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Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
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Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Comments
It's not, for a slightly subtle reason: It is impossible on a technical level to detect combat trackers. They don't even need to run on the same computer as the game client. You'd have to ban streaming. The discussion isn't so much "will Intrepid allow add-ons or not", it's "Do you prefer that combat trackers are available only to the elite who will ignore your rules, or do you prefer that they are available to everyone?" You don't need to worry that banning trackers will prevent elitism. It won't. It will just give other players less tools to help them catch up.
As many defenders have pointed out: Nobody's here to get trackers for themselves. We want everyone to have them, not just the elites. The game's more interesting when more people can keep up.
@Volgaris The game isn't being designed for use of trackers, also Steven said himself there will not be a dps meter in this forum post and the very large majority of people support his view.
From a technical perspective, combat trackers are not inherently add ons.
An add on is essentially a mod to the client application. These are easy to detect and ban.
A combat tracker such as ACT is it's own application. They can run and perform their function without the game client even running. Indeed, if set up properly, they can function on a computer that doesnt even have the game client installed.
Not surprisingly, this makes combat trackers essentially impossible to detect, and thus impossible to effectively ban.
Obviously, some combat trackers are built as add ons (I believe DBM is - not 100% sure though). Hiwever, it is not an inherent property of trackers.
This is still untrue.
I would potentially agree that a light majority of people initially have the view that combat trackers cause issues. Hiwever, once again if you read this thread, the bulk if people that engage in discussion on it come to the understanding that trackers are not the inherent root of the problem they initially thought, and that a guild only tracker would be fine.
Honestly, there are only a small handful of people that have engaged in discussion and not come to this conclusion.
You are in denial doesn't matter how many times you want to think that. People do not want trackers. People that do and other add on are the extreme minatory as shown in this thread.
Doesn't matter how you are trying to twist it in your mind, people do not want it, nor do they want people to view them like you are pushing for. Because their leeway is guilds is not a point that they want trackers when they would prefer it without trackers so again you are incorrect as usual when it comes to this.
People are happy with combat logs so they can improve and do as they need in testing out and seeing their dps of skills.
You want trackers to track people, people do not.
You've yet to accept that no trackers is just not an option at all.
Literally the only way I will not be able to track you on combat - should I chose to do so - is if Intrepid implement trackers.
If they do not, I am able to track you.
So, the question for you - the one that many people in this thread and elsewhere have answered - is, would you rather a game where i can track you in combat, or where i can not track you in combat?
Once you decide which of these you would prefer for the game, the discussion then moves on to how to achieve that.
If you would rather a game where i am unable to track you in combat, there is literally only one option open to Intrepid - and that is to build the trackers themselves, and place restrictions on their use.
Anything other than that and i will have a tracker that does not have those restrictions.
So, which would you prefer,me being able to track you, or me not being able to track you? Because that is the only real question you need to consider.
Nice narrative keep trying to push it, the world doesn't work how you would like it to work either. If someone chooses not to support it and prevent it from impacting and effecting the game as much as possible as punish with people they find using it that is for them to decide not you.
You will take some ones words and say that for them, when that isn't what they are saying they are simply opened minded to if the worst case scenario happens in this element they could stomach x-y. Again you are the minority, the most you can reach for is people saying dps meters so they can only view themselves. Which means they do not agree with you tracking them, and if the combat log is good enough they can simply use that to measure themselves.
Please stop with the bs about in game trackers, as soon as you allow any form people will simply use that or 3rd party trackers which ever is more effective to them. If trackers are in the game it allows more open use of third party trackers and for that to be pushed. As well as people trying to make a argument trackers should influence gameplay for their content.
You are simply using bs tactics in arguments and people don't want to deal with it or argue with you all day.
You can do your snake stuff of tracking people and see how long that last be it being effective or not based on game development. And if you can truly get away without somehow being caught and being banned after all your hard work and having to go play some P2W mmorpg next, or Patheon online i guess.
This game Isn't everquest stop thinking this needs to be similar or akin to it, that would be a dead game as it is dated and old. Ashes will be ashes trust the devs and support them and don't be a snake. If it becomes something that can't be managed in the future you can do the I told you so thing. Shouldn't change your position just let them make the game they want and trust them while giving proper feedback on other elements of the game.
As I explained earlier in this thread, if Intrwpid implement first party trackers, they are then in a position to actually be able to prevent third party trackers.
If they do not implement first party trackers, they can not be in a position to prevent third party trackers.
Note that this primarilyy matters on launch day. If the game launches with a first party tracker, there will not be third party. If they then remove the first party tracker, third party trackers will spring up within 24 hours. If they launch without a first party tracker, third party trackers will exist. If they then add a first party tracker to the game after launch, it wont matter as third party trackers already exist.
The thing is, most other people have realised that no tracker is just not an option. There is literally no situation in which a player in Ashes could get banned for using a combat tracker. We have been over this a number of times - it is not within the scope of what Intrepid can do, legally or technologically.
Even if Intrepid attempted to ban people for talking about trackers, that still only applies to in game communication (and maybe the forums). Since I'm going to do 99% of any communication outside of the game, as will many long time MMO players, this really isnt an issue.
Your entire premise in this thread seems to be based on the idea that trackers will be against the ToS, and that Intrepid will be able to do something about people using them.
I would be somewhat interested to see how your opinion shifts - if at all - if you make the assumption that neither of the above are able to be true. Even if you dont agree that they cant be true - if you performed a thought experiment based around them not being true, how does that alter your perspective?
That's the slippery slope that wow took and look at all the add-ons now. - practically run your game, tell you where to go and what to do, how to do it. aren't we trying to be different?
Blizzard opened up various API hooks for WoW, which is what allows for the state the game in in now (in this regard, at least). This policy with API hooks was a part of Blizzards plan from the very beginning.
A combat tracker without those hooks cant do what things like DBM can do.
So, what I'm saying is - there is no need to worry about WoW sryle add ons unless someone starts talking about API hooks - and if that happens, I'll be as vocal arguing against that as I am arguing for trackers.
Or just even the basic "I wanna use the info outside of the game" wish from players would only be addressed by a 3rd party tracker that's outside of the game. Or would you demand Intrepid make their tracker a separate app?
Being able to access information outside of the game is a consideration I haven't actually spent much time thinking about - but is something I consider a basic function of a combat tracker. Thinking about it now, I see no reason at all why we wouldn't be able to pull up data from the in game tracker later on using the app they plan on making.
I'd even be fine with it is we needed to tag a period of combat in game in order to be able to pull it up to look at it later on in the app.
This is why I think that combat log should be the base lvl of knowledge for people rather than a tracker function/app based on said log. You could add "tracker functionality" to the log (though mainly I'm talking about export of the log into a text file), but outside of that I think it should be on players themselves to figure out what they want to do with that info and how much they can get out of it.
If a tracker in Ashes can do what ACT can do, you would have literally 99.99% of players wanting a tracker covered - and that 0.01% are likely to be mostly people that are confused between combat trackers and combat assistants.
Honestly, my suggestion would be to download it, find a game that it has a plugin for and that you are at least marginally interested in looking at, and look at both that game and ACT at the same time.
Agree Steven side you just deny to face that not implement dps meter or tracker doesn't make the situations less, and you more willing to do something about tools that can have negative effect in stead of people who make the negative effect. But the truth is meter/tracker or not don't make the situations more or less, you see if I am a toxic player I make my toxic friends and form a guild over 64 players, after we all get max level we can start to find out all builds and skill combinations and get to know all what we need to know to do what you don't want to see, and spread what we know about and talk about which is the best which is the worst so far etc on youtube etc and our out come or point of view don't need to be 100% right because what we want is just make the ripple and there will be players watch that and no matter they believe or don't believe our out came there is a chance they will try it themselves to see what is what and some of them will definitely make another ripple for us to make others have similar mentality you don't like and I don't know the way to ban this.
The Okay with dps meter or tracker side you just can't convince anyone on agree Steven side because you too can't prevent example I said earlier, and I just need a timer to do that and no one of you can ban me to have one. I'm not super understand how the 3rd party do their tracker but I'm sure that nothing is perfect no matter what there will be what you want, I mean do you ever saw any mmo don't have cheat program or 3rd party tools? maybe they hard ban those but if you find hard enough I think you will find it, but I know that you just want an official build in dps meter or tracker you'd like to have that don't hurt anyone in your opinions and just enjoy the game without any toxicity.
All I want to say is tool is just tool don't blame on tool, the mentality is not healthy. I'm fine with no dps meter if I be honest it just make things a little inconvenient fro me to teach or share my point to my friends but I still I have my timer that's all I need.
In my opinion I would more like to punish toxic player hard as possible once found it's true, like I said I willing to pay more to support Intrepid to do what most mmos claim what they will do but never happen like WOW rarely hard punish bots or gold sellers at least in my experience.
And this will be my last post talk about dps meter or tracker, see you guys around.
: )
Trackers won't make or break the game. Even if no trackers stop the usual top PvE Guilds from playing, Ashes will have top PvE Guilds spawned from the player base anyway. Its not like we require the usual top PvE Guilds - Everyone will PvE a little in a PvX. Make no mistake, PvX is the main game mode and a tracker is like a kill cam to PvPers, an addon that will struggle to be approved.
And I got barely any interest of tinkering with or figuring them out in a game that I got 0 interest in. I might ask you or Azherae for a tracker during alpha2 just to see what they provide for the game's experience, but before that I'm not sure I'd be able to give them a fair look through if I tried using them in another game.
Is there maybe a video guide for absolute dumbass newbs about what ACT does? Cause from a quick search on youtube, most of the stuff seems to just explain how to set it up w/o any real practical use of it.
I doubt it, few bots I report and their id never shows on punish list and I still see them in WOW while I still play it.
When cost higher than profit business don't go on, just simple as that, so I willing to pay to support Intrepid to do it, punish what need to be punished: gold sellers gold buyers bot users etc what ever the behavior hurt the game beyond you can tolerate, and yes I aware that people can have lot of money to spend and I don't care, they need to pay first to create account means they paid so it won't hurt the game to punish them by delete their accounts but not to do will hurt the game, because it will create a atmosphere and mentality that tells players that you as game developers don't care that as long as you get profit, then player start don't care anymore and it's one big reason most mmos dead.
Failing that, if you do indeed want to get a good understanding of what ACT can do, I suggest looking over this page
https://advancedcombattracker.com/screenshots.php
Click each screenshot (I suggest going in order), they have a description of what each one is showing.
I'm not sure I can agree with this.
I've seen people in top end guilds with me that only play the game 9 - 12 hours a week. They set aside 3 nights a week, and play 3 or 4 hours a night. Those 3 nights just so happen to be the nights we were raiding.
Some games (WoW is bad at this) add in artificial barriers so that people can't just log in and run the content they want, but this is kind of the minority of games.
To me, that 9 - 12 hours a week isn't that much more of a commitment than if you joined a bowling team, or a book club, or a - what ever else people do.
While it is absolutely true that some people would put that bowling club before playing an MMO and so may not have time for that MMO, I am of the firm belief that people think MMO's take more time than they actually do take.
One need only look at the number of players in most games running around town doing nothing for evidence of this.
The mmos die because they went down the shitter with their design. And you just need to look at FF14's success to see that. FF14 became better at what it was doing over the years and has millions of people playing it and enjoying it. All you need is a good game and people will play it even if they only have 1h a day to play, while the game want you to spend hundreds of hours to achieve smth.
There is a difference between playing an MMO and just having a raid schedule. A raid schedule to me is not playing the MMO. This is the difference between the PvP players and the PvE Players. Its why your old statements of 'There are more PvE players than PvP players' can be said to be true. Ashes will die a lot faster if the PvP players leave. Ashes wants PvP to be the gears of change. The issue will pertain to expansions - which normally only focus on PvE as a matter of fact. PvP expansions are much rarer and are much more needed in Ashes.
No, I think you all over think it, mmo players always find the part they like in one mmo to play, and back in the day we really are play mmos which means not played by it, there are not such time investment BS there, we just login and have fun, end game? bis? addons? metat? raids? hardcore players? F that, I play the game not the other way around.
This puts all the burden of figuring out raid members' fails and misses on the main parser of the tracker (or the group that does it), while also giving that person omniscient powers over the encounter's history. You remove any human factor from it, mainly because you're seeing the objective truth instead of someone's recollection of their actions, or at the very least video recording of it (which is nowhere near the omniscience that's seemingly present in those screenshots).
I guess I'm just a purist, when it comes to this topic. Maybe that stems from me never having the need for this kind of information or maybe from just my own preferences in gaming, but this point is even stronger than the "it speeds up content consumption" one for me. Guess I'll just never participate in AoC's top lvl pve, if it ends up requiring trackers.
Its not overthinking it, its called playing a plethora of MMOs and seeing the majority die. I'm like you but people like us will not keep an MMO alive. People like us get shafted with Free 2 Play and then eventually Private Servers. From my perspective you have rose tinted glasses. It matters not whether I'm correct or not. The simply fact remains that ashes is a PvX game. What in your mind can be added that does not subtract from PvX that can also be counted as a PvP Expansion in Ashes?