Dancer Archive
Thread: Idea for solving AFK macroing For players and DEVs alike to read
How noble of you to fight the good fight now that you don't need the ill gotten gains anymore.
I am not suggesting crippling the macro system at all. You would still be able to do everything you can now under this method, except for looping macros. Even for what you want it could easily be changed to provide a little bit more ease of use.. For example counting aliases and macros separately (Best combined with a maximum /pause time) or even just a limited recursion depth. Instead limiting run-time of macros is another variant of this method.
Before I share it, I will point out that yes it took close to 2 months before I finally got Master Dancer. However I have been spliting my time between entertaining and and leveling carbine and acout skills. Not once have I used a Macro. I go afk for 5 mins to go for the occasional smoke break. That's it.
I earned that Master Dancer title. I'm very proud of it. I still spens lots of time dancing. I see who the afk'ers are. I see whos there and whos not.
My solution.....
I WILL NOT TEACH AFK MACRO DANCERS ANYTHING!!!!!
Period.
If they feel there entitled to that Master Dancer Title, they can go pay 7k for a new skill. I wish more Masters would do that. Because if we don't teach them, they have to pay for it. And I highly doubt that most of the AFKERS have that kind of money.
Stefi Stargazer
ECLIPSE
NippyBooBoo wrote:
I WILL NOT TEACH AFK MACRO DANCERS ANYTHING!!!!!
Period.
If they feel there entitled to that Master Dancer Title, they can go pay 7k for a new skill. I wish more Masters would do that. Because if we don't teach them, they have to pay for it. And I highly doubt that most of the AFKERS have that kind of money.
Stefi Stargazer
ECLIPSE
They may l;earn from AFK Masters (when those masters come back online, of course). There are a few of those in my usual cantina.
Build a system that even a fool can use, and only a fool will want to use it.
What do I intend with that sentence ? Well, if something takes so little skill that a two line macro can replace the player for the sake of XP, sooner or later, a macro one way or another will be used to gain XP. If it weren't the macro system, it would be a third party tool. And if not a third party tool, someone will create a machine to press keyboard keys. Don't think that's crazy. It is, but I have seen it for other games.
One solution that would block players with in-game macros is to issue a certain command that is already implemented that stops all macroed commands. Run this automatically when AFK is detected and we would get rid of all LAMErs that found a macro on the 'net and have no clue other than how to press a button ( otherwise totally sufficient for becomming Master Entertainer/Musician/Dancer ).
Another point is: if a player is lessening your game experience by standing next to you shouting or emoting all day... /report him. Or at least send him an email and tell him you don't like that behaviour. If you don't take action in game, whining here is pointless. Just because s/he is AFK doesn't mean you are unable to communicate.
As an aspiring dancer I used to have very poor regard for the macro dancers...
As a dissilusioned dancer I now couldn't care less about the macro dancers.
With the general lack of respect for the entire dancing profession, I would tend to leave the afk macro bots alone as someday they may be all thats left, running on someones second account, to cure anyones mind wounds and BF.
Leave them be, from the trends I have seen, we will need them one day.
Tiaga wrote:
There is, it is just that people like you who just set a macro and never spend time in the cantina aren't around to see it.
Tell me about the problem I don't see.I set a macro. I go to sleep. I wake up. I have 25k more credits than I had before. Yeah, big fargin problem.
The "problem" is two fold
1. AFK macroers give the rest of us a very low reputation with the fighting community. Just look at some of the hostility towards us on the development board and you will know this is true. It really lowers the game experience when your customers hate you because of someone else's actions. Also they get the impression that all dancers are AFK heal bots and should never be tipped.
2. You are taking tips from people who are actually working. Not always mind, you may be on a planet where there are no other entertainers, but if you do this in a cantina with even one other entertainer then you are taking money from someone who is actually playing the game. Some fighters just don't know not to tip you guys.. but I think we're slowly getting the word out.
It all comes down to base selfishness. I don't mind the ones that macro in their own houses to skill up. They are in private, not bothering anyone and not really taking anything away from anyone else. They just may not really know how to entertainer when they hit master. oh well that will be figured out soon enough. But when you are negatively effecting the perception of your entire profession, then I have a problem
Min
Yesterday I saw a master dancer. I started doing poplock, and they asked me what dance I was doing so they could do the same one. Later I started doing exotic2, and they at least figured out it was one of the exotics, but it took them 3 tries to figure out which one. Again doing popular again later they had to ask what dance it was.
Okay, the last one I can understand.. But how can anybody who has done any dancing NOT recognize poplock?
That just illustrates the point. She had never actually played her character, the macro did. This isn't a game for macros, it's a game for people. Macros shouldn't be allowed to play, except in the aid of the people.
I use AFK macros that loop to gain xp while I'm at work and asleep. I don't want to force people to listen to StarWars1 or Rock or force large groups to play those basic songs when I can keep up and be able to join in with the good sounding songs.
When I do AFK macro, I go into the back of the cantina or I just find some safe spot in a city and do it. I am currently on Talus in Nashal with my Entertainer and a lot of times I come back and notice lots of tells thanking me for being there as an entertainer, even if I'm afk. I provide a service to players even when I'm not able to be at the computer.
Win - win situation for me.
Sorrow_of_Bestine wrote:
When I do AFK macro, I go into the back of the cantina or I just find some safe spot in a city and do it. I am currently on Talus in Nashal with my Entertainer and a lot of times I come back and notice lots of tells thanking me for being there as an entertainer, even if I'm afk. I provide a service to players even when I'm not able to be at the computer.
Win - win situation for me.
It may work for you, but it apparently doesn't work for the people who insist on sitting right at the bottom of the stairs in the cantina.
I used to be tolerant of people being AFK, but it's become such a problem, a line has to be drawn, and the only place to draw the line is people who are AFK. So the line is in the sand. I'm on this side of it. I have no tolerance for the other side anymore.
Look at it this way, experience is a reward for playing the game. We all had to go through and earn the same exprience you did. Except, we were playing. If you're just AFK then it's your macro playing, not you. So your macro should be the one that can use the rewards of the experience, not you. If they intended the game to be completely accessible to everyone, they would have an experience terminal where you could go and get whatever experience you wanted. That wouldn't fly for artisans or marksmen would it. So why does it for entertainer?
If you worry about forcing the band to play SW1, then only join when it's playing something you know and dance otherwise. You need dancing xp to get to master entertainer anyway, to get the mandovial and ceremonial.
Mivora wrote:
2. You are taking tips from people who are actually working. Not always mind, you may be on a planet where there are no other entertainers, but if you do this in a cantina with even one other entertainer then you are taking money from someone who is actually playing the game. Some fighters just don't know not to tip you guys.. but I think we're slowly getting the word out.
If an AFK entertainer is taking tips from people who are "actually working", those who are "actually working" are doing a very poor job. Maybe such entertainers should try brawling.
Let me offer some obversations.
When I was working on my perfect flourish macro cause I wanted to get my timing correct (no not for afk), someone suggested a macro program to me. Seems a lot of people such as crafters and such use this program to type, mouse mouse, click and what have you. People are using this to powerlevel while they sleep. Another thing is, this will prevent you from ever appearing as AFK. Because the program does think your moving the mouse around and typing.
Now, I don't suspect the average person uses this program, but as /commands get removed they will.
Bottom line, if someone is going to exploit the system they will. If they want to badly enough, they will find a way. So getting that concerned about it is really added stress that you don't need.
Now, if this program (no name for fear more people will start using it faster) were to be blocked better, then I suggest thatFlourishes, effects and any text output be blocked when the person goes afk. Also, I think this should be independant of the AFK indicator. More of a time out of 5 minutes perhaps.
Regards.