You must not have been here in the old days.
*sighs* This crap again.
Actually I was.
People whined daily about those 'cheaters' using UOA. Every day.
That I actually don't remember, but knowing my fellow players I'll take your word for it.
And today, those same types are here whining about things that KR can do. Its all about ignorance really.
I will freely and openly admit to knowing very little about KR's capabilities.
However, nothing I've read leads me to believe that it can duplicate the kinds of actions often being complained about.
Does KR for example, allow 24-hour BOD running that always puts you in exactly the same spot in the tailor shop? Does it cause you to recall into Jhelom near the teleporters, wander forward a few steps, say "bank," then become confused about the bank not responding, and recall again, only to repeat the same actions, 10+ times?
(For those who don't get it....these folks were scripting resource-gathering of some kind. This was during the early days of the Shadowlord invasions, wherein recalling into an invaded city redirected you to the comparative safety of the area around the Jhelom teleporters. And there ain't no bank a few steps north of the Jhelom teleporters. When the script didn't work, it tried again. And again. And again.)
If someone is doing something you can't do, be it through UOA or KR if you use 2D, certain types jump right off on the 'he is scripting!!' rants.
Yes.
Nothing in any of my posts denies that false accusations of scripting can, and have, happen(ed). Other kinds of cheating too. Which is why back when I was PvPing actively I was accused of speed-hacking when in fact my connection isn't even all that great.
Indeed, when I point out your very point, that it's sometimes hard to tell the difference between a really dedicated "legal" player and a scripter, I'm often accused of being an apologist for scripters.
Next time this happens I'll eagerly await your impassioned defense of a point you agree with.
Some people, yes. But you are smart enough to know that not everyone accused of scripting is actually scripting. some are, of course. But not all.
Indeed I am. See above. And next time I'm accused of being an apologist for scripters for making this very point, I'll look forward to your impassioned defense.
You are right. People definitely script those mind numbing sort of tasks like Heartwood quest. Why? Because its mind numbing for one thing. For another, they know they can profit from it. Take those parts away or improve then and scripting won't be nearly as common nor as game impacting as it is today.
I've always been divided on this. I've seen people script things that aren't nearly as mind-numbing. PvP, for example. (There's healing scripts, I've seen them, not just seen them used, but seen the scripts.) I even saw one "RP Script." Mostly it made monsters smack talk to you. (Obviously someone with a good deal of ignorance about what roleplaying is.)
So obviously it isn't all about mind-numbing tasks. Many people don't consider running BODs to be mind-numbing, but rather an important part of role-playing their crafters. Some find it relaxing also. Yet those things are still scripted.
If they made stuff less mind-numbing would there be less scripting?
I used to think so, but I haven't been so sure of late. I've seen scripts used to gate to auction houses or vendors. How do I "know" those are scripts? I don't, technically. However, it's in the best interests of a gater to an auction house or a vendor to answer basic questions being asked. ("Has the auction started yet?" "What facet is your vendor house in?" "I really liked your vendor house, but there were no runes, do you have one?") I can safely assume someone that isn't answering questions that are clearly in his or her own best interests to answer isn't really there to begin with.
Now surely gating to vendor houses and auction houses is mind-numbing. I've done it. But on the other hand it's really in one's best interests to be at the keyboard when you do it, so you can interact with your customers. That doesn't stop people from automating the actions, even when it's not the best idea from a business perspective.
I've always stated that scripting and other forms of cheating has a major negative impact on the game, but that I often felt its impact was exaggerating. I saw little harm in, for example, scripting gaining tailoring. Even unattended!
But I've opened up my eyes a little more of late, and come to think that it's more of an issue than I ever realized.
Enough of an issue to warrant a major focus on stopping it? Enough to rework major game systems to provide more of an incentive to not script? More of an issue in UO than in other games? And, most importantly perhaps, how to tell the difference between a scripter and a legitimate player who is just really dedicated? (I've often seen screencaps of supposedly scripting gold farmers that look identical to non-scripters I know who are just really dedicated, legitimate gold farmers.)
Like you said, it comes down to ignorance. However I don't think I'm the only one ignorant of the answers to those particular questions.
-Galen's player
Well, why not? In for a penumbra, in for a clear statute.
