What's that obnoxious stench? (Updated)

[Thedra]

Theres a very obnoxious stench at the Fishing Guild these days and its not rotting fish. Sadly, its players using programs to do their fishing for them. Most of them are high levels, too. Im talking about players who are level 120 - 138. Gone are the days when I had respect for high level players because of the time they spent getting there. Now when I see a high level that is obviously cheating I seriously question all of their achievements. Ive been playing RuneScape on and off for almost eight years. During that time Ive seen a lot of disgusting and irritating things, but this goes right to the top of my list.

 

 

 

Where are the Mods? I rarely see them anymore. When I do see one, theyre generally hanging around in a bank or at the Grand Exchange. Get out there and drop the hammer on some of these cheaters! I will quite often fish in one specific world. A Mod could walk into the Fishing Guild in that world, cast out a net, and catch it full because some of the offending players using programs to fish for them could be spotted by a blind man!

 

 

 

Because I usually fish in the same world I know who the regulars are. These are the people I frequently see there. After fishing around the same people for a period of time it becomes very apparent which accounts are operated by human beings and which ones are operated by a program.

 

 

 

Here are just four examples that I have seen players guilty of. No one example is exclusive to any one player. In fact, I have seen players guilty of all four examples. Since we cant name players in the forum, I shall refer to these four players as Larry, Curly, Moe and Shemp.

 

 

 

Example 1: Larry gets attacked and poisoned by a strange plant. Fight or flight kicks in and Larry runs to the center of the bank, waits there a few seconds, and then returns to the dock to resume fishing. The poison activates, knocks off 1 or 2 hitpoints, and then Larry runs back to the center of the bank. This process repeats itself until the poison is gone. An account operated by a human being does not act this way. A human being avoids getting poisoned in the first place, unless they are careless and not paying attention. Still, a human goes to the bank for a dose of antipoison or just lets the poison run its course unless the loss of hitpoints would mean certain death.

 

 

 

Example 2: Curly has a barb-tailed harpoon wielded and is fishing sharks. A random appears and spits his harpoon onto the dock. An account operated by a human being will pick up their harpoon and go back to fishing. Not Curly. Curly just continues to fish because he has a regular harpoon in his pack. A little while later his regular harpoon gets spit onto the dock. Again, Curly continues to fish because he has yet another harpoon in his pack! This is not normal behavior for a human being. It would seem that Curly has several harpoons so that if he loses one he can continue to fish until his owner returns to check on his progress.

 

 

 

Example 3: Moe is busy fishing when he is approached by Dr. Jekyll. Moe ignores Dr. Jekyll until Mr. Hyde makes an appearance and starts beating on Moe like a bongo drum. Moe just sits there and takes it until he gets low on hitpoints, at which time he starts running back and forth like a chicken with its head chopped off. Every time he runs past Mr. Hyde he gets slapped upside the head. Needless to say, this scenario always ends badly for Moe. (The worms crawl in, the worms crawl out, the worms play pinochle on Moes snout.) Again, human beings dont respond this way.

 

 

 

Example 4: Shemp. (The lesser known of the Four Stooges.) Shemp is the statue you see on the Fishing Guild docks and various other places in RuneScape. He doesnt fish. He doesnt talk. He doesnt log out. He doesnt even get randoms. He just stands there like a mannequin while the squirrels cover his feet with leaves and the pigeonswell, you get the picture. Once more, this is not normal behavior for an account operated by a human being. I have seen statues in the same spot for as many as three hours!

 

 

 

Remember the level 3 bots and how they would run from tree to tree looking like a conga line on the dance floor? Of course you do. Well, Ive seen this at the Fishing Guild. Instead of level 3 bots that all look like they were created from the same mould these bots are all high levels. Many of them with skill capes. Doesnt it make you wonder how they earned, or rather didnt earn, those skill capes? Why would a human operated account chase the same fishing spot from dock to dock, running past identical fishing spots in the process? They wouldnt. These are accounts programmed to fish from a specific spot. Wherever that fishing spot goes, they follow it. The genuine non-cheating players are just as easy to identify. These are the people who slam on the brakes at the end of the dock and retrace their steps to the nearest fishing spot.

 

 

 

Another interesting observation I made was that no matter what time of the day or night I logged in to do a little fishing, the same individuals were always there. These are individuals who display all the telltale signs of using a program, so I conducted a little experiment just for kicks. I selected a few of them and made note of their fishing experience in the hiscores. I checked again 24 hours later to see how much experience they had gained. The amount was staggering! There are only three ways I can think of for someone to gain that much experience in a 24 hour period.

 

 

 

1. Using a program to have that account fishing 24 straight hours. An offense you can be banned for.

 

 

 

2. Multiple people logging onto that account to keep it fishing 24 straight hours. Another offense you can be banned for.

 

 

 

3. You have no life. Therefore, you sit in your parents basement and play RuneScape until the men in white coats show up and throw a butterfly net over you!

 

 

 

I think its a very sad state of affairs for the RuneScape community when high level players feel a need to cheat like this. Now dont go thinking this is skill cape envy on my part because it isnt. My fishing level is 84 and my woodcut level is 92. I will eventually have a cape for both of those skills and I am very proud to say that they will be earned honestly. I wish some Mods would get busy and start cracking down on this problem. Ive used the Report Abuse button on several of these players, but its gotten to the point where I feel like Im trying to hand out speeding tickets at the Indy 500!

 

 

 

UPDATE: I had an hour or so to kill today, so I thought to myself, Self, lets go do a little fishing. (I often have little conversations with myself as Im such a fan of good conversation.) So anyway, Im at the Fishing Guild making life difficult for its aquatic residents when a level 138 catches my attention. (It probably got experience for catching that, too!) The level 138, whom we will now refer to as MoeRon, had committed Example 2. Everyone else on the dock now faded into the background like scene extras as MoeRon took center stage under the glow of a baby spotlight and my ever watchful eye. I continued fishing while I watched for some more abbienormal behaviorand then it happened BAM! MoeRon got owned by a random like a narc at a biker rally! (Insert laugh track here.) This explained why MoeRon didnt have a skill cape or some pricey item on display, like most level 138s, and was carrying only harpoons. No tears were shed, but I will confess to a little dancing.

 

 

 

Curiosity got the best of me so I looked MoeRon up in the highscores. Imagine my dismay and total disgust when I discovered that MoeRon is one of the top 10 players in the game! I didnt even consider pressing the Report Abuse button. Whats the point? I might as well press my belly button for all the good it will do. I have very little faith that Jagex will take action against any high level cheater, never mind one of the top players. There are probably better odds of bumping into Paris Hilton at a Mensa meeting!

 

 

 

Now before Im accused of painting with too broad of a brush, just let me say this: Im not saying that all the top players cheat. Im sure there are many legitimate players who have worked long and tedious hours to get where they are. If youre one of these players and have taken offense to what I have posted, then I offer you a very humble apology.

 

 

 

Disclaimer: MoeRon is a completely fictional name. Any similarities between MoeRon and a real moron are purely coincidental. No sharks, swordfish, tuna or lobsters were harmed during the posting of this rant.

[yanksrule]

i. love. your. rant.

 

 

 

it's non offensive, HILARIOUS, and so "yeh i knoe ryght?!". seriously- no homo- if i could have babies they'd be yours.

 

 

 

back to seriouserness matters.-- i have seen soooooo many of those people!! and the odd part is they have capes that aren't really all that program friendly (attack cape, construction cape etc.) it's like come on!! what makes you think that you are in a box that no one can see you in?!

 

i almost feel like asking jagex if i could HAVE their account with an oath to never break the rules on it. =P~ just the thought! i've seen 130's (as you've mentioned) do it! with not the most inexpensive armor on let me tell you. i'd love to finish this post but honestly it's nearly 2 am and i gotta wake up in 4 hours. soooo.... here's some leaving words

 

 

 

ily, your right, your funny, I WANT YOU IN MY FRIENDS LIST MORE THAN I WANT MONEY

[Xx_Flare_xX]

1. Using a program to have that account fishing 24 straight hours. An offense you can be banned for.

 

 

 

2. Multiple people logging onto that account to keep it fishing 24 straight hours. Another offense you can be banned for.

 

 

 

3. You have no life. Therefore, you sit in your parents basement and play RuneScape until the men in white coats show up and throw a butterfly net over you!

 

___

 

Or 4. Account Sharing ;)

[jimmyjames227]

People auto in the fishing guild!!!! Runescape is going downhill.

[Omali]

1. Using a program to have that account fishing 24 straight hours. An offense you can be banned for.

 

 

 

2. Multiple people logging onto that account to keep it fishing 24 straight hours. Another offense you can be banned for.

 

 

 

3. You have no life. Therefore, you sit in your parents basement and play RuneScape until the men in white coats show up and throw a butterfly net over you!

 

___

 

Or 4. Account Sharing ;)

 

 

 

Reading skills. You need them.

 

 

 

But yes, high levels autoing isn't anything new, but it is funny when they get banned.

[Loffelicious]

I have noticed high lvls doing more than cheating. I recently had my account stolen with a number of high lvl players involved in the stealing process..

 

 

 

Very good post, though! It needs to end

[compfreak847]

It's about time Jagex started giving out more crowns. Complain as much as you like about em, they help, and I haven't seen one in... months. I hadn't noticed this, but I do remember it from days at the fishing guild.

[RayOxide]

No.

 

P Mods actually fail so much its impossible to fail more than them.

 

 

 

I'm muted for 3 freaking days because some MWB in Esc reported me for having a joke.

 

And thats not P Mod ban.

 

Imagine if Jagex are that stupid what P Mods can do.

 

 

 

"Lol noob"

 

*2 day mute*

[DAE2008]

Some mods couldn't spot a macro in a one-macro ID parade, with him wearing a name tag saying: Hi! I'm a macro, and my name is TehUberMacro! Meanwhile all the macros watching on their MacroVisions laugh at him by saying "Ha" after a predetermined time period for 24 hours.

[highlanders]

[hide=]

There are only three ways I can think of for someone to gain that much experience in a 24 hour period.

 

 

 

1. Using a program to have that account fishing 24 straight hours. An offense you can be banned for.

 

 

 

2. Multiple people logging onto that account to keep it fishing 24 straight hours. Another offense you can be banned for.

 

 

 

3. You have no life. Therefore, you sit in your parents basement and play RuneScape until the men in white coats show up and throw a butterfly net over you!

[/hide]

 

 

 

That's not true. It is possible to play nearly 24 hours by using polyphasic sleep. Polyphasic sleep is the secret trick people very high on highscores list use to gain insane amounts of exp everyday. It consists of sleeping ~30 minutes, every four hours. The body, instead of wasting time at lower phases of sleep like it does with normal sleeping, goes directly to deep regenerating sleep. Meaning you can effectively stay awake 21 hours a day, and still feel just fine. Leonardo da Vinci and other known figures practiced it, and it's said to give one's a boost of creativity. It's even possible to just sleep 10 minutes every 4 hours when your body is used to it, meaning you can stay up 23 hours. This is why the length of time played a day, or the amount of exp is not incriminating, it's suspicious only to those who don't understand how it's done.

[Mico]

^ I say give' em a good six pack 'o beer and then they can sleep all they want.

 

 

 

On topic, oh whell, we all know that even in the past the most notorius bot places were never under a watchful eye.

[wa5t3dy0u7h]

1st off my bad about the stench.. it just kinda lurks there for a bit... :-# :-#

 

 

 

and i do see more and more higher levels dying due to trolls.. ect..

 

 

 

 

That's not true. It is possible to play nearly 24 hours by using polyphasic sleep. Polyphasic sleep is the secret trick people very high on highscores list use to gain insane amounts of exp everyday. It consists of sleeping ~30 minutes, every four hours. The body, instead of wasting time at lower phases of sleep like it does with normal sleeping, goes directly to deep regenerating sleep. Meaning you can effectively stay awake 21 hours a day, and still feel just fine. Leonardo da Vinci and other known figures practiced it, and it's said to give one's a boost of creativity. It's even possible to just sleep 10 minutes every 4 hours when your body is used to it, meaning you can stay up 23 hours. This is why the length of time played a day, or the amount of exp is not incriminating, it's suspicious only if you don't understand how it's done.

 

 

 

just seems like too much for me...

 

 

 

Some mods couldn't spot a macro in a one-macro ID parade, with him wearing a name tag saying: Hi! I'm a macro, and my name is TehUberMacro! Meanwhile all the macros watching on their MacroVisions laugh at him by saying "Ha" after a predetermined time period for 24 hours.

 

 

 

agreed 101% they need to sit back and watch the mods in action and start clearin boat

[Mylez]

Excellent rant, very well written.

 

I somewhat agree with your comments, however I've never seen this. Probably as I cannot enter the Fishing Guild without Admiral Pies, and rarely train Fishing anyway :P

 

 

 

I do think you should be careful tho, it's very easy to generalize and make mistakes. You can never be certain that these players are using Macro programs. So just be aware.

 

You said "Ive used the Report Abuse button on several of these players, but its gotten to the point where I feel like Im trying to hand out speeding tickets at the Indy 500!"

 

 

 

Don't be trigger-happy with reporting for macro's. As these rarely go through, and if it appears you're abusing the system it will only turned round and bit you in the arse ;)

 

 

 

Good luck with obtaining justice :D I'm sure convincing Jagex will be a tough challenge, and I'm not sure how much can actually be done ;)

 

 

 

~Edit: YAY! 500 Posts :thumbsup:

[BlueLancer]

I remember reading on the p-mod forum that Jagex has been profiling 'power-trainers' for years, not just in 2007-2008 but way before that. It made the job of banning obvious auto'ers and account sharers easy, because a single person would be logged in for periods barely physically possible by a normal, non-insomniac person.

 

 

 

Constantly gaining XP in a single skill, moving in the same 30ft area and being logged in for 24 hours a day for multiple consecutive days/weeks is really counterproductive if you do use an illegal training bot. It will raise so many warning flags it's not even funny. Expect a pretty swift visit from a Jagex staff member.

 

 

 

By the way, if the old rules still apply, if you're suspected of macroing & a J-mod teleports you to another location and asks you questions... You get permanently banned on the spot if you fail to respond to a question he asks you. If you're macroing, you take a risk of losing all that work just to gain XP in a cheap way.

 

 

 

Polyphasic sleep is the secret trick people very high on highscores list use to gain insane amounts of exp everyday. It consists of sleeping ~30 minutes, every four hours. The body, instead of wasting time at lower phases of sleep like it does with normal sleeping, goes directly to deep regenerating sleep. Meaning you can effectively stay awake 21 hours a day, and still feel just fine.

 

 

 

It's not physically sustainable for months, especially if the gaming periods are constantly 48-96+ hours long with only a few minutes of logouts/logins in between. In those cases it's almost certain a bot controls the account, but they wont ban on pure suspicion of course (unless your click patterns are exactly the same all the time, repeating clicks in exact-pixel areas hundreds of times in a cycle, in which case you do get auto-banned)

[Horatio666]

Wow, I can't believe I've never noticed this....and I used to be a regular at the fishing guild...........

[highlanders]

It's not physically sustainable for months

 

Several animals practice it in nature, it is 100% sustainable for months. The widespread solid 8 hours pattern is something that has appeared only in the last 100 years with the invention of artificial light. Several cultures today and in the past practiced napping, sleeping whenever it was convenient and not in solid bouts but rather in several smaller periods.

[Imamonkey]

I have been known to play for 24 hours or longer. But not days on end at a time. You can usually tell if it is a person or bot though. As mentioned, some of these bots just act in a way a person wouldn't tend to.

 

 

 

I have been accused of being a bot plenty of times though because I don't talk. I can't stand this. Sometimes I feel like there are people on the game just trying to come up with ways to get rid of other players. Whether it be they are just jealous, or just drinking to much hater-aide period.

 

 

 

Sometimes I just don't feel like talking. Sometimes I just don't feel like talking to that particular person.

[compfreak847]

I had forgotten about that sleep pattern. Supposedly 2-3 hours is sustainable; I usually get 5, but that's in a single shot. I'd like to try it some time, but it would conflict with a lot of schedules. I still think carefully selected P mods could help with this, despite the hate that everyone has apparently built up for them. I always leave chat on and always respond immediately to anyone for fear of getting banned :-#

[BloodArgon]

[hide=]

There are only three ways I can think of for someone to gain that much experience in a 24 hour period.

 

 

 

1. Using a program to have that account fishing 24 straight hours. An offense you can be banned for.

 

 

 

2. Multiple people logging onto that account to keep it fishing 24 straight hours. Another offense you can be banned for.

 

 

 

3. You have no life. Therefore, you sit in your parents basement and play RuneScape until the men in white coats show up and throw a butterfly net over you!

[/hide]

 

 

 

That's not true. It is possible to play nearly 24 hours by using polyphasic sleep. Polyphasic sleep is the secret trick people very high on highscores list use to gain insane amounts of exp everyday. It consists of sleeping ~30 minutes, every four hours. The body, instead of wasting time at lower phases of sleep like it does with normal sleeping, goes directly to deep regenerating sleep. Meaning you can effectively stay awake 21 hours a day, and still feel just fine. Leonardo da Vinci and other known figures practiced it, and it's said to give one's a boost of creativity. It's even possible to just sleep 10 minutes every 4 hours when your body is used to it, meaning you can stay up 23 hours. This is why the length of time played a day, or the amount of exp is not incriminating, it's suspicious only to those who don't understand how it's done.

 

 

 

You've just given me the greatest idea to improve my daily productivity. If this can be done for a week straight, Ill be able to nap on the bus to and from school, at lunch, and throughout the night, and will become an unstoppable robot.

 

 

 

More time with friends, more time for school, more time for runescape.

 

Sleep is an invaluable waste of my time.

[sees_all1]

 

You've just given me the greatest idea to improve my daily productivity. If this can be done for a week straight, Ill be able to nap on the bus to and from school, at lunch, and throughout the night, and will become an unstoppable robot.

 

 

 

More time with friends, more time for school, more time for runescape.

 

Sleep is an invaluable waste of my time.

 

 

 

This is possible - but the week you take adjusting to this will be absolute hell. I would not recommend doing this.

[yanksrule]

 

You've just given me the greatest idea to improve my daily productivity. If this can be done for a week straight, Ill be able to nap on the bus to and from school, at lunch, and throughout the night, and will become an unstoppable robot.

 

 

 

More time with friends, more time for school, more time for runescape.

 

Sleep is an invaluable waste of my time.

 

 

 

This is possible - but the week you take adjusting to this will be absolute hell. I would not recommend doing this.

 

you know you're obsessed with runescape when you sacrifice a bodily need with getting a 99.

 

you can always just take cocaine. that stuff will make you want to stay up for days. weeks maybe. oh yeah you don't want teeth, control of nasal canal, or a brain without holes do you?

 

 

 

runescape= your anti-drug that just happens to become like a drug.

 

 

 

i tried to find a smiley that could adequetley describe how dumb i think the thing you just said is but all i could get is this :twss:

[Ravenkana]

 

You've just given me the greatest idea to improve my daily productivity. If this can be done for a week straight, Ill be able to nap on the bus to and from school, at lunch, and throughout the night, and will become an unstoppable robot.

 

 

 

More time with friends, more time for school, more time for runescape.

 

Sleep is an invaluable waste of my time.

 

 

 

This is possible - but the week you take adjusting to this will be absolute hell. I would not recommend doing this.

True. Plus, we sleep for a reason. I used to hate those eight hour slices of nothing too. But then I realized something. When I sleep to little for extended periods of time, I get more angry, I'm less happy, and I'm usually tired. True, I am more creative, but the price is NOT worth it. Especially for a video game.

[Thedra]

I don't mean to nitpick, but I think we're getting a wee bit off topic with people's sleeping habits. :roll:

[Kellis]

[hide=]

There are only three ways I can think of for someone to gain that much experience in a 24 hour period.

 

 

 

1. Using a program to have that account fishing 24 straight hours. An offense you can be banned for.

 

 

 

2. Multiple people logging onto that account to keep it fishing 24 straight hours. Another offense you can be banned for.

 

 

 

3. You have no life. Therefore, you sit in your parents basement and play RuneScape until the men in white coats show up and throw a butterfly net over you!

[/hide]

 

 

 

That's not true. It is possible to play nearly 24 hours by using polyphasic sleep. Polyphasic sleep is the secret trick people very high on highscores list use to gain insane amounts of exp everyday. It consists of sleeping ~30 minutes, every four hours. The body, instead of wasting time at lower phases of sleep like it does with normal sleeping, goes directly to deep regenerating sleep. Meaning you can effectively stay awake 21 hours a day, and still feel just fine. Leonardo da Vinci and other known figures practiced it, and it's said to give one's a boost of creativity. It's even possible to just sleep 10 minutes every 4 hours when your body is used to it, meaning you can stay up 23 hours. This is why the length of time played a day, or the amount of exp is not incriminating, it's suspicious only to those who don't understand how it's done.

 

First off, that's very doubtful to me, as a psychology student, that most of the people who play Runescape can manage a feat like this. Second, it doesn't work for any long length of time - the body simply cannot go directly into REM or stage 4 sleep instantly like that. Also, you've got the creativity part backwards - it's the MORE you try to get by on polyphasic sleep, the LESS creativity you will have. There's also studies suggesting that it can kill some of the brain cells that regulate the normal sleep cycle, permanently "messing up" your sleep patterns for months, possibly even the rest of your life.

 

 

 

And before you pull out your bashing hammers, remember to cite your sources! Here's mine: http://www.supermemo.com/articles/polyphasic.htm#Polyphasic%20sleep

[BlueLancer]

I don't mean to nitpick, but I think we're getting a wee bit off topic with people's sleeping habits. :roll:

 

 

 

It's somewhat relevant, because amount of time logged-in is a major variable when Jagex flags users for suspicious activity.

 

Really, regardless of polyphasic sleep, snorting cocaine or whatever... If you remain logged in for hundreds of hours consecutively gaining XP in a certain skill, it simply alerts Jagex to a possible bot. It's pretty darn easy to compile a list of the top logged-in characters every day/week & visit them, they do log individual player data.

 

 

 

If you were to play for such amounts of time and did have an extreme case of insomnia, using drugs to stay awake, etc.. Nothing to worry about. But be prepared they might suddenly teleport your character to a random location, like those fishers doing nothing except moving a few square spaces for 24+hours talking nothing, not picking up, banking or cooking the fish.

 

 

 

It's very naïve and ignorant to assume they are all just legit players who muted chat and want to level in peace. You might just as well assume every time an average person in real life gets a million transfered to their bank account, "there's nothing illegal in the background; They probably won the lottery". Thankfully Jagex doesn't think this way and monitors highly abused skills like woodcutting for any big sudden XP gains in short timeframes & investigates players.