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Check out the v.255 - The Dark Ride: Ride or DIe Patch Notes
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An idea to *minimize* the ADVERT BOTS PROBLEM :)
So, I was just doing the usual ~6-hourly task of adding the three bots in FM entrance to black list. Getting mad, since one of them adds, but the chat still shows up in general. But I've been thinking:
From what I know, GM's come around and ban those suckas once in a while. We shouldn't do this! They get a 100% clear situation that it's time to re-make a bot account. Soooo, instead of kick/banning them, how about just muting them completely. No speech bubble, nothing to status window FOR OTHER PLAYERS. However (and this is the most important part): make sure that the bots still receive their own chats as normal. Same packets, same everything. Not a single thing should change from the bots' perspectives.
Why? Well, that way they will keep standing there, writing their spam as it falls unto deaf ears. Now, I realize that the spammer can use a separate account to check manually if the chats are still going through, BUT this will break their full automation and make things way harder for them. At the very least, this should make their cancerous respawns less frequent and dissuade them from botting as it becomes more and more tedious.
Edit:
Also, to clarify: I put a severe emphasis on packets because the botters can use packet sniffing to detect if they had been muted. As you all know (or should know), packet sniffing is completely undetectable, since it doesn't have to operate on the client's computer. It can be set up on the router itself... or their game client runs inside a VM or some other sort of sandbox -,-
Comments
For example, a GM finds a blaze wizard bot and flags them to be unable to trade. They continue botting and unfortunately this means they're still occupying maps but then when they go to retrieve all their ill gotten gains they cannot be moved. They've wasted time and resources without knowing until they check.
But then again, maybe they'd just seek to collect from their bots more often to combat this combat method. Still, it might be worth thinking about innovative ways to reduce/stymie botters.
I'm all for this. It wouldn't take more work on the GMs' parts. Just a different action other than simply banning.