If nothing else, I'm sure DBG staff had fun catching up today on all of this. Hopefully they listen to everyone's opinion and can come up with a solution amicable to everyone. You've been a worthy and respectful debater, I'll give you that.
Thank you Bardy. Same to you. I have learned to let people speak. It is important never to get personal.
It's not cheating if it's allowed. This whole conversation has a familiar vibe. It's like conservatives pointing at marijuana users and calling them criminals. We don't need to lock people up, we need to legalize marijuana.
This idea wouldn't be changing the rules on the rest of the servers and the programs that are tuned on the cheating server can still be used on other servers.
People complain that they can't catch cheaters now, how would adding a new cheating server make it easier to catch them?
Because I can guarantee you that DPG already knows who at least most of the users of 3rd party programs are. They don't even need to detect anything on the client. Behavior as sent to the server is all they need. They're still trying to figure out how to act on the information in a way that doesn't destroy the player base and their income. As I said, it's been a complicated business situation for many years. We all know nobody was happy with 48 bot armies in Siren's Grotto and other places, not even them while they had to allow it.
Okay fair enough, at least on this thread. I truly don't understand your perspective on "tuning". The 3rd party tools have been in constant development for over a decade without having a dedicated server. Adding a place where there's no risk of discipline doesn't really enhance the community's ability to continue development. Even if DPG went full-throttle nuclear against automation on all servers, FTP accounts provide an essentially risk-free thowaway that can be used for testing.
Slippery slopes can lead to happy places. Maybe the best way to stop a bad guy with cheat software is a good guy with cheat software?
How is it hard to understand that if they have a server that they can use the server on without any fear of punishment it will be easier for them to improve it? I am not suggesting that it doesn't get worked on already just that it would be easier for them.
In my opinion, CS should be allocated to servers on the basis of how much revenue is generated by them.
You have mentioned this several times in this thread. This is such a fallacy. A prison server (which neither side seems to want) would not become an incubator for cheat program development. How would a prison server help develop improved detection-avoidance techniques, if by definition the server isn't even looking for the cheat software? You think they would use that server to hone anti-detection methods? No, they would continue to attack the non-prison servers, because, just like the banks, that is where the money is. Banning doesn't really help either. It just takes the somewhat tolerable average Joe auto-boxer out of the equation without dis-incentivizing the toxic crowd. If you are instead saying they might improve the capabilities that the cheat software provides in an open and worry-free environment, without worrying about suspensions or bans, that might be true. But if so, why would you care? In the prison server scenario especially what they do is none of your concern.
Because they already don't even use Live to work on it. That was the whole point I was trying to convey a few times. They have their own written server so they don't even connect to Live to do development. It's been that way since the early 2000s.
It's hard to understand because there's no effective deterrent as it stands. You can't get better development when you're already at peak development. Unless you're concerned that the server would attract new developers who currently don't participate. I suppose that's a (welcome) possibility, but not likely to make a significant difference one way or another.
My understanding is that emulated servers don't handle the majority of scripted events very well. Otherwise, people could just play on private servers and this whole conversation wouldn't be needed. What the automation-proponents need are officially licensed servers.
I'm with you guys that I don't want players cheating and getting server firsts or warping and hoarding camps to monopolizing gear from other players that want to get it grouped together. I'm not sure who reads what threads, but I haven't even been on a current expansion since OOW was the current one. I'm always at least a few expansions back, just minding my own business playing older content because it's relaxing and less stressful. I don't play EQ or any other MMO to compete anymore. There are a lot of players like me. It's unfortunate that a small number of bad actors abuse 3rd party software and make the rest of us look bad. I think this is also the balance that DPG is left teetering with and the previous leadership was more lenient with the situation than the new one. I hope DPG can come up with something satisfactory so that true abusers and griefers of the system are dealt with without the collateral damage to players like myself.
We're teetering onto territory that I don't want threads to get shut down. Yes, P99 uses the software. I'm not going to discuss it further. With regard to just playing "there" or "elsewhere", content ends around OOW timeframe. There is a lot of enjoyable content put out by DPG since then that I and a lot of others want to experience and enjoy, and also pay DPG for their continued hard work. Right now players with interests like me feel like we have no home between lack of content "there" or being shunned by much of the EQ community here.
I didn't think about it when posting, but yeah I think you're right. I removed the specific reference that might be against the rules.
