IDoC drop timing...

[GarthGrey]

No Dev has bothered to respond to any IDOC thread and explain why the house state is visible to anyone but the owner and friends. Change that, and you change everything. If true honest IDOC hunters spend a majority of their time researching IDOCs, then they can spend that same time or less, running around looking for houses that already fell without notice...

 

[Sarsmi]

What issue adressed? Cheating in the game? They let cheating run wild for eleven years now. While there may be no time set in stone for when a house falls, it seems to fall with a certain timeframe every day.

If I see a house sign with a fourth line, I first see if it is public or private. If it is public, I go in and see if it is even worth watching. If it is private, I mark a rune and check back according to the state of decay.

I have never witnessed this mounted speed house sign checks, but am not dismissing it just because I have not seen it happen. I spend about 30 minutes each day I log in and check for IDOCs. I have yet to see another person around when I am checking. All I see now is speculation on your part. Unless of course you are stalking all the IDOC hunters. Maybe they decided to turn around and mouse over the sign. I have no idea.

There is no way to validate your claim.

People do script sign checking. However from what I have heard they run around using a script, they don't back track to decaying house signs because there is no one at the computer to do so, it just records the coordinates of where the character saw the sign, then they go back later and mark. But maybe my information is wrong or out of date. As far as I know when you script something like movement you always run in the same pattern (hence why it is so easy to trap script miners with a few boxes).

 

[Lord Gareth]

Well id like to point out that its almost idoc time and login server are down. Sarsmi is cheating and took down the login servers with a super-duper Idoc login server freeze.


*Runs as fast as in game possible to escape the many ebolts Sarsmi has flying at him*

<---Sarsmi <---me


(And its just a joke. I know Sarsmi doesn't cheat) ;-)

 

[Sarsmi]

Well id like to point out that its almost idoc time and login server are down. Sarsmi is cheating and took down the login servers with a super-duper Idoc login server freeze.


*Runs as fast as in game possible to escape the many ebolts Sarsmi has flying at him*

<---Sarsmi <---me


(And its just a joke. I know Sarsmi doesn't cheat) ;-)

Haha, I got hit by my own login server freeze script! I missed the fall I had this morning, I didn't time it last night and sauntered over to the house a little too late to get anything. Which is fine, I have to fill bods today anyways *makes pukey face*

 

[Lord Gareth]

Im suppose to be doing runes for some events this Sunday and Tuesday and Thursday im SOOOO UPSET that the login server are down. I really really wanted to mark all those runes.


(back on topic. Idocs should delet forever. If ubber rares go poof they were in a private house anyways and you couldnt see them hehe )

 

[Grumm]

Problem with doing away with IDOC hunting is that it has been a part of the game almost since the beginning. It has become a playstyle for many people. I am not one of them since I casually do it, but for some people that is all they do. I am not talking about the scripters either.

I don't see a problem with randomizing the time a house goes from IDOC to falling. Doing away with it all together though, would eliminate a playstyle entirely. A playstyle that has been around for a decade.

 

[Africanus]

Why should any Dev respond to this post? People need to learn the system rather than request a change to suit their personal needs. I idoc several shards and if I don't make it to the idoc, well tough. If your truly devoted you will learn the system and have a better understanding. You can join a crew to share the work involved or go it alone.

As for those who wish to destroy idocing alltogether, let us know what you enjoy in game, so we may advise the devs to destroy your fun!

 

[Heart Breaker]

I don't have as much time to dedicate to idocs anymore, I play on Europa and they fall anywhere from 10:30am-1pm my time. So, it really discourages me from doing any real searching. (Or maybe it's because I have no lockdowns anymore anyway) Hehe I think the timers would be just fine for me if I was on a shard that was closer to me, but I have no intentions of leaving Europa.

And thanks for the kind words, Jack. Although I didn't get a little smilie face beside my name! And I really had no idea you switched shards, I thought you quit! Glad to see you're still playing!!

I found a couple of pumpkins at an idoc with your name on them, I can hardly wait for Halloween so that I can display them.

 

[IanJames]

All IDOCs do NOT drop around 2pm on Siege, do they Hoffs?

Hoffs doesn't read stratics anymore, but I'll answer.

Most IDOCS drop between 9:30 and 11AM EST if they are due to account cancellations.

When we come across them, we start to monitor them, we have a couple players that sit and watch and we usually know exactly what time they will drop because it's a set amount of time from when the house goes into the IDOC state to when it falls.

 

[mimring1]

(my appologies on my crap spelling, it was a long night) Random time would hit the spot i think to encourage more idocing...On a side note
I agree idocing is its own play style. Those who enjoy it for the rush, loot and comroderay as a general rule dont cheat, it would defeat the enjoyment and satisfaction of that excellent grab. I have idoced on a few different servers and there is a crowd at every one whom play competativly yet fairly when that house goes poof. There are also on every server one or two players attending that do it specifically for the greed, but honestly since the new publish the loot scripts are no longer a factor (I was at 1 house where I swear the seahorse never even unlocked, but that was heavily attended and for all I know the person who got it could have had a better internet connection). For those of you who think we should get rid of idocing consider what exactly would happen to the economy....you think paying 13-15m is outrageous for a CC, 2-5m for an ethy, values would hit the roof, we would be paying out the rear for everything and rares that no longer are obtainable other then buying from other players....I dont even want to think about that price tag: /

 

[Lord Gareth]

Why should any Dev respond to this post? People need to learn the system rather than request a change to suit their personal needs. I idoc several shards and if I don't make it to the idoc, well tough. If your truly devoted you will learn the system and have a better understanding. You can join a crew to share the work involved or go it alone.

As for those who wish to destroy idocing alltogether, let us know what you enjoy in game, so we may advise the devs to destroy your fun!

Im sorry are you Africanus from Tr*** S**T?

And your asking people to change their real life jobs to be able to make it to an idoc. Its not about learning the system its that they fall during Working hours for most people that is what the problem is. Almost all idocs these days are from closed accounts which means they fall at the same three hour time frame daily.

 

[Bobar]

God you people are hilarious with your "I work hard getting IDOC times". No ones buying it folks. You'll never in a million years convince me that you've become good at "learning times". There is no learning of times, there's only running a script that records the times for you. Enough already....it's getting silly.

Draconi, please. Put a GM or someone on IDOC watch. Find out who these same old stratics posters characters are, and have someone follow one of them on their supposed IDOC runs. Have someone monitor these cheaters as they supposedly "camp" an idoc all night long and then mysteriously log out at exactly the time the house goes into IDOC state...

Quite where my post fits into the 'I work hard getting IDOC times' category I don't really see, however, far from spending a million years trying to convince you of anything whatsoever I wouldn't spend 2 minutes. I have always accepted that some people are always right and you obviously fit nicely into that slot.

I might enlighten you on one point about which you seem to be labouring under a delusion. Script timers do not camp an idoc all night long and then mysteriously log out at exactly the time the house goes into IDOC state. Real people do that because they have the expected fall time.

The script timer characters DO NOT log out they simply stand by the house sign until such time as the scripter retrieves them and the information they have obtained. That is how you know they are script timing, they are still there hours after the house sign changes. Real people having other things to do have long since departed.

 

[jack flash uk]

God you people are hilarious with your "I work hard getting IDOC times". No ones buying it folks. You'll never in a million years convince me that you've become good at "learning times". There is no learning of times, there's only running a script that records the times for you. Enough already....it's getting silly.

Draconi, please. Put a GM or someone on IDOC watch. Find out who these same old stratics posters characters are, and have someone follow one of them on their supposed IDOC runs. Have someone monitor these cheaters as they supposedly "camp" an idoc all night long and then mysteriously log out at exactly the time the house goes into IDOC state. Yeah, these are legitimate players all right, just like the guy on LA that camps for 5 straight days when the Inq Res is due to spawn, of course he's actually at his computer for 23 hrs every day, of course he is.....ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!

Let me tell you what I know folks, because I"ve already proven it to myself on several occasions with no less than 10 supposed IDOC Pros on these boards. I won't give names because that'll just get me a warning and a deletion, but here's how easy it is folks. Find out the characters of some of these Stratics IDOC pros. Make a newb on their shard, kill yourself and then go house hunting. You don't need an IDOC, you just need a "worn" house...Now stand there for a couple of hours if you have the time, and simply watch. Eventually you'll see one of these supposed IDOC pros go running by, most times at mounted speed. And then they'll mysteriously stop, turn around and come back up to the house you were standing at. And then they'll mark a rune, and be on their way. Amazing though, that they saw that house sign, and used the "4th line of text in the description" trick, all while moving at mounted speed. I"ve personally witnessed this from one of the more outspoken IDOCrs on these boards. I"ve seen them do it first hand, and there's nothing they will ever say in public here, or in PM that will change my mind that they're nothing more than a cheater..

Whatever credibility you had just died sunshine

i suggest you create a char on europa, doesn't need to be a good one, i am sure Whispering Green will find you, and he will teach you all about idocs, you will learn that YOU can predict fall times days in advance if you put the time in....

then lets see what you have to say on the matter
you adult enough for this???

maybe Whispering green will even invite you to join him on here.........................

 

[Lord Gareth]

Who cares the exact time when you have a window of three hours. Just look at the plot size and see at server up if the house changed and wahla idoc time. Almost all idocs are deactivated accounts anyways.

 

[jack flash uk]

And for Rico, once again,well done you have stirred up another group

maybe necros are next for you???

I think the dev's can see and by reading the idoc posts that the "same old faces" stand toe to toe to educate and defend the play style they have learned to play

this does not sound like the greedy, nasty selfish idoc players i hear descrbed almost daily on these boards

what do you think Petra?..............................

 

[jack flash uk]

I don't have as much time to dedicate to idocs anymore, I play on Europa and they fall anywhere from 10:30am-1pm my time. So, it really discourages me from doing any real searching. (Or maybe it's because I have no lockdowns anymore anyway) Hehe I think the timers would be just fine for me if I was on a shard that was closer to me, but I have no intentions of leaving Europa.

And thanks for the kind words, Jack. Although I didn't get a little smilie face beside my name! And I really had no idea you switched shards, I thought you quit! Glad to see you're still playing!!

I found a couple of pumpkins at an idoc with your name on them, I can hardly wait for Halloween so that I can display them.

oh man!!! something with MY name on, Bobar has my Candle of Love, my first quest reward and he has it safe for me on display, look after them, and of course i will expect an image sent to me on Halloween, i may even log in to see them. you now get 2

 

[Lord Gareth]

And for Rico, once again,well done you have stirred up another group

maybe necros are next for you???

I think the dev's can see and by reading the idoc posts that the "same old faces" stand toe to toe to educate and defend the play style they have learned to play

this does not sound like the greedy, nasty selfish idoc players i hear descrbed almost daily on these boards

what do you think Petra?..............................

I dunno I think it was a good debate. I hope that some people see that not all idocers are about me me me. I think Rico brought up a good point and im not one to agree with him often.

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

All IDOCs do NOT drop around 2pm on Siege, do they Hoffs?

Ok, they drop during the hours I am away from a computer that I can play the game. The point is, I have 0 chance to Idoc camp during the week, and god forbid I don't play every weekend I have my kids...I would like the chance to get to one or two from time to time. At this point, I and many others (who work during the day) don't...la

 

[It Lives]

So it's better for those irreplaceable rares and mementos to just vanish into the ether? My old guild's guildstone, an irreplaceable piece of our shard's history, came into one of my current guild members' hands through an idoc. If it had fallen unnoticed, or just disappeared to appease anti-scripters, then what would that have served?



I think it's actually one of the THE most balancing events in the game. Everyone's the same when those walls disappear.

Yes, IMO it would be better. The guild issue sounds very much like a personal decision made by the guild leader to close the account.
Not passing those items on to others was a choice(a poor one maybe) made by that person.

Balanced? NO way!

When the walls fall several peeps walk away with what?

The the entire accumulation of someone's account/accounts, gold, arties, armor, resources, *big list*.

All of which was obtained with a small amount of effort(tedious sure) but the pay off far exceeds the effort( or people would not idoc).

Poor to wealthy in seconds , no balance there at all.

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

Poor to wealthy in seconds , no balance there at all.

What's the difference between an Idoc and someone just giving someone everything in their account before they log off before deactivating?

The Idocer has to compete with other players, and if on Fel...need to be concerned with getting killed...la

 

[It Lives]

What's the difference between an Idoc and someone just giving someone everything in their account before they log off before deactivating?

The Idocer has to compete with other players, and if on Fel...need to be concerned with getting killed...la

The difference would be that the person receiving had earned it (trust, friendship...whatever) and the person giving made a choice to pass it on rather than drop it and see his/her efforts wasted or lost.
Again, even with the competition the rewards far exceed the effort. Gaining more for little.

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

Your opinion (and yes that's all it is) is a joke. It's a freaking game. I didn't say fix it or I quit. I basically asked for it to be looked at so a larger group of players would have access to Idocs.

You seem to think that by somehow playing a game, you have "earned" the pixels in your bank or pack? That is priceless...la

 

[Grumm]

What if the person that received the items just happened to logged in at the right time when the person left the game? What if the person that is leaving decided to leave everything they owned in the house for others to get when it fell?

As I said earlier, earning is a matter of perspective.

The best choice IMO is randomizing the drop time between noon and midnight local server time. This will allow more people a chance to share the wealth.

Poor to wealthy in seconds? The house I had all to myself the other day didn't make me wealthy. Matter of fact, if I wanted to sell what was in it, I would still be poor. Not all houses have sellable loot. The house I am currently watching only has a handful of items in it. It has been cleaned out for the most part. The items that were left behind are just deco items worth nothing. They will go nicely with my house layout though.

Have to remember, IDOC hunting has been a part of this game for a decade. You can't simply just get rid of it. Sure, there are people that camp them to turn a profit, but the same can be said for people that do Champ spawns. An activity that takes little effort with a group of people. Poor to wealthy in a very short time doing that as well. Doesn't mean they should eliminate it.

If people are against IDOC hunting do not have to participate in it. I do not see how it is affecting their gameplay. Can't say it is ruining the economy since the economy is beyond repair at this point.

Poor to wealthy in a very short time is almost a requirement to be able to afford anything in the game anymore.

 

[Voluptuous]

This thread got a little side-tracked. BUT in a nutshell: Most idocs fall in the morning while the employed are well, being employed. I myself am a weekend camper with the odd day off and I'm sure most Bajan campers have heard my say "UO punishes the employed" more than once! heh.

I manage to hit the oddball idoc on a thursday night (and pay for the lack of sleep working Friday) and agree, it would be nice if not all idocs were slotted to fall only at 9:35 am. I've yet to find one falling around suppertime!

As for time-scripting. Believe it or not I too run around and read every STINKIN house sign. Sometimes the week is nutso and I manage to do Malas only, or a large section of tram, etc. But with my 3 books of rune spots to make it easier, I still go door to door. So screw those who say we all script. Getting TIRED of saying I don't and sad that I HAVE to keep saying it because of the other 90% of the stinkin population who DO script for every damn thing on uo. I share my idocs with Sarsmi, because she plays into the wee hours of the night and can usually get the times for me while I sleep for another workday. Sometimes we both screw up and sleep in. lol

As for the ones who want all loot to poof...I have only ONE question. Do you have even ONE single rare item pre-AoS in your home? One item you personally were not on UO for to obtain yourself? Then you BOUGHT it off somebody right? You got a good chance that item was a found IDOC item. So shutup. I don't kill things for loot, yet I'm not going to say meh it ruins the economy delete the monster drops. 99% of my game time is idocs. Only reason i've paid for the game for 9 years. Campers are such a small percentage of the game, why does everyone think we're the sole reason the game went to hell?

 

[Voluptuous]

I got a 2 story statue 2 weeks ago at a IDOC. Last week I got a box of fish. This week I got nothing because I didn't scout for houses much. I also upped my stealth to 99.7 woot

 

[jack flash uk]

Ok, they drop during the hours I am away from a computer that I can play the game. The point is, I have 0 chance to Idoc camp during the week, and god forbid I don't play every weekend I have my kids...I would like the chance to get to one or two from time to time. At this point, I and many others (who work during the day) don't...la

ok lets change the idoc system for Rico

i work shifts 4 days on 4 days off, i miss MANY great idocs. too bad

i get on with it

spend time and enjoy your kids this is just a game after all

 

[It Lives]

Your opinion (and yes that's all it is) is a joke. It's a freaking game. I didn't say fix it or I quit. I basically asked for it to be looked at so a larger group of players would have access to Idocs.

You seem to think that by somehow playing a game, you have "earned" the pixels in your bank or pack? That is priceless...la

I pay for the privy to ask for balance...will it happen( ha,ha).

 

[rieley]

Rico

How do you do it? It appears everytime you post, so many IQs around here just drop?

ROFL

(idoc's cause hording, my favorite)

 

[Hanna]

God you people are hilarious with your "I work hard getting IDOC times". No ones buying it folks. You'll never in a million years convince me that you've become good at "learning times". There is no learning of times, there's only running a script that records the times for you. Enough already....it's getting silly.

Draconi, please. Put a GM or someone on IDOC watch. Find out who these same old stratics posters characters are, and have someone follow one of them on their supposed IDOC runs. Have someone monitor these cheaters as they supposedly "camp" an idoc all night long and then mysteriously log out at exactly the time the house goes into IDOC state. Yeah, these are legitimate players all right, just like the guy on LA that camps for 5 straight days when the Inq Res is due to spawn, of course he's actually at his computer for 23 hrs every day, of course he is.....ENOUGH ALREADY!!!!

Let me tell you what I know folks, because I"ve already proven it to myself on several occasions with no less than 10 supposed IDOC Pros on these boards. I won't give names because that'll just get me a warning and a deletion, but here's how easy it is folks. Find out the characters of some of these Stratics IDOC pros. Make a newb on their shard, kill yourself and then go house hunting. You don't need an IDOC, you just need a "worn" house...Now stand there for a couple of hours if you have the time, and simply watch. Eventually you'll see one of these supposed IDOC pros go running by, most times at mounted speed. And then they'll mysteriously stop, turn around and come back up to the house you were standing at. And then they'll mark a rune, and be on their way. Amazing though, that they saw that house sign, and used the "4th line of text in the description" trick, all while moving at mounted speed. I"ve personally witnessed this from one of the more outspoken IDOCrs on these boards. I"ve seen them do it first hand, and there's nothing they will ever say in public here, or in PM that will change my mind that they're nothing more than a cheater..

Whatever credibility you had just died sunshine

i suggest you create a char on europa, doesn't need to be a good one, i am sure Whispering Green will find you, and he will teach you all about idocs, you will learn that YOU can predict fall times days in advance if you put the time in....

then lets see what you have to say on the matter
you adult enough for this???

maybe Whispering green will even invite you to join him on here.........................

Actually GarthGrey is absolutely right. And if you ( jack flash uk) had been doing IDOC for any length of time you would know that too. Or maybe you're just one that uses the scripts and are trying to hide the fact.

However, GarthGrey, there are also a lot of people who do it by hand, and it is extremely time consuming and tedious. They do work hard to find mark and moniter IDOCs.

I agree with rico on idoc times mostly so more people can have a chance at them. However, Rico, with realy random times of day, it would be much harder for the person that doesn't script to time them. Right now most turn at the around the same time of the night. So, more random times would not hurt the scripters at all, because they aren't there anyway most of the time.

 

[Bobar]

Who cares the exact time when you have a window of three hours. Just look at the plot size and see at server up if the house changed and wahla idoc time. Almost all idocs are deactivated accounts anyways.

I think you will find that any regular idocer cares quite a lot about the exact time. Although the number of people at idocs varies quite a bit on Europa we have a good number of regulars and consequently if you have also got a number of idocs on the same day it is most important to be at them in the correct order of fall and at the right time.

After all its no good camping one and when you call at another finding it already fallen is it?.

 

[IanJames]

I think you will find that any regular idocer cares quite a lot about the exact time. Although the number of people at idocs varies quite a bit on Europa we have a good number of regulars and consequently if you have also got a number of idocs on the same day it is most important to be at them in the correct order of fall and at the right time.

After all its no good camping one and when you call at another finding it already fallen is it?.

Exactly. We find them by hand, we monitor them by sitting at the computer and we almost always know exactly when they are going to fall, and if not exactly we know down to about 5 minutes of their fall time. This enables us to hit multiple IDOCS in one day.

I don't know why everyone gets all in a tizzy, most of the time, it's a bunch of crap, or the resources are so heavy that it takes a long time to haul it back to wherever we are going to put it. Ultimately, the houses with the good stuff never have an open plot nearby to place a temporary storage house.

 

[Sarsmi]

I think you will find that any regular idocer cares quite a lot about the exact time. Although the number of people at idocs varies quite a bit on Europa we have a good number of regulars and consequently if you have also got a number of idocs on the same day it is most important to be at them in the correct order of fall and at the right time.

After all its no good camping one and when you call at another finding it already fallen is it?.

Exactly. We find them by hand, we monitor them by sitting at the computer and we almost always know exactly when they are going to fall, and if not exactly we know down to about 5 minutes of their fall time. This enables us to hit multiple IDOCS in one day.

I don't know why everyone gets all in a tizzy, most of the time, it's a bunch of crap, or the resources are so heavy that it takes a long time to haul it back to wherever we are going to put it. Ultimately, the houses with the good stuff never have an open plot nearby to place a temporary storage house.

Heck, I think most idoc'ers have boxes of unsorted crap sitting around in houses. If I don't bite the bullet and spend time sorting I accumulate stuff rather quickly. Mostly cause I sell *everything*, and that means armor worth 5k or little dinky deco items or fishing nets or plants... I choose to do that, I'm not complaining, but I do know how all the loot adds up quickly, even if none of it is worth very much!

 

[Canucklehead73]

If it were anyone else I wouldn't really care either way, idoc's are not my cup of tea, but as for Rico... always harshly dismissing everyone elses proposals for UO, hardly makes me want to see changes implemented for his sake.

Rico deserves an answers like... "Learn how to adapt and find out how to accomplish things without whining for changes for your ill-planned template (life)... la"

And Africanus can go play with Rico as well... Greedy brokers have no say in my humble opinions, just ruin online game for everyone I think. Get a job!

Sorry to sound harsh, I'm really a polite canadian, but these two kinda make everyone look bad...

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

I'm really a polite canadian...

That post says otherwise...la

 

[Voluptuous]

Maybe he shoulda said, "We're polite to those who don't stick their fingers in their ears and go "La la la I can't heeear you, and I'm always riiiight"

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

Maybe he shoulda said, "We're polite to those who don't stick their fingers in their ears and go "La la la I can't heeear you, and I'm always riiiight"

He'd still be wrong...la

 

[phantus]

Maybe he shoulda said, "We're polite to those who don't stick their fingers in their ears and go "La la la I can't heeear you, and I'm always riiiight"

He'd still be wrong...la

But at least he'd be entertaining.

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

Maybe he shoulda said, "We're polite to those who don't stick their fingers in their ears and go "La la la I can't heeear you, and I'm always riiiight"

He'd still be wrong...la

But at least he'd be entertaining.

What's the matter? Unable to entertain yourself?...la

 

[Canucklehead73]

I'm really a polite canadian...

That post says otherwise...la

Well what can I say Rico, when it comes to making changes to UO, a griefer and a broker's needs should be waaaaay down at the bottom of the list... la

 

[Bruin]

Agree with this post completely.

I can't do IDOCs because they all fall at what, 10am my time, and I'm at work then.

People say IDOCs are a part of the game. Imagine if you could only do Doom every day at 10am, leaving out a large population of the game who have to work from 9-5 unable to do doom (or only able to do it on the weekends when they have other things to do). There'd be a fricking revolt.

Why is it, that only a select group of individuals (those who have free time at server up + 7 hours), have access to a daily "event" within this game that others are restricted from? And that this "event" is perhaps one of the easiest ways to accumulate wealth?

Seriously, everyone knows it's unfair to restrict a portion of this game to a select group of individuals, so quit arguing and ask the devs to come up with a solution to open this up to more people.

 

[TheScoundrelRico]

I'm really a polite canadian...

That post says otherwise...la

Well what can I say Rico, when it comes to making changes to UO, a griefer and a broker's needs should be waaaaay down at the bottom of the list... la

I'm a griefer? Since when?...la