Skirmishes

[AeonDistraction]

My most desired feature for the next version of the bot is automated skirmishes. Is this feature in any way usable in a beta form ATM? Is there another bot out there that will run skirmishes

[rhui]

Yes it looks like we are able to push out a beta for v2 with Amon Sul

I plan it for middle of August if all goes well...

[rhui]

But I need to discuss that with the team... So maybe or maybe not middle of august...

[AeonDistraction]

I totally understand, it needs to be a group decision. If implemented, this would be totally awesome!

[rhui]

We dont know what impact that would have for the game

Some Feedback?

[AeonDistraction]

Depending on the implementation, it could have a huge impact in a very positive way. I trust you will share more details if/when you get closer to a release date. It will be easier to determine the impact then. I'll definitely provide more feedback during the testing.

Thank you!

[Gunter]

Skirmishes make it very possible to level a char without or limited interaction with the main game world in my opinion what you do in a skirmish stays in a skirmish heh.

Once I get a char to lvl 20 and open up the skirmish I spend very little time running in the main world other then gather supplies and once that's over I pop back to the homestead.

I think it would not impact much because unless you inviting folks into your skirmishes.

I have duo very effectively a controlled char and bot (hunter-Mainly) and find the experience rewarding. A human element can easily handle the wild variables (torch-bearers) Encounters etc.,

While pwn handles anything else in range with speed and efficiently. 2 way-points. 0-1 player range and I am good to go. This works great for defense Skirmishes.

Offense ones I haven't just tried to drag pwn around like a summon skirmish soldier yet don't know if it will attack without way-points I haven't tried it.

A simple check box for auto-attack targets in range would work for me but I am not asking for a full robot. You still have unique things in skirmishes that will require a human element to deal with.

No need for begging for duos or 3-mans Sword Halls anyone

[bob]

So you know where I went with our discussion....

Skirmishes can be tracked very easily and detailed statistics are now stored. These are even available for viewing in game on your account! System Menu-> Skirmishes (CTRL+K) -> Stats tab, and if you can see it, so can Turbine. The way this data is presented tells me it would be extremely easy to mine to determine unusual usage patterns, and it is highly possible there is data that is not shown.

At this time, because the current bot function is limited in application, has flaws, and is generally not able to run continuously without intervention (ok it can, but it usually stuffs it up somewhere along the way). This limits the usage, and in turn limits the need for Turbine to go looking for users, because they have low impact on the game overall. It can be used to farm TP, but this does require a fair bit of dedication and monitoring to earn enough to buy things from the store.

With the potential for running skirms over and over, the potential impact on acquiring fast TP is larger, and this will affect the bottom line. This will undoubtedly increase the user base as word gets around, resulting in a closer inspection and potentially adverse reaction from Turbine.

IMO, it will create a higher risk of action against users, with the potential being a complete ban. If you have a lifetime, paid VIP account, or even a premium account (I have paid for multiple copies of all the expansions), this would be irritating to say the least.

This is not to say that this is a dead horse, just that we have concerns about user safety and longevity, so we are considering options to reduce or mitigate the risk factors.

If you have any opinions on how this could be achieved, please voice them.

[AeonDistraction]

Sorry for the late reply, work has kept me away for weeks.

Like anything else with this bot, a stern warning on the usage should be good enough. Common sense will save some, those without it will likely get banned. There are plenty of ways to easily get yourself caught botting with the current build. Botting in small area, botting in town selling or bragging about your gold, overloading the AH. Let the individual decide if they want to err on the side of caution or if they want to throw caution to the wind.

If you have the capability to add new features, I say go for it!

That's my 2 cents.

[roddy]

AeonDistraction,

I think the bigger concern is how Turbine's reaction might be.

I originally was going to go into detail, but think it's best to say that right now, Turbine has on way of detecting other botters based on the foolish usage of pwangebot by a different individual user.

However, if skirms were to be implemented, it is possible that Turbine might be able to quickly identify other users to "monitor" and therefore put all botters at risk. This is I believe the current concern that is being analyzed.

[AeonDistraction]

I am happy to burn a few f2p accounts testing the waters.

[bob]

As has been discovered, skirmishes are quite difficult, not the least because it requires finding the "key" to objective progress, determining pathing or positioning, setting up monitors for buffs/curses, being able to pickup items for use, do something with items, monitoring of remaining time for items, finding ability to drop items/equip weapons for fighting, monitoring for optionals, and then the tactic for handling them without dying (harder than it sounds for an automaton), then there is the tactic switch for the main thread of the skirmish which they all tend to throw in.

And after the above, then there are the bugs in the game, like when lvl 100 elite mobs turn up in a lvl 24 skirmish, or you haven't started the skirmish and there are mobs already there and bearing down upon you. Or a mob gets "stuck" so you cant kill it, preventing the skirm from progressing.

Its all not quite as easy to deal with as it sounds.

[AeonDistraction]

Got it, this is a feature you want to keep to yourselves and not share. That's kewl. Your hard work, you should benefit from it.

[fighterlastme]

Got it, this is a feature you want to keep to yourselves and not share. That's kewl. Your hard work, you should benefit from it.

They promised v3 for over 3 years now, its not going to happen.

[bob]

They promised v3 for over 3 years now, its not going to happen.

Yeah, not sure v3 will happen either. RL took over, and the efforts moved into different directions anyway. It's possible it still might occur. It turned into more an experimentation of different techniques to pass data around, and a UI facelift, but didn't end up changing the underlying setup all that much.

Also, the need for a decent nav/map engine stalled a bunch of ideas, and while we can turn the height map into a mesh (quite a decent one too), putting a nav engine on top, and getting the other obstacles (trees, buildings, etc) loaded and in place is not yet been managed. But, we will see. There are a few other idea's floating around to generate a new mapping method, which might end up making it better than what it is.

Got it, this is a feature you want to keep to yourselves and not share. That's kewl. Your hard work, you should benefit from it.

That's not what I said, nor meant. While I have seen a skirmish bot, it was not our work, nor our call whether to share it. If we had one out of our* own work, then it would likely be available.

*I say "our", but I haven't actively worked on much in this arena for the last couple of years.