Makoto_the_Phoenix

This post. Your signature. So much irony. That aside, it would be invasive, since this gives them some legal right to monitor every activity you do on your computer - and I for one would probably sue.

I'm disappointed in myself that @Wicked_: Honestly no. But the thing is, we've known about this kind of crap for ages. Posting fake pics isn't the best way to "warn the masses", of course. That's all I'm getting at.

But if you look in the history for Mod Mark H, you'll see it's not there. If it's not available to the public (i.e. visible only to HLF or Mod forums), then wouldn't it constitute a leak of confidential information? That'd be a damn good reason not to step forward for this. Missingno puts it pretty well - we don't need fake pictures to show that Jagex isn't doing anything, you could just look anywhere in the F2P/P2P game to see that for yourself. page 51 monstered topics dont show up there either I believe someone here said that, if there was a thread title, then Google Cache could probably dig up the old, legitimate thread, and we could all get off of this bandwagon already. -.-

But if you look in the history for Mod Mark H, you'll see it's not there. If it's not available to the public (i.e. visible only to HLF or Mod forums), then wouldn't it constitute a leak of confidential information? That'd be a damn good reason not to step forward for this. Missingno puts it pretty well - we don't need fake pictures to show that Jagex isn't doing anything, you could just look anywhere in the F2P/P2P game to see that for yourself.

Mod Mark H's quote is definitely fake; there's only a couple of posts from him on that day and neither of them are that. If you were going for some snide, underhanded way of saying that Jagex is incompetent at fighting off bots, it'd be far easier to take pictures of known botting areas and/or replies that used to link to Rants - or even a 1,300+ post in Constructive Feedback that outlines this to some degree.

Since I'm now technically an F2P player, and to put it metaphorically: I'd rather starve than eat this calcified slap to the face of a bone. Seems like a role reversal alright - instead of removing advertising for P2P, they're putting more in - and in more pervasive ways. :@

I must be the only person in Christendom that still thinks these auras were supposed to be cosmetic.

Making the game completely server side? You have to send some information to the client...and it's unlikely that this could be done via Java anytime soon. (Maybe with Java 8 but that's way off.) You're right when you say that it's not enough to simply pursue legal avenues to end bot makers, but the middle part is where you lost me. If you really want to end the game of bots, it's time to change how the game is played, and why elements of it are macroed/used for RWT so heavily. Only botting and selling bots/scripts is not illegal. The only thing Jagex can do is like they did to RS Bot... Make it change it's name. Otherwise, botting is completely legal (Although against Jagex's rules). You should read what I wrote. I didn't say anything about bots/scripts, I said gold farmers. Gold farming is illegal, no matter which way you look at it. But since you brought up bots/scripts, I'd support shutting those down via illegal methods as well. What can I say, my sense of justice is closer to Rorschach than Captain America. I'm curious as to where you got your information as to gold farming being illegal. The only country that I can think of to have openly banned gold farming being China. While it is against almost every game's ToS/EULA, it is not a criminal offense and can very rarely hold in court. The only problem I have seen any country have with collecting/selling of virtual goods, is whether it's to be taxable or not... Not whether it is illegal or not. They are selling stuff that is the right of a company and ruining the product of the company (the product = runescape) which causes that jagex loses costumers. How is that not illegal? Just because it is virtually gold? Also I don't believe that you have gone through the laws of every country to see if it is not illegal. It could be legal in some country's and illegal in some other country's. Also about China, that is where probably the most gold farming is coming from. Is selling virtual gold a violation of (most) MMO and RPG games' ToS? You bet it is. Is it a violation of a particular law? I'd be willing to say, more times than not, it would be, considering the user of the account doesn't own it, doesn't have rights to the account, or rights to what is on the account. You can't sell what you don't own. Is making a macro script a violation of (most) MMO and RPG games' ToS? I've yet to find one that openly allows it. Is it a violation of a particular law? There's no law in and of itself expressly forbidding bots being made, but other types of charges (defamation, violation of contract, etc) can be used to litigate against this. But, more or less, those are more expensive, and not typically worth the headache.

I must be blind or something. I'm blind too or my sense of "big updates" is M.I.A.

Namely the bug that causes giant castles to float in the skies, while at the same time, can be appreciated despite its flaws. I dunno, this update looks pretty cool. It'd have more use if it were used for different content (minigames, player-owned areas, etc), but it's definitely an interesting looking piece of content.

Depends on the professor. I've tutored CS before, and some of the professors, while experts in procedural languages, wouldn't know where to begin coding something like that. But for the most part, interesting tale. Computer Science and Software Engineering is definitely one of those areas in which ethics plays a huge role. If you're not ethical, you're typically out of a job (or off the campus).

Insofar as money sinks go, you could place a shop in Varrock and it would have a much greater effect (ease of access => more use). You're right in the sense that players have to have something valuable to put their cash into. But the question that'd better asked would be, does it have to just be expensive or just in short supply?

The ethics article was a pretty good read this week. We don't stop to consider the ethics of what situation we're in, or how they affect us [even in minute ways]. Take for example, I was ordering some food for myself, my sister, brother-in-law, and the two nephews. The bill came out to $25, and I handed the cashier $30, and she gave me ~$25 in change. The ethical thing to do would be to give back the money, which is exactly what I did - the cashier was extremely thankful - missing money out of a register could make you lose your job, jail time, or both. Ethics in a video game is still a hotly contested issue that many of us struggle with. There's a difference between the kind of ethics I'm taught or I deal with on a daily basis (Software Engineering ethics, my GOD you've never seen hard ethics until you see the kind of stuff there), and the kind of ethics in a video game. Back when I was a kid, I wanted Mew and Celebi, so I had used a Gameshark to get them. Was it ethical? Hell no. It also ultimately resulted in corrupting a 300+hr savefile. Did I care? Hell no. I just wanted Mew and Celebi. I swore off the Gameshark after the save file was corrupted though, so I could say I learned a painful lesson. It takes a bit of a quantum leap to go from ethics in real life, as we know them, to ethics of a video game. Now, I don't condone breaking the rules of a game, and I always favor playing fairly and responsibly with others in an online game, but many players just don't see the damage that being unethical in an online game can do to not only the value of the game, but also the community. Thinking in terms of ethics, as well as thinking in terms of how it affects everyone that plays the game isn't something everyone can do. They'd either have to have learned a strong lesson in ethical issues, or be raised with them.

It is set by Jagex and it can be raised. As discussed in an article from the Tip.it times, Jagex could change the "max" by moving to a long integer code. No. Just...no. It's far easier to implement newer forms of currency that counts as multiples of GP (a-la Spirit Shards) than it would be to shift around those variables. --- Ultimately, in order to "fix" the issue of botting, we have to stop and consider what drives people to bot. It's more or less tedium, and if things are tedious, they're less likely to be done by a real person. There are exceptions, but you'd have to consider how often people really want to run an agility course for 2 hours straight.

You know I always thought about that as an idea JaGex could mess with. Would be definitely interesting to see it, or at least played around with to see what the community thinks. An area for high levels to train, the last time I think it was suggested (back in 2005-2006, if memory serves correctly: Mod Craddock hated the idea since it essentially segregated high levels from low levels, and may not have been well received at the time. Now, I don't think there'd be much friction to it, but if that's the case, it's only a matter of time before a place like that is overrun with bots anyway. [Aside: I don't know if/when I'll post that suggestion, but it's in progress. No promises on a forum post though.] Maybe prices need to be higher so that 'Scapers wouldn't be this damned apathetic towards the issue.

If there's going to be a solution to the rares issue, it'd probably have to be this. Other than that, imagine items worth billions suddenly turning to mush. It's the same thing that happened with Bitcoin not that long ago.

You know something, you've got the right idea. Getting rid of the grindfest, reducing the point of GP, and revisiting the Wilderness & Free Trade would be a few things that could be done to fix the botting problem. Now, I've got an idea that I'm still working the kinks out of, which involves making GP useful only to buy middle-tier equipment, or making us buy more critical things (reagents for potions, seconds for familiars) at a higher price. Also, removing or modifying grind-prone skills is harder than anyone could fathom, while keeping them fun and/or rewarding. I'm not confident that any technological approach would help at this point, since it's not just bots that are the major issue. But, this is probably the first thread I've seen in years that's on the right track. ...and coincidentally has a similar idea to mine. :D

I'd leave and never ever look back. There's no point in playing a game in which you just give yourself the best stuff, and there'd be more than enough people to wreck my enjoyment of actually playing. Not that it hasn't happened already...

Doesn't that sort of contradict this: [qfc]16-17-354-62840865[/qfc] Yes, but in the last two months alone, there have been far too many contradictory statements to take even official statements as literal fact. It's like treading through a waffle house (sorry, it's lunchtime and I'm hungry :( ) ... Anyway, interesting stuff. When I saw the new emotes I wasn't sure to laugh or curl up in a ball. It's all cosmetic though, but that's cool anyway.

This instance update has far more potential than most of the latest updates. Consider for a moment - instanced Dungeoneering, instanced Trawler, Shades, Trouble Brewing... Good to see that this Fight Pits is used as a stress test, as well as a feasibility check for some of the larger PvP activities (CW, SW, etc).

Ring_World - I'll be making my reply to you in PM, as it's only tangentially related to the topic at hand.

It was said earlier, but... Nah...that's not possible. Chess is finite - there's something on the order of 1000000000080 or higher potential moves for it. (Go is finite in that sense too but the number is so insanely high that figuring out the combinations is computationally intensive, and can't be done in this day and age). RTS games work differently as there are multiple strategies that can be employed throughout the game - I'd encourage the curious person to look at the Berkeley Overmind. Still computationally intensive. A PvP player in RS is trickier to counter. What are the possible armor/weapon combinations? Possible attack/defense/strength ranges? Possible HP? Remaining HP? Possible inventory layout? Possible familiar and its layout? Possible combat style? Possible plan to run for backup? Possible to run into a field of aggressive NPCs that could cause damage and/or loss of target? Possible to run into obstacles that could cause loss of target? Ad. Infinitum. *walks off* Most of what you say is true, but there are chess programs that rival Grandmasters, and i can confirm most of the high level chess programs are virtually impossible for normal players to beat (USCF rating<2000 would probably be unable to beat it). While chess is finite, most of all those "potential moves" are practically useless and will basically hurt you in a chess game, there are only a small fraction of those which are playable moves in a given position, which is what makes it possible to make chess engines to think like a human. Exactly right. Sorry if it seemed ambiguous, but I was well aware that there are chess engines that can beat Grandmasters (Deep Blue). My point is, though, RS has too many variables to confine it to a reasonably calculable value that could be automated. Not just that, but one doesn't know anything of the "state" of the other player (remaining inventory, potions, extra weapons, etc), whereas chess engines and RTS engines do and potentially could, respectively.

It was said earlier, but... Nah...that's not possible. Chess is finite - there's something on the order of 1000000000080 or higher potential moves for it. (Go is finite in that sense too but the number is so insanely high that figuring out the combinations is computationally intensive, and can't be done in this day and age). RTS games work differently as there are multiple strategies that can be employed throughout the game - I'd encourage the curious person to look at the Berkeley Overmind. Still computationally intensive. A PvP player in RS is trickier to counter. What are the possible armor/weapon combinations? Possible attack/defense/strength ranges? Possible HP? Remaining HP? Possible inventory layout? Possible familiar and its layout? Possible combat style? Possible plan to run for backup? Possible to run into a field of aggressive NPCs that could cause damage and/or loss of target? Possible to run into obstacles that could cause loss of target? Ad. Infinitum. *walks off*

Well put. I did vote "no", and ultimately I threw a few kitchen sinks at Jagex behind them not being able to live up to their word to "fight" this problem. I sure don't regret voting "no"...I *do* regret not sending a very clear message to whoever's idea this was to completely redo the vote fair and square.

You'd be surprised to learn that we as people rant about stuff all the time in our day to day routine. "I wish that guy up in front of me would do the speed limit instead of driving 20 mph." "Why has gas prices gone up so much? It's getting unbearable." "Why do I have to [insert menial work-related task]? It's [incompetent employee who manages to get day off]'s job to do this..." ...and so on. Having a place to vent is more constructive, even if the venting itself isn't aimed to "fix" the problem. It's more of a simple release of stress and anxiety.