Of Pirates and Macros – Shortcuts Revisited

[WizardHawk]

The short version:
Advances in hardware for gamers have reached a point where anyone can create and use macros for automating just about anything in a game. Game designers need to be aware of this and be proactive in preventing abuse. Players need to decide for themselves why they play a game in the first place and figure out what they feel is going too far.

Just because you can create macros, doesn’t mean you should and the question for each of us is where exactly is the line between acceptable shortcuts and cheating? At what point does it not matter whether or not it is cheating, but takes away the fun of the game anyway? My recent trip into these questions has left me with the opinion that each of us will have different answers. What just about everyone agrees with is any kind of macro that allows you to play a game and advance in it without even being in front of the keyboard is crossing the line and should be dealt with by game devs.

Disney could easily stop the unattended macro user by looking for precise patterns in user input and simply kicking anyone offline who shows a repeated pattern over say a 5 minute period. Macros allow you to have gaps in time that are measured in the thousandths of a second which no human can duplicate and gives an easy way to test.

Share your thoughts on this, or feel free to read my full article on this topic below:
In the early 80’s the common video game machine had a joystick and 1-4 buttons. You slapped those buttons as fast as you could and often those who could crank them faster were the better gamers of the day. Today we call that ‘mashing’ and has become something that is used as a derogatory term to denote a less skilled player as in “He is a button masher, not a real gamer”. While mashing still exists in modern games, most games try to have more skill and timing based key strokes and favor a gamer who can master those timing moves. Mashing can lead to all kinds of repetitive strain injuries which is one of the reasons game makers have reduced the use of this kind of game interaction.

Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean Online allows for both mashing and skill moves, however they reward the masher by often giving more exp for the use than the shorter kill time the skill moves provide. Crank the Ctrl key and you won’t rack up combo points on your cutlass, but you will get good exp. There are a few elements of the game that allow for skill shooting or mashing with about the same result. For example you can learn the rate your pistol can fire and only push the buttons in about that time frame, or mash away and know you will shoot at full speed. The same holds true for the cannon.

Going back to my past, this time to the mid/late 90’s and the early birth of what is now the gaming site called Pogo. They offered a variety of different games each of which you could earn coins and convert them into entries into drawings among other things. I had seen a few people who managed to rack up just insane amounts of coins in what seemed an impossibly short amount of time. I learned that the secret was unattended gaming. There was a piece of software back then that once setup would allow you to create macros that would do mouse clicks and key strokes in any order with time delays. Those folks with high coin counts where setting up their computers to run all day/night playing roulette making the same bets and taking advantage of the fact that pogo rigged that game with its bonus payouts to favor the players over the long run. I installed the program and set it up to put my favorite bets on roulette and went to bed. When I got up I indeed did have more coin than I started with. What did I do after that? I sent a detailed report to the dev team and within a matter of a week or two they changed things to give more randomness to it. The game screens and even button locations would change and the average cheater was out of luck. Of course those who were really bent on cheating probably kept right on trying to find ways of exploiting the new measures.

The cat and mouse game of closing holes and patching exploits to help prevent the common use of them is something every online game has to deal with today. The bigger the hole and the more even average folks can take advantage of it, the faster the development team has to address it. Most will not place more complex or little used exploits high on their to-do lists and the hard core hackers and cheaters take advantage of it. Add newer hardware that replaces the old macro software that was difficult and time consuming to setup and today’s game teams have more to worry about than just basic security. I call it “user automation”.

So there I was heading into Kingshead when I came across a player at my same level who was casting his staff wither spell on the big veteran group when I came to realize the player was using an auto play macro and the user was not actually there. I was angry and wanted to do something about it. I also read on the forums about the use of newer gaming keyboards so I went and got one of my own and played a bit with the power of the macro keys.

Most gamers want to immerse themselves into an alternate reality and enjoy the journey as they explore this different world. Others could care less about the trip, but will do anything to get as high as possible as fast as they can. There is often room for both gaming philosophies as long as the speedsters can’t profit from reaching the end first. People play games for different reasons and because of it what one sees as unfair play another will see as perfectly fine. As long as the rules are not directly violated those who use such shortcuts are really not doing anything wrong per say.

Just as I used those macros in the late 90’s to run up some coins to see how it was done, I created several very powerful macros on POTCO to figure out for myself where the lines are drawn for me. I created a key that would take out anything up to a level 30 with ease. Just walk up to it and press the button. A few moments later you have exp and coin and no wrist strain. I also played around with more subtle and basic keys. I now have a button that as long as I hold it down simulates mashing the Ctrl key and that works well to reduce game strain. For me the adventure is made more mechanical and the fun reduced by complete automation. I can’t see me doing more than an auto mash and a few buttons that can select a weapon and set the skill/ammo I want. When I reach the end of something I want to have been able to enjoy the ride and feel like I accomplished something and the more drastic use of macros doesn’t give that to me.

What limits should Disney put on the acceptable use of macros and how far should they go to stop unwanted use? In this current form there doesn’t seem to be any clear advantage to being a level 40 so no real harm is done by those cheating their way up, but that doesn’t mean the devs should turn a blind eye either. They should consider changing the code to allow you to earn more exp for using skill moves versus mashing and put in checks to see if they are getting repeat code from any user where the gaps are identical down to the thousandth of a second and simply knock them offline if it happens for more than say five minutes.

More mainstream availability must make us take a look at the morality and ethics of the use of macros. Just because you can doesn’t mean you should, but where are the lines of what is acceptable use and what is cheating? It doesn’t seem so clear cut to me and I wonder what others think. Many games out there already either have some kind of auto fire (or auto mashing if you prefer) or remove the need for this kind of play as you get to higher levels so I see no real issues with creating an auto mashing button in POTCO. I’d say there isn’t anything wrong with creating a button that selects say your gun and automatically selects your hex bullets so you are ready to take on those pesky doll using undead. But what about a button that does those skill moves to create full combos on your cutlass? Or even a button that would select your cutlass and unleash a torrent of skills and attacks and then change to your dagger (while the skills refill) and unleash more hits, all from just one button click? Are these unethical?

[Eliza Shipwrecker]

I feel torn as you do. In a game such as this one, where you don't really gain anything material, or any real advantage over other players, I guess it's not that big of a deal. If you're paying $10 a month to play and want to let the computer play for you, I guess it's your business - I frankly don't see the point. I mastered my voodoo doll and leveled up my staff on Kingshead, but I spent the hours it took actually doing it. And I didn't make the leaderboard because of the people that had macros doing it for them.

I can see using macros to ease sore hands from the keyboard, but frankly, anything beyond that is cheating. If we played head to head in this game, it would be a real problem, but as things are now, I guess I'd rather have the devs trying to fix the bugs (been waiting for 2-1/2 weeks for boss battle to be fixed), and deal with the players who are deliberately causing trouble online.

If they add things later to the game where your notoriety level gives you an advantage over lower level players trying to do the same things, then I would want to see them make an effort to curb this type of behaviour.

[Plunderin Mom]

I think most of us are competitive to some extent or another, and that becoming a good and notable player is something we all desire from the game. So, I have to admit that when I heard somebody had gone from level 32 to level 40 within a few days, macro was the first thing that crossed my mind, and I was somewhat annoyed.

However, I play mostly for the social aspect and whatever sense of accomplishment I get from leveling in the game that I can only get if I do it myself. So, for the most part, the fact that other people use macros doesn't really bother me so much as I just can't understand why they would.

As far as the ethics of it are concerned- that's complicated. But my personal feeling on the subject, put simply, are that it is cheating.

[WizardHawk]

I admit there are many things in this game that need addressing that take a higher rank of importance over the problem of macro abuse. My article was more about not only the problems that Disney faces here, but the industry in general. The newer hardware and software are leading to a newer crop of gamers with a get to the end/top by any means.

I play other online games where this issue exists and costs normal players real money. I fear even bringing it up on the sites for those games because I don't want to give some the idea that haven't figured it out yet.

Again, I think everyone can agree that a macro that allows you to play without even sitting at your keyboard is wrong on every level. I think almost everyone can see having a key to save some wrist strain that does some sort of auto fire/auto mash is reasonable. The question then is the very large grey area inbetween. I'm curious where exactly the line is in the sand for people. For me, I don't wish to use macros to replace skill shots so buttons that perform full combos are out. Anything that lets you draw a weapon and select a skill or ammo for it is fine, maybe even also taking a first basic strike is ok. Beyond that is too much IMO. But again, I can't speak for anyone else on this issue since as long as no one directly breaks either the letter of the rule or the spirit of them, nothing really wrong has been done. I just think gave devs need to start looking at this issue closer and planning their games and controls to take this into account and then have the rules clearly state what they wish to allow and what is cheating.

[Vandelay]

In the world of console video games (Playstation, Nintendo, etc.), the culture of cheating is practically encouraged by the developers. Lots of games come with hidden "cheat codes" that give players extra powers, extra lives, etc. The developers put in these codes delberately, knowing full well that players will discover them and share them on the Internet. Heck, you can buy this at Wal-Mart, it's a memory card that automatically unlocks all the cheat codes for dozens of Nintendo DS games. (They sell them for the Playstation, Gamecube, and Wii also). Just plug and play:



So maybe it's no wonder that some players have a lax attitude about cheating in games. They fail to see much difference between using a cheat to get an advantage over their Playstation, and using one to get an advantage over other online players.

As far as PotCO, cheating will become a much bigger issue if the game ever allows players to trade gold and/or exchange items with each other. That opens the door for people to try and make a profit from their cheating. And as we've seen in other MMOs, that kind of thing gets really ugly really fast.

[Ironhawk]

Originally Posted by Plunderin Mom

So, I have to admit that when I heard somebody had gone from level 32 to level 40 within a few days, macro was the first thing that crossed my mind, and I was somewhat annoyed.

There are only 7 pirate who had reached lvl 40, including me, and
because i think i'm the fastest to raise level from 30 to 40, i believe
you are pointing your finger on me for using macro.
Well that hurts.
I played really hard to raise my notoriety so that me and my friend
Grizzly, who was ahead of me, can reach level 40 at the same day.
I worked in isla tormenta everyday and tried really hard to get rep
points from those seabeards and mollusks and went to jail like 7 to 8
times a day. But i didnt give up and keep playing and get bit by bit
of rep point to have notoriety level ups.

I never use macro, bots, or whatever cheats to get my reps.

[Dolnor]

I have given up trying to understand why people have to race to the top level in a game...then complain that there is nothing to do. Whether they use macros or bots or whatever...once they are there at the top/end, they moan that are always bored.

I play for enjoyment, not bragging rights. I gave those up long ago in the playground in grade school.

I have seen too many friends leave games because they macro-ed/bot-ed their way to the top numerous times and got bored. They moved on to other games where they did the same thing. Eventually they stopped playing all games.

If you feel that running macros benefits you, have fun. I doubt anyone would want to buy your level 40 account.


Toodles,

Dolnor Numbwit
Eternal Newbie

[Plunderin Mom]

Originally Posted by Ironhawk

There are only 7 pirate who had reached lvl 40, including me, and
because i think i'm the fastest to raise level from 30 to 40, i believe
you are pointing your finger on me for using macro.
Well that hurts.
I played really hard to raise my notoriety so that me and my friend
Grizzly, who was ahead of me, can reach level 40 at the same day.
I worked in isla tormenta everyday and tried really hard to get rep
points from those seabeards and mollusks and went to jail like 7 to 8
times a day. But i didnt give up and keep playing and get bit by bit
of rep point to have notoriety level ups.

The person I'm speaking of is absolutely not you. This person made 40 just recently, in the last week. I have not kept track of how quickly anyone has gone from one level to another and the only time I even look at the leaderboards is when I or one in my small group of guildmates has leveled up in Notoriety.

I was told about how quickly this person had leveled and, like I said, my first thought was "macro." That doesn't mean it was used. I really don't know. I can only base what I think on the amount of time that I have put into the game. I have spent a lot of time leveling (though not recently) and know how long it takes on average to level up, and that it only gets harder to do so. I was able to spend more time on it than the average person, but it's quite possible this person was able to spend even a lot more time than me. They were leveling day and night. Perhaps they also had friends who continuosly held agro on the enemy so all they had to do was kill them, and who would stay in the area while the person teleported back and forth for more ammo (From what I understand, they used Kingshead for most of their leveling, so that would have saved a lot of time). I really don't know.

If this person didn't use a macro then I'm sure they would be hurt at knowing people suspected them of it, too. Unfortunately, when you level that quickly as this person did, other people (especially those who are also spednding a fair amout of time at leveling, too, but aren't getting there nearly as fast) are going to assume that you may have used one. That's something every person (in any game where a macro can be used) at the top has to deal with if they make it there a lot more quickly than others. But they, and those closest to them, know the truth, so it doesnt really matter what other people think anyway.

[WizardHawk]

I'm level 38 and raised two levels in less than two days to get there. It might be easy for some to think I may have done something like that as well. I was not only on the leaderboard for level but also for kills (something over 2,000 I believe). I can assure everyone that I worked a few 12 hour shifts and often get bored at work and play there as well so it is easy for me to level up fast when you play around 15 hours a day just to be doing something to try to stay awake.

I'm not at level 38 because I want to get to the top, to get ahead of friends, or for any other reason other than I enjoy the game and my time with my friends there and have a bit more playing time than the average person.

Cheating exists and will probably always exist in all online games. Let us hope that as Vandelay said they don't start allowing open trades to make things worse. Still, I think game devs should be more aware of the issue and give it good thought when making or updating games to at least cut it as much as possible, even if removing it isn't reasonable.

I made this to help raise awareness of how it impacts this game and to create some discussion over how far macros can go before YOU think it is cheating. I enjoy seeing the different opinions of others. I'd even love to see the opinion of the person who was using them to power level to start with if they cared to add to this talk.

[Rob]

I would be suprised if people are using macros for this game. There is absolutely zero purpose. It is easy enough to level without it and with the cap of 40, there really is no reason. After a certain level (I will not spoil it for those that have not reached it yet), there are no more quests. If anyone really wants to level fast, the ability is there just by maxing kills at 100 rep points per. I always found it funny seeing people with 3k of kills when I wouldn't even be on the list and leveling daily at the high end.

There is also no purpose to farm gold as the cap is low. You will make that cap level many times over and end up doing what the rest of us do, buy ships and sell them right away to cut your gold down. Maybe, when there are more things to buy and more high end game content, macros will become a problem, but for now, I think they are wasting their time and prefer the devs spend time fixing bugs and adding more content than looking for cheaters. Just my opinion.

--Tristan

[Cannon Mad Dan]

I'd actually like to know how to create macros. Not for afk-grinding purposes, but for overall gameplay. Like a macro that mashes my control key for me, you know?

[OutlawZ]

I have played solo games on my PC...privately.
And I have encountered some games that were hard to finish or had difficult areas to get through.
And I have chosen to use "cheat" codes to bypass these areas or finish the game.
Thats my choice within my private game playing world and if that makes me happy, then so be it.


I came across a character in POTC, the other day, at the bottom of the stairs to Fort Charles. The player character never really moved, just brandished a cutlass, and just slashed the two permanent entry Guards every time they spawned. I tried communicating with the player, but soon realized it was very automated and "unmanned".

And I was furious.

But why...I cheat in games?

I think I realized that this type of "cheating" has no place in a community game filled with other players working their fingers off to achieve the same levels. Its just a slap in the face to every other committed player and these "macro" players should be shunned and possibly banned. No, it doesn't matter to me or my game, if another player succeeds or fails in this game...but I take it as a quiet insult to know that I always have to admit that I am "behind" another player who has cheated to get there!

I'm the first to say "get it any way you can"...just don't do it in my living room!

[Garborg]

So what is your take on using hardware like Belkin game pads with "programable" auto-fire buttons?

I use them, never in an AFK status, but it definately saves me a few years before carpol tunnel sets in...

[Plunderin Mom]

I think that if someone plays more than a few hours a day, or if they have a disability which makes mashing and clicking difficult, then they should probably use one.

It would take some of the fun out of the game for me personally. I generally spend no more than 2 to 3 hours a day, if that, leveling weapons on my main character, now. Anything more and I get very bored and, yes, my hand gets tired, and I know its time to quit. But, I wouldnt use hardware that would do more of the work for me, so I could play longer. Though I'd level sooner, the process of leveling would be even more boring for me, and I wouldn't have the same sense of accomplishment when I did level.

How anybody else plays the game doesn't affect how I play mine and what I take away from the game, though it would be nice to be able to distinquish the hard core macro users from those who put in the time, effort, skill and strategy.

[WizardHawk]

macros are created either by software (more of the automated kind, don't think you can use the software ones really easily to auto mash) or by special keys on some gaming keyboards.

Since my test of the gaming keyboard I got I haven't used any macros at all, but then I haven't played a whole lot because I'm really getting bored waiting on the black pearl fix and new content.

I really don't see anything wrong with an auto mash button or maybe even some basic multi button short cuts, especially for those who may already have issues with their wrists or otherwise are prone to carple tunnel or tendonitis. I haven't used the one I tested because I haven't really been mashing anyway, but do what you think is right for you.

However I too was angry when I ran across my first auto grinder and I still think Disney should be aware of it and plan ways to prevent it into future patches and expansions. Just my opinion.