Key repeating: fully allowed game-play

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by MasterMagnus, Aug 14, 2021.

  1. MasterMagnus The Oracle of AllHigh

    This has become a subject over several other threads of different main topics.

    I am starting this thread to discuss key-repeating specifically. And I'll get the ball rolling with some facts.

    -Windows is the first party. eqgame.exe is the second party.
    -Key repeaters, of whatever form (hardware, software, built-in win functions) have been allowed by a direct dev statement.
    -It's only cheating and actionable against you when you are not able to reply to an in-game interaction from a GM.
    -You can sit there and watch netflix while fishing and foraging without touching the keyboard, but you have to be close enough to respond on demand.

    There is much more to discuss, so have at.
  2. chronicler Augur

    I would say that is autoplay and can get you banned/suspended
  3. MasterMagnus The Oracle of AllHigh


    No.

    As it currently stands, it will not. They can choose to change a stated policy, or ignore it, but that is the feedback we've been given.
  4. Tucoh Augur

    EQ has a confused policy and more confused enforcement. You won't get any straight answers from Darkpaw games that align with their current enforcement.

    If they ever want to correct that they should:
    1. Publish their current rulesets for the different servers on the EQ website ( not random dev posts that are basically their opinions)
    2. Whenever they permaban someone, post the list of characters on the account, why they were banned and what guilds the characters were in.
  5. Randomized Augur

    Do you have a link to this statement? Not saying I don’t believe you, I just want to read it myself :) last time I played, anything that had the potential to AFK while running commands in game was a no no. So this is a welcomed change to me in some aspects
    Corwyhn Lionheart likes this.
  6. Coagagin Guild house cat

    Policy needs to set and enforced or we will forever be guessing at what is or is not allowable. Hence this topic thread over and over again.
    MasterMagnus likes this.
  7. Warpeace Augur


    Sadly this would require taking a stand and seriously upgrading their detection software. According to some DM's I have received while in the Official EQ Discord they have not been able to catch them for years:mad: .
    MasterMagnus likes this.
  8. MasterMagnus The Oracle of AllHigh


    I do not have the statement, sorry. Did a quick search and couldn't find it. I know there is one, from at least a year or more ago.

    I'm absolutely certain, not trying to evade, but let's get down to the deeper point.

    Whether they state it's allowed or not (they have), is completely immaterial.

    They can't know or punish without human interaction.

    So yes, if you're at all scared about this being dis-allowed, despite my statements, don't do it.

    If you're somebody who has been wanting to auto forage-fish for a while, and didn't quite know how to set it up. It's easy, and they aren't going to suspend you for it.

    As it currently stands, as long as you REALLY ARE behind the keyboard, you have nothing to fear. And that's what really matters right?
  9. Randomized Augur

    That’s the way I’ve felt like it should be. So long as you’re there, you’re there and it’s good.

    Did they make it so a social can fire off another social now? Like with the forage example I made in the other thread? Again, the last time
    I tried (4-5 years ago or so), it wasn’t able to be done due to being able to create a continual endless loop that allowed for AFK automation.
  10. MasterMagnus The Oracle of AllHigh


    I use a programmable mouse to repeat two number keys with appropriate pauses, that are two in-game macros.

    You can just as easily have a long string of single / commands issued, without the /pause, by putting pauses in the mouse macro. And now you're not limited by 5 lines per macro. Also you're not 'locked out' of other actions like with long in-game macros.
  11. MasterMagnus The Oracle of AllHigh

    I forgot to mention these mice can record mouse moves in real time, or you can type in and set exact screen coordinates for each step of a macro (that would be moving).

    Many people can devise very elaborate AFK setups this would work for.

    OR you can use it to sit on the beach while you fish and forage. Every once in a while you hear a 'ding' because you caught a desired fish, and you click an /autoinv button. Often you hear a 'clang', which is an undesired object, and when you look at your screen you click the 'OK Destroy' button.

    Then you return to sipping your mint julep.
    code-zero likes this.
  12. Svann2 The Magnificent

    So? Use common sense or keep guessing. Your choice.
  13. cadres Augur

    This has always bothered me
    Every rule-making body agrees that rules/laws should always be clear/transparent/consistent
    Ambiguities are dealt with via precedents
    Nations/companies/etc spend vast resources spelling out exactly what is allowed in what situations - because said transparency is generally accepted to be important

    But not EQ

    Why?
    It seems wholly contrary to fundamental principles of natural justice that we are not told x behaviour is OK, y behaviour is not, z software breaks the rules etc.

    Over 20 years of EQ I know people who have got in trouble for doing things I would consider perfectly fine (eg AFK foraging; taking a 'comfort'/emergency break); and many many others who got away with, for extended periods of time, blatant use of 'external software'.

    This is further complicated by people seeing x and y behaviour going on for years and assuming it's ok - eg I do not believe the guy in the bazaar with his 1k misty acorns stood there and personally pressed his forage key enough times to forage that elusive item (apologies if he did - love to hear your favourite RSI cure!)

    In other words, this leaves good people open to unfair sanction and bad people getting away with being bad

    What is needed is clear, unambiguous rules about what's ok and what's not on each server - in big, clear letters somewhere unmissable
    And then enforcement of those rules

    (I have no horses in this race, I'm too tech-incompetent for automated anything)
    Ravanta Suffer, Mims and MasterMagnus like this.
  14. Svann2 The Magnificent

    Why indeed? Why would EQ fail to spend vast resources on it? Its a mystery.
    MasterMagnus likes this.
  15. cadres Augur

    Because it's widely held that injustice is just that - unacceptable, and thus something all kinds of organisations seek to avoid. Conversely, other organisations devote time to it because they know litigation could wipe them out.
    Personally, am surprised there hasn't been more lawsuits around online gaming. Regardless, If I was running a company I'd be trying to avoid being the test case
  16. Sheex Goodnight, Springton. There will be no encores.

  17. Loratex The Ridiculous Necro

    If the game was intended to have basic automated game like programmable keyboard and mouse they wouldn’t haven given us the the ability to create our own macros.
  18. Axel Furry Hats OP

    There was a 24 page thread about automated gameplay like, last week, and we got a 5 word response from devs and a bunch of back and forth of "you're cheating" "lol enjoy ban" "leave my game" and just general hatred towards any players who think slightly different than one another. Even players that agreed with each other were throwing shade at each other because 1 tiny minute detail was off.

    Good luck getting anything positive out of this thread though!
    Abundant, Cailen and MasterMagnus like this.
  19. Bigstomp Augur

    You're basically asking "How much cheating can I get away with without getting banned?"

    Simple answer - don't cheat. Report cheaters. Hope they get banned.
    Wdor, Velisaris_MS and Nennius like this.
  20. Windance Augur

    Good luck with that.

    The GM's are incredibly inconsistent.

    I've reported several people over the last 2 years and the only ones they seem to have done anything about are the silver accounts ( 110 SK's ) that were so badly automated that they just kept auto facing the nearest mob, over, and over.

    Recently I recorded an AFK XP'er in Sithir Tomb who was at for over 24 hrs straight. GM response to my petition was ... 'thanks we're looking into it'. I even provided them with the video showing obvious usage. The AFK team has been at it now for nearly two weeks. Nothing seems to have been done.

    On the other hand, you'd better not do any hunter achievements in using a pet or merc in a zone like PoFire ....
    Fenthen and Issk like this.