To the GMs: Turnaround on IP exemptions

[cmdrrickhunter]

So first off, I'll say that my IP exemption was handled fast enough for my needs. I needed to prepare for an EQ LAN party, got my request in well ahead of the day I needed the exemption, and the GMs could turn it around in a timely manner.

That being said, I'd like to see a relaxation of the IP-exemption rules.

I've seen a lot of posts and folks talkinc in ooc where people are saying "man, this game is great... but I can't wait until I don't have to switch off on the computer with my Wife, because of the multi-boxing rules."

I understand the desire to kill multi-boxers as violently as possible, but at the same time, I feel a missed marketing opportunity. The IP exemption rules alienate new couples, making them less likely to play the game together. From the forums, we see lots of people who are willing to be patient with you guys, as you respond to the petition, but I'm almost positive that for every patient couple, there's at some that aren't bothering to make accounts because the one who played EQ in the past can't convince their S/O to play along until the IP exemption is granted.

I'd say by level 5 (or maybe level 8), its clear and obvious how awesome the work you've put into this game is, but we're talking about couples who haven't even finished the character creation screen yet, much less started leveling... that's a very fickle time when it comes to exploring a free game.

I don't know the technical side, but what about setting things up so that you can fill out a form for an IP exemption, and it is immediately granted temporarily, until a GM can follow through with the petition process as normal. Those accounts of people abusing this feature could lose their rights to the temporary IP exemption (forcing them into the current path). How much damage can a multiboxer do in 1-2 weeks before you revoke their IP exemption (using whatever rules you currently have in place for this).

Switching from a "petition, then grant" to a "automatically grant, then verify" pattern would, in my opinion, have a significant effect on the marketability of your server to those who played the game solo when they were younger but now have significant others. I think it should do very well in regards to "gains to the game" vs "man hours."

[Caridry]

Switching from a "petition, then grant" to a "automatically grant, then verify" pattern would, in my opinion, have a significant effect on the marketability of your server to those who played the game solo when they were younger but now have significant others. I think it should do very well in regards to "gains to the game" vs "man hours."

I agree with his completely. But, again not many of us know the difficulties of running a server like this and its rules

[Dokuton]

Unfortunately if they gave up even a little it would be taken advantage of and abused which would cause more work for them. I feel like waiting a small amount of time to play with the wife or family member is fine, when in the end you don't have to pay anything. And if waiting a little bit to get a petition is going to cause a couple to not play then I would say there is a large chance they would end up quitting for any small reason in-game so it really wouldn't matter imo.. just my 2 cents

[Caridry]

good point doku, great, now im sitting on the fence =P

[cmdrrickhunter]

Unfortunately if they gave up even a little it would be taken advantage of and abused which would cause more work for them. I feel like waiting a small amount of time to play with the wife or family member is fine, when in the end you don't have to pay anything. And if waiting a little bit to get a petition is going to cause a couple to not play then I would say there is a large chance they would end up quitting for any small reason in-game so it really wouldn't matter imo.. just my 2 cents
I agree that its "fair" to make them wait, but I'm not certain its the "best."

I can appreciate the sentiment regarding those who leave because they can't immediately play with a family member being the kind of person who will leave for small in-game reasons (of which there are plenty in EQ 1, by design!), but I'm not sure if I agree with you entirely. Given that the game is free, you never have the experience of looking at the box art to let it draw you in. There is no back of the box screenshot showing what can be done. Granted you have the EQ Titanium box, but that says what was on the live server.. no guarantees what is on this Emu server.

Accordingly, I feel that the installation process and the character creation process are Project1999's equivalent of the time period a commercial software buyer would be looking at the box art. This is their most fickle time as consumers, because they have nothing invested in the product yet.

This is, of course, based on my personal experience. Its possible that others simply treated the process differently. However, for my installation process, I was terrified. I scanned the patch zip file, every single file by hand (looking for which files gave hints that they were executable), to make sure there were no obvious places for the devs to put viruses on my machine. The first inkling of something being fishy, and I was gone!

Play the world for just a few levels, realize how much bloody PRIDE the development team puts into this game, and I'm no longer concerned. Sure, I've heard that viruses have found their way into the patch zip in the past (unconfirmed rumor), but now I would NEVER suspect the dev team would do so intentionally. I only feel this way AFTER the installation and char-creation portions were over, and I got to see the world they built; I felt differently during those early phases. During those phases I was fickle; the idea of not being able to play with my friends for N weeks would have been enough to cause me to not play.

[falkun]

As you have already mentioned, the dev team has PRIDE in their product. I am sure they have hard facts and statistics on how much damage a multi-boxer can achieve in a short window period.

This pride also carries over to their fervent desire to ruthlessly remove multi-boxers. I am not going to fault them for wanting to protect something they put hundreds or more man hours into.

Also, IP exemptions are not granted on an exact schedule, but whenever the person who does them (Amelinda I think) can get around to a batch of them. Forcing a volunteer to "respond to an IP exemption within 2-weeks time" is unfair of that volunteer.

The virus issue you heard rumor about was a false positive. In addition to their efforts to remove multi-boxers, the server staff has also been on a crusade against ShowEQ and MultiQuest, 3rd-party software that can also ruin the classic Everquest experience. One of their early attempts at cracking down on these programs involved modifying a DLL file (W32SOCK.DLL I think), which some anti-virus programs then flagged as a virus. This code did not harm a user's computer, it was a false-positive registered by the AV program. Server staff have since changed the method they detect these programs with, and I'm sure it's still a constant battle between MQ and SEQ users and P99 staff.

[Amelinda]

I actually always respodn to ip exemptions in under a week :P

[falkun]

I actually always respodn to ip exemptions in under a week :P

And you are going above-and-beyond! I just don't think you should be tied down to some hard-and-fast rule.

The whole server knows you put tons of work into this server, they show this by giving you more work to do (& petitions to respond to) on top of more work...its a self-fulfilling prophecy because you do so well we give you more of it.

;)

[Nagash]

So first off, I'll say that my IP exemption was handled fast enough for my needs. I needed to prepare for an EQ LAN party, got my request in well ahead of the day I needed the exemption, and the GMs could turn it around in a timely manner.

That being said, I'd like to see a relaxation of the IP-exemption rules.

I've seen a lot of posts and folks talkinc in ooc where people are saying "man, this game is great... but I can't wait until I don't have to switch off on the computer with my Wife, because of the multi-boxing rules."

I understand the desire to kill multi-boxers as violently as possible, but at the same time, I feel a missed marketing opportunity. The IP exemption rules alienate new couples, making them less likely to play the game together. From the forums, we see lots of people who are willing to be patient with you guys, as you respond to the petition, but I'm almost positive that for every patient couple, there's at some that aren't bothering to make accounts because the one who played EQ in the past can't convince their S/O to play along until the IP exemption is granted.

I'd say by level 5 (or maybe level 8), its clear and obvious how awesome the work you've put into this game is, but we're talking about couples who haven't even finished the character creation screen yet, much less started leveling... that's a very fickle time when it comes to exploring a free game.

I don't know the technical side, but what about setting things up so that you can fill out a form for an IP exemption, and it is immediately granted temporarily, until a GM can follow through with the petition process as normal. Those accounts of people abusing this feature could lose their rights to the temporary IP exemption (forcing them into the current path). How much damage can a multiboxer do in 1-2 weeks before you revoke their IP exemption (using whatever rules you currently have in place for this).

Switching from a "petition, then grant" to a "automatically grant, then verify" pattern would, in my opinion, have a significant effect on the marketability of your server to those who played the game solo when they were younger but now have significant others. I think it should do very well in regards to "gains to the game" vs "man hours."

No, no and no for a simple reason which you highlighted at the beginning of your post: the responsse time is pretty quick already.

[hurske]

New player here, well new to this server. I can agree with what people saying here about multi boxing. But I think that most of the people that are going to play this server,are former eq players. Anywho I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in. I'm waiting for a ip pardon myself, I don't want to play till I can get my two roommates in, they have never played eq, so are a little intimidated by what I been telling them about the great hard everquest.

[McMuffins]

RESSURECTION

[rekreant]

I dont get the hate on multi boxing. It was allowed on live; hell you were even allowed to use software that would emulate your key presses along each account. On a server where only a few hundred people play and players leave every day, why punish people who just cant find other people to play with?

[Swish]

I dont get the hate on multi boxing. It was allowed on live; hell you were even allowed to use software that would emulate your key presses along each account. On a server where only a few hundred people play and players leave every day, why punish people who just cant find other people to play with?

Over 9000 threads/comments debating this already.

If you don't like it, go and play just about any other EQ Emu server on the list (Hidden Forest, EZ Server, etc etc).

See "Two-Boxing" thread stickied at the top as well...the debate has been done to death :)

[fullmetalcoxman]

Why can't we have luclin? It was allowed on live.

[rekreant]

Cause the devs that run the server dont want it, and ultimately they are the ones who run the server, so they call the shots.

[fullmetalcoxman]

I dont get the hate on multi boxing. It was allowed on live; hell you were even allowed to use software that would emulate your key presses along each account. On a server where only a few hundred people play and players leave every day, why punish people who just cant find other people to play with?

Cause the devs that run the server dont want it, and ultimately they are the ones who run the server, so they call the shots.

[rekreant]

Sure. I accept that. But I dont "get" it.