Again, it’s wholly unnecessary to fighting about this as folks around here ain’t really going to change their term use because you dislike it. More to the point, it’s going off-topic as is.
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Words have meaning. Using words to mean something they actually don’t mean says something about the people who are using it that way. That so many posters are using “alt-tab” to describe a function that is in every way not “alt-tabbing” is, well, curious.
Alt-tabbing is generally an easy way to describe folks selecting different clients. I’m not certain why this word debate is becoming the focus here.
The focus of the announcement yesterday was prohibiting Input Broadcast Software, no other restrictions have been announced regarding hardware. Keyboards/mouse macros and functionality, assuming they work within our policies (i.e. do not use the keyboard macro to do something beyond what our in-game macro could do), is generally fine.
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I understand what it physically means. I’m saying that an entire generation grew up using it to say “swap applications” in general. My friends regularly use it even when they’re not even in fullscreen mode or necessarily using those keys. It’s a bit like how Kleenex became synonymous with tissue but referred to a brand originally.
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All those 10 plus character multi boxing griefers / gold farmers did was ruin things for everyone else who enjoyed dual boxing characters. The ones that liked questing, and leveling alts together without having to alt tab, or click back and forth constantly between windows on a monitor. Instead of banning the boxing software outright, they should of just limited the accounts you could have actively running at onetime on joined accounts. I don’t have any sympathy for the folks who were multi boxing 10 or 20 character teams just grief other players in pvp, or node farming for mats. But it does suck for the folks who never bothered anyone, just minding their own business leveling toons together on joint accounts. Pretty sure they will go after the folks using hardware eventually like switches also op. This move they made is one of the reasons I moved back over to EQ2 today.
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Just to clarify, this decision was not about multiboxing, so I hardly see a reason for them to go after hardware boxers in the future-- they’d have gone for them all at once, if it was.
This was specifically towards the software used for both multiboxing and botting, and since it’s easier to distinguish and doesn’t lock multiboxers out of their other options, going for the software was the better option.
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this new rule actually killed the game for me, first time i havent logged on since june day to day. no more SL or wow for me. Wasn’t even one of the people who abused it, just felt it was my right to enjoy the game how I wanted to, doing dungeons with my own groups to get various appearances. Removed that, remove me, one perma lost whale player
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If you’re truly a whale, you can pursue one of the other boxing methods like a hypervisor etc that doesn’t qualify as “input broadcasting software.”
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I think things have been made clear to the OP about the change of policy, and the thread can get locked up or moved to GD.
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If I have 10 computers each connected wirelessly to one mouse… when I click the one mouse the action is repeated 10 times is this allowed? If so why, is this any different than using software to accomplish the same thing?
In my opinion, this looks like a person is playing one character and 9 others are just robotically following. One keystroke should equal one action on one character.
Can you Please advise and explain the rational. Thank you in advance.
If you haven’t had a chance to read the article yet, it’s explained there.
They are cracking down on this particular aspect because it isn’t the only avenue that multiboxers have to ply their trade and it simultaneously helps them take action towards further cleaning up the game. Wipe out the scummy practice of people that like to exploit both the game and vulnerable people, if you will.
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Thank you for the article, I have read it, but thank you.
The SFAs here have absolutely nothing to do with writing policy and game development, so to ask them to validate something that they had no hand in doesn’t seem quite fair. This forum is for players to assist other players, with our lovely Blue folks chiming in as they can to offer what assistance and insight they can. Perhaps give it a shot with one of the threads over in General Discussion? There is no guarantee here or there that you’ll merit a direct response, but it would probably do better over there than in here if only because no GMs and no Devs come to this particular forum.
Sorry, we’re not going to be able to providing commentary on a myriad of hypotheticals.
To put it bluntly, Blimpo, no. The policy update is specifically about prohibiting the use of Input Broadcasting Software. The reasoning behind the decision was outlined in the news blog. Specifically:
We’ve examined the use of third-party input broadcasting software, which allows a single keystroke or action to be automatically mirrored to multiple game clients, and we’ve seen an increasingly negative impact to the game as this software is used to support botting and automated gameplay.
If you are looking for more, you are welcome to post in the General Discussion forum. It is possible that Development might share more insight and a Community Manager will post. Customer Support won’t be able to provide any more than what is already stated in the Policy Update and Support Article.
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The wording being used is extremely broad. Input Broadcast software could technically include wireless keyboards.
any software functionality that can be duplicated with hardware should be well within the rules. which is why KEY cloning has always been allowed. SOME software allows for MOUSE broadcasting, which cannot be duplicated with hardware, and does allow for things like farming of nodes by all members of the boxing group.
The line was always no automated play and no mouse cloning. KEYCLONE has stayed true to that for 14+ yrs. it was the relatively recent mouse cloning capability that tips the scale and should be the target of such policies.
- tiny (keyclone dev)
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Since when does software include hardware?
Wireless mice have been a thing for quite a few years now.
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There are quite a few areas where it has to be a broad brush in the ToS. Otherwise people would nitpick each and every little thing to try and argue their way out of something. (Let me tell you. Hang around these CS forums and it’s rather amazing the lengths some folks will go to.) While the Powers That Be have their rules, regulations and procedures to follow, not everything fits neatly in one tiny niche. They need that room to work with sometimes when a case comes along that challenges the previous iteration of a mandate. With a game that is very broad in and of itself, the rules need to be too to grow and adjust as players and the game evolves.
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well… 10+ griefers - Must be war mode cuz Blizz has them ban in joining BGs…
In regards to Gold farmers most of the time it is 2x4 farming. Since there is a limit of how many can loot a group of four and another tag from a group of 4 will let all loot… this is why a 5 man group or dual 5 man groups are not ideal. You will, today and in future, see players come together to push the limits of farming.
As for farmers themself, Blizzard has put it limitation in the game per node. Meaning that a max of 10 players can gather from a node after interaction. This means that group farming will also be seen (as you often see anchor weed farms do this when the game was popular) and since most Bnet maxes you at 8 accounts that was normally fine.
I do think that Mboxing over 8 is abuse. I do think that Blizzard could of made changes to the game alongside modifying the rules instead of a straight outright ban.
To look at what they are saying: we are doing this to ban cheaters and bots. -> Cheaters will cheat, Botters will now fill the void of Mboxers since they have more $$ form RMT and no invested toons and time doesn’t matter since they are largely automated. Sadly this is a hotbutton issue that streamers have gotten pissy about and now this is a lazy “solution” that will only slow some down.
If there is a will, there is a way. And Botters have the biggest will and least to lose, whereas players who Mboxed will have to find workarounds. Alt+tab, Hardwear work arounds, etc. What was once a safe and normal software that worked on the up and up with Blizzards policy will now give birth to some shady and not great alternatives that already go under the radar by Blizz from the botting community for those who are mad and feel slighted and want to defy the rules… others will leave the game on the news of the never ending nerfs and broken systems still being reported 3 weeks out. There isn’t much in the game worthwhile for some anymore and Blizz cough Activision-Blizz cough wants headlines for people to get excited about while they delay and nerf the expansion into the ground… oh look a mana bun… NERFED.
End of the day this is like making Drinking illegal. Some will profit more, some will turn to shady means, some will walk away bitter, and some will go find a new fix that isn’t as great to try and salvage their normal routine. There are ways to do it both in and out of the rules and it is a shame that there is no compromise and it is hidden behind what will actually take over in place of Mboxers and that is Cheaters and Botters.
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Put multiboxing on the ban list entirely. nobody needs to multibox 10 accounts.