive Multiplayer game, there isn't a single player in the game whose actions don't in some way affect another player.
In that respect, if your (general you, no one in particular) AFK Macroing gives my profession a bad image and makes us a joke, it hurts MY game play by reducing the respect (and tips) I receive. If your macro-spam begging for tips makes players leave the cantina without tipping, you've directly done injury to your fellow dancers.
Very, very well said.
Which is why on another thread somewhere, I said that the essential problem with AFKMers is that they are being selfish as well as egotistical. They selfishly powerlevel themselves and when we tell them it harms the rest of us the general response is, "*bleep* you, I pay $15/month for this game, I will do what I want."
Yeah? Well, Sinda and Ndainye and I pay $15/month to play this game too... and the AFKMers are making our expereince less than it could be. Shouldn't we be allowed to play the game the way we want too? Shouldn't we be able to play in cantinas where people tip (because they aren't put off by tip spammers) and roleplay (because they don't view entertainers as "bots")? Shouldn't we be able to play that way too? After all, we're paying for this experience also.
Or do the AFKMers think their $15 are somehow more valuable than mine?
C
The only time I afk dance for longer that a bathroom break is if I'm at my PA hall, the members need BF and MW healing and I HAVE to be somewhere else (irl). I'll leave my toon running on the basic dance step till she gets too tired and that's all the heals they get until I can come back. Doesn't happen often. I do use macros a lot though and I spend a LOT of time in a room of the PA hall working on routines by myself. I don't like to polish off my steps in front of people.. looks bad. I have all sorts of great new ideas from this thread on using effects to cover dance and costume changes. Can't wait to try those out!
AFK sampling: I've done some sampling on the artisan tree and it is BORING. Capital B, boring. But before you get to a level where people actually want to buy what you make you need resources and do not have the money to buy them from the bazaar or get a harvester (and the maintenance on those is crazy). I don't blame people in the least for not sitting at their keyboard for that. But dancing is a different story. We survive off of the good graces of our customers (and a day job or two) and we earn thier tips. Healing isn't enough in my opinion, we have to make their time in the cantina enjoyable and make friends. You have to be at your keyboard to do that.
Min'Tora Ehi; Lowca