Is there a Guide available for Stygian Abyss macroes ?

[popps]

As the title says, does anyone know if there is a Guide available that explains the macroes system possible with the new client ?

How good it is ?

Is it possible to set up a looting macro that filters the items wanted for pick up and disregards all others ?

That is, a macro that allows fast looting without having to manually go through all of the loot.
One sets what are the items wanted through filters and the macro does it all in one key stroke.

 

[Chrissay_]

for some reason the enhanced client guide was turned off on the Herald. I've fixed it and there's a macro section in the playguide on the herald.

 

[MissEcho]

Sample macros are also contained here:Spellweave

As for looting, there is no 'filter' (thank goodness for that) however, if you are in grid view, then 'seeing' what you want is easy, just right click on it. It's not like you have to 'touch' or 'move' anything.

 

[popps]

Sample macros are also contained here:Spellweave

As for looting, there is no 'filter' (thank goodness for that) however, if you are in grid view, then 'seeing' what you want is easy, just right click on it. It's not like you have to 'touch' or 'move' anything.

Thank Goodness ?

unfortunately, out there some players have looting scripts which do precisely that, loot only the wanted stuff with the stroke of a key without even having to open up the corpse....

I was hoping the new enhanced client would have covered at least this gap.

Instead, I see that scripters will always stay ahead, even for looting.

Bad.

Several times I have found myself in trouble with looting a corpse because there were either too many foes to be fought or they respawned too fast.

Either one focuses on fighting or loots. Hard to get both done at once unless one uses a script or a good macro.

it is unfortunate that the new client does not do it.

It leaves regular players at quite a disadvantage over those who use advanced looting scripts.

 

[Tina Small]

If the people using scripts were banned, would you still complain about this issue?

 

[hen]

Rummaging through corpses is fun.

 

[MissEcho]

If the people using scripts were banned, would you still complain about this issue?

My bet is probably.

The 'elitist' players who have more time to play would make it unfair for those who only had a little time to play (even tho they paid the same subs) so it wouldn't be fair that in their shorter play time they had to waste it looking at loot they didn't really want when those elitist zerg looters had all the time in the world........

 

[Tina Small]

My bet is probably.

The 'elitist' players who have more time to play would make it unfair for those who only had a little time to play (even tho they paid the same subs) so it wouldn't be fair that in their shorter play time they had to waste it looking at loot they didn't really want when those elitist zerg looters had all the time in the world........

And the ones who have so much time on their hands that they can set up online tutorials about how to make SA macros...... What the heck is EA going to do about them?! There clearly must be some sort of injustice going on for that to happen.

 

[Dermott of LS]

...

I'm pretty certain that the modders are currently working on putting the color coding item properties enhancement from KR into SA... just a matter of the devs opening up the rest of the files for customization to get it up and running.

 

[Harlequin]

...

I'm pretty certain that the modders are currently working on putting the color coding item properties enhancement from KR into SA... just a matter of the devs opening up the rest of the files for customization to get it up and running.

Yup, although not exactly a filter/autolooter, SA's UI can be modded just like KR.

The colour coding for item property intensities was incorporated it into the BBE UI mod for KR. Very nice. Once they release the finalized client, it'll be the first to get converted.

Next step I figure would be a numeric total of all of the mod intensities. ie a field that shows "Total intensity = 500%" if it has 5 mods at max intensities.

Since it's xml, wonders if there's a way to sort and list the items with the highest intensities first?



In the enchance (aka SA) client, you just right click on the item you want to loot and it goes into your backpack.

As to Popps' concern of scripter's having an edge, several things to note:

1) Corpses are instanced, so no matter how good a script they have, they don't get to see your instance of the corpse until it goes public. So, no outright advantage there yet, right?

2) Part of the advantage scripters have is only when the corpse goes public. It will be very helpful if there's a tool to help you cherrypick the best stuff first, right? This is where the colour coding mentioned by Dermott comes in. This client is still new, and modders are still brainstorming what cool mods they can add. Give it some time, I am confident someone can further mod it to sort the high intensity stuff first or even filter out the low-end stuff totally.

3) The classic (legacy) client and enhanced (SA) client may or may not have a 3rd party detection program that we may or may not know about, which may or may not get scripters banned. You may or may not want to search for a post by JC regarding the beta test agreement.

 

[popps]

If the people using scripts were banned, would you still complain about this issue?

Not at all but I just see the years go by and scripting be always there, perhaps even at an all high.

So, I wonder why should regular players keep playing at a handicap ?

I have heard multiple times that scripting cannot be stopped, that it is technically not feasible.

Well, then, if it cannot be stopped, since it is not just right to have players using the advantage of scripting and players playing at a handicap for not using it, I was hoping that the new Macro system of the enhanced client would have at least contained some of the more usefull features like, for example, the looting ones......

Nothing changed, instead ?

Scripters are and will always be ahead of the rest of the players ?

 

[popps]

...

I'm pretty certain that the modders are currently working on putting the color coding item properties enhancement from KR into SA... just a matter of the devs opening up the rest of the files for customization to get it up and running.

Is that something that will work with the enhanced client ?

How exactly ?

 

[popps]

1) Corpses are instanced, so no matter how good a script they have, they don't get to see your instance of the corpse until it goes public. So, no outright advantage there yet, right?

Up to a point.
There are cases like when there is a hectic spawn as for example during some Events that the spawn is too fast that hardly there is time to check the corpses falling.

While the scripters can just pass by the corpse, press a key and continue fighting at the same time, the non scripters just have to let the corpse go and decay with whatever was inside of it.

End result is that the scripters can bring home much more than non scripters.
And, by bringing home more, they can be more competitive buying needed items since, having more to spend, they can pay more for the same one item.

This creates inflation which regular players will then suffer from.

A series of consequences interconnected between them with the end result of damaging and quite some ordinary players.

2) Part of the advantage scripters have is only when the corpse goes public. It will be very helpful if there's a tool to help you cherrypick the best stuff first, right? This is where the colour coding mentioned by Dermott comes in. This client is still new, and modders are still brainstorming what cool mods they can add. Give it some time, I am confident someone can further mod it to sort the high intensity stuff first or even filter out the low-end stuff totally.

This can be of some help in those instances when there is time for looting.
But as I said, in those cases where the spawn is too hectic and chaotic, only a one key macro would help as looting scripts do for scripters.....

3) The classic (legacy) client and enhanced (SA) client may or may not have a 3rd party detection program that we may or may not know about, which may or may not get scripters banned. You may or may not want to search for a post by JC regarding the beta test agreement.

Well, if there is a way to stop scripting I am all for it, my only worry is that I have often read that it is not technically much possible and that sooner or later whatever is being used will adjust to the changes to keep scripting possible.

Also, not everyone will be using the new client as many will keep using the older 2D client so I am not sure how could whatever new feature may the new enhanced client have work with the old 2D one.

Personally, they should have made the new lands only usable by those using he new enhanced SA client.
Old 2D users could still play the game but not enter the new areas........

But definately, should scripting be eradicated from Ultima Online once and for all I would applaude wholeheartedly.

 

[Harlequin]

Is that something that will work with the enhanced client ?

How exactly ?

It should once the enchanced (aka SA) client is finalized, or specifically, when the devs open up certain files for customization. These files were customizable in KR, but the enhanced client is still in the beta stages, so not all files are customizable yet.



As to how to install the Customized UI mods once the modders have ported it over to the enhanced client, it's via custom UI.

On the login screen, notice that there is a button called "Custom UI", once you have downloaded the mod, simply click on this button and select the mod you want.

There is 1 mod to note, called Bitter Black Enhanced (BBE for short). It's a combination of several good mods by a large group of very good modders. One of the features added to BBE was a feature that highlights each magical properties in a different colour according to their intensities.

I am hoping that they will go on 1 step further to add a simple tally of the total intensities of the magical property intensities and have it display on the item properties.

ie, right now without mods, an item with 20 LRC, 50 luck, 1 fast cast have all the properties appear in white. Damned hard to tell things apart.

What the color coding in BBE will do is show the 20 LRC and fast cast in a different colour (whatever colour you chose to highlight max intensity properties, say yellow), and the 50 luck in another different colour (whatever colour you chose for 50% intensity properties, say blue). This is already working in KR.

What I am hoping for, instead of just colours, is to have a little text field next to the item name that simply shows the item rating is rated 250%. (based on the 20 LRC/50 luck/1 fc item in my example above)

And maybe later, when I open a corpse, have it show me the loot sorted by intensities in descending order (ie best items show up first). This part I am not sure if it's possible. But the numbers part definitely is.

 

[Harlequin]

Up to a point.
There are cases like when there is a hectic spawn as for example during some Events that the spawn is too fast that hardly there is time to check the corpses falling.

While the scripters can just pass by the corpse, press a key and continue fighting at the same time, the non scripters just have to let the corpse go and decay with whatever was inside of it.

End result is that the scripters can bring home much more than non scripters.
And, by bringing home more, they can be more competitive buying needed items since, having more to spend, they can pay more for the same one item.

This creates inflation which regular players will then suffer from.

A series of consequences interconnected between them with the end result of damaging and quite some ordinary players.

This can be of some help in those instances when there is time for looting.
But as I said, in those cases where the spawn is too hectic and chaotic, only a one key macro would help as looting scripts do for scripters.....

To be fair, while there are situations where players will get swarmed, 99% of the time, people will try to avoid these situations and try to fight the mobs piecemeal. Unless you are withering/whirlwinding low to mid level mobs you are confident of handling. So only in apprx 1% of the time will you let yourself get swarmed by mid-high level mobs that requires careful attention. This will be the same 1% that the scripters have an advantage as they can autoloot. But if you think about it, it's really not that often you get into these situations.

Also even during these 1% of the times, understand that autoloot means you have no control. It doesn't politely pause looting when you are low on hp or deadly poisoned. It'll be extremely funny to see the scripters not being able to drink a crucial heal pot or cure pot just as their script is dragging something.

Well, if there is a way to stop scripting I am all for it, my only worry is that I have often read that it is not technically much possible and that sooner or later whatever is being used will adjust to the changes to keep scripting possible.

Also, not everyone will be using the new client as many will keep using the older 2D client so I am not sure how could whatever new feature may the new enhanced client have work with the old 2D one.

Personally, they should have made the new lands only usable by those using he new enhanced SA client.
Old 2D users could still play the game but not enter the new areas........

But definately, should scripting be eradicated from Ultima Online once and for all I would applaude wholeheartedly.

It's not that it can't be stopped. It's people do not truly understand the issues. The things that will not work is saying things like the scripting program doesn't work on the KR client, so we should drop other clients and adopt KR. So what's stopping them from writing a scripting program for KR?

What we need is 2 things

- some way to detect 3rd party programs (this is actually quite easy as free shards have done this before, that particular method is closed now though)

- enforce the rules by visible punishment (ie suspensions/bannings and letting
people know that scripters are being banned)



Oh, did I mention that detection is very easy? I wouldn't put it past the devs to take this wonderful chance (new clients!) to put in a detection engine on both the Classic and Enchanced clients. In fact, if I were a sneaky dev, that's exactly what I would do...

 

[popps]

To be fair, while there are situations where players will get swarmed, 99% of the time, people will try to avoid these situations and try to fight the mobs piecemeal. Unless you are withering/whirlwinding low to mid level mobs you are confident of handling. So only in apprx 1% of the time will you let yourself get swarmed by mid-high level mobs that requires careful attention. This will be the same 1% that the scripters have an advantage as they can autoloot. But if you think about it, it's really not that often you get into these situations.

Also even during these 1% of the times, understand that autoloot means you have no control. It doesn't politely pause looting when you are low on hp or deadly poisoned. It'll be extremely funny to see the scripters not being able to drink a crucial heal pot or cure pot just as their script is dragging something.

Not sure but what would be considered a Elder Gazer to be ?

Because I do remember an Event where stuff dropped on the corpse and Elder Gazers were a good pick as a target.

Well, given the fast respawn I could not even loot the gold, in many cases, imagine the items....

Same I remember in Magincia with the wisps and there are other cases that I can remember losing a lot of loot because of the lack of an automated looting feature.

Those using a looting script do not have this impairment.

It's not that it can't be stopped. It's people do not truly understand the issues. The things that will not work is saying things like the scripting program doesn't work on the KR client, so we should drop other clients and adopt KR. So what's stopping them from writing a scripting program for KR?

What we need is 2 things

- some way to detect 3rd party programs (this is actually quite easy as free shards have done this before, that particular method is closed now though)

- enforce the rules by visible punishment (ie suspensions/bannings and letting
people know that scripters are being banned)

Oh, did I mention that detection is very easy? I wouldn't put it past the devs to take this wonderful chance (new clients!) to put in a detection engine on both the Classic and Enchanced clients. In fact, if I were a sneaky dev, that's exactly what I would do...

Bah, it would be wonderfull (seeing scripting go away for good) but I have been waiting way too many years to see this happen that I lost my faifth.

 

[Petra Fyde]

I wouldn't put it past the devs to take this wonderful chance (new clients!) to put in a detection engine on both the Classic and Enchanced clients. In fact, if I were a sneaky dev, that's exactly what I would do...

This is what I'm fervently hoping for too. It's implied in the beta test agreement, which we all read on the UOHerald SA site, I'm hoping it's in the classic client too, but all the classic client for beta is, is our regular client patched with SA content. It's not a new client per se.

 

[Tina Small]

Not at all but I just see the years go by and scripting be always there, perhaps even at an all high.

So, I wonder why should regular players keep playing at a handicap ?

I have heard multiple times that scripting cannot be stopped, that it is technically not feasible.

Well, then, if it cannot be stopped, since it is not just right to have players using the advantage of scripting and players playing at a handicap for not using it, I was hoping that the new Macro system of the enhanced client would have at least contained some of the more usefull features like, for example, the looting ones......

Nothing changed, instead ?

Scripters are and will always be ahead of the rest of the players ?

It isn't enough for you that when you use the enhanced client, all you have to do to loot an item is right click on it to have it automatically dumped into your backpack?

Have you even tried to use the Enhanced client yet to actually go hunting a few times??

 

[Tina Small]

Not sure but what would be considered a Elder Gazer to be ?

Because I do remember an Event where stuff dropped on the corpse and Elder Gazers were a good pick as a target.

Well, given the fast respawn I could not even loot the gold, in many cases, imagine the items....

Same I remember in Magincia with the wisps and there are other cases that I can remember losing a lot of loot because of the lack of an automated looting feature.

Those using a looting script do not have this impairment.

Popps, if I'm playing solo and no one else is around, I just area peace if I want to take my time looting something. I wouldn't try it around something that was beyond my character's barding skills, of course, but for almost everything I enjoy hunting, it works fine if I feel like doing a thorough job of looking at loot. And my guildmates can tell you......I like to look at loot and take it home and fill up the house with it too.

It's a different story in a group situation because the area peacing can be an extremely rude thing to do, since it can make the monsters change targets and drops the melee characters out of fighting mode. So when I'm in a crowd, no matter how small, I just look as quickly and efficiently as I can.

 

[Harlequin]

Not sure but what would be considered a Elder Gazer to be ?

Because I do remember an Event where stuff dropped on the corpse and Elder Gazers were a good pick as a target.

Well, given the fast respawn I could not even loot the gold, in many cases, imagine the items....

Same I remember in Magincia with the wisps and there are other cases that I can remember losing a lot of loot because of the lack of an automated looting feature.

Those using a looting script do not have this impairment.

Bah, it would be wonderfull (seeing scripting go away for good) but I have been waiting way too many years to see this happen that I lost my faifth.

Elder gazers would be mid-high level, if you have a swarm of them targetting you, it's pretty messy. Do note however, that as you mentioned, these spawned in swarms only during events. The 99% of the other times, in their most common habitat, they spawn 1 at a time (ok, 2 at a time in the elder gazer rooms, but in 2 separate rooms and they don't have hands to open the doors heh).

Also, check out the tips sticky for tips on quick looting.

I'm not saying scripting is right or do not offer advantages, but for this instance, the impact is not as great. Of greater concern is the fully automated farming scripts that kills and loots spawn unattended 24/7.

 

[aoLOLita]

If the people using scripts were banned, would you still complain about this issue?

Judging from his many other complaints, Tina - the sure bet is yes