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New Newsletter is out! IDOC changes coming!

Cyrah

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Stratics Legend
@Queen Arya You know where you placed the castle in zento? I placed a plot there found stuff from idics and locked it. It took a day for it to decay and will fall in 3 hours from now, central. 3 pmish. At first I thought she had finally not helped her minions , idk now. Too many ways they can still cheat, still prosper. Ugh. Poor UO, nothing really ever change. I really hoped this time.
 

Polaris75

Lore Master
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The more I test this, the less I am liking it. Some suggestions I think are needed:

1) not allowing pets within say, 30 tiles of the exterior wall of barrels? This keeps the scripters from "script dumping" the loot into a packie

2) the same distance requirement for EJ accounts (see #1)

3) Make EACH character hit/damage/destroy an exterior barrel to even be able to come inside to destroy the interior barrels, OR EVEN BE ABLE to pick up/be traded loot from the idoc

4) make it so that if you are "over weight" the items you would receive when you start emptying your backpack are deleted to keep ppl from hitting several barrels and collecting loot from all of them as they empty out their pack

5) This is a big one! NO PLACEMENT OF HOUSING WITHIN 30 TILES OF AN IDOC. When a house turns "like new" house placement is automatically turned off until after the house falls and placement is available

6) Have they actually thought of banning the scripters? It's always better to be proactive than reactive.

More can be done, but these suggestions would be a good start!

Hopefully the intent isn't to rush this into a "world wide" release without some big changes!

@Kyronix @Bleak
Exactly what I was saying on the official forums to the T. Also, don't count wrestling/tactics/antomy/Horrific Beast/wrestling primers as those only help the gold website sellers (who have tons of primer 3's and 120 PS's stocked up.) Stealth / Hiding and detect hidden should all come into play at Fel IDOCs like normal. It should be a "town casting" area.... spells allowed, but no fields/EVs/EQs only. If they reveal you / kill you, it's fair game.

I"m not going to thank them for these ridiculous changes that NO ONE on either forum ever mentioned as wanted. These changes make no sense, but it does make for interesting reads just like I predicted it would.

Here's my imitation of how this process worked apparently.

BS: Everyone, we would like your participation in the following discussion on what your favorite numbers from 1-3 are, please give us your feedback.
Everyone: We like 1......we like 3 !!!

BS: After careful deliberation and thanks to all of your feedback, we have determined your favorite number is 2 !..We'll be rolling 2 out to TC1 next weekend and then to all of your shards the following Monday.
GarthGrey, you have been adamant about wanting IDOCs to stay as they were. Were you one of the people prospering greatly from them or something? I asked you the same thing 2 weeks ago...... is why I'm still asking. It seems you have some sort of problem with them fixing IDOCs. I was in competition with those guys and Know this will help. They cannot target glacial hues and server births no more. They cannot loot a list of a through z.... they cannot "open all." In fact... 20 years worth of scripts are now useless. I'm enjoying this so much. Cannot wait until it is live and the IDOCers wealth begins to dry up finally. They won't have any more of those 100-500m items to sell by the dozens any longer.
 

TheGrimReefer

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Stratics Legend
I agree that EJ accounts shouldnt be able to go near an IDOC. If they want to IDOC, buy a subscription. If they wont do this than EJ accounts should only be allowed 1 follower. Giving them anymore followers is just asking to be scripted.

I also agree with the house placement near an IDOC. Once the house starts to decay, house placement should be blocked until the house falls and timer is up. I was easily able to drop a bag on the fence so my other account can grab and lock it down at a small house placed only for the IDOC. But if they dont fix the damage part or distance to receive items, then it really wont matter. I can hit each barrel once or twice and recall home to wait for all my items. Sorting is easy at that point and more items will continue to drop in pack as I sort through it all.
 

Grace of Minoc

Sage
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Stratics Legend
UNLEASHED
Seems like people are really protesting skill being involved. Why do people who legit worked up skills have to be neutered?
When has this happened in any other scenario?

Just want to know why people are insisting this particular scenario can't have skills involved but everything else is okay to
have skills involved. It is one thing to ask for a tweak, but to competely neuter any benefit from having the skills that are
called for is a bit much.

Build a full fledged wrestler, just like if a scenario called for a tamer to do the job the quickest you would build a full fledged tamer.

I can't do Horde or Trove maps because I don't have the skills. Should I demand they take away the need for those skills to do them?
 

GarthGrey

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Exactly what I was saying on the official forums to the T. Also, don't count wrestling/tactics/antomy/Horrific Beast/wrestling primers as those only help the gold website sellers (who have tons of primer 3's and 120 PS's stocked up.) Stealth / Hiding and detect hidden should all come into play at Fel IDOCs like normal. It should be a "town casting" area.... spells allowed, but no fields/EVs/EQs only. If they reveal you / kill you, it's fair game.


GarthGrey, you have been adamant about wanting IDOCs to stay as they were. Were you one of the people prospering greatly from them or something? I asked you the same thing 2 weeks ago...... is why I'm still asking. It seems you have some sort of problem with them fixing IDOCs. I was in competition with those guys and Know this will help. They cannot target glacial hues and server births no more. They cannot loot a list of a through z.... they cannot "open all." In fact... 20 years worth of scripts are now useless. I'm enjoying this so much. Cannot wait until it is live and the IDOCers wealth begins to dry up finally. They won't have any more of those 100-500m items to sell by the dozens any longer.
I haven't even attended an idoc in over a year I think, no I'm not one of those "anythings" I just think this solution is bizarre and beyond bizarre.
 

ShriNayne

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We already all knew that whatever 'solution' they came up with would be complex and not really touch on the real issues, which are cheating and scripting, I still think that the IDOC scripters will just make new scripts and continue to run 10 characters at a time gathering a large share of the loot. The core problems of people cheating with scripts are just being avoided. They have no clue how to deal with it even though plenty of us have given them decent ideas, it's just too much trouble.
 

Chrille

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Glorious Lord
They are resolving scriptlooting with this changes, everyone will be able to hit 1-3 or maybe even more barrels and get loot now, even if 50 scripted chars are around. Compared to everything gone in 10 sec, and if lucky you maybe got a bag or chest or a few items.
 

Chrille

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Glorious Lord
You get up to 50 items and up to 100 stones except potion kegs which you will get and then have to remove to get more items that are on hold for you to recive as it is now. That includes empty bags but if you end up with 50 empty bags then you had a really bad run with the rng.
 

Rafman

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
I"m not going to thank them for these ridiculous changes that NO ONE on either forum ever mentioned as wanted. These changes make no sense, but it does make for interesting reads just like I predicted it would.

Here's my imitation of how this process worked apparently.

BS: Everyone, we would like your participation in the following discussion on what your favorite numbers from 1-3 are, please give us your feedback.
Everyone: We like 1......we like 3 !!!

BS: After careful deliberation and thanks to all of your feedback, we have determined your favorite number is 2 !..We'll be rolling 2 out to TC1 next weekend and then to all of your shards the following Monday.
They seem to have taken a few of my suggestions - some literally, some with slight modifications. Some of the biggest complains people had were:

1. Scripters show up 5mins before every idoc, loot all, leave, while regular waste hours camping and get nothing.
1A: Publicly giving IDOC locations, and especially giving a timer on the house sign - eliminates this. Playing field is level'ed. Everyone knows when the idoc falls, and can find them with minimal effort, and not waste hours upon hours camping.

2. Loot - scripters get all the loot before anyone else can.
2A: This isn't true anymore. Everyone should get loot - and a lot of it. It's true that scripters can likely still find ways to increase odds/get some advantage - but this is true of absolutely every single aspect of the game in UO. These changes nullify a lot of their advantages.

A few minor tweaks needed - but overall, I think they nailed it.

The more I test this, the less I am liking it. Some suggestions I think are needed:

1) not allowing pets within say, 30 tiles of the exterior wall of barrels? This keeps the scripters from "script dumping" the loot into a packie

2) the same distance requirement for EJ accounts (see #1)

3) Make EACH character hit/damage/destroy an exterior barrel to even be able to come inside to destroy the interior barrels, OR EVEN BE ABLE to pick up/be traded loot from the idoc

4) make it so that if you are "over weight" the items you would receive when you start emptying your backpack are deleted to keep ppl from hitting several barrels and collecting loot from all of them as they empty out their pack

5) This is a big one! NO PLACEMENT OF HOUSING WITHIN 30 TILES OF AN IDOC. When a house turns "like new" house placement is automatically turned off until after the house falls and placement is available

6) Have they actually thought of banning the scripters? It's always better to be proactive than reactive.

More can be done, but these suggestions would be a good start!

Hopefully the intent isn't to rush this into a "world wide" release without some big changes!

@Kyronix @Bleak
I think you've oversimplifying a lot. A few comments in response:

1. This is physically impossible. What if a house falls in luna - everyone near luna bank sitting on a horse (30 tiles away) gets telestormed away? What if an idoc happens next to a treasure chest and a guild is killing stuff - their dragons and pets their tamers are using get auto-stabled? 30 tiles is way too large, and impossible.

1A. Possible counter - make it so items taken from and idoc cannot be put inside a pet for up to 15-30mins after fall time. So - regardless of how close or far the pets are - all "idoc items" are flagged as being unable to be dropped on a pet for a few mins.

2. See above, #1. You can't ban people from banksitting, or doing stuff that are near idocs. 30 tiles way too large a radius. Similar to #1A - there might be a way to prevent those accounts from being given/picking up/traded idoc items for up to 15-30min timer.

3. Maybe. I do think it will be fun to wait out and see who opens a path first so you can rush through it quickly. So it's not all about destroying the fence - it's also about reacting fast and running through. Why would you have to destroy an exterior barrel to be able to loot? What if you show up 5-10mins late and house has already fallen, and fence is gone. You can't loot anything bc you didn't destroy the fence? Seems highly limiting.

4. How does this currently work? I wasn't able to test enough. So if i go into an idoc - break a barrel by myself I get ~50 items/100 stones in my pack. Say that puts me at my limit - and i go break another barrel while overweight, what happens? Does loot fall on ground as a free for all to grab/pick up? Or is there some sort of invisible queue in-place, where when i start emptying my backpack items from the 2nd barrel appear? That's how i understand what you're describing - but not sure this makes sense.

5. Again, your reasoning is sound, but your idea is not valid imo. You can't do that. What if you own the house next door, and want to expand? Idocs have to be limited to the idoc - it can't impact other playing areas/systems nearby.
5A. Counter proposal - any items "looted" from a decay - why not just flag those items, similar to my 1A counter. You can't drop idoc loot into a packhorse for 15-30mins. Well - you also can't drop idoc loot into another house (whether on screen, or whether you recall away to your own home) for 15-30mins either. Meaning players have to actually manually sort through their idoc loot - before looting more.

6. There's an idoc falling at 2pm today. On atlantic, big shard. It's also a big one - inside luna. I'd expect there would be approx 200 people show up, as an estimate. It's 130pm. You are given GM powers for the next hour. It's your job to ban any scripters present at the idoc. GO. Explain in-detail what you do, how you identify scripters, and how you go about banning them. Keep in mind - unless you're on some type of lag-free alien PC - odds are even as a GM you're lagging too being around ~200 other players.
 

Chrille

Sage
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Glorious Lord
Rafman about number 4 if you dont have room for 50 items and 100 stones you cant attack a barrel. If you hit a barrel with full potion kegs which weight is 100 stones you soon get overweigted and then the invisible queue kicks in, when you make room more stuff will drop into your backpack.

About number 5 with your solution you have nowhere to drop your loot except on ground but then anyone can pick it up or do you have an extra timer for that aswell. This will make it over comlicated. Im ok with stopping packhorses but nothing else.
 
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Rafman

Sage
Stratics Veteran
Stratics Legend
Rafman about number 4 if you dont have room for 50 items and 100 stones you cant attack a barrel. If you hit a barrel with full potion kegs which weight is 100 stones you soon get overweigted and then the invisible queue kicks in, when you make room more stuff will drop into your backpack.

About number 5 with your solution you have nowhere to drop your loot except on ground but then anyone can pick it up or do you have an extra timer for that aswell. This will make it over comlicated. Im ok with stopping packhorses but nothing else.
So how does the invisible queue work exactly? What happens to the potion keg in the meantime - it just disappears in thin air (doesn't drop on ground, or in barrel - just goes away as barrel goes poof) - and reappears in your pack when you make room? I agree this sounds very glitchy if so. I haven't seen that yet myself, but this should certainly be changed/fixed.

for #5 - i'm thinking you can drop loot in bank, or on ground (you could recall to your house - drop on ground outside - go back to loot - come back for more, etc). If you drop on ground, there's always a risk someone could pick it up.

The logic behind #5 is that - the regular player is smart enough to sort through his loot quickly. If I get a bunch of weapon or minor artis - maybe i just drop them all and go for bigger fish. If I get a big rare like 2 story statue, great, bank it, and go loot more. Automated characters don't have that ability. They just mass grab, and mass drop (whether in house, or pack horse). If you make it harder to "mass drop" items and go for more - i feel it would help.
 

Dixie chessy/legends

Seasoned Veteran
Stratics Veteran
everyone is griping about someone running 50 toons.... " which is excessive i agree" but even if they run 50 toons they cannot run 50 toons on every shard at every idoc..... ive been on both sides of the idoc line, ive script looted ive not script looted.... it got to the point there for a while where people were pushed to script because what choice did they have if they wanted loot...it was either keep up or walk away " which i did walk away from uo for over a year"...shrugs ...anyway .... i honestly think these changes are nice, there will always be people that outsmart a system or can use the 50 accounts, but u know what u are gonna get loot this way..... if you hit a barrel you will get loot.... you will not see a house vanish before ur eyes and 70 packys loaded to the gills before u can run 2 steps inside the looting area. Its gonna be alright guys, you begged and cried and pleaded for changes...you know what happens when u do that....they change things...
 

Lord Arm

Certifiable
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UNLEASHED
im worried, im still wondering how this will stop the multi char use/scripting. they can just record script running in and punching barrels and script the emptying of their back pack. I only see there being more people at the idocs which will probably means more scripting lol. it may give a better chance at some loot though at least in tram, fel will be a totally different animal. some people may not realize what some scripts can/will do.
my only suggestion is have all idocs drop at the same time.
 

Pawain

I Hate Skilling
Governor
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I am tired of living my UO life based on what other players do or supposedly do.

This change is 1000X better than watching the gargoyles vacuum everything up in 5 seconds.

If they pay for 20 accounts then they can use 20 accounts. Get over it.
 

Specialist

Seasoned Veteran
Stratics Veteran
So what happens with a item that weighs alot say like a rare fish that 190 ish stones would that be placed in a barrel by itself or put in a barrel with lots of other items potentially overweighing the barrel breaker?
 

AntyvasII

Seasoned Veteran
UNLEASHED
So what happens with a item that weighs alot say like a rare fish that 190 ish stones would that be placed in a barrel by itself or put in a barrel with lots of other items potentially overweighing the barrel breaker?
Probably deleted like stackables - with potential weight most likely being the reason those will just be deleted in the first place.
 

Polaris75

Lore Master
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So what happens with a item that weighs alot say like a rare fish that 190 ish stones would that be placed in a barrel by itself or put in a barrel with lots of other items potentially overweighing the barrel breaker?
I think that's what happens in the case of a queue. You get say your first 12 items... then a heavy item hits like a big fish (190 stones) that throws you almost overweight.... then another 5-10 items come in and you cannot hold the next item (maybe a heavy keg) b/c you are overweight and cannot receive the rest of your items from the barrel. You have to remove some items before the rest start appearing. Something like that.

I think they did a great job of spreading out things though for the most part. Powerscrolls and 1m gold checks seemed spread out greatly among the barrels, giving everyone a shot. I was getting 4-5 1m gold checks from each barrel I hit at that large castle the first night. It seemed to be the same with the kegs and such from various containers.
 

MalagAste

Belaern d'Zhaunil
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I'm most concerned about people placing houses and destroying all the stuff to grief. I can see this happening but I hope they fix it by making it so a house can not be placed until the barrels are gone.
 

Chrille

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Glorious Lord
I'm most concerned about people placing houses and destroying all the stuff to grief. I can see this happening but I hope they fix it by making it so a house can not be placed until the barrels are gone.
You do know that this is almost exactly how it works now and no one have had any concerns about stuff getting deleted by placing a new house. Ive used it clean up the leftovers after idocs as it is. You test place a house then move it one tile forward and test again and everything is gone.
 

TheGrimReefer

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I just hope this is something that they take their time on and get right. We have given a lot of feedback and I hope the actually listen. The big thing is to keep EJ accounts from the IDOCS, as most of the EJ accounts are used for scripting. IDOC's should be a paid subscription event only. People want to IDOC, pay for the account like everyone else.

I have tested IDOC's for many hours a days and if they dont fix damage, Placement, and distance to get items, we will be right back to where we are now.
 

GarthGrey

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They should make the containers inside the barrels just like the Vendor Search transport deeds, you drop it on the ground it disappears, regardless of what was inside it.
 

Keven2002

Babbling Loonie
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Let me start by saying it doesn't matter to me if they do nothing for IDOCs / implement the fixes slated / or completely remove IDOCs all together (everything gets deleted).

I understand that in theory it should be as simple as "eliminate scripting" to fix the IDOCS but I think that a lot of people fail to realize that it is much easier said than done given several factors (what's currently coded vs what is needed / how code updates will impact other things / the time & resources required / etc).

While I agree the current fix is a bit short sighted (this might stop current scripters but I'm sure they can rewrite scripts to account for changes), I think it's probably the best bet at a fix this year (or maybe at all).

I agree with the points @Dixie chessy/legends & @Pawain made which is that 1) People are going to eventually find a way to work the system (no matter the fix) and 2) if someone is paying for 20 accounts then they can use 20 accounts. Everyone was complaining about IDOCs and now they are working towards a solution (which won't ever please everyone). This is like the treasure hunting revamp all over again (which effected me way more than IDOCs); there will be things people like and things people don't like... at the end of the day the Devs are changing something that a majority of people have been griping about so if you want your two cents heard about the changes go test and post it all on the official forums. Otherwise find something else to do in the game; IDOCs are not the only thing happening in UO.
 

Keith of Sonoma

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UNLEASHED
I would like to address the "elephant in the room".

Why won't @Mesanna @Kyronix @Bleak simply BAN THE CHEATER/SCRIPTERS/RMT PLAYERS????????

Instead of wasting their valuable time trying to find "work arounds" for the actions that violate the UO ToS why not just get rid of them, AND those who buy the gold/items from them. They can then spend their time being proactive on content that is beneficial to everyone. Rather than just being reactive to the cheaters.

EVERYONE knows who they are. Is it the fact they are SOME (I am NOT saying all) of the (WITHOUT mentioning any names of course) well known "rares collectors", "realtors", and "brokers". Some of them SAY they are "helping people", but the reality is, THEY are reason the game is in the state it is in. There are various sites that show them offering gold, and other items for sale for real $$$. WITH THE SAME CONTACT INFORMATION AS THEY POST IN GAME, ON STRATICS,, AND ON THE OFFICIAL FORUM!!!!!! One of them tried to justify it to me by telling me that he felt bad about spending so much time in the game "helping others". that he used the $$$ he got to take his wife and kids out to eat, and to a movie! Another one told me that it was OK because he was actually "helping save" the game, by paying $$$ for accounts, and then reselling them at a profit. ROFL

For those of you who say "the game will fold if they ban the cheaters" I say tough ****. It would be better to have the game die out with SOME SORT of integrity than to allow it to continue down the path it is on now. More and more "honest" players are leaving every day. LET THIS SINK IN: Where do you think all of the IDOCS come from in the first place??? The CHEATERS aren't quitting the game, the HONEST players are!! As much as I love UO, and don't want it to die out, allowing the cheaters/multiboxxers/RMT people to continue to run rampant, is a slap in the face to the honest players!

Make it easy, just ban the cheaters, and let's work to making UO great again!!!
 

ShriNayne

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Let's see how long the posts saying this remain up on the other forum, it's sad to see that they just close threads so often instead of allowing discussion. I might not always agree with people's tone or wording but that doesn't mean what they said was wrong or basically untrue. :(
 

MalagAste

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The DEVs don't want truth... they want you to bow down and praise them for every tiny thing they do as if it's the most wonderful thing since Runebooks... but truth is it isn't... and if you try to explain to them the flaws of what they are doing and give them a dose of reality telling them how they are promoting cheating and scripting or making something FAR more complicated than it needs to be or anything they get all defensive and butt hurt.

You try to help them to make the game better and they think you are trying to "get something" or cheat in some way... when all you really want is to help the game... to make it better for everyone... or you try to give them ideas for things to improve the game or get rid of the cheaters... and it falls on deaf ears... You try to help them make the game look more professional and less ... broken... and forget it they don't have the 5 min it would take to fix something...

So most of us give up after a while to trying... I mean heck I gave trying a good 10 to 12 years... but I give up. They don't want to improve anything... I kept thinking they would and fell for so many "wait till this publish" things and I keep waiting and keep being disappointed... I don't sell stuff, I don't vendor things and I don't even buy things off vendors anymore really either... because honestly, I don't really care anymore. I'm finding it harder and harder to care. Everywhere I look I see more and more cheating, more people treating the EMs like crap, more complaints about things, and more decent people quitting.
 

Keven2002

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@Keith of Sonoma - I get what you are saying and in theory it sounds easy but I think it's much harder than you think. It would require someone watching IDOCs 24/7 to enforce fair play.

EVERYONE knows who they are.
Maybe it's because I don't hunt IDOCs or care about functionless pixels... but I don't know who the obvious cheaters are. *shrug*
That said, there have been a couple people I've seen post about IDOCs in the past few days saying they scripted at times to keep up or they know how it's done etc. I'm not saying those are the people that are doing it 24/7 but it just goes to show that if those "obvious" people were banned there would be other people that could step right in where they left off... so it's not as simple as banning the "obvious" people.

For those of you who say "the game will fold if they ban the cheaters" I say tough ****. It would be better to have the game die out
As much as I love UO, and don't want it to die out,
I'm not sure I agree that the game would fold for banning cheaters but I think it's interesting you have these two things in the same post. So basically as much as you love UO, you would rather it close up shop because you can't get more stuff at IDOCs?

What about people like me who don't care about IDOCs and just like to hop in to maybe do an event or do some PvM or casually do a few treasure chests (all things where scripters have zero impact on my life)? The game should be shut down because people script something I have zero interaction with? Yea that seems fair...
 

Keith of Sonoma

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I'm not sure I agree that the game would fold for banning cheaters but I think it's interesting you have these two things in the same post. So basically as much as you love UO, you would rather it close up shop because you can't get more stuff at IDOCs?
I am merely saying I think the "playing field" should be EQUAL! Regardless or whether it is at IDOC's, PvP, EM events, or anywhere.
 

Keven2002

Babbling Loonie
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UNLEASHED
Sorry I couldn't stand to see so many incorrect things be posted without replying....

and if you try to explain to them the flaws of what they are doing and give them a dose of reality
they get all defensive and butt hurt.
Do you think their response has anything to do with your approach? Making anyone seem stupid or lazy (or acting like you have all the answers when you don't) usually isn't the best way to get what you want. Maybe try not telling them how stupid they are and to stop getting "butt hurt" for your "solutions"?

You try to help them to make the game better
Again... according to you. I can tell you for certain that your idea of "better" is usually VERY far away from the ideas of many others. @Laura_Gold also has a very lengthy list of how we can make the game "better" too. It's called 2020 (unrealistic) wish list. Go add to it and feel free to bash the Devs while you do it.

You try to help them make the game look more professional and less ... broken... and forget it they don't have the 5 min it would take to fix something...
Are you a developer? Do you know the 20 year UO source code to know for a fact that your suggestion would take 5 minutes to fix (and not break something else)? Unless the answer is yes to both, I probably wouldn't give timelines on fixes you have no idea about.

but I give up.
because honestly, I don't really care anymore. I'm finding it harder and harder to care.
Apparently you haven't given up and you do still care as I see at least half a dozen post saying the same thing every week. If you truly didn't care anymore and were to give up you would stop complaining every chance you get; even when threads don't even call for your negativity.
 

Rafman

Sage
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Stratics Legend
@Keith of Sonoma - I get what you are saying and in theory it sounds easy but I think it's much harder than you think. It would require someone watching IDOCs 24/7 to enforce fair play.


Maybe it's because I don't hunt IDOCs or care about functionless pixels... but I don't know who the obvious cheaters are. *shrug*
That said, there have been a couple people I've seen post about IDOCs in the past few days saying they scripted at times to keep up or they know how it's done etc. I'm not saying those are the people that are doing it 24/7 but it just goes to show that if those "obvious" people were banned there would be other people that could step right in where they left off... so it's not as simple as banning the "obvious" people.




I'm not sure I agree that the game would fold for banning cheaters but I think it's interesting you have these two things in the same post. So basically as much as you love UO, you would rather it close up shop because you can't get more stuff at IDOCs?

What about people like me who don't care about IDOCs and just like to hop in to maybe do an event or do some PvM or casually do a few treasure chests (all things where scripters have zero impact on my life)? The game should be shut down because people script something I have zero interaction with? Yea that seems fair...
There isn't an easy way to ban cheaters. That's what they don't understand. I put forth the following hypothetical earlier, and it was ignored, because they have no answer.

Let's pretend there's an idoc with 200 people. Make that poster GM for the day. He has full authority on banning players. The only caveat is - he has to make sure they're actually cheating, he can't just ban on a whim with no proof or certainty, obviously.

GO - how does he proceed to identify the cheaters vs the not cheaters?
If he does manage to ban 1 or 2 actual scripters - how does he ensure they don't simply have another account up and running the next day to compensate?

The reality is - yelling at the clouds saying "ban all cheaters, it's the only way!!!" is dumb and doesn't work.

Coming up with a well thought out system like they did here, that address a lot of the game mechanics the scripters were able to exploit and take advantage of - is the much smarter way to go.
 

Keith of Sonoma

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The reality is - yelling at the clouds saying "ban all cheaters, it's the only way!!!" is dumb and doesn't work.

Coming up with a well thought out system like they did here, that address a lot of the game mechanics the scripters were able to exploit and take advantage of - is the much smarter way to go.
Both of those statements are opinions, and as such you are entitled to them. Just as I am entitled to mine. :)
 

Rafman

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Both of those statements are opinions, and as such you are entitled to them. Just as I am entitled to mine. :)
Of course you're entitled to your opinion.

The difference is - you're asking for a certain result (all cheaters banned)- without bothering to provide a solution to get there.

I'm calling you out on it because it's completely unrealistic.
 

Meat Elemental

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So many went nuts when they were thinking of using punkbuster...I think something like this is needed... Don't have to ban just if it detects 3rd party stuff in memory it logs you off or you die...I remember back in the commodore 64 days if you copied ultima 3 your characters would be permanently poisoned and uncuresble till you died...

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Meat Elemental

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Ultima III on our Atari 1200xl was my introduction to Ultima.
Mine too...3 and 4 on my Atari 400... Just black and white graphics... The c64 version looked so much better and sounded better too... Actually now it was the Atari version that poisoned you... Had to write a bad sector to the floppy for the copyright protection lol

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jack flash uk

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I find it hard to accept anything you say as YOU have been caught running illegal programs haven't you
There isn't an easy way to ban cheaters. That's what they don't understand. I put forth the following hypothetical earlier, and it was ignored, because they have no answer.

Let's pretend there's an idoc with 200 people. Make that poster GM for the day. He has full authority on banning players. The only caveat is - he has to make sure they're actually cheating, he can't just ban on a whim with no proof or certainty, obviously.

GO - how does he proceed to identify the cheaters vs the not cheaters?
If he does manage to ban 1 or 2 actual scripters - how does he ensure they don't simply have another account up and running the next day to compensate?

The reality is - yelling at the clouds saying "ban all cheaters, it's the only way!!!" is dumb and doesn't work.

Coming up with a well thought out system like they did here, that address a lot of the game mechanics the scripters were able to exploit and take advantage of - is the much smarter way to go.
 

Stinky Pete

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My theory is that the ones who complain about cheating are just jealous. It's the only explanation that makes sense. Why else would you care so much about what other people are doing? They are addicted to the pixels and are not even trying to have fun anymore. They are a lost cause. Helpless addicts doomed to wander the forums complaining about how everyone else plays the game. Hiding behind some rediculous false sense of integrity or knowing better than anyone else what is best for the game. I try to help them, to set them free from their pixel prisons that they continue to build around themselves.

Those who play to have fun will never notice who is cheating and who isn't. We laugh when we die. We could not care less if we get that drop, we will continue enjoying the content anyway. We don't concern ourselves with what others have. It is about the story, the journey, and the friends and enemies that we meet along the way.
 

skett

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Cheaters are narcissistic :gee::next:
 

Keven2002

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They are addicted to the pixels and are not even trying to have fun anymore.
You said it perfectly. I also think it's funny that when people can't retort the opposition's rebuttal, they are relegated to calling people "pom pom waivers". Obviously they can't support their claims with facts so they decide to resort to essentially calling people "poopy heads".

I also find it mild entertaining that the people that are so adamant about banning cheaters are really specifically talking about IDOCs as this is has been the issue for years; whereas they aren't saying anything about PvP scripting. What that tells me is that people are more worried about acquiring "rare" pixels in a game from someone else's house falling than they are about the overall quality and content of the rest of the game. I'd MUCH rather see some new content and new drops than have the Devs spend any more time with IDOCs.

To be clear, I have no problem with people who are blatantly cheating getting banned. I actually agree with that. That said, majority of the posters I was debating with were the ones that really have no idea how that "easy" fix would look. They think it's simple and you "just" waive a wand which is clear to me because they say things like "they should just ban cheaters (scripters)". Those are the same people that say "they should just solve world hunger; it's easy just give everyone food".

@Rafman brought up several valid points in cases that it's very hard to "just" ban the cheaters. Instead of just chalking it up to being pom pom waivers, I'd like to see someone actually put together and propose a realistic idea that operates within the confines of Ultima's code age and the resources available to implement (including actual scripts they can use to test catching cheaters). Everyone here says the Devs first problem is they don't have a clue about the game because they obviously don't play (can't say I disagree)... that being the case do you think Kryonix is IDOC hunting or even knows how the script works if he hasn't played? You guys are going to mess around and get the T-hunting fix slapped on IDOCs... you will need have carpentry and forensic eval and then need to complete a series of puzzles to get loot (it would stop the scripters though!!).

So until the brainy-acks can actually offer up a viable solution to implement what they want, please stop crying about IDOCs and just test the pointless update so that the Devs can move on to implementing new content.
 

petemage

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So until the brainy-acks can actually offer up a viable solution to implement
Some of us call it "Enforcing their own rules". Unless they do that, no technical solution will help.

I also find it mild entertaining that the people that are so adamant about banning cheaters are really specifically talking about IDOCs as this is has been the issue for years; whereas they aren't saying anything about PvP scripting.
I recall people complaining about those stacks of auto-attack archers/throwers at IDOCs.

Ban the most obvious IDOC cheaters first. The little ones will get the message! "We can't ban them all" is the perfect excuse to turn a blind eye.
 
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Keven2002

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Some of us call it "Enforcing their own rules". Unless they do that, no technical solution will help.
Again be careful for what you wish for because it's also in the rules you aren't allowed to macro which they have gotten extremely lax about... everyone macros so please don't tell me you've never done it. Should you have been banned for each time you macro'ed and stepped away? Them's the rules right, so you'd be good with a few perma banned accounts?

I recall people complaining about those stacks of auto-attack archers/throwers at IDOCs.

Ban the most obvious IDOC cheaters first.
I actually agree with you on this point. Something that blatant SHOULD be have those accounts banned. That being said, I highly doubt that's the main complaint of scripters at IDOCs. That said, it's still valid so I have 2 follow up questions on that solution:
1) How does this get policed because someone has to see this happen right? So that means a GM has to be at every single IDOC?
2) How does this impact non-fel facets? That same person could take those stacked accounts in Tram and just loot an entire IDOC clean. Again without having a GM at every single IDOC due to resources; how do you police this?
 

petemage

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Again be careful for what you wish for because it's also in the rules you aren't allowed to macro which they have gotten extremely lax about... everyone macros so please don't tell me you've never done it. Should you have been banned for each time you macro'ed and stepped away? Them's the rules right, so you'd be good with a few perma banned accounts?



I actually agree with you on this point. Something that blatant SHOULD be have those accounts banned. That being said, I highly doubt that's the main complaint of scripters at IDOCs. That said, it's still valid so I have 2 follow up questions on that solution:
1) How does this get policed because someone has to see this happen right? So that means a GM has to be at every single IDOC?
2) How does this impact non-fel facets? That same person could take those stacked accounts in Tram and just loot an entire IDOC clean. Again without having a GM at every single IDOC due to resources; how do you police this?
Did I macro? Oh boy! Half my joy with UO is modding the EC and beyond.

Yet I believe there is a difference between the say top 5% of scripters (running gold selling sites, etc.) and the bottom 50% casting spells or bards songs afk. Guess everybody draws his line a bit different. But you need to draw one, otherwise you are forever stuck with "none at all" since you can't "ban them all".
 

Keven2002

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Yet I believe there is a difference between the say top 5% of scripters (running gold selling sites, etc.) and the bottom 50% casting spells or bards songs afk
I get it but this is my point. They have to be fair so you generically saying "they should enforce their own rules" can't just apply to a subset of rules for a subset of people.

Not at every IDOC, just at those mega falls that are loaded. Cause you know they gonna be at those!
Well my question here would be how do you know what are mega falls that are loaded?? I once did an IDOC (5-10 years ago) of a large castle and I was excited that there were only like 2 others there... unfortunately it was pretty weak and had less loot than I've seen in an 9x9 house outside of Luna.

The same thing from above applies here too though, we are only going to police scripting at the mega falls? How is that fair to the people who might only do the smaller IDOCs where there is even less loot to go around?
 
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