I want to be clear this post is not about people who are AFK botting. This post is 100% about players who are actively at the PC while playing. It is time for Daybreak to clearly state what the 3rd party software rules are... and actively enforce them. If Daybreak decides to allow players to use software that plays box accounts for you in the background (as long as you are at your PC) I am fine with that ... if Daybreak decides this software is not allowed ... I am also 100% fine with that. But if you decide it is not allowed, please actively enforce that decision. Because when you do not actively enforce the decision, you (Daybreak Games) are creating an unfair playing environment. To the claim that Daybreak Games does currently "enforce" these rules... LAWL ... The developers must be able to see when players are actively injecting into the client. So please, state what the rules are regarding the use of programs to play background characters for you while you are at your PC. And if your decision is to not allow this, please enforce it. *Update* Thanks all for responding to this thread, and I hope we can keep responding to get the devs attention regarding this. After reading just the first 20 post, I think it is fairly obvious that we as players no longer have any idea of what is allowed. Half of the post are saying "Macaroni is allowed" while the other half is saying it is not. We as a community truly need clarity on this subject. @ Devs - We do not need you to endorse a specific program, but we do need to know once and for all if using a program that actively automates things like player movement, combat, and abilities usage is allowed while at the keyboard. (Not AFK). These types of programs have become common place on the live servers, and it is time to put everyone on equal playing ground by either openly allowing it, or enforcing existing rules.
I thought it was pretty clear. Boxing on most servers is legal. On some special servers it is not. What am I missing?
Boxing is done without any programs that play your characters for you. It is alt tabbing and moving your characters manually. Pressing attack manually and so on. Your reply shows exactly what the problem is though. Assuming you read my post, you were under the impression that on some servers you were allowed to use programs that play characters for you... and that is not your fault - Daybreak has been so unclear on the current rules, that many players on blue servers opening use programs... while us more old school boxers are still alt tabbing. It would be awful nice if Daybreak let us know its policy so we can all be on equal footing. (And enforced whichever policy it chooses)
Eye es boxer and macaroni are allowed on non-Truebox servers (that's all non-TLP servers, Rizlona, and Ragefire) provided you are not playing while AFK. Fully automated play while AFK is disallowed on all servers. Their enforcement of this anti-AFK automation policy is... inconsistent, for sure. Keystroke broadcasting and automation software such as those programs I mentioned are not allowed on Truebox servers. These rules are all stated by red names and/or official sources at one point or another over the years. The rules are not particularly well collated, but they are mostly understood by the community at this point.
Doesn't macaroni give everyone tracking, and list loot on mobs before you kill them? I really doubt that is allowed...
Even if they did this there would still be "exemptions" just like in real life. And no way would they have the resources or persons to manually check and/or to enforce anything. They have admitted the auto detect programs they use have banned players by mistake in the past.
Well I'm glad you made this post, I'm sure they will immediately post the rules since you posted. All the other requests to have the rules posted weren't enough to get them to do it, but this post, this is the one.
that would be show EQ. Maybe the other tools have it built in but you can run it stand alone. I too wish they would finally level the playing field and be honest about what they can and cannot enforce and then do so. By allowing people to break the rules (mass boxing on true box server, and we have all run into the automated BOT group (not BOX, BOT)) and then haphazardly enforcing them it creates an uneven playing field where the newer "botters" who don't know all the tricks are the ones that get caught, and in general they weren't the problem in the first place. Most of them are reactionary (if you can't beat em, join em) and get caught because they're not versed in the ins and outs of avoiding detection (setting up something to text you when you get a tell or say for example so you can pass their silly afk check). Sadly OP, it won't happen. They will keep ... well for all we know ... playing favorites with when and upon whom they enforce their rules. Their uneven enforcement is almost as big an issue as the bots themselves.
They also say you can't use software that would give you abilities you don't have access to under normal situations which would include both of the items you mentioned.
There's a simple reason why the staff will never endorse any software by name & only state what they see as bad behaviour - software can be changed and the team do not have control over that. If the devs say yeah sure macaroni is fine you can bet your house some jerk is going to go compile a version that can do all kinds of nasty stuff that players who use it can then say "but you said it was okay to use macaroni, why did you ban me" THAT is why they say no AFK play, no getting XP while automated, you have to be at the keyboard operating the characters and even if you are using broadcasted keystrokes you are keeping track of the actions of all of the characters you are "controlling" actively, not passively. Even the act of "timed" actions, where you are AFK inbetween spawns, watching youtube or whatever, this is actually not allowed, if you are not active then either log out or move to a place where no mobs will spawn/path, don't cry about you maybe losing your camp, nobody cares. Having a pet or merc kill stuff while you are not at the keyboard is also considered automated AFK play.
Again I ask anyone who believes using macaroni is totally fine, live stream using it without being anonymous. The last thread on this got nuked, unfortunately. It'd be good for players to see that it is not ok.
OMG so I can't take a bio between spawns? Eeeek I'm thinking about Cartman and Southpark right now and yelling "MoM Bathroom!"
And that's the problem. The TrueBox FAQ opened up a huge can of worms. Our guild still goes by the rule, no "macaroni" crap at all. (I knoq we're not alone with this rule too). If we find someone that's joined automating whether afk or not, they get booted. And because of that FAQ, I get argued with ALL the time that it's ok, as long as they're not afk. However, Daybreak won't clarify the vague FAQ they have.
I think it's totally fine. There is both good enabling people with disabilities/debilitating conditions to play and the bad of rampant botting. It's pretty clear from the FAQ with Holly a couple years ago that they acknowledge both of those aspects. I never really thought of the usage from the point of view of enabling individuals to continue to play the game, but that's the minority usage. Macaroni is fine, it's all about how it's used.
