I do A LOT of data entry, I enter something in the field I then press submit and move on to the next field. I have a simple Auto Hot Key script to move my mouse around the screen but obviously I cannot do that anymore
So I’m playing around with the idea of using Visual Basic (I used that back in high school) to see if I can get something like this to work (going from literally 3 lines in AHK to 100+ in VB is nuts). Just wondering if this will be against TOS if I have a program like this running
I’m afraid even having AHK installed on my PC will cause a ban
edit: just to clarify I will not be using the program with WoW but the program it self may be running when I play WoW
I’m not familiar with VB, so I couldn’t say, Habs. Generally speaking, we really can’t give approval/disapproval for any particular program you may have running. If it can be used for automation/botting, or otherwise violates our policies, it might be prudent to avoid using it while playing.
It depends on how it works and Customer Support really can’t make that determination, sorry.
VB is just Visual Basic a simple programming language that does have the capabilities to do what I want. And from the sounds of it the only way for it to get flagged is for you to flag this one specific program
I might be mistaken, but VB is primarily used for writing code in Excel/Word/Office applications. It cannot alter how your mouse behaves in WoW, for example, because it’s a macro built into MS Office and not your mouse.
I use it quite a bit at my work as well, and don’t think I’ve ever heard of it outside MS Office.
You are thinking of VBA which is hosted inside Office applications. You can write VBA to build more complex Office actions or automate some of the more repetitive things. (looking at you Excel)
VB is essentially the same language but is not locked inside Office and can be used to compile executables. Essentially creating your own programs.
I would not recommend using outside programs to hook into or interact with the World of Warcraft client.
It will yes but it is just a program out of billions and billions of other programs. But as I said I am not looking to do anything within the WoW client but I don’t want to freak out if I had it running while I was playing WoW
Frankly speaking the amount of work to get the same functionality as AHK is INSANE and heavily leaning to not being worth it. I totally understand why AHK is bannable but it is extremely inconvenient
You are suggesting WoW is able to take a .exe, rip it apart, look at and understand the code. That simply isn’t possible, at least I don’t think
But to get a little functionality with VB is extreme. Going from 3 lines of code in AHK to 100 just to do one simple task is extremely daunting.
I just resubbed to WoW and planning to play TBC so depending on how my work goes I simply may stop playing WoW. I am not upset (well I am a little upset) but as I said I understand why AHK is bannable but obviously work is more important
Visual Basic is a scripting language that manipulates the windows api. It requires having its own VB libraries to interpret the scripts.
Visual Basic for Applications is a subset of that language sspecifically for creating a scripts to manipulate features of the MS Office api. It uses additional VB libraries.
Neither VB nor VBA create exe’s in the classic sense of being compiled code in a binary format.
However, I would think that using the VBA interface to access the VB interface, to access the windows api in order to “home” the mouse would generally fall under automation as well as streamlining.
That being said, much the same effect on mouse movement may be available through accessibility software. Ablegamers.org and/or similar sites should have info on that category of software. I would stick to the most popular ones as they are the most likely to have already passed the Blizzard sniff test as acceptable for supporting the Americans wit Disabilities Act.
EDIT: Do, however, note that regardless of bizzards support of accessibility software, the is not guarantee that mouse movement in that type of program will always be allowed.
My understanding is that the ADA does not apply to video games. They are not obligated to ensure all aspects of a game are accessible to people who have a disability. Many do their best though, because it makes good sense to reach as broad an audience as possible!
So no, ADA does not apply through regulations or courts yet.
However, the FCC does have some new regulations as per 2019 with regard to Advanced Communications Services (ACS). What they ARE required to provide accessibility to is the Communications functions.
Those communication functions that must be accessible, if possible, are defined as: ACS includes the following types of services: (1) interconnected Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP);7 (2) non-interconnected VoIP;8 (3) electronic messaging;9 and (4) video conferencing.
So no, as of current law, people can’t make macros to automate game functions that violate the EULA or ToS and fundamentally change the game.
For anyone who does have accessibility concerns for games at Blizzard, Blizzard has set up an Accessibility group that takes feedback and works with all game teams to ensure development of games is accessibility friendly (within whatever limits they have). https://us.battle.net/support/en/article/244753
There are also awesome groups out there that help gamers find solutions that don’t break game rules.
I have AHK installed on my computer for similar reasons to you, and always have it running in the background. I’ve been playing classic wow since release without being banned.
I dont think its an issue if you’re not scripting it to do anything within the wow client.
I would amend this to say “if you’re not scripting it to do anything more than the WoW client allows”. But I would also caution that is you aren’t doing anything more than the WoW client allows, what’s the point of continuing to run it, and take such a risk?
No I don’t multi-box, I have one account. I use it to write hacky scripts to automate desktop tasks similar to the OP when I’m too lazy to write in a real language. It doesn’t do anything while I’m playing the game.
Unless I read OP completely wrong, they have AHK installed to automate work activies and nothing to do with WoW, and is contemplating spending hours writing VB scripts to replace their already functional AHK ones because they’re paranoid to even have AHK installed on the same machine they play WoW on.
AHK is not inherently bad, and is a legit program for many uses outside of video games. I doubt blizzard bans based off the presents of it running in the background. Are they going to ban me for having a Python interpreter installed to?
I hope Warden is a bit more sophisticated than just scanning your task manager for AHK running, which by defaults runs at startup.
If Warden picks it up, you can expect some sort of sanction. They don’t know if you’re running it with WoW or for work. Just having it up and running can be enough for Warden to notice it, as we’ve seen here in the past. If you’ve done this and not been caught yet? Kudos to you, but it is advised to make sure it’s off completely if you must have it for work, and want to play WoW.
