21-Oct-2011 - Bot-Busting and Bonuses For All

[Unknown_Warrior]

Quick question in relation to penguins next week..

Does this mean that there will be 2 resets? so that you can do them on wednesday when they've reset, then again on the thursday?

 

From what I understood, yes.

And the thursday pengs count double. So it's basically 3 weeks worth of penguins in two days.

[The Dark Lord]

lol Maybe botters will go back to SCAR, but I'm sure thats easier to track than reflection and injection, and probably isn't as nearly as efficient.

 

Anyways I see these as outcomes.

 

1) Jagex stops botting.

2) Jagex doesn't stop botting.

3) Jagex sells gold for 10-20cents/mil. That would stop goldfarming bots lol, or make it way less desirable to goldfarm.

4) Jagex rollsback millions of accounts, and charge them 25$ to get their accs back, about 3-5months of mem right there. Crazy marketing ploy right there.

 

Also, would be cool if Jagex removed the dice bag, or made it so dice can only be used in alkarid.

 

But like what some people been saying, preventing botting will help a rebuild some of the community, but... there's still a lot left to be done. I mean there's the whole you need to be 138 maxed everything attitude to have fun in runescape, or how dare you do something inefficient, or you got all those people who afk play, why even play Rs if you're going to glance at it 1-3 times a minute. I just hope all those cocky 138 Pvm bossers that botted their levels get banned. Every1 has their annoyance in RS, and for me those players are the worst. Ohye there's the whole Rs is doomed in 2 years attitude also, or Runescape is becoming too easy. I think that's why majority of the top players quit. Although, tbh time does play a major factor in achievements, I mean in 3-5 years (I'd say thats the average for most "legit" players, from personal experience), people are going to be getting 99s whether skills are getting easier or not.

 

Know what I think? I think Jagex will basically install spyware onto your computer in order to search for any autoclickers or scripts.

 

It'd be a good idea for anyone that may have these things (even if they didn't bot on Runescape) to go ahead and delete these programs and back up script files to a flash drive.

 

That's the only way I see Jagex being able to do anything about the botting issue.

[The Runar]

Know what I think? I think Jagex will basically install spyware onto your computer in order to search for any autoclickers or scripts.

 

VERY unlikely. I'm sure that a lot of RS players play on Mac or Linux (RS being one of the few cross-platform MMORPGs), and that spyware probably couldn't be cross-platform.

 

Though now that I think about it, they're removing unsigned mode (which doesn't download anything on your computer)...

[Crossed_Body]

Though now that I think about it, they're removing unsigned mode (which doesn't download anything on your computer)...

 

Lots of botters use unsigned mode as a way to easily multiple login with various bots. But yeah, you're right about the spyware, I don't think they'll be able to pull that off.

[Polnar]

If this works indeed. I really, really hope that Jagex are right about this. They seem to be more than sure though; 98% is no small percentage! If they really success with removing almost all of the bots in RuneScape this game will change. Forever.

They'd also be doing what no other MMO game (not just pertaining to the RPG genre) has ever achieved, which is what makes it all the more incredulous.

 

*incredible, to find something incredible (i.e. you cannot give credit to it) you are incredulous of that thing.

[ForsakenMage]

The saying "Don't count your chickens before they hatch" comes to mind when I read that news post. It'd be absolutely fantastic if this does actually work, but I've been a bit more pessimistic over the years on this subject, considering the number of promises and statements made in the past about the war on bots. (No, this does not mean I hate the game or Jagex; I just don't like how long it's taken so far for them to finally say that they may have an optimal solution.. Then again they said that last time too... Hrm!)

[Amonitas]

I don't see the big picture here. First they try to stop Frost Dragon bots but fail at it. Then a few days later they announce that they can kill 98% of the bots. Why would they restrict frosts if they could remove the bots >_>

[Pinata]

^Well one of the RSOF forum posts said they were currently writing the code for the update, I'll see if I can locate it, I think it's the same thread where they state they'll ban injection bots too. Between the frost dragon update and now, a light bulb could've went off in someone's head, or maybe they did the frost dragon update as a filler from then till now, plus frost dragons were already to easy to kill. It does seem like a waste of develop time though, if they're going to have an update that will ban 98% of bots, including frost ones.

 

15-16-791-63289799

[Bxpprod]

I don't see the big picture here. First they try to stop Frost Dragon bots but fail at it. Then a few days later they announce that they can kill 98% of the bots. Why would they restrict frosts if they could remove the bots >_>

 

Filler to tide the flow of rage coming from the "masses" while they were working on this update.

[Blyaunte]

I, for one, hope that this bot-nuking day comes off with unprecedented success. But I find this very hard to believe.

 

First of all, they came out with a message that basically said they did not have a handle on the botting issue, and they wanted the community's assistance in coming up with ways to stop the bots.

 

Then this was followed up with a stop-gap measure at the Frosties that was more of a hindrance to real players than it was to the bots. Not to mention that the bots had it entirely solved within 24 hours.

 

Now they say that they've got this procedure ready to go into place on Tuesday that is going to eliminate 98% of all bots ...

 

Ruh?

 

Now, I realize that this isn't Andrew and Paul's Runescape anymore. They got left hands and right hands not know what each other are doing. But one would think that, somewhere along the line, it'd be someone's job to make sure that the message coming out of head office was, at least, consistent.

 

Frankly, I find the timing of this whole thing to be somewhat circumspect, at best. Awfully convenient that this bold move of bot removal is going to happen a mere few days prior to Runefest, isn't it? :rolleyes:

 

On top of all that, the fact that we're being given bonuses in "celebration" of the whole event, seems to me to be a lot more about bread and circuses, than it does about earnest and honest customer service ...

[Runecrafts]

If they can reduce them by quite a bit then I might consider actively playing again.. Would be nice to play Runescape and not be limited because of bots overcrowding everything.

[Gandorf61]

Frankly, I find the timing of this whole thing to be somewhat circumspect, at best. Awfully convenient that this bold move of bot removal is going to happen a mere few days prior to Runefest, isn't it? :rolleyes:

 

I actually think they planned it to be this way for a few months now. I'm sure they only added that bot busting insider session because they realized that they could get this bot fix out in time for Runefest. They probably wanted to have a session to finally be able to boast that they solved the problem. (Assuming this fix is successful)

[Pinata]

Ok, I'm not sure if this was a huge joke, but is there actually kids in China who are forced to play rs all day, for really low wages? I mean technically they would be legitimate players, so Jagex would have to ban them for RWT, and not botting. Haha idk if the whole Chinese gold farming thing was serious though.

[Gilformen]

Also, would be cool if Jagex removed the dice bag, or made it so dice can only be used in alkarid.

 

runescape vegas :lol:

[Makoto_the_Phoenix]

...First of all, they came out with a message that basically said they did not have a handle on the botting issue, and they wanted the community's assistance in coming up with ways to stop the bots.

 

Then this was followed up with a stop-gap measure at the Frosties that was more of a hindrance to real players than it was to the bots. Not to mention that the bots had it entirely solved within 24 hours.

 

Now they say that they've got this procedure ready to go into place on Tuesday that is going to eliminate 98% of all bots ...

 

Yeah, I'm just as skeptical. Being transparent about the problem is one thing, but consistency is quite another, if not more important. My hope is that they get that sorted ASAP.

 

 

Frankly, I find the timing of this whole thing to be somewhat circumspect, at best. Awfully convenient that this bold move of bot removal is going to happen a mere few days prior to Runefest, isn't it? :rolleyes:

 

I actually think they planned it to be this way for a few months now. I'm sure they only added that bot busting insider session because they realized that they could get this bot fix out in time for Runefest. They probably wanted to have a session to finally be able to boast that they solved the problem. (Assuming this fix is successful)

 

So it really is a giant trumped-up PR event rather than an actual, honest solution to a very serious problem.

 

I don't know how people can place their faith in the company blindly anymore; it's clear they're talking out of both sides of their mouth.

[Ginger_Warrior]

[hide=]

I, for one, hope that this bot-nuking day comes off with unprecedented success. But I find this very hard to believe.

 

First of all, they came out with a message that basically said they did not have a handle on the botting issue, and they wanted the community's assistance in coming up with ways to stop the bots.

 

Then this was followed up with a stop-gap measure at the Frosties that was more of a hindrance to real players than it was to the bots. Not to mention that the bots had it entirely solved within 24 hours.

 

Now they say that they've got this procedure ready to go into place on Tuesday that is going to eliminate 98% of all bots ...

 

Ruh?

 

Now, I realize that this isn't Andrew and Paul's Runescape anymore. They got left hands and right hands not know what each other are doing. But one would think that, somewhere along the line, it'd be someone's job to make sure that the message coming out of head office was, at least, consistent.

 

Frankly, I find the timing of this whole thing to be somewhat circumspect, at best. Awfully convenient that this bold move of bot removal is going to happen a mere few days prior to Runefest, isn't it? :rolleyes:

 

On top of all that, the fact that we're being given bonuses in "celebration" of the whole event, seems to me to be a lot more about bread and circuses, than it does about earnest and honest customer service ...

[/hide]

I agree that the dots seem very hard to connect, but if you play devil's advocate, you have to conclude that they really do have something up their sleeve.

 

Botting has been a hugely contentious issue for some time in RuneScape's legitimate community, who for many years have held strong grievances that their own achievements are devalued by both people who bot on a personal scale, and those who buy gold from farmers to essentially "buy" skills. Let's pretend this really is all "bread and circuses" with no substance. To use such an emotive issue to launch what can only be described as a PR stunt would backfire massively if Cluster Flutterer turned out to be anything other than an admittence to Jagex's ultimate failure at gripping hold of the botting problem. It might the last straw for the consumers of Jagex's solitary notable product, if the court of public opinion ruled that Jagex had let them down too badly over the years, and many would withdraw their subscriptions in disbelief that a company they've given lots of hard-earned cash to would attempt to deceive them so blantently. In short: Failure to do as promised (98% success rate) could possibly kill the company as a major force in gaming.

 

They're surely not that stupid that they would risk the whole company's profitability on a game of pitch-and-toss.

 

Caveat: I realise skilling isn't the be-all and end-all of this game, so botting may not bother some as much as it bothers others, but it forms the massive majority of it. Even if you aren't a "skiller", the chances are you do something that requires certain skill levels.

[Sona]

They're surely not that stupid that they would risk the whole company's profitability on a game of pitch-and-toss.

 

The majority of Runescape players have invested far too much into the game to consider quitting. I would contend that the top-down nature of the player community means that even if this measure fails, Jagex wouldn't lose that much money. In other words, those who would've quit quit a long time ago, leaving only the casuals and the hardcores to the game.

 

I don't think it's bread and circuses - it is likely that it'll become a push and shove match. One is a company of ~300 with a (somewhat) decent financial backing. The other side ... hell, I don't even know how much money goes around exchanged in RWT. I'm going to guess it's substantial. In either case, if Clutterflutter or whatever the thing's called is doing what I *think* it's supposed to do, it'll make both common forms of bots substantially harder for the average scripter to work.

 

Worth mentioning that two of the guys here was debating the concept heavily in the botting thread already, and I suspect strongly it has something to do with scrambling IDs based on the Direct Play server they've gotten recently.

 

Either way, I expect it to be a (good, but functionally) temporary solution. Someone said it best, though. So long as there is demand for bots, bots won't be stopped. To solve the problem, Jagex needs to make the game more interactive - like that interview with a botter Grimy_bunyip posted somewhere a few days ago.

[RSBDavid]

Sounds like they are moving some of the game's main logic to native libraries, AKA rewriting the main logic in c/c++ and assembly.

[Merre]

they must be pretty confident its going to work with all those bonuses

 

Or it's a way to shhhhh us in case it doesn't work.

"Guys don't complain, you got a nice bonus didn't you?"

[Tim]

T-T-T-TRIPLE CASTLE WARS?!?!@?@?

HHHHHNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG. I know where I'll be all day.

 

EDIT: [bleep]. This is totally Anti-Australian times AGAIN. Ihu Jagex >.>

[Merre]

 

Know what I think? I think Jagex will basically install spyware onto your computer in order to search for any autoclickers or scripts.

 

It'd be a good idea for anyone that may have these things (even if they didn't bot on Runescape) to go ahead and delete these programs and back up script files to a flash drive.

 

That's the only way I see Jagex being able to do anything about the botting issue.

 

This is complete bullocks. Any idea how incredibly WRONG it would be to install spyware software on user's pc's and scan them without our permission?

That would mean every company out there could insert spyware to check for passwords, sensitive information or other personal things.

Think twice before posting this stuff, makes no sense at all :D

[Bassy]

Methinks I'll be playing Battlefield 3. If this system sticks and does its job I'll be glad to embrace it after a week in action. ;)

[Excels]

 

Know what I think? I think Jagex will basically install spyware onto your computer in order to search for any autoclickers or scripts.

 

It'd be a good idea for anyone that may have these things (even if they didn't bot on Runescape) to go ahead and delete these programs and back up script files to a flash drive.

 

That's the only way I see Jagex being able to do anything about the botting issue.

 

This is complete bullocks. Any idea how incredibly WRONG it would be to install spyware software on user's pc's and scan them without our permission?

That would mean every company out there could insert spyware to check for passwords, sensitive information or other personal things.

Think twice before posting this stuff, makes no sense at all :D

This is exactly what almost every anti-cheat mechanism does.

[Merre]

This is exactly what almost every anti-cheat mechanism does.

 

Not true most anti cheat mechanism detect repeating strings of data or modified actions.

Just think of the headshot software etc the counter strike anti cheat system detects.

No software is allowed to scan your pc without your antivirus/firewall blocking it. Only when you give explicit permission to the antivirus/firewall to run (or ignore) the file it can be ran.

[Kaida23]

Any idea how incredibly WRONG it would be to install spyware software on user's pc's and scan them without our permission?

That would mean every company out there could insert spyware to check for passwords, sensitive information or other personal things.

Except if they made us sign a user agreement where we agree to have it installed. After all, who really reads those things? I'm sure they wouldn't be the first company to install something like that and hide behind the EUA.