AFK Gump? Please at least try to read before voting, this is why we ended up with Trump

Should IDOC rules be changed eg. AFK gump for clicking house signs repeatedly or random IDOC timer

1. *
   Yes
   36 vote(s)
   52.9%
2. 
   No
   32 vote(s)
   47.1%

The people have spoken.

While I know this is yet another "tongue in cheek" comment, from you. I'd hate to be a new player attempting to train magery up here. I sure hope some new decently priced reg vendors come from this, or it'll certainly

Yeah.....but this thread/topic honestly I would have never made had I know what I know now
The vocal minority are loud, with little to no real argument and quite frankly more interested in bullying others around here to think what they think. I honestly have no idea why this forum has a "trash talk" sub forum.

If it was the "people's" decision, this thread likely never had existed

Random IDOC timer !

1. *
   Yes
   56 vote(s)
   87.5%
2. 
   No
   8 vote(s)
   12.5%

I'm just having a lil fun stirring the pot.

I assumed. I'm also ok restirring at times myself

So, your "worst case scenario" is that no one ever bothers with IDOCs again and the gold/resources are permanently deleted from the server thereby helping keep the economy in check?

Anywho, I've seen and been around enough IDOCs where most did not know the timer and I am positively sure that you are quite mistaken in how everyone will respond.

Yeah, take a screenshot of it via Razor while you're at it. Then you can look at all the stuff no one scavenged up because you and your guildmates didn't know to be at the computer at that exact time. The "guaranteed" gravy train is gone. There's randomness introduced into it that involves actually being at the computer.

Putting actual characters there, instead of ghosting, is separate from the "window" discussion. Its an issue of whether or not player actions should be AFK Gump'd to ensure people are actually at the computer. Personally, I say darn near everything that has any benefit of any kind (outside of skill gain) should be gump'd even if it does not directly introduce gold into the economy.

any rare items that get deleted only serves to increase the value of the vets items that hoarde stuff and dont leave... having it just disappear isnt helping

I don't have the patience to lecture about economics and this entire tangent is generally irrelevant to the discussion at hand anyways.

Speaking of interactions with players, arn't you the guy who quit, disbanded his guild (with out warning) and kept a compound full of items that the guild had collected? I Swear I remember this from when I first started - if I'm confused, I apologize.

To reiterate my stance on this is - the two changes proposed won't change the current landscape.

So remove bots - okay go for it, watch what happens. (if you need me to explain this I can)

Random Timer - How random do you propose? Everyone has mentioned the idea, so let's refine your idea and see if it works.

Do you want a 1-2 hour window?
1-5 hour window?
1-8 hour window?
1-10 hour window?
1-17 hour window?
1-24 hour window?

The only way a random window is going to "work" is if it's massive ("work" is in quotes because I don't quite get what we'e trying to do, level the playing filed so everyone has a "change" to idoc?) So now we have a massive window - it's going to be very difficult for anyone to succeed even more so for the lone wolf. A pack of people with knowledge of a 8+ hour window are going to have a much better chance to success then the lone wolves. So you're going to punish those lone wolves (who've spoken up in this thread and are okay with the current setup - because they CAN/DO succeed.)

I don't see how any of the suggested changes are going to beat the current situation. An organized group of people putting in work will get the reward.

And to which point, Shit, you of all people know how hard it is to keep an organized group/guild of people happy / alive, don't you?

Point of the thread honestly was to curb the Botting, again this is new for me as it hasn't been commonplace on other shards I've played on at least not legally. None of it was, "so I can compete" or "to punish anyone". Once it started going down that rabbit hole, though, that's what it became, and then a giant clusterfuck followed.

Like I said before, i've BOT'd the crap out of this game in the past. That's not the spirit of UO. I'd rather see this all be random so that its a pleasant surprise to people when they find a nightmare, rare, or IDOC.

Not a work schedule....

You will never convince me that having an exactly predictable timer for rares, mares, IDOC's, etc... is a good thing. I've seen the dark side of it and lived it.

i understand the rares and mares because those spawn at a specific time, the rares can be scav agent and then on the next one.

same with mares (to a degree) but of course they need attended taming.

idocing is a multi part process with 1 process being automated and the rest attended.

if there are multiple idoc groups, and they all get the same timer it stands to reason that there will actually be more action than a randomised timer.

3 groups against each other all know when to get there and start fighting each other.

with a random timer it just happens to be who is more bored at the time and can sit around staring at an un-moving screen for hours... not really captivating gameplay.

my 2c.

Right, so after all you've read... do you still think curbing the bots is needed?

Do you still want to see that change?

Be proud of the clusterfuck thread - people are having fun with it.

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As a preface, I solo IDOCs when I have free time in my schedule. I run around the world clicking house signs manually until I find things to mark and check back later. I don't have bots, nor even remotely close timers 90%+ of the time. My "system" is going, "Okay, I checked 2-4 hours ago... it's IDOC now... so *simple math* 13-17 hours from now. That's my secret sauce window.

Let's Begin!

Not all IDOCs are rare stuffed treasure troves. Most players I know who are losing interest have stashed away their nest eggs in the bank.

Making an afk gump on the botters ID macros isn't going to make anything "more fun" for the other players, nor is it going to make the game easier to keep the IDOC groups from holding down IDOCs, nor will it make it more profitable for "most."

Most people don't participate in IDOCs cause they don't know how the whole IDOC system works. The timers from each stage, what happens after the place drops, placement rules for the new house, etc etc.

Those that don't IDOC and those who have stumbled across IDOCs that I've met and aren't active about them usually run into 3 groups:

- "Wait... it says it's IDOC. Why isn't it falling? It can take up to 17 hours from now? Screw that!"
- "time investment isn't worth the headache, or the payout isn't guaranteed."
- "Sitting around and trying to stealthily grab something and run doesn't pan out. I either die, or I could have farmed more money in the interim."

Nowhere does having random timers or afk gumps for bots going to solve their problems.

People will still not have the time... and with variable timers, you're adding even MORE time to their investment in sitting at an IDOC. Now those that used to know when it'd be falling and were smaller / less dedicated groups, will have to wait randomly for it fall. Their chances of knowing when it was going down and being able to snipe something is gone. Instead of having a rough estimate, like in my case, it's now a "who knows" game, and not worth even trying.

Having random timers isn't suddenly going to get people interested in it either. Getting yourself organized for IDOCs is time consuming, getting a group together for it is even more so. Once organized, now it's a huge time sink scouring the map. I remember reading TrojanCow's IDOC guide in the guide's forum... even that extremely organized and dedicated group had problems with people not making their runs and checking their regions. These were people that were already successful at the IDOC game, and knew the rewards for their system in place. It'll be hard pressed to get that up off the ground as a fresh group of "sure, I'll give that a try." How many days, weeks of having to run the map clicking signs before you find something and getting the payday before they grow bored with it.

Just because your opinion on what makes this game "fun" or what the "spirit of the game" entails doesn't mean you can make demands on others. The decision on how IDOCs would be going down was already decided. Setting up the macros etc to do the same thing isn't hard, and others have already said they'd be willing to share / help others set up their own. Some people never want to interact with others while they're playing their version of UO... it's a sandbox after all.

In the end / TLDR:

- IDOCs aren't super profitable every time. Stop acting like each and every one is filled with millions in loot.
- Gumps aren't going to stop the bots.
- Gumps aren't going to even the playing field.
- Variable Timers isn't suddenly going to make everyone interseted in IDOCs.
- Variable Timers aren't going to even the playing field.
- Your version of "fun" or "spirit of the game" is different from everyone else's.
- Set up your own group, the assistance is out there, stop being lazy.

Sorry One but I think you are making a massive assumption here.

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RADICAL IDEA since this thread has 19 pages and surely still cant be on topic


A house just FELL on top of all those pretty pixels... They should be smashed beyond recognition... especially those frail rares and clothing... Not to mention the place has been abandoned to the point the brick and mortal holding it up collapsed... surely all goods inside suffered the same fate... mold... rain.. snow


DELETE ALL HOUSE CONTENTS WHEN IT FALLS

i dont like the idea of item deletion because it just makes the vet hoarder semi rare 1/3 items 1/2 or even 1/1 making them richer.

at least idoc items are sold and theres a chance anyone can get it.

even if the same vet is hoarding 3/3 of an item - we can look up how many there are of said item and the value is gauged accordingly.

think about even just the anni clothing that has dropped in idocs - the amount that would just have been deleted is crazy, robbing newer players the chance to ever be able to afford good looking outfits

It only makes them richer on paper... they don't actually get richer until they sell.. the more rare it is, the less likely they are to sell.

If you didn't earn it, you shouldn't have it is my concept.... New players should NOT have or be able to afford a lot of things till they become OLD players

If you weren't here for the first anniv, It should be MUCH harder for you to get. If you can afford, wear it cause its pretty, but its not game changing not having it.

All true rares, are recycled into the Anniv event, Nothing is ever lost. - If you didn't go through the planning pain and suffering to earn it in the first place, then EVERYONE will have the opportunity to earn it, not just those who get a lucky grab.

Too many resource out there in the world now... DELETE THEM ALL ON DROP... check the item DB

EVERYTHING else possible in an IDOC is gatherable, craftable or spawns. Available to all who play a myriad of playstyles

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