Musician Archive
Thread: Very Simple way to fix the AFK problem
Don't confuse simple with easy here. It would mean touching every single piece of client and server code that has to do with processing input and I don't get the sense that this code is in a clean, isolated layer. So it means searching and changing tons of source. However it does insure that the server can easily differentiate between live and automated input. If a person then decides to use a 3rd party program, programmable joystick, or stack of coins on a key they risk getting caught and banned.
I've had someone suggest to me to put the afk tag up in order to deal with the occasional /tell hell. I have never done it as I only want to put that tag up if I am actually afk, though I would like to see an auto-responce that was not tied to afk that could be turned on, for those times when I am really busy and can't reply to every /tell before I get my next one. Of course, this is primarily for my IDs (my Dancers/Musicians don't get this so much).
MyT_Chicken wrote:
Kryxal wrote:
The problem, both with this and the combat-disabling on AFK, is the people who use AFK to block /tells. It would work better with a true indication of somebody not being there (and that doesn't really need to be shown to others).
Ok, now I have never seen this one before. Using AFK to block tells....as an entertainer....now that is a New one for me.
Message Edited by Maisland on 03-15-2005 12:36 PM
Maisland wrote:
I've had someone suggest to me to put the afk tag up in order to deal with the occasional /tell hell. I have never done it as I only want to put that tag up if I am actually afk, though I would like to see an auto-responce that was not tied to afk that could be turned on, for those times when I am really busy and can't reply to every /tell before I get my next one. Of course, this is primarily for my IDs (my Dancers/Musicians don't get this so much).
MyT_Chicken wrote:
Kryxal wrote:
The problem, both with this and the combat-disabling on AFK, is the people who use AFK to block /tells. It would work better with a true indication of somebody not being there (and that doesn't really need to be shown to others).
Ok, now I have never seen this one before. Using AFK to block tells....as an entertainer....now that is a New one for me.
Message Edited by Maisland on 03-15-2005 12:36 PM
Message Edited by MyT_Chicken on 03-15-2005 01:55 PM
Message Edited by MyT_Chicken on 03-15-2005 01:55 PM
I haven't had to hide from tell hell recently. Personally I'd rather have tell hell than why I don't have it now....buffbots.
I would often get multiple requests for buffs so fast that I was typing "MT" every third message (stupid reply) Then again I was leaving myself searchable. Now this hasn't happened in almost a year and I blame the bots. But I did sometimes go afk to alleve the tell hell.
Fragpuppie Uber
Master Musician/Master Entwertainer
Fragpuppie wrote:
--Qilue-UCW-- wrote:
Asce wrote:
It's fixed. No one can listen to Dancers or Musicans while they are AFK. Problem fixed.
So? they Don't go afk, and they turn off the auto-afk Option. Besides Performing in and of itself prevents a person from going AFK..
I posted this Idea on another Thread...
1. Disbale the abiluiy to turn Auto-AFK On/Off
2. Set the AFK defalut to 15 min.
3. When AFK the /macro and /ui action tollbar commands are Disabled, and all exsiting macros are /dumped
4. Only Moving your character will prevent you from being tagged AFK.. Emotes.. Flourishes...Macroed speach.. NOTHING but moving willprevent you from going AFK..
Its a good idea...except one BIG problem.
While performing you CANNOT move. So if movingis the only wayprevent the auto AFK then you would have to stop performing every 15 minutes. I stand inplace for hours sometimes just playing. Sometimes its in a cantina chatting and helping others, sometimes its at a gig playing music. Sometimes its crafting instruments. Its all good except that moving cannot be the only way to prevent the auto afk. For entertainers though, while performing the only things we can do are chat, emote and flourish.
Fragpuppie Uber
Master Entertainer, Master Musician
Founding Member - Frag's Puppies
President and CEO - Fragpuppie Enterprises and Uber Instruments
Coronet, Corellia, Chilastra
QFE Where's Kryxal say entertainer? he said" is the people who use AFK to block /tells" not "is the Entertainers who use AFK to block /tells"
MyT_Chicken wrote:
Kryxal wrote:
The problem, both with this and the combat-disabling on AFK, is the people who use AFK to block /tells. It would work better with a true indication of somebody not being there (and that doesn't really need to be shown to others).
I said I had never heard of Entertainers using this, not that I have never heard of it period, Doctors use it often....But as an entertainer I'm curious...how many tells can you really get at one time. The prime reason people claim to use Buff Bots is they can "Never find an ATK Entertainer".
I know my Wookiee very very rarely gets any tells when I'm playing him, and in the off chance I do get them, It's almost never a request for a buff.
So again...according to the Bot Supporters, this "Entertainers use AFK for auto-reply" statement is absolute hog wash. Because according to the supporters, they can never find any ATK Ents. Just food for thought I guess.
Message Edited by MyT_Chicken on 03-15-2005 01:55 PM
--Qilue-UCW-- wrote:You need to look at the bigger picture tho.. Would it REALLY kill you to stop playing for 15 scronds move and start playing again? Is is SUCH a big deal that you have to move your character to prevent it from going AFK?
Tho I guess making Actual entered Text commands stop you from going AFK would work too
Yes actually, if something like this would go live, i would seriously considering quiting.
Don't get me wrong, i want AFKers gone too, but not in a way that makes a totally ATK gameplay almost impossible.
But yes, as someone has already mentioned, the game should just differ between really keystrokes and macros.
ONLY realy keystrokes and/or mouse activity keep you online and reset the timeout-counter. Macros in any combination do not do that. Thats the way it should be.
Its sick, that i can sit in a chair, send /tells back and forth all the time, writing emails, chatting in groupchat, never going AFK once, and get disconnected after 30 minutes, because I didn't say anything in spartial or moved around, and the stupid server thinks i'm afk (happened to me once or twice actually), while some buffbot who's afk all the time doesn't get kicked, because of the stupid spam-macro every 5 seconds.
THIS is the real problem. If they fix the totally screwed up timeout-code so ONLY actuall interaction with the game prefents you from being kicked from the game, then the whole AFK problem is solved with it, without even touching recursive macros.
The recursive macros are not the problem, they are a great addition to the game. The problem is, that the macros prevent you from getting disconnected.
Anyone who uses recursive macros while ATK would not have any problem, since they actually use the keyboard or mouse and don't get kicked. AFK people get booted after 30 minutes, no matter waht macro they use.
Yes, sure they could use some program or anything to simulate "real" keyclicks. But thats using 3rd party tools and thats a banable offence already.
And sure they could run it on a second PC and just press a key once in a while... but then, they could also do this, if recursive macros get removed.
I have had this happen to me too. I have also had Dancers disconnected because all they were doing was flourishing and accepting ID changes when I was working on my IDs... and while I had them flourishing with a recursive macro, I was accepting the ID changes manually.
Coreena wrote:
Its sick, that i can sit in a chair, send /tells back and forth all the time, writing emails, chatting in groupchat, never going AFK once, and get disconnected after 30 minutes, because I didn't say anything in spartial or moved around, and the stupid server thinks i'm afk (happened to me once or twice actually), while some buffbot who's afk all the time doesn't get kicked, because of the stupid spam-macro every 5 seconds.
--Qilue-UCW-- wrote:
QFE Where's Kryxal say entertainer? he said" is the people who use AFK to block /tells" not "is the Entertainers who use AFK to block /tells"
MyT_Chicken wrote:
Kryxal wrote:
The problem, both with this and the combat-disabling on AFK, is the people who use AFK to block /tells. It would work better with a true indication of somebody not being there (and that doesn't really need to be shown to others).
I said I had never heard of Entertainers using this, not that I have never heard of it period, Doctors use it often....But as an entertainer I'm curious...how many tells can you really get at one time. The prime reason people claim to use Buff Bots is they can "Never find an ATK Entertainer".
I know my Wookiee very very rarely gets any tells when I'm playing him, and in the off chance I do get them, It's almost never a request for a buff.
So again...according to the Bot Supporters, this "Entertainers use AFK for auto-reply" statement is absolute hog wash. Because according to the supporters, they can never find any ATK Ents. Just food for thought I guess.
Message Edited by MyT_Chicken on 03-15-2005 01:55 PM
The post was in direct response to this
dimmu-borgir wrote:
im quite sure this has been touched on, however, i might as well say it
1) Dissallow the ability to start preforming while afk
2) force auto-afk
as for #1, the code pretty much already exists, as well, they patched it in to stop afk combat, and well, as for #2, this will prevent people from disabling auto-afk and keeping thier bot running.
Which if you read #1 says clearly to "Dissallow the ability to start preforming while afk". The response was oh no don't do that people use if to auto-respond to tells. If Kryxal was not refering to entertainers then his comments are null anyways, because it would not affect anyone else.
So next time understand the thread before you comment.
Oops.. let me correct that.. I quoted the wrongpost..
MyT_Chicken wrote:
Kryxal wrote:
The problem, both with this and the combat-disabling on AFK, is the people who use AFK to block /tells. It would work better with a true indication of somebody not being there (and that doesn't really need to be shown to others).
Ok, now I have never seen this one before. Using AFK to block tells....as an entertainer....now that is a New one for me.
I often see people coming in here asking for AFK Macro's, and then everyone jumps on the flame wagon...which is fine, some people get what's coming to them. But the funny thing is I also see people coming in here from a neutral position with the complaint that when asking an ATK Entertainer to buff they get rejected, and then everyone jumps on that Band Wagon saying "No way, we will gladly buff".
But now I've see it all...Don't get right of starting a performance while in AFK mode because "people use it to block tells". What kinda crap is that. Those people are no better then the people that are AFK and disable the AFK feature. Get real...I'm totally supportive of getting rid of AFKers, and I think the most simple way to do so is take out the option to remove auto AFK.....and make macro's "Invisible" to the Auto AFK feature. I mean nothing should break the auto AFK timer except user interation. It's really as simple as that.
This is the post I intended to quote in my last post. When I said the poster is saying "the people who use AFK to block /tells" not specifically entertainers
The post was in direct response to this
dimmu-borgir wrote:
im quite sure this has been touched on, however, i might as well say it
1) Dissallow the ability to start preforming while afk
2) force auto-afk
as for #1, the code pretty much already exists, as well, they patched it in to stop afk combat, and well, as for #2, this will prevent people from disabling auto-afk and keeping thier bot running.
Which if you read #1 says clearly to "Dissallow the ability to start preforming while afk". The response was oh no don't do that people use if to auto-respond to tells. If Kryxal was not refering to entertainers then his comments are null anyways, because it would not affect anyone else.
So next time understand the thread before you comment.
Message Edited by MyT_Chicken on 03-17-2005 08:28 AM
If the post that I quoted was a Direct resopnce to ..
dimmu-borgir wrote:
im quite sure this has been touched on, however, i might as well say it
1) Dissallow the ability to start preforming while afk
2) force auto-afk
as for #1, the code pretty much already exists, as well, they patched it in to stop afk combat, and well, as for #2, this will prevent people from disabling auto-afk and keeping thier bot running.