Can we ban the automation groups please?

1. Locking one expansion behind and the removal of raid NPCs on the prison server rewards rule-abiding play on Live servers.

2. The expansion lock and raid NPC removal prevents the inevitable drama of "firsts" and rankings between a cheat server and rules-based servers. The bot server participants will promote achievements and rankings obtained by maximizing cheat software openly on the forums to recruit. Daybreak should not enable propaganda.

To be clear, raid NPCs could be phased in at dates later than Live servers. Expansion unlocks could be flexible but behind Live.

1. Each server has unique rulesets, no? Would not the box server allow automation and therefore people automating there would not be breaking the rules?
2. Who is worried about "firsts" between boxers and non-boxers? This is mere concern-trolling. All the raids are completed in their first week of being released, if not the first day. What's the justification of one year? Perhaps it should be the reverse? Non-boxers get raids released after one year. After all, they have a huge advantage of not having to be scripted. In all practical realities, non-boxers have a huge advantage or boxers when it comes to raids (at least for skilled players that are on the current raids).

It's a prison server. Cheating goes against the core of gaming. Daybreak has to make the statement that they do not endorse cheating and that there are penalties for doing so.

Policymakers have to anticipate the problems caused by policy shifts. Some in the community already fret over "firsts" and rankings. Players who get a leg up or advantage with the maximization of cheat software should not be considered equals.

Daybreak could show flexibility with expansion unlocks and phasing in raid NPCs but a predictable tempo (1 year delay) is likely preferred.

No. The term "prison" only relates to the fact that toons & kronos cannot transfer off. The actual ruleset of the server should allow automation. People can and will choose to go there of their own volition without having been automating on other live servers where it's bannable.

What "problems" are caused by people comparing e-peens? You admit some people already "fret" over firsts and rankings, and yet, is this a problem that requires developer attention? Hardly. Each player in the community can decide for themselves who to compare themselves against. Think boxers have an advantage? Great, don't compare yourself to them.

Again, cheating goes against the core of gaming. Daybreak has to make a statement that they do not endorse cheating and that there are penalties for doing so.

Daybreak is not all of a sudden going to cater to cheaters with five-star service when the Prison Server is a concession against the wishes of the community who expects suspensions and bans.

1. It is inevitable that players on the Prison Server will attempt to promote their server in as many ways as is possible. They want to prove that they and their gameplay is "right" and "best." This conflict can be prevented by staggering their expansion and raid access.

2. People who will be maximizing on cheat software are not equals in competition. This is like expecting 90% of a math class to finish an exam with pencil-and-paper while the other 10% has a graphing calculator. Do think players who openly flaunt cheating will suddenly restrain themselves in the name of gamesmanship? No, they're going to come on the boards to promote cheating and recruit. Daybreak can prevent this conflict by staggering their expansion and raid access.

Obviously, I see the nuanced political and diplomatic - face-saving - ramifications of a Prison Server. You are merely advocating for your self-interest.

You continue to ignore one simple fact: by creating a server where automation is allowed, it can no longer be referred to as "cheating" while on that server. Please keep up. Change your terminology to automation. Cheating is literally defined by each server's ruleset. What is allowed on live servers would be cheating on a truebox server. What is allowed on an automation server would be cheating on a live server. Stop obfuscating this fact and projecting your anti-automation wishes onto this hypothetical server.

Baloney. There are far more people who encourage and/or tolerate automation than those against it, ESPECIALLY when framed in the context we are discussing here: a special ruleset server.

No such "conflict" need be addressed. Free marketplace of ideas. Feel free to forumquest your life away arguing why automation is wrong.

You seem truly worried by the prospect of actually being compared against a bot. Why? As you said, this is like expecting 90% of a math class to finish an exam with pencil-and-paper while the other 10% has a graphing calculator. Who on earth would be threatened by such a comparison? Do we concern ourselves with current elite guilds who can complete content that us mere mortals in family guilds cannot possibly dream of? No. Essentially, we are playing different games. Raiders play theirs, casuals play theirs. Comparisons between the two are pointless.

Additionally, how many games and studios run prison servers? Ever heard of a cheat-approved Call of Duty or Fortnite game mode? A Google search of prison servers will bring up a Minecraft game mode where you try to escape a maze. The closest thing to actual prison servers are emus and LAN gaming.

The chance of Daybreak implementing a prison server is slim to none. But it may be a worthwhile experiment which will require much calibration as to not upset the rule-abiding majority.

It is obvious that I won't convince you that a Prison Server is a concession for cheating.

It is also evident that you are advocating for your maximal self-interest and you won't budge an inch.

The odds of a prison server are slim to none. But, developers may end up reading my posts and agree to my rationale for staggering content if they do decide to implement such a measure. It was a nice thought experiment and rhetorical exercise.

Goodluck.

Interesting that you bring up Minecraft, a game in which you can literally rent your own servers and play by whatever ruleset you please. Wanna know why it's not called a "prison" server? It's because there's no negative connotation in that game to having players play in whatever type of environment they wish! They actually encourage an enthusiastic modding community! I understand your frustration in wanting to play on a non-automation server, I really do. You should try to understand the other side as well. People just have different ways of playing the game and no way is right or wrong. DPG would be wise to cater to all types of players.

You are 100% free to start your own server with all of your mods. Daybreak seems to be hands-off with the other fan/player projects.

Quite frankly, that is a great idea. Accept the ban and try your luck on a project server.

The moment they start licensing their servers is the moment this starts happening. I'm glad we agree on that. There's no reason why all segments of the EQ fanbase cannot be made happy. DPG: are you listening? Shut up and take our money already.

Amazing people are still debating details of this.
Just ban the cheaters.
There is no reasonable excuse for why they are cheating. Cheating is cheating. Just ban them and be done with it.

This is a dumb idea. Just ban the cheaters.

This is a dumb idea. Just ban the whiners.

Nobody is arguing in favor of cheating. We are arguing about creating a ruleset that many, many people would enjoy playing. Cheating is defined by the ruleset.

I am losing my sympathy for the rule violators. The more I talk with these people, the more I support bans.

They simply will not be placated. Let the recent forum activity be a warning for there will be no acceptable concessions for those who cheat.

Which whiners? The ones that would like to play the game without cheaters?

The ones who wouldn't even be able to abide with a server where automation is allowed, and therefore not able to call it cheating.

When that server shows up, great. Hopefully those people move there. Until then, they are cheating an d I hope they get banned.

I am losing my sympathy for people who cannot envision a reality in which multiple methods of play can coexist, even if on different servers. The more I talk with these people, the more it becomes apparent that they will never be content with their own gameplay.

They simply will not be placated. Let the recent forum activity be an indication that are many players who want to play the game by a different ruleset and we will not be silenced by threats of the 1% white knight forumquesters.