Just returned

[pre1twa]

I have return to UO after a 2 year break and am still amazed that the developers have been unable to stop cheating within the game, specifically players who use scripts?

Is it really that hard to stop script miners for example? I can think of a few ways but it seems that the developers are reluctant to try anything new to eliminate things that are clearly breaking the game. What are they afraid of? I really have no idea why no drastic action is being taken to fix the huge problems present within UO.

 

[Duskofdead]

I'm not even sure I would be able to spot a scripter if I saw one.

Then again, on my shard, I hardly see anyone at all except at the bank. And actually just the bank at Luna or Britain (if you're lucky.)

I guess I should say I'm "not" surprised that there hasn't been much aggressive activity to "fix UO." After all (I'm also very newly returned but after even much longer away than you) I didn't even know UO was still running. I am surprised, though, that they've had the budget and time to toss in all kinds of new content/publishes/expansions/patches, but seemingly none of them to fine tune and work on issues that have been around for many years, and instead seemingly to just keep tossing new timesinks and distractions at the longtime subscribers and keep them busy.

That may in fact have been the only real perogative of dev attention regarding UO since I left five years ago.

 

[Wenchkin]

Seriously, it's not that they haven't a clue or can't get rid of a lot of cheats. Heard the phrase "where there's a will, there's a way?" We're missing the will. And probably a few GMs to do the legwork. But too many players will keep paying their subs however many bots surface, and I'm guessing EA don't feel they can justify the man hours in tackling the problem just to provide a "clean" service. They'd rather spend time on keeping Warhammer relatively clean while it's their shiny new baby.

If you care about cheating, you have to decide if you want to stay in a bot-infested game or quit. Expecting a cut back EA to crack down on cheating in UO now is probably optomistic to say the least. Why should the do anything when their customers keep paying each month?

Personally, what bugs me most is seeing the number of players who'll side with the scripters if anyone discusses doing anything to disrupt their cheating. You know it's bad when more people condemn a guy for stopping a scripter than attack the one who cheated.

Wenchy

 

[Kiminality]

Personally, what bugs me most is seeing the number of players who'll side with the scripters if anyone discusses doing anything to disrupt their cheating. You know it's bad when more people condemn a guy for stopping a scripter than attack the one who cheated.

I'd object less to the disruption of cheaters/scripters, if there weren't so many false accusations that fly about.
Most recently, I was accused of scripting begging. Before I learned about the NPC cooldown, I was sat next to a single NPC, holding down a UseSkill-Begging -> LastTarget macro, while watching something or another on the other monitor.
Because the timings of my attempts were so regular, I was obviously using a script, since it couldn't possibly be that the constant attempts to use the skill would bring up the targetting cursor and target the last target pretty much the instant the skill use timer ran out.

If folk are targetting who they think are scripters, and such folk wrongly accuse me of being a scripter, then I'm taking exception.

 

[Duskofdead]

That is technically scripting no? It's just that you weren't... totally... unattended.

 

[Kiminality]

Oooh! An accusation?

Stir more

 

[Duskofdead]

Well the whole issue confuses, me to be honest.

Basically my understanding is this:

Macroing, and more complicated scripting (I'm assuming either by hand, or by taping down a key, or by third party program) enabling a series of macros to run continuously, without player input required, are both legal. If you're sitting there at your computer.

Unattended is not.

Is that accurate, or not?

There is no need to act like a princess over an "accusation".... unattended macroing has been illegal (and present) since UO's very earliest days. Whereas attended macroing has been legal. So if you were sitting there, you weren't a "bot." If you rigged it to run without your supervision, and you weren't really there or watching, you would have been very much in the wrong if a GM happened to show up at that moment.

Unfortunately, such a policy is difficult to enforce. Even when they try to enforce it.