AFK check idea

[Wil]

Manual AFK checks suck. They're boring until you catch a cheater and then they're frustrating because you're wasting your time on a cheater instead of writing code or doing other fun things in the game. And they're hard to automate in way that scripters can't defeat.

Most AFK activities involve some sort of fast travel like rune books and Recall. But we don't want fast-travel nerfed; that would suck worse than afk cheaters. So instead of nerfing it, gamify it. Here's the idea:

Every time you fast travel, there's a small random chance you'll become "lost in the ethereal void." You're thrown into a grayish area (like the look when the character dies) except the character remains in full color with normal equipment. You receive the instruction: follow your shadow to find the way out. There are multiple NPCs on the screen, all grey. When you move toward any of them, that NPCs moves away. One of them is visually identical to your character except all gray. Follow that one in a straight line for 1 to 2 screens and you're automatically transported to your original fast-travel target. Takes 30-60 seconds to understand the first time. 5-10 seconds to do the task subsequent times.

If you remain in the void for 10 minutes, you're found by the dimensional wizard NPC who offers to help you escape. He asks if you were AFK scripting and if you say no he insists you explain yourself. The explanation is recorded for later review by the admin. If you admit to AFK scripting, auto-jail, tasks and release. If you deny it, the admin looks at your explanation and if he decides you're lying, more jail tasks than if you had admitted it.

[arni]

i like this idea however i would add an increasing chance of getting checked for every recall. so for every 5 recalls the chance you get checked increases by say 0.01 that way it becomes not if you get checked but when you get checked

[Eremite]

Neat idea, but I could automate that with UOSteam. ~_O

[Dirtybook]

Sounds like "Pie in the Sky", but as well all know.. pies don't fly.

Pigs on occasion, do fly... but this is not a flying pig pie.

All bad jokes aside here.. it doesn't sound much like a functioning idea to me, but that did sound like an interesting story plot, for a short story. Have you ever considered writing?

[Wil]

it doesn't sound much like a functioning idea to me,

Would you mind elaborating?

The idea is to create something that:

1. Can be fully automated within the game's framework.
2. Is little to no hassle to the non-cheating player.
3. Is difficult approaching impossible to defeat with a player script.

Where'd I miss?

[Wil]

Neat idea, but I could automate that with UOSteam. ~_O

I would find it very challenging to defeat with automation, even with an engine like Orion that offers complete access to the underlying data. With UOSteam or EasyUO, I don't think it's possible. I could detect that it happened, but all I could do is stop and alarm for human attention.

That said, I'd welcome an analysis of how you'd go about defeating it in UOSteam. The trick is picking the right NPC to follow. Pick the wrong one and you get more lost and eventually have to explain yourself. There's so much the game can do to make the right NPC obvious to human vision but a conundrum to automation trying to understand the game data.

[Eremite]

I can't really test it since I don't have an example to test on, but you can find your own body ID (male/female) and match against that to eliminate opposite-sex doppelgangers. You can also find the items you have equipped, then save the ID and color, etc of them. Then compare against the item ID of the objects found on the doppelganger. (This is the part I'd want to test some more). Once you have your target, you just compare your position vs their position and move in their direction with a walk command. Can also compare names of self vs target if it's like "Shadow of Eremite", etc.

For detecting if you got picked or not, you can read your own X/Y coordinates and if it's different from what is expected from the recall, you run your puzzle solver subroutine.

It would definitely make the macros a lot longer and a bigger pain to set up though. More hurdles to jump over definitely help, so it would be beneficial for that reason only.

[Eremite]

<quoted instead of editing>

[Silent]

As I've said in the past, if you double click an axe to chop some logs you get an afk gump. If this system would be triggered when you attack any mob. you would only have to set a random generated timer for that player from 20min to 120min and if the player engages in an attack action again it would re-bump the gump.

This would mean that even if you are expecting the gump, it could take 20min to 120 to show up again and thus, force players to monitor the game.

Anything besides a gump triggered when attacking would just affect the normal gameplay, inevitably.

EDIT: Just remembered that part of farming gold is the looting part. The gump could also be triggered when looting corpses.

[Turnabout]

Manual AFK checks suck. They're boring until you catch a cheater and then they're frustrating because you're wasting your time on a cheater instead of writing code or doing other fun things in the game. And they're hard to automate in way that scripters can't defeat.

Most AFK activities involve some sort of fast travel like rune books and Recall. But we don't want fast-travel nerfed; that would suck worse than afk cheaters. So instead of nerfing it, gamify it. Here's the idea:

Every time you fast travel, there's a small random chance you'll become "lost in the ethereal void." You're thrown into a grayish area (like the look when the character dies) except the character remains in full color with normal equipment. You receive the instruction: follow your shadow to find the way out. There are multiple NPCs on the screen, all grey. When you move toward any of them, that NPCs moves away. One of them is visually identical to your character except all gray. Follow that one in a straight line for 1 to 2 screens and you're automatically transported to your original fast-travel target. Takes 30-60 seconds to understand the first time. 5-10 seconds to do the task subsequent times.

Anyway not all the farming activities rely on the recall spell, some of the spot are "static", I don't want say what spots specifically, but at the moment two of them, that I can remember, are camped just with the use of a simple auto attack macro.

If you remain in the void for 10 minutes, you're found by the dimensional wizard NPC who offers to help you escape. He asks if you were AFK scripting and if you say no he insists you explain yourself. The explanation is recorded for later review by the admin. If you admit to AFK scripting, auto-jail, tasks and release. If you deny it, the admin looks at your explanation and if he decides you're lying, more jail tasks than if you had admitted it.

Looking the big picture I really like the idea.

[Cerrera]

I definetly don't like idea of something except gump or question check disturbing me while i recall mining, especially when holding whole willpower to mine littlebit more ore cause for bods is needed ginormous amount (doing recall and first dig manually than turn on macro to dig last spot). But if you are shure there is so much macroer's who doesn't monitor game, at least from time to time, than i can swallow it .
Ok an edit, just talking and not substantiate why i think so, i could be mistaken with possibilities with these assistants, but could it be that assistant could choose right path by following itemtype you have weared? if yes, riddle should be harder and it will take more than 5-10 seconds to be solved.

[HotMale]

I think continuous gold farming is not that big problem when the server Item markets is saturated. Item burning mechanics is needed to help deplete excess items and stimulate the economy. I reported a rather serious bug a year ago, but unfortunately, it's still unresolved. So, I'm not expecting anything to happen soon, or never

[Johnny Warren]

Or +C could spend his time on important things, like fixing the heinous hue reservation system instead....

#FreeTheHues

The current systems are fine. They just need to be implemented. Since +K left I Have been AFK checked twice I think. I see a few bots running non-stop in my timezone. We simply need more enforcement and heavier punishments. No need for +C to code an elaborate escape room with shadows and paths and mumbo jumbo. Just actually jump on the computer, run the AFK checks, or get another staff member with privileges just like +K who only runs AFK checks.

[Dirtybook]

John Warren... I have to ask.. with the time I have known of you, and seen you around. You have never changed those drab colors you wear.. (at least I cannot recall if you had) Is there a specific color that you have your eye on? Because, there are quiet a few available colors right now, and you don't seem to use more than the few you currently do.

Is this some kind of impulse, that you need to feed a want, you and many others will likely never utilize? (actually very curious.)

[Melkor]

The current systems are fine. They just need to be implemented. ….. Just actually jump on the computer, run the AFK checks, or get another staff member with privileges just like +K who only runs AFK checks.

I personally believe this is the answer


I do believe +C is making progress towards revitalizing the shard and I’m hopeful/excited for the future