Entertainer Archive
Thread: ATTENTION Anti-AFKers..
Wow,
I don't even know where to begin on this...
I can't believe the level of whining that people on these boards do...
For the first time in a MMORPG the "entertainer" has a purpose and you can actually build a character without having to go out and hunt, and have a meaningful existence in the game.
The entertainer system in SWG is unbelievably incredible and the Devs should be praised for it. Any time I watch a player dance, I marvel and the game modeling that makes these dances look real... Completely Awesome. The music is also awesome (of course they do have John Williams music to plagiarize from).
This will be long, but I ask that you please read it all.
You know I was going to start with some of the issues you all raise that I agree with, but there's no point to that... I need to be a voice of common sense for the AFK / Hologrinder issue and macroing
Am I a hologrinder? NO...I'm a pure entertainer... Master Musician... Almost Master Dancer... Almost Master Entertainer
Do I love to socialize? Yep.
Do I AFK? Yep.
What is your problem with AFK'ers? And more importantly, why do you want the devs to do something about it when it is completely in your power to deal with it yourself.. Quit whining about it here on the boards and go play the game and deal with it there. That way we can clear these boards for discussions of real issues, like more music, more instruments, and improvements to the buffing system.
Or as I talk about below.. use them to get fellow entertainers to come join you in an empty cantina somewhere.
It amazes me how many people are crying "ALL the cantinas are full of AFKers". EXCUSE ME? What server are you on? I'm on 2 main servers (Scylla and Tempest) and with a few exceptions, the cantinas are EMPTY!!..
You have options..
1) MOVE!!:
a) Go to another cantina, like maybe the one in Deeja Peak.
"But that cantina in Deeja Peak is empty", you complain. Well it wont be when you get there. And if you want more people to socialize with, recruit them.
b) Go open a cantina in a Player city somewhere. (My solution)
Thsoe of you who really can't stand the AFKers and the macro'ers should really enjoy this option... don't like an AFKer, banthem from the building.
2) Work with your fellow entertainers on group management.
a) See what really cracks me up about this whole thing is that you complain about the AFKers, but you don't hesitate to group with them.. Why? Because you want that XP... Just like they do... just because you don't plan to drop the master tag as soon as you get it, like they do, doesn't change the fact that you are after the same thing.
Think I'm wrong? Then explain why I can never find an Entertainer "band" that is actually "Grouped" together on the floor like a band would be.... no, you're all scattered all over the place, or clustered in the doorway to make sure your the first one people see so they listen to you. A band should be nicely organized in a spot in the cantina, like on the stage, or in an alcove.
b) Don't let them in your group... form groups that are only TRUE entertainers. If you start doing this, then the AFKErs will have to group together with themselves, which is a pain for them since they are always AFK.
c) communicate on the boards about where your groups/cantinas are and recruit others to join you.
3) Don’t like the SPAM? Add them to your ignore list
If you organize and move to new spots you will have your cantina's the way you like them...leave the cantina's in the starting cities to the AFKers. Players who want buffs will search you out because they know they will get the better buffs by doing so. Or even get buffs at all, since they will have a problem getting one from someone who is AFK.
So many of the issues that you have could be dealt with in game, instead of here on the boards asking the Devs to do it for you… the AFK thing is an in-game issue…deal with it in-game.
There are plenty of cantinas with no one in them, but you don't go there for just that reason... If your so sick of the AFKers, why don't you move where they aren't. If you go somewhere else, and they try to follow.. Don't invite them to groups and they wont stay... TA-DA!!! problem solved.
One bright person calls on the EULA as proof that macro’ing is against the rules… are you serious?… the macros that are being used are IN-GAME macros… put there by the devs… HELLO?!? If macro’ing is against the EULA then why did the devs put it in the game?
‘nuff said for now… start flaming me.
Wrayth
P.S. Yeah, I'm posting this in all 3 of the main entertainer boards..
Do you have some suggestions for the profession that don't revolve around AFK?
Can you suggest what you'd like to see as a viable entertainer mission?
What would you like to see as a new instrument or song?
What kind of things do you want to do as Master level content in addition to player bands?
- Master Ent 5% reduction in Cantina Rent
- Master Ent 2-5% reduction in Planetary map registration fee
- mission suggestion: only available to entertainers--a patron requests some lighting effects which you can't perform, find a higher level musician or dancer to group with and complete the mission
- mission suggestion: An old master wants you to back him up at his gig. only problem-- his gig is on Endor and you'll get smeared across the pavement, hire an escort and collect the large payout. There's a time limit, so hurry up!
- fame points used to "rent" new songs and dances and instruments-- more info upon request
- add musician missions to Jabba's theme park so we can play with the blue guy.
- add a musician theme park
- group mission suggestion: you've been asked to supply a <3-5> member band for the gig. Payout based on number of band members and creative use of bandflos.
- Allow Master Ent to /register event on the planet map or other advertisement method
- Allow Master Musician to /register Master
- Newspaper for advertisement?
These are mostly things that have been suggested before and better described in other threads. Can you add to the list?
PoetDancer,
Your right...and your wrong... why? Because you contradict yourself..
First you say you can't get away from them, becuase the customers follow you and they follow the customers, and then you say they are scared off by the AFKer's, which is it?
And how exactly is an player harrasing you and bad mouthing you if they are AFK?
My point here is that it's one thing to voice displeasure about it, another for it to be on the top five list of things you want the Devs to "fix".
And you know what... most the people I know are "non-entertainer" types, and they could really care less about this stuff.. All they care about is getting their wounds healed.
How can I contradict myself when I am merely showing a causal connection?
Live dancers and musiciansplay a cantina.
Customers come to the dancers and musicians.
AFKs find out that there is healing XP to be had where said dancers and musicians are.
AFKs set up shop after getting an invite.
AFKs spam my customers away (never said I was annoyed by spam, my customers are).
I am forced to move if I don't want to deal with it.
Rinse and repeat.
You see, I'm kind of sick of the big push on these boards against AFKs too. I'm too busy trying to make things better for those who practice the live profession to worry about AFKs. However, when the tools I need as a live performer to get away from the AFKs are taken away from me (making it worth my time to play in less-traveled venues through missions, and lacking a viable /registration system that I can tell my customers about), it makes the AFK problem just that much more of an issue.
...and don't worry dear, AFK, like it or not, is here to stay. So you can rest assured none of us here complaining about it will change anything one way or another.
why should we continue to complain about this?
i agree, moving is the easiest solution. followed closely by a player cantina. but both of these requires a dedicated following of admirers or a place that is definitely out in the woods near some big ol beasts.
kora, thanks for posting solutions to some of the afk grinding problems. it's much more fun to play the game than to just sit and watch your tune wiggle around.
i'd love to see this board full of ideas for improving our game. we all know about the afk issue. let's see if we can move on to something more interesting, like band arrangements or actual songs and dances.
I am one of those jerks that hate afk-ers. I wouldn't object to afk's that didn't inflict themselves on the rest of the population but unfortunately the way entertainer is set up, you simply can't lock yourself in your house and afk your way to mastery. I'd be ok with that. Instead, if I walk into coronet, I see between 3 and 4 groups (!) of afk entertainers, spamming for tips, and creating bandwidth gridlock. I have one computer that can easily handle the demands (Alienware) and one computer that enters snapshop mode (Meets or exceeds reccomended requirements). I can silence the spam with /ignore but it seems the filter is set client side, not server side, so not much savings to my bandwidth or processing.
A lot of reasonable ideas are presented but the bottom line is one 2 cities on every starter planet might have entertainers in it. Therefore, its where people seeking entertainment go. Places like coronet that are nexus points for nearly every high end location can't be socially changed. Its intrinsic to the ingame dynamic.
I understand the other side, people want entertainer experience. I simply wish it wasn't contingent on battle fatigue and mind wounds. AFK's wouldn't have an excuse to inflict themselves upon people seeking entertainment. AFK people aren't very entertaining after all.
Elgin
Scylla
So what you are saying is that we as live entertainers have to cater to the needs of people who cannot even be at the keyboard, and have the satisfaction in knowing that we can perform in places where nobody goes (Deeja Peak, etc.). Look, I tried not grouping with them. I just get nasty /tells from them and their guilds for stealing their XP. I've tried moving, and you know what? My customers followed, and where the customers go, the AFK follows. I've tried dancing in player cantinas and rarely used ones. I just dance in a room alone allnite. I've tried putting the AFKers on ignore, but the fact remains the audience still hears them, and are scared off. I've tried to maintain group management, but then I get the AFKers guild potty mouthing me. So really dear, what can I really do about it but come to these boards and voice my displeasure?
Sadly, AFK is here to stay. The developers had their chance to rectify it, but they stated that it was perfectly permissable. You are right, we have real issues that need to be addressed, such as /registration, and yet it dominates the boards. Why? Its because not a single thing we can do in the game will save us from the destruction of our professions, and so we have to come to the boards instead of playing the game. So please, PLEASE don't try and bring up this kind of post, because all it does is bring up a lot of animosity.
Wow KoraJubali,
Those are great ideas you list there.
And you attempted point to me might have made sense if I had posted this in a thread that dealt with something along those lines... but ahh I didn't... I started a NEW thread... and I stayed on subject for the thread, perhaps you can do the same.
I posted my suggestions in the appropriate threads.
my point, Wrayth, was that if you are so tired of talking about AFK, why did you bring it up? Instead of bringing up a new topic that you would perfer to talk about?
What topic would you perfer to discuss on this forum? I'd gladly discuss your ideas with you, and so would the Entertainer Correspondent, the Musician Correspondent, etc. etc.
My point is that I see your point. (your point being that we talk about AFK too much.) so let's talk about something else. In a few other threads, we are talking about stuff other than AFK, I've tried to add to those threads and it sounds like you have too. Good work. Let's keep it up and find some new debates to have.
I never said I was tired of talking about it... I said I couldn't believe the amount of whining people were doing about it.
And as for your request (and others) to stop talking about it and move on... As long as it is on the top 5 list of things the Devs need to fix... it needs to be talked about. It needs to be taken off those lists to make room for real issues that Devscan address for us...
Like:
More instruments, music, flourishes, etc.
Making the buffing system better.
Allowing me to "hire" an NPC support band.
I really liked this thread. On the one hand I've seen so many people who are now masters who afk'd their way up the ranks that I wonder where you draw the line. Do I find afk people annoying. Yes. Why, because they park themselves in the prime NPC cantina spots to do it. Have I ever afk'd? Yes. I go pick an empty place, my house, a player cantina, and I go afk. I, however am around my computer off and on. I don't leave my computer for hours on end, just for 10min or so to wash my laundry or watch a bit of TV. I like to chat with people.
Once I got noticed by other players in the industry, I was invited to their dance troop. Our troop has only played in player cantinas. These were all paid engagements.
I've never seen any problem with players dong afk macros in the player cantinas I've performed in. Most of the people in our troop are masters, so it certainly isn't for the xp that they put on these shows. I do get pretty good xp while playing in the shows, so I get a double benefit. Player cantina's (make your own) are a great place to perform. You as a player have the power to control the venue. You can ban any afk player that annoys you. I'd have to say that 90% of the player cantina's and NPC cantina's that I"ve visited are empty, including the one in the city that I live in.
Players as a whole want reliability. Is your cantina always open? I know some people who run their cantina once a week on the same day and same hours. They send an email out to everyone letting them know its open. While some people want to watch a show, a combat character wants to know where they can get their BF and other wounds healed reliably.
I've never had problems with any power hologriner/pvp guild taking trash to me. Of course I seldom if ever go into the NPC cantinas. I can't control that venue. If you do decide to go to Deja Peak, you certainly aren't under any obligation to invite anyone into your group that you don't want.
I AFK all of the time. I AFK'd all weekend long.
I was in a group that had a few people ATK, all others were AFK.
I played for a few hours here and there, but mostly not.
I only agree with the anti-AFK-ers in 1 respect. I hate those spammers too. I DO NOT EVER BEG FOR TIPS.
In fact, I don't ask for tips at all, even when I buff. I let the people give me whatever they want.
I have a very nice macro that goes on and on. I use the macro even when I am ATK - it's a lot easier than hitting "F" keys over and over.
I don't understand people's problem with AFK-ers who just stand there and play. They fill up the groups, and thus everyone in the group gets MAX XP!!
There were 2 groups going last night in Theed. Our group was always full, but there were only 4 or 5 of us actually there. The other group had an ATK spamming Anti-AFK Nazi leader that kept shouting "join the anti-afk music group, go afk and be booted".
He spammed this over and over and over all night long. And if you turned on the spacial chat window, he and his group were all of those l337 dood punks that cussed (yes I know this because I habe the filter off) and shouted crap all night long. Oh, there was also a guy spam shouting a web site address too.
So, in this case, which kind of group was causing the customers to leave???
I'm sure that this is the exception, but you anti-AFK-ers can really be complete a-holes.
Flame on......
on his grave