Multiboxing Poll

[Ceros]

Edit: So is this against TMW rules?

The DEVs and the Admins are discussing this topic in detail. I am sure that they will give a firm ruling in the next day or so.

I am eagerly awaiting the verdict.

[Ceros]

Any word on this?

[zzzzz]

They'll get back to you in about 27 days.

[Turmfalke]

and as long as there is no rule against it is allowed.

[Jumpy]

imho multiboxing should not be allowed.

one thing is to have mules (now there is william to store but they can be useful if you want to talk to friends or sell)
another thing is to gain xp, items to fast leveling and do the quests.

on one hand, since you are in front of the screen to manage those players at the same time it is not botting in a way
on the other hand it is just using a fonction to manage bots which if i understood well is not allowed

good test and things to learn from this.

thinking of human and value issues, we can only applauze the devs to the fact of giving the oportunity to play to people that can't use keyboard, whatever the physical reason, but using those ways, fonctions, tools to "bot" should not be allowed

only one char could be allowed to fight at a time from a same ip. hard challenge for devs it seems

imho

Regards

[Turmfalke]

Court House archives hold a few "pre-Multiboxing" situations ...
i.e. http://forums.themanaworld.org/viewtopi ... Angerphile

IMHO : to apply "jurisprudence principle" (and remain fair to some permanently banned players) the drop-gains and multi-players-EXP-math should lead to consider Multiboxing as inappropriate to the existing TMW rules.

what has programmed botting to do with multiboxing?

[Wombat]

I must agree with Uber that the cases are very similar and it would seem that the precedent has been set. The GMs have commented on this thread so perhaps the GMs will make a ruling soon.

[octalot]

For graphics development it can be useful to have two clients logged in and exploring the same area - one client using the current in-game graphics, and one with whatever alteration is being considered. This looks like a helpful addition to doing it.
It's more sociable to test graphics while playing on a real server instead of using a personal server.

/me considers the possibility of using the multibox input trick with characters on different servers.

[Tiana]

Fresh off an example of multiboxing - I decided I wanted to see what others think of this form of game play. To see a very detailed explanation of multiboxing refer to this thread:

http://forums.themanaworld.org/viewtopi ... =12&t=7879

My vote is against it. It is close enough to automated botting IMO. It has the potential to harm the overall spirit of the game, with one person using many characters at once to gain a lot of xp using the party xp share (if they are lvled closely enough) and at the minimum bump up the overall xp for the characters falsely.

My other major argument against it is that not everyone has the know-how, skills, or interest in doing it. I imagine I could go and look up how to set it up, but with minimal computer skills and a mediocre system it is unlikely to be successful Nope.

The developers are making their decisions, and I am hoping player feedback will be welcomed. I will abide by the decisions made by the developers when they make their ruling. They have done a good job so far.

Please think about this carefully before you answer and if possible express why you are answering yes or no.

Tiana

[Delasia]

The number of keystrokes required should match the number of players playing.

When multiboxing is used, one keystroke can operate as many players as your system can handle. Automated fighting on all but one character is IMHO botting. Any program assisted fighting is botting. Although the rules states any AFK activity is considered botting, what about brainless fighting (ie one keystroke several fighters)

Unfair advantage for any single player individual fighting with the multibox team who is getting a bonus because they are on the same team.

Read the information in the original post and decide for yourself.

Cheers
Delasia the Player

Delasia the GM will enforce the rules as they are decided by the DEVs/Admins.

[adamaix]

2. No bots (and by botting I mean ANY AFK activity in game).

When you are multiboxing, you pretty much have to be in control. So it cant be considered botting. Also, it can't be considered exploiting a bug, since its not a bug and can be done with nearly any game out there.

[wolf_pack]

Hmm...Why does everyone bring up that you get more xp, more money, ect.??? Even with party exp share you still get the xp evenly divided between the two characters, right? Money wise yea you do get to pick up a few more items, but at the same time you have to keep up with your 2nd player health and items along with your 1st character. About the only bonus I've seen to multi-boxing is that you can do a few extra places easier solo and you actually get a lil bit more of a challenge. I've ran two characters at the same time way before I heard of multi-boxing just switching between the two screens, which was such a pain watching your 2nd character die time n time again cause you forgot to look. It is true that not everyone can run this program or two game windows at once, but some people don't have excellent internet connection and constantly get killed by lag to. Which is still another 'personal' problem with they're computer or internet. Honestly, I don't know why it would matter to anyone whether it went one way or another. Maybe everyone should go ahead n give it a shot(if you can), before automatically saying no that shouldn't be allowed. It's not as much of a bonus as you may think.

[prsm]

i concur with Tiana, the game should be played, not maniuplated!

[Anich]

I was kindly asked to pitch in my thoughts on multi-boxing in TMW. With Multi-boxing there are many aspects to consider, such as the relevant different methods, practical uses, and in terms of gameplay. But ATM I only know so much.

Multi-boxing can be achieved using specialized software or hardware solutions. With software methods, you can have multiple instances of the clients running on the same computer and using tools to control multiple characters on the same keyboard. Hardware solutions can include running each client on different machines, connected to either a single keyboard via multiplexer. Or having separate components (not ideal).

This can be used to give the user a huge advantage. IMHO this aspect of multi-boxing (and in any way related to botting) should not be allowed as, to some extent, not all players have these methods available to them. For example, I have made an order for a custom standard multimedia-production computer that could probably run more than twenty clients. While the others playing on laptops would only manage so much. Does that seem fair even if multi-boxing for this use, is allowed?

As mentioned in a previous response, users/developers can also use this to test graphics. Any related use to game development is a definite must-be-allowed.

So say if they put a ban on multi-boxing, unless its for a productive purpose towards game development. Enforcing this may not always be as easy as matching IP's/MAC's or observing player behaviour. For instance, I could play from two separate Internet accounts, on two separate machines, connected to a single keyboard. Then with some sense of character, I can pretend these are two totally different people. Pretend one doesn't even speak English.

NB: commercial games, to some extent, usually allow multi-boxing because users would have to pay extra fees for accounts, updates, etc.

Edit: grammer and typos.

[The Scarlet Rhus]

Didn't Angerphile belong to... oh, never mind.
Anyway I'm against Multiboxing, I think... or possibly against multiboxing used for combat. It's be cool to have four bodyguards who followed you everywhere. But because they would inevitably be used for combat, I'm against it.

~Uber: Holy ****, are they all yours?
The Scarlet Rhus