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WARNING: WALL OF TEXT

I was originally going to post this in the Courthouse as an appellate sort of post, but Del wished me to post it here so that it got more exposure. So I am glad to post it here. Before I begin, I would like to say that I checked the rules and tried to get permission from a GM (Katze) but perhaps she gave me permission without understanding exactly what I meant when I asked if it was permissible to play multiple characters. I don't think she would have said "Play as many as you want!"

So, what did I do? It is referred to in the industry as Multiboxing. Multiboxing is a term used to denote one user playing multiple accounts simultaneously. This can be done using one or more machines. Multiboxing has a fine tradition in many popular MMORPGs (such as WoW, EQ, Camelot, etc). In fact, WoW even allows it, as long as there are no macro/automation scripts involved link, list of GM conversations.

How does Multiboxing work? Well, there are hardware and software solutions to Multiboxing. But the crux of the matter is running multiple instances of the game (and using multiple accounts) to load two or more characters and then control these characters simultaneously using software that syncs your keyboard commands to all game instances at once. Some programs do this by rotating through all copies of the game quickly, others by creating multiple keyboards and mice. Some programs even allow you to assign each instance of a program to a processor core, a real boon to people with nice computers. Usually you will need a pretty nice rig to multibox, but because the hardware requirements for TMW are pretty low, even mediocre machines should be able to handle running two machines (obviously at lower resolutions with settings turned down for the clone copy). Also supported in some clients is the ability to link together multiple computers, each running a copy of the game. (I have 4 computers, but didn't bother trying this feature out, sorry.)

I used the Portable Apps.com version for my run. It is nice because there is no installation required and each install is self contained. Anyway.

What did I set up exactly, and why did I set it up?

I have a primary character (Ceros, level 55) that I have been using. I am getting near the top of my gear ladder, so I am looking for things to do to make my character unique and special. To this end, I envisioned 4 NPC-esque body guards that would surround my character in a square type formation and accompany him wherever he went. You cannot deny the coolness factor of walking into town surrounded by four bodyguards.

So to implement this, I created four accounts and four characters:


Void Warrior Jarke
Void Warrior Certan
Void Warrior Norad
Void Warrior Elben

What is a "Void Warrior"? I was going to branch out and form a cult like organization, Void, that believed that "all things would return to Void". They would worship nothingness and believe that the Agent of Nothingness, Nrøjb, would one day come and wipe the universe of all life and start again anew. I think it is pretty obvious this is a loosely veiled attempt at humor (referring to Bjørn and the inevitable server wipe that always looms). It'd be loosely based off of Norse mythology and Ragnarok(not the game, the end of time). So a Void Warrior would be a cult thug, pretty much. Eventually I could respec my character for magic and set up some quests or something. Yea! Player Factions FTW.

But no one likes having Level 1 bodyguards, and speccing out 4 sets of everything ain't cheap. So I leveled all my guys up (to level 22 in about half a day) by utilizing the XP share system (working in two pairs at a time for convenience). I was in the process of leveling up these characters when GM Delasia warped in (presumably because someone thought I was botting and reported me) and began to ask me about what I was doing.

I would like to add at this point that I felt her conduct to be above reproach. I have seen a lot of GM complaint threads, and besides telling me she believed what I was doing was illegal (a disappointment, to be sure) she was very professional and polite. I have attached links to the conversation (unaltered) of my conversation with her for reference. She said she would vouch for the authenticity of these screenshots, and offered to post her own. Also included is a view of the two windows running simultaneously, and of my question to Katze about running multiple characters. Sorry for not getting a screenshot of my 5 window setup.

Katze Permission
Convo Part 1
Convo Part 2
Convo Part 3
Convo part 4
Whole Picture

Anyway, after she conferred with (I guess other GMs) she informed me that according to her interpretation, Multiboxing in tandem (fighting) was not allowed. She then asked if I would be able to perform a small demonstration and summoned some others to observe and record demos. After I finished demonstrating how to attack, both together and separately, I offered to show her all four of my accounts working at once. I then did a little song and dance number north of town which drew quite a crowd.

After that I summoned my main and tried out the bodyguard concept and then rained some death on a few bats and logheads. After that, I complied with GM wishes, removed my gear from my characters and then logged them off.


TMW and Multiboxing

Now, I would like to discuss the aspects of multiboxing with regard to TMW. After running through my play test, I found that controlling four-five characters to be very unwieldy. A character would often get stuck on a tree or wall, and I would have to stop and switch to whatever unit was stuck and move them back into position. In the twists and turns of the caves, with narrow corridors, this would be a very big pain in the neck. With regard to firepower, watching the group lay down a hail of arrows was pretty impressive, and due to the reach of the bow, I could effectively cover a 20x20 square, or saturate a single 5x5 square, depending on how close the group is stacked.

The problem comes with trying to hit more powerful enemies. Snakes, black scorpions, etc were almost impossible to kill at level 22, despite the amount of firepower available. They simply weren't a high enough level to hit them. While a group might be able to slaughter bats, anything worth killing would be out of reach, with the exception of yellow slimes and spiders, perhaps.

Leveling is also problematic. Up until Level 15, you can't join a party (information I learned the hard way, need to add it to the wiki). After you can join up, XP share becomes both a blessing and a nightmare. You may be able to kill faster, but you are leveling up at the same rate (or perhaps even slower, due to penalties?) because all XP is split by the number of people in the party. So leveling still takes the same amount of time.


Other things to consider:

Lower accuracy levels/damage given result in more arrows used to kill each enemy. IE, my level 55 archer could take out a yellow slime on average, in two hits. It might take four shots for two level 22 void twins to fell the same enemy.

Impact on servers of running multiple characters (more then two, most have packmule characters, but aren't constantly utilized).

Easier to cash farm bat caves by botters.

Overall, I don't think there is any real justification to prohibiting multiboxing on TMW, as long as there are no scripts or automation involved. I used nothing but the multibox software and a good keyboard setup (utilization of keys with ON/OFF states, etc) to set up my characters. I don't believe it was disruptive to game play. I would like to get some Dev feedback on how game mechanics deal with multiboxing and whether it is advantageous or unadvantageous. I would like to hear form the community as well on what they think of it, and also I would like to see if the GMs will reconsider their ruling on Multiboxing. If not, a clearly defined addition to the rules would be welcome.

What multiboxers are basically doing is utilizing the game's party system and making their own friends. Because they lack the social resources to form parties with other players. "Firing in unison" is what a lot of raid parties do, except for the parts where players take initiative and lead monsters off to give tanks a break. None of which multiboxers are able to do. Mass production is nice, but nowhere near as good as a real person and individual initiative.

Unless that person flakes out in the middle of the fight because their Mom told them to go to bed, or whatever.

Any questions, let me know.

(also, if anyone who took a demo could post it, that would be appreciated. I will try and record it and make a youtube video or something out of it.)

"Let's do this! Leeeeeroy JENKINS!"

(edit for grammar)

You are so great.

I'm sorry.

That really was a misunderstanding then. I would have said "no" had I known what you really meant.

I had no idea it was illegal. Well that sucks. We need to get a official ruling on this. I have been doing this for while now, two clients one machine. Sorry. The rules says that you have to be at the computer screen and answer the gm when they call.

I have not done it with more then 2 players, after that is get too messy. Tried with 3 players but that does not work really well.

It takes alot of work to run 2-4 players at the same time. A lot of work. More work then just holding down 2 buttons.

I believe that MMORPGs are all about player interaction and thus multiboxing should be discouraged. But I would rather like to enforce it by making the gameplay too challenging to play more than one character simultaneously instead of creating a rule and banning people.

Playing with multiple characters at the same time gives you an unfair advantage over other player who can't or don't do that. This is in addition to the other factors as stated by crush of course.

thedarkfinder wrote:I had no idea it was illegal. Well that sucks. We need to get a official ruling on this. I have been doing this for while now, two clients one machine. Sorry. The rules says that you have to be at the computer screen and answer the gm when they call.

I have not done it with more then 2 players, after that is get too messy. Tried with 3 players but that does not work really well.

It takes alot of work to run 2-4 players at the same time. A lot of work. More work then just holding down 2 buttons.

Two Clients one machine is not illegal. Alot of people do this, one character sits the other fights.
The issue is the way these are handled. The program running these link them together so that one set of keys handle the movements of all simultaneously. Although its quite a spectacle to behold...IMHO it does give a player an advantage when it comes to XP sharing and Party play.

Crush wrote:But I would rather like to enforce it by making the gameplay too challenging to play more than one character simultaneously instead of creating a rule and banning people.

That is a great idea. But...
(there is always a but...)

Right now you need a part of at least 2-4 (60 or above) people to take on the Mountain snakes.

Finding 2-4 people that will help you with the mountains snakes that are not out for skins is nearly impossible.
The best you can do is pray to god that the higher lvl character will be kind to give you something.

If you do find someone that will help you. You can not kill Mountain Snakes. If you can not kill Mountain snakes you can not get chaps.

So the only way to make sure that you can get snakes skins is to make sure the party you are fighting with is on your side.

There for you need to have a party of 2 on the same computer.

By the way, I complained about the mountain snakes before, it was ignored. The higher community not really understanding the needs of the lower community.

Delasia wrote: The program running these link them together so that one set of keys handle the movements of all simultaneously.

I agree programs make it illegal.

Delasia wrote:Although its quite a spectacle to behold...IMHO it does give a player an advantage when it comes to XP sharing and Party play.

I don't see how the XP sharing comes into play. Perhaps I am uneducated as to how this works, but if you kill 1 enemy worth 200XP as a single player, you get all the XP. If you have two characters in a multibox configuration then when you kill one creature worth 200XP, each player receives 100XP and you have to kill another creature to make up the XP share. Thus, you wind up killing one creature each in the multibox setup. But it cost you twice as much ammo because the characters are going to miss more often, whereas a higher level single class player will hit more often due to more skill points allocated to Dex (assuming an archer build).

thedarkfinder wrote: Can't kill Mountain Snakes

I have to ask how you are specced out. I'm a level 56 and spent about an hour soloing Mountain Snakes with no problem. (See link) If you're a melee guy, you might have your answer there - try respeccing and playing as an archer, Melee classes being more point intensive and all. I could solo mountain snakes with no armor, at least until I had them spawn on me a couple times. Once you run through the first cave by the Chief, the wide open plains are pretty easy to solo. The point about not being able to get chaps / snake skins is also moot because of the free market economy. When I was unable to actually kill snakes due to low level, I simply grinded away in the bat caves till I made 100k and then bought and traded my way to a pair of Jean Chaps. I saw someone selling a pair of chaps today for 70k (Trashmaster). It is much easier to simply earn the money for what you need to purchase the items you desire. Although the snakeskin drop rate is ridiculous. (See same link) Batcaves crap money out like it is cool. In closing, while I am a proponent of multiboxing, I don't believe there is ever a justifiable NEED to multibox. It just makes things more interesting.

LINK

Crush wrote:Re: Making it Harder to Multibox

Terrain obstacles. Think rows of obstacles interlaced with gaps: Where you have to zig zag. Would get multiboxers stuck, especially with lag. Also, I have had an idea for an invisible enemy that immobilizes players. I think this would also do well to mess up multibox formations. Monsters that do AoE damage, or try and herd players into walls and choke points would also be good.


All: I have heard a lot about the supposed advantage that Multiboxing provides, but I haven't seen someone break it down vs a single character who has spent an equal amount of time leveling.

Thanks for everyone's input on this.

XP depends on how many players attack a certain monster. If it's 1, you get the normal xp, 2 it becomes x2, 3 it becomes x2.5 of the original xp. Numbers might not be right on, but that's the basis of it.. so if 3 people were to attack a monster it would give x2.5 the normal xp and divide it proportionately by the damage each player did, so most likely the higher lvl will get the most xp, but if you're in a party the xp is shared equally instead of proportionately.

Edit: This would be easier to catch then some think.. if 5 ppl were walking together and 4 were named "body guard" or something similar, but I don't see why it should be prohibited either.

Isn't this the same as those who have 2 acc's but use both to fight by using caps or num lock?

Goku wrote:XP depends on how many players attack a certain monster. If it's 1, you get the normal xp, 2 it becomes x2, 3 it becomes x2.5 of the original xp. Numbers might not be right on, but that's the basis of it.. so if 3 people were to attack a monster it would give x2.5 the normal xp and divide it proportionately by the damage each player did, so most likely the higher lvl will get the most xp, but if you're in a party the xp is shared equally instead of proportionately.

Edit: This would be easier to catch then some think.. if 5 ppl were walking together and 4 were named "body guard" or something similar, but I don't see why it should be prohibited either.

Isn't this the same as those who have 2 acc's but use both to fight by using caps or num lock?

Thank you for that, I've only been playing for a few weeks. I can see where it might appear to be an advantage to multibox in that aspect.

Not sure if it's still there but there's also a restriction for xp sharing in a party that the highest and lowest lvl have to be at the maximum 10 lvl's apart for xp sharing to work. So if your body guards are no where near your main's lvl then i still don't think it's a problem.

Edit: So is this against TMW rules?

Goku wrote:Not sure if it's still there but there's also a restriction for xp sharing in a party that the highest and lowest lvl have to be at the maximum 10 lvl's apart for xp sharing to work. So if your body guards are no where near your main's lvl then i still don't think it's a problem.

Edit: So is this against TMW rules?

I didn't even know if a higher character would be able to join the lower level's party or vice versa. One of the reaons I was trying to level them up in the first place, heh.

Goku wrote: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.