Use and Discretion (1 Viewer)

[Kuvumot]

9. You may not use any third party software to modify the Software to change Game play.

-from Everquest's End User License Agreement.

I know what we do and use is a violation of the EULA, and yet we still consciously make the choice to use it. That implies that we know what we do is wrong, and that we either A) don't care about the consequences or B) risk taking them for the benefits.

Like most folks, I'm not a bad person. I'm nice to people, pay my taxes and even follow the speed limit. But does using these "extra" tools making me a bad person?

I don't think so. I quit the game entirely a long time ago, and ironically enough, it was a nudge from a friend (along with these "tools") that made me get back into the game. I'm now paying for accounts that would've normally stay closed otherwise.

Still I am a bit paranoid when I use this stuff. I don't do anything active at all, and only use a few plugins. Mainly those that automate skills and keystrokes so I don't develop carpal tunnel syndrome while playing the game (/melody just plain sucks).

For the most part, we know what can and can not be detected. However I believe that sometimes we forget an element in detection that is often overlooked, the human element.

We can code stuff to be oblivious to the server, and in that sense, is truly undetectable. But, a clever human mind CAN detect suspicious activity, and more importantly report it. Whether or not anything is done about it is another issue beyond the scope of this post.

I've seen a few instances in my total EQ time where I've witnessed suspicious activity and chose not to do anything about it. I've seen players type out /plugin commands in /say chat because they missed the preceding slash (/). I've seen multiple toons /zone in and out right in front of me.

I'm just curious, but do some players not care about their use of MQ2? I don't know about you, but I've devoted a lot of time to this game. If my accounts were banned, I'd quit altogether.

I'm not just sharing my opinion from a player side, I used to be a guide too. A guide when Ubisoft had a hand in the program and guides were truly "mini-GMs" and did much more than just run stupid events. I used to help investigate suspected hackers before I knew what MQ2 was (its how I first learned about it actually). The first hacker I ever "caught" was based from a suspicious report by another player.

So does the suspected 30% of Everquest users who use MQ2 not care what happens to them? Or do they sometimes forget that what we do is 'illegal'? Is it like the speed limit? We all go over it, and sometimes even get annoyed at people who actually follow it.

Just a serious discussion; something I'm a big fan of. Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject.

 

[Gondola]

There are a lot of people who don't have a significant amount of invested time in a specific character. They create characters using MQ quickly and easily. The people who farm plat and items or powerlevel for cash are like this. In their cases, doing something faster with a little risk can help improve their profits.

 

[ss44]

I would not play EQ if it wasnt for MQ2, simple as that. I am a very lazy person when it comes to doing things inside the house, but I can spend 15 hours outside working on my truck. If I have to play EQ without MQ2, such as after a patch, I do not play. I may log on and see what is going on, but I will not play because I do not enjoy it. I would love to have 6 accounts and AFK group them 24 hours a day and sell the plat, but I am not Tone, so I do not have that coding power. MQ2 is a gamesaver, and as you can tell from EQ, over the years it has actually taken some things from MQ2 (maps for example).

 

[unknown405]

MQ2 is absolutely not illegal in any way... it's just against their EULA. In other words, they can ban you for using it but they can't arrest you. Furthermore, they can ban you from their servers, which are privately owned and operated, for whatever the hell reason they want so the whole EULA is a joke in the first place.

 

[decker]

I just have to add:
I dont care...

This is how i see it:
Using MQ2 is sort of like sneaking into the daughter of the camp master; if you get captured you are fucked, if not you will get fucked...

- decker

 

[Alez]

Nice :P

 

[unknown405]

The facts:
-MQ2 is not illegal
-An extremely high number of players actively use it
-At least right now, passive hacking is undetectable by players and GM's
-The vast majority of legit players I have met don't give a crap if you use passive hacks

With that said, MQ2 is used to enhance game play. This, to me, means making the game more fun by giving you options that are normally restricted or must be worked to acquire. My question is if the use of MQ2 makes you so nervous and paranoid, then why are you using it? Anyone who has to write an essay on something like this to check if others are in the same boat clearly shouldn't be using it in the first place. All I have to say to you is either stop using it or for gods sakes... CALM DOWN!!

 

[Fenix8452]

Well, I can understand being nervous. I have and had my various doubts. I'm one of them that has been playing for a very long time on one character. I only started using MQ2 about a year ago. This is my take on things.

First, by using this program, it has opened my eyes to how many actually use it. It is well more than 30% if my experience has anything to say about it. Getting targets that aren't possible, tracking mobs when non-tracker, warps, ect. Some are willing to talk about it, some are not.

From what I've gathered, the only time someone really seems to care at this point in EQ is if it is changing their gameplay experience. In other words, most don't seem to care if people are warping through a zone to chain zone making their run much shorter while doing a faction task. It doesn't effect them at all. However, the people that are ghost killing raid instances and open zone named effect others play experience, so it becomes an issue.

On the surface, killing raid instances shouldn't seem like it would effect others, but it does when this uber geared player later comes to an open zone and is soloing a Cystallos wing because he's a 40khp monk putting out 5k DPS with 5k AC. Its gets stupid after a bit.

I use a few active hacks, but only to make my life a little easier. After playing as long as I have, I grow a little tired of running across these massive baren zones for 20 min just to get to the next zone that is bigger. I use it to save time, but I don't do anything with it that would be beyond my normal capacity (although a ton slower) because I still enjoy some of the challenge of the game.

Mostly its the map feature that brought me to MQ. I grew very tired of turning a corner and then spending plat to summon my corpse, find a rezzer, and start over again on whatever I was doing. This is one of the few games that is MMO, but a mob way below you in an old zone can and will still kill you unless you are way overgeared.

You probably don't need to be real nervous about using this program. The passive hacks are undetectable, and even the active hacks are only likely to get you caught if you are doing something more major. I've known about 10 people that have been caught in the last 6 months, but not a single one of them got caught for warping, trading across the zone, or having a map with all the creatures displayed. All of them got caught because they were ghost killing and brought up bots from 1 to 80 with 2k AA's in 3 days, with FC/AG raid gear. That becomes alot easier to track.

 

[xenologist]

The facts:
-At least right now, passive hacking is undetectable by players and GM's

Well - I am new here, so i prolly shouldn't be correcting people yet, but I used to work as a GM for a year before the company and I had different opinions of what my job should be Anyway, GMs (and only GMs) have a lot of powerfull logfiles that for instance show every world container click. That means, if you for instance do a combine every 5 seconds for an extended period of time it is pretty obvious you're MQing ... However most newer macros include time randomizers to emulate human input.

Still knowing that i've been using MQ2 for over a year now without fear. As long as you use it responsibly you won't get caught. Think of Superman 2 If you don't draw any attention on yorself noone would be checking out what you do in the first place. If all of a sudden you get yourself a new Ferrari and drivte it to work people might get suspicious

 

[chance98]

to be honest i had a conversation i still have saved with a very powerful person in eq world a while back... could almost say right from the top and i still have it saved... and this is how it put it for me when i told him about my brother who was injured in a accident and now uses mq2 to continue being able to play with his kids due to being disabled... they do not like mq2 and will never support it and hope to break it often. But as for mq2 and its uses... they are not looking for people using it to help them run a toon while at the keyboard, they go after people using it to alter the game and allowing their toons to do things they normally could not do... gk, nd, warping, afking, ect...

i do have the email saved and while i wont share with public if any of the mods here want to read it let me know...

 

[Daimler]

First off, I don't think using MQ2 makes you a bad person. I believe in a concept called 'situational ethics'. There are times when "doing the right thing" (in the definitive sense) is wrong. Sometimes telling the truth isn't the best policy. Any man who has been asked, "Does this dress make me look fat?" (or similar) knows this.

You use the speed limit as an example but don't look at the flip side. In many jurisdictions (at least in the US), you can be ticketed for going under the speed limit (i.e. going too slow) with safety being cited as the reason. (You're driving so far below the limit that you pose a risk to those who are traveling at a more moderate clip). Likewise, SOE (and other MMO developers) has gotten several ideas for features directly from MQ2 (and Glider and Show and other programs of this type). There are features in WoW that are there because of their prior existence in so-called "hack" programs (a few of them in prominent UI mods). Given the backgrounds of many of WoW's designers, I wonder where they first encountered these features? Hmmmmm....

MQ2 has made my EQ experience SO much more enjoyable. I'll give you an example. In February, when I returned to EQ after 5 months away, I had 3 accounts. Today, I have sixteen. The thing I despise most about EQ is LFG time. Hate it, hate it, hate it, hate it. Playing on a server trying desperately to emulate a morgue (Fennin Ro), if you're not within 5 levels of max level, you're not finding groups. So, when I came back intent on playing EQ (instead of sitting around waiting for something to happen or someone in my level range who wanted to do something other than 'farm in DSH'), I decided to make sure I wouldn't have to deal with that. So, I put the word out that I was looking to buy an account. Of course at that time, I didnt know too much about MQ2, I was just going to box my own group manually. When I finally broke down and stopped listening to people with no experience poo-pooing the program, I downloaded it and installed. From moment one (the map), I was HOOKED. Signed up for VIP and stumbled on HUDs.....OMG. Then bot macs, omg I need a Mage, chanter, wizard, bard, etc. So far, because I'm chickenshit, I've only used the maps, a few plugins (like MQ2Melee), macros (for tradeskills mainly, because EQ's tradeskill system blows goats on pay per view), and I just /warped for the first time last Thursday. On the one hand, I'm afraid of getting banned. On the other hand, if it happens, it happens. I've spent far more on stupider shit than my accounts. Hell, a night at a strip club with friends is probably 1k I'll never see again (hopefully *cough*) so $200 for an account that gives me 500 hours of entertainment is a bargain IMO.

So in short (too late!), using MQ2 does not make anyone a bad person. No more than embellishing on your resumé does. No more than going 72 in a 65 while everyone else is easily passing you does. Honestly, I think this game would die without MQ, there are so many people who rely on its basic functionality. After I signed up and installed it, I found out my guild leader had been using it! He uses more features than I do (docracks and such) but never in such a way as to be obvious. And that's the key, in my view. Those folks who abuse MQ features give a bad name and image to those who just load it for the map or the functionality a HUD provides or to avoid eleventy billion mouse clicks to raise a tradeskill.