scripting with Stormfront

[Insodus]

Note about scripting with Stormfront...

SF has a mechanism in it to monitor your idle time, and if a script is running and your idle time gets too high you'll get caught.
SF is good cuase better language and no timer timeout, but watch out for this. You can also get a simple macro program, like those ones you used for UO, remember those? And just have it move the mouse around ever couple minutes.

and oh, script hunting is bad.

:)

[Jonty]

And how did you fgure this out?

[Insodus]

i was running a fletching script for a while, and it attracted some attention

[Jonty]

OK, maybe they just randomly peeped into youur room. That's not proof of an idle time monitor.

[Kuyuk]

Heh, how long is a while for fletching? 2 straight days?


K.

[Insodus]

ya, not 2 days, maybe a day. i was just learning and I made about 1 arrow for every 50 shafts. so i said screw it, write a script.

[CalaDheNar]

I personally think your full of shit. I doubt stormfront would have any feature like that, that the wizard did'nt have. Who the hell doesnt script fletch? I fletched for hours on end just to get to be a master fletcher and I was never bothered.

I did however get 1 warn once, for massively loot hunting the graveyard. Why did I get this warn you may ask, well because people were complaining the script was picking up items they purposely left behind, to gather later (fuckin idjit).

If people complain you get watched and fucked with, if people dont complain you normally dont get messed with, meaning if your script is good enough, you wont have any attention drawn to you, unelss someone can tell your scripting and just wants to be a dick, and yes there are alot of people like that.

But I do agree, if your scripting at least watch it, if not, your just wasting your money to play GS so a script can run. I only script hunt during XXX now, for 6 hours straight, but I watch it.

[imported_Kranar]

I'd like to confirm as a matter of fact that StormFront does have a built in-feature to track down AFK scripters.

When you launch a script, a the following tag is sent to the game:

<c>_state scripting on</c>

And when you terminate the script:

<c>_state scripting off</c>

It is also quite likely that the new version of the WizardFE has a similar tag sent to the game when a script is launched.

One of the issues I am currently debating is whether or not the UltraTech SE should respect this tag, or not.

[imported_Kranar]

I'd like to correct myself by saying that the tag doesn't explicitely track down AFK scripters.

Anyone who scripts period is kept track of by Simu's server, AFK or not. The tags I posted are sent anytime you launch a script using StormFront. That is a matter of fact and one that can be verified simply by running a network tool that keeps track of incoming and outgoing data packets.

What isn't a matter of fact, and simply my own conclusion, is that the game server keeps track of the length of time a character spends scripting, and if a character is found to be scripting for extended periods of time, and perhaps if that character is found to be gaining experience or silvers while their scripting state is on, then the GMs will check in on that character to see if they're AFK or not.

[Edited on 11-2-2004 by Kranar]

[CalaDheNar]

You may be right about all of the above conclusions, but I really doubt the GMs really give two shits about anything anyone does unless its being reported or blantantly in front of their faces and they cant deny seeing it. The only time I've ever been tested since the warning, was when someone got pissed off because they assumed I attacked their kill, because they run in and start attacking my creatures, and I just keep shooting arrows from the shadows. I dont, and wont answer any quesitons from them, if they're being a dick about it. Since I usually kill my creatures with one kill, then skin, loot, and collect, and move on they get pissy about it and want to report. Some even go as far as attacking me, and I have to quit my script and kill them. For the most part I will tell everyone something along the lines of, I was here first, sorry for the confusion, but when you get people glaring at you and saying get off my (whatver creature) then I just ignore them, since that seems to be a sufficient way to piss them off.

[Jonty]

Originally posted by Kranar
I'd like to confirm as a matter of fact that StormFront does have a built in-feature to track down AFK scripters.

When you launch a script, a the following tag is sent to the game:

<c>_state scripting on</c>


I have no doubt about that.

But that's not what was claimed by the original poster. He's claiming that SF has a computer idle time monitor. But he has no proof of this....

[Edited on 11-2-2004 by Jonty]

[Insodus]

It was just a warning anyway. StormFront does have a better mechanism for tracking scripters than Wizard, thats proven. So do what you want with that info, thats all I'm saying.

[imported_Kranar]

<< StormFront does have a better mechanism for tracking scripters than Wizard >>

As I said, I wouldn't be surprised if the newest version of the WizardFE doesn't have the same tag that StormFront has.

You know what... I'll post back in 20 minutes with a definite answer.

[imported_Kranar]

No tag was sent by the WizardFE that had to do with scripting.

[wpg9210]

OK, so instead of arguing about it...why dont we figure a way to counter it...like duplicate the script on tag, or remove it all together...?

[Jonty]

What the hell for?

[Fengus]

Based on this tag buisness I can see a tool GMs can use that will get the top X script times at a whim. It would be trivial to create a list like this, wether it exists is conjecture.

On the other hand this clearly is accesable somehow or they wouldn't bother setting it, so if the above list doesn't exist at the minimum if they get a complaint on you and a gm looks at your info he will know how long your script has run.

This latter point is really not a problem with the script tag sent, its a problem with getting a complaint, so fix your script to avoid that sorta thing.

Course I haven't tested this but its possible to exit a script and call another, I don't know if this would send a stop message or not, but if it does you could just call out of your AFK script and then start it again at some modest interval to keep you under the radar.
This would only delay the problem though since all of your scripts are accessable by SIMU staff. Notice the options to store scripts on the server? Well this only means you save them locally and don't download them each connection, they are *always* uploaded to the SIMU. How and when this is done is unknown to me, but I recently had a problem with a retired character name and had them reattach it to my account, after doing this SF was set to retrieve all the scripts from the server and I had scripts in there that I hadn't used in ages and had deleted. Some a friend sent me that I sorted thru renamed and got rid of some, but they were *all* back. So anyway they could look at your script and see you exit it intentionally and recall it. Also if the intention of this tag is to monitor you then this attempted workaround may have already been prevented (ie calling a script from another doesn't send a script stop tag.)