Gread Lancier
Caldari
PROGENITOR CORPORATION
Intrepid Crossing
   |
Posted - 2008.02.12 18:43:00 -
[1]
Edited by: Gread Lancier on 12/02/2008 18:50:11
While this thread has been going on for a long time and most everything has been said I wanted to add some comments.
Macro mining/farming is not something that can be easily defeated.
A simple macro bot may be easily detected but the better more sophisticated bots are just too human to be able to look at it and ID it.
They can jump to random belts, mine multiple roids, work in tandem with other accounts to haul, detect rats, defend themselves, and even run at a given moment when they take too much damage. They can even log off if they reach criticle damage.
The only way CCP or anyone else can reliably ID a macro program is to scan users' computers and identify the running program. The program does not "hook" Eve or anything else like that, it just uses computer controls and "looks" at the screen to identify actions and items.
Other opinions that state if you try to converse with someone and they don't respond they must be macroing is bogus. So what to do?
The problem with ISK buying is difficult as CCP even encourages it through their own game time card sales and provide the system to facilitate it. Well when it costs nearly $40 for a 90 day GTC that sells for roughly 420 million ISK and you can go to an independant web site and buy 1 billion isk for nearly the same price there is going to be demand there.
Macro miners are doing the same thing that the ISK buyers that are selling GTCs for money are doing. Investing time/ money to make the game easier. Not that it makes it right, I am just saying human nature has to be taken into account when trying to solve these issues.
So what is CCP doing about it? They are trying to take down the buyers. By monitoring the economy they are taking down suspicious transactions like 1 billion ISK to player XX from Player XXY for no reason and nothing exchanged except currency....hmmmm the player XXY account goes inactive a short time later....crazy stuff!
Bang player XX gets his assets seized and is now stuck with a billion ISK debt if he spent it all.
That is a great deterrent from exploring the open market. I know it has kept lots of people honest.
Back to the macro miners:
I think what CCP can do is make the NPC's in high sec a bit tougher. I can fly a tech one frig anywhere in .5 and higher space and have no fear that I might not make it.
Make the spawns more frequent and make the spawns eat the drones that are attacking them instead of focusing on a barge that is either going to fly away at critical damage or has enough fittings to tank them until the rats have done their business.
Having tougher rats will limit the macro miners to either higher sec space (above .6), using more expensive equipment and/or also limiting them to the more sophisticated/expensive macro programs forcing them to spend more money to keep their operations afloat.
Moving profitable ore such as plagioclase kernite and pyroxeres to .5 systems or below only will also limit cheaply fitted macro operated barges from reaping in massive amounts of profit for little risk and also driving the market demands for such ores down by the abundance of easy supply. They have already made similar moves by letting high sec ice fields be depleted. So it is safe to assume they can do the same for other ore types.
Frequent updates that slightly change window placements/colors, start up sequences, and other basic set up parameters will slow them down and create hassles as they are forced to re-tweak the many parameters required to run a macro without hic-ups. Live players will not be as nearly impacted as the macroers as they are much more flexible and able to adapt easier.
I think the only real thing the community can do is to continue to voice great distaste for macro miners and monitor your own corporation's players as it is very likely that they are among you. If you suspect it, you need to confront it and finally act on it.
|