New "Macro Strings", Macro's Reborn!

[kingfury]

It's definitely within the game's reach (the basic code for something like this would take all of a couple of hours), but I think the first problems that would arise would be:
1) Exploitation
2) Complexity (on the user end)
I like the idea a lot, but from an objective standpoint I just can't see it fitting into the game.
Another way to handle this would be some kind of Moogle service where they took "snapshots" of what you're currently wearing. Instead of adding a whole new series of code for us to manipulate, a Moogle could take "snapshots" of what you have on and let you name them (up to a finite amount) to use in macros.

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That actually sounds pretty cool as well lol. Thanks for the feedback ^^/
I'm sure that there would have to be a near equally complex(which isn't very complex on either ideas) list of menu options to provide players the freedom to pick and choose which pieces they did or didn't want to be included in those snapshots. Either way, it would be awesome to have ^^
I imagine that everything being proposed here would be no different from doing everything we've done with macro's for years now, but just adding in the titling part. I would think it would feel pretty familiar since we would still have to create the actual macro list to be used via the String function. Again, the Dev team has some smart cookies on board, so I'm sure they could figure it out lol Thanks again /salute

[Selzak]

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That actually sounds pretty cool as well lol. Thanks for the feedback ^^/
I'm sure that there would have to be a near equally complex list of menu options to provide players the freedom to pick and choose which pieces they did or didn't want to be included in those snapshots. Either way, it would awesome to have ^^
I imagine that everything being proposed here would be no different from doing everything we've done with macro's for years now, but just adding in the titling part. I would think it would feel pretty familiar since we would still have to create the actual macro list to be used via the String function. Again, the Dev team has some smart cookies on board, so I'm sure they could figure it out lol Thanks again /salute

The effect would be pretty much exactly the same, the only difference is that you just go to a Moogle wearing the set you want to be in the macro, and get a snapshot instead of writing commands to equip the armor yourself.

From there, you can use the current system to call that snapshot instead of adding a new level to the system that allows you to call macros from within macros (liable to exploitation).


Wasn't trying to replace your idea with my own- it's the same idea, just thinking of how to deal with potential problems. I basically just took your idea and turned it into a black box so that it's easier to work with on both the development and user sides.

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That actually sounds pretty cool as well lol. Thanks for the feedback ^^/
I'm sure that there would have to be a near equally complex(which isn't very complex on either ideas) list of menu options to provide players the freedom to pick and choose which pieces they did or didn't want to be included in those snapshots.

This actually occurred to me as well and I edited as you were replying lol.

You could go to the Fashion Moogle wearing nothing but subligar, have him take a snapshot of you, name it "Nakey", and then use /equip snapshot "Nakey" to revert to that equipment set. If any single piece of equipment from the snapshot is not available when the macro is used, it would fail. If you had the subligar in your bag, it would make you "Nakey" wearing only subligar. I think something like this might be a lot easier to implement.

[kingfury]

True indeed /
I tried to put some stop gates for the possible exploitations issues, like the "Duplicating the same Macro String lines twice would not be allowed per 1 Macro(to prevent from endless looping)" and the, "Duplicating Grouped Macro Strings would not be allowed per 1 Macro(to prevent endless looping)".

In my deepest thinking, the system would have to have a built in security system that would flag down and cause such attempts to break the Strings whether done on accident or intentionally.
Even with everything functioning correctly, the system I'm proposing would definitely beef the power of macros to an all time high lol. I suppose I'm trying to create a solution on par to what PC players can accomplish with Windower version macros except in a legit way

Oh, no worries, I welcome such feedback with open arms, since I know for a fact more brains trying to solve a problem is far better than one ^^/

[Selzak]

The way you have it might not open up exploits, and it would definitely give players (us!) a lot more to work with...

...but

It's also very complicated for most users, and adding a whole new menu button in and of itself is a big change. I think that hiding the process somehow (like with snapshots) would make it a lot easier to work with on both ends.


Don't get me wrong, I would rather have your original idea. However, I just don't see them doing something that drastic and would like to at least see some form of it (much more applicable, but fewer capabilities) actually show up in the game.

I know for a fact more brains trying to solve a problem is far better than one ^^/

Also this.

[kingfury]

The way you have it might not open up exploits, and it would definitely give players (us!) a lot more to work with...
...but
It's also very complicated for most users, and adding a whole new menu button in and of itself is a big change. I think that hiding the process somehow (like with snapshots) would make it a lot easier to work with on both ends.
Don't get me wrong, I would rather have your original idea. However, I just don't see them doing something that drastic and would like to at least see some form of it (much more applicable, but fewer capabilities) actually show up in the game.
Also this.

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I'm with ya lol I wouldn't care how it got done so long as it got done! /agreed

Now ya gotta think back to when they added "Macro Books" because that was a pretty major leap forward for our macro systems. Heck I'm still finding new ways to configure my Books lmao ^^ They did that leap in a huge way too by adding 20 fully customizable macro books, all while tossing in the "/macro book/set" syntax to boot. I can't even remember what we had before that update honestly lol ><

All that being said, give me your thoughts on how this concept would compare in difficulty to the macro book system. I would hope it's not as complex/difficult as that was since I tried to make it as simple as possible o.o; lol

[kingfury]

As an additional note: I think you have to give the players of FFXI a bit more credit too in regards to dissecting newly introduced systems. Abyssea is the absolute perfect example of this. I was, and still am amazed at how quickly folks unlocked the secrets of Abyssea. It was like SE put an enormous slab of meat in front of hundreds of sharks lol. At this point, most all of us are just chewing on the bones of Abyssea zones /laugh. I mean, it's only been a few months(9'ish) since Abyssea was introduced to FFXI back on June 21,2010, and we're already hungry for more content ><;

[Selzak]

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I'm with ya lol I wouldn't care how it got done so long as it got done! /agreed

Now ya gotta think back to when they added "Macro Books" because that was a pretty major leap forward for our macro systems. Heck I'm still finding new ways to configure my Books lmao ^^ They did that leap in a huge way too by adding 20 fully customizable macro books, all while tossing in the "/macro book/set" syntax to boot. I can't even remember what we had before that update honestly lol ><

All that being said, give me your thoughts on how this concept would compare in difficulty to the macro book system. I would hope it's not as complex/difficult as that was since I tried to make it as simple as possible o.o; lol

Well Macro Books were essentially just "more macros" not really much going on there. At the time it was surprising because people had been begging for more lines for so long and suddenly we got 20x what we had.

This is new functionality altogether. Strings aren't macros (similar format, but different behaviors), and you'd probably be surprised by how many people don't understand macros as they are now. It might seem like common sense to you, but I'd be willing to bet that a lot of people would have a hard time even grasping the concept of calling commands from outside the macro. Not because they're dumb, but because this sort of thing requires a kind of conceptual understanding of programming that most people don't have.

That's not to say that there aren't some very clever people playing this game, but I think there's an illusion going on where 1% of the playerbase figures everything out and then everyone just works off of it. We're talking about something that everyone would need to actually understand.

[kingfury]

Nah, I'm pretty aware of the tons of folks that don't gear swap lol and you're absolutely right, this system would not be for them ^^ The macro system itself is an optional game feature that players don't have to use at all, but for the majority of seasoned players that have come to master them, this system would be a godsend.

I don't even know what I would do with myself if I only had to use one macro to cover gear swapping, weapon skilling, then back to gear swapping all in one click /stagger. My fingers would probably go through withdraws and accidently hit the macro multiple times out of habit lol. This system would cause me to reformat just about every macro I have, but it would be a breath of fresh air to say the least.

[Flunklesnarkin]

I don't think an extensive update to the macro system would be a good thing..

It would be nice if they could add a few lines to make gear swaps easier tho... hitting 3 or 4 macros to gear swap can be a pita...

Inb4 windower / third party tools >_>

[Tsukino_Kaji]

People should not be allowed to name thier macro strings, it'll take up too much space/information. They should instead of generic labels and macro string will have to be one command like /jobemote or /pcmd.

/macrosrting "String ##"

Otherwise another cool idea KF.