Its pretty simple. If you are using a single keystroke/click to command another machine to perform the same keystroke that is the “input broadcasting software.” They are referring to.
Now if you go through the trouble of purchasing ($$$) 5 machines that are KVM switched I guess you found the round-about. However a player in game will very likely flag your account and the others you own with a report and more than likely you’ll get banned. On another note, I doubt they will refund the expense of 5 machines.
The keystroke broadcasting software was not banned because the software was inherently bad but that it facilitated a playstyle that blizzard does not want to allow.
To allow people to accomplish this same playstyle with hardware violates the spirit of the action and allows the undesirable playstyle to continue. What is needed is clarification like a statement: One keystroke equals one action on one character.
Alt tabbing between characters is still allowed I believe they said this. The above statement also allows atl-tabbing between characters.
Mythic had a problem with buffbots going rampant back in daoc. It was a quick buck for a while but tons of players quit because of it. Didn’t help that games like EQ2 and WoW came along to make the choice to quit even more appealing.
It’s impossible to know how much “money” multiboxers/botters are generating. It’s not like blizzard will reveal that information, ie how often botters create new accounts after their old ones are cough banned. Botters using multiple accounts are the ones very likely to be using various software to automate the play. It’s those blizzard are after.
Clearly Blizzard isn’t very good at tracking down bots without user reports meaning they’re most likely blending in until reported multiple times. Maybe the software they use to send commands between clients(in this case multiboxing) is easier to track until they patch it.
I can’t see anyone controlling multiple game accounts without software being the middle man. There’s no way you’d get the level of accuracy through a KVM without some kind of software continuously making micro adjustments.
Multiboxing is effectively dead, and even if someone comes up with a clever loophole they’ll close it. Economies have been ruined through overharvesting, banning multiboxing cures the problem.
They made it clear that mutliboxing without the software mirror is fine, they are targeting the software because it is being abused to bot.
“Multiboxing, or playing multiple World of Warcraft accounts at once, is not a violation of our Terms of Use. Please note, however, that use of input broadcasting software may result in account penalties.”
You will get reported if all your characters are doing the same thing at once. Blizzard will see that and ban you. I really doubt they are going to do much investigating.
If they wanted to make multboxign against the rules, they would have done so long ago. It just got caught in the cross fire between Blizzard and their war on BOTing.
Back when I was doing that, there was a blue post stating that it was OK.
And afterwards, I’ve never received any notification about any change in the Terms of Use about that.
You can freely use software methods of broadcasting keys to multiple windows. You can be banned for that, but you can as well be banned for refusing to do that. The Terms of Use just say that “You can be banned without any reason”.
Blizzard, maybe this is the time to actually publish some rules?
Which would further the case for just out right banning any players possibly associated with any type of multi boxing. The multi box community will tank themselves by trying to circumvent the new rule.
KVM’s weren’t designed to be used as a one computer controls 10 other computers with zero signal loss. You need that software bridge to line up the 5-10 inputs or things get messy. That’s why the software exists in the first place. The hardware workaround just isn’t good enough yet.
Maybe you’re right, won’t know until I get the hardware but the one I was looking at even specifically mentions low latency and mentions WoW but of course we can’t trust manufacturers It is the one suggested in threads from 08 when people still used KVM on the boxxing forums though.
I also did research on KVMs and gaming latency and every thread I found on the topic said it isn’t an issue but I’ll find out for myself
I mean… you can do it. It will work to a certain extent. The more computers you control the more likely it is for some latency to kick in. The mouse will go goofy from time to time, more so with more computers. When that happens, you’ll have to sync up again.
The software kept all the toons in the exact same spot at the same time, the KVM is just acting as a mimic of the main system. With all of the terrain differences, lag, video card hiccups, little minor things can throw the computers slightly out of sync and before you know it you’ll notice your band of 5-10 will need constant manual course corrections.
