Breakouts were a thing as soon as they put teleporters in guildhalls and a few people did get a talking to form GMs initially (before layouts were a thing), Once it got escalated past the Customer Support team, it was deemed acceptable but Unsupported. As far as layout editing, the fact layouts are plaintext is proof it is acceptable. The original layouts were binary files that I reverse engineered (not that they were complex) and built a program to edit them (After asking SOE if it was ok). Eventually, SOE decided to make them plaintext to make things easier (this was based on a request to include the item's name in the file). When they released layouts for EQ, they made those xml. Jexi tried to get me to make an editor for them as well . As far as this issue, last I knew it was fine unless someone complained (like getting a character stuck). Early on you could only load up to 5000 items in a layout. When they made building blocks their own limit, some "natural" house item counts went above the 5000 limit and people were having issues. Based on some earlier testing, I knew what the problem was and contacted a Dev. The limit was increased greatly but, I don't remember to what. At the time I also explained some unintended features of this but since I wasn't actually playing EQ2 at the time, I didn't specifically ask if any of them were Ok (not that it is really that Dev's call).. Going well over the Limit using "NoCount" items should be acceptable, but for obvious reasons, you shouldn't take things too far.
I don't really want to argue copyright law here, it gets messy and involved, but if it's on my computer, and I paid for, I own it (aka First Sale Doctrine). I can do anything I want with the files on my computer, period. What I don't have is the right to distribute them to other people. Neither am I entitled to connect to their servers if I violate the terms and conditions of the contract for connecting to their servers. However, a plain-text ini file or configuration file is plainly intended to be editable by users, or it wouldn't be plain text.
Sorry but no, and your right this isn't the place for it, you can pm if you really want to get into it but the Terms of Service are crystal clear on this matter and you do not own it.
Thank you for your information, JesDyr, and also everyone who has contributed to the discussion. It's given me a lot to think about and widened my viewpoint considerably.
I mourn the loss of Ocarinah who has been an anchor for this community. While this is a good, very good, discussion I also fear that many people will exploit the OP's actions and the Home Show community will suffer greatly. It would be nice to be proven wrong but it's a new generation of gamers who wish to win an any cost and finding exploits to win is like heroin or BigPharma heroin to many of them. my 2 coppers
I doubt that anybody will now they know that not only are they not going to get any visitors, but also that they might get banned - I know I wouldn't risk that. As has already been stated, if it's for personal use only then /shrug go for it!
Well, I am so sorry to see this discussion go so bad here. Lots of thoughts given for sure which is awesome for us in the Decoing community. I personally do not think of it as cheating. How many of us want more item count!! But if it hinders someone else logging into the home then now we know we should probably not do that for visitors. I personally did not know that. But that is probably a mute point now. I am still new here but have had the pleasure to have met some of you in one form or another. I still remember getting brave enough to do the SSHS16. I was scared as heck because all of you are just so awesome and talented. And I hope that we can keep doing events and getting more folks involved. That will grow this awesome community. I also understand if it is too much for someone to do an event. Maybe we can all come together and help out with that as well. I hope this is just a hiccup we can over come and get back to being Decorators! I am always here to help out and I do love this game because of you all! Aney~
Sorry to read all this and discover Oaky has left I hope it's just a break and you come back! I never enter contests because 1. I am not good enough and 2. I do not use layout editor or other ways to manipulate items. My angles are not perfect and my tiles overlap and flicker, etc. So those who use editor will always have the upper hand. It's been my thought that if anyone uses these means in a contest, then it's not competitive anymore. And I'm ok with that. Kudos for those who've mastered that program. I actually enjoy spending lots of time turning each railing and trying to sit things just so-so. It's relaxing to me, similar to the fine details I put in a painting or drawing. But to use these in a competition does seem unfair. Then on the other hand, perhaps some people don't have a steady hand or good eyesight and need the editor or have visions that otherwise can't be accomplished without it. Still, though.. I have lots of imagination and tons of things I'd like to do, but can't with in game tools. So, I go on to something else shrugging my shoulders. I just let it go. Placing more items than we're supposed to, I don't even know how that's done. lol But if for personal use, there shouldn't be a problem. In a contest, I can understand the issue.
Gentle smack upside the head, you totally ARE good enough You are an inspiration to me Valzen, I'm in the same boat as you exactly - no layout editor and occasionally frustrated by my inability to do amazing swirls and circles and stuff, and like you, I move on and work within my limits. Your Manor's Yellow Rose particularly will stay with me forever<3
Don't you think that sometimes people complain just because they are sore losers? I will use every means available to me in every house. The houses are so massive now that you really cannot do a good job with only limiting to the base number of items. I would like to see them change the amount of items to correspond to the size of the property. Otherwise, what is the point of having these huge houses if you cannot even decorate them properly. I'm currently working on a park area in the city of mist and I am soooo thankful the grass squares are considered building blocks because I couldn't do it otherwise. The other alternative is to make stuff like that able to be made even larger, though I don't know if that would blur out the details as I am strictly an end user and talking about programming makes my eyes glaze over. I'll leave that to hubby, my official real nerd.
It really amazes me how all of you "Experts" seem to be putting yourselves down! STOP IT! I am probably the most amature of all of you and HOW many awards have I won?? (I can't count them on one hand that's for sure! There are too many. Go to Quiarrah's Astronomers Tower on THURGADIN and look. Its not published because I wouldn't be able to add any more portals if I did.) I think THE best house I have done is the Estate on Skyfire for Icendium. . I really stretched my limits there. Then to read post of people like Valzen who says she's not good enough to enter contests?? NO. Just. . . No. You ARE good enough. I entered one contest on Thurgadin and kind of won by default because I was the only one who entered. Sorry but if Feb had entered that contest I would not have stood a chance. Anyway. . . I couldn;'t sit here and allow one of my "Hereos" to put themselves down! ** as for the thread itself . . . I have entered a few houses in my day where I just could not move. Some were absolutely gorgeous. . others looked like storage units. . I just turn around and leave at the point (or gate if I am really stuck). We have the expanders for a reason. I don't think there is anything wrong with using as many items as you can. Some peoples systems just can't handle it and all the graphics. But if they were to limit us. . that would put a damper on our decorating. So . . decorate away. . . and those who say, "Im not good enough" . . quit being so down on yourself. If I can do it. . . ANYONE CAN!** **** gets off soap box, moves it back under the table and runs for the hills****
Quiarrah you are an awesome decorator. ok, ok, ok.. I get it. Love you all sooooooo much!!! You're my family away from real family. It's wonderful to be a part of this community. Everyone contributes in their own ways and it's what makes EQ2 folks so much nicer to be around than any other out there. XOXOXXOXO
I have to admit, decorators in eq2 really are some of the best people Ive encountered in any game . And for what its worth, of course id like item counts to be higher, some places really are huge and the counts we get for them are pitifully small.
You forget, boss, I'm in your guild on Halls of Fate, and I KNOW what you can do (I will vouch for her abilities to anyone who asks); I'm in the Guild Hall on a regular basis! BTW, you've redecorated...I like it! Uwk
OMG stop it, Valzen! You are a true artiste at decorating. I use the editor, but only to get perfect angles and matched sizing, but that is where my abilities with it end. As for overstuffing, this is a sore subject for me, as I have had my old, cheap computer shutdown on me while trying to load an overstuffed house. This scares me, because I can't afford another computer, or even parts for hubby to build/repair. We could have cable/satellite, or we could have internet, but can't afford both (internet is cheaper), so my computer is everything to me.
I can't agree more, Valzen as I'm doing all the stuff like you do - step by step and rotating items until they fit And I'm too dumb and too lazy to figure out how that layout editor works. I'm just happy to find out how to save a layout and use it for another of my chars Using an completely empty small home as a workshop, with lots of space to combine items, moving them around, making them bigger or smaller until all falls into its place. The results aren't perfect but that's ok for me As for Oaky - it's really really sad that she left but it's understandable. Health comes first, period. But we still hope it's not forever and we will have her back one day.
I have seen the works of a lot of you and they are all AB FAB!!!! I have only entered one contest with one house and that was HDE17. I got things to look as perfect to me as they could but when you look at the video you see the flickering floor tiles and the upper cabinets in the kitchen that are not matched. I have not figured out how to use the layout editor either, the videos confuse me and I majored in Physics and Mathematics, but I am better with paper and pencil and a book or instruction sheet as opposed to a video. Please Ocarinah, do not leave over this, without you and Uwk I would not have had the courage to enter an event at all. You love to decorate, decorate. You do not have to run contests or enter contests, do what you love because you love it whether for yourself or someone else. I have progressive MS and the game is a stress reliever for me and stress will kill me the fastest. Cyrrena
Aw, I'm blushin'. Glad I inspired you! But if you like numbers, then the Notepad Method might be the way for you to go; I basically only use the Layout Editors as a fancy/quick way to do stuff I'd normally do in Notepad (they combine pretty much the best features of Notepad and Excel, imho). I like Sennen's OpenSource Layout Editor, usually, largely because it auto-updates (or asks to) when you save the layout file in-game, but it can't do movement numbers for NW/SW/NE/SE types of movement like JesDyr's can, and JesDyr's has that lovely Copy/Paste Location Information (or something to that effect) right-click command, which is very useful. ;-> And Oaky, please, just do what you want; if you want to "just" decorate, please do so! Don't think you have to be the only one running contests and challenges! Once Shan gets her computer back, she'll probably jump right in again, and maybe we can convince Niboota to come back to us before the Wizard of Oz challenge in the -- Spring? Summer? whenever; must look that up again... ;-> Uwk
I have avoided commenting in this thread because I didn't think my opinion would enlighten anyone, or change anyone's mind. But I will make several points: I sponsored this contest because I was tired of hearing all the griping about how many urns were dropping versus how many bat mounts were dropping. My philosophy is that when life hands you too many urns, make urnmonade. I was hoping for, and received some very delightful, creative, and inspiring creations. Thank you all for entertaining me! ( You DO know that's what all of you are here for, right?) The contest rules stated very explicitly that ONLY urns should be used in the creation, because I didn't want to be distracted by how amazingly creative everyone is with all of the items that are available. So, Siddartha, you "broke" the rules by adding all the other elements of your build. But I have a hard time following most rules too, so that was not the reason you didn't 'win" the contest. I just thought the Bat Murnt was a better creation. YOURS was very good! But I liked Xyvyx's better. That said, when we create our homes, we first off, should be creating because we can't NOT create. I know for myself, when I am away too long from the game, ideas spew out of me, I get itchy and irritable because decoing is such a great way for my self expression to come through, and I simply can't WAIT to sit down and fulfill my imagination. I use the layout editor because I am a perfectionist, and I don't want the little glitches and gaps in my builds. I don't think it's any better than the in game editor, it's just more precise. I like that precision. And if my builds are poorly thought out, not very imaginative, and uninspired, then they are just more precisely uninspired. Using the LE doesn't make me a better decorator, but it does make decorating easier. Valzen, you are not missing anything by not using the LE, but if you'd like to make decoration easier, I would be very happy to help you learn how to use it. It's just a tool, but it is a very powerful tool. Lastly, I sincerely hope Oaky comes back, in better health. I am sorry that she is in pain, and she is already missed by all of us. Chronic health issues are a challenge. I pray that she improves and comes back quickly.
