Entertainer Archive
Thread: Yet another idea to stop AFK'ers and Buffbots (file under: Ignored by Devs)
Page 1 of 3
Nikoce
Wed Jun 30, 2004 1:18 pm
#1
So you're saying that because you and a percentage of the muscian population do not like AFK dancers, that you can decide policy for those who pay EXACTLY the same amount of money as you?
Warryyr
Wed Jun 30, 2004 1:31 pm
#2
Nikoce wrote:
So you're saying that because you and a percentage of the muscian population do not like AFK dancers, that you can decide policy for those who pay EXACTLY the same amount of money as you?
What are you TALKING about.
This has nothing to do with deciding policy. This is an idea for stopping AFK macrotainers.
And, incase you never knew, having people play this game while not at the keyboard at all (i.e. grinding away at Musician or Dancer while at, let's say...work) was never the intention for any profession.
You got a better idea for preventing the profession from becoming NPC's in cantinas? Let's hear it, I'm more than happy to hear about any ideas or constructive comments you might have.
Zdex
Wed Jun 30, 2004 1:31 pm
#3
What is the big problem with AFK buffers? You do not get the same service from non afkers. I just posted some where else about this too. This is getting rediculous with the whining about a service that you probably yourself used at one time. If you don't like the service, don't use it, quit whining about it. This game has so many whiners in it, no wonder they keep nerfing every single profession.
Warryyr
Wed Jun 30, 2004 1:41 pm
#4
Zdex wrote:
What is the big problem with AFK buffers? You do not get the same service from non afkers. I just posted some where else about this too. This is getting rediculous with the whining about a service that you probably yourself used at one time. If you don't like the service, don't use it, quit whining about it. This game has so many whiners in it, no wonder they keep nerfing every single profession.
Yep, and you're just another whiner, too.
Good job.
Keep 1-starring me. I'll return the favor.
The problem with this whole AFK thing (buffbot or macrotainer) is that this game was NOT made with the intention that any profession could be played completely and totally AFK. At the very LEAST, doing so should require using a 3rd party program so that it violates the ToS and there are repercussions.
There is no excuse for having a system in-game that allows a profession to essentially turn a character into an NPC. It's not right and it's a disgrace to the Entertainer professions. I have no problem with people who do the AFK thing here and there, it's the professional AFK'ers and buffbots who bother me the most, because that's not how the game was intended to be played - because quite simply, YOU'RE NOT PLAYING THE GAME. Having a "pet" Dancer or Musician at your disposal 24/7 defeats the purpose of the Social style of gameplay and shatters a new and revolutionary style of game play for MMORPG's. For those of you who say that "service" is the reason you use AFK'ers, well that's your attitude because you can just use a little macro monkey to rake in tips and buffs while that character does nothing but make a mockery of our professions.
Oh, and I don't use Buffbots - I spit on them.
JohnMarble
Wed Jun 30, 2004 1:51 pm
#5
Zdex, my man, the problem is these people have completely ruined the market. I do not use the services of afk buffbots, you betcha. And I'm a rifleman, I need those buffs, and go without unless I can find a living entertainer. The problem is that I used to actually make a little money from buffing minds. Now I don't make any money at all. Nobody comes looking for a buff, everybody goes to the bots. BECAUSE THEY ARE FREE. Yes, you have some people who tip these bots, why they stay in business.But for the bots, any income is crazy, they exist for their lots. I've watched less and less tips come in for buffings, and now, finally, I rarely buff at all. And I'll get guys saying, "I don't think I should have to tip you because I never have to pay for music buffs." FIne, and I don't have to give them. Works out. Why do I have ALL these points invested, again?
I take it back, I DO use a buffbot, and he's a great guy, a doc, though. I pay 8500 credits every time I enter his med center. I'm fine with him.
As for the original post: One thing to remember, about the whole mindset of the devs on AFKing and macros, they added the macros because they gave up trying to police people using third party macro programs. So... they built a macro program into the game, to "make it fair." The problem with your solution, is that someone could use a third party program to continue to be a buffbot. Actually, I think it would be hard, but it would be a tough sell to the devs.
The ideal solution, as the devs said, was something that "encouraged" at the keyboard play, not something that could be circumvented with a third party program. Like, you have to play pong or something while you buff, something ridiculous like that. Hmm, actually, that's not a bad idea. MAKE US PLAY PONG. Sigh. ANYthing.
Wrofeiw_Aisem
Wed Jun 30, 2004 3:53 pm
#6
Good idea but devs will never go for it, afk bots are the largest group in the game and they would not want to get rid of them.
Padtai
Wed Jun 30, 2004 3:54 pm
#7
It is interesting--a similar idea has been suggested to require entering flourishes in code--just typing the word is simple...but I think it may be possible to macro (using only in game software) typing "yes".... i'm not that good at macro writing-- but I think someone might have figured out how or how 3rd party software (illegal but still out there) could be used.
I'm more in favor of something requiring a little thought--that cannot be prerecorded like taking down a harvester--such as playing (dancing) a set of flourishes to perform some action.
CharmingTiva
Wed Jun 30, 2004 5:41 pm
#8
Why bother? SOE has kicked us all in the face by having a CSR give a "Recognized as a tribute to their profession" badge to a buff bot on Ahazi. So basicly they told us ATK Entertainers to fook off.
THANKS SOE!
Warryyr
Thu Jul 01, 2004 12:28 am
#9
My solution: Attack of the "enter Yes in the following space" boxes. It might be a minor inconvenience, but it would require Dancers and Musicians to be ATK.
1) Stopping the AFK'ers: This would be entertainer specific, and only apply to someone Skill Animating Dancing or Music. This is not a solution that will impact other professions' macros or AFK handling in any way, shape, or form.
Upon playing AFK for more than30 minutes, a UI window pops up that says "Your instrument needs some tuning (for Musicians) orYour feet are getting sore (for Dancers), Please enter Yes to continueentertaining while away from the keyboard ." Thiswould workvery much like how dropping skills works(so youKNOW you're going todrop theskilland NOT by mistake). If "yes" is not entered within 60 seconds, the entertainer stops.
Any /startmusic or /startdance after that point is met with a window that says "If you'd like to begin entertaining again, please enter Yes in the following box." The only thing to do in order to perform again, save entering the code to AFK entertain again, is to log and relog.
There IS a need to play AFK sometimes, I understand that. This is why it's a 30 minute cycle.Heck, they couldmake it a 1 hour cycle.Many folks use the AFK function as an auto-reply to a /tell. There's an easy way to keep that functionality, one that should have been done a long time ago -institute an auto-reply function for /tells - just like the AFK processing, but with Auto-reply instead.
The OPPOSITE must now be attended to as well - someone who runs an AFK/not AFKmacro, but their AFK tag isn't up. In other words, they're faking being ATK.A solution to this is for the system to keep a tally of ATK playing for each entertainer. Upon reaching3 hours of cumulative playing (no matter in how many segments -6 half hour ATK segments,3 one hour segments of ATK play, just a total of 3 hours of ATK play) a window pops up that says, "You've been working hard! Are you sure you don't need to rest? Enter Yes in the following box to keep entertaining the Galaxy's citizens." Failure to enter the code results in the entertainer stopping their performance, and any subsequent /startmusic or /startdance is met with the UI box, "Please enter the following code to continue entertaining: XXXXXX." This would be a very small price to pay for us ATK players, I think. One box to fill in every 3 hours. The timeframe should remain roughly consistent witha good quickness or stamina buff from a Doctor, in case we're performing with a macro for an event and we're buffed.
2) Stopping the Buffbots: The best approach to this is to follow something similar to what I've suggested above. The problem with the current buffing system is simple - if you group with someone, all they need to do is listen or watch, then /stoplisten or /stopwatch to get their buff. The Entertainer need not do ANYTHING but /join, /disband, and flourish a whole lot.When not in a group, you at least need to do a /setperform on the person you want to buff. So, it's essential that they change the mechanics of the group buff. Here's the plan - you get an /invite and /join just like before. The group members can /listen or /watch all they like to get their battle fatigue healed (I see no reason whyanyone couldn't just start listening to or watching an entertainer so that their mind wounds/battle fatigue gets healed withoutthe entertainer authorizing it).
In order to buff the group, you have to do a /setperformgroup - and that brings up a box that says "If you'd like to enhance the mind/focus/willpower of your current group's members, please enter Yes in the following box." An option to do this would appear in the group window when you right-click it, too - "Perform Set for Group."
The "yes" or a code needs to be entered to avoid people using 3rd-party programs (like auto-clickers) to just select a "yes" button on a UI window. If there isn't a "yes" to type in, or a code to enter, then this change would fail miserably and do nothing to discourage AFK'ers and buffbots.
So, that's it. Comments are appreciated. I just kinda made all this up so mock, if need be. Thanks for reading.
Warryyr
Thu Jul 01, 2004 12:29 am
#10
I'm not a Dancer, I'm a Musician - but our plights are one and the same.
My solution: Attack of the "enter Yes in the following space" boxes. It might be a minor inconvenience, but it would require Dancers and Musicians to be ATK.
1) Stopping the AFK'ers: This would be entertainer specific, and only apply to someone Skill Animating Dancing or Music. This is not a solution that will impact other professions' macros or AFK handling in any way, shape, or form.
Upon playing AFK for more than30 minutes, a UI window pops up that says "Your instrument needs some tuning (for Musicians) orYour feet are getting sore (for Dancers), Please enter Yes to continueentertaining while away from the keyboard ." Thiswould workvery much like how dropping skills works(so youKNOW you're going todrop theskilland NOT by mistake). If "yes" is not entered within 60 seconds, the entertainer stops.
Any /startmusic or /startdance after that point is met with a window that says "If you'd like to begin entertaining again, please enter Yes in the following box." The only thing to do in order to perform again, save entering the code to AFK entertain again, is to log and relog.
There IS a need to play AFK sometimes, I understand that. This is why it's a 30 minute cycle.Heck, they couldmake it a 1 hour cycle.Many folks use the AFK function as an auto-reply to a /tell. There's an easy way to keep that functionality, one that should have been done a long time ago -institute an auto-reply function for /tells - just like the AFK processing, but with Auto-reply instead.
The OPPOSITE must now be attended to as well - someone who runs an AFK/not AFKmacro, but their AFK tag isn't up. In other words, they're faking being ATK.A solution to this is for the system to keep a tally of ATK playing for each entertainer. Upon reaching3 hours of cumulative playing (no matter in how many segments -6 half hour ATK segments,3 one hour segments of ATK play, just a total of 3 hours of ATK play) a window pops up that says, "You've been working hard! Are you sure you don't need to rest? Enter Yes in the following box to keep entertaining the Galaxy's citizens." Failure to enter the code results in the entertainer stopping their performance, and any subsequent /startmusic or /startdance is met with the UI box, "Please enter the following code to continue entertaining: XXXXXX." This would be a very small price to pay for us ATK players, I think. One box to fill in every 3 hours. The timeframe should remain roughly consistent witha good quickness or stamina buff from a Doctor, in case we're performing with a macro for an event and we're buffed.
2) Stopping the Buffbots: The best approach to this is to follow something similar to what I've suggested above. The problem with the current buffing system is simple - if you group with someone, all they need to do is listen or watch, then /stoplisten or /stopwatch to get their buff. The Entertainer need not do ANYTHING but /join, /disband, and flourish a whole lot.When not in a group, you at least need to do a /setperform on the person you want to buff. So, it's essential that they change the mechanics of the group buff. Here's the plan - you get an /invite and /join just like before. The group members can /listen or /watch all they like to get their battle fatigue healed (I see no reason whyanyone couldn't just start listening to or watching an entertainer so that their mind wounds/battle fatigue gets healed withoutthe entertainer authorizing it).
In order to buff the group, you have to do a /setperformgroup - and that brings up a box that says "If you'd like to enhance the mind/focus/willpower of your current group's members, please enter Yes in the following box." An option to do this would appear in the group window when you right-click it, too - "Perform Set for Group."
The "yes" or a code needs to be entered to avoid people using 3rd-party programs (like auto-clickers) to just select a "yes" button on a UI window. If there isn't a "yes" to type in, or a code to enter, then this change would fail miserably and do nothing to discourage AFK'ers and buffbots.
So, that's it. Comments are appreciated. I just kinda made all this up so mock, if need be. Thanks for reading.
Warryyr
Thu Jul 01, 2004 12:33 am
#11
I'm not a Dancer, I'm a Musician - but our plights are one and the same.
My solution: Attack of the "enter Yes in the following space" boxes. It might be a minor inconvenience, but it would require Dancers and Musicians to be ATK.
1) Stopping the AFK'ers: This would be entertainer specific, and only apply to someone Skill Animating Dancing or Music. This is not a solution that will impact other professions' macros or AFK handling in any way, shape, or form.
Upon playing AFK for more than30 minutes, a UI window pops up that says "Your instrument needs some tuning (for Musicians) orYour feet are getting sore (for Dancers), Please enter Yes to continueentertaining while away from the keyboard ." Thiswould workvery much like how dropping skills works(so youKNOW you're going todrop theskilland NOT by mistake). If "yes" is not entered within 60 seconds, the entertainer stops.
Any /startmusic or /startdance after that point is met with a window that says "If you'd like to begin entertaining again, please enter Yes in the following box." The only thing to do in order to perform again, save entering the code to AFK entertain again, is to log and relog.
There IS a need to play AFK sometimes, I understand that. This is why it's a 30 minute cycle.Heck, they couldmake it a 1 hour cycle.Many folks use the AFK function as an auto-reply to a /tell. There's an easy way to keep that functionality, one that should have been done a long time ago -institute an auto-reply function for /tells - just like the AFK processing, but with Auto-reply instead.
The OPPOSITE must now be attended to as well - someone who runs an AFK/not AFKmacro, but their AFK tag isn't up. In other words, they're faking being ATK.A solution to this is for the system to keep a tally of ATK playing for each entertainer. Upon reaching3 hours of cumulative playing (no matter in how many segments -6 half hour ATK segments,3 one hour segments of ATK play, just a total of 3 hours of ATK play) a window pops up that says, "You've been working hard! Are you sure you don't need to rest? Enter Yes in the following box to keep entertaining the Galaxy's citizens." Failure to enter the code results in the entertainer stopping their performance, and any subsequent /startmusic or /startdance is met with the UI box, "Please enter the following code to continue entertaining: XXXXXX." This would be a very small price to pay for us ATK players, I think. One box to fill in every 3 hours. The timeframe should remain roughly consistent witha good quickness or stamina buff from a Doctor, in case we're performing with a macro for an event and we're buffed.
2) Stopping the Buffbots: The best approach to this is to follow something similar to what I've suggested above. The problem with the current buffing system is simple - if you group with someone, all they need to do is listen or watch, then /stoplisten or /stopwatch to get their buff. The Entertainer need not do ANYTHING but /join, /disband, and flourish a whole lot.When not in a group, you at least need to do a /setperform on the person you want to buff. So, it's essential that they change the mechanics of the group buff. Here's the plan - you get an /invite and /join just like before. The group members can /listen or /watch all they like to get their battle fatigue healed (I see no reason whyanyone couldn't just start listening to or watching an entertainer so that their mind wounds/battle fatigue gets healed withoutthe entertainer authorizing it).
In order to buff the group, you have to do a /setperformgroup - and that brings up a box that says "If you'd like to enhance the mind/focus/willpower of your current group's members, please enter Yes in the following box." An option to do this would appear in the group window when you right-click it, too - "Perform Set for Group."
The "yes" or a code needs to be entered to avoid people using 3rd-party programs (like auto-clickers) to just select a "yes" button on a UI window. If there isn't a "yes" to type in, or a code to enter, then this change would fail miserably and do nothing to discourage AFK'ers and buffbots.
So, that's it. Comments are appreciated. I just kinda made all this up so mock, if need be. Thanks for reading.
sweatyclimber
Thu Jul 01, 2004 4:06 am
#13
file under: Ignored by DEvs
.... uh u put it in the ent forum... thats where they file that stuff so... no need to lable, even the lable was ignored....
/shrug
Cheer afk buff bots lets give them all awards!!!!!!!!!! i know some good afk jedi bots give them awards to!!!!!!!!!!!! they all make the game worht playing~! also go to the caves there are afk looters worthy of awards too
Page 1 of 3