Removal of AFK MacrosAug 2nd, 2004 at 1:43 PM by JusteneNightshadow

Well here's a bit of good or bad news depending on who you are! The SWG dev team has decided to remove recursive (repeating) macros from the game! What this hopefully leads to is a cut on the number of players that use macros to grind their character while they aren't at their computer. Here is the offical post.
    A macro is basically something that is a set of keystrokes and instructions that are recorded, saved, and assigned to a short key code/command. When the command is typed, the recorded keystrokes and instructions execute or “play back”. In SWG, we can even attach those macros to handy toolbar buttons. (It may even be a third party program that executes macros, but that is a no-no that breaks EULA policy and gets players banned). A recursive macro is a macro that executes the set of player commands and then starts over again in a never ending loop. Star Wars Galaxies was designed with the idea that macros are ultimately inevitable. They are part of the game and there are many beneficial uses for in-game macros. The philosophical question is that do you both disallow macros and work against anyone who uses them or you make them available to everyone? If you choose the first choice, the inevitable outcome is that there are lots of players who will always figure out how to use macros. This puts extra strain on CS and creates a small group of players who have advantages over everyone else. If you choose to allow them for everyone, you create an environment where players can set up bots, AFK play for their main characters and other sorts of activities that are less than optimally conducive to playing in an online world. The design to decision to remove them from the game has been made. They are coming out soon to clean up a lot of the AFK game. You will still be able to write fairly long macros, but you will no longer be able to loop them and use a macro to activate a macro from itself. What effect will this have on your profession? Kurt "Thunderheart" Stangl Community Relations Manager
You can read up on dev comments by reading on. TH, I propose that these changes don't go forward until the grievances explained in previous posts are addressed:
    1) Crafting professions become somewhat bearable with recursive macros such as these. Removing them would just make them extremely tedious. Talk to the crafters about what can be done 2) While AFK "buffbots" are a sore spot for some people, many times (especially for those that play "off-hours" on any given server), they are the only hope some people have of getting buffed (or as someone else mentioned, getting BF healed). And until this "combat revamp" (*rolls eyes*) comes around, many professions suffer in PvE/PvP without buffs of some kind. As far as BF is concerned, perhaps NPC entertainers can be stationed in cities on the three "starter" planets that players can watch to heal their BF, but, say, at half the rate a PC would be able to heal it? 3) CoM. While I am no brawler myself, I've always seen them discuss among themselves how important a good CoM macro is to their profession(s). Speak more with them on a solution. 4) There are others, I'm sure you've read them by now.
The reason I say this is because the most recent patch involving the NPC changes is an example of a good idea sent out TOO early. The NPC changes would have been nice...if they were done in conjunction with the Combat Revamp. Before the patch there were some players whose profession/template did well against these NPC's, and others whose profession/template did poorly or just well enough. Now that these changes have come out BEFORE any kind of combat balance, those who did well before are STILL doing well, while the ones who weren't doing so well are pretty much out of luck. All it did was widen the gap between the two groups, and I'm thinking we'll see a large bunch of the latter group changing their professions/templates to match the former. This shouldn't have to happen. Definitely. I have mixed feelings myself about it. In any event, I'll be summarizing all the strong points such as handicapped users and other important aspects. So please let me know about specific professions and aspects. I have sympathies for the crafters for sure. Personally, I disagree on the brawler point though. I don't think recursive macros should be allowed in any kind of combat, but that's just me. ____________________________________________________________ When this goes in I doubt anyone will ever be able to get their battle wounds healed again, especially anyone who plays off-peak times. I believe this is a key point as well Bryan. There needs to be some accomodations made for players who play at off-peak hours. There needs to be a way to heal up when no one is around. ____________________________________________________________ Direct effect on smugglers and the GCW as far as grinding faction points. The recursive macro is almost required for large orders unless you want advanced carpal tunnel. Highly suggest that if you remove the recursive macro, you make smuggler faction purchases much more user friendly. What would you suggest? ____________________________________________________________ Crafting - fine take out looping macros, but BEFORE you do this please make crafting easier, the amount of clicking you have to do when grinding is insane. Add a "grind mode" to crafting tools so all you have to do is double click on the resources and hit combine. Take the practice button, currently on the last screen, and put it on the first screen. If practice mode is enabled, then skip all the otehr screens! Remember the setting the next time the tool is used (as it does currently). Those are both great ideas! Kurt "Thunderheart" Stangl Community Relations Manager
Tags: News, StarWarsGalaxies

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No Macro's = Less doc's and ent's
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# Aug 08 2004 at 4:32 AM Rating: Good
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No Macro's = Less doc's and ent's

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Where Ent's = entertainers.. not Big leafy trees.

Just to day I had decided on making 2 of my alts, my 'bot' toons. one a master dancer / musician and the other master doctor.

Well, I read this and I decide NO FREAKIN WAY! I mean if I can't leave them botting for my City, why on earth would I waste the Skill points???

I sure hope they come up with a handy way for the game to work with out Doc's and Entertainers, cuase this 'cut' is going to defiitly LOWER the numbers in those profesions, of that I am sure.

oh, another thing... in most games, I love to play the healer class. thats my 'thing' ya know, EQ, DAoC, Ultima, etc. I'm always the 'cleric' type. I ask myself, if thats the case, why doesn't the 'healing' profesions in this game apeal to me at all? other than something to bot for buffs? I don't know the answer... but find it intersting non the less.

Zak -out-
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About time too
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# Aug 06 2004 at 7:10 AM Rating: Decent
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I think it's about time. The Afk game is appalling and destructive. The profession grind is no longer required (we hope) and now people can get back to enjoying the game rather than grind it mindlessly.

Feedback and changes for the various professions will come from those who CHOOSE to participate in those professions rather than those who speak for a profession with only the motive to make it easier to AFK driving their feedback. We might actually see some good improvements in future seeing as the grinders will no longer destroy professions.

For those naysayers who are up in arms about recursive macros being removed, tough cookies. You'll now have to play the game rather than leave a toon running spam. I have NO sympathy and I'm laughing with sheer delight at this MAJOR improvement.

EverQuest does perfectly well without recursive macros and has a MUCH higher levelling point for crafts and experience. If you can't level in SWG without a macro then maybe it's the wrong game for you. Bye, you won't be missed.
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Stupid Idea
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# Aug 04 2004 at 2:48 PM Rating: Default
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Yeah, this change blows. Removing recursive Macros is insane. If we wanna spend $15 monthly to play, then let us do it how we desire. The game quality will definitely decline...who wants to sit around clicking boring tasks all day?
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what the.... ?!?
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# Aug 03 2004 at 11:54 AM Rating: Default
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ok first and foremost I think that if you don't want people grinding with macros then you shouldn't have put them in the game in the first place.. and as you said earlier you knew it was inevitable.. so why drop it? These people with certain nessesary profession to the game are becoming extrememly rare... I mean since the publish 9 there are fewer and fewer docs and entertainers int he game as it is... now your essentially making it harder for us to enjoy. and yes while I do have 2 accounts now.. most do not. Just a thought from someone who likes their game and the time they spend on it.. but come on... geesh...

Chimera Tyranneix
Scylla Server
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OMG!!
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# Aug 03 2004 at 5:45 AM Rating: Default
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This is possibly the worst idea i have heard in my time playing the game, what we worrying about though guys this must take at least 1 year to implement based on how far back the combat revamp has ben pushed?? I for one was very impressed with the changes in combat to NPC's, makes NS fun to hunt again instead of just mindless killing to get loot!! But strong players can still take these and it is the casual gamers left behind again.

However as one of the players who will be greatly affected by this, i live in scotland and have to play generally in whats termed as unsociable hours, i think this could be something that might finally push me over the edge and quit. I am in a good position where i can afford multiple accounts and have my own doctor and if need be can get another account with a dancer, but how many peoiple can do this, entertainers are already getting scarce now you dont grind to make jedi, and docs also are rarer as most docs before were generally jedi's alts they use to buff themselves!!

I can understand the need for removing certain macros such as people who afk meatlump hunt etc, but macros are an intergral part to many peoples games and why are they in there if we can't use them, sure there is still gonna be a way to use them when they are removed so its gonna give select few a greater advantage again!!

As to providing ideas, i dont think their is much of a work-around to this and thats what i pay my $45 a month to do enjoy the game not keep having my enjoyment hampered by changes such as the I.D. revamp i mean give me a break, why does it take 2 days to find an ID if you made it such a desirable prof!!
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hm..
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# Aug 02 2004 at 11:14 PM Rating: Default
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well...this would only Truly hurt Entertainer professions...since that's what they do, to both help people and gain the Huge Massive amounts of Grinding Experience needed to gain levels, it is a Long Gradual experience, and a Macro is Essential to leveling it, it would make the classes partially Unplayable...as the person would have to Actively restart the Macro...and yes, there do need to be other Resources for healing Battle Fatigure and Wounds, those Cantina bands are Useless for large amounts of Battle Fatigue.
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